‘Worrying times’: Lansley does a half U-turn: Easter’s orf: Fast jobs: Life’s a beach: and a second hand TV.

Cold, wet and windy at the Castle this morn, the kitchen is empty of any sort of electronic adding machines and I didn’t cut the grass or wash the Rover, it’s a hard life.

I received my Local Elections and Referendum leaflet through the portcullis yesterday which I started to read but by page three I gave up after seeing “You show your choice by putting a cross (X) in the “Yes” or “No” box on your ballot paper”

Sorted…

East to the glowing island

Engineers struggling to stem radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have dumped 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water into the sea in their ongoing battle to restore control over its crippled reactors.

The low-level radioactive water was released into the Pacific Ocean on Monday to create space for more highly contaminated water.

"We have no choice but to safely release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure," said Yukio Edano, Japan's chief cabinet secretary.

Engineers were also planning to build a giant silk curtain in the ocean to contain contamination, the latest in a string of increasingly desperate measures.

Powdered bath salts were also being used to turn the water a milky white in order to help trace the source of radiation leaks.

That’s the last tin of Pacific Tuna I will buy.

Over in Gadaffi land

Silly Billy Hague has told Parliament that the UK is not involved in arming Libyan rebels but that non-lethal military equipment such as telecommunications infrastructure to Libya’s interim transitional council may be provided to support them.

Yeah right……

And still in our green and tottering land

The UK faces a fragile economic recovery, with a worrying overall picture, a survey has suggested.

The latest quarterly survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said firms faced cash flow constraints.

The survey suggested that in the first quarter the economy returned to growth.

But the BCC said "the upturn in Q1 is likely to have been only slightly larger than the decline of 0.5% seen in Q4 2010", when the severe weather caused disruptions.

That would mean output levels were only "marginally higher" than they were before the weather took its toll, the BCC said.

No……really?

National Hesitate Service

As usual the Piss Poor Policies Coalition has decided to “delay” their latest attack on the NHS, Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, has announced that the Government's controversial plans to reform the NHS are to be delayed to allow more time for consultation.

Mr Lansley told MPs there were ''genuine concerns'' with the proposals, which would see primary care trusts abolished and GPs handed responsibility for commissioning health services.

And went on-"We want to continue to listen to, engage with and learn from experts, patients and frontline staff within the NHS and beyond and to respond accordingly.

"I can therefore tell the House that we propose to take the opportunity to take a natural break in the passage of the Bill - to pause, to listen and to engage with all those who want the NHS to succeed and to subsequently bring forward amendments to improve the plans further in the normal way."

Shouldn’t ‘listening, engaging, and learning’ be considered before the bill is rushed through, not during?

Dahn Unda

A School ditched the word Easter from its Easter Hat Parade to try to teach students about religious "tolerance".

Bondi Public School principal Michael Jones wrote to parents about the decision, saying Easter was just one of many religious celebrations at this time of year.

"As we are an inclusive community which celebrates our diverse range of cultures and beliefs, I have not called it an Easter Hat parade," Mr Jones wrote in the school's latest newsletter.

"Many religious celebrations occur at this time of year but we want to include all students in any celebration at school. Teachers will talk to students about the different celebrations and the emphasis will be on tolerance and understanding."

However the ruling on Friday's fundraising event was overturned yesterday, after parents from the school in Sydney's east expressed anger.

Christians 1, all the rest 0.

Over the glowing Pacific to the land of the burger and the home of the drive through

McDonald's unwrapped Monday a Big Mac-sized hiring event, saying it hopes to add up to 50,000 employees in the United States in a single day this month.

The McJobs blitz will be April 19, when nearly 14,000 restaurants will seek new crew and managers for both full- and part-time positions, the fast-food giant said.

"Our national hiring event is an opportunity to invite more people across the country to join our team, and learn that a McJob is one with career growth and endless possibilities," said Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA, in a statement.

The company noted that Fields began her career in an entry-level restaurant position.

Stressing the chance for employees to move up the corporate ladder, McDonald's said that more than 50 percent of its franchise owners and 75 percent of restaurant managers started as crew.

McDonald's USA serves more than 26 million customers a day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 US restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women.

The Illinois-based company has more than 32,000 restaurants in 117 countries, and a global workforce of 1.7 million.

Mmmmm…tasty.

Across to the land of-whatever.

A Swedish lifestyle magazine is looking to hire a 'beach tester' to check out seaside resorts around the world.

Duties will include receiving full-body massages, drinking wine at local taverns, and reading books on the beach.

Women's lifestyle magazine Amelia posted the advertisement with the Swedish National Public Employment Service.

Candidates will be expected to spend four weeks testing beaches in four different locations around the globe.

"Included in the job assignment is going on outings, lying on beach chairs, drinking wine in local taverns, and other ordinary assignments found in a commercial beach and tourist environment," reads the ad.

"In certain areas, receiving a full-body massage, testing drinks, snorkelling, and book reading may be required."

Candidates must be able to swim, be willing to work late nights, as well as "have the capacity to rest/do nothing for long periods of time".

"The response has been huge," said Amelia's editor-in-chief, Asa Lundegard. "The announcement went up a few hours ago and we've already received hundreds of applications."

The successful candidate will be invited to travel to four different destinations - Corsica, Cape Town, and two locations in Asia - and will be expected to blog about their experiences.

My application is already on its way.

And finally:

In these days of austerity

Britain's oldest working television set, which was manufactured by Marconi in 1936, is expected to sell for more than £5,000 at auction.

The machine was bought for almost £100 three weeks after television transmissions began. But Mr GB Davis of Dulwich, south–east London would have only been able to able to watch it for a few hours.

The nearby Crystal Palace and its transmitter burned down three days after Mr Davis bought the Marconi type–702 set on November 26. The area could not receive pictures again until 1946.

The 75-year-old set comes with a 12-inch screen and is contained in a walnut and mahogany case with the picture being reflected onto a mirror that opens from the top.

Think I’ll stick to my LCD…….

That’s it: I’m orf to send a letter to my ISP.

And today’s thought: Dogs think they're human. Cats think they're gods.

Angus