Tidy this sofa, slovenly scum

Boris is not pleased at the amount of stuff I leave on the sofa as it impedes some quality stretching

My new career will not be plumbing

As luck would have it the toilet stopped wanting to flush just as I have the time actually to attend to it promptly (and not in a few weeks or months as is my usual timescale). The diagnosis was quite simple thanks to the internet. The diaphragm on the siphon was damaged

So off I trot to B&Q for a new siphon. I manage to find the plumbing aisle withing 15 minutes of looking and I manage to pay for it using one of those satanic self check out things, even though it initially rejected every single note I had on me.

After much swearing and wd40, the cistern was detached, the old siphon removed, the new one hammered into place and the cistern replaced )Note to self. Hell will freeze over if I ever use one of those blue blocks again. They form a vile sludge at the bottom of the cistern and it will be ages before I can remove the bloody stains off my hands!).

Surprisingly the not-wife is pleased that I at least tried and stuck wit it...

All would have been well had I not forgotten to replace the big rubber uberwasher thingy that seals the gap between the cistern and the business part of the toilet so off it all came again. This time I had the bright Idea of emptying the cistern more speedily if I undid the overflow pipe. This would have worked I hadn't damaged the seal creating a nice steady leak around the pipe....

So back to B&Q and a new overflow pipe set was purchased which I managed to re fit with some cursing and after three goes I have a toilet that flushes and doesn't spill water onto the bathroom floor .

Somehow I think I can put plumbing on to the list of new career path along with gigolo (except for short sigted women or bears how have lost all self respect), proffesional footballer, prima ballerina and Secretary General of the UN....

sunne in splendour again

Another autumn day in the garden

El Fansafetee

The Telegraph carries a story regarding the Spanish police’s genuine concern for the safety of prostitutes who tout for customers on a rural highway outside Els Alamus near Lleida in Catalonia.

The girls have been told to don the yellow fluorescent bibs or pay fines of 40 euros (£36) under road traffic laws.

Police claim the sex workers on the LL-11 road are not being specifically targeted because of what they do but because they posed a danger to drivers. The women are in breach of 2004 law which states pedestrians on major highways and hard shoulders must wear the high visibility garments.

A spokesman for the regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra said: "In the past couple of months the prostitutes have been fined for two reasons: for not wearing the reflective jacket and for creating danger on the public highway."

Well there you have it….. Personally I think it is utterly commendable to consider the safety, not only of the girls but of other road users too.

Ghost Poppy III

Cleggawber says to councils “Please don’t sack people so fast – something will turn up”

Nick Clegg on walkabout

Despite the fact that councils are to face huge spending cuts over the next few years, the Government is advising local authorites not to be too hasty in making compulsory redundancies over fears that local authorities are moving prematurely to sack staff.

According to the Guardian the Local Government Association said this week that around 100,000 local government jobs would be lost as a result of the comprehensive spending review.

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said: "How local authorities are anticipating these cuts is wildly different from one place to the next. Sheffield City Council is making massive efforts to deal with a very tight settlement and minimise enforced redundancies. Go to other places and you get a reaction that 'it's all the government's fault and I'm going to reach for the redundancy notice'.

"What we need to do is to play our part in central government, to try and show local authorities and others that they shouldn't immediately start issuing redundancy notices for savings that they can phase in over four years and where, through voluntary redundancies, natural wastage and so on, maybe the pressure isn't quite as great as they initially think it to be."

Maybe the pressure is not as great as it could be? It sounds as if Clegg is emulating Mr Micawber with the view that something will turn up,. Local councils facing huge cuts have little option but to shed staff and in huge numbers.

Perhaps Cleggawber was thinking of another quote form the same character:

Welcome poverty!..Welcome misery, welcome houselessness, welcome hunger, rags, tempest, and beggary! Mutual confidence will sustain us to the end!


Mutual confidence that Clegg has the Ministerial car and the trappings of office until his party faces meltdown in a few years time

A small indication of ministerial attitudes

Not long after the current shower took power the new ministers issued new guidelines on submissions in my former department.

One of the things that struck me about their attitude to public servants was to require that submissions sent to them should not be addressed to them in person but to their titles. This was a change from the previous administration.

Clearly being elevated to the position of a Secretary, Minister or Parliamentary Under Secretary of Stater meant that they were now among the exalted; far too (self) important to be adressed by something as mundane as their real names.

Arrogant pricks

A second poppy ghost

The Ghost of a poppy

A late and hardy poppy in bloom today. And there are more to come given the number of buds