Abramovitch Revolves The Door Again
Roman Abramovitch has sacked another manager at Chelsea. What a way to run a football club? Especially, as it seems to be generally accepted that stability in football leads to success.
I suppose the only winner is Roberto di Matteo, as he’ll probably be well paid.
But it doesn’t alter the fact that Chelsea are rapidly becoming a joke in the mind of many!
Some of the statements on the BBC’s web site get straight to the point.
Colin Bundred has said “How is it possible to be Champions of Europe and the joke of the football world at the same time? Sad really.”
And then Post and In give it the treatment.
I wonder if Roman Abramovitch is going to sue everybody who is criticising him on Twitter. If he is, every lawyer in the UK, will be rubbing their hands. I suspect the Americans will lend us a few lawyers if we need help.
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.
Indians Execute Mumbai Gunman
The Indian authorities have executed the lone surviving gunman from the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. It’s reported here on the BBC.
I am against all forms of judicial killing, whether they be after a fit and proper trial in a Court of Law or not. So I will not condone what the Indians have done.
Remember that these attacks in Mumbai, were just after I visited the city and stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in the city. How many of the staff, that attended so well to my friend and myself died in the attack?
But even being that close to an attack, doesn’t make me change my view on the death penalty.
Good Riddance To Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court is an exhibition centre, whose sell-by date was decades ago. I can remember going to events there like The Motor Show in the 1960s and it wasn’t the best then. I can also remember being at the NEC in Birmingham about 1980, talking to one of the top people in Hewlett-Packard, where he reckoned at that time the NEC was one of the best places they exhibited.
So what has Earls Court done in those intervening years? Absolutely nothing! Read about the NEC and it is a story of continuous development and updating.
If ever a building was saying “Please knock me down!” it’s Earls Court.
So I’m now pleased to see that this is going to happen. It’s reported here on the BBC. But as ever there are those, who want to turn the clock back. Two housing estates will be incorporated into the scheme and the report says this.
But tenants and leaseholders on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates who will have to be re-housed have called for a judicial review on the grounds that the plan is contrary to Hammersmith and Fulham’s local planning policy.
As ever, selfish people seem determined to not co-operate for the good of the many. So be prepared for a long and expensive fight which will only delay the inevitable.
On a personal note, I’ve only visited Earls Court once in recent years. I try to avoid the place, as it is one of those places where I can’t find anything to eat.
Now we have the problem of what to do with Olympia. After all with Excel and the O2 Dome we have made a start on providing alternative venues.
The UK’s Last Typewriter
I thought that no-one made typewriters anymore, until I saw this story on the BBC this morning.
I learned to type at about seven or eight on my father’s old Imperial in his office over the printing works in Wood Green.
I’ve never been much of a two-handed typist and now with my gammy left hand, I generally do most of it one-handed. Although, I’m getting better, as I use the left hand more.
Should The Church Of England Have Women Bishops?
As someone, who normally only goes to a church for funerals and weddings, to look at the architecture or have acupuncture, I’m not the right person to decide.
I have been to two funerals with women celebrants and I don’t think it makes any difference to the average sombre funeral. It would of course make a difference, if the celebrant was useless or unsympathetic, but then I’ve never been to a funeral like that.
So personally, it doesn’t matter to me what sex a priest is, provided they do a good job.
As in any job, to restrict your choice by not allowing one sex to do it, is silly. And all jobs need the best person who can do the job. Perhaps the only place where a female priest might not be suitable is ministering to male sex offenders in a prison. On the other hand, a woman priest might be better at it. To use a way out example, to set out how you will vote, is a bad idea.
I also think that a vote not to allow women bishops may turn many away from the church.
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Hip Ops Go Private
This is reported in a couple of papers including here in the Belfast Telegraph.
I would never have a major operation in a hospital without a fully-staffed A & E unit. I’ve lost two friends, who had expensive private hip transplants and died in the operation.
Hope For The Paralysed
I say hope, but this story from the BBC is a good news story to start the week. This is the first few paragraphs.
Scientists have reversed paralysis in dogs after injecting them with cells grown from the lining of their nose.
The pets had all suffered spinal injuries which prevented them from using their back legs.
The Cambridge University team is cautiously optimistic the technique could eventually have a role in the treatment of human patients.
The study is the first to test the transplant in “real-life” injuries rather than laboratory animals.
It may only be a first step on the long road to getting the paralysed to walk again. But it is a very significant first step.
I also think it’s very good, that the scientists did the research on dogs that had been injured in the normal course of life. It shows that often you don’t have to do experiments on healthy animals. All it needs is to think hard about what you’re doing.
So congratulations to Cambridge and its vets and scientists!
I think Jasper the dachshund will be one of the most famous dogs in the world.
Twinkies Goes Bust
I read in The Times yesterday that the maker of Twinkies, a North American snack food, has gone bust. After reading their Wikipedia entry, I don’t think anybody who cares about their food will be bothered. In fact the entry, is one of the funniest I’ve seen in a long time. I particularly liked the part about their shelf life. They can also be deep-fried, like Mars bars.
The Troubles With HMS Astute
These are reported in several papers like here in the Telegraph.
But then this is always the case with new defence projects. I always remember a non-working radar for the Tornado, that was known as Blue Circle, because it was just a concrete dummy. The story is in the Wikpedia entry for the aircraft.
Because of some delays to the radar, some development aircraft flew with a concrete weight in place of the radar assembly. In a nod to some other radar names of the day (Blue Parrot, Blue Fox) this was nicknamed Blue Circle – cynics suggested that at leastBlue Circle gave more consistent results. Unfortunately, the ‘Blue’ series radars were made by Ferranti – and the AI24 Foxhunter for the Tornado was made by GEC. At least one senior civil servant thought that the AI24 was a Ferranti-made radar as a result… (Ferranti made the antenna mounting assembly as a subcontractor to GEC. At least that bit was delivered on time and to budget, although they later discovered that GEC was blaming them for delays. Cute trick.)
British defence contractors never seem to get it right first time.
On the other hand new products usually don’t work a hundred percent of the time. I’ve seen a New Bus for London, that has broken down and they are rumoured to have the odd air-conditioning problem.
But then you could probably get 5,000 New Buses for London for the price of HMS Astute. And anyway with the bus, there’s usually another along in a few minutes.
The Anonymous Widower 