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There’s something about being in hospital that causes almost instant friendships to happen, often with people that you might not normally give a second glance to. It’s also quite irrelevant to your state of health (provided you are not completely comatose). As long as you can make a few noises in response, even whilst laid flat on your back with a view of nothing but glaring strip lights on the ceiling, you can make friends. In fact you WILL make friends. Of course, this must have something to do with personality. It must appear to me that this happens, because I can’t even buy a bottle of milk from the corner shop, without getting involved in a lengthy conversation with at least 2 other people. This usually starts with the state of the weather, trails around a few common family traits, before reverting back to the weather as we take our leave of each other. If I sit on a bench in town for a few minutes, the person next to me finds themselves regaled with a story of why I have sat down...

“When did the police start thinking it was their job to moralise about the people they arrest? “ Peter Hitchens asks in his column today. He refers to the case of Anne Darwin and her disappearing and reappearing husband, which whilst fraudulent, clearly, is surely not the most despicable crime ever committed. Yet the Det. Inspector in charge of the case felt the need to damn Mrs Darwin as ‘out and out despicable’ and told us that he ‘didn’t have the time of day for her’. Maybe these are his feelings, but is it his role to voice them to the public in such a way? As many have noted in the past, the organisation that was once a police "force" is now a "service" and it is little wonder that we have the situation we have, in this country that is so often referred to as "feral". Not only do we now have the police moralising and giving us their views on whether they think the sentence or non-sentence was appropriate but we also have them advetising themselves, as...

Following his visit to Iraq, PM Gordon Brown has now had talks in Tel Aviv with President Shimon Peres, and then met the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem. On his visit to the West Bank Brown promised £30m of extra financial support for the Palestinian Authority, and further support in training the Palestinian police. The finance is part of the ongoing backing for economic and social development, and Mr Brown believes that with the prospect of economic prosperity, the "great entrepreneurial flair" of the Palestinian people will come alive. He says that the barrier erected by Israel in the West Bank is evidence of the urgent need for justice for the Palestinian people and an end to the occupation of Palestinian land. I think he is right. But how this is going to be rectified and peace come about when more and more Israeli settlements are being made is not so easy to understand. Our Middle East peace envoy, Tony Blair, doesn’t seem to be around...

The bodies of two Israeli soldiers have been handed to the Red Cross by Hezbollah. This is to be in exchange for Lebanese prisoners who have been held by Israel and the “deal” is being seen as a triumph by the Lebanese Shi'ite group. Before the exchange, it was not clear whether the two soldiers were alive or not but the two plain black coffins delivered to the border told the soldiers' family what they had long feared. Earlier, five Lebanese prisoners were handed over at the Lebanese/Israeli border. These included Samir Qantar a Druze, who has been in prison in Israel for almost thirty years following a guerrilla raid which killed three Israelis, including a child. They are said by Hezbollah to be the last Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails. Some Israelis see today’s events as an unfortunate but necessary act, others see it as a sorry state of affairs when an “agreement” such as this is made. The Israeli soldiers' capture caused war with Hezbollah, 2 years ago, that la...

The Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, (remember, she’s the one who claims that crime is not increasing and who wore the bullet proof vest to take a stroll around the streets – see my blog 3rd July “Walk on By” ) is making some plans again. She is planning to “shock young people who carry knives into a greater awareness of the impact of stabbing on victims” BBC News today. These plans include visits to hospitals where people are being treated for knife wounds. Now, call me too sensitive, but the last person that I would want to see when I am laid in my hospital bed trying to recover physically and mentally from a criminal, violent act committed on an innocent person, is a person who has committed a crime of this nature. I am 100% certain that the only shock factor would be on MY part. As most people who know me (and many who don't) are aware, I and my family have been victims of knife crime (I was lucky to not have the knife actually used on me, just a fist) I don’t want to dwell on ...

Heinz have announced that their baked beans are not going to be called "baked" beans anymore - just beans. (In fact in Heinz case, beanz, as it has been for a while now) Well, I suppose we can cope with that, those of us who have grown up with using the term "baked beans" and associating tins of Heinz legumes with the baked and in tomato sauce variety. In fact the beans are boiled in the sauce rather than baked anyway. But what of the next generation? Or newcomers to the country ? How will we then distinguish between the formerly called baked bean (haricot) and the broad bean or green bean, or the fava bean or red kidney bean, not to mention the more exotic berlotti or the plain old butter bean ?Now I don't suppose it would be a major problem in you put runner beans into your stew instead of broad beans - but what of coffee beans and cocoa beans? Am I worrying unnecessarily ?

There are more couples over 70 years old having sex – and enjoying it – than ever before, says a survey for the British Medical Journal. 1500 people have been asked by Swedish researchers about their sex lives, over a 30 year period (that’s the research that was over a thirty year period, not the questioning of the same people !) The number of people who said they had sex increased as well as the number of women claiming to be “fulfilled”, shall we say. An “expert” in the UK says older people today grew up in more sexually liberated times and though there are many studies about sexual "problems" to do with the older age groups there is little research about "normal" sexual behaviour later in life. So the scientists from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden got to work interviewing 70-year olds about periods of their life from the 1970’s onwards. Their results showed that the number of 70 year olds reporting to have sexual relations had risen quite dramatically, b...

“You couldn’t make it up”, is a phrase that we can now use on a daily basis it seems. New guidelines by Apco – The Association of Chief Police Officers – would be more aptly put in a joke book, a comedy show or be an item for April Fool’s Day. The guidelines state that police sniffer dogs will wear boots – yes, you did read that correctly – when searching certain houses for illegal substances or contraband goods. The households for which the new attire for these canines will be worn are not ones with new cream carpets. Nor is it a health and safety aspect (as we know, dogs do have a habit of walking in unmentionable stuff and bringing it inside if we are not careful) It is not even some kind of fashion statement No, the purpose of the boot wearing is to avoid causing offence and hurting the sensibilities of Muslims. Apparently, boot-wearing dogs have already been designated to search mosques (yes I know, mosque = religious centre, therefore by nature surely not a place of criminal act...

It hasn’t been a very good week for the Lord Mayor of London. Boris Johnson now says he was "misled" by his deputy, who resigned yesterday. Ray Lewis, Deputy Mayor for Young People, resigned after claims of dodgy financial dealings and inappropriate behaviour during his time as a vicar in east London in the late 1990s and head of a youth academy scheme in 2003. Boris Johnson’s confidence is now “shaken" as he says he was led to believe that Mr Lewis was a magistrate when in fact he has only “ passed all the interviews for it… had a letter confirming that I have been recommended for appointment to the board.” (Mr Lewis words) He suggests that this is only relevant if you are a fully paid up member of the “hair-splitters convention”. Maybe, but one person’s hair splitting is another person’s blatant untruth. And Johnson’s words today - “He (Lewis) has a God given power to divert youth from the consequences of guns and knives” – are slightly worrying to say the least. “God ...

First we have Cherie Blair, wife of the former Prime Minister, saying that she fears for the safety of her children when they go out onto the streets. Government statistics, she tells us, dramatically underestimate the scale of knife crime amongst children in Britain and that she has found alarming evidence of rising violence involving knives. She has called for a new approach to get rid of what she calls “lethal fashion accessories” and says that official statistics fail to reflect the reality of how many young people carry knives believing that they offer protection. Mrs Blair told the Home Affairs Select Committee, “If young people think when they carry a knife that it’s going to be detected, that may well make a big difference in deterring them. As a parent I am concerned about what is happening when my children are on the street and I know that I am not unique in that by any means.” You are not unique in that thought at all Mrs Blair. What you may be unique in is that as a pare...

In the light of newspaper and online reports yesterday and my previous blog "Gaining marks for obscenities" I am posting AQA's response, in it's entirety as verified by them is appropriate and welcome. "If a candidate’s script contains obscenities, examiners are instructed to contact AQA’s offices who will advise them in accordance with JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) guidelines. As a result, an obscenity should either be disregarded, or action will be taken against the candidate, depending on the seriousness of the case. "The example cited was unique in the experience of the senior examiner concerned and was used in a pre-training session to emphasise the importance of adhering to the mark scheme: i.e. if a candidate makes any sort of response to a question then it must be at least given consideration to be awarded a mark. "We do not condone the use of obscenities in scripts: in the light of this incident we will be reviewing our instructions t...