Hell’s Angels
This was the title on the second leader in The Times today and it talked about a charity called Riders for Health. It has been chosen as one of the newspaper’s charities for Christmas.
I think what they do is brilliant and it’s so simple. Providing transport in the rural areas of Africa must surely get better healthcare.
Government To Set A Minimum Price For Alcohol
The Times is saying that the Government will be consulting on this. What I noticed was that the article was accompanied by a picture of a plastic bottle of own brand supermarket cider, which it said could treble in price.
If it increased in price by ten times, it wouldn’t bother me, as that is the sort of drink, that would make me ill, as I’m allergy to gluten, which those drinks often contain.
My preferred long drink is actually Aspall’s cyder, which is generally about a couple of pounds for a half litre. The muck shown in the article is quoted as costing about £1.20 and that’s for four times as much.
I prefer to enjoy my drinking, rather than drink to oblivion.
So I’m very much in favour of a minimum price for a unit of alcohol. It might cost me a couple of quid a week at most.
Fabrice Muamba Shows How To Come Back
Fabrice Muamba has made a remarkable recovery from his collapse on the pitch at White Hart Lane, where his heart stopped for 78 minutes.
He’s now going to appear on Strictly Come Dancing at Christmas.
I suspect now that Fabrice will be unlikely t0 die from any form of heart disease, as his doctors will watch him like a hawk and give him the best of care.
Hip Transplants At Wigan
The BBC is running a story about the first hip transplants at Wrightington Hospital near Wigan in the 1960s. There’s a lot more in the Wikipedia entry for John Charnley, the surgeon who led the pioneering work.
At Liverpool University in the 1960s, I was in digs at Huyton. My landlord’s daughter, Sheila Vaughan, was one of the nursing sisters at the hospital and told us about the work there.
Sheila had been a very good golfer, who’d played in the Curtis Cup.
And Now We’ve Got Tit Pox!
This news story has been read many times on the BBC web site. Frankie Howerd would be using one of his catch phrases.
A Dual-Processor Toothbrush
I needed a new head for my toothbrush and by mistake I bought this one with a dual processor.
A Dual-Processor Toothbrush
But it’s a lot better.
My Moan Of The Week
The Richard Bacon Show on BBC Radio 5 has a weekly moan-in, where people vent their moans.
My moan would be about the number of people who moan generally about the cost and problems of having a car. If it’s not fuel costs, it’s about traffic jams, congestion charging, insurance or finding somewhere to park.
I don’t have these problems any more, as since my stroke I haven’t driven and don’t have a licence any more And I reckon my bank account benefits by several thousand pounds a year. That would buy lots of taxis, if I wanted, but I prefer trains and buses, as you see more of life and don’t get the driver complaining about the sad state of the taxi industry.
Frank Gardner On Risk Profiling
Frank Gardner has written an article about risk profiling software for the BBC web site. He writes it with respect to terrorism, but buried in the article is this piece.
He says South Korean Customs, which have bought the programme, report a 20% higher detection rate of illegal goods.
That is just good use of data mining software, to identify the source of illegality.
There are so many applications for this type of software, such as in healthcare, road safety, crime, product failures from televisions and vehicles to large projects, that generally all we will see is a much better lifestyle.
Only in a few areas will there be any cause for concern about human rights.
Katie Gets It Right
I like this article by Katie Hopkins on the BBC’s web site. She feels that free healthcare on the NHS should come with responsibility to look after yourself. This is the first few paragraphs.
Former Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins argues that people who eat, drink and smoke more than is good for them should pay more towards the NHS health care they need, as she sets out her calls for additional payments for some health services.
A strange and particularly British trait is revealed when things are free at the point of use.
Just like all-inclusive holidays, or theme-park tickets, once you have handed over the money, the cost seems instantly forgotten.
The ability to have as much as you want whenever you want it, or to go on as many rides as you can whenever you like, is all that matters.
Somehow, everything in this new land of plenty is free. The NHS is rather like this.
I hope that I do the best to make sure, I’m not too much of a burden on the NHS.
Do All Pill Packets Have A Picture?
It struck me today, that my various pill packets have a picture of the tablet on the outside.
Do All Pill Packets Have A Picture?
Either I’m being unobservant or could it be that I read the words rather than look at the picture.
The Anonymous Widower 