Malaysian F1 – Cars on the move again


At last the cars are rolling again albeit behind the Safety Car. Lets hope we get back to racing really soon.

Malaysian F1 is Red Flagged


And the race comes to a halt. Charlie Whiting has made the right decision given the conditions. Let’s hope this is not another 4 hour stint.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

And They’re Off


The Malaysian F1 gets underway, relatively event free, on a damp circuit. Schumy and Grossjean appear to have made contact and both spun but both survived.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Media Guidence


It is a shame that these guidelines aren’t being adhered to today. Great to see this. Sentiments such as these should be hammered into every journo’s subconcious. The company that I work for makes all employees read and signup to a basic set of “Business Conduct Guidlines” annually. Keeps us clean.

Jack Dyson's avatarDysonology

In 1966-7 my Dad got a job as a young reporter for the Daily Mail’s Manchester office, just as it was made Newspaper of the Year. All staff received the memo below from editor Mike Randall.

When Dad sent it to me, he added: “Mike Randall left the paper soon afterwards. It became a tabloid and in ethical terms its downhill slide began. However, I think Randall’s statement still stands as the model of propriety to which all journalists working for all media should aspire.”

I couldn’t agree more – and it’s certainly how I’d hope people expect writers to behave. I’d add though that in the 15 years I’ve been writing, I haven’t noticed nearly as much awareness of the dangers of libel, sensationalism and indiscretion in young journos as was drilled into [my generation of] pre-internet trainees. I don’t think Twitter and the pressure of instant comment helps…

View original post 239 more words

Queen Alexandra Hospital parking charges increase comes under fire


Carillion are making money hand over fist with the contract that they negotiated with the QA authorities. I was told that the money they collect doesn’t even go into the hospital coffers, is just a contributor to Carillions £212m profits for 2011.

If that is true then it is obscene.

We, the great British taxpayer, who fund the NHS in general and the QA in particular. Most people don’t visit a hospital out of choice. It is usually because we have a health problem or to visit a friend or relative who has a health problem. Yet when we do have to visit a hospital we are fleeced.

Only this week I was talking with a neighbour, whose wife had been in the QA for six weeks pneumonia. He was paying over £8 pounds a day in parking charges.

That is criminal.

My wife works at the QA and she cannot afford to park on site as the parking charges exceed her pay which is why I take her to and from work each day. Yes she can use the staff Park and Ride but the car park on the hill is not very nice, especially during the winter when the paths and steps are icy.

Queen Alexandra Hospital parking charges increase comes under fire – Local Health – The News.

Care fears as Waterlooville day warden services are taken away


Over the last couple of years the media has been full of stories that indicate just how little the people of this country seem to care about the elderly and infirm. And for those that do care there is the feeling that the authorities cannot be trusted.

Here is an article that seems to promote that view, that once folk take the decision to move into care homes, they have no guarantee that the expected support services will continue. Even if they have signed contracts. This seems to be the experience of Paul Bayliss-Marten

Under the terms of his tenancy – and that of those in the other 69 flats in The Lodge, Lavender Road, Waterlooville – a warden was available from 9am to 9pm.

But that has been suddenly taken away by housing association Guinness Care and Support leaving Mr Bayliss-Marten, 61, with an alarm cord to pull if he gets into trouble.

Guinness announced last month that from April the daytime warden would be replaced by a mobile team during the day which responds when the alarm cord is pulled.

Question:

What happens when the “mobile team” is off-site ?

How will a resident have to wait for the “mobile team” compared to waiting for an on-site warden ?

The casual observer has to ask who is looking after the rights of these folk. Well one organisation, Age Concern (now part of Age UK) had this to say

Chris Perry, director of Age Concern Hampshire, said such changes are on the increase.

He added: ‘Many people take tenancies out on the understanding there is going to be a resident warden.

‘I can understand their concerns but equally from the point of view of the housing association I can understand they can’t have someone on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.’

Well that’s a nice balanced view but it doesn’t address the underlying problem that these folks have a tenancy agreement which provides for a Warden to be available from 9am to 9pm.

The housing association have changed the service that they are providing. Did they discuss things before hand or have they just ridden rough shod over the rights and wishes of the residents.
Care fears as Waterlooville day warden services are taken away – Local Health – The News.