What did I learn this week? #4

The M25 can't cope with the current level of traffic and any problems cause huge tailbacks. It's not going to get any better.  I wasted at least 3 hours on the M25 this week moving at a crawl or just sitting in traffic. The authorities need to do better - widening isn't the only solution.
    
I feel sorry for David Beckham. To have a wife who is so successful who looks angry and bored all of the time, must do his head in. Now that his USA adventure has ended (which I think was a poor move anyway), I also hope that he doesn't come back to the UK as the press would go overboard, it's bad enough at the moment.
  
There is such a thing as a free lunch...well sort of. I bought a 6 month subscription to a magazine and it came with the free gift of a running backpack.  The subscription was a reduced £16.99 and when the bag came, I put it on Ebay and sold it for £22.  A magazine in the post and a small profit.  This could be a new thing for me... hunting out the subscriptions with quality free gifts!
    
We have some friends coming over so I made Scones* and while making, I realised that I last made fruit Scones when I was at school!  Pete usually makes the cakes in our house, so it was a rarity for me.
  
  
* For the record, I say Scones which rhymes with stones, whereas Pete says Scones with rhymes with cons.

What did I learn this week? #2

I visited Luton this week for a client meeting and have to say that I didn't feel safe. I can officially say that, despite visiting some rough places in London and beyond, Luton is the only place I have felt that a mugging was imminent! The area was very unpleasant and the people seemed to have nothing in the eyes - you know that dead stare?
   
You have to question how the editor at Newsnight could let the story run that hinted at a pedophile without concrete proof. This could have ruined an innocent mans life.  And on the same topic, why Philip Schofield thought that News Of The World tactics were appropriate naming pedophiles named on the internet, I will never know. You cant go spreading rumours without facts, despite having the Prime Minister to hand. I was annoyed that David Cameron then mixed pedophiles with gay men - we all know that such perverts are hardly ever gay.
  
Crystal Palace go 13 games unbeaten since the first 3 losses of the season.  :-)  I will enjoy it while I can.
  
I received my voting forms for the local Police and crime commissioner. My concern is that I know absolutely nothing about the candidates and very little about the job itself. The decision for people to vote for a someone to do such an important job baffles me. I suspect that 90% of people will be in the same position.  I can see that the next time we come to vote, the candidates will be thrashing around statistics and therefore the voting will be based on short term performance rather than the overall role including long term planning.
  

What did I learn this week? #1

Starbucks manages to pay hardly any UK tax, using any trick they can to avoid paying - perhaps it will OK for us not to pay tax (other guilty parties include Vodafone and Ebay).
  
Anything can happen in football - the departure of Dougie Freedman from Crystal Palace to Bolton was for no other reason than money it appears. Even the press agree with the fans.
    
People in Bilbao never walk across the road unless there is a green man flashing. I felt guilty walking across the road, despite it being clear of traffic.
   
Force 8 weather means even a large ship is going to be tossed around by pretty huge waves.  And the motion is up, down, sideways, diagonal etc etc and repeat. Luckily I have some sea legs, but it was still a challenge. This image shows the ship we were on!
  
The media seems to go overboard with specific topics. The Jimmy Savile coverage is now completely out of hand and sensationalist. Some of the comments from one MP when questioning the BBC boss were simply stupid.  There's no doubt that Jimmy was a bad person, but one MP was just grandstanding and should be ashamed.