100 years ago TUBERCULOUS CATTLE AND PIGS

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. COMMONS 1913 JUNE 16. 100YEARS AGO THIS MONTH

Mr JAMES HOPE. asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he can see his way to introduce legislation amending the law with regard to tuberculous cattle , so as to admit of compensation being paid in the  case of cows on a milking rather than a carcase value, and relieving from criminal liability sellers in the market of beasts which they had no reason to suppose  were otherwise than sound?

Mr RUNCIMAN ; The working of the Tuberculosis Order will be carefully watched by the Board and if experience shows that the present measure of compensation for the slaughter of tuberculous  cattle results in hardship, I shall be prepared to consider the question of amending the Order. This can be done without legislation.If  I am right in interpreting the latter part of the question as to the penalty attached to the sale of unsound meat, I must refer the hon. Gentleman on that point to my right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board.

Mr JAMES HOPE also asked the President  whether he can see his way to introduce legislation extending to the case of  PIGS  the existing practice with regard to compensation for the slaughter of tuberculous cattle?

Mr RUNCIMAN  The answer is in the negative.

TODAY, 100 YEARS FURTHER ON,WHAT HAS THE GREAT BRITISH PUBLIC GOT? THIS IS WHAT HAS NOW BEEN FOISTED UPON US BY A GOVERNMENT THAT DOES NOT CARE.
IT ONLY CARES THAT IT HAS BEEN ONCE AGAIN, BEEN FOUND WANTING! READ ON.

Tens of thousands of diseased cattle, slaughtered after testing for bovine tuberculosis are being SOLD for HUMAN CONSUMPTION by DEFRA 'again for emphasis' DEFRA, the food and farming ministry has said.

The raw meat from around 27.000 diseased animals a year is banned by most supermarkets (we should be told which ones are doing the opposite), and burger chains, (ditto).
Tesco for example ,rejects it because of Public Health concerns surrounding the issue of bTB and its risks to consumers.

BUT ,HERE IS THE WORST PART, it is being sold to some caterers(WHO?)  and FOOD PROCESSORS(WHO?) and finding its way into SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS and the MILITARY or being processed into products such as PIES and PASTIES.

A SPOKESMAN FOR DEFRA,WHICH MAKES £100 MILLION A YEAR FROM SELLING THE INFECTED CARCASSES SAID "all meat from cattle slaughtered due to thingy must under go rigorous sppoot checks before it can be passed fut fer consumption. so there!

100 YEARS, STILL NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE!!!LOAN SHARKS.

                                   THE LOAN SHARKS ARE CALLING IN A DEBT!
                                                      POOR FRAZER.

SCOTSMAN.newspaper,Wed 26 June 2013 (keep an eye on the date.)

PAYDAY LOAN FIRMS TO FACE SPOTLIGHT.
Payday lenders ,charities and UK. Government ministers will meet to discuss "widespread" problems in the loan industry.
Consumer minister Jo Swinson will host a summit to discuss whether plans for tougher regulation of the £2 billion sector will be enough

               PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES .COMMONS (take note of the date) 30 June 1913.
PAWNBROKERS (RATE OF INTEREST CHARGED)
Mr LEACH  ASKED THE HOME SECRETARY IF, IN VIEW OF THE FACT THAT THE ACT OF PARLIAMENT REGULATING THE RATE OF INTEREST CHARGEABLE BY PAWNBROKERS PROVIDES THAT SUCH INTEREST SHALL NOT EXCEED 25 PER CENT.PER ANNUM, HIS ATTENTION HAS BEEN CALLED TO FIGURES SHOWING THAT IN THE MAJORITY OF CASES OF LOANS TO THE WORKING CLASSES THE INTEREST VARIES FROM 500 PER CENT TO 1,000 PER CENT PER ANNUM , AND THAT ON AN AVERAGE THE INTEREST WORKS OUT AT OVER 200 PER CENT PER ANNUM.,AND WHETHER HE WILL APPOINT A SELECT COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY OR CAUSE INVESTIGATIONS TO BE MADE INTO THE WORKINGS OF THE PAWNBROKING ACT?

Mr McKenna; my right honourable friend has asked me to reply to this question. My attention has not been previously called to the matter, and the records of my Department contain no information with regard to it. My hon Friend has sent me an extract from a newspaper , from which the figures in the question are apparently taken ,but I should be glad if he could furnish me with the evidence on which the article is based.    Fin.

Myself, 'it is difficult to believe that similar exploitations of certain classes in society is still,after 100years,being allowed to happen.
Governments must shoulder the blame for this sorry state of affairs!

THEN AND NOW. 100 YEARS ON TENANT FARMERS

At this moment in time, in Scotland, some tenant farmers are in legal battles with their landlords and 100's more face losing their homes and livelihoods after a court ruling that upholds landlords rights to evict tenant farmers and put them and their families onto the street.

There are those tenant farmers who are at this moment in time probably fighting a losing battle,just like tenant farmer, Mr. A.Riddell of Peaston Farm, Ormiston, East Lothian.who most sorrowfully took his own life when faced with eviction, being in a 'Limited Partnership ' lease and had tenure and despite his family having farmed that land for more than 100 years he was given notice to quit by his landlord, Mr A.Salvesen.
Campaigners have attacked a ruling by the UK's highest court,' THE LONDON BASED,' SUPREME COURT' that gives wealthy businessmen back powers to force 100's of tenant farmers of their land..

As usual when it comes down to it, there are those for, and those against, anything and everything be it renting or buying.Wealthy landowners and tenant farmers. The laidback, and those whose backs are laid against the wall. Who knows what lies ahead , will the wealthy hive of to sunnier climes or the
poor do what their forefathers did ,emigrate for a better life in another country? We may better know the answer after the Referendum.

100 years ago ,very nearly to the day!
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE  HOUSE OF COMMONS , AGRICULTURE, SCOTLAND.
26 JUNE 1913
Mr.FALCONER: I rise not for the purpose of discussing the work of the Board of Agriculture, generally but, for the purpose of saying a word with the regard to the Small Holdings problem in the Lowlands. I hold very strong opinions on this question. I think that as far as Scotland is concerned ,the development of Small holdings and the populations of the country districts is a matter not of choice but of absolute necessity if Scotland is to continue in the future as she has in the past to depend very largely upon a race brought up within her own shores  It is quite obvious to anyone who takes note of the change which is going on in Rural Districts that people are leaving them, and that the same class of people are not being maintained there .I myself have been much struck by two things in my own experience . One thing that strikes me in the Low Counties with which I am best aquainted , on the East Coast of Scotland is the number of people going abroad to find land ,and the second thing that strikes me ,and it is emphasised by reading the Report Of the Board of Agriculture is the comparatively small number of applications made to the Board of Agriculture for land in the Low Counties."

Mr Falconer goes on in a similar vein, and then goes on to emphasise that there is enough land available and that there are many men eminently suitable to apply to the Board and take advantage of the Small Landowners Act . The problem as Mr Falconer sees it is the fact that no men are willing to release themselves from employment just on the hope that they will be successful in their endeavours to obtain a Small Holding .  Mr Falconer is truly concerned about the amount of men leaving Scotland to emigrate to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.)


from myself,'
There has been in the not so distant past,and in more recent times in Scottish Land history where the objectives of landowners and tenant farmers have diverged to such an extent that the only means of solving such disputes is through the courts.
Taking the recent example of landowner verses tenant which ended so badly for all concerned, especially for Mr Riddell who, when the judgement went against him, he took his own life.
The landowner and his representatives will also be much scarred by this tragic unforeseen event.
A sorry tale indeed for all the reluctant participants.

                                          ACROSS THE ROAD, ( A8), FROM THE ROYAL
                                         HIGHLAND SHOWGROUND.AND WE ARE STILL
                                                                    IN EDINBURGH!

THE SCOTSMAN, newspaper reported,Friday 21 June 2013.
Both supporters and opponents of tenant farmers having a right to buy their properties were taken aback yesterday after Scottish rural cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead surprisingly put the issue back on the agenda.
With the Scottish Government having opposed this policy back in 2008 most observers considered the controversial issue closed,but Lochhead said his 180degree turn was born of his frustration over the paucity of farm tenancies coming on to the market.


PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 26 JUNE 1913 (exactly 100 years ago)

MR MacCALLUM SCOTT ;If there is to be a large and successful extension of smallholdings ,it can only be accomplished by a large development in afforestation. It is hardly realised what afforestation means for Scotland. There is one quarter of the surface of Scotland at present lying waste or being used for poor grazing or purposes of sport which could be better used for afforestation than at present ,and which cannot be used for smallholdings because it is not arable land. Just think what the reclamation of one quarter of the surface of Scotland would mean. It would mean more for Scotland than if the gold mines of the Rand were discovered there, because they would be worked out someday,but if we had this quarter of the land of Scotland afforested it would add greatly to the material prosperity of Scotland.The land to which I am referring is not suitable for the best kind of agriculture, but it is not waste and desert and stony land.

SIR G. YOUNGER;   BUT IT IS LAND SUBJECT TO TERRIBLE RAVAGES AND GALES, WHICH MAKE IT HOPELESS FOR CULTIVATION.

 

.

100 years ago, level crossings,then and now!

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. COMMONS, 1913
MIDLAND RAILWAY (LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT)
Mr.WILLIAM THORPE asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention had been called to a fatal accident that occurred on Friday last at the level crossing on the Midland railway line at Bulwell, Notts, where two boys aged fourteen, were instantly killed by an express train; if he can state the number of fatal and other accidents that have occurred at the same level crossing; and whether he intends taking any action in the matter?
Mr BUXTON: I have received a notice of this accident , and am awaiting further particulars. The records of the Board of Trade for the last thirty years do not show that there has been any other accident at this crossing within that period.
Mr W. THORNE: Have the Board considered the desirability of doing away altogether with level crossings  in certain parts of the country?
Mr BUXTON: That raises a rather big question. But I am glad to say that in this particular case this is the first accident that has occurred for thirty years.
  
              1OO YEARS FURTHER ON DOWN THE LINE!

London and Southeast

RAIL SAFETY TEAMS across the country are hosting more than 100 aware events at level crossings including Cookham and Furze Platt in Maidenhead, to help educate people about how to cross the railway safely and prevent accidents.
Level crossings safety in Britain is among the best in Europe, despite this 9 people were killed at level crossings in the last year and 453 people were involved in a near miss,either as pedestrians or motorists. There were 10 collisions between vehicles and trains and a further 33 vehicles struck and damaged barriers.
These new figures have been published today (7 May 2013 ) by NETWORK RAIL, one of 45 world wide organisations supporting INTERNATIONAL LEVEL CROSSING AWARENESS DAY on 7 May 2013

                                         Waiting for Network Rail Safety Team

' WONGA', OR ANOTHER NAME FOR LOAN SHARKS!

"Well then  young Arthur, what are you going to do when you grow up?
"I'm going to be a Loan Shark"
"We don't call them Loan Sharks nowadays Arthur, we call them, Payday Lenders"
"Me mum says 'Sharks is sharks ,uncle Pawn."
"Its John, Arthur,uncle John,trust me son, have you seen your mums purse anywhere?
"Me mum said only yesterday, that last October, Jonathan Luff a senior adviser to David Cameron quit Downing St. to become a lobbyist for Wonga.
"So, your point young Arthur?
"Mum said that he should be ashamed of himself and how did his family feel about him being part of a network of crooks,uncle Pawn?
"Its uncle John, young Arthur, and you have lost me.
"Better than loosing your self respect uncle John.
"Thanks Arthur,here's 10p go and buy yourself something nice.
"Ta,uncle John, but I think the adviser would be well advised to return to his kennel in Downing St.What do you think uncle John?
"I'm beginning to see your point of view young Arthur, tell your mum I've gone down to the Jobcentre!

100 years ago, Then As Now ! Bankers !

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1913   JUNE 25

STAMFORD,SPALDING,AND BOSTON BANKING COMPANY LTD.
MR. CHARLES ROBERTS asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention had been directed to the affairs of the Stamford, Spalding, and Boston Banking Company Limited which in 1911 was taken over by another bank and wound up; whether the consent of the shareholders to the amalgamation was secured without warning to them of any financial difficulties and subsequent to the payment, after providing for all bad and doubtful debts,of a 10 per cent. dividend for the previous year ;whether he is aware that in the winding -up heavy losses have been revealed, involving grave distress to  many persons in Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, and that the liquidator has declined a request from a committee of shareholders for the full and public examination of the directors and officials of the bank, so that the shareholders have received no adequate explanation up to date of the way in which the these losses; and whether he can secure that such an examination shall be held?

Mr. ROBERTSON: The Stamford, Spalding, and Boston Banking Company,Limited, is being wound up voluntarily , and the Board of Trade, therefore, have no information as to the company's business or as to the circumstances connected to the winding-up and the sale of the goodwill, except  so far as appears from the accounts which the liquidator has filed. These accounts are open to inspection by all creditors and shareholders of the company. A public examination of the directors of a company can only be held in the case of a company being wound up by the Court and an order being made by the Court for that purpose.                     
                                                                BANK of ENGLAND

 

 

BANKINGS A LARK, ROSES ALL THE WAY .

But a Banker,engaged at enormouse expense,had the
whole of their cash in his care!
A cheque for seven pounds,he sold for nine, to
The Thing-Um-A-Jig.
He would, and he did,laugh at MP's,
not returning their Wonga,
with an impudent wag of his head.
And he once went a walk
hand in paw with a Panda.
Just to keep up its spirits, he said.
The mono Panda,alone of its class, desired amongst
others a Scot, Panda Lass.
To wit and to woo in an Edina Glade.
And the Bellman perplexed and distressed
Said he hoped,at least when the wind
blew due East
that the ship  would not travel due West!
But the danger was past,they had landed at last
with their boxes, portmanteaus and bags.
Yet at first sight,the crew were not pleased with the view,
which consisted of chasms and Salisbury Crags.
But two of the crew were very much happy,
up the mast on the nest the semimonkey stared down
and held up his,' Okay' thumb.
He smiled at the Panda, the Panda smiled back.
They landed,t'was morning,the Banker was yawning.
They accosted the Banker and desired him to meet
with them on the foreshore at Granton ,no less
They danced a jig and munched on a fig.
Please Sir Banker, our money return,If we
remember correctly the amount was a twenty.
The Lord Banker replied with a sword by his side
Please think of a number, any number will do,
add another,the amount's up to you, selfwish a triple dish of thrice,
undo all that men and Panda's contrive ,the answer
my friends is a five,or in your case dear Panda the cartoon shows four!
The total is nine.
It has been a long voyage
and my wife,she is waiting
for me and whats mine
Farewell then,
Goodbye, or not,as the case may be
Ta Ta Cheerio,you've had your lot ,
just don't ask, what it was, that wot  I got!

With abject apologies to the memory of ,
LEWIS CARROLL. Sorry

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

FRASER, contemplating his foot and wondering if a rich Chinese person would like to eat it?

eM."Whats that you got?
TT."Bamboo, want a bit?
eM."No thanks,I've got a banana.
TT."Hmmmm
eM."I said, I've got a banana.
TT."And I said,Hmmmm
eM. "Do you want a bit?
TT."No thanks I've got some bamboo.
eM." Would make a change, try some.
TT." Have you tried some?
eM."Noo,not yet anyway,how,whatever.
TT."you're beginning to sound like those boys on the outside
eM."Do you want some?
TT."For the last time,No,anyway where did you get it?
eM."The semimonkey,thats what he eats, he has a varied diet, he also eats radishes.
TT."Good grief you will be telling me next that he also eats bamboo.
eM."He wouldn't touch bamboo with a barge pole, he said as much ,twice.
TT."I think that we are the only animals on the planet that eats bamboo.
eM."No, the humans eat it as well.
TT." As well as what?
eM."Everything else on the planet
TT."Do they eat cats?
eM." Yes.
TT."Dogs?
eM."Most certainly.
TT."Horses?
eM."Yes but mainly the English upper classes.
TT."Sixth Formers?
eM." Them as well.
TT."Do they eat cabbage?
eM."Yes, but only if they have been ordered to.
TT."Gravel?
eM."No,who could eat gravel?
TT."The French eat gravel, but I think they call it graaaveeele.
eM."I'm glad I eat bamboo.
TT."So am I.
eM."I'm going to throw this banana at the first Keeper I see.
TT."Good.

Later, much later
TT."Well, did you hit a Keeper?
eM."Yes,and she ate it!

INEBRIATES BILL. HOUSE of COMMONS, 16JUNE 1913.

Mr. HENRY TERRELL. Asked the Prime Minister whether it is intended to introduce the Inebriates Bill this Session; and,if so, when?

THE PRIME MINISTER:  The Bill has already been introduced.

SUFFRAGIST PRISONERS AND A RUSSIAN PRISON .

16 June 1913. PARLIAMENTARY  DEBATES. COMMONS.

SUFFRAGISTS PRISONERS (Tullamore Goal)

Mr. GINNELL asked the Chief secretary for Ireland why the three suffrage prisoners now in Tullamore Gaol are not allowed the privileges of a daily visit and a daily letter,in and out, hitherto allowed to political prisoners even when sentenced  to hard labour , which the present prisoners have not been; whether in resentment of this discrimination against them they now refuse to take food; and whether to avert a kind of struggle not wanted in Ireland he will have the restriction withdrawn and the privileges allowed as hitherto?

Mr. BIRRELL; The General Prisons Board inform me that the three prisoners referred to are not entitled to a daily visit and letter under the rules, but any application for special visits or letters if made to the Board in accordance with the Regulations will be duly considered.Any application of this kind made by them up to the present has, as a matter of fact, been granted by the Board in the exercise of its discretion.

100 YEARS ON.  23MAY 2013

HUNGER STRIKE FOR PUSSY RIOTER IN PAROLE ROW.

A member of the band Pussy Riot who was jailed over a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Russian cathedral said yesterday she was starting a hunger strike after she was barred from a parole hearing.
Maria Alyokhina also told her lawyers to quit the proceedings.
She and bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are serving two year terms for bursting into Moscow's main Russian Orthodox cathedral in February 2012 and singing a profanity-laced "punk prayer" urging the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"
  Speaking by a video link from prison, Alyokhina told the court considering her request for release on parole that it had violated her rights by not allowing her to take part.
   "In protest against the court's refusal to allow me to appear in person to take part in the hearing, I'm going on hunger strike ,"Alyokhina said.
 "In the current cicumstances I forbid all my lawyers and representatives to take part in this court hearing.

WE'VE BEEN CONNED, NOT FRAMED BY HARRY HILL!

Have you noticed how things in life creep up on one ? From small innocuous beginnings, then for a long time nothing changes, until all of a sudden little deviations from the norm.You get used to it. Its still funny, and you watch until all of a sudden you see something that you half know is wrong. You view some more and you become more convinced that they, ie, those in positions of authority should call a halt.No one else in your circles broaches the subject. Are you overreacting? and then your spouse says something and then you know that others see the same as you and are disturbed by it as well.
Have you guessed of what or of whom I speak?
That's right THE HARRY HILL , programme,'YOU'VE BEEN FRAMED!
Once upon a time a child fell over in the sand, it made us laugh as the mother rushed to their aid and dusted them down, no harm done. Another child ,on their scooter , grass either side, hits a bump and falls off, their sister helps them to their feet and kisses away their tears, helps them back onto the scooter and holds them as they ride. We give an indulgent chuckle, its happened to us many times, or something similar in the past.  Another child , a baby sitting in its high chair trying to feed itself with a spoon, gets its face covered in chocolate pudding, we smile,remembering young Helen or George, Peter or Kyle, they did the exactly same thing when they were young.
Everybody can give their own examples of times gone by.
But have you like me noticed how cruel some of the skits involving children have become? Children are punched, pushed over violently, hit with a variety of implements .Stood on, stamped on. kicked, nearly drowned, driving cars that are too big for them, ending up in a state of shock, and in the background our hero Harry Hill gives his usual  funny voiceover, reading no doubt from a script, also, in the background canned laughter,the audience extolling us all to  laugh with them.
ALL FOR £250 !  All for TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS!
The Producers of this programme are only in it for the money. Harry Hill is only in it for the money, and more importantly the ADVERTISERS are only in it for the money!

What can be done about this terrible state of affairs?  You tell me.

SCOTCH PIES ,PANDAS AND RICH CHINEEEES.

TT."Have you noticed that this place we call home is very busy for two days every ,let me count, one, two, thr--
eM "Every six and seven'th day, its called the weekend.The people have five days working and then two days off".
TT."Excepting the keepers who have the reverse."
eM. "Don't let them hear you."
TT."You don't think, no they can't , can they"?
eM." No."
TT. "I would like to be a gardener".
eM."I'm not going to ask."
TT. "What would you like to be , if you could choose?"
eM. " A scotch egg."
TT. "Fantastic! that reminds me of something the semimonkey said yesterday when you were away".
eM."I don't go away".
TT."Yes you do, in your mind you do, you go away. You sit over there in your basket,shut your eyes and you go away. Nobody can get through to you until you come back.
eM. "What did he say?"
TT."Scotch Pies, it has been shown without a shadow of doubt that Scotch Pies are instrumental in curing, the Pox, Red Rash, Yellow Fever, Black Death, White Death, Flu,Red Running Nose and Acne and they are also very good for the complexion."
eM. "Is this truly true?"
TT."Not really, but the semimonkey is desirous of  giving a little back to this country where we all now live and also of course, sticking it to the rich chineeeese for being so stupid in their illegal use of elephant tusks. The semimonkey tells me that this country that we now live in has a dearth of Scotch Pies and he would like our Government of our country to export as many Scotch Pies to the chineeees mainland where they will be sold to the rich gullable Chineees,he,that is the semimonkey also,says that the rich chineeeees rub whole elephant tusks on their genitailia to increase their sex drive.We are going to inform them surreptitsiously that the same benefits can be obtain by the judicious use of Scotch Pies.
The rich chineeees believe in anything to do with unusual medicines, remember Little Timmy.
eM" Should we have a two minutes silence?
TT."No, not now, later.We are going to sell many, many Scotch Pies to the rich chineees for vast sums of money and some peanuts".
eM. "Is that not a contradiction of terms?
TT."and they say education is going downhill in this country where we now live".

100 years ago. HOUSE OF COMMONS .

I would like to give you a quote,if I may, from an excerpt from MP. Mr. Cowan's speech during, The Government of Scotland Bill,Second Reading, Commons Parliamentary Debate, 30 May 1913     (100 years ago.)

Mr Cowan. "--------- in the second place, let me call attention to an urgent and pressing question, second only to that of self-government land reform.  Hon. Members are well aware that Scotland is being depopulated. They cannot have failed so far in their duty as not to have examined the Emigration Returns.They must know that emigration from Scotland ,according to the last Government Returns is double that from Ireland. What is the explanation? Surely that feudalism, unchecked by legislation ,survives in Scotland. What is feudalism?  I do not think it would be irrelevant for the purpose of this debate if I quoted in this connection the words of a former Unionist President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. In 1904 this Noble Lord wrote,

"Let us not grudge a share in the supply of our wool and our mutton to our Antipodean  brethren,

but keep the Scottish mountains for sport with the noblest wild animals that Britain produces."

end of quote,  sorry sir, sorry for bringing it up, sorry.

A HISTORIC TIME IN THE MAKING? THE REFERENDUM.

This is the time, it may turn out to be a historic time, depending on how the people of Scotland vote, Yes or No. in the upcoming Referendum.

I am a very ordinary person, and I have often wondered at the mindset of the various people when I read their articles in the newspapers or listen to them espouse their cause on TV or on the radio.
Those of whom I speak are in the main articulate ,very well versed in their chosen, usually narrow fields,be it, Politics, Business, Religious matters,Education,The Welfare State,Agriculture,Temperance and its lack of, Sport,The Armed Forces, Law and Order, Banking, the Money Supply, Imports and Exports, the list , just like the experts, goes on and on.
The authorities of whom I speak can, and do, embrace their chosen subjects with fervour and passion.
   In the theatre of dreams, one after the other they enter, stage left.and extole their audience to envisage the ties that bind their subject to the greater entity that once upon a time strode the world stage.After their individual discourse, with the cheers of the audience ringing in their ears,they leave stage right.But, and here's the rub, their audience consists of only the front row,family,friends, and the like minded.The rest of the theatre is empty.
The people on the outside,not looking in, go about their daily business.They are down to earth people,some downtrodden,more so in these straitened times.
  What is it our fellow citizens desire out of life,here in the country that they were born into? The answers are relatively easy, a good education for themselves and their children, decent and affordable housing, ample scope for employment, communities that are strong in the caring for the elderly and the sick.The NHS is high on their list,as is Law and Order. A justice system that doesn't favour the rich and the powerful, freedom of expression, a Government that cares for the needs  of all of its people equally.
Basically,the requirements,the needs, the wants of our fellow citizens is for a better system of government than what we are used to. We want change.We desire to be proud of our own country and our own fellow citizens.We do not want to,or need to be second best to any other country in the whole of the world.In these coming months history can be made,let us all come together and make it.
  

CHESS, DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMERS .

I am,for various reasons,very interested in that scourge of modern life, Dementia and Alzheimers. I have written about this illness previously advocating that we as individuals do all we can to understand and help others so afflicted.
Because of my interest I was quite taken by an article I read in THE SCOTSMAN newspaper. In John B.Hendersons chess column he wrote that there is a growing body of evidence that playing board games such as chess to keep the mind sharp is an effective way of reducing the risk of Dementia, Alzheimer and other mental illnesses .
 Mr Henderson quotes a new study published in the' New England Journal of  Medicine in America', that shows that people over 75 who engaged in leisure activities such as chess are two and a half times less likely to have the debilitating illness. The studies main author, Dr. Robert Freidland, claims  people who don't exercise their grey matter stand a chance of losing cognitive power .While solving crossword and sudoko puzzles are beneficial, they appear less effective than chess.
Speaking personally I am terrible at playing chess, even worse at sudoko and I have yet to finish any of  ' THE SCOTSMAN' crosswords, but I shall keep on trying.

IN CHINA, IVORY CURES EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE LACK OF COMMONSENSE!

 

"Well that was very nice, TT said, wiping her mouth with the back of her paw, what was it?
 "Bamboo", I replied.
   "TT. Thousands of elephants and rhinos are being killed every year and its the chineeeeses fault !
 eM. "Where did you get that from, how do you know?
 TT. "The semimonkey told me, he read it in a newspaper. Its for their ivory you know?
 eM.. I know, and I knows whose to blame,its our old friends the chineeeese!
 TT "What are we going to do about it?
 eM.." I would be very reluctant to do anything at this moment in time.
 TT. "At this moment in time, what does that mean?
 eM."Well, there is a rumour going round that maybe we are going to be parents in the near future
 TT"You mean foster parents, because of the spare room?
 eM.."No,no, real parents, Mummy and Daddy, Mum and Dad, Mu and Da. You get me?
 TT." Do you  by any chance know how cubs are conceived, any idea, an inkling even?
 eM.. "Storks
  TT. "Storks?
 eM. "Yeess! Storks.
  TT " I've heard it all now. Storks!
 eM." How then ,know it all?
 TT." Well its very complicated,listen in, you need at least two pandas and they have to dance and sing and have a party and a bow tie , and you had better not get drunk, and a dress and invitations  and bamboo on plates and vows and a ceremony that has to be conducted by a conductor-at -law. After all that, a bus comes and takes the pandas, and the conductor takes the fares and comes with them to a place that is like a zoo shop but far, far away.There, they are handed a cub, at that age they all look the same, 'I'm calling her Soo, after my own Mummy.
 eM.. "And if it is a male cub?
 TT. "Then he is going  to be called Soo to!
 eM.. "Right lets do it.
 TT. "Hold on, hold on ,There's still the problem with our friends the Elephants and the Hippo's
 eM. "Elephants and Rhino's surely?
  TT."Silly me of course its Rhino's, Hippo's haven't got tusks.
 eM.."What are we going to do then?
  TT."What can we do? I am devoid of ideas.
 eM.."So am I.
 TT."We could have a sit in.
 eM.." We are always sitting in.
 TT." Go slow then.
 eM.." We couldn't go any slower.
 TT" Work to rule ?
 eM." We do not work.
 TT. "When the people take pictures, we could pull funny faces?
 eM. ."You must be joking, they would love that, word gets round and you wouldn't be able to move for snappers.
 TT. "What then?
  eM.. Invite the Chineeeese , the Consulate-General, Mr Li Rui.,he only resides a few hundred yards down the road. We could make it a great occasion , invite other dignitaries to come, you know how the all enjoy a free lunch. The penguins will be only to pleased to form a guard of honour, throw them some fish. The semimonkey can get one of his friends to open Bertie the Rhino's enclosure and when the time is right and the Consulate-General bends down to smell the flowers Bertie will walk all over him, jump up and down, stand on his head, eat his,
 eM.." Hold it, hold it! good grief , that's enough, its not the Consulate- Generals fault that the Chineeeese Government are complicent in the murder of thousands of poor defenceless animals just for their ivory.
 TT." Sorry, once again you are right. I wish I had been born a male.I wish.
 eM.." Here have some bamboo.
 TT. "Thanks,but first, lets have a minutes silence to remember poor Little Timmy.

My add-on ( reported in The Scotsman,4th June 2013,  KONY'S LRA rebels poach elephant ivory to fund the group. Former captives say that LRA. groups in Central African Republic and Congo trade ivory with "unidentified people who arrive in helicopters".   Rich Chineeeese take note!

100 YEARS AGO.HOUSE of COMMONS. HOLYROOD PALACE,(JACK in OFFICE, JOBS WORTH?)

HOLYROOD PALACE. 3 JUNE 1913,
   MR HOGGE  asked the hon. Member for St GEORGE'S- in - the - East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he can say why the Premier of South Australia, the Speaker of the House of  Assembly, the Hon. L. O'Loughlin, were refused admission to Holyrood Palace on Saturday 17 May, although sent by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and accompanied by an official of his lordship in uniform; whether they were informed that permission could only be obtained by written consent of the First Commissioner of Works; and whether steps can be taken to secure that in the future the Lord Provost of Edinburgh may be protected from similar indignity?
    Mr WEDGWOOD BENN (Lord of the Treasury); The First Commissioner has ascertained that these gentlemen  were refused permission by the resident inspector of the Lord Chamberlain. The inspector is not authorised to admit visitors on his own responsibility. The First Commissioner wishes to point out that this regrettable occurrence would have been avoided had some previous intimation been given either to the Lord Chamberlain or to the Office of Works of the desire of these distinguished visitors to visit Holyrood as was done when the same party desired to visit Windsor.
   Mr WATT;Has the first Commissioner corresponded with Mr O'Loughlin apologising for this treatment of him?
   Mr W. BENN; No. I think the mistake was made by those who advised Mr O'Loughlin to visit Holyrood without the necessary permission.
   Mr SWIFT Mac NEILL; If he was not allowed to see the rooms,why was he not allowed to see the precincts of the house?
   Mr W. BENN; The representative of the Office of Works in Edinburgh would himself have accompanied these distinguished visitors to Holyrood had he known they desired to visit it, but Holyrood is now closed, because in the present circumstances that is considered wise.
   Mr SWIFT MacNEILL ; Tell this Jack in office to behave himself.