Maggie/915

We do not decorate often but need Wallpaper , paint and more.

My husband visited a well known local shop, liked what he saw so I followed to view.

The Staff appeared very helpful until I asked for a piece of paper to write down which papers I liked.

Numbers codes etc cannot be written down or indeed pictures taken.

Why was the obvious next questions :-

People come in accept our help and then buy on the Internet .

As I had no intention of buying today, not even sure of the number of rolls needed , I left.

Despite knowing the family of this business for a lifetime and despite buying pictures and lots more from them in the past I do not feel like returning.

Maybe I am being a sensitive old git but surely you can browse and accept help without being made to feel guilty.

Is the help only offered in a 'police state' situation to stop you taking notes or pictures.

We all window shop from time to time.

Personally I am not to keen on the whole process of shopping.

Would others be put off if they shopped and felt obliged to buy or get out of the shop.

One  lady assistant apologised for their rule and how it made me feel . The other lady simply ignored  me as I left.

Not sure I want to shop there again.

More on our MP yesterday in the Times.

It seems he resigned from the NUM to become an MP .

After that  he recieved £60,000 in redundancy , which he recieved in the years after he became an MP.

One  issue, is that , It should have been declared in the House of Commons.

He has faced questions and there maybe an enquiry.

He says 'Any suggestion of impropriety on my part is completely inaccurate and I reject it completely'

A 'Nice' man gone to soon.

Master Racers not Master Race

written in December 1945

That must be a joke 3g.

Allowances surely do not get any better (or worse) than this lot!

£12,000 basic £27,000 for the leader per year .

I wonder what these amounts cover each year.

Basically what do the Council Tax payers get for these amounts of money.

What have the Romans , oops the NCC Councillors, ever done for us ?

I seem to remember the finance director was not needed and made redundant.

Clarity , transparency ,it has got to be there somewhere.

'Spin' or 'The Men in the Shadows'.

Even  you must think 'Whatever' at times 3g.

George Orwell friend to our very own Jack Common of 'Kidders Luck' fame.

Your quote 3g could be summed up simply by saying 'Bread and Circus'.

We do need to maintain a sense  of balance.

Maybe simply a degree of faith in mankind.

Rash generalisations are always going to be proved inconsistent .

I would like to see clarity and tolerance within all political parties.

Maybe a forlorn hope.

I hate to say this but do you think he reads the Times.

It could Politics and the State of War between the parties.

In this case it could be the 'Enemy Within'.

Basically 'Peace is not an absence of war'

We have to ask the old simple questions.

Who, What , Why , When etc 

Then there is that other W :-

Good work Foxy.

as you have guessed I simply do not do 'links'

Not sure if I can publish the article by taking a picture.

Old  school I am afraid we buy the papers.

The  Article was in the Sunday Times of 6th March 2016 page 12 main paper.

I love the song and all the humour in these posts.

The  one humourous item in the paper was that a Google Advert for Greggs had been got at by an internet troll it read 'Shit made for Skum'

Greggs handled the abuse well and did not over react. No publicity is bad publicity maybe!

A little like our ' Bedlington it is the pits'

Interesting article on page 12 main paper.

The headline is 'MPs £750,000 from  Union funded by sick miners.'

it seems Ian Lavery shadow minister for trade unions has been criticised for accepting almost £1.6m from sick and injured miners. He says he does not recognise the figures! 

The figures for his wages , pension contributions and other perks are interesting. It seems he may have received a  £48,000 pension contribution in one year.

He is criticised by fellow Labour MP John Mann.

Questioning figures and the details of capital investments in Northumberland could be interesting.

Being open to scrutiny should all be included in any audit.

I wonder if the local papers will take up such an important story for local information

What is the secret to selling 2.5 million sausage rolls per week.

You can read all about it on page 22/23 of today's Guardian.

They claim their brand is doing the common uncommonly well.

Success for the NE.

Will they conquer Europe if we stay in the EU?

Any replies please stay lighthearted. I for one am fed up with all the claims and counter claims.

Interestingly this book carries basic information.

Sadly a little rain last night and the mud is back.

Walking in the road opposite the Netherton Club and by the Red Ash Path is necessary once again!

Love it Gooch Hooch.

The perfect name for a beer brewed in Bedlington.

Local school children could be inspired by Daniel Gooch.

He achieved so much and from such an early age.

You could always consider a career in demolition Symptoms.

Or maybe becoming an author.

Exactly right John !

We need crazy manic action.

The next five years are going to seem like an eternity !

Maintain , pull down , rebuild.

There is a hugh debate on these issues at this point in time.

A referendum is even seen as a way forward,

My feelings are that we should not 'live now pay late'

The PFI initiatives seem to introduce problems for our children and our children's children.

To quote the Moody Blues!

I remember Ellen Mitchell taking the Bedlington History Society on a tour of the new County Hall. The building ,  the stain glass ,the thought that went into the building was impressive. Regardless of 'party politics' I do not think it should be pulled down.

Our own council offices could be utilised for so very many things  Why pull them down? Devise some plan to use them for civic purposes.

In 1976 the library in Bedlington  is said to be the new library.

If we destroy every new build after a few years then we have no heritage .

My feeling is that we maintain and protect our heritage. I cannot believe we build ,not for the future, but simply to destroy .

Surely we destroy our World by using up precious resources in this way.

Maybe I am just too old to accept the new arguments , given by our NCC leader Grant Davey.

I hope we can do the same here in Bedlington.

Develop our town and work together.

Work, rest and play.

With a selection of shops, parking bays and even public conveniences .

Where is that manic wand !

The parked cars can be the biggest problem.

It is interesting that buses for the school now drop of by the main cemetery gates .

The joys of excess house building maybe, or teachers unable to park in school grounds.

I believe it is 200 years in August since this great individual was born in our town.

We should mark the occasion in some or many ways.

A sure and certain way to raise the profile of Bedlington.

Any suggestions?

I am staying 'Aloof'

It seems when there is trouble in the offing (visible but some way off) . Then it is better to stay 'a luff'   (up wind).

That way it gives you the option of fight or flight.

The title of the article. In the Journal 22nd February was 'How the sea is in our language and our blood',

Another interesting word is 'Strike'. To close things down on the ship.

Then there is 'Scuttlebutt slang for gossip.

All sailing close to the wind.

You don't need to look to far Symptoms.

We have been trying to work out what my scribble referred to and have not got a clue.

Forty years on who can tell. A history lesson in itself.