My I Love De Beauvoir Bag
I’ve just got this I Love De Beauvoir bag.
My I Love De Beauvoir Bag
My only problem with it is the dreadful self checkouts in Waitrose at the Angel, as it refuses to sit on the tiny shelf.
I got mine from the De Beauvoir Association.
Soldiers In The Classroom
There has been some discussion about whether ex- soldiers should be fast-tracked as teachers. The story is here on the BBC. Here’s the first bit.
Former armed forces personnel without degrees will be fast-tracked into teaching in England under a new government programme.
The Troops to Teachers scheme will help “highly skilled” former military personnel become teachers within two years.
As someone, who was at school in London in the 1950s and 1960s, a lot of our teachers had either fought in the Second World War or suffered air-raids. I think these experiences made them better teachers,as they would always add anecdotes and stories into lessons.
So I’m very much in favour of the Troops to Teachers scheme, provided that the right soldiers are re-trained.
Sequins On My Balcony
I went to see this entertainment at the Rosemary Branch last night.
To say it was uplifting would be an understatement, but to anybody who’s been affected by breast cancer either personally or through a family member or friend’s suffering, Yvette Cowles got it absolutely right in my view. I have never had any cancer, that I know of, but what Yvette said about fighting breast cancer, could have applied so much to C and her successful fight against her lump.
Nothing though, helped in C’s unsuccessful fight against the cancer that killed her.
Real Neighbourhood Policing
I like this story from the West Midlands. Here’s the first bit.
He’s a beat bobby with a difference – but Pc Ian Northcott stopped shoppers in their tracks when he started belting out Oasis hit Wonderwall outside a busy shopping centre.
We need more of this interactive neighbourhood policing.
I am reminded of a story years ago, when a police team got conned into a five-a-side football tournament by the local vicar. To say the football was rough would be an understatement. But the officer who told me the story, says some those they kicked and were kicked by, gave them information to catch a few felons.
An Acadian Hero
Lyse Doucet is one of my favourite broadcasters and in some ways a bit of a hero, as she seems so unfazed of all the horrors she has faced, just being the total professional.
Like many I suppose, I’d always assumed she was from Quebec, due to her French name and her accent. But she is actually an Acadian, a group, who I knew little of until I looked Lyse up last night. Wikipedia says this.
Although today most of the Acadians and Québécois are French speaking (francophone) Canadians, Acadia was a distinct colony of New France, and was geographically and administratively separate from the French colony of Canada (modern day Quebec), which led to Acadians and Québécois developing two rather distinct histories and cultures.
I first became aware of Lyse, when she was reporting from Iran. In one report for From Our Own Correspondent, she described how the Russian Ambassador at a news conference, had started chatting her up, and was totally surprised, when he found the lady in the burkha was Canadian.
I do find it strange that two of my heroes are called Lyse or Lise. The other is of course Lise Meitner.
The Real On-Line Criminals
This article about unfair terms and conditions in agreements with on-line retailers is enlightening.
The companies they name and shame are Microsoft, Netflix and Apple. I never deal with any of these on-line.
I think the only company, I regurlarly give money to over the Internet, that doesn’t have physical presence, is WordPress, where I host this blog. I just give them a few dollars for extra storage and so I can use video. But as Facebook found with Instagram, I would vote with my fingers and move, if they did something I really didn’t like.
The article on the BBC, does give the name of a project that rates the Terms and Conditions of web sites call TOS; DR. It’s here.
Theft At Cash Machines On The Rise
This story says that thefts at cash machines are on the rise. I’ve never been targeted and I usually make sure I get my money out at machines I know well and often in the morning, as prejudice says that criminals always lie in bed as they drunk too much last night. I also often use a machine inside a branch of Nationwide, because there are comfortable seats there to sit down, whilst I sort it all out. This paragraph from the article is telling and shows how to use a stolen card to get cash.
The perpetrators used the card to lay £400 in bets at Ladbrokes and withdrew £240 in cash.
As someone, who once held a licence for a betting shop, I know the fiddles that go on in these places.
Incidentally, a fraud expect told me, that he’d analysed card thefts and subsequent withdrawals. He felt that if customers used an easy pin like 1234, it was more likely to be discovered. My pin jumps about all over the place, so I hope if someone watches they can’t get it.
I have said before in this post, that I wish my bank statement gave me more information about my withdrawals, with perhaps the location of the cash machine. I think, if this was done, it would alert customers, that perhaps their card had been skimmed.
Why Was This Idiot Allowed To Drive?
When I had my stroke, I was not allowed to drive until I’d proved I was safe. As my eyesight never returned to 20/20, I decided that it was probably best to give up trying to drive again. I suspect now, that I might be able to drive without any problems, but I couldn’t live with perhaps knocking someone over, even if it was impossible for it to have been my fault.
On the other hand, the idiot driver of the van shown in this report from the BBC, was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, who went on to kill a young mother and injure thirteen others. In other words he was a worse killer than the two who are accused of murdering Lee Rigby.
What doctor allowed him to drive after the diagnosis? He should be struck off at the least.
Is There A Cardigan Gene?
My father liked to wear cardigans and so does my son. So is this in our genes?
I obviously don’t have that particular gene, as I’ve never worn a cardigan.
On the other hand, C had lots of them!
Legible London
Legible London is described like this on their web site.
Legible London is a pedestrian wayfinding system that’s helping people walk around the Capital.
It does mean that information posts like these are turning up everywhere.
I’ve noticed these signs for some time, but it is only now, they’ve started to appear near me.
When the whole of London is covered, who will need a map on a mobile phone?
The Anonymous Widower 