National debt

Like many in the UK, I get very confused about national debt levels. The Conservatives say debt is falling yet we are now borrowing more than ever. Who is right?  That we as a nation are living beyond our means is an indisputable fact. Personal debt levels in the UK are still very high but less I believe than they once were. It looks like spend under Labour would have been as high or even higher than the Conservatives with their cuts and austerity.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/UKExpenditure.svg/596px-UKExpenditure.svg.png

I'd like someone to explain the UK National Debt  to me, preferably without the politics! Are things getting better or worse? 

Sorry about the text colours in this Wikipeadia graph text. Debt interest alone costs us £30billion a year! Staggering.

See also http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/11/the-tories-have-piled-on-more-debt-than-labour/

Anglesey Abbey

This afternoon, we had a stroll around the grounds of our nearby National Trust property, Anglesey Abbey.

We sat on a bench under a Manna Ash and just enjoyed the warm summer day. It was a timeless moment.

Visit from Fuzzy

Richard Fusniak called on us today, on the way to feed his son's pigs. We owe Richard a debt of gratitude as it was his good sense that got my wife to take me to Addenbrookes Hospital with my brain bleed in a timely way last September. Any delay and I might be dead now. Here is Richard chatting to me lunchtime today.

Richard Fusniak today

Morning walk

Most mornings at breakfast time and most evenings I take a short (400m) walk "around the block" to help with my walking and balance.

This is me "over the garden wall" this morning in lovely sunshine. Windmill in the background. A couple of boiled eggs awaited me.

I have a couple of Weetabix and banana before the walk. At the moment, I am trying to gain weight. I lost a lot of weight when in hospital for my brain bleed and am trying to put some (not all) back on.

Sepura shares still good

Again today, shares in my old company are still doing well nudging the 150p mark. At present they are still 149.75p. See http://investors.sepura.com/prices-delayed .

They are doing well currently, which must be good news for all my old friends who still work there. These days I feel very out of touch with what is going on there. I get no news, just what I read on the net. I see they have launched DMR products and now have base station and systems capabilities again. TETRA terminals was a predictable market, whereas the infrastructure side was a much more convoluted business model. DMR radios will be very tricky as price competition will be cut-throat.

UPDATE 1315z:  Sepura shares currently 150.25p.  Very good.

UPDATE 1900z:  Sepura shares ended the day at 150.00p. Very decent.

Civil War

The situation in Iraq looks like civil war, as is the case in Syria.

Civil War must be dreadful: you often have no clear idea who your enemy is. Unlike wars with a "real"  external enemy (bad enough) civil wars must be even worse with nowhere to be safe from "the enemy" within.  I feel so sorry for the people of any nation being torn apart by civil war.

One just has to imagine it taking place in the UK to realise how awful it must be.

London trip

Today we went on a day return to London on the train to be with out son Tim, his wife Jo and our grandchildren Lucien and Amandine. Tim met us and took us back to Kings Cross. Booking in advance and with Senior Rail Cards if works out cheaper than driving. Parking at the station is cheap on Sunday.  At present I cannot drive because of my brain bleed last year.  It was good to spend time in their home again after so long.

With the grandchildren in London today

Totally by accident, we sat next to Nick Swales on the train back from London. I'd not seen Nick since work days over 6 years ago. Many years ago we worked together in several Cambridge companies. Nick is one of the brightest minds I've had the privilege to know. Nick works in London with another old colleague Martin Cooley.