Not a lot going on atmospherically at the Castle this morn, just
a whimsy of warm stuff, no wet stuff, even less windy stuff and lots of cloudy
stuff.
Still stunned over the cost of a new “toof”, I could sell
the old bod, and I reckon that might raise abaht 50p.
Trouble is brewing, the Work and Pensions Secretary also
known as the Irritable Bowel Twins is fighting “ludicrous” European rules that
mean the winter fuel payment must be made to an estimated 440,000 British
pensioners living abroad.
Knob head Smith announced yesterday that he intended to
introduce a new “temperature” test to prevent pensioners receiving the benefit
if they live in warm countries and do not need extra money to spend on winter
fuel.
However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
confirmed that the new temperature rule would also apply to pensioners in
Britain.
Apparently this would see the elderly in milder areas of the
south of England lose the benefit, while those in colder parts of Europe
continue to receive it. The reform could also mean that pensioners living in
Labour-supporting parts of Scotland and northern England keep the payment,
while those in the southern Tory heartlands lose out.
The average low January temperature in Portsmouth is 41.4F
(5.2C), warmer than Madrid, which has an average low of 37.4F (3C).
Mr Duncan Smith yesterday promised to “protect taxpayers’
money and bring in temperature criteria”. DWP officials said the details had
not been finalised.
David Cameron has promised not to cut pensioners’ benefits
during this parliament.
Yet another Piss Poor Policy...
South London Healthcare Trust, which runs three hospitals in
the capital, was put in the hands of special administrator Matthew Kershaw last
month because it was losing more than £1 million a week.
On Thursday, Mr Kershaw announced that he had invited
providers of NHS-funded care - including both NHS organisations and private
companies - to submit expressions of interest.
That could mean firms including Virgin Care, Serco and
Circle bidding for the contract to run the trust, which has a turnover of £424
million.
Mr Kershaw wrote that he was “seeking to identify any
parties who may be interested in being part of one or more of the solutions”.
That indicates different services could be hived off to be
run by different providers.
I see that the Piss Poor Policies Millionaires Club
Coalition’s plan to privatise the NHS is going well....
Aerofex has spent the best part of four years perfecting its
'hover bike' and its latest offering can hover up to 15ft in the air, reaching
speeds of 30mph.
The craft is steered by the rider leaning from side to side
- just like a motorcycle - in a style reminiscent of the speeder bikes from
"Return of the Jedi".
In a statement accompanying the video, the company explains
the latest test model has technology to keep dust and debris away from the
pilot, which had been a problem with rotored vehicles in the past.
The company plans to use the technology to develop unmanned
aerial vehicles that can be used to patrol borders where there are no roads.
Seen it all before, it’s called a hovercraft.....
Nepali daily
Annapurna Post said Mohamed Salmo Miya chased the snake, which bit him in his
rice paddy on Tuesday caught it and bit it until it died.
"I could have
killed it with a stick but bit it with my teeth instead because I was
angry," the 55-year-old Miya, who lives in a village some 200 km (125
miles) southeast of the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, was quoted by the daily as
saying.
The snake, called
"goman" in Nepal, is also known as the Common Cobra.
Police official
Niraj Shahi said the man, who was being treated at a village health post and
was not in danger of dying, would not be charged with killing the snake because
the reptile was not among snake species listed as endangered in Nepal.
Oh well, at least
that’s his lunch sorted out.
A Norwegian art
gallery lost a Rembrandt etching worth up to $8,600 in the mail after trying to
save money on courier and insurance costs, the gallery's chief said on
Thursday.
The Soli Brug
Gallery in Greaaker, about 80 kilometres south of Oslo, purchased a copy of
Rembrandt's 'Lieven Willemsz, van Coppenol, Writing-Master' made in around 1658
from a British dealer, only to have it lost in the Norwegian postal system
"Using a
courier or special insurance is quite expensive so we have used regular mail
until now," Ole Derje, the gallery's chairman said.
"It is worth
around 40,000 to 50,000 crowns ($6,900-$8,600) and the postal service is
offering us compensation of 500-1,000 crowns."
Could have been
worse, they could have used Parcel Force....
A young hippo
chased away from his herd at a South African game reserve has found a
refreshing place to relax: the lodge's swimming pool. Now it's stuck there.
The young
hippopotamus plopped into the pool on Tuesday at the Monate Conservation Lodge
north of Johannesburg. The pool is big enough for the hippo to swim but its
eight feet deep with no steps and "there's no way he can come out,"
lodge manager Ruby Ferreira told The Associated Press on Thursday.
A game capture team
will sedate the hippo and lift it out of the pool with a crane, said MuIsabel
Wentzel of South Africa's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals. Much of the water has already been drained to make the extraction
easier. A veterinarian will be present during operation hippo extraction today.
Staff have been
feeding the hippo. Ferreira said it's been noticeably relaxed with no other
hippos fighting it for dominance, though the water in the pool has been getting
mucky with hippo poop. The pool will be entirely drained before the hippo is
lifted out.
Oh well that’s
dinner sorted out then.....
That’s it: I’m orf to try
out a Maser
And today’s
thought:
Not entitled to a
winter fuel allowance.
Angus
3 comments:
David Cameron has promised not to cut pensioners’ benefits during this parliament.
Oh how effing magnanimous.
Psst - wanna buy a Rembrandt?
I am waiting for the U-Turn James...
How much AK:)
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