Long time no posting but real life intervened and blogging has been low on my list of priorities. High on my list of priorities is sorting out work. I have asked to return to the crisis work full time and give up the best interests work. Currently I work part time in each role, band 6 in the crisis team and band 7 in the BIA role. I haven't been happy doing the best interests work for a long time for lots of reasons. However, I can also see the work going out to private tenders for each assessment sometime in the next year as local authorities reduce their spending. I had opened discussions about returning full time to my original job a few months ago and I now await a decision from one individual with whom I have not had the best of relationships over the past ten years. So this could be interesting... My main reason for wanting to return is to go back to being a nurse and performing frontline clinical work. It will mean a drop in wages and grade but I will be a happier person.
On the home front things are generally tickety boo with the only fly in the soup being an insurance company reinterpreting a claim we made. After a heated discussion I will be cancelling the contract next week when I have a day off that matches their office hours. My plastic greenhouse is doing its job and all of my plants are thriving including the cowcumbers. I wish now I had planted some strawberries because the English strawberries I have eaten over the past week are the best I have ever tasted. But chillies, tomatoes and salad vegetables will suffice. Here's hoping for a hot summer.
TTFN.

I can now imagine what lease cars my employer will provide for us in the future. Several of these dotted around our patch and charged up ready for travel. One of the main criticisms centred upon the safety of driving one of these among larger and faster vehicles. With diesel and petrol now respectively at £1.41 and £1.37 per litre and continuing to rise, I don't believe there will be that many vehicles on the road as driving will be too expensive for most of us. I have amended my driving habits over the past year because of the cost of fuel and from my experiences of driving over the past six months so have many other people. Driving at lower speeds to conserve fuel, only used for necessary journeys and only fuelling up when nearing empty. A properly considered transport policy is needed for the next ten years with the emphasis upon public transport as well as the above and including bicycles.But a transport policy needs to be realistic and applicable to the wide open spaces of ruralshire and not just focused upon city and town centres. i.e. Looking beyond Islington and Notting Hill. So these little electric cars may be useful for large companies but perhaps not for small companies or individuals. Hence the need for decent affordable public transport.

If the oil is running out and I believe this is the real driver behind the ridiculous carbon tax nonsense then the world as we know it is no longer feasible. I'll nail my colours to the mast and state we do need nuclear power plus some alternatives if we are to power these electric vehicles as well as all of our our power needs. Mind you, I have been saying this for the past decade to friends and family. When they point out the dangers of nuclear and point to wind turbines I usually point them to some of the excellent sites for more information regarding wind powers efficacy. I also ask them to regard the bicycle and horse power as their future transport options because UK governments over the past twenty years have kept their heads buried in the sand regarding future energy needs.  But it goes beyond personal transport because transporting goods, foods, etc... is increasing costs and will impact upon availability as well. We could see the situation one day where oranges and bananas become luxury items affordable for the rich only. So Nuclear Power, Ja Danke should be the response when asked how to provide energy... sadly we are lumbered with Chris Huhne as energy minister. If he is the answer what was the question?
TTFN.

Well... there is one beer I will never buy again and it isn't often I will pour a beer down the sink unless it has gone off. It was a Tesco "American Double IPA", a 9.2 % abv 33 cl bottle brewed by Brewdog. I gave it my best shot but after several sips and twenty minutes it went down the sink. I continue to enjoy malty beers and over the past several years I have acquired a taste for hoppier beers. However this particular beer was a step too far. Far too hoppy and it tasted like a medicinal Special Brew which was very unpleasant. The other two beers at a lower strength went down very well as I switched my brain off, the telly on and enjoyed NCIS for a couple of hours before catching up on the AV results and the debate involving various pundits.

With time to spare and the weather of the moisty type I have been trawling various blogs and thanks to Old Holborn I read the following. I can thoroughly recommend it...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0507/1224296372123.html

Hooray! It's the weekend and time for play. Plans include some beers, walking and dodging the thunderstorms predicted for the weekend. But I care not a jot because I have the weekend off and I can forget about work until Monday morning.
Yesterday I cast my vote in the local council election plus an extra vote in an unnecessary referendum to change the current voting system. I voted no because although by no means perfect, first past the post works. Whoever one votes for the bastards always get elected and ignore the electorate until the next bunfight. As predicted the orange order got a kicking, the blue lot picked up some extras and the red crowd picked up a lot. Scotland may have moved slightly nearer to floating off towards Iceland independence and gave the Red 'uns a kicking. All in all, for the general hoi polloi not much happened except for more jokes about Binned Laden. The results for AV are looking good for the No camp although the govt. still won't allow us a referendum regarding the EU. Much as I like Europe and Europeans I would prefer the UK to have trade and cooperation links only and not be governed by Europe.
I must away as my homemade chicken jal frezi won't cook itself and then as promised a most welcome cool beer awaits.
TTFN.