A road to safety?

20 March

Dorktown has been brought to a stop a number of times over the last week or two because of RTCs in various locations within and around the town. From our side of town there is just one way to get into the tow centre, without going several miles out of the way; that one route is also the junction of the A444 and the A47. It’s part of a one-way system as well, a dual carriage way that regularly sees chaos in both directions during the rush hour. So can you imagine the chaos when a biker collided with something on his way over the West Coast Main Line beside our railway station? In the almost four years since we have been here in Weddington, I’ve not seen it so bad.

It has again prompted calls for a proper bypass, but I doubt whether we shall ever see one. It takes a lot of dosh as well as years of planning and protests from various interested parties, a lot of the home owners who will certainly be affected by such a road. The other major requirement is the political will to get on and do the job. This job will need the co-operation of both our spineless Labour run town council and our doctrine lead Tory county council. There is rarely any co-operation between these two silly bunch of local muppets. The other major problem I see it, is that it’s not a big sexy idea like HS2, where reputations can be forged and fortunes can be made on the sly. Sad enit!

On Facebook yesterday I saw something IDS resigning as the guy in charge of our benefit system. I made a side comment that it was because the cuts announced in the budget, were not large enough or having been watered down. Later on there was posted about him losing a court case about trying to keep the shambles that is known as Universal Benefits. Perhaps it was the two coming together so closely that forced him to jump before being pushed. That man is meanest, nastiest man in current group of national muppets. Another idea put forward was that it was a cynical move ready for when Blonde Boris takes over in #10.

The mind boggles over both suggestions. Right now our country is under the control of weak group people who seem to have lost their way. The alternative of a Labour lead government currently looks just as weak and ineffective group. Add in the chaos that has descended on the US because of Farter Trump, and we have a really bad political vacuum building up. The state of our is at stake here, and I shudder to think of what will happen in years to come.

We will be wide open for the gunmen of ISIS that came over in the first wave of Syrian refugees that arrived in Europe. And yet we have seen in the past how vulnerable we all are to terror attacks. Hyde Park, the hotel in Brighton, the City of London bomb, the Trafford Centre, The Birmingham pub bombings, all old attacks. More recently the attacks on the Tube, and Gunner Rigby and of course the attempted bombing at Glasgow airport show we are not totally secure from such attacks from home grown fanatics.

And it’s not just terror attacks either. The shooting a an 18-year-man in Birmingham the other day show we still have a problem with thugs within our cities anyway. One man interviewed on telly about that shooting said that it’s not safe to out on the streets after 6pm these days. In general, he is correct. Jan and I are rarely out after 6pm, although that is mainly so I can watch the news at 6pm. And yet we have been out later than that quite often really. Our normal days out will mean we are home late returning.

Although there is some truth in what the guy on telly said, the areas where it might not be safe are few and far between. Locally we all know which areas to keep clear of, even in day-time, and that makes a lot of difference. What annoys me is that we have to take such matters so seriously. That is the real sadness of our age, The age of Fear!

And so to a photo … 

Litter, another sign of our age.

And today’s funny …

A Pastor went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the church yard. He called the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the pastor to the health department.

They said since there was no health threat that he should call the sanitation department. The manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.

Now the pastor knew the mayor and was not to eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the pastor called him anyway.

The mayor did not disappoint him. He immediately began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally said, "Why did you call me any way? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"

The pastor paused for a brief prayer and asked the Lord to direct his response. Then, he replied "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"