Brown lawns

We have just returned from a week on the Isle of Wight. Many parts of the lawns at our bungalow look dry through a lack of rain. There was a thunderstorm here a few nights ago, but I suspect little rain fell.
 
The lawns usually bounce back in the autumn, but this year everything is about 4 weeks late flowering and the lawns have actually remained green for longer. I think summer is finally catching up with the lawns though and I expect they will remain dry for several weeks now unless we have lots of rain or I water them furiously. If lawns are watered they need a lot of water that goes through to the roots. In many ways the grass is better left.  In order for them to look decent and keep the weeds down, it is tempting to cut the grass too short.

MPs salary - too little?

The Daily Mirror newspaper reports that a UK MP is "having to count the pennies" on a salary of £90k a year. Poor man. Does he not understand how REAL people live? For most MPs their salary is to be £74k a year with lots of perks on top.

Home again

After a week away on the Isle of Wight with our son and family we have now returned home. Sadly the weather and the holiday home were both a bit of a let-down (it was wet most days) but we had a great time nonetheless. Funny how your own bed seems special. The little grandchildren didn't seem to notice the weather: they had plenty of fun.

A hard life - just how do they manage?

So UK MPs will now get a basic salary of £74k following a 10% pay rise. If I understand right they also get a host of allowances and index linked pensions. What a hard life.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33552499 

UK weather

Is it any wonder people in the UK enjoy talking about the weather? For several days our son and family have been on holiday on the Isle of Wight. The weather dad been appalling with lots of rain. There is little prospect of it changing any time soon.

Budget reaction

Although for those in work with 2 or fewer children the budget is probably neutral, I think it is fair to say reactions have been mixed. Overall, I think it was quite reasonable, although it would have been better to have gone after the very high earners too.

The UK budget and FTSE 100 - up 0.91%

The UK budget seems to have been generally liked even though it is quite hard if you were heavily dependent on benefits. The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.91% on the day. I think it will take several days before people properly understand the full implications of the budget. There are quite a few hidden tax rises as well as some tax changes which reduce income tax for some.