Changed plans, Brandon and housing

15 August 2013

We were going to go to Brum so Jan could have look for some odds and ends for she needs for her crochet pattern she's working on.  Instead of me going with her Kile's mum Sam went with her - and Kile went birding with me to Brandon Marsh ... here he is ... 

bins in hand!

Have you ever heard the saying, "What goes around comes around."  Well, it's happening again isn't it.  I first became aware of politics in the late 50s early 60s when my dad was muttering about the Tories.  The mutterings were about the house building numbers.  The Tory government had cut back or allowed new builds to drop a long way below the previous Labour governments totals.  That same argument is going on yet again isn't it.  We have a housing shortage and the finger pointing is happening again.  But why is there a housing crisis?

There's a lot of reasons and none of them are solely responsible.  Mad Maggie allowed council to sell off thousands of council houses.  The population is growing both by immigration and the number of new born babies.  The number of households is increasing as the couples split up and kids are leaving the family home earlier and need separate housing.  Put altogether we have are current housing crisis. 

More social housing is needed but the Right to Buy needs to be drastically curtailed.  In a bid help the current government has brought in the bedroom tax but actually it's likely to cause more homelessness that reduce it.  New born kids is a personal choice and no government can change that, BUT, they can do something about immigration - but won't do so, no matter what colour they are.  Again, family breakdown is not really a government issue to tackle.  That is just how society has gone in the last few decades.  Top and bottom, too many folk after not enough homes. 

There is something else here that I've often thought was strange.  New build houses are a lot smaller than older houses.  I've been in some that are very cramped.  But I've always thought that each person living in a dwelling is supposed to have a set amount of space to in.  Of course it the foot print of dwelling that is used here not the usable size of the living/bedroom.  Yet new builds certainly seem to me to be a lot smaller than supposed legal amount.  Builders and developers want to make as much dosh as they can and by reducing the size of the properties they build means they can get more into a smaller area.  Why are they allowed to get away with it?  something I shall be looking into at some point soon.

So you've had a photo of Kile; this one ... 

is Jan out the back here.

And as for a funny ...

A woman goes to the Doctor in Glasgae, worried about her husband’s temper and threatening manner.  The Doc asks: "What's the problem, Janet?
The woman says: "Weeell Doctor Cameron, I dinae know what to do. Every time ma hubbie comes home pished, he threatens to slap me aroon'."
The Doctor says: "Aye, well... I have a real good cure for that. When your husband arrives home intoxicated, just take a wee glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth. Just swish and swish but don't swallow it until he goes to bed and is sound asleep."
Two weeks later she comes back to the doctor looking fresh and reborn. She says: "Doctor that was a effin brilliant! Evrae time ma hubbie came home pished, I swished with water. I swished an' swished, and he didnae touch me even once! Tell me Doc....wha's the secret? How's the water do that?"
The Doctor says: "Janet hen, it's really Nae big secret. The water does b*gg*r all…...It's keeping your mouth shut that does the trick...."