SNP politician in gross display of honesty

Take a look at this posting over on the BBC Editors' blog. There's a very funny video of SNP MSP Mike Russell ridiculing the debate he has just had to sit through.

Family makes home in ashtray.

Times are hard. The credit crunch has bitten deep and families across the country are finding themselves forced tighten their belts. This story is shocking though. A family has been forced to make its home in an ashtray!

I kid you not.

The family - believed to be two adults and four children, currently reside in a rural area in Central Scotland and, presumably lacking any alternative, have had to risk lung cancer, bronchitis and all manner of other ills, just to keep a roof over their heads. I'm surpised the children haven't been taken into care.

And these are no johnny-come-lately migrants - they're native Brits. What are things coming to in Brown's Britain when we have sunk to this.

Still, look on the bright side. Apparently they at least don't have CCTV watching their every move in their new home.

Full story here. 

What a day!

I had a simply amazing morning today.

I had dropped off daughter and son No.1 at school and was taking son No.2 back to the car, when we decided to play Pooh-sticks at a little bridge just down the road from the school. As we leant over the side of the bridge something swam out from underneath us. I was speechless for a couple of seconds before my brain could work out what it was I was seeing.

It was an otter! Broad daylight, bold as brass. The river is only about a foot deep - a burn would be a better description. He (or perhaps she) paddled upstream a bit, and as we ran along the pavement to catch up, did an about turn and paddled back again. A few minutes later, he did another about-turn and headed back upstream. He hid under another bridge for a short time and then crept out, much to the delight of the crowd of toddlers who had were by now watching from above. He eyed the children for a couple of seconds - just a little cockily, I thought - then he headed off upstream and disappeared into the undergrowth.

What a wonderful experience. Reminds me why I spurn the delights of big city living.

Ambassadors ain't what they used to be

According to my researches on the interweb, the young lady in the photo above is called Divya Dwivedi.

Further research reveals that Divya Dwivedi was appointed by Ken Livingstone to be London's representative in Delhi! Strewth! I imagine the good people of Delhi will be pretty pleased with that particular appointment! Certainly, from the pic above, the ambassador's cocktail parties look like a lot of fun.

Says Ms Dwivedi of her appointment:

This is an exciting new challenge for me and I keenly look forward to representing the Mayor of London’s Office in India. I am firmly convinced about the opportunity that lies ahead of me to function as a keystone in bridging opportunities between London and India. In this position, I hope to successfully promote brand London and develop a mutually beneficial relationship between India and London.

Mutually beneficial relationships appear to be a speciality for Ms D. And she certainly seems to have "got into the swing" of her new job, as we learn from this article that she's going to be appearing naked in a Hollywood movie, something that will presumably create "lots of bridging opportunities". One can only applaud her dedication to the job.

Do you know, I suddenly realise why Boris and the Conservatives have made a U-turn on doing away with the London "embassies". 

Here's another photo of Ms D, this time with Ken himself. She looks kind of different in this picture...

 

Jobs for the boys

Via LibDemVoice, a vacancy for which there will be no shortage of applicants:

 

Edward III and the Black Prince

Look, I'm sorry the Frenchies found out you were here, but you're now a marked man...

Thought for the day

Making doctors and nurses work in the NHS is like asking Wayne Rooney play football in clogs.

Lots going on

There seems to be a lot going on at the moment doesn't there? So much to read and so little time to actually say ones hap'eth (sp?) worth .

Croydonian informs us that the liberals have won the Polish elections hands down. That's real liberalism you know, not the socialist-lite LibDem kind.

The Englishman links to an incredibly disturbing report that the Italy is going to require bloggers to get a licence.

Everybody is laughing at the Independent reprinting a government press release as original journalism. Pity the poor deluded fools who read it. 

One for the swearbloggers

Swearbloggers everywhere should check out this article at the New Republic, where Stephen Pinker discusses the correct usage of a plethora of Anglo-Saxon profanities.

I have a libertarian computer

I note, with a certain degree of pride, that my PC refuses to submit comments to LabourHome. If I switch from Firefox to IE, then the site will not display at all and hangs the program.

This may turn out to be a feature, rather than a bug.