MPs For Sale

Late on Sunday night I spotted the headlines and over the following day the story grew. But as the MPs for sale story was based upon a TV programme had not yet aired, I really wanted to see the documentary first.

I am rather to cynical to expect that our Members of Parliament are putting the interests of the nation first, and not feathering their own nests, especially after the expenses debark. Nor did it surprise me that many of the MPs caught out are leaving parliament over their abuse of the expenses system.

However, it is three of the claimed influences that were claimed by the MPs that are really disturbing.

Case one; Stephen Byers, the former transport minister, claims that he helped National Express get out of a rail franchise that was loosing them money while retaining two others that were making them a profit. At the time this was going on, I nearly wrote about this, not least as it effects my local railway and transport links, but I was to busy getting delayed by poor rail services. Thus I did not have the time. My opinion was then that the company should have lost all their franchises, but they only lost the one that was not making them money. Further, this cost the taxpayers five hundred million pounds in revenue from fees. The fees that Nation Express had bid to run the most profitable line in the rail network.

Case Two; Again Stephen Byers, claims to have helped water down food labelling regulations, something that I have been arguing needed to change for the better for ages. But Stephen Byers claims that for Tesco, he helped reduce the impact upon the largest retailer in Britain regulations that would have given the consumer real and accurate information.

Now what is interesting about these claims made in the programme is that even before the programme was broadcast Stephen Byers was saying that he had lied. What an assertion to make! I don't know if he was telling lies in the film or is telling lies now, but in both cases the effect of decisions made was against the public interest.

The third example was another MP who claims to have helped water down environmental regulations regarding pollution for another company.

It is more than just lobbying that is going on here, as each claim to have been paid to alter policy and laws in the interests of their paymasters. If they were doing this just because it was what they genuinely thought was the right thing to do, then I would have no problem, but it is the admission that they have done this for money that makes it corruption. Even though all this is apparently within the rules of what MPs can do.

As worrying as that is, it is the fact that in a time when as a nation, as well as globally, we need to be more environmentally aware and our government has made various announcements regarding lowering the nations carbon emissions. I am left wondering if the vested interests have bought the influence that has delayed many of the actions that are needed.

Well as we seem to have the best government that money can buy, can I ask has anyone got the receipt? As it looks like we should be trying to get our money back.

Jon Venables

Like most of the British population, I was sickened by the actions of the two children who killed Jamie Bulger. However, unlike most of the population, I could also understand that the children who tortured and killed the toddler were children themselves.

While at the age of ten, had they had the loving caring and supportive family life they should have had they would have known and understood what they were doing was very wrong, it is also clear that they did not have a good upbringing otherwise they would not have committed such an awful crime.

Therefore, as well as needing to be punished by having their liberty taken away, they also needed to be rehabilitated. As even if they were retained in prison, they had to be educated that abuse and bullying was not civilised. However, as they had been re-civilised by the time they were 18, it was probably the correct decision to release them, on licence, where they can be monitored, while keeping they away from the influence of other hardened criminals as would have happened had they entered an adult prison.

While I can understand the desire for revenge in the victims of crime, these were children that committed this horrific murder and even had there been the death penalty here in Britain, as children they would not have been executed. Therefore, it is doubtful that anything different would have happened to them regarding their release on licence.

Equally the vitriol thrown towards them by the populist press meant that it was right that they were given new identities. Not least to prevent two new murders taking place.

This was all old news until one of the trashy tabloids learnt that one of the boys, now a man of 27, had been recalled to prison under the terms of his licence. Thus the Ministry of Justice released a press release to the media. Probably in an attempt to prevent the media speculation that has unfortunately ensued. One of the effects of the media speculation could be that, if Jon Venables has committed a further crime, as the speculation says, any victim may not be able to get justice as Jon Venables may not be able to get a fair trial.

However, this is not just about the media over reacting and reporting speculation as facts, but about the way society has reacted. Although staying with the media for a moment, in a live interview on BBC radio, one former editor all but called for the public to take revenge by killing the young men as they are now. I was shocked to hear that, as no matter how heinous the crime, we must not have mob rule, or mob justice.

Then a few days latter there was a report that an innocent man has been driven into hiding as he resembles one of the boys. Fortunately, there are no pictures of them as young men, as wiser heads than me imposed an injunction preventing the media from publishing anything from that will identify them, their new identities nor where they live. Given the reaction from sections of the public, its a good job too.

The point is that, the system seems to have worked. Whatever Jon Venables has done to breach his licence, the monitoring picked up that breach and he was recalled to prison. As for the details, we have to wait for any court case when the facts will be revealed. Having the trashy tabloid media stirring up emotions and all but inciting people to murder, is a poor reflection upon our society.

Further, as there have been a series of stories in the media, regarding the lack of intervention by social services, often resulting in the children either being harmed or harming others, we should actually be calling for more children to get the help and rehabilitation that Jon Venables and Robert Thompson have had. As that way we really would reduce the cycle of learning to abuse that happens in society.

I am fully aware that my opinion here is a minority one, but compassion and protection has to be the norm within children's policy including the justice system.

Chemicals, Food and Hygiene

There was a time when among friends and talking about food or cooking that I would say; “One day I will make someone a great Husband” While said rather tongue in cheek, it is rather ironic that my better half now says that she always said that she; “Would always find a boy friend who could cook”

Now I tell you folks this as there are moments when my better half is less than practical and needs reminding and guiding to ensure she gets to appointments. Thus I was up earlier than I would have normally planed so that I could call her to keep her on track. As she had a train to catch and an appointment to meet.

Therefore, I was sitting in the living room when I noticed that in the Chestnut Tree was a single bird. It is one of the trees that the Jackdaws gather in before going off to roost. But the size looked wrong. I picked up the binoculars and saw it was a sparrow hawk. I did not have the camera to hand as it was upstairs in my office. I had dashed up to get it, and the bird was still there. But the camera kept on focusing on the window glass. I saw it lift its body and stretch its wings and gracefully, slowly and powerful take flight. What a delight.

Another reason for me needing to to be up early was that I needed to get some shopping from the village shop. On Friday I had not been able to do the shopping I needed as I had builders turning up. They were supposed to have been here at between eight and half past. Well, it was quarter past eleven before they turned up. Well I don't call them Bodgit and Legit for nothing. I would not care but it was to benefit my neighbour as they have damp penetrating and the work was to stop this. I was left feeling like a ref at a sporting event as both the builders and my neighbours seemed to be unhappy. Seconds out, round two. Well after an exchange of telephone calls, both the builders and my neighbours seemed to be reasonably content.

Even though I moved all my herb plants out of the way, well out of the way, I will not be able to use use them as they got covered in a waterproof sealant that was sprayed on the wall. The builders really did not have any regard for their own safety or the safety of others as this sealant was applied with them not using any safety equipment. I just shut my back door and left them to it, but I could see clouds of this chemical getting blown everywhere. That's how I knew that my herbs would not be safe to eat. It was just before this happened (the spraying) that my better half had arrived. Even with the doors and windows closed, she suffered a coughing fit from the smell of the chemical on the air. I am just glad that I had had the good sense not to try to cook, or leave any food out as it too may have been contaminated.

It is often the defence of the chemical industry and the users of the chemicals that they are safe when used correctly. While this may well be true, the reality is that people often don't use them correctly or safely. While the people may know the safety requirements, they see these as a burden and as such an extra cost in time and money. Thus, as in this example, the chemical gets dispersed into the atmosphere and spreads. Also as the wind was rather breezy, the sealant spray was blown away from the area that it was being applied to. I am just glad that I have high walls around the yard as this contained most of it.

The operator did not even wear a mask nor goggles so must have breathed in a mass of the chemical as from my place or relative safety I could see he was enveloped in the cloud of spray. When he was finished, I even joked with him that at least his glasses were now waterproof as he cleaned the film of the chemical off them.

Well at least that is nearly finished now as all that the builders need to do now is return and finish the painting.

The following day I still needed to get some shopping done, and after having sent my better half off to complete her work, as she calls it, of shopping and then going to look after a relative with alzheimer's. I refer you to my comments regarding her practical and organisational ability and well...

As I still had to finish cleaning the kitchen following the builders visit, and the previous nights cooking, I was rather surprised to hear that finally the landlords agent had finally organised the gas safety check. It was only six months late. I think that the threat of prosecution by the local authority may have had an effect there. Therefore, I had to stay at home until the gas fitter turned up. Well it was gone four in the afternoon before he did. Therefore, I missed the opportunity to get the shopping on Saturday too.

However, while I was waiting there was a knock on the door. In previous weeks there had been a couple of men that had been knocking on the doors selling fish. Previously, I had not had the cash available, but today I did have some. Therefore I was interested to see what they had and the prices. But when I asked to see the fish, more to see what they had than for any other reason, I was told that was not possible for health and safety reasons. Well as I know more than a bit about health and hygiene, I knew that was bull, but I persisted and asked if they had a price list, or a list of some sort at least? No list, nothing with any indication of who they were, no business name or trading address, as required by law. Therefore I was rather annoyed that they had wasted my time. It was likely that the fish was just sitting in packets or bags on the back seat of a car. No refrigeration, none of the hygiene requirements fulfilled.

While often the local authorities who have to police these matters are rather over zealous at times regarding food hygiene, there are times when you can see there are reasons why the regulations need to be enforced. While I admire the enterprise of brining fish to the villages, this pair were take great lengths to prevent people, customers and potential customers from finding out who they were and where they were from. Also while I had concerns about how they were storing and transporting the fish, how long had it been away from the chiller and in ambient temperatures? My main concern was were they being truthful about where the fish was from.

Had I been the seller, I would be doing all I could to reassure a potential customer and to provide some kind of product list so that at least that customer could order, stock and catch permitting, that you could get definite sales.

Well, had there not been so many question marks, they could have had a regular customer, especially if what they were claiming regarding the sustainability was accurate, but they lost that when they failed to do or say anything that reassured me. The last thing I wanted to do was end up with making myself, or my better half, ill through eating fish (or any food) where I don't know where it has come from.

Therefore, it was not until this morning that I could get out to get the shopping I needed. As I desperately needed food for the cat and litter for her too, I had to get the shopping this morning no matter what. Therefore when I saw the Sparrow Hawk this morning I really did want to see if I could follow, film and or photograph the bird but I just could not. However as I headed for the village store, I went past a location where I know that a pair of Jackdaw's have nested previously. I had been keeping a look out for when they returned, and today I saw one of the birds flying out of the nest with debris in its beak. He, as the behaviour was more typical of the male, was cleaning out the nest in preparation for the breeding season.

Well perhaps the two sightings are a sign that I need to be building my nest here. Now the builders are all but done, I can start doing the spring cleaning.

Signs of Spring

The normal first signs of spring have been delayed this year, not least because of the hard winter. That said, one of the first signs that I heard rather than saw, was a Chaffinch that was singing to attract a mate in February, on valentines day to be exact. Who says romance is dead.

Then about a week latter, I started to notice that the Red Kites were hunting for food in pairs. Now this may just be that they are more successful finding food this way, but it may be that they were pairing up ready for spring.

As Jackdaws use the chimneys as nesting sites and the trees that fringe the village as winter roosts, they are the most numerous birds closest to my home. Thus it is the Jackdaws, that I have noticed most starting to make pair bonds. As they often seem to take to the air just to enjoy the freedom of flight, it is not unusual to see them just flying about in loose flocks. However at this time of year, it is possible to see pairs flying together, even within the flock, that stay in close formation flight, as they build pair bonds.

Today I noticed one pair that was gathering nesting material and adding to a nest that would have been in use for years now. As when the village fifteen years ago first had gas piped to the community, the village changed from using coal for heating. This suddenly provided nesting opportunities for the Jackdaws in particular. Therefore many of these nests have been built up over the intervening years. The change in the way that this village heats its homes has enabled numbers of Jackdaws to increase, as simply there are now many more nesting sites.

Two other promising signs is that the House Sparrows are returning to the feeders in the yard in numbers and in pairs. Also the regular blackbird and his mate have returned. As he has patches of white feathers on his head that make him easy to identify, it is great to see him back. Not least because of the hard winter.

Otter and Woodpecker

As Saturday was the anniversary of my better halves birth, I found myself on an early evening bus going in to Newcastle. As I was all polished up and ready for polite company, I had none of the items I often carry. No camera, no binoculars, so when the bus passes close to the Derwent, I could not be sure if the shape I saw in the river was an Otter.

There are times when wishful thinking could overtake the reality of what was actually there. With this still on my mind, when the bus passed the point where the Derwent empties into the Tyne, I saw another shape on the mud. I will often assume that my eyes are playing tricks. Therefore, I tried to see if it was a cormorant rather than another otter. But watching carefully as the bus moved past the point, I could see clearly that it was an Otter and she was feeding on a fish. As she moved I was able to see her clearly and to determine the sex.

So while I may have seen two, I made one positive sighting of an Otter. I wished that my better half had been with me to share the sighting.

The following day we were able to go out for a walk in the woods. I was able to point out a location where I have seen a barn owl regularly and I was able to show her a couple of nests, from last year, but likely to be used again this year. As we walked further I was able to show her signs of woodpeckers. Then as I was showing her another tree that had another nest hole in it, I spotted a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. She failed to see it though. But as the hole looked really new and there was a bird close by, it is possible that the bird was preparing the nest. It will be worth keeping an eye on the place.

I was also able to show her signs of voles in the fields beyond the wood, as we walked back home.

While I realise that better half does not have quite the same passion that I do, it is nice that she will tolerate my strange behaviour when out in the countryside.

One last matter, I never reveal a woman's age.

The Co-operative

When my better half and I went to the supermarket, she was surprised and amused by the pile of compacted snow that still remains. Now I know there are some American friends for whom this sight is normal, but here in England that is relatively unusual. However, it was the snow and the harsh winter that got me thinking. As during the period when the snow was making travelling difficult the local co-operative started stocking baking products. Not least because when I could get no bread, I reacted by saying that I would bake my own.

However, just a couple of weeks ago I saw that these items were now being discontinued. This enabled me to buy a few items so that I can make some nice cakes. But it was the fact that they stocked a whole range of baking ingredients that were for cake making when the demand was clearly for bread making ingredients. Now I don't know if it was a local decision to stock the cake making items, or one taken regionally or even nationally, but it did seem rather odd when they appeared. Now because of the very limited demand they are being de-stocked.

This is where local knowledge really could have been of help here. Far to often the major retailers impose what foods they want to sell rather than what people want and need. I had an example of this when I wanted to buy some decent Assam Tea from the co-operative I was told that they could only stock the Assam if they carried the whole range. This is why I suspect that decisions are made by others in a remote office rather than a manager who is matching customer demands to the food items stocked.

This is just one of the ways that the major retailers control the food and health of the nation.

When the co-operative first started, it was because there was a need for cheaper good quality food for the poor and the working people. Also when they first started they would only sell wholemeal bread. Now while there will be folks that will baulk at the lack of choice in them doing that, but it helped to improve the health of working people. Further they explained why they refused to carry foods that were unhealthy.

There was a time when the co-operative were the largest retailer in Britain. But as often happens, large organisations loose sight of there core values. Thus with competition from the new players like Tesco et al, they moved away from their core values and started doing all the “me too” products so that now their range carries all the same unhealthy options that all the supermarkets carry.

The one major redeeming feature of the co-operatives current policy is that they are leaders in fair trade foods and wines. I just wish that their ethical policy extended further to ensure that they acted ethically across the board. For example; I have written often about the bellow production cost that the supermarkets pay for milk. The co-operative pays the lowest price for milk. Something that is clearly profitable but unethical.

Its a shame that an organisation that was founded upon ethics, fairness and healthy food, should have lost its way so much.

Return To Bread

My better half returned from India this week, and we have been able to share some quality time together. On the bus journey back to mine, we saw one of the Red Kites. Always a good oman. This, lead to a discussion about some of the birds she saw there and that she wished she knew more about the birds she had seen. Oh it looks like that I will have to corrupt this mind.

Additionally as I had some rather mundane tasks to do like shopping and she accompanied me. Now she will be the first to admit that she is no cook and while she does not really know what to do with food other than eat it, she does know what she likes. So it actually makes shopping less of a chore as I can bounce ideas off her for meals.

There is an irony about her going to India as she does not like food that is overly spiced. Or to be more precise she does not like food that is smothered in chillies. As she does not mind food that is delicately spiced, as do I. One of the problems is that there is an assumption that spicy foods mean hot spices, when really the spices can be used to enhance flavours. Thus, going to a country where the food is often drenched in chillies has rather put her off overly spiced foods. Thus, I tried to think of meals and dishes that she would enjoy and were a contrast to the spicy foods she has spent a month consuming.

It had not taken long to do the shopping, although I had nearly forgotten to get the bread. I had to go back for it just as we were heading for the checkout. It was a basic wholemeal loaf from the supermarkets baked in store range. However, when we had some latter, it was rather bland and not particularly appetising. It is really nice though to have my opinion confirmed by another's pallet that the bread is really bland. There are times when I worry that am just being pedantic and picky about food sometimes, as these products that I find so bland are so popular with other people. Is it that so many people are prepared to accept mediocre food? Or is it that I expect higher standards when it comes to the food I buy and consume? Or is it a mixture of both?

In the couple of dishes I cooked for my better half, she really enjoyed. As did I, not least because I have been playing with ideas for dishes that I knew she would enjoy. Not recipes from books, but ones created from knowing what flavours work alongside each other.

Then today, while going into Newcastle as she had to collect the results of resitting an exam, we got some bread from Waitrose. The bread was wonderful, and went well with the Broccoli and Stilton soup, made with a smoked Stilton.

The point is though; it really does seem that you do get what you pay for when it comes to food, in this case bread. The bulk standard loaf from a leading supermarket was really bland and flavourless, yet the specialist bread from a supermarket that has a reputation for being expensive was full of flavour. The irony is the bulk bread was one pound sterling, yet the bread from the supposedly expensive supermarket was eighty five pence.

Now I know my regular reader will be wanting to know what my better halves exam results were. Well she got an A. I had gone into Newcastle with her, in case she had failed to get the grade she needed so that I could reassure her that all was not lost. Well that was not needed, and we went to a place that we call our café in Newcastle for tea and cake. I was pleased to see her happy about the result and she will now be going off to study for the degree she wants.

However staying on the food topic, the café that we call our own, we saw has been voted by its customers, as one of the top five Organic Restaurants/Cafés by readers of the Guardian newspaper here. While it may pigeon hole me in a particular stereotype, I would rather agree with the opinion of the fellow readers and the paper.

Palm Oil & Food Labels

Last week on television there was an investigative documentary about the Palm Oil industry and the fact that it is destroying Indonesian Rain Forest and killing the Orang-utans As Palm Oil is the most frequently used vegetable oil in foods and cosmetics therefore it is virtually impossible to avoid. But with less than two percent from sustainable plantations, it is impossible to use your spending power to send signals to the major manufacturers.

Additionally even if you are a inveterate label reader like me, you can not tell what products actually contain Palm Oil as the label will only say Vegetable Oil. There are technical reasons why this happens, as often it is a blend of oils, thus if the percentage was marked it would require reprinting labels every three or four weeks. However, manufacturers know that Palm Oil is contentious and environmentally damaging but they still use it as it is the cheapest vegetable oil in the market.

The point is that the labels fail to contain any information that would inform the consumer. If it were something that the consumer would approve of, they would make sure there labels showed this.

Additionally, last year there was another television programme that highlighted that most of the chocolate made in Britain contains Palm Oil. Further while organisation that are supposed to be supporting conservation to protect the Orang-utans rain forest habitat by certifying the Coca production from sustainable sources, they endorse products that are made from Palm Oil that is destroying the very rain forest that they are supposed to be protecting. I personally can not name the products, as I am being threatened with legal action if I do. Well this Wood Mouse is not intimidated by big business bullying.

Thus, labels on food often show only what the manufacturer or retails want to show. Even with the legal requirements the manufacturers, processors and major retailers will often be economical with the truth. This has been most frequently been the case with meat especially pork that is imported and just from the process of cutting it up, are calling in British.

The real problem is that we the consumer can not make informed choices. Manufacturers and Retailers always claim that they have to look after their shareholders and their customers. I that order. Well deliberately misleading labels damage your shareholders interests and does not help the customer.