Why Sir Alan Duncan just does not get it

“Shouldn't the Prime Minister’s critics really just snap out of their synthetic indignation and admit that their real point is that they hate anyone who’s even got a hint of wealth in their life?”

"Duncan was educated at two independent schools: Beechwood Park School in Markyate, and Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood, at both of which he was 'Head Monitor' (head boy)." He had gone on to say that if you were against our Prime Minister taking part in tax avoidance that you are someone who does not achieve. I do not deny that Sir Alan Duncan has worked hard, but it also appears that compared to most in our great nation that he was born with a silver spoon in this mouth. And I hate it when people like that judge the work ethic of those who were not born with breaks like that.  I am biased in that I see so many people who do work very hard, but despite doing so, due to not having the beaks others have had are not well off. "We are all in this together" if you went to private school or had daddy to pay when you trashed restaurants which strangely enough does not apply to the rest of us.

Now I have a depressed skull fracture from the school I went to. I had six different biology teachers for my A-levels at my school and we had so many issues with physics teachers one taught our class in pre-SI units. I would like to think that I have achieved something. I work with a fantastic team who are amazing and give their all and they have not had the luck of being born into the wealth that this MP has. So if not paying your fair share of tax for schools (which do not have enough teachers), the NHS (which is having to make cuts and doesn't have enough staff in any area), the armed forces) which are asked to send men and women into danger with cuts) etc is right, then I still need to go back to school because I think that our Prime Minister shouldn't cut benefits to the most vulnerable in society and make unsustainable cuts to public services and then not pay the tax everyone else (who isn't rich) should pay.

I wondered why the frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.

A lot more time has passed since my last post.  I do try to post, but I do not have the time in this job that I had in my last one to do so.  But, still, I am much happier in this one compared to the others, in fact, this is the best job that I have had.

Anyway, back to the children.  My daughter, following an accident on her bike on the weekend was not able to go back to school on Monday.  My son however did so.  The bike ride on Sunday was one where my wife came along.  I took the kids one by one on a more challenging trip for them and at first I took my son, and then later my daughter.  We met up with my wife on the way home and we did a U-turn to follow them home.  Only I did and I took my eye off my daughter who promptly fell over injuring her stomach on the handlebars of the bike.  She was in a lot of pain and this tore at the hearts of both my wife and myself.  While my wife rode home as fast as she could to get the car, a lady came over from her garden and someone else stopped to help. I think that this drove my daughter to get up and walk and by the time my wife had got home and got the car, we were already half way home and away from the road.  Anyway, she is not better yet, but is on the mend, and my son was amazing.  I know he gets shocked (as any brother would) when his sister is hurt, but he was great and like his sister, deserves praise.

Anyway, once again it is time for bed.  Goodnight!   

Ever Wonder? Whose cruel idea was it for the word “Lisp” to have the letter “S” in it?

The pictures are from our garden, taken today by my daughter while I was mowing the lawn.  She was going around taking pictures with her brother (I hope to post some of his pictures at a later date).  There was a lot of grass to cut, and today was a great day to do so.  While I had been hoping to do this on Wednesday, I felt it was too wet to do so quickly, so instead, did it today.  Over this time, we played catch in the garden every now and then.

Afterwards, it was the bike ride that the kids now love, though this time I went with my son at first, and then later, my daughter.  I took my son to one of the Skate Park's in Colchester.  We had been there before, but I did not feel that he was up to trying it today.  And today he gave it ago.  I did not think that he should give it a go, there were other kids there (who were okay about him giving it a go), but he went for it.  He did slip, into a puddle, along with a girl who was using a scooter at the time, but got up and continued.  I have to say, he is amazing.  I would not have had the courage to try it and would have been too embarrassed to continue if I had fallen, but he is much braver than I am.  To say that I was glowing with pride was an understatement.

And of course, my daughter also did well with her outing.  It was a route that we had been on before and she did very well cycling faster than she had done before (which meant more exercise for me).  The only downside was that both kids were tired and this did mean snapping at each other and tears, and my wife has quite rightly given be a warning about this.

Anyway, time for bed.  Goodnight!  

The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs

I may get in trouble for the title of this post, but if I do, sorry for any offence caused.

I did not get the chance to post much after our return to Colchester last week.  It was great to have some time away and spending it with friends and since then I have had fun with the kids.  Due to childcare issues I had to take Wednesday off work, which was to be fair brilliant as that meant that I got to spend time with the two children.  This meant as well that we got to enjoy the bicycle ride that the kids seem to enjoy.  The only downside was that the two children had to be taken out together, and the issue with that is that they have two very different bicycles and that means my daughter is able to cycle a lot faster than her brother.  Also as he has been unwell more than his sister, this has meant that he has not been able to cycle as often as her.  But his stamina was amazing, considering what he had been able to do in the past and comparing that to what he did last week, he is inspirational.  I was not able to test his sister as much as she is able to cycle at speed and enjoys it, to a point, though I think at present she gets a bit nervous pushing herself to her limits.  I did not get the change to take them out earlier today but depending on how mowing the lawn goes tomorrow, I may be able to do this tomorrow.  Hopefully.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy some music from The Voice.  And if you are wondering about the picture, it was by my daughter from a few years ago.  She was not too happy about me posting it here.  And if you are interested in some memories from before she painted that, this link will take you there.

Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love, and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent!

We are now back at home after a great time in Birmingham.  Dinner last night at the hotel was good, and considering the places that I have eaten at before, they could teach those pubs a lot about how food should taste.  If anything the only issue was with the service, but it was a new member of staff and that did reflect when sorting out the bill this morning, but we would go back to stay again in the future.  I was a shame that the pool was not as heated as we would have liked, but in some ways it did not matter that much to us as our kids were too tired to take advantage this time, and when we stayed here before (almost three years ago) they loved it.  The hotel could not do too much about the pool temperature as things happen and sometimes nothing can be done to cope with incidents.  Breakfast this morning was great, though, and I am sorry to say it, not as good as the NEC Crowne Plaza where we had eaten the morning before.  Saying that, it is not that breakfast was bad, it was not, and as I stated before, it was great.  And like with dinner spending time with our friends while eating was once again a pleasure.  If we come back to Birmingham, I would love to spend time in either of these two places and would recommend both to all.  

After checking out (and my wife kindly sorting out minor issues with the bill) we travelled into Birmingham.  I had wanted to go to the castle, but with the weather, and the fact that my son had not brought shoes which could cope with rain that was not an option.  We tried our luck at the Sea Life Centre, but unfortunately, it was fully booked for several hours, so instead we went to the Science Museum which the kids loved.  They did learn a few things, though I think that they will learn more there when they are older.  Which means that I will want to return, with them.  But mostly importantly, they seemed to enjoy it.  

And after a mostly incident free drive, we are at home, and right now, watching The Voice, which we had missed last night.  And it is a shame that Chloe Castro is not longer it it, though there are many who could have gone further and several others who are still in the completion who the family love.

Easter Sunday

The children love Easter, the eggs and the time with family and the eggs and did I mention the chocolate? While yesterday we spent time with Isabel and Alastair and their two lovely children today we met up with Sally, Tony and kids.  I had been hoping that we would get to go to Warwick Castle, but this was not a popular choice with the children and due to the threat of rain, my wife.  So after meeting up, then having coffee, a chat and then lunch, it came down to two choices, the Sealife Centre in Birmingham or ice skating in Tamworth.  So, with my wife having symptoms of a bad cold, we went ice skating.

My wife did not feel well enough to skate so watched from the sidelines.  One of Tony and Sally's kids had to be left behind to prepare for exams but the other two were great with our kids.  I spent the time glued to the sides and occasionally getting stuck in the gap between railings when the outer circuit met the inner rink but the kids with the a little help from our friends (okay, a lot of help) did much better than me and got to see what the middle of the rink looked like.  My daughter is hooked and my son may be so (but at present may be to cool to say so).  I had been skating once in the distant past, over twenty years ago, and my lack of skill and terror came flooding back.  While I only fell once, my amazing children fell more, but both were much braver than me and tried harder and achieved so much more than I ever have.  It was a new experience for them and they really appreciated the chance to find out what skating is like.

I have told them that they can post about their experiences on this blog, but both are a bit too tired to do so right now.  They may do so in the future and hopefully will contribute pictures, like that from my daughter which is above, in the future.  Anyway, now it's time for dinner.




  

Doctor: “I am not exactly sure of the cause. I think it could be due to alcohol.” Patient: “That’s OK. I will come back when you are sober.”

Today we have arrived in Birmingham.  We are to meet with friends tomorrow but have visited others who live here today.  After working in the morning we travelled up in the afternoon and ended having a great dinner.  It has been a while since I have been in Birmingham and I am not used to seeing so many Mosques even though I did live with in Whitechapel when younger.  The kids now are asleep having being allowed to watch a rare win for England against Germany.