Hell of a “Lord”: Cutting council cuts: Cactus cat: I me wed: Lot of photo: and Panda poo tea.

Not bad at the Castle this morn, warmish, dampish and calmish, the study is void of any broken what-knots, and I am finally orf to visit “Ms” sister in the smoke.

And today’s worm pic-getting a bit fed up with it now.

Poor old thieving Lord Hanningfield

Who stole £14,000 from us has told auntie that “he has been through "hell" for two years over his expenses.”

The former Essex County Council leader said he slept better in prison than he had during the police investigation and said: "I've paid my debt."

He said he did not believe at the time he was doing anything wrong in making claims for overnight stays in London when he actually returned to Essex.

He was jailed for nine months in July but was released on licence in September and currently wears an electronic tag and observes a 1915 GMT curfew.

 Oh dear, what a shame.....

Over the Solent

Two disabled men who faced losing their right to care won a landmark High Court case yesterday over cost cutting by their council. It was the latest in a series of rulings that threatens to disrupt the Government's attempts to slash local authority spending.

Campaigners said the judgment, in which the Isle of Wight council's plan to reduce its adult social care budget was ruled unlawful and quashed, should serve as a warning to every council that is planning cuts.

It is the second High Court ruling this week to deal a major blow to local authorities seeking to save millions of pounds by targeting adult social care in the wake of massive central government cuts to their budgets.

Mrs Justice Lang, sitting in London, ruled against the Isle of Wight's plan to restrict access to social care by making it harder for people to meet eligibility criteria. The judgment makes it unlawful for councils trying to make cuts to adult social care to ignore the impact this will have on a person's quality of life.

Piss Poor Policies Millionaires Club Coalition take note.

Way over to the left

An Arizona kitty was perched atop a giant saguaro cactus for at least three days before finally coming down on its own.

Residents living in a desert area northeast of Phoenix noticed the black cat with white patches at the very top of the 30- to 40-foot cactus.

At times, the feline would stand up and survey the area, possibly trying to figure out how to get down _ or how it got up there.

Helicopter video shows the cat eventually climbing down the cactus Friday. It started making its way down head-first before turning around and scooting backward. It finally took a big leap and landed on its feet before wandering into the desert.

Cactaceae cat.

West even further

Apparently thirty-year-old Wei-yih Chen, an office worker from Taipei, was uninspired by the men she had met from whom she would have picked a marriage partner.

So she decided to get married-to herself.

She posed for a set of photos in a flowing white dress, hired a wedding planner and rented a banquet hall for a marriage celebration with 30 friends. She even paid for a solo honeymoon to Australia!

“Age thirty is a prime period for me. My work and experience are in good shape, but I haven’t found a partner, so what can I do? It’s not that I’m anti-marriage. I just hope that I can express a different idea within the bounds of a tradition,” said Chen.

Her wedding, costing NT$50,000 (approx. US$1,500), has generated much online attention in the form of more than 1,800 mostly sympathetic comments.

Bet her wedding night was a blast....

 

Right more than a smidge and a bit

A 1999 photograph of the Rhine River by German artist Andreas Gursky has sold for $4.3 million in New York City, setting a record for any photograph sold at auction.

Titled "Rhein II," the chromogenic colour print face-mounted to acrylic glass, had a pre-sale estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.

It sold Tuesday at Christie's. The buyer was not disclosed.

The previous record for any photography sold at auction was Cindy Sherman's "Untitled," which fetched $3.8 million at Christie's in May.

Gursky's panoramic image of the Rhine is one of an edition of six photographs. Four are in major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London.

 

Must have a look through the old photo albums for the most boring pic I can find.

And finally:

Back over to the East

College lecture An Yanshi has collected five tons of panda excrement to create a new type of tea.

He believes the rich fertiliser will give rise to a unique aroma that will make his brew a connoisseurs' favourite, which he will be able to sell for up to £50,000 per kilo.

'Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 per cent of everything they eat. That means their excrement is rich in fibres and nutrients,' Yanshi explained.

'It has a mature, nutty taste and a very distinctive aroma while it's brewing.'

Yanshi, who collects the poo by the lorry load from the Giant Panda breeding centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province, southern China, aims to secure the Guinness World Record once his first batch of the expensive blend is ready for sale.

Can’t wait to see that in Tesco’s.

That’s it: I’m orf to the centre of the Earth. 

And today’s thought: Never feed your cat anything that doesn't match the carpet.

Angus

Moving law, order and other tales

Warmish, calmish and dampish at the Castle this morn, the study is devoid of any non functioning machines, his Maj has decided to find the muddiest bit in the garden, have a roll about in it and then sit on my lap....

I see that the biggest car park in the world is twenty five

At 117-mile (188km) and more than 11 years to build, cost £1bn and used more than two million tonnes of concrete and 3.5 million tonnes of asphalt. The M25 is a monster of the road in many ways.

The final section was opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in October 1986 to a huge fanfare. It has gone on to change many things, including our economy, environment and living habits.

Happy birthday.....

 And: 

U-Turn Cam’s “support team” spent £3,500 plus to join him on holiday

Allegedly; newly released details on government spending showed that members of his private office charged taxpayers almost £3,600 to act as the “Prime Minister’s support team during a visit overseas (holiday in Ibiza)”.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said the spending covered accommodation for members of Mr Cameron’s private office “to enable him to continue working when he was on holiday so he could stay in contact with Downing Street at all times”.

The disclosure came in new data showing civil servants have racked up more than £360 million of debit card bills since the Coalition came to power.

It emerged that the Ministry of Defence has spent £48,000 in “bars, lounges, taverns and discos” and £1,260 at “bowling alleys” since April.

Since the beginning of the year, officials from the Department for Transport have stayed at hotel chains, including Hilton, Sheraton and Malmaison.

The Ministry of Justice, which looks after prisons, records more than £3,000 of payments to hair and beauty parlours, £1,700 to a classic car dealership and more than £900 to a company called The Wedding Direct.

But forget not-“we are all in this together”.

  

Over in the land of the brave and the home of the free

A former Creek County judge convicted of exposing himself and using a male enhancement device while seated at the bench is not eligible to receive judicial retirement benefits, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

The high court upheld a decision by the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees, ruling that Donald D. Thompson, a 23-year veteran of the Sooner State legal system, violated his oath of office by using a penis pump while presiding over trials, according to NewsOK.

Thompson served about 20 months in prison after being found guilty in 2006, at which time his monthly pension of $7,789 was discontinued.

During his own trial, Thompson unsuccessfully argued that the criminal actions did not disrupt the proceedings in his courtroom. 

The Westminster Wankers should look out then...

Up a bit to the cold bit of the States

The captain of a supply boat was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after his vessel ran aground early on Thursday in Anchorage's small-craft harbour, police said.

It appears to be the first case of an alcohol-related marine accident at the port of Anchorage in recent memory, said Lieutenant Dave Parker of the Anchorage Police Department.

The vessel, a 53-foot cargo craft, was steered up onto the harbour's concrete boat ramp, where it was left "high and dry," Parker said. On its way into port, boat also appeared to have struck and damaged an offshore piling, he said.

A blood-alcohol test of the captain, Albert Anderson, 57, revealed he was at least one-and-a-half times the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle or water craft, Parker said. 

Police are treating the case as a routine drunken-driving incident, albeit one that does not involve a car, he said.

 What shall we do with the drunken sailor-Put him in the bilge and make him drink it.

Back in Blighty

A policeman illegally parked a patrol car so he could tick off other drivers for poor parking.

The officer ignored road markings and left his vehicle with two wheels on the pavement as he monitored parents dropping off their children outside Thorpe Hesley Junior School near Rotherham, Yorkshire.

But his badly parked car was captured on camera and he later apologised after being disciplined by senior officers.

Parent Kevin Leach, 32, said: ‘The policeman was marching up and down, strutting his authority in an attempt to ensure the rules of the law were being followed.

The old “do as I say, not what I do” ploy.

Right a smidge to the land of fast roads

Four Britons driving a car transformed into a pirate ship were stopped by German police as they drove through Europe on their way to a competition.

The motley bunch dressed head-to-toe in pirate attire were on their way to an iconic vehicle contest.

The amateur ship - aptly named Black Pearl after Pirates of the Caribbean’s star Jack Sparrow's beloved boat - troubled motorway authorities near Holzkirchen in Germany.

It is believed the four-wheeled pirate ship was heading towards Munich when it was spotted and stopped.

The pirate wannabees - who have not been identified by police – were sent on their way after testing negative for alcohol and supplying necessary documentation.

A police spokesman said: ‘They had a road safety certificate for all of the modifications including the mast and the galley and so we wished them a safe voyage and allowed them to continue on their way.’

Handsomely

Back over to the land of big cars and even bigger trucks

While fire-fighters in Pittsburgh were at City Hall getting flu shots, the trucks they parked outside were getting parking tickets.

The trucks were parked for about 5 minutes Wednesday in permit-only spaces reserved for City Council members. But council President Darlene Harris denies any involvement.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says the tickets never should have been issued. He says fire-fighters were encouraged to get flu shots to stay healthy.

Fire-fighters union attorney Josh Bloom says they drove the trucks to City Hall so they could stay on duty.

Fire Chief Darryl Jones tells KDKA-TV he has appealed the tickets. He says he'll ask a judge for leniency.

 Who will probably be too busy “pumping up” to listen.

And finally:

Back to the thin blue line in bollixed up Blighty

A female police officer who hit her head on a cabinet after the back of chair snapped off received £10,000 compensation, figures show.

Another officer was paid £5,000 after slipping on a wet patch in a lavatory, according to Bedfordshire Police.

A Public Protection Officer who burnt his hand in flames at training course at RAF Cosford - £4,875

A Response Volume Crime Officer received a knee injury after he lost control approaching a corner - £1,600

A Response Officer put his hand through a pane of glass while running out of a station on a 999 call - £2,052

And.

A Central Ticket Office staff member claimed that complaints about backache and an "uncomfortable workstation" were not addressed - £1,000

Compo coppers......
 

That’s it: I’m orf to berate a Seagull 

And today’s thought: Every rule has an exception-especially this one.

Angus