I too am nervous about next Thursday – A-Level results day – as it’ll determine who my babies are! It’s beginning to dawn on me that referring to them as ‘babies’ is probably not the best strategy, so I should use their proper title. Except I don’t really know what it is.

To politics: Howard’s education policy – I quite like it. Clearly issues need resolving, but I don’t see why disruptive pupils should be allowed to hinder the life chances of more willing pupils? I, personally, would like to see the widespread reintroduction of streaming in state schools, with more vocational courses more widely available to those who want them. Howard’s expullsion plan clearly needs to have the extra support of an educational alternative.

Their health policy isn’t quite as good – offer a choice so that people flock to ‘popular’ hospitals, leaving less popular ones almost empty so that government figures can look good by reflecting minimum waiting times as the empty hospitals, and ignoring the overcrowding at popular ones: “If you need a hip replacement, under this government you need only wait ten days, whereas under Labour you had to wait six months”.

To the police, then: I think Jack will find that Labour have closed more local police stations in their seven years than the Conservatives ever did – including the two closest to my house (one of which is now a funeral directors, in the most obscure location). I’m now a good twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes away from my nearest police station. And, incidentally, a good hour away from the nearest A+E that accepts children. It’s not as if I live in the middle of nowhere, just in case you’re wondering.

I also note that Mr Blair wants the children of criminals tracked from an early age to prevent them from following in their parents footsteps. I think this policy is absolutely appalling – it assumes that the children of a criminal will have the same value system as their parents. This may be a statistical likelihood, but children should not be subject to increased stigma and ultimately distress by being treated differently like this. The parent may have been forced into criminal action by extenuating circumstances… whilst this certainly doesn’t justify the action, special treatment of their children is equally unacceptable.

The only thing Labour have got largely right it what they’re traditionally good at – support for low income families. Their policies on this front are largely admirable, certainly moreso than those of the Conservative party.

The Lottery argument is completely absurd. So stupid, in fact, that it doesn’t even deserve discussion. I still stick by my belief that the vast majority of criminals – perhaps all criminals – are not ‘bad people’, and so shouldn’t be treated as such. I’d like to see widespread reform of this country’s penal system, but that’s probably just my liberal ideals slipping through, and it certainly wouldn’t appeal to middle-England.

Anyway, I’m unhappily suffering with ‘flu at the moment. Given that it’s supposed to run for about seven to ten days, and I’ve been feeling half-dead for about a week now, I figured that I might start feeling better by today. No such luck. And I’m off to London tomorrow, so if you happen to be on the same plane as me, look forward to a period of ill health, because I’m not cancelling my trip for the benefit of the other passengers. I’m just not that generous. Hell, if they suffer badly they can have the blood I donated the other week (see, I’m really a nice person).

Until next time, I’m off to sniffle some more and find some LemSip.

Adios.

Originally posted on The LBSC

Hurrah, she deserved it. Almost makes up for Anna losing out in the first series… but not quite.

As for Jack’s “white as my boxers” comment, I’m not sure I understand. I personally have a veritable rainbow of underwear colours – am I to assume that his boxers started white, or just ended up that way? Or was he, in fact, not very white at all?

The mind boggles.

Originally posted on The LBSC

Courtesy of Reuters:

A police sniffer dog died of a suspected overdose while out hunting for drugs, British police said on Monday.

Todd, a 7-year-old Springer spaniel, had been looking for drugs in a field and car in Preston, northern England, when his handler noticed he was looking unwell.

He was taken to a vet and then rushed to an animal intensive care unit at Liverpool University, displaying symptoms of ingesting amphetamines, a Lancashire police spokeswoman said.

He died shortly afterwards.

The death was said to have devastated Todd’s handler, Police Constable Roger Moore, his wife and two young children.

“He (Todd) lived with them and they would all go for walks with him — he was their dog,” Sergeant Peter Crane of Preston’s dog unit told the Daily Mirror.

“He’s going to be very difficult to replace, but police work is dangerous and unfortunately Todd has become a casualty.”

Police said a post mortem on Todd was being carried out.

Oh, the irony.

Originally posted on The LBSC