Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

I remember the Riots that swept the country 2 years ago and Cameron was again on holiday.

In fact it took him until day 4 of the riots when they were over to get back to Britain . By this time we all know how many places , towns were smashed up.

Just 1 top Tory was in place during the riots, I remember the Mirror making headlines with this....... i think it was William Hague........and he was useless.

It was the RAIN that stopped the riots.

Little wonder the Tories need Lynton Crosby as their leader.

Happiness index shows 'small improvement' in 2013, ONS says

A UK-wide well-being survey has found "small improvements" in people's happiness over the year.

The proportion of people rating their life satisfaction as seven or more out of 10 rose from 75.9% to 77.0%, the Office for National Statistics said.

cynic
Yes, it is old news. It was just to give an example of their awful journalism.

New Populus Poll – Labour Lead Cut to 5% as UKIP Drop to Just 8%

There is a new Populus poll today which shows Labour’s lead cut back to 5% and UKIP dropping to just 8%:

Conservative 34% (up 2%), Labour 39% (no change), Lib Dem 11% (no change), UKIP 8% (down 2%)

From what I can see most on here age 50 plus.

This is what a Tory Government does for you.........

30 July 2013 Last updated at 12:28 Uncertain future for pension income

Nearly a quarter of people in their early 50s polled by Age UK are afraid of falling on hard times and being forced out of their homes.

The charity says 23% of the 971 people they asked aged between 50 and 55 fear that they will not be able to keep up mortgage payments or rent.

Age UK says that people in this age group should be at the peak of their earning power.

But instead, it says, they are beset with financial worries.

"We know that times are tough financially," said Michelle Mitchell of Age UK.

"But when a significant number of people aged 50 and over say they are worried about losing their homes, it's a clear sign that many are truly struggling to keep their heads above water," she said.

Age UK said the figures painted a "worrying picture" of tomorrow's pensioners.

It said those in their early 50s were more likely to be made redundant than younger workers, and it was harder for them to get back into the workplace.

Peter Owen, from Ulverston in Cumbria, is in his early 50's, and lost his job in education when two schools merged.

He has found work again, but it is much lower paid.

As a result he could no longer afford to keep up mortgage payments.

"My wife and I have had to sell our house and now live in rented accommodation," he told the BBC.

"All planning for future generations is on hold," he said.

Anita Hunt, a housing adviser from Lincolnshire, says she's seeing increasing numbers of people over 50 who are struggling financially.

"Many have worked since leaving school and are expected to continue until almost 70," she said.

Many people in their fifties may be out of work for the first time ever
"Wages are effectively dropping, or they are out of work for the first time ever due to redundancy or ill health, and are floundering," she told the BBC.

Those who have already retired have been hit by falling savings rates.

Anyone with a private pension will also have found annuity rates at a historic low.

Annuities are used to provide people with an annual income.

Since April 2012, the annual income, or annuity, from a £100,000 pension pot has fallen by £433, according to Age UK.

But there was better news for those over 60 in a recent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which suggested that those aged 60 or more had seen their incomes rise since 2008.

It argued that poverty in old age was being reduced and that pensioners had seen larger rises in their income than any other age group.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23490621

a minute survey x-section and conducted by an arguably biased charity, though some of the points raised are valid; but such are the inevitable problems when a country (world) is running through tough economic times and there is an ever-increasingly aged population

Iain Duncan Smith MP‏@IDS_MP2m

It's still really hot so I've grabbed some refreshments for Clegg, Osborne and the PM

http://pic.twitter.com/h0FwGjYjt7

"biased charity," Yes they are biased towards the aged.. as in the title -):

and will therefore slant its report to suit, just as a report on chocolate or red wine or cannabis, when sponsored by the "interested party", will emphasise the positives and minimise the negatives

We agree then.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23507348

I'm on the train dear.

He was on an official phone to the rail company.

NASTY out of touch Tories. Osbournes father in law now at it. As thick as his nephew.............................

http://news.sky.com/story/1122219/lord-howell-sorry-over-desolate-north-east

FRACK the Tories.

FRACKING on Chris Carsons door step. Wouldnt suprise me if they dug up his bowling green and golf course. SHAME.

Have another stella mate :O)

Not long before they go over the border mate.

If ever there was an oxymoron - Zimbabwean Election

can someone please tell me why there is such a strong (or is it media hype?) movement against fracking per se?

In this country, Water Course contamination and Earthquakes for starters.

imo, this is just the latest bandwagon on which the gullible public have jumped
protest about spoiling countryside, extra traffic, noise etc etc by all means, but i wonder how many of these local protesters have any proper understanding of fracking at all