A Royal Wedding! Is that what we need?
I only met Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, once and that was in Buckingham Palace at a reception for Queen’s Award winners in 1991. I should have met Mrs. Thatcher that day, but one of her ministers had died so she had more important things to do than meeting me!
Some things stand out from that party. Obviously, the setting was magnificent and the service was up to the highest standards. But afterwards as you thought about it, nothing that was served was extravagant, and anybody could make a party run as smoothly, by just being good and watching the small details. The drink flowed well and a couple of souls, were a bit merry as they left.
But what really stood out was the treatment of Diana by the guests. To say she was hounded would not be out of hand. But then she was going to marry Prince Charles in the summer and everybody wanted to talk to her. We didn’t, but we had quite a very long conversation with the Duke of Kent.
Diana really wasn’t up to coping with this type of do and it was good to see that Katherine Middleton is a much stronger personality, who can probably hold her own in the sort of receptions and dinners, that she will be expected to attend.
Also too, she’s marrying one of her generation and peer group from University, so they’ve probably done a lot of the things that might be difficult in future. Diana didn’t have that luxury. But marrying someone you’d met at university certainly helped give us nearly forty years of reasonably happy marriage.
So here’s hoping for them!
But I won’t be watching or listening!
I did notice that they’re using Diana’s ring for an engagement ring. Let’s hope that this theme passes through the plans for the wedding. Make it a happy and fun affair, but do make it in keeping with today’s austerity.
That way it might help to lift the gloom and bring in lots of tourists, who’ll spent money. It wll be a good test for the Olympics in 2012.
Stem Cells and Stroke Patients
A lot of people mat well object to the fact that foetal stem cells have been used to help a stroke patient in Glasgow.
I’ve probably been fairly lucky with my stroke and it is doubtful whether I would have needed this treatment.
But, would I have said yes or no, if I had been offered the treatment. I don’t know, but I would have always wanted to get better.
It is interesting to postulate what families and the NHS will say. After all, if someone is completely disabled, it doesn’t help anybody, least of all the patient.
I must admit too, that if this treatment is a success, then the three parties involved, the patient, his family and the health service will all probably be in favour.
It will be interesting to see how the moral arguments develop.
Smoking Mothers Breed Criminals
I hate smoking with a vengeance and for good reason!
But when I read this study from Harvard that mothers who are heavy smokers, are more likely to have children with crimnal tendencies, it enfoces my view, that we need more restrictions on smoking and more help for people to give up.
I’d like to see the following come into law.
- It should be illegal to smoke in any vehicle.
- It should be illegal to smoke within 100 metres of a school at all times.
- It should be illegal to smoke within 10 metres of any child under 10 on the street.
- All tobacco should be sold in approved outlets, where all customers are videoed. Such video can be inspected by the licensing authorities.
- Children under 10 are not allowed into premises where tobacco is sold.
- No sales in garages and petrol stations.
- Tobacco can not be sold in the same building as food. Shops would be allowed to set up separate entrances to a part of the store where tobacco would be sold, but this would be videoed and child free. Waitrose in Newmarket used to sell alcohol this way.
- Councils would be allowed to create no smoking zones. I wonder what would happen if say town A made it’s town centre and shopping area smoke-free and town B didn’t!
I know it’s draconian, but get rid of the evil of tobacco and we’ll probably be surprised at all the results.
What Do We Do With the Irish Problem?
At times, I think the euro is a good idea. But to be fair, it will only work, if everybody acts as a team and plays the same way and to the same objectives. But Greece and now Ireland have taken advantage of the rules to play the game their way. Robert Peston wrote a very good piece on his blog yesterday and got right to the point.
Ireland has got itself in this mess by pursuing an unsubstanable property bubble and then bailing out the banks and the builders with loans from the European Central Bank.
But what started it?
For more years than I can remember, Irish thoroughbred breeders got it easy in the region of taxes. There were so many crazy rules, such as stallion fees being except of tax and that is why all the best stallions outside Middle Eastern ownership are in Ireland. And when it came to sell yearings and fials, did English breeders get the price their horse deserved? Sometimes but not always! In fact because of the racehorse tax situation, Tattersalls, the auctioneers, thought about moving to Ireland.
In fact you might argue, that the parlous state of racing and breeding in the UK, France, Germany and Italy, is down to the Irish and their feather-bedded industry!
But it’s not just horse owners and breeders, that get this treatment.
Irish corporate taxes are out of line with the rest of Europe and consequently, many companies use Ireland as a legal way of minimising taxes.
This is wrong and European finances will not return to sanity until we all play by similar rules in the areas of budget deficits, corporate taxes, working practices andpensions.
But it will not be easy, as look at the problems, France has been having trying to put a modicum of sense into its pensions.
So to repeat Gladstone’s famous question. which of course was part of “If you solve the Irish question, the Irish change the question!”
So Ireland, you must change the question! Ireland has one of the most educated populations in the EU. perhaps their insistence on not needing the bailout is a good policy and the start of this process.
But remember too, we have extensive investments in the country and they have a lot in the UK, so perhaps if we worked together more in all sorts of areas, we might both do each other some good, despite past troubles.
The Anonymous Widower 