Trump Forgives Miss America

Christmas is a season of goodwill , love, regeneration and forgiveness. So how fitting for Donald Trump to give the reigning Miss America Tara Conner a second chance this week.Trump,who owns the pageant had to take action when all efforts to curb Tara`s indulgences were to no avail. According to reports her antics were fast becoming legendary: hard drinking, cocaine abuse and dalliances with various suitors. Umm some lucky suitors indeed.

Miss Conner , you see forgot that with fame comes responsibility. Miss America is and should be a role model to young girls and such behaviour as displayed by Tara Conner runs counter to this ideal.Now that Trump has decided not to strip her of the title and arranged for her to attend rehab lets hope the queen learns her lessons and behave accordingly.

New Rules For Taking Liquids Through Uk Airports

What exactly travellers can and can not take through airport security has been a confusing matter since restrictions were imposed.The Department for Transport has published a guide to the new regulations and has other advice to help intending travellers.

The Department put up full-page advertisements in the newspapers last week.Supposedly to intimate people with the state of affairs regarding the issue.Good on them.

Leos Are The Best Drivers

A recently conducted study of over 100,000 car drivers in North America has revealed that those born under the zodiac sign of Leo top the list when it comes to avoiding car crashes.The study throws up more intriguing questions though,for example,does it mean er er less women are Leos?

Every occasion i have been involved in a driving incident the other driver has been a woman. From the minor sprang to the total write off. Take this one couple of years ago.It was in the early hours of the day on a friday,stopped and waiting at the traffic lights,all a sudden bang,i was shunted from there to eternity by the car behind. Now that would have been understandable if i made an abrupt stop and the driver didn't have enough time to stop so unavoidably bumped into me. No,we were parked waiting for the lights to change. Thought i was dreaming. Jumped out of the car , ran to the rear,had a glance and pointed to the kerb....pull up.Ran back in the car and the lights changed,pulled up and she did same.Got out to have a good look but all was fine. Save for a slight paint scratch which some oiling fixed. She apologised profusely. Was she sleeping?

Then there was the School headmistress who had to go to her son`s house,pick her daughter-in-law,dash to the grandson`s school and drop mummy and son back home then get back to her school in time for some important reason.I was just joining the narrow road she was on with cars parked on either side when we came head to head,i stopped but she was just coming full steam ahead,her reaction was almost non-existent,even when i tried to swerve a little from her she followed me like a laser guided missile.The upshot is that there were no fatalities,daughter-in-law had whiplash and my car had a 2 grand repair bill.According to her that was her second accident in one and a half years.

However i used to know a girl, back in Uni days who could drive while having a face to face conversation with people seating at the back.

Some Glaswegian lady name Morag recently bragged to me she could reverse-park while putting on her mascara.Now beat that for know-how.

London Derby:Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1

Chelsea versus Arsenal was always going to be an exciting affair.Both clubs had a lot riding on that match:Chelsea had the record of winning at Stamford Bridge to protect while Arsene Wenger opined that the outcome of the match would determine if the Gunners could still nurture any realistic hope for the Championship this season. The encounter between the two London teams not only lived up to expectations but a cup final couldn`t have proved any more exciting. Ok i would have been happier if we won,but a point apiece is a fair result considering the brilliant display by both sides.

Seemed a lot of Arsenal supporters decided to invade the Bush Ranger on Goldhawk Road,Shepherds Bush (apparent due to the thundering celebration when Arsenal went ahead).The usually genteel and sedate ambience in there was shattered by a din of noise i thought "Oh my!We have so many traitors in west London here today".
Michael Essien`s riposte makes essential viewing.It should take its rightful place in football how-to manuals worldwide.Even my Arsenal-supporting friends had to acknowledge that goal.

And that 5"0 barmaid in The Bush Ranger!? Ummm she brings the notion of the chesty barmaid into the 21st century.Talk of being well packaged and served.I did not tell you that.OK?

Heathrow Gets Third Runway

Plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport are expected to get the nod from the Government in a matter of days. A new runway at Heathrow ? With all these talk about global warming,green house effect,the ozone layer,saving the environment and what have you? The dust is just settling on the brouhaha occasioned by the addition of a new terminal to the airport. I see the the Green army going into a frenzy on this one. Local stakeholders (Future Heathrow representing those who support the project and NOTRAG ,representing those against it) are already at each other`s throats over the proposal.

Isn`t this sending conflicting signals and messages. On one hand the government is saying it is concerned with the polluting effects of aviation yet it is building more runways. Personally i do not subscribe to that view that the world is in danger of extinction due to climate change. Yes,things may change due to the way we live now or due to any other factors.Some of the chages might be catastrophic but i am sure life will go on somehow. Living beings adapt. Some better than others.

David Cameron: A Year On

David Cameron took over the realm of affairs at the Conservative Party a year this week. His job was cut out for him. He inherited a party left defeated,divided and moribund. The Conservatives failed to capitalize on the general disapproval of Tony Blair resulting, from among other things the Iraqi imbroglio. So Cameron was beset with reviving the party,aggregating and accomomodating the diverse views and personalities in the party and forging a way forward. All gravely important for the party to pose any damaging threat to Labour.

Has Cameron been able to pull these off? The jury is out on this. Time will eventually reveal.However to answer the question using the past 12 months as parameter it is quite right to say he still has a lot to do. Ok the Conservatives are no doubt in a better state they were say after the last general election when it seemed they were going to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Again under Cameron,they made massive gains in this May`s local elections.Gains if repeated nationwide would see them leaving Labour in a cloud of dust.But that was then.

Now,the steam has gone out of the Central Office engine. The speeches are getting blander if not inane,the so called core conservatives(mainly geriatric farts,pseudo bigots and deluded dogmatists who need to get out a bit more) want their party back and the media being the kind of bedfellows they are, are packing their bags and deserting the bride. Honeymoon over!Welcome to reality Dave! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

The decision to out- Blair Blair is ridiculous and banal.Cameron has made a fatal error in thinking that by blurring the lines between himself and Blair {and invariably between the Conservatives and Labour} would be gainful.No. This is off putting and of course un-productive.
There are no well defined,appealling policies being offered to us as alternatives to Labour and Tony Blair. Matter of fact the Conservatives are trailing Labour in the polls.This despite widespread disillusionment with Tony Blair.

So on the whole there is still a lot of work for David Cameron to do to avoid that "big clunking fist" and being "on his feet,carried out of the ring".A word for the wise.

A Pound for 2 Dollars

There is a maxim that when America sneezes the whole world catches a cold. If there is any truth in that statement then it seems we all better get ready for a flu pandenmic. The US dollar is at an alarming low against the pound sterling and this has immensely serious implications for the British economy in particular and the whole world in general.

Why did the dollar lose so much weight against the pound? The basic answer is the state or the direction of the US economy.Its sypmtomatic of an economy in decline at worst or at best at the initial stages of decline.Any stable,bouyant and well-balanced economy should and would withstand any onslaught that could result in such a drastic negative swing.So how does that impact us here.Well,it means for instance that it costs Americans more to buy from our exporters so they look for cheaper exports elsewhere,costs them more to holiday here so they vacation somewhere else and on and on ad infinitum.All with negative resultant effects on commerce and the economy as a whole.

The pertinent question now is what steps Bush and his financial advisers are going to take to rectify the situation.Do they take fiscal measures or wait and see if market forces will set in and bring the dollar to its ertswhile position? The world awaits.Meanwhile you might start stockpiling your dosage of Lemsip.Just in case!