An Early post since a holiday beckons, though I’m not going as a ‘married partner’ since I’ve heard nothing from Mariella!  That’s life, but Jez still lives in hope.  

    As predicted, no one is to blame for what happened in Rotherham.  To listen to the main group who could have taken action, they knew nothing, and no one has been disciplined.  Previous reports into the abuse seem to have passed by management without causing a ripple. The happenings sicken the average person and while weasel words pour forth, no action is taken.  This process has become a norm in recent years, events that turn the stomach of the average person resulting in reports, so called apologies and no action.  How long before the next one?  

    Douglas Carswell has put the cat among the pigeons by resigning his Conservative seat and defecting to UKIP.  Rather worse for Cameron, he will cause a by-election and stand on behalf of his new party.  If elected, we’re betting he’ll lose, he would become the first UKIP member to enter the house.  Maybe it’s coincidental, but his resignation came on the day that The Office for National Statistics announced a statistically significant increase in net immigration, up to 243,000 in the year to March.  The figure must register with voters in Clacton, as it will with the country as a whole.  The pressure on housing, schools and the NHS are constant headlines in the media, and in reality, it’s just a numbers game.  We have enough infrastructure and support services to serve our surging population, or we don’t!  Milton Keynes was estimated to have a population of 255,700 in 2013.  How many more Milton Keynes are we going to need? Do the numbers for yourself!            

    It’s hard to turn on the television without finding a ‘foody’ programme.  Masterchef, Jamie Oliver, Hairy Bikers, Gordon Ramsay, Great British Bake-off – the list is endless as they compete to produce outstanding food.  In addition, we’re now seeing photographs of hospital food as served up to patients.  Mobile phones have a lot to answer for!  Clearly there is an issue in some, maybe many, hospital kitchens.  Some of the food shown would be hard to describe but we’d love to see it placed on the tasting table for John Torode and Greg Wallace to take a fork full.  I can’t imagine “needs more seasoning” would be their only comments. 

    At a personal level I can comment, having spent a couple of post-operative days in hospital at the turn of the year.  The food was abysmal and a lengthier stay would have required brought in food.  I didn’t take pictures but one course stands out in my mind.  I didn’t recognize the item on the breakfast plate and had to get a menu to identify it.  As a dog walker I carry a plastic bag to collect what the dog discards, for want of a really tasteless description.  Had I seen the item from the plate in the street, I would have assumed that a dog walker had run out of bags.  It turned out to be a croissant.  I never found out what it tasted like. More importantly, I didn’t go into hospital for the food.  The surgical and nursing care was outstanding, couldn’t have been improved, and while reasonable food must aid recovery, we mustn’t lose sight of the primary objective of the stay.       

    Obama’s press conference on Friday will only be remembered for the suit he wore.  I have a vague recollection that he talked about the problems in Iraq and Syria but his words were lost as I gazed at the suit.  Tan, maybe taupe, definitely won’t be this year’s colour.  I expect boot sales will have racks of similar suits in the near future as any bloke who owns one, drags it from their wardrobe.  At least it fitted where it touched and the owner of whatever label it carried will be praying Obama doesn’t mention their name.  Perhaps with all the flack he’s been receiving, he plans to use his suits in an attempt to get the sympathy vote.  He got mine straightaway!