Trump won and is in the process of "losing his mind" big time, mostly by berating or insulting other countries; meanwhile, Europe is fucked, the world is becoming a toxic and fascist nightmare, the whole of Africa is reverting to corrupt tribalism, China must remember that repressing millions is ultimately futile and Putin is running a once proud population into the ground, making friends with and giving sanctuary to other "leaders" of disrepute, not forgetting Israel who seem to be brewing a regional war for themselves whilst Trump, as pathologically eager as ever to keep himself in the front page headlines, has joined in. He and his cronies are beyond words, signalling that they want their quarter of the influential areas of the world, China can take theirs, Russia theirs and Europe can muddle their way to theirs.
You get my drift. I'm going back to reading books and listening to my music in a fairly simple, isolated life.
Bye for now.
This is not a criticism of Kingston-Upon-Hull, it's people, nor it's political administrators over the years since "the war" (1939-1945), but a celebration of Hull's respect for its past that is now coming to fruition after many years of public discussion. Hull has a penchant for preserving the facades of old buildings for incorporation into new ones, which I think is an honourable state of mind, respectful of the city's heritage; but this decision has taken some time, 83 years to be exact. 83!
This was left in 1941 when a German plane bombed a packed picture house leaving ruins that have been undisturbed since, though renovation is now ongoing. The Germans were pretty good at bombing Hull * - it was both the first and the last UK mainland city to be bombed and over 5 years 95% of Hull's housing stock was either totally destroyed, rendered uninhabitable or damaged in some way. This count does not include industrial, municipal or retail buildings. Hull got a right pasting, as recalled in a recent exhibition, with many links to Hull's war history.
* Available for £14.95 from the Carnegie Heritage Centre bookshop, at www.carnegiehull.co.uk/shop/store/
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| Hull's National Picture Theatre in the 30's and bombed-out below in 1941 |
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| View this video from 30:30 to hear it's story |
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| In 2026 the restoration of the cinema site was completed |
Hull is not a boastful city, it endured, it endures, it persists and seems to be flourishing again after half a century of decline; it is not "perfect", nor glamorous, but it is (mostly) a respectful city and proud of it's place in history. It was once the third largest port in the UK, with money and civic pride enough to construct many grand buildings, reduced to facades by German bombing. Thankfully successive councils have kept them to remind us of former glories.
Here are some facades preserved and reincorporated into newer developments.
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| Bombed in WW2 - the co-op façade |
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| The co-op façade incorporated into a less than grand building! |
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| BHS façade being constructed in the 1960s |
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| This how it looked for many years |
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| Former BHS façade on remodelled building (2025) |
This article popped up for me and crystalized my thoughts into a simple statement. "Fuck that, just send him home", as did a news report about an illegal immigrant still applying for asylum (from what?), who has already been jailed for espousing and glorifying terrorism. Don't jail this parasite, just force him back to Turkey.
We don't need people like this importing their fights, their bigotry, their sob-stories, their desires, their criminality, their lack of comprehension about their newly desired social norms, their rabid religious inclinations, their "tribal" and "ethno-centric" aspirations for themselves but not the women around them, nor anyone else who is not like them.
To the British government I repeat myself - grow a pair, stop being nice to anyone who rocks up illegally, or those that facilitate their uninvited arrival. Block any appeal that they or their parasitic legal teams come up with and stop pandering to thought's of being "fair" - life isn't fair and gratuitous charity just leads to dependence or further deceptions.
If the UK were likened to a ship, the crew are reaching mutiny because the captain will not repel boarders and the longer the government are inactive in this pursuit, I believe a second new model army is in the making.
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| I don't want to feel like this! |
The Spanish enclave of Ceuta was recently "invaded" by over 60,000 co-ordinated migrants in one day. They over-ran local border protocols and seemingly proved that mass invasion is a way to arrive, smothering local authorities and thereby "escaping" into the indigenous population.. A BBC reporter was there at the time and it is alarming to see such an invasion, which should make many "captains" begin to worry, for fear of mutiny.
From this invasion has come friction between Spain and Italy, which will be interesting to follow, especially so now that those illegal immigrants are flexing "their rights" and inducing violence, amid claims of rape and sexual assaults. Ceuta is the whole of Europe in microcosm!
I've just read this post back to myself and never thought I could endorse such thoughts, but I am sick to death of hearing the incessant drip of the national mantra that we must help such parasitic and needy peoples of the world. If arriving from a war zone house them as "guests" then repatriate them as one would prisoners of war.
At the age of 69 I'm almost ashamed, but actuality has pushed me here.
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| Why come to us to for sanctuary as you "fight" your hate-fuelled cause? |
This acronym is both contentious and defining of those people who by fate or inclination allow themselves to be defined by it. I am not a "member" and think that some members, to use a British phrase, "make a meal of it". Indeed, PRIDE is being scrutinised for currently being too "woke" and Turkey may not be the place for your next holiday.
I respect the right of people to be what they are or what they feel they are, but I have noted alternatives for the acronym, which is evolving as such things do, as more people jump on board.
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| LGBTQ has evolved into LGBTQIA+ |
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| We know it makes sense |
What on earth is wrong with the recent generations of parents in the United Kingdom? Why will they not ensure their children are vaccinated when their time comes due, even as the UK loses its Measles elimination standing, a deadly Measles outbreak kills a child and a Chickenpox epidemic is predicted because so few children are inoculated. Why are parents so blasé about their responsibility.
Unlike my generation, modern parents are not as trusting of anything said by "officials", but are more than happy to trust their own judgement by predicting "their" child will not catch and spread the likes of Mumps, Measles, Chickenpox, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Rubella, Typhus, Diphtheria and even Polio (from Pakistan), some of which can kill or severely maim their precious child(ren). Of these mumps is regarded as the most innocuous, but it can cause fitting and leave boys sterile. If you can't get to a vaccination centre, they may come to you and your kids, so call them!
I wonder how enraged parents would be following infection in their child or themselves via another unvaccinated child? Whooping Cough is particularly easy to transmit and is killing children to this day, as does Measles.
UK vaccinations for children are free so use them you fools. I don't care that you think they do not work, that you are in a suspicious-minded ethnic group or have some crack-pot religious reasoning. Just do it and don't play with your child's health. The rest of the world believe in inoculation so why don't you? If worried about it, click here.
I am berating parents, but a clinic in Keighley's Shopping Centre is bucking the national trend by actually increasing its number of inoculations, that story being being told here.
- - - - - - - - - - POSTSCRIPT - - - - - - - - - - -
British parents are not unique in their misguided mistrust of inoculation, as illustrated by a localised but lethal Measles outbreak in Texas and a downturn globally, attributed to social media generated mistrust, the proliferation of wars and disruption to services by natural (climate change) consequences. Even sophisticated countries such as Canada and the US are not immune to willful ignorance.
The only winners in the inoculation war are the diseases and we don't want to go back there do we?
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| Smallpox killed millions but vaccination eradicated it globally |
The word today is Antithesis
Antithesis is a noun and means the following:
- The opposite of something, in meaning or action
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| You are the antithesis of me |
Sometimes it is good to remember that "little" people(s) of the world often achieve or survive many things, only to slip down the cracks of history, back into obscurity. Here is a French-born woman, Gisèle Pelicot, who bravely gave up anonymity in order to facilitate her unswerving determination to have her horrific abuse, by her husband and the men of a whole village, made known to the public (now world-wide). She has dignity and determination for justice that many should admire.
To start to understand her and her story start here.
Gisèle's is an extraordinary female abuse case, with the twist being that for decades her husband had regularly drugged her in order to film village residents raping and defiling her unconscious self, luckily without recollection by her. It was only the chance discovery of over 22,000 videos on her husband's computer that initiated the trial of a whole village.
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| Gisèle Pelicot (An dignified and inspirational survivor) |
Tonight, as I write this I am feeling teary. Whilst not blubbering, I am definitely teary. I don't know why, but feelings of not being worthwhile (of what only God knows) are here, so I've been trawling YouTube for personal comforters. Just something to make me smile. If you are feeling teary my advice is let them flow and "keep calm and carry on" as us Traditional Brits do. These may help you for a while .....
Lucy playing and tears by 2m30s.
Even if Alzheimer's takes you, you are still there and aged 93 you may find you still have it.
I was shocked when a doctor told me several years ago that I had Scabies and that it was a notifiable disease (in the UK), meaning I had to cancel Christmas and notify recent contacts!
I thought it was a thing of the past, but not so.
I'd been scratching at an itch on my neck, which soon appeared on an arm and one shin, becoming persistent and concerning, so off I went to the "quack". She took all of 15 seconds to diagnose Scabies, saying I'd probably picked it up 2-3 weeks previously from someone or shared materials. (towel/sheet/pillow?).
It itches like fury as mites burrow and feed under your skin, depositing their eggs along the way. A prescribed cream kills them, though the process by which your skin exudes them over time itches even more! It was months until my skin went back to normal and I was greatly relieved. I though my scabies was bad but there is a worse variety.
Not all ailments of the skin are as straightforward to diagnose and these days, with the NHS and GP services failing, there must be many people waiting for an accurate diagnosis of what is wrong with their skin, though some do get lucky.
That which caused me to search for skin problems recently was finally diagnosed as Cellulitis, but while you wait you may wish to peruse these sites.
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| I found this. Happens 2-3 times a year, lasting about a week? |
I came across this website, which you may be tempted to visit, that gives details about the world's human population.
We humans are the "elephant in the room" when looking at many world problems, from famine to war, to monumental destruction of habitat, including our own. Cutting the number of children being conceived for a couple of years might is a good and long-lasting solution?
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| People / Km2 - The UK is officially full so stay away! |
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| Kath Hignet News |
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| The NHS is nearly dead! |
For years the British National Health Service (NHS) has been touted as the best public healthcare organisation in the world. IT IS NOT, nor has it been so for decades. It is no longer able to fulfil its intended responsibilities (set out in post-war years) and is no longer fit for purpose; indeed the latest (Labour) Government are finally acknowledging its final demise is near. Whether by intent, ignorance, inefficiency, political meddling, encroachment by profit taking private leaches, poor financial and resource planning, waste and loss of control over critical supporting components, including loss of doctors to other countries; it is no longer fit for purpose. Public confidence is at its lowest level, with over 7.5 million diagnosed treatment requirements listed that remain outstanding, with some lists over a year long; even the patience of patients (including me) is coming to an and as a national swath of excuses continue (I'm sick of still hearing the Covid backlog excuse!). It is currently so dysfunctional that even overseas newscasters report it and millions of pounds are "lost" as it insidiously outsource problems of their own creation, thereby accelerating the breakdown (break-up?) of the NHS in to a two-tier system of patient care: For those able to shop-around within the offered services and those that are not. Duplicity is also prevalent in the overseers of the NHS.
We, the people, have allowed numerous governments to stealthily wind back the spirit of the NHS and its peripheral infrastructures for decades now. It is our fault that the NHS is failing, because we allow fuckwit politicians and "apparatchiks" to do as they desire under cover of "our" ignorance, indifference or apathy; that is not to say medical professionals within the NHS are blameless, for they have kept their timid heads down for years with very few publicised whistle-blowers, perhaps because they know their money would keep coming anyway, or because an acknowledged and growing "toxic and bullying" culture intimidates them as parts rot from the inside. Even the Governments Care Quality Commission has been reviewed as not fit for purpose. To paraphrase a comment by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, "too many (in the NHS) have become very comfy in the tepid bath of managed decline". Ouch!
Labour clearly wanted to shake-up the NHS following the sudden departure of the head of NHS England, so they abolished NHS England (and its 10000 employees), with the hope of successfully drilling down into issues that are long-standing and all too apparent. The former administrative body's work will be taken up by the Department of Health and Social Care who will look to changing how the NHS is run. It looks like the new broom in town is going to give the NHS a good scrubbing, though I understand few will mourn its passing. I had no understanding of what NHS England did, nor NHS Scotland and NHS Wales, but this article helped.
Everyone paying tax in the UK is statutorily contributing to the largest single employer in Europe and they are getting bugger-all back in many areas of the NHS once deemed important: free prescriptions - gone, free dentistry and eyecare - gone, the availability of many local and social caring systems - gone, effective hospital administration - gone, effective GP services - gone. (GP now stands for generally poor as "super practices" are being formed throughout the land, giving service that at best is perfunctory). Everything we should value has been costed and wherever possible outsourced to organisations unknown who are commissioned and paid for by NHS England (et al) and hidden in plain sight under NHS headed notepapers, in order to gain "efficiencies" and cost savings that have not made the NHS "better".
Money that is being spent seems to be going on new estate, cutting edge medicines that benefit few, and all manner of frippery and corruption that doesn't really cure anyone; here I am thinking of the following: Political correctness and wokery, help with being fat (eat less), smoking (just get on and die), drug addiction by self abuse (ditto), chronic self-harming (ditto), childlessness (adopt or foster and thereby save a poor soul) and addiction to computer game playing for God's sake (81 units in the UK). Most noticeable is the erection of new "sponsored estate" that increases facility but not effectiveness.
It seems to me that there are now too many risk-averse, secretive, hostile administrators; too many non-medical centric people beavering away in ways that no-longer directly facilitate the treatment of patients, but sometimes actually undermine their care. Senior administrators do not exhibit interest in patients anymore; they talk money, risk, excuse, expediency, secrets and unpublished intent, often overriding concerned parties and whistle blowers. My personal interaction with the NHS, by being in hospital a few times, suggests that staff on the ground floor of the patient interface are dedicated, effective and friendly, yet a bit fearful for their future. They know things are bad.
NHS whistle-blowers are not often heard of in the press, however a few become public though tellingly, as in the case of convicted killer nurse Lucy Letby it was seen how "blowers" are often suppressed by "those above", who deny problems and refuse to act. One such NHS whistle-blower, Victoria Rixon, a former midwife, has publicly documented her struggle on Facebook.
LUCY LETBY - though not really within the context of this article, was a nurse who was convicted of killing many children in her charge and her post sentencing review revealed examples of corporate denial and obfuscation, symptomatic of the NHS? Hospital bosses said they were mislead and yet her hospital administrators ignored complaints about her (for fear of bad publicity) and children died during their procrastination; though some are still unsure about her conviction and others think she killed more, some think less. What is obvious is how opaque the upper working of the NHS is and the disquiet about her convictions, which just keeps coming. Such is the disquiet surrounding her case, a report by Dame justice Kate Thirlwall was commissioned by the Government to review her trial and the involvement of the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Getting back to the NHS; from my hospital bed I observed some people getting the briefest of interactions with staff and subsequently discovered they were "bed-blockers" - people fit enough to leave hospital but not "allowed" to do so because of social care commitments not being fulfilled by other parts of the NHS, or indeed by familial responsibilities/expectations. Bed-blockers cost the NHS billions and are acknowledged by government to be one reason beds are in shortened supply, putting fresh patients at risk by blocking their free flow through the NHS. To put this particular problem into perspective, in the Royal Free Hospital in London between 15-30% of patients are medically fit to be discharged but are unable to leave for a myriad of reason, predicting that of 141,000 beds available to the NHS nationally, up to 42,000 cannot be used. NHS bed blockers lead to corridor blockers and corridor blockers as those unfortunes destined to suffer on a trolley, often for many, many hours. There are even reported cases of people signing DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) forms so that they never have to endure corridor care again.
The Nuffield Trust has reported bed-blocking numbers to Government for years yet the situation persists for tens of thousands of people and these two bed-blocking cases are particularly striking. A classic case of "bed blocking" and a woman who became like a prisoner in hospital, both caused by supposedly integrated social services failing. The NHS hospitals are doing their job, but social services are happy to renege on their paid responsibilities. (Though I do wonder if parents or family are dragging their feet also).
The NHS no-longer delivers a service. It delivers a fractured and failing amalgamation of ever loosely bonded "facilities" designed to take the heat/demand out of core NHS services; "drop-in centres" exemplify this in that you drop in, they look at you without actual treatment and refer you back into a service no-longer working as it should. Perhaps drop-in centres (or unwanted shopping malls and large department stores) could be repurposed into residential care homes to house ex-patients stuck in NHS beds. The government houses immigrants at the drop of a hat, so why can't they store ex-patients, as indeed they once did in state financed care home beds? (Taking back a role outsourced by councils in the 90's to "save money").
Freeing beds for the sick should be a social priority, for the NHS still continues to waste billions on patients who don't need to be in hospital.
I predict that by 2035 the "NHS" will be an umbrella organisation below which will be a collection of separate corporate service providers responsible for enabling the aims of the "NHS". They will promise to do this if there is money to be had for themselves, though many, like Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH). Will remain fractured and found wanting in many areas of service.
ENOUGH!
Finally, if you don't like your NHS job then leave or move on, as your wages are fair and for some very good indeed, so stop disrupting or "robbing" from this already ailing service.
If you think this item is a valid critique of the NHS, then pass it on.
Your debit card will never lead you into debt (if it have set a zero overdraft facility).
Personal thought - Always use your debit card in preference to you credit card as it will help you manage your spending of your real money, as long as ig has a zero amount overdraft facility that you can set. When it's gone it's gone and your debit card will keep you from debt, unlike your credit card.
This video explains the pitfall of using a debit card overdraft facility.
By supplying the missiles for the attack on Israel from Gaza and being a supporter of troubles in Yemen and elsewhere, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) signposted a renewed desire to become a major military power, but why. If their intent was to destabilise their region by antagonising Israel into rash (or deliberate?) actions, then the strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria seems to suggest their aim(s) are being achieved; as have more recent Israeli attacks upon them and their infrastructure, which will lead to a war in which Israel is likely to prevail because it's smaller army is more sophisticated, with greater military capabilities,
Israel will have realised the back-room role Iran is playing in the region, but it seems very doubtful their partial withdrawal from Gaza will assuage anyone's annoyance now, nor hint at what comes next, especially so after Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon into the Golan Heights made Israel invade there too, killing many high ranking Hezbollah personnel, as Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Lebanese to help his forces rid themselves of Iran sponsored Hezbollah. That request fell on deaf ears, but the elimination of many Hezbollah leaders will dampen their regional effectiveness and ability to expedite Iran's desire that Israel dies by a thousand cuts, without openly revealing their long term "gameplay"
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| Too Old? |
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