NHS - more money?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30265833 .

Apparently the chancellor has found another £2bn for the National Health Service. To me, this seems like cynical electioneering.  Although I fully support the NHS - health care should NOT depend on the money one has - there is no doubt in my mind that billions could be saved each year if they learnt more from the private sector.

In particular, communication within the NHS and to its customers could be vastly improved. From just my own experiences and those close to me, I can see ways to save literally thousands. The more people I talk with, the more waste I hear about.

Career politicians

There seem to be far fewer UK politicians who are there for genuine altruistic reasons. Maybe it was never so and ALL politicians are/were there for their own gain?

I think not. In the past there seemed to be far more politicians in positions of power because they genuinely thought they could help build a fairer and better world. These days the House of Commons seems filled with toffs who went to public schools, work in share dealing or the big banks, make a career (on the side) of politics because they may be able to modify policies to their personal gain. Sadly, I think this applies to politicians of all parties. It is dangerous to generalise I know. I hope that those to whom we grant power to create and modify our laws do so with care,humility and for good reasons. It would be a very sad day if we totally lost faith in our Parliament.

Concert

http://ccso-online.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CCSO-flyer-150214-large.jpg

Last night we went out with close friends to a concert at the West Road Music School in Cambridge given by the CCSO (City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra) and it was excellent.

See http://ccso-online.org.uk/ .

Their next concert is Feb 14th 2015.

Ickworth

Yesterday, as the weather was mild and sunny, we decided to visit the grounds of Ickworth House, a National Trust property near Bury-St-Edmunds. It was very autumnal there with most trees now without leaves. Come the spring it will look quite different.

Middle East politics

The politics of the Middle East is hard to fathom. Over the years there have been plenty of injustices and many continue even now. I do NOT have the answers but wish that the people of the region could live in peace and mutual respect - many are different e.g. Arabs and Jews, yet surely more is gained by acceptance of each's right to exist than forever trying to annihilate the other?

It saddens me to see a region so troubled.

I wonder what will happen when the world learns to live without oil? Our heavy dependency on a peaceful Middle East will end. I suspect the West will just leave them to their own devices.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30258537 . In Egypt I have no idea about the rights or wrongs of recent events, but I am pleased the judge dismissed charges of murder against Egypt's past president.  All should learn that forgiveness is the most powerful force in the world. It has always been so since the dawn of humanity.

Plebgate multi-millionaire?

According to The Times newspaper, the MP at the centre of the so called Plebgate scandal will be selling some of his property empire to fund his legal bill. Often reporting such matters is wrong but I don't wish to be ruled by people living in a parallel universe.

Falling oil prices

Oil prices continue to fall worldwide for many reasons.  See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30247276. I think North Sea Oil is a minor part of our trade figures these days. Had Scotland become independent, the falling oil revenues might have been very serious.

"Welcome to the new world of oil," said Michael Wittner, Societe Generale's senior oil analyst. "Saudi Arabia and Opec will no longer be the mechanism to balance the market, they have relinquished that role. Instead, the market itself - prices, in other words - will be the mechanism to rebalance the market. We cannot overstate what a dramatic and fundamental change this is for the oil market."

I think this is good news. The Middle East is no longer holding the world to ransom. Also, we are (too) slowly weaning ourselves off oil.