One of my best friends is Italian and she lurves PG! Of course he had a bad press during the last "show".
Barbara, not keeping up (or back) on your P G Wodehouse, shame on you!
The world is yet again going to Hell and Back and only us Oldies seem to remember what made the past bad times, and the younger ones are now just creating their own, - just as we did and our forefathers.
We just never seem to take anything from life's lessons, whilst every other animal does - yet we call ourselves 'higher' - what a joke.
I agree with the rest of your comments though.
Toodle pip.....
Is that a code name for operation book worm?
With the world in such serious trouble how good it is to be
sitting close to the vines .....they are getting ready to become wine
in 2 or more months time.
Thank goodness for topics like favourite music and strolling down memory
lane and do we enjoy a complete French meal?
Thanks Doreen. Would have thought you might have liked the Chateaux book though? Anyway, I enjoy doing it all especially as this lot is for me personally, and not as Editor of the Publsihing company - who don't do these sorts of books anyway.
Roderic the books are not that technical as I am a techno-cripple in every sense, but I think the pix are nice?
Cheers
Apparently Cameron is loathe to upset the Russians as they are so involved in the City of London. Property too of course. The UK did not apply as many sanctions against Gaddafi as did the States- there it was pretty serious and a friend of mine did pokey for for it. Was Lockerbie as serious or more serious than the Ukraine incident. Only one dual nationality US citizen involved in the latter. The UK could buy the second carrier of course which would save us building a second one. Don't know if the spec is similar though.
... and think just how much the Russians have bought up, in London particularly. Are they going to confiscate it all because they are angry about the Ukraine? Are they heck. There are so many double standards that nobody is really sure what standards are any longer.
It difficult to think of a time when as many things are in trouble: Gaza, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Afghanistan- one could go on. However shameful it is one has to admit that the thoughts (prejudices?) of earlier generations end up by being confirmed time after time. Today they are debating sanctions against Russia- should the French for example sell aircraft carriers to the Russians? Cameron said it wouldn't happen in Britain- but the Brits would probably not have got the job in the first place.
I am positive because I live in hope that the things which need changing
will get changed. The way life is directed by the great leaders....political
and financial there is not much hope for optimism.
Sometimes things will go right and the good people in the world who deserve will
win but ignorance and corruption are a toxic blend for disaster.
Looking at the world at this moment in time ......things are not looking so good.
Optimism is all very well but life teaches us to be pessimists; it's a shame. I still prefer to think well of the general motivation of people. Many of the gonged are or have been movers and shakers, and few of them set out with the goal of being "done". Things often go awry.
Ironically, not a bad one at that. For sweet f.a. It takes the biscuit.
Ended up with a pension though!
Glen, don't you mean 'evading' millions in taxes. Those who have the ackers are those who are most likely not to pay. They still get honours.
David, you state " I would not however think that statistically there are more bad eggs in groups of such people than in the general population"
Surely the point is that there shouldn't be any. The moment we accept that fact we are doomed. Come to think of it we have & we are :-(
One of my memories is of a judge we had as a client. He was always pretty tricky (we did have more than one difficult lawyer client) and at the end of the job, which we thought had gone well, he refused to pay our last bill, inviting us to sue him. He said that the court would only believe him as he was a judge. In fact I did a bit of research and apparently the man had some sort of "form" which had been hushed up. Later on he was charged in a major fraud case. I would not however think that statistically there are more bad eggs in groups of such people than in the general population. They certainly draw more attention and we all love a bit of scandal. 'Twas ever thus. My practice covered many of the "smart" parts of London and we therefore had many well known and rich people as clients. We tended to be pretty discrete about our knowledge of the lifestyle of such people, as we were frequently in very close relationships with them. On one occasion a disgruntled former employee of ours threatened to "expose" me to the press unless we paid him unjust damages. Thankfully our solicitors were able to dissuade him from proceeding against us as we had proof of his fraud against the company. He was hoping to use our association with well known people as a tool in earning him hush money. He withdrew his action on the eve of the hearing and received no damages. Well known people are often the target of scurrilous elements seeking to earn a crust or two through the courts or by kiss and tell activities. Our disgruntled employee had also included a false accusation that I was a "sex maniac" preying on female employees.
Unfortunately, given that my OH and I research things that include child abuse, too many people are ignored and allowed to get away with the things they do. That is sometimes because the 'kids are not worth saving' in some people's eyes. The prosecutions are of those who are caught, some will not be found guilty, unfortunately a few who are not will be. There are always going to be those who will simply not be caught. What it requires is changing the culture to one in which children are listened to and believed, but first they must have the means of being able to speak without being accused of lies and bad motives just because. The same has gradually extended to women, not far enough yet, but it should be a universally accessible to all.
The other thought is that having had trusteeships I got to hear things. Although a couple of decades ago, a well known successful fundraiser who went into politics was known to have skimmed money he raised but nobody could prove it enough to have him prosecuted. His salary was good but he accumulated wealth far faster than a high wage would. When he went into politics, as far as I know the leader of the party he stood for more or less knew where his money had come from. Nonetheless, he served a single term in parliament then was voted out, never to be heard of since. He has had no honours though, thank goodness.
I hope that now is different.
I really hope so but I am not sure.
Just had a vision of MAX CLIFFORD.
He was not honoured was he.....
Absolutely, but that was then, this is so very now, and hopefully things have changed and in the future when someone cries for help, they will not be brushed under the carpet, just because a 'well known name' happen to be involved. At the same time no one is guilty until proven guilty, even if that is what the media sooo love...as it all just goes straight just into the deep pocket of the media as it all sells papers/magazines - to me they are absolute (excuse the expression) shit stirrers!
Those who covered up and kept quiet are as much to blame. It is rapidly emerging how many of them were 'honoured' with knighthoods and lordships too.
Yes Mr ELLIS the human being is so complex....
But where will some people stop...
It is a mix of extreme vanity and a sex drive of a most peculiar
nature.To pray on young children, many of whom were too sick
to scream for help.What monsters are being bred.
And what monsters are out there who allow them to carry on in the
name of money and power.
Talk about tom cats.....