Everlasting Love

" I live in a council flat. I am a widow. My husband died 3 years ago. We looked after each other for 46 years. We went everywhere together. I still miss him very much."

I came across this statement today. It stopped me in my tracks. No, I did not read this in a lifestyle magazine or heard it on a live chat show. It seemed so out of place, and yet so much in context. It was a response to a question about her home living condition. I usually just gloss over the nursy bits of the preoperative assessment form and zoom in on the medical section. I could sense that this was a very special lady. She has so many problems and yet was upbeat about everything. "Till death do us part" was a vow that she obvious clung onto to well beyond the grave. I was touched......I was impressed........and I was humbled. It was just so profound. It just resonates with something deep within myself..........perhaps a part of myself that I have yet to comprehend. It caused me to reflect. Am I also capable of such depth of love?? Amazing love!

Goodbye Tony

So we have it at last. Uncle Tony will be leaving on June 27. He will use his last 7 weeks touring the world, no doubt saying goodbye...and more importantly saying hello to new money from lectures circuits. The Americans love him, and I am sure they will pay him handsomely to hear him speak. Well, good luck to him.

I voted for Labour in 1997. Personally, I think he has done quite well for the economy for Britain. However, like many, I was against him invading Iraq. I think this will taint his legacy, which he so obviously wants to protect. I also think that he has done some harm to the public sector by trying to control it too much. For example, even though, lots of money has been poured into the NHS, morale is quite low in the workforce, and he has turned doctors and nurses into clock-watchers. Goodwill has been destroyed. The recent MTAS process has also been a shamble. For the first time in NHS history, doctors will be unemployed by the thousands. Ironic isn't it, when only about 5 years ago, we were so short of doctors that we had to send team of NHS managers abroad to recruit. Now we are exporting doctors overseas; Australia being the popular choice.

So, the coronation of Uncle Gordon is in the process. I have admired his intellect over the last 10 years. I do not think that he will make a lot of difference compared to the Blair years. This is because I think he was behind a lot of Blair's policies anyway. Certainly, he has done a good job as Chancellor of the Exchequer, although some would disagree with that. Nevertheless, because of his intellect and also I admit it, I felt sorry for him for having to wait for so long, I think he should have an opportunity to exercise his intellect openly, rather than just behind the scene.

So would I vote Labour again in the next election? Yes, I would like to do so for the above reason. However, I would be voting Conservative as there is no hope that Labour would win in my constituency. But, I am fairly sure that it would be a Labour 4th. term, as the Tories have not present the case to be the new party of government.

Non PC.....Gulp!!

Sir Patrick: Blame women for bad TV

Press Assoc. - Tuesday, May 8 10:03 am

Eccentric astronomer Sir Patrick Moore has claimed that TV is worse today because the BBC is run by women.

(Advertisement)

The presenter of The Sky At Night also belittled female newsreaders in an interview with Radio Times, describing them as "these jokey women".

Sir Patrick, 84, criticised the BBC for showing interesting programmes very late at night, especially the 650th edition of The Sky At Night, which was put out at 2am.

"The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the golden days," he said.

"I would like to see two independent wavelengths - one controlled by women, and one for us, controlled by men. I think it may eventually happen."

The TV veteran also said he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than appear on Celebrity Big Brother and he compared the soap opera EastEnders to diarrhoea.

When asked about his television "guilty pleasure", he said: "I used to watch Doctor Who and Star Trek, but they went PC - making women commanders, that kind of thing. I stopped watching."

Sir Patrick has presented The Sky At Night since April 1957, making him the longest-serving television presenter.

The xylophone-playing cricket enthusiast was knighted and appointed as a member of the Royal Society in 2001.

His interview in the next edition of Radio Times is part of the magazine's Great British TV survey, which asks TV celebrities for their thoughts on the current state of British television.

Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

I can't believe that folks are still making such a Non-PC statement in the 21st Century! But, ladies perhaps you should forgive him...............look, he's an octogenarian. Ha! Ha! Did someone not tell him that we survived the millenium bug, and fast approaching the end of the first decade of this century? Gosh! Did I just make a non-PC statement myself and be opened to the accusation of ageism? Tut-tut!

On the serious side however, I can see his point of view. Not the one about the women producing poor quality programmes, of course. I think he meant that the BBC is producing more sensationalism programmes, rather than the traditional high quality documentary style programmes which were more educational. I think this is because BBC has to compete with commercial TV channels like ITV and Channel 4. Although they get all our license fees, BBC also has to pursue additional funding from advertising. In the past, they were the only broadcasting company with no competition, and therefore has a freer hand in producing what they like.

Having said all that, I still think that BBC does still produce some good programmes. My all time favourite would have to be "The Blue Planet". The shots are just amazing!. My other daily or weekly favourites would still be Question Times and This Week with Andrew Neil, Dianne Abbott and Michael Portillo. On most days, I would tune in to BBC News, although I think Channel 4 News with Jon Snow is giving them a run for their money. However, when I am back from work and tired out each day, I may not always want to watch the cerebral programmes. I would gravitate to "less intelligent" programmes like The Apprentice tonight. Yeah...I thought Sir Alan fired the wrong guy tonight. Katie should have gone. I think her integrity is in suspect. My two favourites to win this series would be Tre and Christina.

To be honest, I thought that most directors and producers of BBC programmes are men. But what do I know? The only names associated with BBC that comes to my mind are Greg Dyke and Andrew Gilligan; who were both either sacked, or made to leave.

Psssst! Can someone tell Sir Patrick that Celebrity Big Brother is produced by Channel 4 and not BBC? And oh! It can actually be quite a lot of fun.....ask George Galloway!

A British Flaw

Police investigating the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann are considering the possibility of a British abductor.

(Advertisement)

Madeleine, from Leicester, disappeared from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on Thursday night.

Her parents Gerry and Kate were eating dinner a short distance away and returned on a regular check to discover their daughter was gone.

Police have found evidence that she was abducted but have not disclosed details. On Monday newspaper Correio da Manha reported that police suspect a British captor.

Broadcaster RTP also interviewed Barra da Costa, a former inspector in the Judicial Police, PJ, who said that sources within the force believed that Madeleine's abductor could be from the UK.

He said that contacts in the investigation team had told him that a working description detectives are using suggested someone of English appearance.

He said there was also a feeling that the apparently meticulous planning, without leaving evidence, could also point to a British rather than Portuguese intruder.

Police have not commented but earlier, when asked specifically whether the suspect was British or Portuguese, the PJ refused to specify.

Experts have put together an artist's impression of a "suspect" but have not publicly revealed details. It is believed however, that the image shows only the rear view of a man - the back of his head and hair more than the features.

It was also reported on Monday that police are investigating a claim that a man was seen dragging a young girl along towards a marina in the nearby town of Lagos.

"Her parents were eating dinner a short distance away"; according to other earlier reports, the restaurant was 180 metres away. Is this a short distance? Don't get me wrong . I fully sympathise with the family and feel for their loss. However, my feelings are even more acute for the little girl. I do not condone with the act of kidnapping of anyone.

One has to asked," If this is a Spanish family, would it have happened?" You see, a Spanish family would have their child out to dinner with them. They would have no problems that their kids are out late with them. They would not have left their kids at home. However, a British couple wants to spend time on their own. They want "quality" time away from their kids. No matter that they had checked every half an hour interval. The fact of the matter is that their children were not supervised at all times. Disaster only takes a second to happen usually, and it did on this occassion. What I cannot understand is that both parents are doctors; one is a consultant cardiologist, and the other is a general practitioner. Surely, they could afford a childminder.

Living in UK, one of the things I dislike is that kids are not always welcomed in the restaurants; especially in the evening. It may be difficult to find a family -friendly restaurant at times. Why is that? Is it not possible to enjoy ourselves in our children's company? The Casual Philosopher is confused......

Brotherly Love

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Villagers at a wedding in eastern India decided the groom had arrived too drunk to get married, and so the bride married the groom's more sober brother instead, police said on Monday.

(Advertisement)

"The groom was drunk and had reportedly misbehaved with guests when the bride's family and local villagers chased him away," Madho Singh, a senior police officer told Reuters after Sunday's marriage in a village in Bihar state's Arwal district.

The younger brother readily agreed to take the groom's place beside the teenage bride at her family's invitation, witnesses said.

"The groom apologised for his behaviour, but has been crying that word will spread and he will never get a bride again," Singh said by phone.

Above is yet another example of a man taking his brother's place. It is interesting to know that in different cultures and times in history, a man takes his brother's place in marriage. I am of course referring to the first account of this type of "sacrifice", which is mentioned in the Holy Bible in Genesis 38: 8-9. This passage talks about Onan, who had to marry his brother's wife after the brother died. This is so that she can have a son, to be raised as his brother's heir. He did not want to give his brother an heir; so he spilled his seed on the ground, while making love to the woman ; and thereby giving root to the term "Onanism".

Thankfully this practice of marrying a brother's wife (should anything happen to him) is no longer prevalent in society today. However, is the principle of a brother taking over the responsibility of his brother's family still practiced widely in society today? And did it all begin with Onan? The Casual Philosopher ponders......

Equality for Women

Is equality possible without discrimination? Are they in contradiction, or can one exist without the other? Let's look at some example.

When New Labour had their landslide victory in 1997, they had a lot of women MPs, so called Blair's Babes. This was because there was a women's shortlist. Positive discrimination! Tony Blair, then decided to appoint quite a few of them to be his cabinet minister, instead of the traditional male dominated club. Positive discrimination! When a plane crash or when a boat or ferry is about to sink....."women and children first".... Positive discrimination! When a door is opened, ladies first. Positive discrimination! The partner in a relationship that gets sterilised.....woman first. Positive.....errr, maybe negative discrimination! It's not over till the fat lady sings. Positive discrimination! Who always have the prerogative of being late? Women...........it starts at the altar. Damn, knew I got it wrong somewhere. Positive discrimination! Who gets the only bathroom first? Women....positive discrimination! Who gets the last seat on a bus? Women...positive discrimination! Who gets to plea the "headache" excuse? Women....positive discrimination!

Perhaps, discrimination is essential to swing back decades of inequality to women, and improve their lot in society............or is it?? The Casual Philosopher muses....

48 hours to live..

Have you ever been in a consultation with a doctor and he tells you that your loved one has only 48 hours to live? Or have you been told by a cancer specialist that you would only have another 6 months of life left in you? How do the doctors know? Do they keep a life-o-meter that they can be almost exact in predicting the duration of life left of a person in their care? Are all these evidence- based or evidence-free medicine? Is it helpful for the patients and relatives when these proclamations are made? Perhaps, it may spur them into making those decisions that they have always procrastinate on, e.g. in making a will, or making amends with their estranged ones? Or worse, could these be the beginning of a self-fulfilling prophecy? And heaven forbids....could the doctors be suffering from their schizophrenic god-like delusions again..????!!

The Casual Philosopher ponders on...