BP oil disaster

Our insatiable appetite for oil is the real cause of this environmental disaster. If you look around Glasgow and see all the four by fours, drinking petrol; you can appreciate why BP is taking so many risks in its search for oil.
If there has been one benefit from the volcanic ash cloud, it has been the reduction in flying it has caused. They say every cloud has a silver lining

Your other national drink

This morning I attended the annual general meeting of a well known drinks manufacturer. Profits are up; the dividend has been raised again, so all in all they have had a good year. AGMs are often fairly routine affairs, unless you happen to be a bank, where they have recently been quite lively. I usually like to have a question up my sleeve, just to keep the directors on their toes. This time I asked about the directors’ long term incentive plan. Most public companies are very generous to their board, often paying them eye watering salaries and bonuses. In small act of rebellion, I also voted against the director’s remuneration policy.
At the end of the meeting the chairman asked me if I was happy with the response I got, which I assured him I was. I was also offered a sample of one or two of the products, an offer I took up, because my mum loves their mango juice. It comes all the way from India.

A prickly subject

During the great depression, my grandpa began growing his own vegetables. By the time I came along he had a veritable market garden; the family was self-sufficient in vegetables.
As we are in lean times again, I thought I would follow in his footsteps. So I have planted cabbage, various herbs and have wild strawberries growing.
A book I was reading mentioned cooking with nettles; something I have plenty of in my garden / jungle. I cut them and washed them, then boiled them for five minutes. After this I added salt, pepper, a bay leaf and garlic. Then I added some kale and fried them for five minutes. I had them for dinner last night as an accompaniment to a curry. No, they don’t sting when eaten and I am still alive and well twenty hours later.

The demon drink

I am rather alarmed at the strong hold the alcohol industry has on our politicians; it is the one subject I have really drawn a blank on with them. I wrote to my Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat councillors, asking for support for my objection to a late night license near my home. I only got one reply, from the SNP man, and he wasn’t prepared to support it.
I wonder why they are so relaxed about granting more and more licenses. Alcohol abuse causes more misery, illness (mental and physical) and violence than any drug. The police, politicians and medical profession foam at the mouth about the dangers of drinking; yet when it comes to action, they all slink into a corner with their tails between their legs.

Prudential Action Group

The concept of being prudent has taking a hammering recently. Our previous prime minister famously talked about his prudent budgets; and we know where that ended up. I feel that Prudential could be biting off more than it can chew in pursuing such a large takeover. The world economy is lurching from crunch to crisis, is this the right time? Consider what happened to Lloyds Bank when it took over HBOS.
America has been the graveyard of many fine British companies. Our leaders mistakenly believe that because we speak a similar language we have a shared culture. But their ethics are not ours, and even our accounting procedures are different. As it stands, Prudential is weathering the storm well: profits are rising; it is geographically well diversified. Such a huge transaction could pose considerable risks. Thousands of people rely on the company for their pensions, and want a conservatively run business.


http://www.prudentialactiongroup.com/ Tel 0207 788 7589

Brave New World

What is the meaning of life? In Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy the answer was worked out to be 42. Well they were wrong; it is 43. Think about it. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are both 43. The new Leader of Glasgow City Council is also, you guessed it, 43. I hope they are mature enough to take the decisions that go with the jobs. Personally, I think you should have a few grey hairs before rising to the top. In business I have seen so many young testosterone filled men wrecking large organisations.

Nick Clegg is promising to shake up the country, on par with the Great Reform Act.
This is heady stuff; I hope they don’t forget that they need to listen to the people. Look at the example of one of their predecessors; hundreds of thousands of us marched against the war in Iraq, but he didn't listen. These days, leaders surround themselves with fresh faced advisors and seem only to take their advice.

I would also like to listen to my readers, so if you have any comments, please let me know. It would help stimulate my grey matter, and I don't mean my hair.

People can be thoughtless

Last night I was wrenched from my slumber at around four a.m. by what sounded like a riot in our hall. It was only the neighbours coming back from clubbing. It’s a common occurrence; so much so, that I considered renting another flat. Unfortunately for me, someone else has offered a more money.

It has been a week of being thwarted. I was at a party, and got talking to an attractive lady; then some pushy guy barged in and took my place.It's not the first time I have lost out to a predatory male. It seems that ladies like assertive men.