The Throw Away Generation

We really are a throw away generation (thirties and under). I have just watched an advert that suggests, rather than throwing away your broken items you should recycle, well this is just nuts. Whatever happened to repairing items? Our folks (the majority of them anyway) had to make do, they repaired broken items where possible and almost never threw anything away!

When did we become such a useless group of people? I know people who would rather get a new washing machine than have it repaired. This is such a waste of money and these are people who are not rolling in it, they are regular people on minimum wages and yet they’d rather fork out a small fortune for new items than have the ones they already own repaired. It just doesn’t make sense!

Recycling should be the last step in any items life - reduce, reuse, recycle. SO why not try getting it fixed first?

Another bee in my bonnet in this vein is the mazuma etc ads. These companies are not helping the environment, they re-sell the items and make a profit, or take part, such as the tiny amounts of gold in a phone and sell them on. They, in my opinion, couldn’t care less about the environment and certainly aren’t doing anything to help it, they simply aren’t (hopefully), adding to environmental issues.

If you really want to help the environment, go see what you can do for The Soil Association, or Friends of the Earth (Greenpeace only care about small aspects of the environment, not the whole system, as I found out during the foot and mouth days/months).

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

What the hell is happening in America?

I just read the paper today and saw something that shocked the hell out of me. A new report states that 20% of women in America – that’s the USA, not a South American country, have been raped at least once!!! That is 1 in 5 women! I know more than 5 American women and this report means that there is a good chance that at least one of them has been raped! So I’m sitting here thinking what the f**k is going on in America that this could be so?

This report also states that of these 20%, 1 in 4 were severely assaulted by a partner! Almost 80% of the victims were raped (their first rape that is) under the age of 25. 1 in 8 of the women surveyed said that they were raped by a member of their family.

This is horrific. The thing that makes this really scary is that this is a report from the CDC, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
My heart goes out to all those affected by these horrific statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/features/NISVS/

Ready for Winter - Be Prepared

Winter is now here and with it snow, freezing temperatures and more icy roads/pavements are to be expected. So what can we do to stay safe, warm and well?

In Scotland, the government are running a Ready Scotland campaign, to help prepare for this cold season and its possible dangers.

In the meantime, what can we do?
Make sure you have a supply of salt or cat litter or ash for your driveway to keep ice to a minimum.
Buy in tins of food and packets of pasta/noodles in the event that you cannot get out for a few days.
Make sure you have alternative heating - so if your electricity goes off, you have a small gas stove or a fire you can use in the meantime. Likewise - a cooking gas stove, such as you would need for camping, will be beneficial in the event of a power cut. Warm duvets and blankets are a must.
If your home is drafty, use draft excluders and heavy curtains to keep drafts to a minimum.
Make sure you are up to date with all your prescriptions and have a complete first aid kit in your home/car.
Carry blankets, food, water and a shovel in your car in case you are stuck anywhere for a time.
Those under sixty may wish to look in on older neighbours who are afraid of slipping and who may remain indoors for long periods of time.
Wear shoes/boots with good grip or buy add-on grips

With fuel bills at an all time high, many of us are very reluctant to use oil/gas/electricity but this is the time of year when we need it most. If you have a fireplace and chimney in your house, it may be worth having it looked at to see whether you can use it and if you can, do so. it is far cheaper than the bills the fat fuel companies would charge.

Stay warma dn well this winter.

Current Political Policy

It seems that the Conservatives are happy enough not to do anything constructive in this current economic crisis. They would rather ride the wave to the end of their term and hope that nothing much worse happens than help get Britain out of the mess they have made of it.

When will all political parties get the message that constantly bringing up the mess they inherited from the previous party does nothing for them except make them look like petulant children. They are all guilty of this and they must know by now that people are sick of hearing it. Yes, the last government messed things up, we know that, we were there. But the Conservatives have been in office for more than a year and a half now and they have no right to say that anymore and frankly, we really don't want to hear it.

On a final note, I feel I need to rub a few faces in this. I was just old enough to remember the last time the Conservatives were in power and I swore I would never, ever vote for them. At Edinburgh Uni, I met (I was 24, classed as a mature student) 18 year olds who did not know what it was like to live through this government before and Scots - yes, Scots, said they would vote for them at the upcoming election. Well now they see the mess this party like to make of the UK, how they disregard the north (North England and Scotland), Wales, the South West and Northern Ireland. The Conservatives are a party of money-makers and aristo's and even the middle class are being 'squeezed' as a result. This is their legacy, just as it was in the ‘80s.

Economic stability on the horizon?

Having been keeping a close watch on the news re Europe and the Eurozone crisis, it is finally looking as though things may be turning around. With Greece looking ahead, and Berlusconi hopefully on the way out, things could finally be looking up. Indeed, the FSTE was looking promising this morrning, for the first time in a while.

On another note, I was saddened to hear that people had taken to burning poppies for whatever horrible reason. This is both sad and offensive. The poppy is not, as some people have suggested, a political or a religious symbol. It is merely a symbol of sacrifice - the sacrifice of the men who lost their lives in wars. Originally for the first and second world wars, it has come to symbolise all wars and is therefore a global symbol, of remembrance. The money raise also aids the recovery of our soldiers, both present and heroes of older conflicts.

I urge those people who think they are making a protest on political or religious grounds to stop and think, think about what they are doing and how it makes others feel. This is neither a brave nor a commendable act. Please show some respect, even if you do not agree with the symbol. I would not ask that you mark this Sunday with 2 minutes of silence, as this is clearly something you do not agree with but please respect others who do.

Inflation busters

With inflation rocketing out of control, David Cameron doesn’t seem especially inclined to do anything about it.

Instead of doing one of the most basic things to kick-start the economy, he avoids questions on what his own party will do regarding Europe.

Cut the fuel costs. Ridiculously high fuel prices have a knock-on effect on the price of everything, from groceries to furniture, to the cost of oil. By cutting the cost of petrol/diesel more people will be able to afford more extravagant items, boosting the economy. It’s not rocket science and yet the Conservative Party seem incapable of making that small leap of imagination!

On another note, it was Annabel Goulding’s last parliamentary question time in the Scottish Parliament. While she may be a Conservative (most of Scotland, myself included, detest this party), she is an intelligent woman who has done many good deeds in her time and will be missed. I really do wish she would become independent or join any of the other parties! Farewell Annabel!

Facebook bigot facing jail sentence

A bigot, Stephen Birrell, faces up to 8 months in jail after posting sectarian comments on facebook. These posts occurred days after he was released from a 12 month sentence. Clearly, a stint in prison has done nothing to curb his tongue (or typing in this case).

One of the many things that really annoy me about this is that technically, this is a breach of freedom of speech. Firstly, I would like to say that I totally abhor any form of ism - racism, ageism, sectarianism etc - they are the most pathetic excuses for disliking someone. Secondly, everyone in the UK is entitled to say what they like, as long as it is not threatening. Thirdly, having read some of the abusing posts, it is more pathetic than threatening, more stupid than personal. The posts are simply the drivelling rants of a small child-like mind.

Given that this idiot just left jail, clearly being behind bars has done nothing to rehabilitate him.

Rather than wasting the public's money by housing and feeding this eijit, I think it would be far more beneficial to set him up with community service working with catholics and for anyone particularly offended to sue the pants off him.

While I know this is deterrant for the bigger picture of football hooliganism, I do think we can better spend public money.