A post from my Facebook mate Caroline Murphy about the housing problem in the UK . Really true.
"The biggest scandal in my
opinion, is the amount of unoccupied housing in the UK which cannot be
accessed apparently by would-be housebuyers. I read of a fantastic
scheme somewhere (forget where); a local authority had a stock of
derelict housing which would cost too
much for them to renovate and put back into the public sector housing
stock and due to the extremely low property prices in the area it wasn't
cost effective for developers to buy them. So they offered to sell
them off, for £1.00 each to employed people. These people would
instantly qualify for a £30,000 loan from the LA to do the essential
repairs needed to make them habitable again (we are talking small, 2 and
3 bed terraced houses). After that, they could get a mortgage in the
conventional way. The only caveat was that they had to agree to occupy
them for five years and could not let them out. Awesome! a load of
unavailable, current housing comes back into the market, the area
benefits from the upsurge these newly renovated properties inevitably
bring, local businesses benefit from the influx of new customers, the
council gets rid of a headache and loads of people suddenly find
themselves on the housing ladder - even the lowest paid workers can
usually qualify for a loan of £30,000. We need to do more of this."
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
My response to a Facebook post mentioning "disability denial".
"This disability denial bit is a big problem . Many people over the years have said to me when I've said it will be tricky with my gammy hand getting a job " You not get a job Paul, all that hiking and clambering round the hills you do and blowing harmonica in those bands , whats wrong with you , you'll get a job easily!" And that has come consistently from friends and people very friendly towards me ! I've had to patiently explain that even with the Learning Disabled jobs I'm going for I can't do the Control and Restraint stuff, essential requirement in many places, lifting people in and out of beds and baths, the same and I may struggle getting through the First Aid Course because I can't use my gammy hand for fine motor skill jobs . Not being able to hold paper and cut it knocked me out of Primary Teacher Training 23 years ago because they suddenly woke up to the fact that I couldn't do parts of the job on the last half of the final Teaching Practice when I was passing gloriously ! I was to nice and naive to sue them at the time but I should of as was told me by a friend later well in the know. There was no assessment of my fitness to train as a teacher when I started . Disability denial, but this time they were being positive . See how tricky disability denial is . It can be positive as well . I've done it since I've been 6 when I got most of my arm ripped off and its the only way for me to manage my disability."
"This disability denial bit is a big problem . Many people over the years have said to me when I've said it will be tricky with my gammy hand getting a job " You not get a job Paul, all that hiking and clambering round the hills you do and blowing harmonica in those bands , whats wrong with you , you'll get a job easily!" And that has come consistently from friends and people very friendly towards me ! I've had to patiently explain that even with the Learning Disabled jobs I'm going for I can't do the Control and Restraint stuff, essential requirement in many places, lifting people in and out of beds and baths, the same and I may struggle getting through the First Aid Course because I can't use my gammy hand for fine motor skill jobs . Not being able to hold paper and cut it knocked me out of Primary Teacher Training 23 years ago because they suddenly woke up to the fact that I couldn't do parts of the job on the last half of the final Teaching Practice when I was passing gloriously ! I was to nice and naive to sue them at the time but I should of as was told me by a friend later well in the know. There was no assessment of my fitness to train as a teacher when I started . Disability denial, but this time they were being positive . See how tricky disability denial is . It can be positive as well . I've done it since I've been 6 when I got most of my arm ripped off and its the only way for me to manage my disability."
My response to a Facebook petition calling upon Facebook to implement more effective child protection policies.
"The cause is good but reporting people directly who I think are doing something wrong is more powerful and also taking personal responsibility . Most abusers know a person or persons who knows what they are doing but does nothing about it . This petition does nothing to encourage them to report and in turn is just another well meaning step that keeps in place the situation based social constraints that keep the victims of abusers and those that know about it silent. In other words in my view dealing with child pornography is at the same level that womens rights were at in the early 70s when if a women was getting violently abused, lots of people knew about it but did little if anything because it wasn't in the culture to report such things as it is now .
I agree with a friend in York who said many years ago that victims and those who know the victims should speak out and report such things if they come across them. Its what I do and is taking responsibility not just for what I do but even more importantly for what I see being done . All this stuff is a very vexed question because I don't want an an old East Germany style society where Stasi like individuals report everything but neither do I want a totally free one where child abusers can do what they like .
Very vexed issue this : the way people respond to child abuse when they come across it in their homes or in wider society. It seems men are most likely do abuse children but women are most likely to do nothing when they know it is going on . That is a challenging view because there is plenty of evidence for the former and not much for the latter because in my view societies globally don't treat children very well and women are not taken seriously when they say anything and they exist in a social situation where they are likely to form the judgment that the abuse is bad but fear the consequences of reporting it ."
"The cause is good but reporting people directly who I think are doing something wrong is more powerful and also taking personal responsibility . Most abusers know a person or persons who knows what they are doing but does nothing about it . This petition does nothing to encourage them to report and in turn is just another well meaning step that keeps in place the situation based social constraints that keep the victims of abusers and those that know about it silent. In other words in my view dealing with child pornography is at the same level that womens rights were at in the early 70s when if a women was getting violently abused, lots of people knew about it but did little if anything because it wasn't in the culture to report such things as it is now .
I agree with a friend in York who said many years ago that victims and those who know the victims should speak out and report such things if they come across them. Its what I do and is taking responsibility not just for what I do but even more importantly for what I see being done . All this stuff is a very vexed question because I don't want an an old East Germany style society where Stasi like individuals report everything but neither do I want a totally free one where child abusers can do what they like .
Very vexed issue this : the way people respond to child abuse when they come across it in their homes or in wider society. It seems men are most likely do abuse children but women are most likely to do nothing when they know it is going on . That is a challenging view because there is plenty of evidence for the former and not much for the latter because in my view societies globally don't treat children very well and women are not taken seriously when they say anything and they exist in a social situation where they are likely to form the judgment that the abuse is bad but fear the consequences of reporting it ."
Monday, 27 August 2012
Last Saturday I had a really nice play with the Corner Boys Blues combo at Scarfe Hall Staindrop where the Beer Festival was being held. They played wonderfully , punchy , raunchy and very authentic . What were minor mishaps were instantly turned into exciting musical and non musical happenings. The audience didn't notice a thing but then again maybe it was what was supposed to happen! Who know : as the Blues Brothers said : " The Lord moves in mysterious ways "! Cool and its what improvised Blues is all about. Loved it .
One of my mis happenings was walking off stage before the last song because I didn't think I was playing on it. At the rehearsal the final song was a great showcase for John the guitar player which I wasn't playing on , so I thought "This is the last song you're off now " So off I trundled offstage. WRONG! I was playing on the last song and Fiona told me later that Steve the singer said solemnly to the audience " We appear to have lost our harmonica player " and the band and many in the audience were looking around wondering where I was when I was backstage having a good chat with some folk completely oblivious to the effects of my disappearance. It was only when I popped my head back on stage to see how the lads were doing that I realised that I was playing on the last number . Priceless and what a hoot ! Even though I've been a totally organised house husband for years I love the organised chaos which happens at these country village gigs.
One of my mis happenings was walking off stage before the last song because I didn't think I was playing on it. At the rehearsal the final song was a great showcase for John the guitar player which I wasn't playing on , so I thought "This is the last song you're off now " So off I trundled offstage. WRONG! I was playing on the last song and Fiona told me later that Steve the singer said solemnly to the audience " We appear to have lost our harmonica player " and the band and many in the audience were looking around wondering where I was when I was backstage having a good chat with some folk completely oblivious to the effects of my disappearance. It was only when I popped my head back on stage to see how the lads were doing that I realised that I was playing on the last number . Priceless and what a hoot ! Even though I've been a totally organised house husband for years I love the organised chaos which happens at these country village gigs.
Last Thursday I was having a great rehearsal with the Corner Boys blues band who have temporarily adopted me and then I needed to go to the toilet after a while . No problem , I'm on Heather Dunn's farm, there is the house and a lot of land around but where do I go ? So I ask Heathers husband and he takes me to a small shed a little way off , no door , just what I thought was an empty shed, because I couldn't see the bath tub hidden out of sight around the corner . He says " Just pee in there Paul so I head off to the corner , the most obvious place , and then he burst out laughing saying " No , pee in the bathtub I've got it running off at the back!" Fair enough , I'm invited to rehearse with the Corner Boys at the Dunn's smashing place and now I'm being told to pee in the bath. These are the sort of people I like! Anyway , the wetting was done and I looked around to wash my hands. No sink. Heathers husband said " Wash your hands from this chemical cream dispenser and it dries your hands as well " . They have these in the Lake District bogs . Very green apparently . I got a great wadge of the stuff on my hands , to much and just as I was about to go back into the rehearsal barn with him and rejoin the band I looked down at my left hand and it was still covered in the thick white creamy stuff from the hand washing because I had used so much. Holding my creamy hand up to him I said " Hey man , this looks bad I can't go in there with a hand like this . What the hell are they gonna think?! He burst out laughing and got me a rag to wipe my hand clean! Tricky being me sometimes . Things just happen.
From my Facebook page me responding to an article from vegans cticising Green Party members for eating meating.
"Back in the 80's I upset several people by saying very much the same thing but not by knowing the amount that animal agribusiness contributed to global warming . But while some vegans are finger pointing , which goes to show that writing and putting such ideas about just attempts to hide from the fact that every vegan contributes there own actions to killing animals by using public and private transport that kills hundreds of thousands of animals every year and publicly saying nothing about cat ownership that contributes a nice 55 million bird killed a year. They say nothing about the cat bit , do no campaigning about and certainly say nothing about the transport stuff because some of them are playing the divisve political game like so many others and they need transport to live .
Am I against the ownership and enjoyment of cats and dogs ? Nope , I enjoyed stroking your cat yesterday Joe , particularly the biting bit , that moggie has character! But I know they go after the birds which doesn't cause me to have a problem with the cat or the owner . I take responsibilty for my likes and actions and respect and appreciate what others do. There are some magnificently well looked after sheep in Swaledale and the onwers of them are great people as well . Appreciation.
I don't see the local bird population being seriously damaged by the presence of the furball death machines called cats. What can be a problem is anyone denying the fact that cats kill birds. I ran into some problems with folk in York by saying that if you own a cat , don't criticise me for trying to trap rabbits and hunting then with dogs when I was young , eating meat or accepting legal hunting . And there is also the foxhunting problem: its hard to criticise foxhunting when dog and cat ownership is held as a right in this country: both kill animals. This is the way I see the world Joe . No doubt many vegans want to protect the Amazon and its tribes but those tribes kill animals in very cruel ways in order to live and I never hear them complaining about that . Arggghhhhhhhh. Its heavy!
I would take vegans seriously in their political goals if they were lived up to them but they don't . They are as involved in killing animals just like the rest of us because they live in our great modern society warts, dead animals and all.
Just out of interest there is something else . In York yesterday a pigeon misjudged its flying and ended up in the Ouse right in front of a load of people watching some boat race . Didn't see one vegan or anyone else diving in to save it fluttering in the water on the way to drowning painfully . This it blows a big hole in vegan ideas : animals and humans are not of the same value, animals are less than us . How do I know this ? Because if that pigeon was valued as much as a baby falling in the River Ouse several people would have dived in to save it . They didn't! I have never known one vegan ever who would have saved that pigeon so they don't really believe that animals and humans are equivalent ! "
"Back in the 80's I upset several people by saying very much the same thing but not by knowing the amount that animal agribusiness contributed to global warming . But while some vegans are finger pointing , which goes to show that writing and putting such ideas about just attempts to hide from the fact that every vegan contributes there own actions to killing animals by using public and private transport that kills hundreds of thousands of animals every year and publicly saying nothing about cat ownership that contributes a nice 55 million bird killed a year. They say nothing about the cat bit , do no campaigning about and certainly say nothing about the transport stuff because some of them are playing the divisve political game like so many others and they need transport to live .
Am I against the ownership and enjoyment of cats and dogs ? Nope , I enjoyed stroking your cat yesterday Joe , particularly the biting bit , that moggie has character! But I know they go after the birds which doesn't cause me to have a problem with the cat or the owner . I take responsibilty for my likes and actions and respect and appreciate what others do. There are some magnificently well looked after sheep in Swaledale and the onwers of them are great people as well . Appreciation.
I don't see the local bird population being seriously damaged by the presence of the furball death machines called cats. What can be a problem is anyone denying the fact that cats kill birds. I ran into some problems with folk in York by saying that if you own a cat , don't criticise me for trying to trap rabbits and hunting then with dogs when I was young , eating meat or accepting legal hunting . And there is also the foxhunting problem: its hard to criticise foxhunting when dog and cat ownership is held as a right in this country: both kill animals. This is the way I see the world Joe . No doubt many vegans want to protect the Amazon and its tribes but those tribes kill animals in very cruel ways in order to live and I never hear them complaining about that . Arggghhhhhhhh. Its heavy!
I would take vegans seriously in their political goals if they were lived up to them but they don't . They are as involved in killing animals just like the rest of us because they live in our great modern society warts, dead animals and all.
Just out of interest there is something else . In York yesterday a pigeon misjudged its flying and ended up in the Ouse right in front of a load of people watching some boat race . Didn't see one vegan or anyone else diving in to save it fluttering in the water on the way to drowning painfully . This it blows a big hole in vegan ideas : animals and humans are not of the same value, animals are less than us . How do I know this ? Because if that pigeon was valued as much as a baby falling in the River Ouse several people would have dived in to save it . They didn't! I have never known one vegan ever who would have saved that pigeon so they don't really believe that animals and humans are equivalent ! "
Friday, 24 August 2012
From my Facebook page responding to photo of a hedgehog
"Smashing photo that . I'm getting Fiona a half decent SLR? , I think its called that so she can take some good photos because she's into that . I find the locations for her and the good spots . Really wish we had the SLR a few months ago when watching a Roe Deer , just in a wood on a valley side and then it just bent its legs and settled itself down. Wonderful!
Roe Deer have poor eye sight , brilliant smelling and hearing abilities though. They can detect scents they don't like months old and hear sounds from miles away. Fiona, me and Miles stalked one through a field several years back. It was July and the grass was long and it was about 200 metres away upwind from us . We approached slowly and I knew it would not be able to distinguish us from the backround until we were around 50 metres away and even then if we stayed stock still it would have a job knowing what we were . To get really close , and past its hearing defences , everytime it moved we did and the sound of it moving through the long grass as it wandered and browsed masked our sounds of pursuit . When it stopped we did and it had no idea we were there. I got us to 5 metres of it , well within spear range if I was after it and even then when it stopped and looked around it still wasn't quite sure what we were because we were totally still and hard to distinguish from the backround . After looking at it for a bit I waved my hands to give it a scare because that was one dumb Deer that needed educating into some of the dangers in a Roe Deers life . Sometimes Roe Deer need educating.
I was very tempted to bag it with my bare hands for the freezer but wasn't sure of the legality of that! Clifford was great , he was only ten at the time but kept a small group of hikers back up at the path with the solemn words " Stay back my Dad is stalking a dear " . Great fun and I always liked to give experiences like that to the lads . I know it is not PC these days but I believe that kids should be given the opportunity to hunt and kill and then eat animals that are in plentiful supply it sort of connects them to a major part of being human particulary the meat eaters among them . I offered this to my lads but only the sort of hunting that I know which is trapping and maybe using ferrets. Even today walking in the coutryside around Richmond in Swaledale we come across young men with ferrets using them to trap rabbits . A couple of young guys we saw had about 20 of them and they sell them to the butchers.
One of the deepest and saddest and only part of my marriage that I really think is wrong is that Fiona won't let me keep a ferret or two. Of course in York in the early '80s I used to date Toni Bunnel the ferretologist She has a PhD in ferrets so I really like them . Brilliant hunters and lovely animals . Boo for Fiona!"
"Smashing photo that . I'm getting Fiona a half decent SLR? , I think its called that so she can take some good photos because she's into that . I find the locations for her and the good spots . Really wish we had the SLR a few months ago when watching a Roe Deer , just in a wood on a valley side and then it just bent its legs and settled itself down. Wonderful!
Roe Deer have poor eye sight , brilliant smelling and hearing abilities though. They can detect scents they don't like months old and hear sounds from miles away. Fiona, me and Miles stalked one through a field several years back. It was July and the grass was long and it was about 200 metres away upwind from us . We approached slowly and I knew it would not be able to distinguish us from the backround until we were around 50 metres away and even then if we stayed stock still it would have a job knowing what we were . To get really close , and past its hearing defences , everytime it moved we did and the sound of it moving through the long grass as it wandered and browsed masked our sounds of pursuit . When it stopped we did and it had no idea we were there. I got us to 5 metres of it , well within spear range if I was after it and even then when it stopped and looked around it still wasn't quite sure what we were because we were totally still and hard to distinguish from the backround . After looking at it for a bit I waved my hands to give it a scare because that was one dumb Deer that needed educating into some of the dangers in a Roe Deers life . Sometimes Roe Deer need educating.
I was very tempted to bag it with my bare hands for the freezer but wasn't sure of the legality of that! Clifford was great , he was only ten at the time but kept a small group of hikers back up at the path with the solemn words " Stay back my Dad is stalking a dear " . Great fun and I always liked to give experiences like that to the lads . I know it is not PC these days but I believe that kids should be given the opportunity to hunt and kill and then eat animals that are in plentiful supply it sort of connects them to a major part of being human particulary the meat eaters among them . I offered this to my lads but only the sort of hunting that I know which is trapping and maybe using ferrets. Even today walking in the coutryside around Richmond in Swaledale we come across young men with ferrets using them to trap rabbits . A couple of young guys we saw had about 20 of them and they sell them to the butchers.
One of the deepest and saddest and only part of my marriage that I really think is wrong is that Fiona won't let me keep a ferret or two. Of course in York in the early '80s I used to date Toni Bunnel the ferretologist She has a PhD in ferrets so I really like them . Brilliant hunters and lovely animals . Boo for Fiona!"
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