Where Is Bill Mclaren?
The events at Queen’s yesterday needed Bill McLaren, as there was as he would say a spot of “Argy-Bargy”.
Just as some great sportsmen live on in peoples’s minds because of what they did, some great commentators live on because of what they said.
A Dunking Biscuit for Coeliacs
I have found that Waitrose’s new gluten-free ginger biscuits dunk well.
A Dunking Biscuit for Coeliacs
My mother and my late wife, C, would be horrified at the picture. Dunking was not for polite society!
But my mother would have been pleased that I’ve stopped biting my nails, which C knew anyway.
Back to the Eighties
In The Times today, Lord Mandelson is reported as saying that the Unions are taking the Labour Party back to the 1980s.
It certainly seems to me that the two organisations are not singing from the same hymn sheet.
I doubt in this country, there has ever been any strike, that has ever achieved all its objectives. Some small ones might, but in most cases the threat of strike action ends up with a positive result and usually for all parties concerned.
An MRi Scan in Harley Street
The doctors are trying to get to the bottom of why my heart doesn’t push as hard as it might.
So on Saturday lunchtime, I found myself in The Heart Hospital round the corner from Harley Street for an MRi scan. The hospital has an interesting history having been refurbished at one time as a private heart hospital. Some of the expensive fittings show this.
Now it is part of UCLH and it was a very efficient procedure, as a cardiologist checked my heart with the machine.
I think the whole story shows how only the NHS can afford really expensive machines, but they must make the assets sweat.
My only complaint was the usual NHS one, of magazines that were fairly out of date. But hey who cares? I waited with a man, who had brought his wife in for something much more serious than I am suffering from. He was much better company than last year’s Hello.
It was also a simple bus ride without any changes from the stop at the end of my road.
Professional Theft – Dutch Footballers at Euro 2012
They have definitely underperformed in this tournament, as they are ranked fourth in the World at the moment.
I wonder what the man on the Amsterdam Omnibus is saying?
Professional Theft – PIP Breast Implants
It has been reported that Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director has looked in to the sub-standard breast implants supplied by French company PIP and has said that despite their double-than-normal failure rate, they did not appear to be linked with increased levels of cancer.
It would appear that where the NHS is concerned, the organisation has offered to remove any implants it made, but the problem in England lies with the 95 % of women, who had the operation done privately.
I’ll give an example here. Suppose I had taken my Jaguar to an approved dealer after the air-conditioning pump had failed and it had been replaced by a sub-standard import, non-approved part. If I’d have noticed this, I’d have asked the dealer to replace it with the approved part at no charge and I suspect that Jaguar would have backed up my demand.
The NHS seems to be fulfilling its similar obligations, but many private clinics seem to be washing their hands of the whole thing. Surely, to use a sub-standard part and probably charge for the kosher one is theft. I call this professional theft, where the customer is milked by a professional, who should know better.
And when the report from Professor Keogh doesn’t take a robust attitude to those of his profession, who didn’t put the best interest of the patients first and insist they replace the offending implants, some might think he is putting the doctors before the patients.
In my view these women should have their implants removed and replaced and those done outside the NHS, should be paid for by the skimping clinics and doctors involved.
The Emirates Air-Line Opens On June 28th
It has been announced that the new cable-car in East London will open on the 28th of June.
I shall be there with a camera.
Can I use it on my Freedom Pass? I’ve now heard the answer is no! But I can see their reasoning, as otherwise pensioners would treat it as a free ride in a theme – park.
Turing Remembered
The BBC has an excellent article about Alan Turing on its web site. Interestingly, the article is by Vint Cerf, a guy I saw lecture at the University of Hertfordshire a few years ago. They also share a birthday of June 23rd.
The article has been published because next year, the Science Museum will be mounting an exhibition on Turing. That should be well worth a visit.
Who’s Eating All The Pies?
And it would appear everything else!
Accordiung to a report on BBC Breakfast Time, a third of the obese people in the world, live in North America. But only six percent of the world’s population live there!
I think that the answer is a no brainer!
Peer-To-Peer Lending Gets a Plug in the Scotsman
The Scots like to think they are canny and one even thought he was prudent, so this article from the premier Scottish newspaper, the Scotsman should be very much welcomed by the peer-to-peer lending industry or at least its three major players; Zopa, Funding Circle and Ratesetter.
The Anonymous Widower 