The Story of George
In the 1960s, I use to serve behind the bar in a pub called The Merryhills in Oakwood. It was one of the vacation jobs I did to fund my way through University.
Although it was a leafy suburb and still is, the pub was only half-genteel. The Saloon Bar was comfortable and had a nice class of client. But the Public Bar was a different story and there was sometimes an edginess. I remember one night, sorting out a fight, by breaking a bottle of Guinness on the bar and jumping over the counter. They didn’t want to take me on, but then we all knew that Mick the large Irish barman was coming round by the easy route with the landlord’s Alsatian.
But it is the story of George I remember.
On a quiet Monday, I found myself talking for most of the evening to a guy called George, who had been in my year at primary school. I said to him, that at school, I thought he might have been a bit rough and that now he seemed to have calmed down. He said that he had. But it hadn’t always been so and a couple of years before he’d been up in court on a charge of vandalism. The magistrate had said that he deserved Borstall, but also said that he had a mate who owned a demolition firm, who was in need of men, who liked to smash things up. If he’d take the job, the magistrate said he’d forget the Borstal.
George had worked in demolition for some months and hadn’t been in trouble since.
Perhaps there is a moral here, in that we’ve now made employment so safe, it just doesn’t appeal to a certain class of youth!
I suspect too, that magistrates can’t recruit workers for their friends!
The Aftermath At Tottenham Hale
I took these pictures at Tottenham Hale today.
The interesting thing was that the fast food outlets were left undamaged. So perhaps they weren’t such mindless morons after all? You have to eat don’t you!
I actually went to the area to go to Maplins. It was open and fully-functioning and I was able to buy what I wanted.
I was Sixteen Once
I’m 64 next week, but all of the mindless violence of the last few days rings a bell in my mind.
I have a feeling that life has now become so constrained for the average male youth, that we are now getting the problems we are seeing on the streets.
In some ways it was a bit like that in the early sixties. We didn’t get the violence, but then of course we had Mods and Rockers. I didn’t get involved one way or other, as I had other things to do and I didn’t have a motorcyle licence.
But just as then, the Police and politicians didn’t have a clue. They don’t now!
In the seventies and eighties, it was all about football violence.
So is the cause of the last three days, just an outlet for testosterone. I bet one of these rioters goes on to in twenty years or so, to be a leader of a main political party or to run a large company like Tesco.
The problem is to channel this testosterone and the anger that goes with it!
Tearing Newspapers
I like to take bits out of the paper to bring home, so I can read them later and perhaps comment on them.
But newspapers now seem to be made from such poor quality paper you can’t seem to tear them cleanly.
A butler certainly wouldn’t be able to iron and fold The Times, so that Lord Muck could get the Court and Social page on the front, just as the paper used to be laid out.
Is a Sattelite Dish a Human Right?
According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission it is. Read about it here.
In my view satellite dishes are ugly and should be banned. Especially, as there are so many other ways to get the service through broadband.
I have a feeling that in ten years time, we will rarely see a satellite dish. Especially in towns, where so many new methods to deliver signals will be developed. I also think, that hidden aerials that are flat and flush with walls will be developed, if for no other reason than they can be quickly and easily involved.
Moneywise and Zopa
Just read this page.
So in terms of trust Zopa rank with the very best when it comes to providing personal loans.
Who says so?
A survey of 12,000 Britons by Moneywise. I suppose it all boils down to how much you trust Moneywise and their methods of doing surveys.
The detailed results are here.
Here’s a couple of paragraphs from the page.
Although there’s the risk of borrower default, lenders benefit from rates that are higher than those on savings accounts, while borrowers enjoy low rates and no early repayment fees.
And the model’s proved a hit with its customers. One describes it as “shaking up financial services,” while another said “it just works. No nasty bankers”. There’s also praise for the service Zopa providers: “They are friendly and care about their members. Service is fast, reliable and efficient.”
Incidentally, Santander and Halifax were rated the worst.
It’s All About The Markets
There is a lot of doom and gloom in the markets, as this report says.
To me the markets have become one gigantic fruit machine, run not for the benefit of the companies and investors, but for the middle men. Did you ever see a financial advisor on a bicycle?
Remember the Stock Exchange was setup originally so that businesses who needed to expand could raise money to do so. Those who invested got a return on their money, with the higher returns coming from the more risky investments. It’s about time the Stock Exchange got back to basics.
An old friend, Phil, long since dead, and myself put forward the principle of a company called Very Dodgy Investments, which would only invest in blue chip stocks like GEC. We never had the guts to start it, but GEC went into melt-down soon afterwards, despite having been one of the most cash-rich and solid companies a few years before.
Over the last few years, I’ve come to the conclusion, that a company is only as good as the person who pulls the strings, no matter what the figures look like. Just as with GEC at its pomp, you might not have liked some of Lord Weinstock’s methods, you couldn’t fault the returns you got by investing. The same could be said of other companies and the people who led or now lead them.
But look at some of the banks of recent years. Someone, often with lots of charisma and no sense, have proved that what goes up must come down and have undone many decades of prudent management. Generally by greed. Whoever said Greed is Good was wrong! Wanting to be rich and then working out how you do it, by perhaps inventing something and/or lots of hard work is good. Provided you don’t step over the line of what is morally bad.
But generally the one group of people you can trust is the men and women on the street. Not everyone has of course a good credit rating, but those that have one can generally be someone, who is worth supporting. This principle has been used by reputable banks and building societies to make money for years. It is even being exploited by the government in turning the bad loans of Northern Rock round. People would prefer to pay their loans rather than lose their house, even when the consequences might not be that bad in all cases of default.
Some companies, like those who charge high rates for payday loans also take advantage of the good nature of the person on the Dalston Omnibus. There must be half a dozen of these companies on the Kingsland Road near me.
This principle is one of the reasons I support Zopa. With them, the element of trust also works both ways and to and from the company.
Lenders know that their money will be lent out at the rate they ask for, but they know if they want a too high rate, the money may take some time to be lent.
Borrowers know the consequences of not paying and generally do pay, although there is a proportion of bad debt. They also know that the terms and conditions are as fair as they ever are in the financial services industry.
But I would never recommend Zopa directly to anyone. Look at the company and understand how the system works. Only when you are satisfied with what you see, should you make a judgement.
But I will say one thing. Put a note in your diary for ten years from now to look at what Zopa has become!
I’ll also say one last thing about the markets. Who tell you to invest in the Stock Market? Journalists, who work for so-called reputable newspapers! And possibly others with similar vested interests, but no money of their own.
You might ask why I invested in Zopa. I’m a Control Engineer by University Education, a Computer Programmer by work experience and someone who likes those behind an idea to have a proven record amongst many things. Zopa ticked all of my boxes and felt it was worth investing the money I got from selling my late wife’s Porsche Boxster. It wasn’t even the world’s third best car anyway!
It’s been a case of so far, so good! But Zopa for me has outperformed the Stock Market.
The Vengeance Tendency Hi-Jacks the E-Petitions
According to this report on the BBC, there are dozens of e-petitions calling for the government to bring back hanging. So the spiteful and vengeful in the UK population celebrate the suspension of the death penalty in Japan in an appropriate way.
I am one of the few people in the UK, who has met someone, who was sentenced to death in the UK. He was later reprieved and went on to be well-known on television for his work. How does the vengeance tendency square with such miscarriages of justice? I suppose it’s alright for someone to get hung to discourage the others, even if they are innocent. Unless of course, you happen to be that person.
I think I’l start an e-petition to stop the NHS wasting taxpayers money on homeopathy! Perhaps the money saved could be used to pay for the death penalty. After all for many the result is the same!
Japan SuspendsThe Death Penalty
Japan and the United States are the two major countries of the western world, who still have the death penalty. There are reports today, that the new justice minister, Eda Satsuki has effectively susoended capital punishment. There’s a detailed report here on UPI.
He is also quoted in The Times as saying “Human beings are rational creatures. I think it’s wrong-headed to claim that taking the life of a person is the expression of a rational nature”.
I’ll agree with that.
Thames Water Can’t Win
There is a big row brewing in London about the Super Sewer that will run down the middle of the Thames.
The problem isn’t about foul water, but mainly about heavy rain causing problems, when it overloads the current system, which then causes foul water to be forced out onto the streets and into the Thames.
When I went down the sewers, I was given a presentation on the Super Sewer and totally understand that something must be done.
The question is what.
Some things don’t help.
London had 55,000 sewage blockages last year. Many are caused by inappropriate things, like chip fat, disposable nappies and general rubbish being put down the toilet. I’ve been told and not by Thames Water, I should add, that in tower blocks some residents are too lazy to walk down with their rubbish and use the toilet instead. There was also the notorious fatberg in Leicester Square outside a fast food restaurant.
Thames Water has launched a Bin it – Don’t Block it campaign.
There are also lots of people who have concreted over their front garden, which means that the water now runs off immediately.
You could argue that if you have a concreted front garden, then you should pay an extra drainage rate. I have a small patio between my front door and the road and wouldn’t mind paying a charge on a pro-rata basis. I also have a mature tree, which I think is a hornbeam, between the patio and the road, which might be bad for my hay fever, but it soaks up an awful load of water.
My Roadside Tree – A Hornbeam?
On a similar tack, new buildings should have plenty of green space and trees. But often this restricts the places to park cars and other vehicles.
Those that object to the Super Sewer use two main arguments.
The first is that it might not work and the second is that it will cost too much.
But most of the opposition is just the usual Nimbys, who don’t want construction near them. How many of these peple use disposable nappies on their babies? We never did in London, as in those days of the 1970s, there was still an affordable nappy service, where clean nappies were delivered regularly and the dirty ones taken away. The trouble is today’s parents are seduced by advertising. They may be all for saving the whale and the tiger, but when it comes to stopping sewage blockages, then that is not their problem.
So what do I think should be done?
Obviously, we first need to stop the blockages. This is mainly a publicity problem to get people to change their bad habits. If they won’t then more draconian solutions like the banning of disposable nappies and extra water taxes on fast food restaurants will be pushed for and might have to come in.
One idea I’d like to see tried is a SewerCam on the Greenway, showing what was going on beneath their feet in the Northern Outfall Sewer.
Thames Water have the start of a private museum at the old Abbey Mills Pumping Station, but where is the London Museum of Water and Sewage?
New technology has a part to play too.
On the Olympic Park all of the toilets and grass watering is going to be fed from recycled water, in part taken from the Northern Outfall Sewer.
Are London’s many parks kept green in the same way. I suspect many just use mains water, which just adds to the problem.
Surely someone could come up with a small water purification plant, that uses water collected from say housing estates to water the nearby parks.
We should also stop the covering of gardens with concrete and decking and make sure that all new buildings reuse all of the water they collect on their roofs.
But I’m afraid that if we use all the tricks we have available, we will probably need to put a Super Sewer under the Thames.
The Anonymous Widower 