Spring

May continues and is nearly at an end already! I have been busy with marking student work and trying to fathom out how to fill in a French tax form. The forms finally became available on the 9th May, to be filled in and returned by the 31st with fines for being late! This is one of the most frustrating things about France. A bureaucracy that makes the UK look simple with people employed to run it in the least efficient way possible! Well, we will do our best sfe in the knowledge that even if we got it right the chances of anyone in the tax office of being able to work it out are slim, so we expect them either to ignore it completely or return it as 'unacceptable' when we will get a D- and told to do better!

Ian has been continuing with the garage. The batons are on for the wall panels and we have been boarding off a little of the inside walls so that we can move our boxes out of storage for the first time in 18 months!

The weather remains mixed but this year the wild flowers have been out in abundance, including the orchids, although this time they are hidden in the field amongst the grass.

Walking the dog has become difficult as the grass is too long and when he decided to run off after a scent he disappears into the field and we can't see him! With that in mind Ian repaired the tractor this week and ewas able to cut a path around the edge.

I should really take Gremlin for a walk now but as I look out it is pouring with rain, so he may have to wait a bit!

The other news is that France has a new president, Monsieur Hollandaise as they have nicknamed him. I don't know in the end whether it will make much difference whoever is in government but even if I did have an opinion I couldn't vote anyway!

Stalemate

I can just about remember the last time that we had a hung parliament.  According to the records it was 36 years ago so at that point I was not old enough to vote, although still had an interest in politics.  I can remember that although there was a lot of discussion not much happened and life carried on. My parents thought that a hung parliament taught the politicians a lesson but in the end was not a good thing as nothing much happened. They did not like the instability and after experiencing a hung parliament and then a Labour government with a small majority I think most people decided that proportional representation was not the way forward. In 1979 Mrs Thatcher and the Conservative party were elected and stayed in power for almost two decades. I remember hating the fact that for 20 years of my adult life I had never lived under a government that I had voted for.

I am now about the age my parents were in 1974. I think the government and parties got what they deserved but I have no illusions that having a hung or 'balanced' parliament (depending on your view) will make any difference what so ever to the state of things. Minority issues will remain just that in the face of the economic crisis. Promises will be put on hold for the future and then never materialise and we will not have proportional representation as if it was put to a referendum in the end the majority would not vote for it. Lets see if I'm right!

Cameron goes viral

Okay. I said I wasn't going to write about the election again, but today I got an email from David Cameron. It was addressed to me personally.

Dear Linda,
Next month, you'll get to choose a new government. But don't just choose it, be a part of it. I mean it. We've got big problems in this country and the truth is politicians can't do everything on their own. We need your energy, your ideas, your passion to get this country moving.

There was an acompanying video. It also asked me to 

spread the word. I'm asking you to send this invitation on to just three friends, workmates or family members. Get them involved too. Extend the invitation. Together we can build the future.

I did and this was the reply:

words escape me, and to think that that idiot might be in charge in a month’s time – oh God

Bloody election

I didn't read a paper or listen to English news for the entire 10 days that we were away and I have returned to find that there is an election in May. Not really a suprise but I just can't work out any enthusiasm for it at all. When I was younger I used to be bothered. When Stephen Twigg beat Michael Portillo to win for Labour in Enfield (my consituency at the time) my neighbours and I came out and danced in the street. Now when I look at them all I see complete mediocracy. Nothing inspires me about any of them. Mrs Thatcher was rememberred for starting the 'me' culture and Tony Blair will be rememberred for creating the 'spin' culture. Today I watched a clip on TV where David Cameron spoke about the loss of his son after a long illness (and hence how dedicated he will be to the NHS)  It was very moving but I couldn't help but think what a cynical ploy that was to gain the sympathy vote by using the memory of his dead son. Still, people have done and will do much worse.

I have no idea who I will vote for, I have no interest in things political at the moment and I will not mention the election again here!

Depressingly un-sexy

Every morning I set my radio alarm to wake me up with the Radio 4 Today Programme. I know I have become like all those bitter and twisted 50 somethings I remember working with, who are counting off the days until retirement, but the news today was depressing. A survey by the Alzheimer's disease society found that people with dementia get a poor deal when they are admitted to medical wards. They often spend longer in hospital than people with similar conditions without dementia and when they are finally discharged their dementia is often worse. This "news" was met with instant condmenation from all political parties (rightly so, but then there is an election approaching) and plans for action.

 I say "news" because to me this is sadly not news. Fifteen years ago when I was last working as a clinician this was the situation and in fact it was the topic of my colleague's PhD thesis. The reasons cited at the time were the same as the reasons now; lack of training and skills from staff in knowing how to manage people with dementia, unsuitable environments, lack of resources. There were outcries, plans, policies (I can remember going to a few meetings and consultations in various organisations) and, as I'm sure there was an election then, there were statements that this would change and a lot of guidelines produced. Obviously they were effective!

As I see it, there are several problems:
Training is rationed in the NHS and expensive. Over the last years training budgets have been cut. Training for unqualified staff is carried out on the job (a good thing)  by senior staff who also have little basic knowledge about care (not a good thing).
There is a high staff turnover on these wards due to the unrelenting pressure of the job (and poor pay and conditions, especially for the lowest paid who have the most patient contact). Even if staff have training they usually leave before they can put anything into practice.
Medical wards are usually under-staffed.
Dementia is still not 'sexy'. The majority of people with dementia are frail and elderly and Terry Hatchet, Ronald Regan and Iris Murdoch are the exceptions (and can or could afford proper care).
Solving these problems is not difficult but does require money and as there are an awful lot of people with Alzheimers it requires an awful lot of money.

So instead, governments prefer to spend money on cheaper but higher profile things that seem more trendy. Also on my local news this morning was the story that our local NHS  Trust is opening an walk-in health centre at the railway station where people can "see a GP or nurse from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week".
 A statement from the chairman of the local trust said

" the centre will also be able to look after anyone else who needs to see a GP or nurse, whether they live locally or are simply visiting Eastbourne or working in the town. It is all about making it easier for people to get the care they need at a time and place convenient to them."

I can't help wondering why we need such a place. Do you get off the train in Eastbourne and say "Ahh. on my way to the seafront I'll just pop in and ask this nice doctor (who knows nothing about me and my medical history) about the stomach ache I've got this morning" 

Given the population profile of Eastbourne the money would have been better spent on the former problem but a GP and a nurse in an office at the train station is cheaper than the cost of ensuring that your basic services are up to scratch and a lot more trendy (just like on Street Doctor).

Another day in parliament

What a load of scumbags our politicians are. First of all they are caught with their hand in the till and then in indignation and to deflect the attention from themselves (and no doubt gain some kind of political advantage- I didn't know the name of the leader of the liberal-democrats until now) they blame the speaker. Not that I am saying he is blameless, but he is not responsible for all those individual MPs that submitted receipts for dog food, kit-kats, and mortgages that didn't exist. If any young person with an ounce of integrity was thinking of a political career this will undoubtedly dissuade them from that choice and attract those who are more interested in the power and the kudos and will get to their grubby ends by any means. Such is the way of the world I fear!

Human nature

Elliot Morely's accounting skills were so poor that he 'mistakenly' managed to claim for a £16,000 mortgage that he had already paid. Of course we don't believe that at all, but if it were true for one moment what would it say about the level of competence of government ministers?! Thank God he was only doing something as unimportant as climate change minister! Clare Short, on the other hand was a member of the cabinet in 2006 when she claims she made an 'honest mistake' in over-claiming £8,000 in expenses for her second home. I can't help thinking that if I made an 'honest mistake' on that scale I would be out of a job and struck off the professional register and if my neighbours happen to "forget" to tell the Benefits Agency that they worked a few nights in the local pub while collecting their supplementary benefit they would probably be sent to Prison.

Another thing my father used to say was that Labour politicians always got caughtin the end with their hand in the till and Tories caught in bed with someone they shouldn't have!

Great Lies

I can't understand why everyone is so surprised that members of all political parties have been caught fiddling their expenses. As far as I can see fiddling expenses (or claiming that you have not fiddled your expenses) is one of the great lies of mankind. (Other great lies include "I gave at the office", "the cheque's in the post" and "It's me not you").

Take this recent reminder from our workplace...

Just a gentle reminder about your mileage claims and how these work in relation to the travel to your normal workplace. I have copied the relevant extract from the staff handbook below:

1.1 When travelling between sites you should claim mileage in accordance with the distances given on the inter-site mileage chart published on the website and in the Staff Handbook.

1.2 If you travel between your home and a location other than your normal place of work, you should deduct the miles/cost of your normal journey to work, if ascertainable, from the total and claim only for the additional cost incurred.

1.3 You are entitled to claim for parking charges. Parking fines will not be paid.

I enclose the inter-site mileage chart and also the mileage chart I have compiled using previous travel claims etc. The mileage on my chart should of course only be used if you actually travel from work.

Now who of us have not slipped in a few extra miles or combined some work related travel (which we have claimed back) with a visit to an old friend in the area? Have you ever extended an overseas business trip into the weekend and had a nice jolly with the travel expenses paid by your employer?

You are only disappointed that our politicians have been doing this as well (all be it on a larger scale) if you believed that somehow politicians were more honest than the rest of us and that would be naivety in the extreme!

My father used to say to me when I was a child

"Lovely, everyone is one the fiddle".

I used to think he was an embittered cynic!

Mother's tales

Today was spent visiting my mother and she was in good form. She is properly settled into her apartment now and seems to enjoy having other people nearby to the extent that it has given her the confidence to get out and about when she can. She is certainly slow and unsteady on her feet and I can understand her reluctance to walk what for her seems a long distance when it is all up hill. This is made worse by the fact that the pavements and kerbs on her route are broken, uneven and there are no suitable places to cross the street. I was going to take some photos of her trying to get around and send it in to the local council only I ran out of memory on my camera. It will have to wait until my next visit. We had a nice meal in the local curry house. Perhaps a strange choice for an Easter Sunday but I haven't had curry for ages and my mother also enjoys it from time to time. We walked up and back and then sat to rest for a while in her flat.

My mother spent most of her life as a secretary to various men. She started in the civil service and then worked for an accountant, finishing off in a big charitable organisation. She was able to take shorthand, was a touch typist and was also involved in organising the day to day life of her boss. I suppose we would now call her a Personal Assistant. She worked before the days of Internet, emails and computers when the 'boss' never wrote or composed anything himself and at best would dictate a letter for her to edit and type and present for signing. She watched the story of the senior government official who had to quit because he sent some ill advised email with some amusement.

"I thought to myself.. in my day if you had a good secretary this wouldn't have happened. We all worked for these men who were always apt to do stupid things, because after all, they are men! Your job as a secretary was to watch out for them, and if they looked like they were about to do something stupid you tactfully asked them if they were really sure they wanted to send that letter or note and pointed out what might happen if they did"

Nowadays of course once you press the SEND button the damage has been done and can't be undone, you type your own letters, and if you have a secretary and if he or she is bright enough to work out that you are about to be a bit of an ar*e then they would immediately send a copy of the email to the local tabloid journalist and take the cash reward!

The work of remaking America.(New year, new president)

I left work a little early today to watch the inauguration of President Obama. I am not a fan of American politics and I am sure in the future the swearing in of the first African American president and all the fuss it engendered will seem quite quaint and racist in itself, in the same way that now no one comments on the fact that their bus driver is woman even though 10 years ago that would have been remarkable. Anyway, I can remember stories of segregation, discrimination and violence in the Southern States as I was growing up, I can remember the shooting of Martin Luther King and I can remember listening to Aretha Franklin so the ceremony today had some poignancy even for me.

It certainly moved millions of Americans to stand for hours in temperatures well below freezing to witness it. Mind you, at least they could wear coats, hats and jackets! The presidential party, in their smart suits and thin looking coats must have been freezing! I hope they were wearing decent thermal underwear! Obama's daughter was taking photos of her dad taking his oath which maybe one day will appear on her own blog or in her memoirs, or just serve as a personal memento of the day. Obama's speech was as we all expected as he is a good orator. It was timely and well written (apparently the writer is only 27 years old, which pleases me to think that there is such talent in the young). My hope is that he does go on to be a different and new kind of president not because he is black but because he does the right things. In the end I hope that we all find the fact that he is black unremarkable.

One thing that I did wake up to today was just how carefully timed Israel's attack on Palestine was. It was begun over Christmas in the midst of a handover of power and declared over the day before Obama's inauguration. I can't begin to understand the Middle East Situation but whatever your views and beliefs, as people are allowed in now to view the aftermath it seems to be becoming clear that there were some dreadful atrocities. Whether all of these turn out to have been deliberate or so called 'mistakes of war' we will probably never know.

A new broom

I'm not a great fan of American politics but I was moved when I heard that black American voters took pictures of their dead parents and grandparents with them into the ballot box to be with them when they voted for the first black American president. I was too young to really understand what was going on the the 1960s in the United States but when I saw Jessie Jackson with tears in his eyes as Barack Obama swept to victory I got some sense of what it might have meant.

Good and bad in America

I have a confession and that is when I get in from work and make myself a cup of tea one of my favourite ways of relaxing is to watch Judge Judy. For those who are not followers, it is an American TV show, where people bring their small claims court cases to be heard in front of a real judge on prime time TV. The cases are mostly minor, usually relating to money and relationships and I will leave you speculate about the people who are happy to air their grievances in public, suffice to say the phrase 'trailer trash' enters my head a lot. Judge Judy herself is a shrewd New Yorker who relishes in telling it like it is... a woman after my own heart!

Conversely I am not that interested in the American election, even though the staged debates do have the air of a Judge Judy court room about them. When I first heard that Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter was pregnant I didn't immediately make the connection but when I read that she was accused of abusing her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper because he was going through a bitter divorce and custody battle with her sister I began to see that Judge Judy really does represent all walks of life.

Saving the economy

Yet more dealings and negotiations have occurred over the last few days to try to stop the city talking itself into economic meltdown. The upshot is that shares rose again and my brother now works for the government after his bank was nationalised. He is looking forward to less pay, shorter hours, more holidays and paid sick leave.

Mandi's return

One day you are in the next day you are out, or vice-versa! My cat Mandi was actually named Mandelson, after Peter. For a while everyone thought it was rather funny but in recent years I have got the the point where I don't even bother to explain the true origins, just saying that it is an abbreviation that stuck. The most anyone ever queries is why my male cat has a girl's name. That is until last week and the reincarnation of Peter Mandelson in the government. After years in the wilderness Mandi has returned!

All that we know is nothing really changes

So in the end the governments had to step in and stop the significant economies of the world from going down the toilet. Suddenly people are saying that speculative trading is immoral (which it probably is but no one worried about it when everything was going well and they were making lots of money). I have lived through a stock market crash and house price crisis before. At one time I had significant negative equity in my tiny, grotty one bedroom flat in a not too nice part of London. I was discussing this with a colleague the other day and we agreed that this experience had made us much more cautious so we do not have enormous debts or generally think it is okay to live above our means. If this experience makes another generation more cautious in the future and less inclined to believe the people trying to sell them the impossible then that is not a bad thing. I think these things are just part of the natural cycle of life recorded in the Bible and probably known for time immemorial. You have seven years of prosperity and seven years of famine and you must save in the prosperous times for the famine. Shame those gambling on the money market did not take note.

On being totally honest

So Gordon Brown has admitted that his performance lately during the imminent collapse of all Western economies has not been that good. Unfortunately, although I admire honesty in this instance it does not make me feel better! Its a bit like that question they used to ask at job interviews, "what are your strengths and weaknesses?" Now we all know that you have to answer this question strategically and balance your reasoned account of your great strengths with a mention of one or two fairly innocuous weaknesses that will not stand in the way of you getting the job. Similarly, when I was writing my PhD thesis I got to the bit where you have to evaluate and discuss the limitations of your study and my supervisor wisely told me to explain any that were blindingly obvious but not to discuss any of the more minor ones unless compelled to by the examiner. I guess it was bl**dy obvious that he wasn't doing very well but his statement that he 'hoped to do better' did not fill me with confidence!