middleman

Now, I am definitely becoming less Liberal the longer I grow in the tooth, but it is still not often that I find myself agreeing with a Conservative Government’s policy. But I have to say that I fully endorse the Coalition’s intent to cap benefits for the unemployed at £26 thousand net of tax – the equivalent of an annual salary of  over £30 thousand, which is just under the national average salary for a man, and about £6 thousand more that the average for a woman. How can it be right that... Read Full Story

Caveat emptor…. Image via Wikipedia Mr Gadget is not happy. PI have today returned my second generation Apple TV back to the shop and had my money refunded. And, I am so unhappy that I had to do so. I loved the concept – the whole idea of instantly downloading movies. Well, my idea of “instantly” seems a tad different o Apple’s. I wold have been ecstatic with less than a minute; I would have accepted less than fifteen. But, our first rental took nearly two hours to download, and, when... Read Full Story

Image via Wikipedia I know that 40 is the new 30 but…….. Tomorrow I have the joy of visiting an opticians to select the frames for my new glasses. To be fair, this will be my first ever pair of spectacles. To date I have had perfect 20:20 vision and have survived without the need for glasses or contact lenses. But no more! The arrival of my forty-fifth year has coincided with an increase in my use of laptop, iPad and iPhone and I have been diagnosed as suffering from “near use fatigue... Read Full Story

Kwik Fit?!? I don’t f**k**g think so……. I am not having a great day. Over the weekend I discovered that I had a very flat tyre. Now, back in the day I would have simply whipped open the boot, removed the spare tyre and jack, jacked up the car, and, a bit of a huff and a puff later and Bob’ your proverbial – job done and all you need to worry about is getting the spare tyre fixed/replaced at a time that was convenient to both you and the man at Kwik Fit. But not these days. Modern... Read Full Story

Image via Wikipedia Sarah Palin – gone. Michele Bachmann – gone. We can sleep a little easier in our beds today. Well, at least with those two crazy so-called MILFs out of the way, the world feels like a rather safer place tonight and things are looking much, much brighter for Obama. Let’s hope neither of them get selected as a Vice Presidential candidate….. The Republican candidacy looks pretty weak from this side of the Pond at the moment. Although, to be honest, we could do with... Read Full Story

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 100,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it. Click here to see the complete report. Filed under: middleman Read Full Story

Bradwall Reformatory School . Filed under: middleman Read Full Story

Let me first begin by wishing one and all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when it arrives. I would also like to wish my colleagues, and others who have worked so hard this year, a very, very well-earned rest for a few days………before it all begins again in earnest in January. You have truly deserved a few days on the sofa with your nearest and dearest with a glass of advocaat and a mice pie or two while joining the great unwashed with back to back episodes of Jeremy Kyle. Have you... Read Full Story

In no particular order…… Joseph Hoolahan (1877-1991), Private, 2nd battalion Cheshire Regiment, killed in action in Flanders after just four weeks action - Cathy’s Great Grandfather. Albert William Jones (1893 – 1960), Sapper Royal Engineers, served in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in North Africa alongside Lawrence of Arabia’s force, mentioned in despatches for gallantry in 1918 – my grandfather. John Humphries (1912 – 1893), Lance Corporal Royal Artillery, served in Dover Naval... Read Full Story

OK, so it is the end of a gruelling two week business trip. The first week was spent in Sydney, Australia. The last, in Hong Kong. I have to admit to feeling a tad more than jaded. I’m buggered! But for now, the work is over and I have changed into civvies and taken residence in the lounge bar of the Sheraton Kowloon, with a nice strong, cold, Long Island Ice Tea as my reward for a good job well done. My more virtuous travelling companion has rewarded himself with a session in the gym. I... Read Full Story