Unions do not want to strike

There has been interesting discussions about unions.  Some say that they are against people being in work. Well, let me say, that considering they depend on people who are working joining them, that is an insane argument. At the moment, unions are being portrayed as being happy to strike. Those in work want to work, they, like the unions who represent them want employees to be working. But the main reason for strikes right now, in my view, is the lack of action by the government on the cost of living crisis, as well as the lack of action when it comes to energy bills.  Decent action by the government on these issues would have resulted in less of a call for increased wages. That and action to prevent bonuses being paid to the rich. Action may take place once Liz Truss is elected, but considering that she is more interested in tax cuts, I doubt that she will address things. At least she is not as bad as Rishi Sunak who has actively taken money from where it is needed to reward Conservative voting constituencies.  

Unions represent workers who want to work and want employers to engage in reasonable discussions rather than strike. Things are more difficult when the government does not allow negotiations to be fair, but the idiocy they show on this is reflected in other areas of how they are mismanaging our great nation. 

I have noted in my job, that when seeing people with work induced stress, people who are members of a union are treated better than those who are not.  Management appears to be more careful in treating a member of a union compared with those who are not in one.  Although the same laws apply to those who are or not in a union (due to the work of the unions), due to the advocacy that workers in a union get, employment law appears to be followed better in these cases.


I however had joined a union before I saw (in my job) how unions had helped others.  And by being part of a union, in one of my jobs, our employment rights, which had been bent by our employer, were followed when challenged.  We had tried to discuss this matter without the help of the union, but we got no where, but when our union was involved, they told us what we needed to do to bring about the change we asked for, and once we did that, our employer had no choice but to accept that they were not following employment law.


My union has not always been successful in bringing about change, but I know that like other union members across the planet, I have more security from being in a union, compared to not being in one.

I Came By

This was a good film. My daughter had asked about watching it before, but I did not have time. Today though, on my arrival from work, my wife talked about watching it.  My son did not join us, though my daughter did.

We all liked the film, though not the protagonist. It was full of surprises and while it has been panned by some reviews all three of us recommend this to be watched.

I have had some time to reflect on the funeral yesterday.  It was nice to see the wishes of Tony's mother being respected with the location of her funeral.  It got me thinking about my father who stated that when cremated, he was happy to have his ashes flushed down the toilet!  In the end, my mother had a say in how his ashes were disposed of.  Also it was nice to reflect on how much Tony's mother was proud of him which is something my father did not appear to be with my career choice.  Ultimately, his approval was not something I sought, or really cared about, which is why I had not seen him in the years before his death.  If I had seen him in the few years before it, I would have seen him being ravaged by dementia which changes him anyway, but I do regret not seeing my step-mother even now.

On a bright note, not only did Arsenal win last night, a game which I missed due to travelling on the M4, but the scum dropped points as well.  I would have preferred it if they lost, but I should be grateful for what I have with football as well as life in general, as I have a lot to be grateful about with both. 

And she is laid to rest

Am back from Wales. My best friend lost his mother earlier this year and it was her funeral today. My wife already had today off, but I took the day off work and we drove across the country to Wales to be there with him. 

We shared the driving there and back and got to take in the spectacular Welsh scenery again. We used to visit him more often, but other than my birthday, we have not seen each other since the pandemic. 

I am glad we were there for him. We only met his mother once, she was glad to meet us as she knew that we had kept an eye out for him and looked after him a but when he worked in Colchester and Ipswich.  May she rest in peace.

Squirrel 999

Yesterday was fun.  I went to work and while at work, a friend of my daughter popped round to go for a dog walk.  Leia loves Darcy and the two keep trying to go into the drives of our houses when they pass the houses.  Quickly into the walk, the two girls found a bleeding squirrel and rescued it.  My daughter got a box and they made calls to vets to see what could be done.  My wife got involved and they ended up taking it to a local vet who said that they could do nothing for it and it needed to go to an animal hospital, in Grays.

My wife and the girls went down, her driving there with her knee was something I had not wanted her to do and I had offered to do it myself.  Instead, as we had guest coming round, she asked me to prepare some food, which I promptly burned!

Having Nick, Lyndsay and Hamish round though later was a nice end to the day and ended a relaxing bank holiday weekend. 

Lucca in Manningtree

Yesterday was a trip to Manningtree for lunch to celebrate my daughters results. Before that my son and I watched Grey's Anatomy. The episode "Who's Zoomin' Who?" was interesting, but the main error was with the size of the injection given to one of the doctors. When injections are given, a ten millilitre syringe is not needed as the amount given is not a 10ml shot.  We have yet to finish watching it, but it did bring back memories from when I worked in hospital and a few of the doctors were quite active with each other &/or nurses. Saying that, I cannot remember any stories about syphilis or other similar diseases spreading amongst the staff! 

Lucca was great. As we took Leia, we had to sit outside. I thought that this would be in the street which was in the sun but we where in the shade in the garden/patio in the back.  Leia had been fed beforehand and slept as she appeared to be quite tired from our busy and exhausting day yesterday. It was great to return there, we loved the food and it has been a shame we have not been back here sooner.

Later in the day we played House of Games which we all enjoyed.  It was a great idea of my wife for us to play it. That and a late evening walk with Leia and we relaxed afterwards, my son upstairs, my wife and daughter watching Blue Bloods and me watching The Boys. 

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

That was a frustrating game. I was nervous before the game that things would not go our way with it being  a London derby, that and I have been asking the Spurs fans at work who is top of the league. When Fulham scored, I lost faith in the team, but I should have had more faith in them. Hopefully this will give the team more belief in themselves and resilience which will be needed when the team face top six opponents.