Recycling fine rubbish.

 There's a piece in the local paper banging on about recycling in which a Colchester councillor states that the council are prepared to fine those who don't recycle. Of course, we have heard it all before but what caught my eye was this little gem;

“Quite often, people who do not recycle are people who do not take an interest in community activities and quite often they are people who do not vote.” 

Really? What information suppports that assertion I wonder? None I suspect. It is a subtle way of 'denormalizing' those who don't choose to recycle their waste. The sub text is that if you don't recycle then you are not a part of society, and if you are not a part of society then maybe you are an enemy of society.

I noticed this in the local paper...............

A bit over the top you may think, but Sarah may have a point.

Harwich, Essex or the Cap d'Agde, France - who can tell?

 Perhaps the Port of Harwich is trying to re-invent itself as a sort of Cap d'Agde . Anything is possible in these difficult times.

Gun hate again! ( Clarkson hate too!)

An over the top police operation  which cost thousands and utilised dozens of officers and a helicopter was deemed necessary as a man appeared not to have put his gun away properly.

'With a surveillance helicopter in the air and several roadblocks in place, 18 armed officers and a forensics specialist stormed the main house.................' 

You really couldn't make it up. 
If anyone with any sense at all really thinks that the police are not overmanned and over funded then just read this story. That should change your mind. I really can't add to the comments in the Mail so I'll leave it there I think.

Meanwhile, Clarkson is in trouble again 
This time for walking into his own barn and making a couple of owls fly out, an over zealous police wildlife and countryside officer is on the case, proving yet more cuts are needed to the numbers of police. Police confirm they're investigating allegations of 'reckless bird disturbance', which proves we are all now living in a bankrupt society devoid of all common sense. 
The 'crime' of reckless bird disturbance could be applied to so many people in so many situations and actually be provable that it is laughable, presumably letting the cat out the back door could be construed as an act of reckless bird disturbance.

Ho Hum

This blog has been quiet for a couple of weeks and is likely to stay that way for a while.
A combination of things to do, things I must do and things that I want to do have meant that I spend much less time at the computer than I did just a few months ago. That doesn't mean that I am going to stop blogging, just that it will be at a slower and more 'ad hoc' rate than it has been at times.

There seems to be little point in blogging about the social, cultural or political shit fest that Britain has become as I truly don't believe that it will make any difference to whatever plan is in place being moved forward. It may be that is will be more satisfying to blog about the way I deal with this and why, rather than just moaning about it. so Mud in the Blood will become a humour /interest blog rather than the bad tempered whinge fest it currently descends into.

By the way, have you seen the news? Jessica Ennis has been labelled fat!

Hague has a point.

William Hague's ill received comments that 'businesses need to stop complaining and “work hard” to generate growth', made me think a bit. Of course Hague is right - to a degree. The government will not create growth it cannot, it has to rely on businesses and individuals to do that, it can only create an atmosphere that allows growth. that means  low taxes, both personal and corporate, together with a massive reduction in the regulations that stifle business at every level. But that isn't going to happen.

What is more likely is that we will see a rise in guerrilla supply networks and the black economy. Business will be conducted from lay-bys in cash. The economy may grow but it won't be measurable, at least by any common method.

This last few days I've been having meetings and conversation with a whole range of people, these include friends, acquaintances and strangers, as a result I have been able to secure my fuel for next winter, guaranteed a supply of home produced ham and sausages and secured the use of an old greenhouse. No  money has changed hands and there is no record of any transaction. All that has happened is that two or more people are, in effect, pooling resources and sharing a series of diverse benefits.

The government wants us all to be in organised employment and it needs business to grow to provide the jobs that will ultimately provided the increased tax take, which is what they are really after. If you are not in this category and not on benefits then you must be a 'cash bandit', cheating the taxman and depriving the state of much needed money for schools and hospitals.

The thing is, I suspect that that is the future. To generate growth people have to get up in the morning and do something and certainly in the short term, the best incentive is that you are doing whatever you're doing for your own benefit, not for those who can't be bothered to do it for themselves and certainly not for the government.

Our own future is in our own hands. We need to grasp it, not wait for a quango to be set up to decide on what gloves should be worn so someone else can grasp it for us.

Sunshine coast weather report

Sunny yesterday and sunny today - so far! I think that it's the first time we've had two consecutive sunny days for about a month. Better soak up those rays................

Pc Joseph Harrington.............

to be charged with assault on teenager 

Alison Saunders, the chief prosecutor for the CPS in London said that;

 "It is clear that the allegation of using excessive force on a handcuffed 15-year-old in custody is a serious matter,"

And,

"I have taken the decision in this case that not only is there sufficient evidence to provide for a realistic prospect of conviction, and that a prosecution is required in the public interest, but that a prosecution is necessary in order to maintain confidence in the criminal justice system."

Now, I suspect that the 15 year old concerned might just be a proper little shit . However, when the police start duffing up persons who are handcuffed and presumably under arrest then they are descending to middle eastern standards of policing. Perhaps that is what is desired as the new model of European policing, who knows?

Killer Barbecue - AGAIN!

Less than a year after this example of stupidity and a couple of other similar incidents last year, this happens;

Friends pay tribute to ‘amazing girl’ who died on tent holiday 

Apparently.................

The owners of the site said a disposable barbecue, which was used on Saturday night, was found in the tent’s porch.

Why in the name of hell would you place a disposable barbecue  in the fucking tent! I mean it's not like you will use it again or someone will nick the thing is it. Oh, hang on..............

“It has been devastating. It is really tragic. Nobody has done anything wrong, they have just not realised the dangers of disposable barbecues.
“You don’t realise that they are giving off fumes for hours and hours after you have used them.”

Really? I would have thought that the fact that it was hot was a bit of a giveaway. The person who placed the barbecue in the tent should be looking at a charge of manslaughter surely.

I can see that licensing and training scheme on the horizon.