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Thursday 18 September 2014

Archbishop admits doubts about God.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29255318 .

The Archbishop of Canterbury explains that it was acceptable to occasionally have doubt, and still be a Christian. He added: "The extraordinary thing about being a Christian is that God is faithful even when we're not. When we get into the wrong place he comes alongside us and says, 'Right let's go from here.'"

His remarks were made at an event in Bristol Cathedral in which the Archbishop spoke about why he believes in God and how his faith in Jesus has transformed his life.


Scotland decides

By tomorrow morning we should know if Scotland is to leave the UK or stay as part of the union it has belonged to for 307 years.

Although I hope people there stay in the UK, it is their decision. If they leave, I suspect it will prove hard.  Most results won't be known before breakfast, so I won't be glued to the TV overnight, fun though it might be. Breakfast TV will have all the results probably.

We have some affinity with Scotland. One of my sons was at university in Glasgow for 4 years and then worked there for a year.

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Ebola and economies

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29239604 .  The World Bank believes the current Ebola outbreak could ruin many West African economies. The Ebola outbreak is killing thousands. President Obama has warned of the dangers to the world from it and has offered more troops.

There are some vaccines being tested, but it is early days for these. The real danger is if it spreads to more populated nations when further spreads could be even harder to contain. Imagine Ebola on a tube train.

Scottish Referendum

The vote tomorrow in which Scotland will decide if it is to leave the UK will be a close call according to the experts. Whatever the outcome, we have to respect the views expressed.

At the moment it looks like the "yes" vote i.e. Scotland votes to leave the UK, may just win. If it does, I suspect that Scotland will find it gets quite hard quite soon.

Personally, I agree with Mr Salmond on Trident: it is a total waste of money and Scotland will be better without it. Mind you, the vote is very important for far more reasons than this. I urge all Scots to think carefully.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29235191 .

 Apparently the .scot domain name will soon be available.  See http://www.lcn.com/dotscot?utm_campaign=dotscotlaunchfb&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=CAsidebar .

UPDATE 1625z:  There are a lot of people in the "don't know" or "undecided" category. A lot will depend on these votes. It could go either way. The latest opinion polls show a narrow lead to the "no" campaign, but there are lots of undecided voters who could swing the result either way.

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Spare £1.95M anyone? Landmark, Salcombe.


See http://search.savills.com/content/assets/properties/gbetrsexs140087/EXS140087_02_gal.JPG .

This fine "Arts and Crafts" house, which was once owned by author Paul Gallico, is on the market for £1.95million.  I fear the developers will simply sell to the highest bidder and the site will be extensively redeveloped, mainly for greed and a quick profit. The sellers own sales literature even says, "Possible redevelopment opportunity". It is pretty clear what they want.  This is a very fine house, which should be kept as it is. It has real history with it once being Paul Gallico's home where many of his books were written. It is a rare gem.

See http://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbetrsexs140087 . This building should be listed and developers prevented from making "a fast buck" by selling such houses! Salcombe is rapidly being ruined by the greed of those with no real interest in the town.   Already locals are being priced out. In 20 years Salcombe will be dead - just a playground for those with "loads of money" and very little sense. My dad used to call them the "Hooray Henry" brigade. You know the type. Salcombe is beng bought up by those earning silly money such as Premier League footballers and bankers and the like who earn millions in bonuses for basically gambling with OUR money. Sorry, but I get very angry when I see good, hard working locals unable to afford to live in their own town.

I have no idea whether listing a building that is on the market is possible or not. To try, write to customers@english-heritage.org.uk .

Monday 15 September 2014

Spelling mistakes

It is taking me a long time to discover some of the subtleties of my stroke last year. Some after-effects are very obvious, but others more difficult to discern.

I am finding that I am quite slow to notice spelling errors in my blog posts. Usually these get corrected but on my other blog I had a spelling mistake in a title for most of the day before I spotted it! I think my intellect is fine, but I do seem to have more problems with spelling and short-term memory.

Gaza in ruins

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29086193 . Exactly what are Israeli aims in Gaza? The wholesale destruction of the state? Looking at these images, one could be forgiven for thinking this.

It is high time the Middle East states around Israel accept Israel's right to exist in peace with its neighbours, and high time Israel forged real peace deals with its Arab neighbours. Live and let live, in a just peace, fair to all.