130 Years Old & Counting. "It's The Vodka," Says Oldest Woman Ever.

If true, this lady is the oldest woman in the world ever.  You are asking "but what about the quality of life"?  well she still plays backgammon and enjoys a vodka or three. Doesn't sound too bad to me.  I am always frustrated by the lack of detail in these stories. I want to know her lifestyle, diet, living conditions, medical history and brand of Vodka.

If of sound mind and good health good luck to her but, realistically for most people living this long would be hell on earth.  Imagine being spoken to like a child and thinking the world smelled of stale urine for any longer than absolutely necessary.  One thing I have noticed in nearly all of these examples of long lives, there is usually lots of family care and very little "medical" involvement.  And joking aside,  there is always mention of alcohol in some form.  So the message is clear avoid doctors like the plague... and enjoy a wee drink and you will be ....really really old one day. 

Dog Insurance for All. Now there's a bad idea.

We have all seen them, young men, and women with a snarling  lead straining dog of some obscure breed parading their "weapon of choice" down a high street somewhere.  You can tell by their dress,  demeanor,  and language they will not be at the head of the que for pet insurance in case "TYSON"  attacks someone and bites their ear off.  It seems to me there is a simple solution...it's called a license.  No license  no dog.  When you buy a new TV for instance the store informs the TV Licensing Authority and you better get a license or pay a hefty fine. Previous license systems were abandoned because people ignored them, mainly because the authorities did not enforce the law.   Just like the mobile phone while driving law, the consuming alcohol in public law  and almost every speed limit ever imposed  all pointless unless you enforce the rule of law.

 We all know that dog attacks are on the rise,  fatalities, often children,  also seem to be rising year on year.  So if they are serious about tackling the "status dog" problem and the illegal dog fighting rings and rogue breeding it is surely time to re introduce the dog license and enforce it strictly.   The obvious truth is that the irresponsible owners are exactly the ones who would not pay to insure their "pet"  but that  would catch them only if the system was  enforced.    So come on Mr Johnson how serious are you.

Protect Our Pudding. Yorkshire Makers Plea for Legal Backing for The Pud.

So much for the sharing caring policy fostered by "European Union". This latest piece of nonsense fromYorkshire Pudding Makers for legal protectionfor the "Brand" at first sounds more than slap worthy.  Intended for the protection of commercial producers of the family favourite the move is designed to deny foreign makers the use of the "Yorkshire" name.  It just seems to me that we take these things too far,  from wine to pork pies  and whisky to ham, every body wants to protect their "product identity".   It's a huge business, Yorkshire Puddings, 80,000  a year exported by one company so you can see why they want to keep out the competition.  However Grannies recipe is safe as it will not  apply to home made Puds.  So I am off to tramp some grapes, cure some ham, bake a pie or two and get the liquor still out of the shed and the E.U. and the Yorkshire Pudding Makers can go jump in the lake.

Need A Good Reason To Change The Gun Laws? Here You Have it.

Take a look at this image and imagine you are a kid , under 12 let's say.  One of these is a deadly hand gun a machine designed to kill things. The other is a Wii game console controller designed for fun.  AT FIRST GLANCE IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL THEM APART BUT WHAT IF YOU ARE ONLY THREE ?   Both were lying around a family home where a  3 year old died after she shot herself  after finding the gun in the living room where her mother was on her computer only feet away.   So much is wrong here it is just madness to allow guns of any kind to be sold. The mother informed investigators that the toddler aged three, played with the game for days on end. Yes it is a tragedy,  yes it was an accident,  can any one be blamed ....most definitely yes.  

Botox Barbie ? There had to be a story ... there is.

I must admit I skipped over this initially dismissing it as yet another desperately sad mother and daughter seeking publicity. In many ways it is exactly that however, there are some serious questions raised by the latest bit of "news" concerning Sarah Burge.  At 15 years of age her daughter has the dubious title "Botox Barbie"  due to her mother assisting her with botox injections but, where does neglect begin and end in a case like this. At 15 this young lady is all the woman she will ever be and her mother,  it appears,  offers other services to those willing to pay £500 per hour for themand botox treatment is not included. I wonder if any agency is looking into the case. Just like the parent who goes on holiday leaving children to look after themselves, or the parent who fails to ensure their child's safety this mother is doing something not quite right. The difficulty is that the line has become blurred to the point where we know things like this are not right but we cannot define why they are wrong.  What do you think ?  Responsible parent ?  or Irresponsible publicity seeker ?

Leadership Debate. Just bring your own Leader.

I don't get this. The three protagonists can be seen and heard on live Parliamentary broadcasts most any day. So what will we learn from a staged debate where we are more interested in Messrs Brown Cameron & Clegg fluffing their lines, sweating profusely and stumbling on entry than anything they will actually say.  The simple truth, which these guys do not yet grasp is, we are all so disgusted with politicians and bored with politics the prospect is as about exciting as painting a wet fence. 

   What a waste of prime time TV.

Winter Olympics: amazing.

I am not a big sports fan .  I do like watching on T.V. but I get grumpy at the football fanatics  who seem to think soccer is the only game in town.  I have just watched the Canada/U S A Ice Hockey  game from Vancouver and it was truly amazing. After watching the excitement and speed and skill of the game it is obvious nothing comes close to this for thrills and skill. I also watched some of the specialist ski and snow-board events and these people are either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave,either way they do stuff that just leaves me saying "how do they do that".In a world where war and hunger and injustice are rife it is encouraging to see nations competing in honest competition and following a principle where it is all important to take part.  Some of our over paid football players should take note. And how do you get the message to the terrorists of the world ?   

John Lennon In T.V. Ad For ...Citroen? A Misatake on All Levels.

On the same day Abbey Road Studios is awarded listed building status, John Lennon is reduced to a badly made T.V. ad for Citroen cars. Meant to be a message of free choice and "do your own thing" the "retro" piece of marketing just looks awful.  The rumour mill suggests Yoko held out for the right deal but Lennon fans are angered by what is seen by many as pure greed. I hate these things where dead people are used to sell stuff on T.V.   As fans condemn Yoko Ono and call for a boycott of Citroen products it does make you wonder what Lennon himself would have said?  I guess his reaction would be unprintable ....and he wouldn't be seen in a Citroen either.

   Shame on you Yoko Ono.    Unforgivable.   

IKEA ... Great Products...Great Prices... Great People. SOUP...Not So Good.

We like nothing more on a cold February Sunday than a wander round Ikea. It amazes me that you can look at some of their products and think, how can they sell this at this price,and  then you see something else and think who dreamed up this price ?  As always the smells emanating from the restaurant tempt us in and the food is usually good for the price.    However it was one of those too late for lunch too early for dinner moments so, the creamy vegetable soup and crusty roll seemed like a good choice.  Sorry, none left  said the young lady,what about the SPINACH & NUTMEG we have lots of that . 
  The very fact they had loads of it should have been a big clue, creamy veg sold out,spinach & nutmeg how much would you like?  It looked ...not too good. It smelled ... not too good.  It was ... not too good. But  worst of all it was not too warm either.  So another lesson learned, thing is I don't like spinach in any form so I can only say temporary madness took over. Next time it will be the Swedish meatballs or anything HOT.   

So P.M. Gordon Brown Loses His Temper. Shocking or What.

I may be out on a limb here but, the fact that the most powerful guy in the country loses his temper now and again does not shock me in the slightest. Let me say straight off,  bullying of any sort is unacceptable no matter who is involved. This case just does not sit right somehow. The lady who has started the whole thing a Mrs Pratt (unfortunately) has ignored  the rules  of her own organisation by  breaking confidentiality rules it is reported. Already sponsors are resigning from the charity, leading Tory Anne Widdicombe among the first.  Politics is a dirty business but it always manages to find new lows to wallow in.

As always resignations and inquiries are called for but will Mrs Pratt be resigning ... no is her response. Will the National Bullying Helpline be investigated ...probably not. Such is the clammer to blow  the story up it actually seems like poor Gordon is being bullied.  I guess he wont be calling the help line.  Would you ?