NHS or no NHS

Posted on January 24, 2024 by gordonshome

Many years ago in the early days of the national health service things that were covered and available to the general public kept increasing and increasing, we all realised that this couldn’t go on and on and on. If you remember and for those of you who were too young, the original NHS was based on a friendly society. I believe it was the Oddfellows, at that time.
I belonged to an alternative called the Hearts of Oak.

As more and more illnesses and frailties were added to the services of the NHS, the funding naturally had to increase. There were still private firms investigating diseases and illnesses, these firms were making money by selling the results i.e. tablets and medicines to the NHS. In a way, you can still see this as charities ask for donations to fund their research.

We have now reached the stage where the funding is enormous, but it is still not enough to cover the salaries of its staff. Like most government departments, plain bureaucracy on its own is costing a fortune and needing its own government body to run it.

No longer is it a case of the hospitals being semi-autocratic, with matron being the awe-inspiring at top level. She used to be a figure to be gazed at in awe, now what she used to do is covered by a committee, if that isn’t typical bureaucracy I don’t know what is.

The NHS is now getting out of control, the junior doctors are getting a pittance, yet they are still expected to have extreme loyalty to the National Health Service.
Perhaps it is time that a major review took place, with the public being questioned as to what it really wants.

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Is the payment of tax overlooked?

Posted on August 20, 2023 by gordonshome

We keep hearing about the large increase that the pensioner is getting, and there are also hints being dropped that the pensioner is benefiting at the expense of the working fraternity.

What is being totally overlooked is that the pensioner has been paying his dues for the majority of his working life, this was supposed to be towards his pension and his national health contributions.

Yes, the pensioner has had an increase in his pension whilst the person in work has had to do the usual thing and go on strike, what would happen if a pensioner went on strike, the majority of people don’t realise that a very large number of the voluntary services are staffed by pensioners and these are unpaid positions. So yes if a pensioner went on strike it would make a difference, but nothing that would bother the government.

Another thing that isn’t being considered is that the pension is taxed, this means that 20 per cent of the increase is clawed back by the government, who conveniently forget this when talking about the pension increase. Let us say that the increase is £10 per week, which means one-fifth of it is taken back again, leaving the actual increase to be £8. It was a Conservative government that removed the pensioner’s free TV licence of course they went the long way around so that the BBC could be blamed for it.


Isn’t it nice that the government forgets to tell you this and tries to make the pensioner the scapegoat?

Now here’s an idea, why not tie the pension to a percentage of the MP’s salary in fact why not tie all salaries and wages to the MP’s salaries? Of course, knowing that the MPs are up to all the fiddles possible great care would have to be taken on how it is done.

Now that the MP’s family aren’t supposed to work for them any more at least that’s one door that has been closed. Perhaps we should also put a ban on them being used as a consultant, this must put a bias on their way of thinking and voting.

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Disrespect

Posted on April 4, 2022 by gordonshome

Are we in a situation where the Personnel in Number 10 have a total disregard for anyone else? Does this also include the Ministers of State, especially the Prime Minister?
Did you read in the newspapers or hear it on the news that the personnel of Number 10 were partying when not only everyone else was in lockdown, but it was the eve of Prince Philips’s memorial service?
I wonder what the Queen thought of that?

On another subject, at least I am able to criticise the government when if what you hear about Russia is true you would be arrested for doing the same.
I am amazed that there appears to be so many extremely rich people in a communist country, I thought communism was one for all and all for one. Wasn’t there supposed to be a country where everyone is equal? Yet it is apparent that Russia is definitely a capitalist country. What would Lenin think of that?

Another Crisis

It always appears that there is some crisis or the other, we now have the situation where so many people have to decide whether they eat or heat. Yet again you will have parents going without so that their children can have a meal. Pensioners are sitting huddled up in blankets trying to keep warm due to the increase in the prices of gas and electricity.
I have never known so many food banks in so many towns and cities, yet you get the feeling that the government is oblivious to it all. Yes, you do have the token gestures, a £150 allowance towards heating, but if you think about it what they are doing is giving the pensioner back the money that they stole from him by making him pay for a TV licence. But they are keeping the monies they stole by cancelling the triple lock. That was in an election manifesto, but they are in power so now they can throw it out.
How many of you can remember that when the National Health Service was overloaded under Blair’s government it was decided that the private sector take some of the overload, yet I do believe that this government has turned down that suggestion, doesn’t it seem strange that a Labour government turns to private enterprise to help it out whereas a Conservative government refuses to do so?

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Triple Lock

Posted on February 9, 2022 by gordonshome

So the pensioner is yet again to be at the mercy of this Conservative government. The triple lock was introduced more as a vote catcher than anything else. Now it is going to cost more money than was expected so what happens?
Like most governments who have made promises at election times the triple lock will be locked away, just at the time when with high energy costs the pensioner needs it. But will it worry the MPs? Of course not they have got their own pension and will certainly look after themselves.

I believe that at present the back bench MPs pension after serving round about 13 years, (roughly 3 elections) will be approximately £20,000 per annum on top of their state pension. Of course if they have a ministerial position their pension will be higher. Naturally on the independent board that decides their pensions you will find some MPs, they must have their input.

More on Boris.

I keep reading about the influence that Boris’s wife has on people and decisions.
I remember many years ago one of my staff came up to me and said “My wife thinks I should get a salary increase”. I told him to arrange for her to come in for an interview, then we will compare his work with other employees and with what she thinks he does, and then see if she thinks he deserves an increase. I heard no more on that subject.

Perhaps Boris’s wife should be interviewed by some appropriate people to see if she is eligible for a post in the Cabinet and be paid for her input.

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Heating Bills

Posted on February 3, 2022 by gordonshome

It looks as though we are going to be facing very high heating bills that is if the projection of fuel costs are correct, and so far I can’t see a reason for them not to be.

All of this reminds me of what life used to be like in the bedsit world of the 1950s and 1960s.
In those days your bedsit had its own meter and you had to make sure that you had the right coins to put in it. On very cold days or rather evenings, you would be working in a heated office or workshop during the day, anyway you found it cheaper to go to the pictures in an evening rather than heat your room. It was in the days when the cinema had a rolling programme, you went in when you’re ready and came out when you had had enough. On a cold evening you would go in early and stay in the warmth of the cinema until closing time, I will admit that sometimes you weren’t watching the film you had nodded off.

Another alternative was to go to whist drives in the church hall, another place that was warmer than your bedsit, and it was cheaper than heating your room. You also had a cup of tea thrown in.

Some people used to go down to the local pub and make a pint of beer last a long time, in fact the bedsit people were up to all the dodges to keep warm at as little cost as possible.

My advice to the older citizen living in residential homes is to take part in as many communal activities as you can, these are usually held in a communal drawing room or lounge and will save you having to have your own heating on. In fact you will be acting in the way you use to act in the 1950s and 60s, leave your bedsit and find a warm place.

Are we reverting back to those days, especially when you read about the Russian action on the Ukraine border?

Costs

I have just looked at what the electricity or rather energy suppliers say is the split of their costs.

Buying the energy – 36%

Delivering the energy to your home – 24%

Looking after you which includes billing, customer service and IT systems – 20%

Government environmental and social schemes – 13%

VAT – 5%

Supply business profit – 2%

The way I read it, the energy company is taking VAT and government environmental social scheme into account when working out their profit. I could well be wrong but I thought that the VAT was based on the final price. Perhaps someone will put me right.

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Partying at Number 10.

Posted on February 3, 2022 by gordonshome

Do you really think that the truth will come out about the Christmas activities at number 10?

The after-work Christmas parties that I remember date back to the 1950s possibly into the 1960s. Then the offices had snacks and drinks brought in, all in all, it was rather a sedate party mainly because the senior management went from area to area to wish the staff a Merry Christmas, and thank them for their effort during the year. I think it was during the 1960s that the fashion of Christmas parties at work went out. People were going to their own parties in the evenings, mixing with their own friends and certainly not work colleagues. In many ways it was a different world, times were still relatively hard, the hardships of war were still fresh in everyone’s memory.

The point that I am making is that Christmas parties at work went out of fashion, it was a case of let us leave work and go and find our real friends.
To me, the fact that parties were still going on at number 10 shows how out of touch with the realities of life these people are.
Don’t you wonder how many decisions that affected us the normal citizen, were made by people in a stupor?

Do you really believe the excuses and forgetfulness of events that happened?
All I can say is if that is the case that they really can’t remember what they were saying and doing, or even if they were there, this country is in a very sad state.

On another subject have you heard that a number of people don’t want to return to the old regime, of attending the work place? Apparently they so like the idea of working at home that they want it to continue for ever more. (That will put a stop to Christmas parties.) If you think about it it will cut down a lot of pollution from travelling in cars and buses.
Although working from home restricts your social contacts. You will no longer be chatting around the Coffee Urn, this could lead to some people becoming antisocial. Just imagine that if you are very shy person and find it difficult to make friends, your circle of contacts will decrease immensely. That could have a drastic affect on your mental state.

Posted in Justice, Life in General, Member of Parliament, Politics, The Conservative Party, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Helping others.

Posted on January 31, 2022 by gordonshome

The other day somebody said to me you’re getting on a bit, aren’t you? “Have you ever wondered how many people you have helped?”

He said I don’t mean the type of help like holding the door open for someone, I mean the type of help that has helped someone improve their life.

I must admit my first thought was cheeky devil “Getting on a bit”.

Then I started thinking, and trying to remember, and one or two incidents came to mind.

There was the time in the 1950s when I was driving from London to Lymington it was approaching midnight and I was travelling through the outskirts of Southampton, (before motorways) when I noticed a car that had stopped on the roadside with its bonnet up. I pulled up behind it to see if I could help, but no we couldn’t get it going again. It turned out that it was a fellow travelling from London to Bournemouth, and it was vital to get to Bournemouth because the next day he was going to a wedding. We pushed his car into a nearby hotel car park and he left a note on it and I drove him to his parents home in Bournemouth. He was exceedingly grateful, but that’s how it was in those days, you helped others, others helped you. I then drove back to my parents home in Lymington arriving well after midnight.

I thought about that incident and decided that it hadn’t really helped improve his life so that didn’t really answer the question.

I started trying to remember back from my early 20s onwards. I suddenly remembered a friend called Paul, he was a technical clerk in the same office where I was a sub-contract draughtsman. He told me that he had always wanted to be a draughtsman but he had never had the opportunity to learn. Now in my flat, I had a full size drawing board that I used for some sub contract work, I suggested to him that if he was serious I would teach him the fundamentals such as third angle drawing and stencilling et cetera. I told him that to do it properly he would have to spend at least two evenings a week learning, and practising on my drawing board. I also warned him that there might be times when my workload would delay things.

The lessons started, he had a lot of knowledge about the terminology from being a technical clerk, that helped. After about two months of teaching he applied for a draughtsman’s job at an aircraft ejection seat manufacturer. He told them what he was doing and they agreed to give him a months trial, after the trial he was taken on as a trainee draughtsman.

Our lessons were no longer required. My own workload increased dramatically and at times I was working from 8 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock at night, but that’s a different story, but it did mean that I lost contact with Paul. I often wondered how he got on.
But I think that that is one where I can claim that I help someone improve his life.

Other instances are when I was a manager a young girl was a dye line copier, she told me that she really wanted to be a typist/secretary. I arranged for her to use a typewriter during her lunch break and gave her some text to type out. There were times when nothing seemed to go right and she was on the point of giving up but I encouraged her and persuaded her to carry on. She became a good typist. The next stage was to learn dictation, I was an advocate of dictating tape machines. She used to borrow the office machine and I would give her some dictation and off she would go, practising.
After a while she became quite adept.

The Chief Engineer’s secretary left and the vacancy was advertised on the company noticeboard. She applied and got the job.

I had to find another Dye-line Copier Operator.

I think I can say that that was a person I helped improve her life.

There was an instance when I needed a section leader, so I looked at all the people in my office to see if any of them were worth promoting. There was one person that I consider a possibility he was quiet and assuming.

There was a problem, he always spoke as if he had a plum in his mouth, and sometimes one or two of the others would make fun of him. His name was John Green, I found out later that years earlier he had tried out as an actor, and had taken elocution lessons hence his style of speaking.

I decided that with my backing he would make a good section leader so I promoted him, time proved me right.

Some years later long after I had left that firm I met him again, he had become a Chief Draughtsman, and he told me that without my encouragement he would never have had the nerve to take the first step by becoming a section leader. So yes I improved his life, and he actually thanked me.

Why don’t you stop and think, “Have I helped others?”

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Our Political Leaders.

Posted on January 19, 2022 by gordonshome

Why is it that our political so-called leaders believe that we will accept everything that they say as gospel? We have Boris saying that he wasn’t at a drinks party yet other members of the same political party say that he was seen there with a drink in his hand. Of course, there is always a possibility Boris didn’t actually attend the party but that he was seen in the same room minutes before it started and actually left seconds before it did start. What’s the old saying? If you believe that you believe anything.

Regarding the television licence, is it right that you have to have a BBC licence (for that is what it is) to listen to ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and all those other non-BBC stations? I for one am watching fewer and fewer TV programmes apart from the news and watching more and more DVDs and programs that you can now get with the Smart TV. I must admit that a lot of this is due to the lower standard of the programme writers, we seem to be getting more and more violence and less and less honest to goodness family programs. The violence used to be implied but now it is actually portrayed and I find this is not to my liking, am I alone in this, am I really that old-fashioned and puritanical? perhaps so but I prefer to remain that way, and not be educated on how to be violent.

The cost of electricity and gas is increasing beyond the normal inflation rate. Isn’t it strange that this should take place when more and more people have been working from home rather than in an office? If you are working in an office your employer bears the increased cost whereas if you are at home it is not only an increased cost it is a new one to your household budget. You are not getting the tax allowance to compensate for this, but when working in an office your employer can put the costs against profit and not pay any tax on it. Mind you by the same token you are not having to pay travelling costs. This means that if you’re not driving your car the government loses quite a large chunk of taxes so it becomes debatable unless you want to sit down and calculate it, as to whether it is beneficial to the government with its revenues to work at home or go to work. (Mind you if you work at home you don’t have to go to an office party.)

When you are shown views of the members of Parliament sitting in their chamber debating on what is permissible for you to do or not do you ever get the feeling that if you were expected to work under those overcrowded conditions you would go on strike, just imagine being all huddled together like that. Do you think it is time that both the Houses of Parliament and Lords are modernised, and moved out of those ancient buildings to a more modern establishment? Just think of the maintenance costs that you would save. It would also give you the opportunity to move to a more suitable part of the country where land and buildings are far cheaper. After all, the BBC did it moving a huge chunk of their establishment to Manchester. Just think of members of Parliament in cheaper digs.

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Christmas 2021

Posted on December 29, 2021 by gordonshome

Christmas 2021 is over, the bank holidays have gone and people are returning to work. Again we hear that a number of workers are being asked to work at home.

Have you considered how much money the employer is saving by having you work at home?

He will no longer have to heat the offices or supply lighting. You will be supplying your own heating and lighting, and of course, it would be at your expense.

How many of you will be supplying your own computers and printers et cetera? How many of you will be upgrading your broadband systems because your normal one is insufficient?

There is another small thing insignificant but still will save your employer money, you will be supplying your own cups of tea or coffee, no more chats around the coffee urns, these were always taking place during working hours.

If you are working from home how strict are you about the working hours? It is extremely possible that you will be saying to yourself I must just finish this. Indeed how strict will you be about working hours?

I started this off with the heading of lonely people,
one group of lonely people that automatically spring to mind are the old-age pensioners.
I am sure that this is not the retirement that they envisaged during their working days.

The old photographs of people living in the large towns and cities Show them standing around their front doors chatting to their neighbours, but if you live in a flat especially one of the high-rise buildings, you do not do this about the only place you meet is in the lift that is if it is working, this means that a communal area has vanished. No more greeting your neighbour as they are on the way to the shops, no more putting grandad or grandma in a chair by the front door where they can meet and speak to everyone.

Is this the type of future that you look forward to when you are limited in your mobility?

Politicians are not considering your future, all they are considering is today and today’s happenings.

Have you as an individual ever communicated with your political representative, do they know that you even exist, or are you someone who just ticks the box at election time?

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Saving The Planet

Posted on September 26, 2021 by gordonshome

Isn’t it strange that to save the planet enthusiasts are blocking the motorways, causing traffic jams and excessive emissions from the car’s engine causing still more polution.

You would have thought that these caring people would have been au fait  with the possible results of their actions,  but it appears that they hadn’t considered it  or else they aren’t bothered which makes you wonder  whether they knew what they were doing.

Surely they would have  been more effective  by doing something  that stopped pollution  rather than increasing it.

Some years back when I was in Hong Kong  the bus crews went on strike. The buses ran as normal,  but the conductors  didn’t collect any fares,  this brought all pressure on only one  group  of people the owners and shareholders  of the bus companies. The Hong Kong public  were delighted  and naturally supported the strike.

Surely if the save the planet protesters  thought of a scheme  with a similar effect  they would have the public’s backing  and gain a lot of publicity.

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