The Angel, Stoke by Nayland

Well, after brunch, we had to eat again, and I had been stupid and not booked a table for lunch, so instead we went to the Angel at Stoke by Nayland for dinner which I did manage to get round to booking.  And we loved it.  When we arrived, on our table there were two kids menu's in the seats that we would have sat the children, and there were pencils and little colouring and word search books for them.  The service was excellent and the food brilliant.  A truly enjoyable meal and one which my wife really deserved.

Mimosa Colchester

Quick post on this.  Took the family to Mimosa this morning, or rather, the kids took the wife for Mothers Day for Brunch.  While there we had the pleasure of being served at first by the 'main man' who is from Mauritius which we found out when the kids spoke a bit of French to him (they used to go to after school classes to learn this, but sadly no more).  Now he was great when it came to service.  Unfortunately we were not served by him all the time but instead we were served by the person who dealt with us the last time we were there.  To be fair, this waiter was better than he was before, but he does not reflect how good the restaurant should be portrayed.  Which really is a shame for Mimosa.  We will return though...

All this outsourcing of medical care on the NHS is starting to get ridiculous. When my grandma needed an operation to amputate her gangrenous hand they bought her a one way ticket to Saudi Arabia and told her to go shoplifting.

Yes, I am a bit annoyed about what has been said about the NHS. Not just me though. Just in case you have no idea what I am ranting about, it is the allegation that targets are resulting the NHS not caring.Working the in the NHS, I see lots of people who care and I work with lots of people who care. And let me add, with the hassle I get working in the NHS, if I did not care, I would not work in it. I suspect that the same applies to others as well.In summary, targets were introduced under Labour and they were there to show that the NHS was improving. One for example was the four hour wait in A&E, a target that many found absurd as in order to meet it, many hospitals did not direct additional staff to see patients to meet it in a clincally responsible manner, but rather made staff meet the target no matter what.  While I do not like the target, it was introduced after the Conservatives used the waits some people had in A&E to claim that the NHS was not working.  Targets can improve things, but they can be fixed as happened under the watch of Labour.  But when the government cuts funding (in real terms) to the NHS and then expects the staff of the NHS to be able to care more, that does not make sense.

Hunt, if you want the NHS to provide better care across the board, fund it properly.

Arsenal ' national lottery ' either way you spend your money on a ticket and win nothing

Oh well, I did not think that we would win.  We played quite well, until it came to defending that is.  Our midfield did not press the opposition and we let players run through us.  Which was the cause for the first goal.  Anyway, I did think that the three goals were good goals.  It was a shame that the goals went against us.  We may finish in the top four, but I doubt it.  We need to rely on Chelski dropping points, and I do not think that is going to happen.

Anyway, I am now back at home.  Busy day today, almost a nightmare.  Could have been worse, but it could have been so much better.  But the best bit was when the family came to visit.  I know they like to see me at work, I do not think that they realise just how much I love seeing them.

Anyway, time to go now.

BBC NEWS: Arsenal announce profits of £17.8m An open top bus parade for their accountants has been organised for the end of the season.

This weekend is going to be interesting.  It is the derby against the scum and things at the club are not looking good.  The club has loads of money but nothing else.  Bale is playing on form and our defence is not much good against teams who find it hard to attack as it is.  The scum are above us in the table, and even if we win, they still will be there.

On the brightside, I have asked my wife if she would like sometime alone without the kids.  She has said no though.  The idea of spending so much time with me, alone, with no other human contact did not appeal to her.  She might change her mind, so I have not told her about the dangers.  The kids are not in favour of having the first parents to travel to Mars either.  Sigh...

Even better, my son is very proud as he got an award at school from the headteacher.  I will have to post about this on YouTube sometime.

Swansea, in 5 years of Premier League football, has more silverware than Arsenal does in the past 8 years.

Not that I am bitter about not winning any trophies.  It is hard to retain faith Arsène Wenger considering the failure of the team in so many competitions. In previous seasons, it has been injuries that have ruined us. We were going to win the title in 2008 until Eduardo was injured against Birmingham. And then our season fell apart. And since then it has been injury to key player after injury to key player. And it has not been helped by Man 5hitty and Barça stealing our players. But this season, despite Van Persie going to ManUre has been one where injuries can not be blamed. We have a squad that should be in third place. One that could be pressing for the title. One that should have won against Bradford and one that should have beaten Blackburn. Bradford played great football, but our squad was one that should have been up to the task. And we should have not defended as bad as we did against Blackburn. Let alone how bad we played against Villa on Saturday or the way we gave up in the first half against Bayern Munich. If we defend that bad on the weekend, then the Scum will not only get three points over on us, but loads of goals as well.  There is, quite simply, no excuse.  The players can blame themselves, and they should.  Me, I do think it is time to start thinking if a change of manager is what is needed.  Unless our new signing, Nacho Monreal, is going to make our defence a force to be feared again, we are going to keep letting in easy goals.  And if that continues to happen, a new manager may be what we need. 

It is hard for me to say this as I do think that we owe Arsène so much.  But the team have not been performing as they should and if he can not get them to play to the potential that they have, then someone else may be needed.  I am going to have to wash now as I feel dirty...

Now that Pope Benedict has stepped down from his Divine position in the Catholic order, bookies have tipped him 2/1 as the next Chelsea manager

Well, it is almost the end of half term.  It has been one that has been interesting for the kids. Unfortunately, it was too cold or wet for them to play out a lot, or so I was told.  Being at work, I did not get to spend as much time with them as I would like.  But it is now Sunday, they are watching A Monster in Paris and we are relaxing.  My mother came up on Friday to look after the kids while my wife and I went out on Saturday.  I was hoping to go out on Saturday night as well, but unfortunately was too knackered to be able to spend the evening with her. Managed to get rest though which was just as well as we have just driven my mother back.  They have enjoyed themselves playing games, making things and of course making a mess!  Anyway, time to go as the kids are about to start fighting again...