As forecast the weather around the country has changed with long periods of rain overnight and continuing in places.
Yesterday the government suffered an unexpected defeat in the House of Commons as a number of Labour backbenchers voted for a Liberal Democrat, Conservative supported motion against their approach to allowing retired Ghurkha soldiers and their families to have an automatic right to live in the UK should they wish. A number of others abstained bring the total discontented on the government supporting Party benches to 100.
The government side party administrators were clearly stunned by the result. This morning the Daily Mail said the Home Secretary was blamed for underestimating the opposition and a government member tried to explain that the problem was opposition from within the Ministry of Defence. I thought the Minister of Defence and the Government ran the country not the military brass or Civil Servants at the Defence Ministry. What a pathetic response if accurate from a government Party in charge for over a decade.
Usually in such a situation irrespective of its merits the House of Commons Party managers know in advance who is likely to abstain and vote against and has prepared a series of concessions to announce as the debate progresses if the vote looks like being lost. It appears that this time the concessions were circulated too late and individuals who might have reacted were not informed. Others suggests that the rebels were not interested and sensed blood. This suggests incompetence or does it? I tend to see something more Machiavellian here as a warning shot to the Prime Minister that he does not have the clear run into leading the Party into the next election as he might want to believe.
That the government has got itself into a corner over the claims of the Ghurkhas is extraordinary and does reveal either incompetence in not understanding public feelings or shameful bloody mindedness. It is true that previous administrations were reluctant to make changes to the situation because of the financial and political implications of allowing the Ghurkhas and their families any right to come and live here when their period of service ended. With the regiment now based in the UK this means that without settlement rights the whole family is required to leave unless they meet the present and recently proposed revised criteria.
The government has improved the position and proposed to do so again after a legal judgment that the present situation was unfair and should be immediately changed. However what it has failed to recognise is the immorality of the position that people who are prepared to die for this country should be given not just equal rights to everyone else but should be better treated. The situation is even more extraordinary given the rights of anyone from any of the members states of the EEC to live and work here and is again different from members of the Commonwealth who have also fought alongside the UK.
While there is a strong anti ECC and foreigners mentality among British workers and the trade unions this does not apply to fighting men or the Ghurkhas in particular.
Later on Thursday it emerged that the Government has indicated it will respect the views of the Commons although one suspects formal implementation will be dragged out. Hilary Benn on Question Time attempted to place what has happened in context but all he did was damaged his own standing and reputation as well as digging a bigger hole for the Prime Minister. Whatever he does now it will be difficult to remedy the damage. There is a death wish emerging.
There was the prospect of further humiliation and embarrassing difficulties during Thursday when the House considered proposals of the Prime Minister for changing the situation of expenses payment and second Home allowances in particular. The background is illuminating. The Prime Minister was hostile to the whole issue of the details of Parliamentary payments being disclosed and his solution has been a single payment for those living outside Greater London who attend, again without Members having to disclose the details of how the money is used. This smacks to me that he knows that the Government is going to have a series of major embarrassments when the details of receipts for the past few years are released over the summer and papers, lacking the usual political in fighting to report because of the recess will study every document in the hope of finding anything on which to attack politicians over their gravy train. The Conservatives also appear to have reluctant agreed to the disclosure of incomes form sources outside employment within the House of Commons. One Shadow Minister on Question Time admitted that four months ago he started to received £24000 a year for attending Board meetings as the non executive director of a business which he did not identify arguing this was because he wanted to learn at first hand the problems which business faced. The incredulity on the faces of the audience was a joy to behold. One presumes the invitation would not have been made had the business in question not felt they would be getting value for money in establishing links with someone who was likely to be a member of the next Government. It is customary for all such links to be severed once a member of the House becomes the member of at the links, the contacts will have been established and it is unlikely the Minister would then ignore requests for a meeting or personal telephone calls after any Ministerial appointment, or perhaps a holiday or visit to the Opera or some sporting event. Was he serious suggesting that the firm were shelling out 24 grand a year in order to giving him information about current business issues?
It was evident that the Government Minister and the Conservative Shadow Minister still do not get it. The public has had enough. Both main parties should find this out at the next Euro Elections this month, the public are like to demonstrate their contempt by a vote strike and the Liberal Democrats, anti EEC candidates and others will be the beneficiaries. On the bright side Labour Party Members of the House of Commons realising they are doomed to lose their jobs at the General Election will start to vote according to conscience.
There was no cricket Thursday morning which meant that in theory there was opportunity to attend to other matters.
Priority was my feet where the skin has become rough and I had been intended to apply some special cream in the hope that at the end of the course the position will be improved. I have the tendency to go about in stockinged feet such is the quality of the carpeting and since covering the kitchen tiles with wood flooring. About a week ago I clattered my left big toe into the exercise bike which had been moved from its usual position in order to find something in the unit cupboard adjacent. It has been painful, and awkward to avoid pain when in bed. I have gone out wearing sandals which have more comfortable than show although required due care with the exposed damaged toe.
I was right about the cricket in that there was little play, fortunately everywhere, so that most teams playing the fist division will only draw. I was also right that it would be difficult for Durham to repeat their success on Wednesday and Marcus Trescothick and James Hildreth added nearly one hundred runs to reach 170 runs without the loss of their wickets.
In the evening I enjoyed American Idol where there were some stunning performances of ballad type numbers with Jamie Foxx the tutor. On Friday evening the result of 45 million voting calls was announced Throughout the series Adam Lambart has produced spectacular numbers highly theatrical and confident and reminding me of Rhydian who has gone on to have a career on the West End stage and to make an album to-date. He is appearing at the Apollo Hammersmith this Sunday and last minute discount tickets are available! The surprise was that Adam was not in the top two and finished fourth to Matt who had been saved by a judges vote towards the end of the series and had been in the bottom three before.
Adam is aged 26 and grew up in San Diego California and attended Mr Carmel High. His main interest was the theatre and becoming an Actor although he sang in the choir and played in the school jazz band. He moved to Los Angeles to further his career and before beings elected for the American Idol series he had moderate success. He has been the best supported of all the last ten by all four judges and therefore his relegation to being an outsider in the final came as a shock to many.
Not a shock was the placement of Danny Gokey in the top two this week. First his performance Come Rain or Shine was outstanding and showed a stage presence not revealed before and where the role of Jamie Foxx appears to have been crucial. There were two other reasons why he is evidently commanding votes in their millions. The first is his personal story Danny grew up in Milwaukee party of a large family with four sister and one brother. At the age of 17 he met his future wife and they had a long engagement before their marriage in 2004. He was aware that his wife had congenital heart diseases and had required several operations and four weeks before the first audition for American Idol his wife unexpectedly died from a routine operation. Thus through his performance he has communicated a man who has known great sorrow. The other reason si that Danny is not just a strong Christian but has been an active member of the Faith Builders International Ministry and is presently Worship director for his evangelical church. One suspects that Danny could sing the phone book badly and still command significant support. However he is a brilliant singer and open forecast he will have a great career, tinged with sadness.
The second surprise of the evening is that eh shared the top two spot with Allison Iraheta who has just turned 17 years. Although also living in Los Angeles she is of Salvadorian descent and ahs already own a talent show with a monetary prize and a recording contract when she only 14. Her voice has a maturity way above her years and Simon in particular has been critical because of lack of confidence and super star stage presence. He predicted she would not survive this round after her performance. In addition to gaining the non white vote and the youth vote she has been the only female among five, then four and now three males.
The fourth finalist Kris Allen is also an evangelical Christian who has undertaken missionary work in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and Thailand although he is only 24 years old. He self taught himself to play the guitar at thirteen and can also play the piano, viola and the ukulele. In the autumn of last year his married a long standing girl friend. He had recorded three songs with limited success before appearing on the show.
There was also an interesting new Taggart in which one of the team finds out the hard way the peril of mixing business with pleasure as to villains, one a big villain are shot in the head by a besotted but vulnerable casual bed partner. Such is life.
Friday started sunny and warm and I decided to undertake a shopping expedition in search of a replacement Cafetiere and a travel alarm clock as well as more black folders. Originally I was just going to Morrison’s at Jarrow but then decided to take the Metro to Gateshead Interchange centre where I found the Get Carter car park surrounded by hoardings but not yet demolished. The visit was a great success finding a six cup Cafetiere in an attractive stainless steel holder for £10 and then as a bonus two new thermos in steel but with a two for £5 offer with one having a blue and the other a crimson red attractive covering. One of my existing ones had become smelly and he other did not function as I liked if used for and these two cost less than one of the originals. Now I shall use the original for cold which appears to work and one of the new for coffee and the other for soup with perhaps a fourth later for tea. I also obtained four of the black set folders. However I forgot to look out for a simple travel alarm clock but made a note to call in at the Jarrow Wilkinsons which I would pass on the way back.
At Gateshead you enter the bus station to reach the Metro station which is two flights of moving staircases below and I spotted a number 27 bus calling at Jarrow. However instead of taking the main route through from Gateshead Town centre passed the Gateshead Stadium we went South and then on a parallel Road to Howarth Interchange which I have used in the past but where most of the older terraced housing running down to the Metro line has been demolished without any sign of replacement building. From there we took the expected route by Pelaw until the outskirts of Hebburn where instead of continuing the bus turned South passing the Hebburn branch of South Tyneside College and the Catholic senior school. Hebburn is a mini Northern Ireland in reverse where there remains a strong traditional and predominant Catholic community which never elected a non Catholic to the Borough Council for years. The Hebburn Catholic Club which I have visited was a large modern building whereas the Conservative and Unionist building was much smaller and dilapidated. Today it is unashamedly the Orange Order Club.
The bus continued southward towards the road heading for the AIM when by a splendid sport pub restaurant it turned into the adjacent Housing estate. I know the pub well because for many year I would often call in for a meal before or after watching Newcastle play at home. They had an excellent menu full of 2 for the price of 1 offers and a large screen to watch whatever match was being shown by Sky.
I knew of the estate and many of the names including the main road of Finchale Avenue. It is a wide avenue and there are plenty of open space giving a very different perspective to the former Borough in term a of being a former local authority owned and managed housing estate. I had never had cause to visit this area as we had no establishment located. The road back, having travelled in a large oblong took us past the former Council Borough Council offices where we had an Adult Training centre which continues to exist and the second major swimming pool in South Tyneside. There were public bather in Jarrow but these are long since closed and demolished. Not so Palmer’s Memorial Hospital which I was asked to supp0rt the campaign to keep open when the District health Authority became an enthusiast for centralization. Now brand new purpose designed health centres with day surgery facilities are springing up all over the place.
I found an inexpensive alarm clock and bought two more packs of Strawberries and one of grapes at the green grocers where I called in a couple of days before and then faced the Morrison‘s shop which was packed out, presumably because of a Bank Holiday on Monday although it may be like this every Friday. I was able to purchase everything on my list. On the way out I had called in at Lidl who had advertised a sale of alarm clock among their special offers and which had triggered the idea of getting one when I found the offers where scheduled to start on Monday.
The skies darkened as I returned and it commenced to rain heavily. I thought this was a bad omen for the cricket and I was not wrong.
Yesterday the government suffered an unexpected defeat in the House of Commons as a number of Labour backbenchers voted for a Liberal Democrat, Conservative supported motion against their approach to allowing retired Ghurkha soldiers and their families to have an automatic right to live in the UK should they wish. A number of others abstained bring the total discontented on the government supporting Party benches to 100.
The government side party administrators were clearly stunned by the result. This morning the Daily Mail said the Home Secretary was blamed for underestimating the opposition and a government member tried to explain that the problem was opposition from within the Ministry of Defence. I thought the Minister of Defence and the Government ran the country not the military brass or Civil Servants at the Defence Ministry. What a pathetic response if accurate from a government Party in charge for over a decade.
Usually in such a situation irrespective of its merits the House of Commons Party managers know in advance who is likely to abstain and vote against and has prepared a series of concessions to announce as the debate progresses if the vote looks like being lost. It appears that this time the concessions were circulated too late and individuals who might have reacted were not informed. Others suggests that the rebels were not interested and sensed blood. This suggests incompetence or does it? I tend to see something more Machiavellian here as a warning shot to the Prime Minister that he does not have the clear run into leading the Party into the next election as he might want to believe.
That the government has got itself into a corner over the claims of the Ghurkhas is extraordinary and does reveal either incompetence in not understanding public feelings or shameful bloody mindedness. It is true that previous administrations were reluctant to make changes to the situation because of the financial and political implications of allowing the Ghurkhas and their families any right to come and live here when their period of service ended. With the regiment now based in the UK this means that without settlement rights the whole family is required to leave unless they meet the present and recently proposed revised criteria.
The government has improved the position and proposed to do so again after a legal judgment that the present situation was unfair and should be immediately changed. However what it has failed to recognise is the immorality of the position that people who are prepared to die for this country should be given not just equal rights to everyone else but should be better treated. The situation is even more extraordinary given the rights of anyone from any of the members states of the EEC to live and work here and is again different from members of the Commonwealth who have also fought alongside the UK.
While there is a strong anti ECC and foreigners mentality among British workers and the trade unions this does not apply to fighting men or the Ghurkhas in particular.
Later on Thursday it emerged that the Government has indicated it will respect the views of the Commons although one suspects formal implementation will be dragged out. Hilary Benn on Question Time attempted to place what has happened in context but all he did was damaged his own standing and reputation as well as digging a bigger hole for the Prime Minister. Whatever he does now it will be difficult to remedy the damage. There is a death wish emerging.
There was the prospect of further humiliation and embarrassing difficulties during Thursday when the House considered proposals of the Prime Minister for changing the situation of expenses payment and second Home allowances in particular. The background is illuminating. The Prime Minister was hostile to the whole issue of the details of Parliamentary payments being disclosed and his solution has been a single payment for those living outside Greater London who attend, again without Members having to disclose the details of how the money is used. This smacks to me that he knows that the Government is going to have a series of major embarrassments when the details of receipts for the past few years are released over the summer and papers, lacking the usual political in fighting to report because of the recess will study every document in the hope of finding anything on which to attack politicians over their gravy train. The Conservatives also appear to have reluctant agreed to the disclosure of incomes form sources outside employment within the House of Commons. One Shadow Minister on Question Time admitted that four months ago he started to received £24000 a year for attending Board meetings as the non executive director of a business which he did not identify arguing this was because he wanted to learn at first hand the problems which business faced. The incredulity on the faces of the audience was a joy to behold. One presumes the invitation would not have been made had the business in question not felt they would be getting value for money in establishing links with someone who was likely to be a member of the next Government. It is customary for all such links to be severed once a member of the House becomes the member of at the links, the contacts will have been established and it is unlikely the Minister would then ignore requests for a meeting or personal telephone calls after any Ministerial appointment, or perhaps a holiday or visit to the Opera or some sporting event. Was he serious suggesting that the firm were shelling out 24 grand a year in order to giving him information about current business issues?
It was evident that the Government Minister and the Conservative Shadow Minister still do not get it. The public has had enough. Both main parties should find this out at the next Euro Elections this month, the public are like to demonstrate their contempt by a vote strike and the Liberal Democrats, anti EEC candidates and others will be the beneficiaries. On the bright side Labour Party Members of the House of Commons realising they are doomed to lose their jobs at the General Election will start to vote according to conscience.
There was no cricket Thursday morning which meant that in theory there was opportunity to attend to other matters.
Priority was my feet where the skin has become rough and I had been intended to apply some special cream in the hope that at the end of the course the position will be improved. I have the tendency to go about in stockinged feet such is the quality of the carpeting and since covering the kitchen tiles with wood flooring. About a week ago I clattered my left big toe into the exercise bike which had been moved from its usual position in order to find something in the unit cupboard adjacent. It has been painful, and awkward to avoid pain when in bed. I have gone out wearing sandals which have more comfortable than show although required due care with the exposed damaged toe.
I was right about the cricket in that there was little play, fortunately everywhere, so that most teams playing the fist division will only draw. I was also right that it would be difficult for Durham to repeat their success on Wednesday and Marcus Trescothick and James Hildreth added nearly one hundred runs to reach 170 runs without the loss of their wickets.
In the evening I enjoyed American Idol where there were some stunning performances of ballad type numbers with Jamie Foxx the tutor. On Friday evening the result of 45 million voting calls was announced Throughout the series Adam Lambart has produced spectacular numbers highly theatrical and confident and reminding me of Rhydian who has gone on to have a career on the West End stage and to make an album to-date. He is appearing at the Apollo Hammersmith this Sunday and last minute discount tickets are available! The surprise was that Adam was not in the top two and finished fourth to Matt who had been saved by a judges vote towards the end of the series and had been in the bottom three before.
Adam is aged 26 and grew up in San Diego California and attended Mr Carmel High. His main interest was the theatre and becoming an Actor although he sang in the choir and played in the school jazz band. He moved to Los Angeles to further his career and before beings elected for the American Idol series he had moderate success. He has been the best supported of all the last ten by all four judges and therefore his relegation to being an outsider in the final came as a shock to many.
Not a shock was the placement of Danny Gokey in the top two this week. First his performance Come Rain or Shine was outstanding and showed a stage presence not revealed before and where the role of Jamie Foxx appears to have been crucial. There were two other reasons why he is evidently commanding votes in their millions. The first is his personal story Danny grew up in Milwaukee party of a large family with four sister and one brother. At the age of 17 he met his future wife and they had a long engagement before their marriage in 2004. He was aware that his wife had congenital heart diseases and had required several operations and four weeks before the first audition for American Idol his wife unexpectedly died from a routine operation. Thus through his performance he has communicated a man who has known great sorrow. The other reason si that Danny is not just a strong Christian but has been an active member of the Faith Builders International Ministry and is presently Worship director for his evangelical church. One suspects that Danny could sing the phone book badly and still command significant support. However he is a brilliant singer and open forecast he will have a great career, tinged with sadness.
The second surprise of the evening is that eh shared the top two spot with Allison Iraheta who has just turned 17 years. Although also living in Los Angeles she is of Salvadorian descent and ahs already own a talent show with a monetary prize and a recording contract when she only 14. Her voice has a maturity way above her years and Simon in particular has been critical because of lack of confidence and super star stage presence. He predicted she would not survive this round after her performance. In addition to gaining the non white vote and the youth vote she has been the only female among five, then four and now three males.
The fourth finalist Kris Allen is also an evangelical Christian who has undertaken missionary work in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and Thailand although he is only 24 years old. He self taught himself to play the guitar at thirteen and can also play the piano, viola and the ukulele. In the autumn of last year his married a long standing girl friend. He had recorded three songs with limited success before appearing on the show.
There was also an interesting new Taggart in which one of the team finds out the hard way the peril of mixing business with pleasure as to villains, one a big villain are shot in the head by a besotted but vulnerable casual bed partner. Such is life.
Friday started sunny and warm and I decided to undertake a shopping expedition in search of a replacement Cafetiere and a travel alarm clock as well as more black folders. Originally I was just going to Morrison’s at Jarrow but then decided to take the Metro to Gateshead Interchange centre where I found the Get Carter car park surrounded by hoardings but not yet demolished. The visit was a great success finding a six cup Cafetiere in an attractive stainless steel holder for £10 and then as a bonus two new thermos in steel but with a two for £5 offer with one having a blue and the other a crimson red attractive covering. One of my existing ones had become smelly and he other did not function as I liked if used for and these two cost less than one of the originals. Now I shall use the original for cold which appears to work and one of the new for coffee and the other for soup with perhaps a fourth later for tea. I also obtained four of the black set folders. However I forgot to look out for a simple travel alarm clock but made a note to call in at the Jarrow Wilkinsons which I would pass on the way back.
At Gateshead you enter the bus station to reach the Metro station which is two flights of moving staircases below and I spotted a number 27 bus calling at Jarrow. However instead of taking the main route through from Gateshead Town centre passed the Gateshead Stadium we went South and then on a parallel Road to Howarth Interchange which I have used in the past but where most of the older terraced housing running down to the Metro line has been demolished without any sign of replacement building. From there we took the expected route by Pelaw until the outskirts of Hebburn where instead of continuing the bus turned South passing the Hebburn branch of South Tyneside College and the Catholic senior school. Hebburn is a mini Northern Ireland in reverse where there remains a strong traditional and predominant Catholic community which never elected a non Catholic to the Borough Council for years. The Hebburn Catholic Club which I have visited was a large modern building whereas the Conservative and Unionist building was much smaller and dilapidated. Today it is unashamedly the Orange Order Club.
The bus continued southward towards the road heading for the AIM when by a splendid sport pub restaurant it turned into the adjacent Housing estate. I know the pub well because for many year I would often call in for a meal before or after watching Newcastle play at home. They had an excellent menu full of 2 for the price of 1 offers and a large screen to watch whatever match was being shown by Sky.
I knew of the estate and many of the names including the main road of Finchale Avenue. It is a wide avenue and there are plenty of open space giving a very different perspective to the former Borough in term a of being a former local authority owned and managed housing estate. I had never had cause to visit this area as we had no establishment located. The road back, having travelled in a large oblong took us past the former Council Borough Council offices where we had an Adult Training centre which continues to exist and the second major swimming pool in South Tyneside. There were public bather in Jarrow but these are long since closed and demolished. Not so Palmer’s Memorial Hospital which I was asked to supp0rt the campaign to keep open when the District health Authority became an enthusiast for centralization. Now brand new purpose designed health centres with day surgery facilities are springing up all over the place.
I found an inexpensive alarm clock and bought two more packs of Strawberries and one of grapes at the green grocers where I called in a couple of days before and then faced the Morrison‘s shop which was packed out, presumably because of a Bank Holiday on Monday although it may be like this every Friday. I was able to purchase everything on my list. On the way out I had called in at Lidl who had advertised a sale of alarm clock among their special offers and which had triggered the idea of getting one when I found the offers where scheduled to start on Monday.
The skies darkened as I returned and it commenced to rain heavily. I thought this was a bad omen for the cricket and I was not wrong.
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