Decent-ish meteorology at the Castle this morn, sunny, calm but a touch of nippy-ness around the ankles, the kitchen is filling up nicely with broken laptops and desktops, and I hoovered out and dusted the Rover yesterday. Aftermorn I took a walk up the road and down the lane and had a bit of a stroll along what is left of the Roman road past “Caesar’s Camp” didn’t find a horde of gold coins but there were quite a few beer cans and other detritus to take home and put in the “recycling bin”.
A £256m Hampshire hospital which opened 18 months ago has cut 700 jobs and shut wards, the BBC has learned.
The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham was rebuilt using private finance and opened in July 2009.
The hospital, run by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, confirmed the job losses and the closure of 100 beds.
Finance director Robert Toole admitted the situation was "challenging" but said the hospital was on course to save £29m this financial year.
However the hospital was still likely to be facing a deficit of about £6m in an overall budget of £430m even with the savings.
Never liked the “Private Finance Initiative” now I know why.
Meanwhile:
Has said that the government will not take risks with the NHS in England, PPP Dave joined what’s his name deputy PM and knobhead Andrew Lansley to try to present a united front amid widespread criticism.
Speaking at -Grimly Dark (Frimley Park), hospital PPP Dave said change was necessary because of rising demands on the health service from factors such as the ageing population.
He added: "I'm in politics not to take risks with the NHS but to safeguard and improve the NHS for today and future generations.
And sacking Nurses and closing wards is going to do that, while the vastly overpaid, under worked “senior management” keep their jobs and pensions?
Above is a snippet of the Money taken out of the NHS by the Frimley Park “management” last year, click on the photo for a better look.
And:
Here is a list of MPs who have received a “refund” from us of their repaid expenses.
From the Torygraph-The particular expense for which they received a refund is given where known
Roger Berry £635.25 refund for furniture Chris Bryant £1,303.74 for mortgage and water rates
Sir John Butterfill £15,114.30 for servants’ quarters
Liam Byrne £1,349.41 for mobile phone and rent
Jon Cruddas £319.94
John Cummings £2,727.06 for cleaning
Paul Flynn £440.87 for life insurance
Cheryl Gillan £4.47 for dog food
Geoff Hoon £245.47 for TV licence and insurance
Stewart Jackson £876 for maintenance
Sally Keeble £3737.74 for mortgage overpayments
Alan Keen £976.85 for claiming for second home which was uninhabitable while repairs being carried out
Ann Keen £976.86 for claiming for second home which was uninhabitable while repairs being carried out
Andrew Lansley £138.80 for repairs and decorations to Tudor cottage shortly before selling.
Rob Marris £3,283.39
Christine McCafferty £2,086.75 for mortgage overpayments and fitted wardrobe
William McCrea £878.79 for furniture
Bill Olner £660.97 for cleaning
Lembit Opik £40 for court summons for late payment of council tax
Baroness Quin £1,504 for repair of broken shower
John Reid £4,604.63 for “overlapping” claims between renting and leasing properties
Iris Robinson £299.83
Jim Sheriden £379.41
Joan Walley £1,303 for furniture
Wayne David £189.98
Richard Younger-Ross £3,170.92 for furniture
I give up.
Steve Thiele, 45, blinded in an accident at eight, smashed the old 20-mile record by 3.85 miles.
Mr Thiele, of Audley, Staffs, achieved the feat off Anglesey for Cancer Research UK and Ghana Outlook and said: “I used to water ski for Britain.”
Bigger gonads than I have.
King’s Lynn council is under fire for spending £1.5 million ($2.5 million) on a bus lane, only for drivers to find it is not wide enough for buses.
Residents of King's Lynn in Norfolk, eastern England, branded the project "farcical" after drivers discovered they have to navigate the route at walking pace because it is so narrow, Lynn News reported.
The road has not been used since it was unveiled earlier this month because the drivers will need special training to use it, and there is no one available to train them.
Brian Lake, 63, cycles along the route each morning. He said, "It's a farce. It took a driver and someone standing in the foot well to see the driver through the pinch point on the trial run. There are tyre marks on the kerb where it has squeezed through."
The Norfolk County Council project engineer behind the venture, Quentin Brogdale, apologised for the state of the road. He reasoned that the project had to be finished this month or there was a risk the government could retract funding for it.
Norfolk Numpty.
Shoppers turned heads at an Essex shopping centre by turning up wearing only their undies and high heels.
The promotion at the Lakeside Shopping Centre, in Thurrock, was staged to launch the centre's spring fashion range.
The first 100 girls who turned up wearing only their underwear and a pair of high heels won a £100 gift card.
All entrants had to be over the age of 18 and had to have their photo taken as part of Lakeside's 'flash of fashion'.
The shopping centre promised entrants the chance to arrive in their underwear and "leave fully clothed in a fabulous new look for the new season".
I did think about attending as I need a new suit but decided discretion was the better part of not scaring the horses.
And finally:
Ten sand artists have spent days carving and shaping maritime-themed sculptures for the inaugural Sandworld event in Weymouth which opens to the public later this month.
Clever.
That’s it: I’m orf to dig out my Commodore 64
And today’s thought: With computers, every morning is the dawn of a new error.
Angus
