An English Shooters Blog

While looking out of the window at Tonbridge station I see a NatWest card in a bush.

The only real question is how?

“My world is at an end, my house is in negative equity.” Young lady (21 - 23) on the train today.

Well I am sat on the train trying to get some sleep and there are two women one young and one in her early 40’s who work together talking about life etc when the younger one lets her and everyone in earshot aware about her home just slipping into negative equity, the poor thing was beside herself with worry as her first fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end and she can not fine an affordable mortgage and the idea of moving to a variable rate is out of her range and now if they put the house up for sale they will still owe money to the bank.

I do feel for this young woman, if things go tits up she will have lost her home and still owe money on it. The sad thing is that her and her partners wages have increase by 3.5K since they took out the mortgage out but expenses like fuels ,Poll tax, food etc etc have taken the majority of the new money.

As I said I do feel sorry for this young woman but I can not help but think that this will not be the only such conversion I overhear in the next few months.

She has not lost her job, is keeping up to date with her payments her partner is the same but they are both fearful of everything being taken away from them, the sad thing is that she is looking to the government to help out after all they have a duty to help out she voted them in but she is disappointed that Mr Brown is doing nothing and by the time he does she thinks she will have lost her home.

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This image was printed in todays edition of the London Lite free paper, I do not know how clear is is but it shows the amnesty bin not full of knives but full of litter.

I remember this amnesty being launched with a fantastic fanfare a few weeks ado but the follow up meida photo shoot of hundreds of knives droping out of the bottom of the bin has not gone to plan.

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This article from the BBC is quite interesting “Support for working mums falls“.

This is a subject that interests me no end and I must say that I have no issues with working mums, what I do have an issue with is both parents working leaving their kids with a child minder or nanny.

I think it is important that children know that one of the parents is at home and able to look after them, it gives them a safety blanket and a feeling of comfort and love. I think it is an irrelevance if it is Mum or Dad but one of them should be one of them.

I am in a very lucky situation as my wife is on the same view and before we had children while “planning” our family we decided that she would stay at home until the kids where old enough and then she could decide what she wanted to do.

Now our kids are getting a little older not and the dependantcy that they once had is beginning to go as they test their wings and my wife has decided that she wants to become a councillor and for the last two years she has been going to collage to get her qualification, she has 2 more years to be and then she will be into the work place.

This has worked out very well for us but we are lucky as my job is able to cover what we spend but we do not have 2 - 3 holidays a year, new cars etc etc. Our kids are very polite and well behaved, they work hard at school and know that Mum is around if she is needed. they do not have everything in the shops and they never have, this is not an issue to them they are aware that money is something that has the be worked for and that you can have the new TV only after you have saved for it. Even at their young age they are aware that credit is a bad thing and that they have boundaries, they are also aware that when the step outside of the boundaries their actions will being on consequences.

This “success” is not because we are wonderful parents or anything special but we looked at how things have been done over years, looked to out childhoods when the Mum’s at work was beginning and decided that it was not for us and a more traditional was was not only better in our situation but suited us.

This government was hell bent on making our approach the wrong one when they came into power and they pushed every Mum to work it is nice to see that this approach is being questioned, after all in the last 10 years there has been a breakdown in our society and I think that this policy of Mum’s out to work at all costs has contributed to it, as has the devaluation of the role of mother (regardless of how it is filled).

My wife has had a wonderful time being a full part of her children growing up and she will have the career that she wants and I am sure that she will have success in it, but there is a season to all things perhaps that is something that is worth remembering.

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FTSE 100 pensions ‘back in red’

There has been quite a bit over the last few weeks about pensions in the press, people who are coming up for retirement are now beginning to see the direct impact of Mr Browns pensions raid, that the started off a fall in the stock market that it has not recovered from and also acted as a disincentive for people to save in the pension funds. With the closure of many final salary schemes and the odd pension company going bust leaving people with a greatly reduced quality of life.

Do we see an apology for the complete cock up from Mr Brown with the take take take ethos? No we see that the government is looking into windfall taxes for companies in the power & fuel sector.

Now is it just me?

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I am sorry if this appears to be unsympathetic to the people of Tibet but am not sorry if it appears unfair to the 4 tits who have been arrested.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/7544416.stm

It would appear that the British Embassy is investigating on behalf of two people who where arrested in China for protesting about Tibet by climbing up a poll and unfurling a banner saying Free Tibet.

If the people who climbed up the poll did not know that the authorities would not look too kindly to this action then they are bigger tits than I first thought.

People may have the “right” to protest in the UK (providing they apply in triplicate to the Government first) but this is not the case in China, the only thing the British Embassy should be doing in making sure that the Chinese system is being followed and not trying to get the 2 tits out of the hot water that they jumped into.

If the 2 tits want something to protest about take a look a little closer to home, some of the laws that have come on the books in the last 5 years would make the Government in China very happy.

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I do not read newspapers as a rule opting for the on-line editions but over the last couple of days I have been picking up what ever paper is on the table in the station in favour of carrying my laptop into work, I am on holiday next week and I am getting into the swing of it

This story caught my eye as did it the people who where sitting with me, they got very excited over the issue that they could be fined more than someone nicking from a shop if they over fill the bins that they have, I do not think the ides of a paper is a good thing for people in the morning they get far too excited.

But the point that the story brings up is quite interesting, I know very few people who buy stuff to put in the bins, I have 4 people and a dog in my home my neighbour is alone and the next neighbour down has 3 people and 3 dogs, going up the road our other neighbour is alone and the house above him has 3 people in it but we all have the same bins the chances are that I will get the fine because of the number of people in my house rather that on us just making rubbish hand over fist just to fill the bin. Things like this are seen as unfair and will be the ultimate downfall of the government rather than the current economical situation.

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Well this report from the BBC is not too much of a shock, it would appear the the police are useing the taser guns that they have been trained to use and issued with.

It looks like the police are enjoying the protection that such a tool is giving them and they are seeing a ‘Real difference’, what a pity that the public who after all are on the seen before the police are not offered the same training & tools.

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After all what else is a train for? Other that a make-up bench.

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I remember then Cadbury’s first launched this in 1981.

I must be getting old as I will now on witness it’s relaunch, but saying that I have witnessed the launch demise New Labour and relaunch of Old Labour in the last few years.

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