Day 12 on the #indyref trail

After 12 days I was hoping there was more to blog about in the indyref stakes, but it seems Westminster has not really found a position it is comfortable with.

Westminster politics in general this week has been cataclysmic.

First the Shadow Chancellor (Balls) admitted Labour has no better idea than the Tories on what to do with the economy, then the unions turn on there hand picked leader of Labour for condoning the cuts and further more, proposing a 1% cap on salary increases. Ed Megabore replies with "tough",(his speech writer earned his wage that day) and offers no compromise.

David McCameron waded into the Scottish independence referendum question with the finesse of a Hippo with a bad case of nobby styles. This prompted a sudden and unexpected backlash from the SNP majority government in Scotland, (when I say unexpected, I obliviously mean, what were you thinking would happen my old Etonian chum).

When questioned on the Scottish ability to continue using the £ we were duly informed that we could not and would need to apply to join the Euro, the SNP asked a really tricky and complicated question in response "Are you sure about that George Osbourne?". After hours of serious book crunching and phone calls to the highest bank official who would take there call, the answer came back "emm, sorry about the £ thing earlier its seams that we can't actually do anything about that so you are welcome to use it if you really want". So what possibly can go wrong for them after that, in steps the right honorable Phillip Hammond. When quizzed about a Scottish defense force being formed from the Scottish regiments, operational airfields and naval bases, his response was a masterclass of tact and diplomacy "ludicrous idea" he says. Then follows this up with probably the worst comment every made by a public servant, "We could do it but it would be complex". Wait a minute we have went from ludicrous to a little bit difficult in the space of two breaths. I will leave you the reader to Judge Mr Hammond's grip on the military.

And just like Jaws 3, where the swimmers have been warned before not to enter the water, up pops Michael Moore who performs the greatest fitness video backflips live on TV when pushed on his previous claims about the referendum and money.

I am a strong supporter of full independence for Scotland with the knowledge that I have and nobody on the Unionist's side is challenging my opinions on our chances of a independent a prosperous Scotland.

The burning question is, Does McCameron have a silver bullet to fire at the heart of the SNP or has Alex Salmond and the Scottish people already took his best shots and have got up for more?

MP,s and the military.

I find myself at the keyboard this morning to express my disgust at the Government and towards politicians in general. Today it has been announced that The government are challenging the compensation awards to two injured soldiers in Irag and Afghanistan. The sheer indignation shown to our troops in this matter is staggering, A court has ruled, a decision made so why the action? Simple we are expendable to the nation as long as the cost's are keep within limits. It is a policy that the aviation industry has followed all the way. Example; if a modification is needed on a range of aircraft and is found to cost x amount of pounds, but it's likely hood to cause a crash is say 1% then the modification is more expensive than the compensation paid to the families of those killed in the resulting accident. The simple fact is the same now applies to our Armed Forces. The cost of war is not financial, the cost of war is in the blood of our troops and no compensation formula can simply be applied.

We vote MP's into power in most case's on whether we like them or not, not on what substance they posses. The Americans demand that any prospective politicians, whether Congress or Senate have served in a Branch of the military. Do we care that much? I think not!

Has your MP served there country? Have they even spent a day with the Forces? But today they may vote on sending you, your child or your friend into harms way with no understanding what so ever.

Today it has been announced that MP's can claim £25 per day on expenses without providing proof of expenditure (£9000 pa) for doing nothing!! A Service person can not claim for a phone call to his wife from Afghanistan.

In short I have had enough of this Country and it's attitude to the ground workers. I am going to call my MP today to ask if he has served in the forces or has a child in the forces. If not he can kiss my vote goodbye forever!!!

And before you ask, I spent 10yrs in the Royal Navy as an Aircraft Engineer on Small ships. I served in Bosnia and carried out anti drug operations in the west indies. And at not one point would I stop my children joining the Armed forces until Today.

Sunday Morning

Good morning all.
It's 8:15am on a stunning Sunday morning and I seam to have some spare time on my hands. The family is sound asleep with not a care in the world. Our oldest, who is 16, by the way brought home his girlfriend last night for the first time. No matter how cool you think you are why do Dads try and impress their Son's girlfriends. No matter what poetic,informed and frankly witty lines I delivered last night I was met with a gaze of contempt. Have I lost touch, is the teenager of today really a totally unique breed from my day or have I just turned out to be my parents?
As a teenager I thought there was nobody who could hold a light to me without being blinded by my radiance, now I just think I was just an arrogant tit. Things have moved so quickly, the Internet has seen to that. I was the voice of wisdom without the latest news from Sky to back up my facts.
How do parents keep up with today's teenagers? They are the most informed and technical age group ever to wander this earth, and at no time do they think they are lucky. Quite the opposite actually, We place too much pressure on them I am told. We expect too much of them considering the level of education that the state provides. I am sure there is a disc, a program somewhere that defeats the need for us hardworking and concerned parents to send our kids out daily to school. Someway we can teach them the facts of life in the comfort of our own home. But who would want that?
I love my kids, but the sight of them leaving for school every weekday fills me with joy! 8hrs of unbridled joy and serenity which I could never achieve if it were not for the education system. There is more to school than just classwork. The chance to learn how to make and keep friends, the need for humour and civility, that's what important at school. Not Shakespeare's endless ramblings. We judge a school by it's standing in the preposterous school league tables, not what it feels like and what the current pupils say. Surely a true measure of a school is what the 5Th yr students say to you not some made up, fiddled results table.

A short rant for today because I can hear the family stirring in their rooms, so I am of to suprise them with breakfast in Bed.

Regards

My very first Blogg

Being new to this blogger culture I am not sure where you start. I suppose a quick background may help you understand what I am saying and where my experience's come from.
I grew up in central Scotland in a small Town called Alloa, not the most expansive town, but home none the less. I was an only child who mainly grew up with my Grand Parents until I moved into my first house with my Mum when I was 13yrs old. So childhood started all over again. I was a wild child who was always on the wrong side of right, I was of above average intelligence which I never used. In fact I would play down my abilities so I could fit in with the crowd I has chose to join.
I left school at my very first chance in to what I thought was the big wide world only to find pressure,worry,indecision and uncertainty. How I wish I had listened to my elders when they said it was the time off your life. At the ripe age of 16 it suddenly dawned on my there was another sex in the world and that I was missing what all my friends had noticed at least a year earlier. This changed everything, I had to earn more money to buy nice clothes, to be able to afford to go out and impress the now visible opposite sex.
I drifted through my first working years with no real ambition until I met my uncle who had been in the Royal Navy for 20yrs, suddenly I knew what I was going to do. Here I come Royal Navy. I had to wait 18mths to gain entry to the trade I wanted (Aircraft Mechanics) so I wasted this time being a complete lad. Nothing was impossible it just took a little bit longer than difficult.
I then started to get serious with somebody and had to make a tough decision, leave for the Navy or stay at home and see where it was going.


I shall carry on in the next blog so let's hope you enjoy this one.