Broken Britain

In response to the mindless violence and destruction across the UK, this quote from an anonymous Surrey police officer says it all really and I agree wholeheartedly with every word...


'The UK will continue to be under siege from the mindless violence until something changes in the way we police this country. When my granddad was a police officer in the 1940s he was feared by those who broke laws. He acted professionally and upheld the law, but did not have worry about trial by media if used force to restore order. Every use of force by a police officer in the UK has to be documented and justified. Many officers will not use the force necessary to restore order as they fear for their jobs and liberty! The interview with the two teenage girls on Monday shows this really well where they state 'we are showing the police we can do what we want!' The yobs and looters need something to fear [the police] or they will continue their reign of terror on the law abiding community'.

Doing fine on a budget & Kwik Fit

Like many, we have been living on a budget for some time now. It's easy to assume that having a limit to the amount you can spend on food and consumables would be restrictive and force us to do without things. In fact the opposite is true. There are things certainly that we no longer buy but these are unhealthy foods and things that we really didn't need. In fact our new buying habits have enabled me to lose 6lbs in two weeks. I now actually enjoy being the careful shopper, hunting out bargains and trying to get the most for every penny. We now buy a lot of the things that are good for us and I'm really getting to enjoy the new healthy lifestyle. This has been helped in part by healthy eating money off vouchers which are now available in most supermarkets.
So out have gone the crisps and the fatty, sweet snacks and in are the crisp bread, the cracker and the granary loaf. We're eating just as well, feeling full, and shedding pounds. So all's good.

We had cause to get a new tyre fitted to the car yesterday. The inside rear had worn on the outer edge and it really needed doing. So we popped to our Spalding Kwik Fit and on arrival found all the bays full with cars. Fearing a long wait, my wife and son popped to a local store for some bits and pieces while I stayed at the garage. Before I knew it, the car was on the ramp, a space having been made almost immediately and the new tyre was being fitted. The whole thing too just 10 minutes by which time my wife and son had arrived back from their short trip. I'm not normally very complimentary when it comes to customer service but on this occasion, Kwik Fit are certainly worthy of my praise. A job very well done and worth all of the £55 spent.

I haven't mentioned the outcome of my medical examination last Thursday for my new job. This is mainly because, I haven't heard from my prospective employer though I was informed I had passed by the doctor I saw. It is true I'm not in perfect working order and do have to take some medication daily to control a few things, but I am physically fit and able to drive any size of vehicle safely. So I'm hopeful I'll hear something soon. I know they were checking my references last Friday as I had a call asking for my RBS employee number.

My vegetable plot is coming on nicely and things have begun to take root and start growing. I am having real problems with slugs for which there appear to be thousands all over the garden. I am using two beer traps and these have been very effective though I suspect the buggers have staggered into them after munching their way through my cucumber plants...

I've managed to transplant my honeydew watermelon plants from their propagator to a grow bag in my conservatory. I'm hopeful this will provide the ideal conditions needed, but time will tell.

There's a lot in the news at the moment about unrest across London sparked by the shooting in Tottenham last Thursday. There can be no justification whatsoever for the mindless violence and willful destruction we have witnessed. The investigation should be allowed to proceed and a full inquiry should take place to discover who was at fault. If the police are found to be at fault, then justice should be served according to law and there should be transparency at every stage.