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.

"Haze,

I thought privatisation of the NHS was the solution to conservative problems."

Even by your standards Fred, that is a totally asinine comment.

For you Fred since you like to play party politics;


Before Circle took over the contract, Hinchingbrooke was a struggling hospital. It was labouring under £40m of debts and in 2009 the then Labour government decided to launch a process to bring in private providers.

Yes, but that doesent count in Fred's world.


Also, the hated zero hour contracts lark really got going when Noo Lab tipped the wink to their mates. (2008)

Max that doesnt mean that the Tories have to make it government policy.

Youl also find food Banks started under Labour but they werent meant to be an alternative to the welfare state. They just gave additional backing at a time when welfare meant welfare and not pleading for life. There was an handfull under labour, under the Tories its a National Institution.

The 5th richest country in the World. Next under IDS its back to the Work House.......do you really want that??????.

Its a disgrace what this present Tory government have done to the real working class man, but you mark my words they will seek and get revenge.

gf.

The current mob of tories are beyond the pale imo. However, your lot aint much better, and indeed, are threatening to out-do the tories. plus there is the small matter of where the money for Millibandus's promises is coming from.

They are all as bad as one and other, they just dress it up differently.

That's why I have gone from a straight tory voter to a ukip voter.

We have to break up the cosy consensus between the main players, or it's just more of the same, ad finitum until we go bust.

They've caught and killed those bastards....but these arab terrorists are a world menace....there might be big trouble in France between the extreme right and muslims...

Laugh a minute you winging right wing dreamers, why don't you all move to Australia?

I don't fancy a 24 hour plane journey and the place is infested with flies.:-)

Fair enough -): how about Turkey then... a bit nearer, warm and not keen on human rights.

France has a much bigger problem than us. We are around 2.4% Muslim. France is over 10%. They have a bad colonial record in North Africa running Algiers, Tunisia, Morocco and in Africa with various colonies. That is apart from Asia in Vietnam etc. The North Africans live in slums in southern Paris, Marseille and several other cities. Unemployment is massive amongst them as is criminal activity due to lack of employment. We have similar problems with ethnic groups having much higher unemployment than the rest of the population.

There were major attempts in our recent history to bring in more ethnic immigrants. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, we are stuck with the result. Those immigrants have had children, who legally are just as English, Scottish etc as we are. We cannot move them off anywhere.

The only way we can solve our problems that we have now or may have in the future, is by education and job opportunities. If we do not achieve that, we are in for much more serious problems. We are breeding an underclass. That underclass will end up bighting us. They already contribute more criminals that the general population.

Might be better if someone was to invent contraception world wide... Oh wait a minute.

Not too sure about Turkey, perhaps okay for a holiday but not to stay. Plus I don't think my dogs would like it. I could move back to Scotland and play golf with Chris, but the climate is getting worse there.

Stan, will you leave the country if the Conservatives win the GE? :-)

You mean, will you leave the country WHEN the Conservatives win the GE?

An appeal has been launched for people to knit mittens for koalas whose paws have been burnt in bushfires.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said many of the marsupials have become the "sad victims" of the fires in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Some koalas to be put down because their injuries are so severe, but others can be treated at wildlife hospitals.

Josey Sharrad, IFAW native wildlife campaigner, said cotton mittens are needed to help them recover.

"Just like any burns victim, koalas’ dressings need changing daily, meaning a constant supply of mittens is needed by wildlife carers," she said.

Well as you asked... I ain't going nowhere -):

Haystack, where did you find that story? The old girls in the nursing home down the road from me are always looking for things to knit to pass the time.

So you live in a nursing home DB, yes I know you said "down the road"... but -):

On news.sky.com

Cheers Haystack.

Stan, I'm not quite ready to be a resident there just yet!

The amount of money thrown at animal charities, and they cant find a few quid for koala mittens? I mean, how many do they need??


Piss taking?