A font of uselessness I, within our growing danger
My thoughts slip away like the wasps in the autumn
Stinging in rapturous abandon they elude and betray.
Make of me a grey shadow of empirical knowledge
Yet I must bear this insult and retreat back to lucidity
Concealed deep within labyrnthic memories is truth
Remember that which has been hidden by the enemy
As the swallow returns in Spring so shall our resolve

Robbie aged 2

Not yet all asleep as this madam la reine from the kitchen tonight shows.

Where wind and rain may never hide

Can be found one man to turn the tide
In glades of winter so summer shall come
The lessons learned shall equal the sum

Sunday 27^th Nov 2011

Some more general autumn shots and an amazing wasp’s nest discovered in a tree. It’s pretty big and was very close to the footpath. Must have been abuzz during the summer and the great thing is the wasps appear to have been left to their own devices rather than being unceremoniously killed as a nuisance. People need to wake up to the good insect control they do. Seems the honeybee gets all the cuddly credit which is unfair.

I’ve got a sourdough bread starter bubbling on the dining room table. Assuming all goes well it should be ready to use in about ten days. It’s a long, if not overly complicated process, but might just be so rewarding. Then the plan is to make my own bread (but not crumpets) exclusively as a way to cut down on my carbohydrate intake. In fact I’m trying to cut down on my intake all round to shed some of the excess ballooning around the middle regions. I don’t have (or want) the luxury of exercise like Nick to keep me in shape so need to eat less...simples (not!)

Friday evening went out for a meal with a neighbour for her 80^th birthday which was great. A small foodie restaurant in Ramsbottom called ‘Ramsons.’ Got a very good reputation and it lived up to it. (Look it up.) Other than that it’s been a quiet weekend, very grey and wet and currently very windy...though it may improve as the day goes on. Let’s hope so. Robbie is asleep at the minute but soon the monster will awaken.

To walk within fluid, cool, night airs

Flowing in endless chains down to sea

On silvered lawns with paths of onyx

I pass and see sorrow revived into bliss

Amidst a thousand newborn elves waking

In May under a gilded mantle of stars

Sunday 20^th Nov 2011

Cool day filled with long rolling mists that never quite lifted. I think you can see it on the pictures. Now it seems a little more like winter is coming. As of yet it’s not quite arrived yet.

Friday went to Settle (N. York’s) for a day out. Nice day out ad I took a photo of the view at the station. Quite a nice kept station in the old style. Quite a lot of steam trains pass through still as the Settle to Carlisle is classed as a picturesque route.

We’d gone to the station because Mike wanted to visit the museum (but there isn’t one.) Turned out he was thinking of Carnforth and the museum there. Carnforth is where ‘Brief encounter’ was filmed. If you haven’t watched it then it’s worth seeing. It’s a very atmospheric black and white movie.

Recipe for the perfect garlic bread, (courtesy of Nick) – not to be eaten every day obviously

1 French type baguette of good quality. (Not Ciabatta – too many holes inside.)

1 clove of garlic for each 2 inches of baguette (sounds a lot but absolutely necessary and apparently counteracts the effects of cholesterol and blood pressure.) Look it up on Wikipedia if you don’t believe me.

1oz Butter for each 2 inches of baguette (this might seem a lot but is absolutely necessary.) There is nothing worse than garlic bread loaded with a mean amount of butter. For me it must always be butter, but alternatives might work just as well.

Finely chop garlic and mix with the softened butter. Make a slit lengthways two thirds down into the baguette and spread it open without breaking it in half. (Don’t cut slits across the stick as it becomes harder to fill.) Spread butter and garlic mixture along length, wrap in foil and bake at 180 degrees C for 20 mins. Remove foil at end of cooking if you want crispier bread. It is perfectly delicious.

For variation add a cheese into the garlic butter mix or finely chopped herbs such as parsley, thyme or rosemary. Don’t overdo it though as additions need to be frugal or the bread just doesn’t work.

If you’re scared of butter remember it’s a natural food without many additives or chemical processing. That’s got to count for something. If reported health issues associated with some foods bother you don’t eat so much refined and processed food. If you buy readymade garlic bread look at the ingredients next time you shop. It can be an eye opener.

Between the soft rock and hard earth grows hope

It is fragile, uncertain and longing to be forgotten
Yet while it endures and gutters I shall guard it solely
Nurture it; protect it, if I may, till it roots in the dirt
Grows up again strong, to assuage all this evil hurt
Then I shall sleep with your name on my lips in joy

 

The British Medical Association has called on ministers to ban smoking in cars to protect children from breathing in toxins. Smoking should be banned in cars to protect drivers and passengers – especially children – from breathing in toxins far worse than those found in smoky bars, the nation's doctors have demanded.

  

The British Medical Association (BMA) is urging ministers across the UK to extend the ban on smoking in public places introduced in 2007 to all vehicles in a further effort to protect people's health. "We are calling on UK governments to take the bold and courageous step of banning smoking in private vehicles," said Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics. "The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling."

Alternative thoughts –  

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. People must be made to do whatever we tell them. It simply isn’t good enough that they can simply do whatever they like.” 

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. I don’t like it”  

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. We do not want people actually relieving a small part of their misery. They need to suffer. This will help remind them.”

  

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. The NHS is done for so we need to find ways to save money because we’ve used all the smokers’ revenue paying for the PFI.”

 

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. People may be smoking in front of their pets or people on TV.”

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. “You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”  

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. It gives me a chance to impose my values on the rest of you and more importantly my huge salary rests on me coming up with new ideas. I don’t care what happens anyway as I’m retiring to the Bahamas soon.”

  

"The evidence for extending the smoke-free legislation is compelling. We just haven’t found any yet.”

Who would ever have thought that buying a packet of fags would make you feel like a freedom fighter rather than just the silly mug you are.  

On this Remembrance Sunday we need to understand why all these brave people lost their lives in 2 great world wars (and any other wars.) The answer was that they thought they were creating a better world by doing it. We just keep on disappointing them I am so sad to say. But we do and will always remember their sacrifice.

 

Hale and vibrant lives cut short by the unfairness of life and the unpredictable nature of time

Told you so ...

The first private company to take over an NHS hospital has admitted in a document seen by the Observer newspaper that patient care could suffer under its plans to expand its empire and seek profit from the health service.

Circle Health is already feeling a strain on resources due to its aggressive business strategy, the document reveals, and the firm's ambition to further expand into the NHS "could affect its ability to provide a consistent level of service to its patients", it says.

The company, run by a former Goldman Sachs banker, was awarded management of Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire last week in a ground-breaking move lauded by ministers as a "good deal for patients and staff".

However, the government was forced to answer an urgent question in the Commons after the move sparked furious accusations that the deal was privatising the NHS and putting jobs and health services in jeopardy. Concerns over the future of the health service were further heightened when David Cameron, in a speech on regulation and the economy, said he wanted the NHS to be a "fantastic business for Britain".

The revelation that the company shares some of the fears of its critics has caused fresh uproar.

The quest for profits at any cost begets this absolute madness I think. After all a Goldman Sachs banker in charge of the whole thing, and a Tory party idea - what could possibly go wrong?? Oh just about everything I predict!!!

Fibre and whole grains 'reduce bowel cancer risk'

High fibre cereals are just one type of fibre which were shown to help prevent colorectal cancer. Eating more cereals and whole grains could reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer, a BMJ study says. Researchers from Imperial College London found that for every 10g a day increase in fibre intake, there was a 10% drop in the risk of bowel cancer.

So according to this if I eat a 100g more fibre each day I will never get this type of cancer. What a pile of lentils! (no pun intended)

Bye, bye NHS we'll miss you - especially if we get ill.

A private company, listed on the stock market, has been given the right to deliver a full range of hospital services for the first time in the history of the NHS, reigniting a debate about the use of business in the health sector. Circle Healthcare will take over Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in Cambridgeshire as part of a £1bn 10-year contract.

Circle will become the first ever non-state provider to deliver a full range of NHS district general hospital services.

Circle Healthcare, a John Lewis-style partnership valued at around £120m, will manage the debt-laden Hinchingbrooke hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, from February after the government signed off on a decade-long contract on Wednesday. Although private sector firms already operate units within the NHS – Circle, one of Britain's most prominent healthcare providers, is the first to take over an entire hospital.

The takeover is not considered a full privatisation as the buildings will remain in public hands and the employees retain their pay and pension on existing terms. However, Circle is viewed by ministers as a model "mutual" with 49% of its ownership in staff hands. (So who has the other controlling 51%.) It operates a scheme to allow more shares to be gained through a performance-related rewards system. Significantly this allows doctors to take a slice of the profits – and this landmark deal, the government hopes, will lead to other cash-strapped NHS hospitals consider outsourcing their management to private companies.

Circle's chief executive, Ali Parsa, said: "At a time when some healthcare commentators say the solution for small district general hospitals is simply to merge or be shut down, we believe the NHS Midlands and East's courage and zeal for innovation will enable us to show how clinician and staff control can provide a more sustainable alternative."

When private money and state healthcare or any other service get into bed together you can be sure it wont be healthy. Nothing good can come from this in the long term. Privatisation only ever means cutting costs. They can never do it better - only cheaper. Unless you course you have the means to pay. Sad thing is most haven't.

10^th Nov 2011

It’s a 99% full moon tonight and there are very few clouds so it may look better than the big one tomorrow. Other than that it’s been a quiet week overall. Generally mild overall and with a warm weekend forecast.

Tonight for tea it’s free range chicken breast £2.99 stuffed with Boursin 50p and wrapped in Parma ham 50p and accompanied by purple potatoes (Albert Bartlett) 39p and carrots 29p. You can see what was in the cheap for quick sale aisle today... but not bad for under £5. I also bought 2 pints of double (full fat) cream (£1.29 a pint). I don’t know why I am putting on weight and wheezing a lot. Yes I do it’s the dairy, carbs and 20 cigarettes a day. He-he!

We have a saying up north for all this, but the dementia is kicking in now (aka red wine) and I can’t remember it. Oh I remember now - Cheers (hic!!!)

Have a lovely weekend and just for the record I am being slightly capricious

Rhubarb and Mango crumble

Thought i'd invented a new recipe last night but looking on Google this morning I see there are hundreds of different one's out there. It was very nice though especially adding some ground almonds into the crumble mixture to give it a boost.

500g Rhubarb and 1 medium Mango - Roast rhubarb with sugar to taste and then add mango. Make cruble topping and add ground almonds into mix. Bake till golden brown...then scoff.

Tip 1 - Cook rhubarb and sugar in the oven in a wide shallow pan to evaporate the excess water and stop it going too mushy.
Tip 2 - Plant some rhubarb in the garden
Tip 3 - Move to the equator if you want to grow mangoes
Tip 4 - If you dont know how to make a crumble mix you really need to start to cook more

Sleep was slow to come so far underground. Once the flaxen light of the staffs was dimmed the darkness was absolute and impenetrable. In this place devoid of light her hearing sharpened and she heard water flowing strongly in the long distance.  Its subterranean roar was pitched at the limit of her hearing so she could not be sure of how far; but probably it was a large flow falling down in to the depths of the earth. Maybe tomorrow they would see its path, if it crossed theirs. The distant sound wove around her thoughts and its repetitious, soothing, comfort she found sleep. As her eyes closed she bethought that a tinkling piece of music like the spring wind on winter dry reeds or over desiccated leaves could be heard.

She awoke to find lights all around her. Has she not counselled Ibbero to stay his staff light this far underground. Yet this was no staff light, small points of cobalt appeared to hang randomly in the air and then like an exploding firework the points expanded uniformly in a star shaped blossom. For a few seconds the shape held like an iridescent lily before the lights began collapsing and rushing together to form a bright, luminous block shaped apparition. Spectral and yet solid it moved toward them and as it came the features of a man emerged. Keenly she felt Ibbero’s touch on her hand and instinctively knew she must still her questions and wait. In the dim cerulean light the mineral in the rock walls shone like ice crusted sheets of water. The watcher of Arast-falls had arrived and Ibbero as always, had proved her to be right. Yet as he drew near to them his countenance was furious.

The rage of disappointment was curdled in his throat. He could expedite this stupidity in his vengeful wroth but that would serve no purpose.  Above ground trees bereft of leaves in the autumn pointed branches skyward like accusatory fingers as he lifted his solidifying finger at Asthralain.

Ibbero and the rest of the Ishanntari were vegetarians. How could they not be; exalted and ancient beings of reasoned logic. There could be no other way to live harmoniously within the world.  After all, was not the world created to exist as a living instrument in balance and purpose within its hale, green world of renewal? It was never meant that we should turn on the fauna around us, enslave or hunt it and feast upon flesh like carrion. Justifying it all by sophistic progression of man’s superiority into the dominant ascendancy. That was the way of the enemy to hide the truth behind clever-sounding and plausible logic based on shallow or dishonest thinking.

There were, (if one understood clearly,) the parallel paradoxes of law in the world. To survive beyond the world we must eventually leave it as we have entered. We are born something that is given life by an unselfish act of love, nourished by food from the mother that creates us. If she chooses well we are born without regret and so we prosper in humility. There is no blame to those who have no choice in the manner of their birth, but having attained wisdom and a greater knowledge in life; only fools and brutally intentioned beings can ignore it. Once we see we are not bound within the world we become truly free.

Heady sepulchres raised under rain

Raise a mighty shade in united minds
To remember together the acerbic wit
That passed between us like omens
For within one masquerade or another
Everything now will come to pass.
No matter the smallest details of folly

Remember always each and every day
Not cancel all its hopes, fears and losses
Within sweet moments of temporal joy
Reach for the end with emboldened spirit
Ethics engendering noble beating hearts
For a journey begins rain, to river, to sea
Ends in animate reunion of you and me

Letting down a new generation

I was surprised (or not) to see so many red dots in the north of the country.

Blackspots for youth disengagement where high levels of youngsters are not in education, work or training (Neet) have been revealed in a new report. In Grimsby, Doncaster, Warrington and Wigan, nearly a quarter of 16- to 24-year-olds are Neet. In a further nine cities in England and Wales, drop-out rates for youngsters are about one in five.

The Work Foundation report blames a tough jobs market and cuts to youth services and education.

Its report for the Private Equity Foundation said: "In a difficult labour market, young people often find it harder to gain a foothold in work - and there is a real danger that youth unemployment could soon reach one million.

Asthralain grew both weary and impatient with the asinine machinations of Harabeth the emissary of Sandum. His words were honey coated but wreaked of treachery. How long had this creature served his master? How many lives had been marred and tricked into servitude by this black abomination wrapped in a cloak the colour of blood that reminded her of all that spilt by the innocents in the name of his sedition. She sighed inward and then replied “When the thews of this mortal life dissolve back into the earth, when the last breath has gone and the warmth of this body dissipates into the cold night; then you shall take me and do what you will emissary of Sandum. Yet now I see your perfidious scheme I will neither appease you, nor treat with such accursed as you. If your master will not show himself then this meeting is at an end. Be gone foul duskwraith, back to your shadowy domain, back to your master and back to prepare for your end.”

With that as if by some sign, the snow began to fall as the emissary retreated back to the shadows. Soon his shadowy figure swathed in its red cloak was hidden behind a thick swirling curtain of white. Asthralain shivered and looked toward Ibbero, but he gazed ahead deep in thought. She followed his eyes but could discern nothing through the thick, falling snow. Was he vexed in her response to Harabeth? She could not tell, but the thought troubled her. He was a mighty Isnnatari and she; but a mortal queen of a troubled land. Had she just condemned them all to a darker fate by her actions?

Then in that place among the falling flakes that stung her face like regret he turned to her and smiled. She smiled intuitively back though she did not understand and then his smile became a laugh as clean and as pure as the ice that forms on the coldest night.

“My queen have I not said you are worthy to this cause, no matter how doubt may restrain you, but in this matter you have done well. Harabeth will return to his master with more than you think you have given and yet nothing that may hinder us in the days to come. His master will of course see our deception immediately and fear will take him. In that fear we may hope that he will strike in the direction least suited to his purpose. Yes I say again, well met and well matched Asthralain.”

Ibbero arced his staff above them and the forbidding he created held aloft the snow as they walked back to the camp.

TIPS ON PUMPING PETROL - here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every Litre: (from a petroleum expert allegedly and not sure if this works for diesel)

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the petrol, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your Petrol tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more Petrol you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine.

Another reminder, if there is a petrol truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy Petrol, DO NOT fill up; most likely the petrol is being stirred up as the Petrol is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Halloween myths, legends and witchcraft statistics.

Cost of smoking to East Lancashire's economy calculated as £163million

The shocking cost of East Lancashire’s chronic smoking problem has been revealed for the first time as £163million per year. This figure includes £33.5million alone in lost productivity from workers taking smoking breaks and £28.8million from smoking-related sick days.

Cost of Quantative Easing to the UK so far (as at Oct 2011) 275 billion Pounds

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee last week voted to increase the size of its asset purchase programme, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, by £75bn to a total of £275bn.

Cost of the NHS 2011/12 is around £106 billion

The NHS employs more than 1.7m people. Of those, just under half are clinically qualified, including, 39,409 general practitioners (GPs), 410,615 nurses, 18,450 ambulance staff and 103,912 hospital and community health service (HCHS) medical and dental staff.

You decide where your truth is when they tell you there has to be cutbacks. But you know the banks are happy because where else can banks and speculators make such a mess of things and not have to pay the price.

I swam deep among the stars

Gazing across the sapid infinity
Yet when I looked back to Earth
Autumn was fast encroaching
On the northern hemisphere
Rising tides of copper and red
Called me home once more and
I swam no more in the starry sea

Looking over to the garden from over the road. The autumn colours are really great this year. Everything in the centre of the pictures (to the left of the golden beech trees on the cemetery border) is pretty much the garden. I guess it's the distance but the pictures almost have a watercolour effect.

A lone voice called across a nacreous waste

Unheard, unremarked and unrequited
So a million voices called across the impotence
Unanswered, unhappy and understated
So all native voices went silent in the vacuum
Uncaring, undone and ultimately unfulfilled
Who will plead the case now thews are gone?
Unmade, unsafe, unacting and unloving
Not I for I am invisible, dissolved and fade
Unliving, unsaved, unsated and now unseated.

A report into employment laws commissioned by the prime minister has recommended scrapping the right for workers to claim unfair dismissal.

The report, which has not been made public, argues this move would mean more capable people would replace those sacked, boosting economic growth.

But some senior Liberal Democrats fear it would harm the economy. Currently, workers who feel they were unfairly dismissed can make a claim after 12 months in a job. Last year there were 236,000 employment tribunal claims - of which only some were unfair dismissal claims, with an average award for successful complainants of £8,900.

The report was was written by Adrian Beecroft, a venture capitalist and Conservative Party donor.  The coalition government has stated its committed to reforming employment laws. The chancellor, George Osborne, recently announced new measures aimed at restricting the number of unfair dismissal claims.

He announced that, from April 2011, the qualifying period for a claim for unfair dismissal would be that the individual must have been in the job for at least two years.

They were at the head of a long valley which swept down to a long ribbon lake that traced the shape of the valley floor. The autumn colours ran down the hills like a wave of tarnished copper and the rain in the distance spread across the vista like silvered voile in a window at dusk. After the long paths in the grey, cold austerity of the mountain tops the sight was most welcome. They descended the incline and the upland scrub and scree slopes gave way to Birch and Rowan trees and then finally to rich alluvial farmland. Here at least they might find supplies and warm beds for the night. Asthralain knew these folk well and though they were indomitable and hard they would show no quarter to the enemy. For tonight at least Asthralain would find peace.

The usual work structure in place where most of us work - Better to be higher in the order, but at least we know why people slip from grace so quickly on their way down. By this time next year i'll be on the grass underneath looking up.

Only in New York could they do this  - but kinda cute, although i'm not sure Robbie would wear it. The dog at the bottom with the fag and the drink is my favourite. When i first saw these pics i thought it was a local wedding party.

I came across these pictures the other day - how times have changed at work. I get dizzy just looking at the first picture.

Well it’s been a quiet week with our first frost on Tuesday. Only a mild one, but still it is a precursor of what is to come. For the moment it has returned to mild damp weather which should last into next week. I made my jam last night and you know it came out beautifully – text book short rolling boil and then perfect set. Must be the grapes are naturally high in pectin. The recipe was grape, gooseberry and apple and all were from the garden. I shall get some croissants at the weekend and try it out. Of course if I wasn’t working I could make the croissants but for the moment the shop bought ones are good enough.

I made a complaint against a supermarket the other day because they were selling wine at 2 bottles for £10 or 1 bottle for £9.56 – is that skewed to make you drink more or what! They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that. People here don’t need any encouragement to drink excessively for sure (me included.)

I watched the Green Lantern the other night – a bit silly but parts of it were ok. I am however finding a lot of newer films filled with personal angst and relationship issues rather than aliens or fantasy special effects. Still even so I downloaded the digital copy into iTunes where it shall stay unwatched till they remake it again in 20 years.

Roll on the weekend

Ps the answer to the riddle was nothing

Only 5% of Stanford University graduates figured it out!
Can you answer all seven of the following questions with the same word?

1. The word has seven letters....
2. Preceded God...
3. Greater than God...
4. More Evil than the devil...
5. All poor people have it...
6. Wealthy people need it....
7. If you eat it, you will die.

Did you figure it out?

It’s been a calm, sunny weekend overall. Not too much going on but appreciatively the weather is dry. Final gasp and here comes the cold. I have done a little work on my cabinet restoration in the garage at last although I can see that project taking some time. Well if nothing else, I shall have lots of that next year. The plan is for us all to be finished in Oct 2012 but the signs are saying something different. I think very much it is a case of ‘hope for the best but plan for the worst.’ We’re counting down – 382 days to go!

I’ve accepted the whole thing but I find it affects a lot of decisions I shall have to make. I was thinking of a new smart phone as I currently have a not very smart Blackberry but I don’t want to be locked into a 2 year contract. The Blackberry is in my opinion an awful phone; but that may be because I am on the ‘pay as you go’ misers plan. I use it so very little that it probably makes no sense at all to go contract. It’s just that well; everyone else seems to have one. If you haven’t an iPhone well you haven’t an iPhone and these days that’s like you are some sort of underclass of human being. I haven’t got an iPad too, so I guess I am devolving into the evolutionary backwaters of humanity at some speed.

I don’t know how it is where you are but here so very like its Christmas next week in the stores with the piles of decorations, toys, cakes and biscuits etc...Remember amoretti are for life not just Christmas; Commercialism it’s the new religion. Well I won’t be buying anything just yet; unless it’s a bargain! Then it makes sense – see I have cupboards full of them. Now what did I think the mandolin would be useful for when I bought it. It certainly wasn’t for cutting my fingertips off. Note to self – give it Nick. He heals quickly which is probably lucky given the number of catering related injuries he gets in a week. The other rule of my life, is do not give Mike anything too sharp or that requires more than 2 steps to complete. Otherwise he’ll cut his fingers off and wonder what he was doing when he did.

Picked all my grapes this afternoon. Have saved a bowlful of the best to eat (and surprisingly they are delicious) and am stewing the rest as I write with gooseberries and apples (all from the garden) to make a fruit jam (jelly. ) I have no idea how it will taste but seems a good way to use all the produce.

Exit stage left lady of summer with your verdant gown muddied and now shorn of beauty save the last fading flowers. To bed have gone her beloved insects and now she will retreat to the southern hemisphere to be renewed amid its longer days. She leaves with a retinue of swallows over calm seas and as the leaves run after her chill comes.

Entrance stage right the lady August wrapped in the cloak of dusk with shimmering mists wreathing her feet below bronzed hued raiments. She carries a huge cornucopia of bounty bearing the fruits of summer’s growth and in the dry days and icy nights ahead gives us time to gather them up. As we sow, we now reap with sickles and songs made more urgent by the fading days.

From the Guardian- Saturday 15 October 2011 19.59 BST

The government is to launch a "house swap" programme, reminiscent of Norman Tebbit's call for the jobless to "get on your bike", in an attempt to encourage people to move around the country to find work. Housing minister Grant Shapps says the scheme will help people living in social housing to find work.

The controversial plan to tackle the unemployment crisis means people living in social housing will be helped to uproot their families in order to chase jobs. Details of the scheme are yet to be finalised, but it is understood the plan would involve a nationwide database of house swaps and the removal of any barriers to people in social housing moving between regions.

"House swap" emerged in a week when David Cameron was forced to admit that it was "very disappointing" that unemployment had risen by another 114,000 in the past three months to 2.57 million – a 17-year high. The prime minister added that the government would "do everything it possibly can" to tackle the crisis, amid concerns that ministers do not have any answers to the problem.

The scheme will be launched in the coming weeks. Grant Shapps, the housing minister, wrote in Inside Housing magazine last week that it would "boost the prospects of tenants wanting to swap their social home to take up new job opportunities, be closer to their family, or move to a property better suited to their needs". He added: "Home swap direct will mark the start of a new drive to improve mobility within social housing."

I think I’ll swap with someone in the south of France – any volunteers? No I thought not and don’t forget these people are in charge of the country. Yes scary isn’t it!

I think we at 50 or younger better plan on never getting an old age pension payment - now what i want to know is how they can get away with breaking their contract to us and will i be getting the money back that i have paid for the last 35 years to retire at 65 back....no thought not! Someone summend it up perfectly by saying it was a state sponsored genocide plan by forced labour for the ageing population. All that money we paid in pensions and now nothing in return - sad!

Pension age of 67... It’s going to be sooner than you thought: Millions must now work longer as the retirement age rise is brought forward by up to a decade. Millions in their 50s will have to work a year longer than they expected. The announcement from Whitehall could come as early as next week. The state pension age is to rise to 67 for both men and women many years earlier than planned – possibly as soon as 2025. This means millions of people currently in their 50s will have to work a year longer than they expected. Whitehall sources said an announcement could come as early as next week.

Here's some more black and white shots but i think they work best in good light and not at dusk like last night when these were taken