Day: January 12, 2011

Nuisance Telephone Calls


For the last couple of days we have been receiving nuisance calls to our landline. Always around the same time of day and when you answer the line is dead, sounding  like the pause you get before an automated message starts. But it never does.

So the initial nuisance is that having hauled yourself out of  your chair, away from your work or even worse, away from your meal,  it is all for nothing.

The additional irritation is that when you try to initiate a call back (1471 in the UK) to find out who called you receive the message

” You were called…..blah … blah…. blah. We do not have the callers number”

Why Not ? Isn’t it your telephone network ?Why is this allowed ?

Why is the caller allowed to disturb your peace, allowed to invade your privacy but you are not allowed to respond. The caller obviously wanted to speak to someone at your number so why are they being so secretive.

I think the rules should be changed. If you call someone then they have the right to know who you are.

South American Shenanigans


With the near future “deletion” of our Fleet Air capability, i.e. the scrapping of our aircraft carriers and the Harrier jump-jets it is hardly surprising that an element of sabre-rattling is commencing.

HMS Clyde was refused permission to stop in Rio. Clyde is the Royal Navy’s Falkland Islands protection ship and it is being suggested that turning her away from port in Rio de Janeiro is a sign that Brazil’s new left-wing government could be backing Argentine claims to the islands.

I hope the Cameron government is keeping an eye on these actions and hopefully may rescind some of the decisions recently made regarding our navy and the Fleet Air Arm.

Student Tosser Jailed


On 10 November, 2010 Edward Woollard, 18, from Hampshire, was among protesters who broke into the Tory party headquarters and emerged on the roof.  Yesterday he was sent to jail for two years and eight months after admitting at an earlier hearing to committing violent disorder.

So justice is seen to be done. Already there are cries of “not fair” as it is suggested that the court have made an example of him. That the sentence is too harsh.

Rubbish I say.

What if the fire extinguisher that he threw off the roof had actually hit someone. That person would have been severely injured or worse still they could have been killed. Would anyone have been calling the sentence unfair then ?  Of course not.

Woollard may well have shown the usual teenage lack of control and got caught up in the “heat of the moment” but that is no excuse. Whilst I have every sympathy for his family I have none for him.

I am all for peaceful demos but these guys went on the rampage damaging property. People ended up in hospital, traumatised. What part of their brains were turned off such that they could not distinguish Right from Wrong ?

Mr Woollard has been taught a lesson and a strong message is being sent to all would be rioters and its about time.