Home school CRB checks; Climate change-ask your GP; No buggy ride; And Fake over Fir

Just returned from the smash and grab (Tesco), still knackered, very wet and very cold, opened the portcullis and half a ton of leaves blew into the keep.








But I didn’t manage to crash the car unlike Stripey Woods: what is all the bleedin fuss about a Golfer, not a sportsman, (golf is a past time, athletes are sportsmen), who managed to crash into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his own home, big deal, it isn’t exactly earth shattering news is it, the only amusing bit is that Mrs Stripey used a driver to rescue a driver who uses a driver, I think.









And it looks like we may have to say goodbye to “free” online news, The Johnston Press websites will either ask users to pay £5 for a three-month subscription to read the full articles or direct them to buy the newspapers.

English sites in the pilot scheme are those of the Worksop Guardian, the Ripley & Heanor News, the Whitby Gazette and Northumberland Gazette.

In Scotland, the Carrick Gazette and Southern Reporter are taking part.

That’s the end of my blog then.

But while I can: first up:

No CRB no teach

It seems that the CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) creep has reached parents who home school their kids, according to the Daily Fail.

“The estimated 40,00 parents who chose not to send their children to school should be vetted, says Ofsted”

Next step I suppose is to vet all parents, then they can start on uncles, aunt’s nephews nieces etc, so why not go the whole hog and vet everyone in the country, starting with MPs and the people who work for the CRB.

Doctor Climate

The latest barmy “idea” to come from the “powers that be” is that ‘Doctors should give patients advice on climate change’.

The Climate and Health Council, a collaboration of worldwide health organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society of Medicine, believes there is a direct link between climate change and better health.

Their controversial plan would see GPs and nurses give out advice to their patients on how to lower their carbon footprint.

The Council believes that climate change “threatens to radically undermine the health of all peoples”.

It believes health professionals are ideally placed to promote change because “we have ethical responsibility…..as well as the capacity to influence people and our political representatives to take the necessary action”.

The Council has been recently formed to study the health benefits of tackling climate change and promotes a range of ideas from reducing your carbon footprint by driving less and walking more to eating local, less processed food.

They believe that offering patients advice on how to lower their carbon footprint can be just as easy and achievable as helping them to stop smoking or eat a healthier diet.


Prof Mike Gill, from the University of Surrey, who co-chairs the Climate and Health Council, outlined the plans for the medical journal The Lancet last week.

Now look here Prof, the time I get with my GP is short enough as it is, I don’t need someone who has spent many years studying and practising medicine to inform me that my Carbon Footprint is too big, I want medical advice and treatment not how to switch off a light.

Railway Buggy Bollocks

A mother has accused railway staff of health and safety 'madness' after they refused to carry her newborn baby's buggy up a flight of stairs because they were not insured to do so.

Vicky Pachner, 26, who was with her 10-week-old son Oliver, was told by rail station workers they were not allowed to help her.

Mrs Pachner, a software trainer, only decided to take the train because her car would not start when she was on her way to hospital for a routine check-up with her son.

She needed to use the concrete steps and pedestrian bridge to cross to the other platform at Wadhurst railway station, East Sussex, where she lives, to get a train to nearby Pembury, Kent.

Mrs Pachner said: "I bought a ticket and asked the lady behind the counter if someone could help me carry the buggy up the stairs and down the steps on the other side to reach the platform.

"She said no one was available to help so I asked if she could or the other man in the ticket office with her.

"It's only a small village station so it's not as if they were rushed off their feet and really busy.

"Then the lady said they could not help because they were not insured to lift things like prams.

"I was really upset. I'd heard of other stories of health and safety madness but I just couldn't believe they were not willing to help a mum with a new-born baby."

Instead a fellow woman passenger came to their aid and helped the pair.

A spokesman for Southeastern Trains said: "Our staff will help passengers when possible.

"However we also need to strike a balance where the number one priority for our staff is the safe running of trains.

"If it is going to interfere with the safe running of the trains then that must take priority."

Yeah right.


And finally:

Fake trees are safer

Down in Dorset there is a row brewing, over the decision to replace a traditional Christmas tree with a fake one - for health and safety reasons.

Shoppers in Poole say the artificial tree looks more like a huge traffic cone or something from outer space.

There are no branches, decorations or baubles, and its tiny lights only show up at night.

But Borough of Poole bosses insist it is safer, sturdier and cheaper in the long run than a Norway fir tree that could topple over in strong winds.

'We've sought an alternative solution following a number of complaints from the public about last year's real Christmas tree,' says town centre manager Richard Randle-Jones.

'The tree is covered with thousands of LED lights with a bright star on top and looks very special after dark. We would invite shoppers to come down and judge the tree for themselves.'

Health and safety rules mean any large structure must be safely secured to stop it falling over during a storm.

People had complained about the hoardings and guy ropes supporting the real tree last year, the council said.

You just can’t please some people, and what an ugly tree,

Back tomorrow, if I can access the news for free.

Angus

AnglishLit

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

Angus Dei politico

YES! YES! YES!

I did something last night that I haven’t done for years, and I kept it up for 45 minutes, it was the most fun I have had for along time, and this morning I feel like a bouncy little lamb.

What was it? I spent almost an hour head banging, singing and playing air-guitar along to the QUO who were at Glastonbury for the first time in its history, you can forget Blur and the Boss, for me the QUO were the bill toppers.

It was nice to see entertainers that actually enjoy what they do, and are not there for the money or kudos, just for the fans.







Anyway, back to the weird and wonderful world of the news:

More health and safety overkill a group of pensioners have been banned from holding a coffee morning at a public library for health and safety reasons in case they spill hot drinks on children.

The seven members of the coffee morning for over 50s have met at Eye Library in Eye, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, every Tuesday for the last four years without incident.
But the anal killjoys at the council have decided that the meeting should be axed in case toddlers from a nearby nursery who use the library at the same time might be injured if hot coffee was spilt on them.

Retired office worker Patricia Owen, 70, and her husband Ray, 69, from Eye Green, near Eye, have also been attending the coffee mornings since they were launched.

Mrs Owen said: "We are being told we can't have a hot drink. Health and safety is a silly excuse. We have now made alternative arrangements and plan to have our coffee mornings at each other's homes."

A spokesman for Peterborough City Council, who run the library, said: "Eye Library is a small library and there were concerns about hot drinks being served to the group when there were small children sitting very close by.

"However, we do not want to spoil anyone's fun, and will be speaking to both groups to see if we can be more flexible about the timings so that the nursery group are not in the library at the time the coffee morning is meeting."

So why the f**k didn’t they do that in the first place?

Liar, liar pants on fire 12 days ago I did a piece on the girl who said that 56 stars were tattooed on her on her face as she slept.

She has now admitted she was awake the whole time – and lied because her father was "furious".

Kimberley Vlaminck had insisted she dozed off after asking the tattooist for just three small stars – then woke in horror to find her face was covered.

The Belgian blamed the Flemish-speaking tattooist for not being able to understand her French and English instructions.

But the 18-year-old has finally confessed she did not fall asleep, that she wanted all the stars and was "fully aware" of what Mr Toumaniantz was doing.

Ms Vlaminck told a Dutch TV crew: "I asked for 56 stars and initially adored them. But when my father saw them, he was furious. So I said I fell asleep and the that the tattooist made a mistake."

Your sins will always find you out.

Job for the boys An artist has been given a £20,000 National Lottery grant - to look at girls' bums.

Sue Williams was given the money to "explore cultural attitudes towards female buttocks", reports The Sun.

She will create plaster cast moulds of women's behinds to try to understand their place in contemporary culture.

Mrs Williams, 53, of Swansea, will also examine different racial attitudes towards bums in Europe and Africa.

Emma Geliot from the Arts Council of Wales, which awarded the grant, said: "This produces a tee-hee response but there is a serious point."

No there isn’t, it is just a waste of lottery money, mind you if Ms Geliot wants an assistant……………

Our Liz is about to publish her accounts the figures relate to 2008-09 and will concern funding provided by the taxpayer to finance the head of state.

Last year's accounts revealed the Queen and other members of her family cost the taxpayer 66p per person over the 12-month period to March 31 2008.

The figures also showed more than £22,000 was spent chartering a helicopter to ferry the Monarch to and from the Kentucky Derby in Louisville during a state visit to America in May 2007.

The Queen's visit to the United States, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, was the most expensive royal overseas trip that financial year, with a plane chartered at a cost of £381,813.

The total cost of keeping the Queen and the Royal Family increased by £2 million or 5% to £40 million during 2007-08.

The Queen's Civil List - money used to fund the Monarch's official duties - increased by £500,000 to £12.7 million, while the amount spent on royal travel rose to £6.2 million - up by £600,000.

I am on the fence over this one, where do you stand?




And finally:

Something close to my heart Doctors to hit out over NHS errors Doctors are to call on the Department of Health to take full responsibility for NHS errors caused by political policy implemented via "perverse incentives", targets and performance management.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) will also be debating the increasing "commercialisation" of the NHS.

Another big issue will be the recent scandal at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
One motion being debated at the annual conference in Liverpool warns that failures at Stafford are at risk of happening elsewhere.

Another motion calls upon the Government to hold an independent inquiry into the impact and consequences of "crude" targets that affect the running of the NHS in the light of Mid Staffs.
A report from the Healthcare Commission in March condemned "appalling" and "shocking" standards of care at Mid Staffs, which led to some patients dying.

Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period, with the poorest examples of care at Stafford Hospital.

The BMA has issued new guidance for doctors who have concerns about patient safety.
It calls on doctors to raise fears about malpractice or failures in the system, rather than allowing the situation to reach a point where patient safety is under threat.

A spokesman said the guidance pointed out that employees who were victimised after raising their concerns could bring an employment tribunal, and that their employers could be heavily fined.

Yeah right, and we all know what will happen-nothing.




Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

THE SUNDAY SECTION

The HSE has finally done it Traditional school ties 'banned' over health and safety fears at least 10 schools a week are adopting clip-on ties amid fears conventional knots pose an injury risk, it was claimed.

Concerns have been raised over children pulling them too tight for a joke and getting them caught in machinery.

Headteachers also claim they look scruffy as pupils wear fat knots or short tails as part of the latest fashion craze.

Research by the Schoolwear Association, which represents uniform manufacturers, said there had been rising demand for "safer" ties since January.

Around 25 British schools change their ties every week, it said, with almost half of those opting for clip-ons.

The Campaign for Real Education condemned the move as "health and safety gone mad".


I’ll second that.









Looks like us down in ‘Ampshire have got problems New 'super rats' evolve resistance to poison genetic mutations have produced a new breed of "super rat" with DNA that protects the vermin from standard toxins, according to Professor Robert Smith at the University of Huddersfield.

Ratcatchers in Berkshire and Hampshire were the first to report that their poisons were no longer effective, which experts put down to increased immunity among the pests.

But as the poison-resistant rats continue to spread, tests have revealed that they boast an entirely new strand of DNA that wards off attacks from pesticides.

Swindon in Wiltshire is the latest town to suffer an infestation, with exterminators reporting a 500 per cent increase in the rodents. Many are turning to traps, air rifles and even dogs in an effort to keep the populations under control.

And there’s me thinking they only existed in the Houses of Parliament.





One for the lads-World's largest bikini parade on Las Vegas Strip Las Vegas has staged the world’s largest bikini parade in a bid to revive the city's flagging visitor numbers.

The occasion marked the 50th anniversary of the building iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” neon sign and according to the city’s mayor, Oscar Goodman, the start of summer on the Strip – a month ahead of other northern hemisphere destinations.

The publicity stunt, which saw around 300 bikini-clad women parade down The Strip, will do little to improve the city’s reputation for a lack of political correctness (women were asked to send in a photo along with their hip, waist and bust measurements, before participation could be approved) but plenty to publicise the city’s famous pool party scene.

It was followed by a swimwear retrospective, hosted by Holly Madison of the reality television programme Girl of the Playboy Mansion, featuring a catwalk show of bathing suits from the fifties to the present day.

The city has been struggled in recent months to attract visitors due to the economic downturn.

Go on spoil yourself, take a look.

No thank you very much-Britons offered 'free' caravans Britons are being offered the chance to claim a free holiday home after a holiday parks company announced that it is giving away static caravans this summer.

Park Holidays UK, which operates 25 parks in Britain, plans to transfer ownership of its oldest static caravans to Britons wanting a holiday home.

The caravans, which are around 15 years old and valued between £2,000 to £4,000 each, come with the original furniture, carpets, kitchen appliances and beds, and will be given a safety-check before handover.

Holidaymakers claiming a caravan are required to pay an annual pitch fee of between £1,800 and £4,000, depending on the park, and a £400 connection charge for water and electricity. There is no committment beyond the first year's fees and so owners can, in theory, remove the caravan from the park at the end of this one-year period. Owners can also rent the caravan out to generate a second income.

The company currently has caravans available at holiday parks in Dymchurch in Kent;

Winchelsea Sands and Rye in East Sussex; and St Osyth Beach.

Been there done that, cold uncomfirtable and noisy.

And finally:

Some signs from around the thingy:

“Here of a Sunday morning My love and I would lie, And see the coloured counties, And hear the larks so high About us in the sky.”-A E Housman

Angus
NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

Angus Dei-NHS The Other Side

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Health and safety gone mad, a couple of tales:

First up; Female police officers told not to wear under wired bras on duty - Telegraph

Female police officers across England and Wales have been told not to wear underwired bras on duty in case the wiring becomes driven into the skin by the force of a bullet.

Although body armour would stop the bullet itself, officers have been warned that the impact could force the underwiring in products like Wonderbras into their bodies.

Julia Roper-Smith, the Sergeants' National Police Women's representative of the Police Federation, gave the warning in the organisation's magazine, called Police.

Miss Roper-Smith, of Derbyshire Police, wrote: "There is no such thing as a bullet proof bra.

"Body armour has to be close fitting and you should wear a bra that does not contain metal objects.

"You should not wear underwired bras as the metal can be driven into the skin causing more damage."

The Home Office has also issued official guidance on what underwear to wear for duty.

The memo reads: "The Home Office Scientific Development Branch have always advised officers that body armour should be close fitting to the body and hard objects such as metal buttons, press studs, badges and the like should never be placed beneath body armour.

I seem to remember posting a blog where a woman’s life was saved by an under wired bra which deflected a bullet; still experience is obviously not as acceptable as advice. http://angusdeionallandsundry.blogspot.com/2009/04/fingers-crossed.html

And the second: Health and safety: police force sells motorbikes Northumbria Police is getting rid of its £200,000 motorcycle fleet over health and safety fears.

The police force decided to sell off all the Honda and BMW bikes after deciding that officers using them were "particularly vulnerable to collision".

The force has been criticised for losing a valuable resource but senior officers have insisted that the move will "maximise officer safety".

One serving officer, who asked not to be named, added: "I guess with all the health and safety red tape surrounding the police service these days their days were always going to be numbered.

"It's a great shame we won't be able to use them any more – cars just aren't the same. Maybe they'll offer us push bikes instead – as long as we can produce our cycling proficiency test certificates, obviously "

So it’s all right for the public to ride these dangerous machines, but not the Police force, I guess protect and serve depends on the HSE.

Here is a story from the Telegraph about greed, families and a lack of the sense of smell.

Florida woman keeps mother's dead body in house for six years A Florida woman has been charged with fraud and theft after she kept her dead mother's body in a bedroom for six years while collecting more than $200,000 in pension benefits, US prosecutors said on Thursday.

Penelope Sharon Jordan of Sebastian, Florida, was charged by a federal grand jury last week with Social Security fraud and theft, the US attorney's office in Miami said.

Police found the decaying body of her mother, Timmie Jordan, on a bed in a spare bedroom at the mother's home in late March, when they were called to investigate a report of nuisance cats.
Miss Jordan, 61, told police that her mother had died in 2003.

Local media reported that Miss Jordan told police that her mother died of old age and she kept the remains because she could not afford burial expenses. An autopsy found no signs of foul play.

Nasty!

Another “what recession” article from the telegraph:Hollywood sign for Kent sparks anger A council has been criticised for planning to spend £12,000 on a giant Hollywood-style white sign in Medway, Kent.

Medway Council wants to spell out the name of its district in huge white letters on the side of a hill.
Recently it spent £2,000 erecting the enormous letter 'E' from MEDWAY to get an idea of what the whole sign will look like.

Medway council has defended the scheme saying it will put Medway on the map. "While people are familiar with the five towns very few outside the south-east know where Medway is," said a spokesman.

Oh yes it wil let the rest of the country know that Medway coucil will waste their counciltax payers money on stupid schemes.

And finally:

Some people never learn-Tory leader David Cameron has bicycle stolen for a second time David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, has had his bicycle stolen for the second time, this time from right outside his home in west London.

The Tory leader saw his silver and black Scott bike chained to railings at 7.10am but an hour later it was gone, a spokeswoman said.

Mr Cameron borrowed another bicycle from Desmond Swayne, his parliamentary aide, and cycled to Westminster as usual.

The last time his bike was stolen it was outside a supermarket near his home.

All I can say is that I am glad I don’t live where he does; the place is full of criminals.


“Misfortunes do not flourish on one path, they grow everywhere.” American Indian proverb

Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

THE SUNDAY SECTION

Would you trust Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to light a camping stove? Of course you would but it seems that it is too dangerous for the BBC Scotsman.com News

While filming an adventure show for the corporation, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston were stopped from firing up the stove unsupervised in case they had an accident, it was claimed.

They were given a "huge" document warning them about hazards such as tripping over while filming in Afghanistan, Cape Horn and the Canadian Arctic, Sir Robin said.He continued: "Ran and I were told we could not light a Primus stove unless we were supervised.This young man came in and said he was going to supervise and we told him to clear off… or words to that effect."


Good for you.





Top Gear seems to have lost its way Cost forces Top Gear to slam the brakes on Italian Job TOP Gear has pulled out of a daredevil stunt that would have re-enacted the final scene of iconic 1969 film The Italian Job, saying the cost would have been "massively prohibitive".

The scene sees the robbers stuck at one end of a coach with their stolen gold precariously balanced at the other – hanging over the edge of a mountain after sliding off a road.

A spokeswoman for the BBC show said: "We thought it would be brilliant to recreate the Italian Job scene, so we were disappointed when, having spent a lot of time researching all the options thoroughly with the Royal Society of Chemistry, we found that the cost of the stunt was massively prohibitive."

The Society said the bus was to be hung from the lip of a Midlands quarry and it had found volunteers to act as the robbers.A statement from the Society said: "Our volunteer chemists were happy to board the bus in order to push the frontiers of human knowledge.

“Push the frontiers of human knowledge”? More like get yourself on the telly so you can brag to your mates down the pub, and anyway WTF has a coach full of gold hanging off a cliff got to do with cars?


Python fans are in for a treat Something completely old THE Monty Python team is reuniting in a documentary to mark the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of the BBC show.

Monty Python: Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) will see the Pythons tell their life stories. The Monty Python's Flying Circus troupe comprised John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and the late Graham Chapman.
Something to look forward to.


A man who says he doesn’t watch (and only uses it for watching DVDs and videos) TV made 885 offensive calls to the BBC over license fee letters Scotsman.com News A MAN with a "massive grudge" against the BBC bombarded it with 885 offensive calls over six months.

Edward Elliot admitted telephoning a call centre using offensive, indecent and menacing language while under the influence of alcohol.One day, he called Capita in Glasgow, which provides a BBC information service, 157 times.

Elliot, 45, who lives in a remote cottage near Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, used sexually explicit language if the calls were answered by women and was abusive to men. A previous hearing was told Elliot was angry at receiving demands for a television licence fee despite claiming he has not watched television for six years.

Asked to explain his behaviour, Elliot claimed he had not watched television for six years and had not had a licence for six years, but had received demands for £1,000 for not paying his licence fee. He said he only used a television to watch DVDs and videos.Elliot's lawyer Rory Bannerman said the calls were made when his client was under the influence of alcohol.

He added: "He expresses remorse and realises his conduct was wholly unacceptable."Sheriff Kevin Drummond sentenced Elliot to 100 hours community service.He had sentence deferred for six months for good behaviour after admitting disorderly conduct and breach of the peace in Hawick High Street on 9 January.


Yeah and I only use my TV for DVDs and Videos too, can I have a refund?



And finally:

From Canada Homes selling for less than new cars WINDSOR, Ont. - Real estate prices in Windsor-Essex are dropping lower than what it would cost to buy a new car.

Mark Imeson, president of the Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board, says he has seen houses selling for just $25,000.

He blames the low prices on the rising number of so-called power-of-sale properties, which have been taken back by the bank and turned over to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. for sale.

Imeson says some houses are selling for what the lot alone is worth.

He says last month, the majority of real estate sales in Windsor-Essex were for less than $100,000.

But he also says the lower prices could be a catalyst for people thinking of moving into the area.

Maybe something else to look forward to.


"Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view." Anon

Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

SATURDAY SNIPPETS

Bit of a mix today:

BBC NEWS Warning of food price hike crisis For a few months now I have been moaning about the price of food, and it seems I was right.

The Gov has finally admitted that: it believes food prices have peaked and it is tackling child poverty through increased child benefits and child tax credits.

According to The Grocer, a typical basket of 33 items of food cost £48 a year ago. That has now risen to £57.50.

James Ball, from the magazine, told the BBC: "It is the staples that have really gone up and that's tough for people who buy the cheapest food.

"Rice costs double what it did last year; baked beans are up more than a third. Lots of everyday items cost a lot more than they used to."

Rice - up 81%
Pork sausages - up 51%
Mince - up 22%
Milk - up 14%
Source: The Grocer

As the UK imports about 40% of its food, the weak pound has driven up prices. Unpredictable world harvests and a spike in oil prices last year have also played a part.


I knew it!






BBC NEWS Lollipop cameras to trap speeders

Lollipop men and women in Glasgow are to get cameras fitted on their signs in a bid to catch motorists who fail to stop at school crossings.

The company which runs crossing patrols in the city, Cordia, plans to test the mounted devices in the coming months.

Similar systems have already been trialled in London and Yorkshire but it is believed this is the first time the technology would be used in Scotland.

Good idea, but did you know it was in use in London and Yorkshire?

Ananova - White House gives out sex line number Journalists hoping to interview Hillary Clinton on the G20 summit were surprised when the number they were given turned out to be a phone sex line.

The White House accidentally listed a sex line number for journalists seeking an "on-the-record briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Jim Jones", reports Fox News.

Journalists who dialled the number heard a soft-voiced female recording that was clearly not Clinton, asking for a credit card number if you "feel like getting nasty".


Yeah right!



Ananova - New guide to keep PCs PC Police officers have been ordered not to finish off the sentences of people with a stutter.

Officers have been given a new "diversity handbook" advising them how to avoid offensive faux pas when dealing with the public.

The 140-page guide also tells them not to move people's walking sticks or lean on people's wheelchairs, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It tells officers that it would be "inappropriate" to handcuff people who can only communicate through sign language.

And it says they should not "chew gum, eat sweets, shout, turn away or cover their mouths" when communicating with the deaf.

The booklet also reminds officers it is legal "to wear clothing and accessories of any gender in public so long as their genitals are covered".

The pocket-sized handbook has been compiled by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and distributed to all Scottish forces at a cost of £4,500.

I love the bit about not handcuffing people who can only communicate through sign language, being “inappropriate”


The words “common sense” comes to mind.



Ananova - Mother-in-law survives rocket attack
A desperate husband tried to kill his mother-in-law with an anti-tank missile launcher after claiming she'd turned his wife against him.

Bosnian Miroslav Miljici wanted revenge after blaming his wife's mum for the break-up of his marriage.

And when his mother-in-law survived the rocket attack on her home, he tried to finish her off with a machine gun, a court in Doboj, Bosnia, was told.

Amazingly, she survived both attacks with barely a scratch, judges heard.

In defence Miljici - jailed for six years for attempted murder - told the court he could no longer take his mother-in-law's nagging.

I’m saying nowt!


And finally:


Only in England Ananova - Swimming pool to close if 'too wet' Swimmers at an outdoor pool have been warned it might have to be closed if it gets too wet.

Health and safety rules have been introduced at the London Fields Lido in Hackney, north London, for the protection of the pool's users.

But the policy raised fears that health and safety guidelines were being taken too far, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Swimmers were warned that they might have to leave the water if the heavy rain increased, but they were allowed to stay when the weather lifted.

Hackney Council said the rules were only enforced in extreme weather, when there was torrential rain, hail or thick fog.

A spokeswoman said: "Very occasionally extreme weather can impair visibility for our lifeguards. We make no apology for providing protection for swimmers from drowning."

What next: no sunbathing on beaches if the sun comes out, or maybe no going to school if it snows-oh sorry that rule is already in force.

"Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation." Milton Friedman

Angus

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

NHS-THE OTHER SIDE