IN GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

This feature was written in the aftermath of the 2005 tsunami when I visited the Southern Indian state of Kerala and found it peaceful & relatively unaffected.

As the dreadful events of Boxing Day unfolded on television I was growing increasingly anxious about going to India. I was also deeply concerned that people and places that I knew in neighbouring parts of Asia had been wiped out. I was experiencing nightmares that threw me towards a dark depression yet I knew that by going what little money I would spend might directly help the region’s already depleted tourism industry.

THE ELEPHANTS OF PINNAWELA

There is something very mystical about watching forty or so Asian elephants moving almost majestically in procession, trunks and tails swaying, towards a river where they will take a communal bath. It is a sight I had waited a long time for and this alone would have been worth venturing several thousand miles to witness even had the tropical island had nothing else to recommend it. The elephants, as it transpired, were the icing on the cake because I fell in love with the beauty and the people of this wonderful island that sits, like a glistening pearl, in the Indian Ocean just at the foot of the Tamil region of the Sub Continent.

At the time the island was at war, but then it has been at war for much of its history only this time the fighting was not against an invading force but between the Tamil people and the Government. That makes things all that harder to accept given the otherwise inner tranquillity of the people. Now there is a kind of uneasy peace. Discussions between the warring factions are under way but how long this will last is anybody’s guess. Mostly the fighting has been restricted to the Jaffna region in the north of the island but every so often a bomb will explode elsewhere, on a crowded train or on a Colombo street killing unsuspecting citizens and reminding tourists that the regime is still unstable.

Countless lives have been lost fighting to gain independence for a tiny strip of land. They haven’t all been human lives either. Many casualties have been from the wild animal population. The elephants have frequently been casualties and their existence remains on a tightrope in Sri Lanka as in other parts of South East Asia. Sometimes an elephant has been caught in cross-fire, on other occasions a single animal may have torn up a farmer’s crops causing him to hunt the animal down to kill it. Worse, some have trodden on mines and have lost a foot or an entire limb but have continued to live, usually in extreme agony until secondary disease from the wound spreads and eventually causes an awful prolonged death. The ultimate only comes after the elephant loses its’ mind with the pain that can turn it into a very dangerous and unpredictable animal in the process.

It is believed that 12,000 elephants once roamed wild on Sri Lanka. This was around 1900 when the natural resources that the animals would feed on were plentiful and the population smaller. Now almost 20 million people inhabit the island and much of the habitat where elephants lived and thrived peaceably within their environment has gone cutting their numbers to just a few thousand wild animals. Those elephants that get maimed frequently become separated from their herd. Many of the victims have been females with young that have not yet been fully weaned. The baby elephants, left to their own devices, fall over cliffs or simply starve to death. The few lucky ones are captured by caring villagers and are taken to the Orphanage where they will be fed and cared for.

In 1975 the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife set up the Elephant Orphanage to care for the offspring of dead or injured mothers that had been found in the jungles. Twenty five acres of coconut grove were taken up at Rambukkana on the Maha River. The orphanage moved locations on several occasions, at one time being housed at the tourist area of Bentota before moving to the Dehiwala Zoo. It eventually ended up at Pinnawela and had just five baby elephants in its care. The intention was for visitors to be attracted to the orphanage and the money raised from entrance fees etc. would support the cause. In 1978 the National Zoological Gardens took over the running of the centre and a captive breeding programme was launched in 1982. At that time there were five mahouts caring for twelve elephants. By 1997 the adult elephant population had increased to 42 and there were 10 babies, all under three years old. Although adult female elephants could successfully be introduced into the orphanage, the situation tended to be the opposite with the males because of their naturally aggressive behaviour.

The Orphanage tries to maintain a natural wild environment for its charges. The babies are fed by hand on milk before being allowed to roam freely over 12 acres of grassland. There are signs of what elephants tend to do naturally, break down trees and the compound is littered with torn off branches. Twice a day the animals are walked to the Maha Oya River, just 400 metres away where they enjoy a two hour bath. This is the spectacle that the majority of visitors come to see and this can be done from the terrace of a restaurant that overlooks the bathing area. The frolicking is great fun to watch even though the occasional elephant may attempt to wander off across the river. The mahouts soon spot a troublesome one and ensure that it is kept with the others.

During the evening the babies are again fed on milk while the older animals receive leaves. The usual diet consists of jackfruit, coconut, tamarind and grass. Each elephant is fed 76kg of green food a day which is supplemented with 2kg of mixed maize, rice, bran, powdered gingelly seed and minerals. Although penned for the night, boredom can set in quite easily so some of the older elephants are encouraged to work by using their trunks to carry tree branches and food stuffs.

Sama is an adult female elephant, now aged about twelve, who had her right forefoot blown away by a landmine when she was only two years old. She had learnt to walk on three legs although as she grows the imbalance is putting stress on her spine. Reports from the Orphanage state that one of the zoological specialists is hoping to train the Sama this year to wear a prosthesis that they hope will solve the elephant’s imbalanced stance. Only time will tell whether the experiment is a success or not.

The good work of the orphanage specialists and staff, aided by others from around the world, continues to save the lives of many of these unfortunate creatures. The Orphanage attracts more than 600,000 visitors a year which helps to create a continued awareness of the problems faced by the Asian elephant that can only help the species’ fight for survival. If you get the opportunity to visit this picturesque island be sure to take the road from the capital Colombo towards the ancient city of Kandy. Set in the hills approximately half way between the two cities you will reach Pinnawela village. It is easy to miss but the yellow signs at the roadside showing an elephant crossing will provide a clue. You will be richly rewarded by the experience of walking amongst these delightful animals.

THE BIG BANK RIP-OFF

I have been following the progress of the issues relating to unfair overdraft penalty charges that are being imposed by banks closely ever since the subject first started to receive media attention. Like many readers I have a vested interest. It has been well publicised that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) are bringing a case against the banks because they agree with consumer views that bank overdraft fees are unfair. Whether this action will be in the public’s interest will remain to be seen but the decision to litigate has put paid to any further individual cases being brought to court by individuals who feel the need to sue their banks.

The banking industry could have accepted the OFT’s claims of profiteering by overcharging their customers instead of adopting a largely intransigent attitude that has resulted in legal proceedings being instigated. The eight banks involved are challenging the OFT’s right to interfere in their affairs and claim that it has no jurisdiction. However, the BBC has reported (11 September 2007) that the OFT could drop this highly controversial test case if the banks offered to cut their charges so much, that it would be in the interests of consumers to drop the case. However the fairness of charges isn’t the issue the judge must consider. Instead the Court must rule on whether the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations apply to overdraft charges. The OFT believes that they do apply and that is in their power to order the banks to reduce unfair charges. The banks, as expected, disagree claiming their charges to be a ‘core feature of their current account business’ an area that is beyond the jurisdiction of existing regulations. The banks are also adamant that overdraft ‘penalties’ are legitimate service charges that are fair and justifiable. The OFT also argues that the charges are still excessive even if they could be viewed as legitimate service charges.

Since it was known that the OFT were intending to bring this issue to the High Court, some might be forgiven for thinking there has been an impasse. This is not the case. Most financial experts agree that consumers should still formerly place their claims before their banks prior to the court date; although they believe that the banks will no longer entertain paying any settlements. Despite this view some banks are continuing to offer refunds based on prior claims that were sent to them before the OFT announcement was made. Whether these settlements seem fair or not is for the individual to decide. It appears that the situation has now become a gamble split between whether a customer is willing to accept what the bank is offering them now, or wait for the outcome of the court action. If you back waiting for the court’s decision there is the chance that the banks might win the litigation and you will end up getting nothing at all. Even if the banks should lose the first battle, any settlement is likely to be protracted because they are almost certain to Appeal. Should they lose that too then they might even consider appealing to the House of Lords. This will all take a considerable amount of time. The action is due to commence in January but nobody is expecting a result until at least 2010 so even if the case goes against the banks you’ll still be waiting more than two years before your disputed charges are returned. In many cases it simply isn’t worth the gamble. If your bank is still prepared to discuss a refund you might well consider it now rather than risk losing out totally. The worst part about this is that there is no clear cut favourite to win the action so it’s not an easy call to make.

There is some evidence that some banks are still prepared to consider settling despite the OFT action. If your bank has offered to negotiate it might be wise to be flexible. What they are offering is likely to be considerably less than the amount you are demanding but you can always try ‘pushing’ the bank to increase their offer to something more acceptable. Although this will be a compromise you are guaranteed at least some form of settlement immediately but you won’t be able to pursue any balance. The banks are clearly defining such settlements as ‘goodwill’ gestures and they are refusing to accept any liability of overcharging or wrongdoing. This to me seems rather dishonest. My argument to this is based on my belief that no banking organisation would be prepared to offer a substantial settlement if they didn’t believe that they were in the wrong. Banks simply aren’t in business to make goodwill payments out of a feeling of generosity so this has to be dismissed as poppycock! If a bank offers to settle a claim this is tantamount to accepting full liability and pay up rather than risk the possibility of being taken to court. If they believe they are in the right and that their charges can be justified, then why would they offer a refund? The reason could be that they are growing nervous about losing the case with the OFT in the same way that they’ve already lost the majority of cases brought against them by individuals. This has already cost them dearly. The banking industry’s own interim figures reveals that no less than £399million had already been refunded to customers during the first half of this year. The contributions towards this substantial amount of ‘goodwill’ have been met by Barclays (£87m), HSBC (£116m), HBOS (£79m), Lloyds TSB (£36m) and RBS (£81m).

The whole issue seems to have become a bit like Katch-22 and it is a shame that the OFT doesn’t already have sufficient clout to enforce the banks to refund unreasonable penalty charges under existing laws without having the need to resort to the High Court. The banks, no doubt, will view any government agency intervention in their business as being grossly unfair. Isn’t this a travesty when they have acted unfairly towards their clients for donkey’s years? The banks seem to believe they have the absolute right to help themselves to their customers’ funds. As a result their profits have soared to all time highs and their wealthy shareholders have got fatter by screwing their customers. Their greed has no parallel, they have no scruples and they appear to revel in the ruthlessness of their actions. By compounding the debts of customers by adding unfair overdraft charges and subsequently placing default notices on the credit register they are guilty of creating misery and ruin for thousands. Quite frequently default notices are issued because customers have been unable to pay the unreasonable charges that their bank has imposed such action effectively blocks an individual from obtaining credit for a minimum period of six years. This cannot be fair. No other business is allowed to default a customer in this way so why are the banks allowed to do this without first proving their case in court? There can be no justification for charging a customer £35 for ‘bouncing’ a £3 payment when the banking experts have estimated that it costs the bank less than £2 to process the refused item? More often than not it is a case of the banks extorting money from those that are the most vulnerable; those on low incomes or businesses owners that are facing financial difficulties. When anyone is already suffering financially distress, I believe it is totally unreasonable and devastating to impose further monetary penalties on top of debts they already cannot meet. It is easy to understand why personal and business debts are soaring to record highs. The banks blame their customers, charging them with being irresponsible, but in a vast number of cases people fall into financial difficulties for reasons beyond their control. The banks are merely making matters worse. In any case the banks are not in a position to preach considering their record of poor lending to Third World countries and the recent activities of Northern Rock.

Nobody could ever deny that the banks need to make healthy profits but their methods can readily be viewed as scandalous and their profits excessive. They were once regarded as upright, responsible, honest organisations that could be trusted. Mostly they could be relied upon for their integrity and upright behaviour. But, the public perception has widely changed and most would conclude that as an industry the banks no longer enjoy a respectable reputation or meet the needs of the consumer. Their obsession with the ‘bottom line’ has led to justifiable accusations of greed and they have also come in for criticism over their methods of selling a range of associated products that aren’t always in the interests of their unsuspecting clients. If you were to conduct a poll I wonder how many consumers would consider the banks to be honest and trustworthy? When things are going well they are quick to lend money but, at the first signs of danger, they are equally as quick to ‘pull the plug’ in ways that can cause misery and total ruin. The outcome of all of this is that when a customer complains the banks are likely to retaliate by calling in their overdraft and by closing their account. As a consumer, I can only hope that justice will be seen to be done and that customers will ultimately gain from the process.

Are the International Football Authorities Blind to European Crowd Trouble?

Eighteen Manchester United fans ended up in hospital following a clash between rival fans at the match against Roma in the Italian capital last night. Several of these had serious stab wounds; others had cut heads following the buttoning by the local police who claim that their actions were "justified". I didn't watch the match but I did see the ugly scenes of violence on the television news. it appeared to me that the police were deliberately targeting innocent bystanders and not any of the fans that were the real perpetrators. The home fans seemed to escape Scott free and it goes without saying that the Brits were blamed for the violence that occurred.

Cast your mind back a few months and you will remember that a police officer was murdered by fans at a match in Sicily. Violence and racial abuse is certainly not unknown in Italy and elsewhere the crowds have an appalling record yet it is always the Brits that take the brunt of any action. After the Heinsel Stadium tragedy it was the British clubs that were banned from European Competition yet this type of punishment has not been handed out to clubs from Turkey (where Leeds fans were murdered by fans in Istanbul)or any other European country.

The level of violence at British grounds now has almost ceased owing to the work of the clubs, our police forces and the genuine fans themselves. isn't it about time that we got a fair deal in Europe as far as EUFA and FIFA are concerned?

Is the Football Association Bringing Our Great Game Into Disrepute?

Following the debacle of the Carling Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea I can sympathise with Arsene Wenger entirely at the way the Football Association conducted their "investigation". In the now well screened handbag incident it would appear that the linesman (sorry referee's asssisant) was telling porkies when he said Adebayor had thrown a punch. It could mean that the assistant needed to change his optician because he certainly couldn't tell the difference between a player with a kind of dreadlocks hair style and a player who has been almost scalped. Adebayor had every reason to be angered, refusing to leave the pitch after a dismissal that was blatantly wrong. So too did Wenger after the FA had failed to accept the television evidence to back their appointed "line judge" instead. Wenger was further angered by the suggestion that the two managers had trespassed on to the pitch without permission in order to add to the incident. From my viewpoint in my comfortable lounge at home I immediately came to the conclusion that the intention of both managers was to try and separate the players and not to add their weight to the fisticups.

But isn't the truth something the Football Association always tries to avoid in favour of their own version of what they decide has happened? The Association, it has to be said, does tend to favour a certain club from Manchester while Arsenal (and I admit to a certain biase) are always branded the villains. Arsene Wenger is often accused of allowing his players to be out of control, an endearment that has led to so many red cards over the last ten years. But, if we are honest, and we stop to analise each and every one of these incidents you have to reach the conclusion that a high percentage of the dismissals were completely unjustified. How many times can we also conclude that the referee brandishing one red card after another has got it completely wrong? Referees however are rarely brought to task for their mistakes; to the contrary the FA will back their trustees to the hilt.

The problem of money; far too much of it, must be introduced to the equation. It has become far too important and this has created a win at all costs attitude amongst managers and their players. Of course football is a business, a business that plays to high stakes like Monopoly money and players will fight each other in order to win an advantage. But although this might be the case very few football "punch ups" are serious and most are caused by a rash, spur of the moment, action by one player on another. If a player is through on goal and is pulled back by the cuff of his shirt then surely it is little more than a human reaction to turn and retaliate? Ask yourself; if somebody pulled you away from a bar by your shirt tails as you were about to buy a drink wouldn't you turn on that person in anger? I think so. Football is and has always been a highly charged game that is played by men (sorry girls)and a certain level of retaliation has always been, shall I say, a "healthy" part of the game. In the 1960s when i first started to take an interest in the game you could witness some appalling fouls but seldom did anyone get sent off. The first time I saw a player dismissed, in fact both were given their orders, was when Ron Yeats of Liverpool and the late Joe Baker were sent off at Highbury after the former pulled the other down in the centre circle. Baker's natural reaction was to swing a punch at the Liverpool centre half because little Joe would have been through on goal. This was the only time I saw a player dismissed in a period spanning many years. But now of course almost every match has at least one player given his marching orders and the dismissals are ruining the game. Is the game any more violent than it was fifty years ago; I think not. It is probably true that modern day players have become a little bit more crafty, able to con the officials more easily, but violent, no.

I think that it is time that the FA took a break and stepped back to review the conduct of the players that fall within its' jurisdiction. They should take stock of the situation and review the hows and whys of red card incidents to reach a conclusion as to whether or not they were all really necessary. The great game is certainly losing out from players recieving bans, more especially those players that are subsequently proved to be unjustifiably sent off or cautioned. With every decision resulting in a fine for those deemed responsible everything becomes answerable to the cash cow. Results obviously suffer when clubs are missing key players and the fans are also deprived of seeeing the strongest teams being fielded.

I believe that the time is right for the FA to withdraw from the process of punishing clubs and players. Instead I propose that any disciplinary measures should be metered out by a body that is independent of any FA biase. Perhaps this way the system might become a good deal fairer although it would lead to a lot less money from fines falling into the Football Association's laps.

Driving in India Can Seriously Damage Your Health

The British government's attempts to bring the road accident rate down to zero can only work if they achieve what I believe they are trying to achieve ... by taxing every form of travel to the hilt. That way they can ensure that we all stay in one place so that the politicians and the thought police know where to find each and every one of us. I firmly believe that the latest form of control from the Labour party is trying to restrict our movements. How long will it be before we are banned from going abroad? With this in mind spare a thought for the Sub Continent where l something like 93,000 people die on the roads every year.

By comparison the accident rate in most European countries can be seen as fairly minor and in Britain I think we have one of the best standards of driving in the world although at times it might not seem like it. But India is something else. Take a taxi ride, even in one of the more laid back states such and Goa or Kerala, and you will be in for a roller coaster ride that leaves you begging to get out of the car. Don't get me wrong; Indian drivers are good, but they are just downright dangerous. By "good" I am referring to the way that they can fit their cars into the tightest of gaps to avoid a collision at the very last second when carnage is about to ensue. Indian drivers cannot accept that orderly driving, one vehicle behind the other, should be the acceptable norm. For this reason every vehicle in front has to be overtaken and this is achieved regardless of what is coming at you in the opposite direction. It is a truly frightening experience but you will not find any tour operators with India on their agendas advising you not to take their transport from the airport! So, dear traveller, if you intend to visit anywhere on the Sub Continent you should be prepared to risk your life when going on the roads.

The buses and truck drivers are the worst especially those that drive the interstate buses for ten or more hours at a stretch non-stop. The Bombay to Goa bus for example sits in the middle of the road and will move for nobody. Argue with it at your peril but the local drivers will and when their luck is out they leave a trail of death and destruction. It seems there is no penalty for killing somebody by dangerous driving in India and life being generally cheap means that nobody seems to care. It is not uncommon for half a dozen people to be killed in a single accident yet even this does not deter the Indian from behaving like a suicide jockey.

I was recently told that the State government in Goa had recently introduced a law to force motor cyclists to wear crash helmets but only on major roads. The rule seemingly does not apply to their passengers (yes, plural because I have seen an entire family of four on a single moped). They recently had a purge but it made little difference if the rider was wearing a helmet because the police officer that stopped him would insist he was breaking the law. A hundred or so rupees however is usually all it takes to guarantee that the officer doesn't write a ticket.

Driving is all a bit of a game really in India; sometimes you win, often you lose. It is certainly not a pastime to be enjoyed by the feint hearted.

Things Can Sometimes Get Better

Liverpool 3 Arsenal 6 ... Carling Cup Quarter Final Who could have dreamed that an Arsenal second squad (we mustn't call them Reserves because that they aren't) could go to Anfield, field 6 or so players aged 17 or thereabouts and thrash a Liverpool side that included Gerrard, Bellamy, Fowler and several other first team members? Okay, they too had a few youngsters but the spirit and strength of Arsenal was too much for them.

After Arsenal had taken the lead, Liverpool were quick to come back but they were then overpowered. Arsenal's splendid six was the biggest home defeat Liverpool have suffered since 1914. The Gunners were without their first team regulars except Cesc Fabregas and the determined and often brilliant, Kolo Toure, who was aptly skipper for the night. Jeremie Aliadiere had his best ever game and carved the Liverpool defence wide open with thrusting runs several times to provide cutting passes that gave Brazilian Julio Baptista (known as The Beast) two of his four goals, one of them an amazing curling direct free kick that gave Dubcek no chance. It was a shame that Baptista's penalty, when his personal goal tally was then at two, was hit too close to the Liverpool goalkeeper that allowed him to push it wide otherwise the score line would have been even better and Baptista would have been an even bigger hero. An away player hitting four goals at Anfield must be a record in any case?

Arsene was bubbling with praise for his youngsters and rightly so more especially as they managed to outscore the 3-1 victory gained by the first squad in the Premiership at Anfield just three days ago. But the peformance by the lads tonight was fluent, uncomplicated football and they managed to carve openings in the home side's defence with remarkable ease that was a pleasure to watch. The team's play seemed more direct, less complicated than that of the first team and they managed to score without needing to try to walk the ball into the net. Sometimes Arsenal can be guilty of playing exciting football that is too complicated. As a result they are scoring less goals than they should.

Manuel Almunia, who it must be said, looked positively shaky when he first came to the club seems to have developed a much improved and safer style that is less flashy than Lehmann. The Spaniard is also less volatile and less lilely therefore to risk giving goals away after throwing his toys out of the pram.

The other goals came from Aliadiere and Song. Maybe Aliadiere, after tonight's performance, will no longer wish to leave the club ... or was he merely advertising his strengths to all comers that will surely raise the odds on any transfer fee demanded by the club.

Nine goals in three days away at Liverpool cannot be bad and the results at least have lifted my depressison a little. Bring on Spurs for the Semi-final.

A Very Bad Start

How quickly another year seems to come around and in my case another year older, another year in debt is extremely apt. After a great New Year's Eve, when even I indulged in a little Karaoke, the following week was marred by misfortune.

I don't really know how, but as I lifted a cup of coffee my hand seemed to go limp and the contents went all over and inside my Sony laptop. It died extremely quickly and all attempts to dry it out and revive it came to nothing. I'd only just returned to work that day after suffering an upset stomach for almost a week ... possibly caused by some form of food poisoning. I do, after all, have a habit of eating things that have been kept in the fridge beyond their sell by dates so I guess it is my own fault. Was Parma Ham the culprit ... or was it the melon?

Getting back to the routine things I needed to do ... even writing this blog ... has been a major effort since Christmas and everything I planned to write over the festive break failed to happen for one reason or another. I loathe Christmas at home ... just Frances and I. It's okay if there are other people around because at least you can get more into the spirit of the occasion. Boxing Day was like that because we went to friends. Judging by the many people who have NOT sent us Christmas cards this season I suspect others are also tired of the commercial abuse of Christmas.

The crunch came yesterday evening. I was returning from the computer recovery place with CDs of the files they'd fortunately managed to salvage from the laptop when I hit a bump in the road and suddenly found that I had no gears in the Passat. I coasted to a lay-by where I waited over two hours in miserable weather for the breakdown vehicle to arrive to tow me. Today I have found out that my clutch more-or-less disintegrated ... cost over £750!

What a fine start to 2007.

Surveillance, Gas Guzzlers and the Government

I have a theory; in fact I’ve had this theory for some considerable time and it all relates to the “Big Brother” attitude of the Government and how they are trying to limit our movements. There is nothing they would love more than to price the motorist off the roads but then have no stealth taxes coming in to invest in alternative public transport. In short we’d have no alternative but to stay within walking distance of our homes. Add the much hated ID cards into the equation and while they are about it, compulsory tagging, and the Labour party righteous would have us exactly where they wanted us.

More surveillance than Russia
It is a fact that we now have more closed circuit surveillance cameras watching us than in any other country in the world. Blair and his merry men try to tell us that they are security cameras; perhaps they are but who are they providing security for? They probably allow Government ministers to feel more secure but hardly the British people. This is proven by the fact that the police never seem to be able to apprehend the criminals that operate in spite of the fact that they know they are being filmed. Put the offenders on Crime Watch and the quality is so poor that nobody can recognise them, which only poses the question of why are they there in the first place? We are watched constantly, everywhere we go and a part of my theory relates to a belief that Big Brother wants to know where we are every minute of the day. The Labour party are paranoid. If they believe that security cameras help us and protect us in our fight against terrorism, then why didn’t this surveillance prevent the London bombings?

Surveillance cameras are a feature on every motorway but they aren’t being used to prevent the country reaching total gridlock. Shouldn’t the purpose be used as a means to re-distribute congestion? If the Ministry of Transport really wanted to help ease traffic congestion then shouldn’t they be providing early warnings of impending gloom on the roads many miles before we ever get to the snarl ups? With the technology we have at our disposal why is traffic not re-routed say ten, fifteen or even twenty miles before a major incident? I don’t know the answer to that but somebody in the Ministry does. To the contrary it seems that the Government actually wants to delay our journeys and perhaps the underlying reason could be because they are trying to force us to rid ourselves of our cars by creating organised pandemonium on our roads so that it is becoming almost impossible to complete a simple journey on time. Could there be some underlying plot to force us all to stay where they know where to find us? If we all remained at home and did our work on the internet then no doubt a Government agency would be planting spiders or some other gadgets into our hard drives that tell them exactly what key strokes we are making,. This is assuming of course that they haven’t done so already!

Motorway madness
The whole system in this country seems to be arse-about-face. They are widening the M1 south of Luton as everybody knows but this is going to take at least a further two years to be completed. Is this because the Government are trying not to spend any money on the project because whenever I drive through this eternal balls up I am yet to witness more than two or three people actually doing any work. It seems nobody does anything at weekends or between the hours of 5.00pm and 9.00am.on weekdays so that doesn’t allow much time for my 2-3 three workers to complete a major road project between tea breaks. At one time, when a major highway required repairs, there would be teams of men working shifts twenty-four-seven to get the project finished in the shortest possible time. Even with this kind of input the projects were generally running behind schedule. On this basis if we start to believe that the M1 widening scheme below Luton will really be completed by December 2008 then we must be in cloud cuckoo land. Apart from some bridge supports and a load of mud what else has been achieved? I really pity those poor souls that have to drive through this crazy chaos everyday because it is enough to put you into a straight jacket and send you screaming to the psychiatric ward. At first I thought the aim was to raise the revenue to pay for the scheme from the specs speed cameras (oops … don’t I mean safety cameras?) that watch over us like hawks These were installed “to protect the work force” (sic) by ensuring that nobody drives at over a 50 mph average speed. My theory however can be shattered by the fact that hardly anybody ever gets out of second gear to get anywhere near this speed so the Government coffers must be pretty empty on that score. Hence, no money to pay for the construction work. I can just see Brown trying to balance his books and wondering where his next billion is going to come from.

What is to follow is an extra M1 junction being planned between 13 and 14 in our neck of the woods. How many years is this going to take and how will this affect the dreadful problems that befall those trying to cross the motorway at Junction 13? You might recall that it took them around 12 weeks simply to repair the supports and structure of the bridge that carries the Willen Road from Tongwell that caused diabolical chaos for anyone travelling into Milton Keynes from Newport Pagnell, Bedford or Olney everyday. God forbid, building an entire new junction doesn’t bear thinking about!

Somebody in the Ministry of Transport came up with the bright idea of allowing peak time traffic to use the hard shoulders of the motorway. A section of m-way was tested in the West Midlands and the civil servants were jumping about congratulating themselves. As usual the scheme doesn’t seem to have been thoroughly thought through. First of all the hard shoulders on motorways were built to allow broken down vehicles to be parked clear of fast moving traffic. If the lane is to be used as an additional carriageway then what happens when the inevitable does happen and somebody does breaks down? My guess is that the following traffic will simply plough into the back of the stationery vehicle causing death and destruction because drivers won’t be able to stop in time. The result will be mayhem. Another point relates to the construction of the hard shoulders. As they were never built to carry a volume of traffic, how long will the surfaces stand up before they too need replacing?

Let’s price the motorist off the road
It seems that Blair’s boys are really trying extremely hard to stop us using our cars. The theory I have this time is that they are really hell-bent on pricing us off the roads. In so doing this will leave empty roads to allow only official ministry vehicles and the stinking rich to move about the country unimpeded as they once did in Soviet Russia and Communist China. If motorists think we’ve had it tough already with the highest fuel taxes in Europe, road tax charges based on engine capacity and income tax penalties for driving company cars, beware because this is only the beginning. The Borough of Richmond already looks set to impose huge parking charges on Chelsea tractors; Red Ken promises to follow suit with a thumping £25 congestion charge that will be forced on anyone driving a car bigger than his and there is talk of charging us for every mile travelled on our roads. At least the 4-wheel boys will still have the option of running amok by cutting across the fields. How long will it take for other sheepish councils to follow these charges by making their own once they realise how much they can raise to fund their jollies through yet even more stealth taxes? As I don’t think the Mayor of London owns a car (he prefers a thing called The Tube) then this will eventually mean everyone will be expected to pay the increased charge.

The vanishing taxes
An issue that these goody-goodies seem to forget is the amount of VAT the Government already collects every time a car dealer sells any new car let alone a fuel hungry 3-litre or Chelsea tractor that raises loads more. The road tax charges are also higher and, because big engines guzzle more fuel, there is also much more revenue for the Treasury to collect from the big-car owners in fuel tax than from someone driving a Smart car. Get rid of thirsty cars and where is the Government going to turn to replace this revenue? Of course, silly me, it will have to come from those the cigarettes smokers and enjoy a few drinks! Imagine the next budget … fags £20 a pack; a pint of beer £15. You think I’m joking but who would have believed five years ago that 20 cigarettes would cost about five quid? Perhaps they might also raise the VAT level to say 20 or 25% thus crippling businesses even more. We’re led to believe that this is all being done to help us save the planet by cutting done on exhaust emissions. Who are they trying to kid more especially as punchy Two Jags Prescott now has a third to carry his croquet set? Of course it would be a wonderful vote winner for the Blairites if we all scrapped our cars and bought electrically powered hybrids that chugged along at 5 mph while we searched for a mains outlet to recharge the damn things. The Government (read police) would also lose their revenue from speed (sorry … safety) cameras. The Greens would simply have a field day. But, as a reporter on the BBC pointed out, wouldn’t the amount of emissions being blown into the atmosphere during the actual construction of these hybrid cars totally outweigh the cause? Of course they would. But wait, the best bit relating to the demands to save the planet is still to come. Somebody has already produced figures to suggest that even if we all did everything we’re being told to do in this country to protect the environment, it would all be completely fruitless because it would take the Chinese just 64 days of normal, everyday fossil fuel burning in their great polluted cities to undo everything we had achieved! Bloody marvellous isn’t it? So why are we burning so much energy even thinking about ways that we can save the planet?

I am afraid with this Government it is all about doing what they tell us to do … but don’t criticise Labour for not setting a good example. Maybe I’m the one who is paranoid.

This article was previously published on www.miltonkeynes.com

How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Buying Property Abroad

The media thrives on the horror stories of people that have adopted a casual go-it-alone approach to buying property abroad. Too often what has been intended to be a retirement home or an investment has ended in complete disaster because the unsuspecting buyer has lost money or worse still, has had their home seized by the authorities over a serious breach of a local law.

If you are contemplating investing your money in overseas property in makes sense to do your homework thoroughly before making any kind of commitment. Then, once you have found out the kind of things that can go wrong, it is essential to hire the services of an expert in the overseas property market who will guide you painlessly through the procedures.

It is of course an attractive proposition to escape our damp winters to a place in the sun. If you intend to buy a property the first thing to remember is that foreign laws are different to ours and that they don’t always offer you protection. It never pays to take short cuts and the simple motto will always be buyer beware!

It is worth considering involving friends or family members in your project who could commit resources in order to jointly buy a bigger, better property. By involving other people who you trust could make all the difference between buying a small apartment or a villa with a swimming pool.

If you find a property that interests you it can be a foolish move to commit to buying too early. If you require any kind of finance for the purchase you will need to ensure that this is in place, or at least you’ll need a legal written guarantee that your funding will be available by the time you intend to complete the deal. This should be organised before you commit to signing contracts, even before you put down a deposit. There are many pitfalls that could be hidden from immediate view with re-sale properties. From the outset you should consider hiring a reliable local lawyer in the country where you intend to buy who will advise and protect your interests. This should be somebody who specialises in property law rather than a general solicitor. You will need to know, for example, whether there is any outstanding debt attached to the property that could pass on to an unsuspecting new owner. This can arise if the vendor has raised money to have the property built then allocated this as additional security to the developer’s bank. Similarly there may be an ongoing dispute over land boundaries or planning applications that you could become party to if you fail to have such things checked. It s no good relying on second hand information or on what a developer tells you; always have your lawyer check things. Never commit without having a full independent valuation carried out because this could reveal serious hidden problems such as damp, subsidence or wiring defects. Only when you are completely satisfied that everything is sound about your intended property should you consider becoming involved in a contract. Once you feel confident that everything is in order, your overseas lawyer can be instructed to proceed. Insists on a opt out clause without penalties should your finance not materialise or if something unexpected should be found with the contract or the property to your detriment.

Remember that contracts and other documentation will be written in a foreign language and will comply with the specific country’s laws. It is no good trying to understand what has been written unless you are fluent in the mother tongue of the country; even then it will pay you to ensure that any specialists such as surveyors, lawyers and architects employed locally are fluent in English so to minimise the risk of a breakdown in communication. Never, ever sign what you don’t understand. Believe it or not, many people either think that they understand a contract or make a guess about what they think has been written. This can only lead to costly problems later on.

You will also need to set up a bank account at a recognised bank in the country where you intend to buy your property. Financial details should be arranged in the local currency and you will need to have a thorough understanding of the exchange rates that are prevalent throughout your negotiations. If you are exporting funds into a foreign land you will need to obtain a Certificate of Importation and need to check the current legal implications about moving money to your chosen country. Taxes will need to be paid as well as utility and other bills once you have purchased the property so you will need to organise standing orders locally in order to pay any charges on time. In some countries, France, Spain and Portugal in particular, if taxes aren’t paid you can be fined or even have your property seized by the authorities. It makes sense what Government taxes will apply to you in advance of committing yourself to a move overseas. Don’t forget to set sufficient funds aside to pay insurance, lawyers and the fees of other professionals that you may hire.

The pitfalls of home ownership overseas may sound horrendous and they can be for those that are unprepared to do things properly. In the long run it is always cost efficient to employ a reputable firm that specialises in overseas sales because they will be fully conversant with the various issues involved. They can also put you in touch with accredited experts such as banks, financial advisors, lawyers, architects and surveyors. If you do your homework thoroughly and comply with the expert advice you are given, then there is no reason to suspect that buying your dream home overseas will be anything less than pleasurable.

Who is the English Education System Failing?

At the age of ten I left primary school and proudly waited at the school gates of my new school having turned eleven during the summer holidays. My new school was a grammar school, the type of educational establishment that has, albeit mostly disappeared yet as those independent of government interference have proved, they remain successful pillars of learning. I was a little fortunate because I lived within the boundaries of Middlesex and the year before changing schools they abandoned the Eleven Plus examinations in favour of a grading system based on the student’s overall school work. It had seemed a fair and logical system to separate those that were markedly more academic from those better suited to an eventual manual trade. Even the abolishment of the Eleven Plus might be seen as the embryo of the crass changes that followed.

For the first two years at grammar school I scored highly in written examinations. The school was good, the teaching levels appropriately high and the mix of subjects taught were applicable. As I had (during those first two years) a more academic leaning I was probably ideally suited for a grammar school education while most of my former primary colleagues that I’d been through from infant school showed signs of being less academic, yet more practical. It is easy to determine, even for a laymen, why the two systems suited particular people. The bulk of my class mates moved to what we knew then as a secondary modern school where the emphasis was more geared towards practical subjects such as metal work, woodwork and technical drawing. My lessons involved longer periods spent learning maths, English and the sciences. The academic selection process roughly divided the numbers so that 20% went to grammar schools while the remainder went to secondary modern. The system followed a well trodden path that went back many years but it seemed to work. Few from secondary modern schools ever got to university; it wasn’t a consideration and even at grammar school there was still a tendency for many to leave at the minimum age of fifteen. At the end of the second year my education was thrown into total upheaval as state-funded local authorities removed the selection process and introduced the single system comprehensive school. This really was the beginning of the end that forced students of all levels to follow the same newly conceived teaching programme that proved to be totally unsuitable to many, especially those that were more academic. The rot had set in. At my new comprehensive the establishment became almost twice the size of my former grammar school; there were too few teaching staff and many of these were incapable of doing the jobs that they were employed for. Academically I became a failure. My examination marks that were once high fell dramatically as I went to near bottom of the class. I was forced to take subjects I had no inclination to study and, as a result I walked out of school at 15, several weeks prior to my official leaving date at the end of the school year. More recently I have discussed our schooling with former class mates that I have met through Friends Reunited and the general consensus is that we should have sued the local authorities for failing to provide a suitable education.

Unlike today I went straight to a London employment agency and walked into the first job I was interviewed for; a messenger in a major advertising agency. I had the desire to progress and within a fortnight I had been promoted to an office job involving cost accounting. At that time, like most young people who were starting on the work ladder, I made many friends but I never came across any youngsters that were so poorly educated that they lacked all hope in life. This certainly isn’t the case today whereby even Blair expresses concern that one in four eleven year olds are illiterate and a quarter of all school leavers have little understanding of maths or English.

Life then was more competitive and if, during our school years, we played any sports the purpose was to win. Then, if we did win, we were rightfully rewarded with a trophy as a token of victory. I was only mediocre at sports so won nothing, nevertheless everybody appreciated that it was necessary to be competitive. Many of us subscribed to the School of Hard Knocks that made us resilient and we knew that if we wanted something we would have to work hard to get it. When it came to dating girls even those who considered themselves to be “Jack the Lads” had respect it would have been an outrage to have got a girl pregnant. Today the UK has the highest number of schoolgirl pregnancies in Europe and the number of youngsters with sexually transmitted diseases is spiralling out of control. This is nothing to be proud of and much of it has been caused by a failure in our education system.

Things have changed of course but it can hardly be called progress. Successive governments can each take a part of the blame for ruining a once good education system that worked. From the introduction of comprehensive schools the whole issue has been a disaster. The current government believe everybody should have the chance to be university educated, yet they are unwilling or unable to fund those that should go. Is the government so lacking in educational skills themselves that they fail to see that many of those who they steer towards university are totally unsuited? Is Tony Blair too short-sighted to appreciate that the former polytechnics were the catalyst that provided further education for those with lower academic capabilities, similar in a way to the trade schools such as the dressmaking school my mother attended as a young woman during the 1930s?. It is folly to alter the status of lesser establishments in an attempt to convince the public that they should rank in the same category as Oxbridge. Employers know the difference. What major employer would take on a graduate trainee from Luton when they expect to hire someone with a degree from Nottingham, St Andrews or one of the other long established appropriate seats of learning? I am not being flippant when I say that there is a difference in standards yet Tony Blair and his cronies firmly believe they can hoodwink potential employers as well as students by advocating that all universities are on a parr. Both sides are being badly and irretrievably let down.

When I started my business I would regularly try to help students by offering to take a few each year on work experience schemes. Over the years the standard of students that I have received has been growing worse and it has reached a situation whereby they have become a total liability. None has shown any interest at all in the type of work that I do and the majority have been totally unable to communicate either with myself, my staff or my customers. Over the last two years I have had to dismiss two back to their schools because they have been rude, refused to undertake simple tasks assigned to them and were unable to arrive on time. A third faked illness so that she could meet her friend at the Milton Keynes shopping centre who, it later transpired, had acted similarly at another company. I cannot be alone in this experience. But, having discussed the issues with some of the teachers involved it leaves me wondering who is letting who down? Some of the teachers more lately seem to palm students off to work experience places at companies merely to get them off their hands and who can really blame them? Students leave school unprepared for the working environment and few seem to know how to approach an employer for a job. I receive letters from students of all levels who are writing on-spec to seek work. Few of their letters are compiled neatly; they are badly positioned on the page; most contain poor grammar, appalling spelling and the writer often forgets to sign their name to the correspondence nor have the courtesy of enclosing a stamped addressed envelope for a reply. It appears that no guidance has been given on how to present their CVs to potential employers. There are exceptions of course and it is these students that are likely to gain suitable employment while the others sadly become assigned to the unemployment queues. Doesn’t our government owe it to the young people to offer an education system that work well for those of us that were fortunate enough to have received at least some of their schooling before the dreadful days of the one-tier system?

IMPERIAL ...The airline not the mints

For over six years now I have been working on my mega work that has a working title of "Imperial Airways and the Birth of British Airlines". The whole thing has really been a labour of love. Much of the time has been spent researching any and every conceivable book about the early aviation pioneers and the airlines they flew with. This is followed by a brief period of hyper activity at the computer knocking each section into shape. At times it has been laborious, mostly however I have enjoyed the experience. 'Why am I doing it' many friends have asked? Well, first and foremost I enjoy writing and I also love the whole airline industry.I find it fascinating how an obscure man can sometimes realise his dream by starting an enterprise that transports people to the most distant corners of the earth in machines that now cost vast amounts of money. The entire Imperial story I find intriguing because it took place between the two World Wars at a time when equipment was incredibly basic and often downright unsafe. As I become deeper involved, there are times when I have tended to feel personally connected to some of the colourful characters that were involved with the company and I can feel their pains when they fail and suffer their excitement when things go to plan.

Certainly I am not writing the book to become rich; far from it. Most writers become engrossed in their projects because they want to see them reach fruition; a bit like watching your young child grow. Firstly the project has to be completed and then you hope and pray that a decent publisher will become as enthused about the subject to want to publish it.

At the moment the book is about two thirds finished and the manuscript is with a specialist publisher in the north of England who has initially expressed an interest. I am terribly fussy about my expectations and I want the book to be exceptionally well produced with an inspired layout and plenty of illustrations; the type of book Dorling Kindersley are famous for. I have approached DK, twice in fact, about my project but they have not been gracious enough to bother me with a reply. Sad really, but then this is often indicative of the publishing industry.

As the manuscript grows in length I shall, from time-to-time, report on the progress but, for the moment at any rate, I've not written a word for several weeks. This is because this Blog and other writing projects that actually pay me money have taken precedence.