Icelandic Ash Cloud Grounds Flights – Again

The Icelandic Grimsvotn volcano is at it again, belching out smoke/ash/pryoclasic bits into the atmosphere and grounding flights in Scotland once again.

So many travellers will be stranded once more, trying to get to or indeed, come back from, locations that are part of a holiday, or a business trip, or for whatever other reason they may be travelling.

Some ignorant environmentalists will be hailing this as a boon for the airways but indeed, volcanic spewings are almost never beneficial.

Acid rain, anyone? That’s right, acid rain is a common side effect of a large amount of volcanic material (most often the large amounts of sulphur) billowing up into the stratosphere. It has happened before (Sweden was bombarded by acid rain less than 50 years ago) and it will no doubt happen again.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a huge cause for panic yet, and especially not within the UK or mainland Europe, no, it is the Scandinavian countries who most often bare the brunt of this rather nasty side effect.

This is most certainly going to have an effect (a direct, not a side effect) on the weather and especially on climate temperatures. If you will remember back to the last time this happened (last year), we had a cool summer and a really cool (though short) winter.

Lets hope this year will have less disruption and no signs of acid rain or any other nasty side effects.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13498477

Rothesay to get lottery funding of 1.5mn!

Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, is to be given £1.5mn as a ‘revamp’ from the heritage lottery fund. This money is to go towards building regeneration.

Now is it just me or could this money not be used for far better things, like helping get people back to work or going to support care services, health services, or a whole host of other far more worthy causes, rather than making Rothesay prettier?! Having been to Rothesay, I know it is a pretty town and really does not need this cash.

This appears to be a terrible token gesture by someone who has no concept of what would genuinely benefit the town and the island community.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-13412133

Osama Dead and Gone

This is such an odd and negative start to a usually cheerful month.

While I do believe in justice and I do think that criminals need to be brought to justice, the thought of celebrating the dead of anyone is not only revolting, it is amoral, regardless of the person. When we celebrate killing someone we become as bad as we perceive them to be.

A legal, sanctioned trial and (where believed necessary) execution is something that should be solemn, an ending to a nightmare for the victims and their families. None of this occurred when America killed Osama bin Laden. Regardless of whether this is a justified killing (that really isn’t the issue here), celebrating the death of another human being is just wrong.

I am so shocked that people who call themselves Christian can do this. Christianity is about forgiveness and acceptance (much like Islam), not about celebrating when hearing of someone’s death.

My heart goes out to the families of those lost on the 11th of September, I hope this may bring you some peace. I hope you can find closure and that something good may come of this.

I urge the US to show a little caution here. The situation with America –v- the Middle East/Islam is a precarious one. Rubbing salt in what must at the moment be a wound will merely provoke retaliation. I truly hope this is not the case, there have been enough lives lost already. I hope President Obama takes this into account.

http://writing.wikinut.com/Questioning-the-Celebrations-of-Osama-bin-Laden-s-Death/25qsnfly/

Peace be upon you (literally).

The Government and Money - Libya

So we are being told that we all need to tighten our belts, that there have to be cuts in benefits because the government cannot afford to pay out money, that they must raise taxes, especially fuel taxes, because they have no money, they have a deficit left over from the previous government etc etc.

And we are currently sending our air force over to Libya - costing millions of pounds.

I'm sorry, where exactly did this money come from? If you can afford to put your nose in where it does not belong, you can afford to drop the price of fuel, food and a whole range of other essentials.

Get it right, Cameron.

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Frugal thinking may be the way ahead

In times like this, the price of everything is on the rise, especially food.

Food is the one thing we cannot do without, so what do we do when money becomes so tight that we are worried we cannot even feed ourselves? We tighten our belts and look to student-type budgeting.

This article deals with eating on a budget: http://www.wikinut.com/university-life-%e2%80%93-eating-on-a-budget/zfdmlxf8/pwz3999h/
And this one deals with life on a budget, just learning, or re-learning in some cases, how to budget: http://www.wikinut.com/top-10-tips-for-university-life-on-a-budget/14ik-j-2/207e.8zk/

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

Money really doesn't grow on trees

With money so thin on the ground as to be almost non-existent, what is a person to do about their dire financial circumstances?

The first thing anyone must do is look at what you are entitled to with regard to Benefits and Working Tax Credit. http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
Selling items on the likes of EBay is another way to get rid of a few items you are not using.

Jobs are few and far between at the moment, so if one comes up, apply for it if it is within your capabilities.

Not sure what else to do, why not go for a bit of rep sales work, such as Betterware, Avon and Kleeneze.

This is the time of year where it is possible to ask for a pay rise. While many employers will not entertain this it is possible and you should not feel that you cannot ask.

This article covers a few more tips on how to make extra cash. http://www.bukisa.com/how-to/actually-make-money-online

The Pitiful NHS

The NHS is in deep trouble. I don't mean financially, I mean Personnel.

Medical staff (especially nurses but doctors also) used to care about patient welfare, it used to be a 'calling'. Now people are attracted to the job for the salary and patient care has gone out the window.

I do not wish to call out all nurses and doctors, there are always exceptions to any rule. There are people in the medical profession who genuinely care and want what is best for the patient but these people are few and far between in what is becoming a 'careless' environment.

Dispatches on Channel 4 recently did an expose on the lack of care, respect and consideration for patients by the NHS. It was shocking and sadly, one patient mirrored a situation in my own life.

We are a society of greedy money-mongers and in order to get the care we need, the care we deserve, we need to ensure that the RIGHT people take care of us. I'm not sure how we should go about this. perhaps reducing the salary of those in medicine, to ensure that the greedy do not apply. Perhaps they should take psychology tests prior to interviews? Who knows. What I do know is that something must change. Human beings deserve better than they are being treated by the NHS currently.

Peace out.