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>From the cradle we take general companionship for granted, as part of life, nothing special, in fact we don’t even think about it at all. There are circumstances in which association, and indeed friendship, has a very special significance. These are generally if one is taken out of one’s own environment and transferred to something totally different. For children sent to boarding school, men joining the forces, and especially those conscripted, they need more than just association, they unconsciously build a surrogate family. The degree to which a person responds in this way probably has a lot to do with their early childhood, their family relationships, or whether they have the disposition which is naturally self-supportive.

There are different types of friendships, many which commence in childhood and are carried forward into later in life, with the relationship very close to that of family. Different countries will have different progressions depending on how the populace works. For example in Britain, before the 50s, the majority of towns and cities were comprised of small villages, as I’ve said before, in which the families making up the villages, over decades, are born, schooled, married and possibly died within the same streets. But the 50s was a great turning point in so many aspects of our lives, in our relationships and in the structure of our cities. The outlook had widened to such an extent both from peoples aspirations, and the advent of television; where going abroad was now taken more casually than here-to-fore. Inevitably, the more venturesome sought work abroad, thus leaving gaps in the villages which were later filled by strangers, until we arrived at the way we are today where families are scattered across the globe, and while there can be friendship, there is not the same closeness there had been in the past.

In no way is what I have written here breaking new ground, my reason is that my daughter made a statement recently that I felt was relatively original, and had a lot of sense. We were discussing my situation where I have outlived all my friends, and even they were not as close to me as they might have been had I not left England to live in Ireland upon demobilization. In joining up, I had left all my friends behind, and those that I made subsequently were mainly my wife’s friends. As an individual I was never gregarious, never a joiner of clubs and associations, and was happy enough with those friends I had, and my family. Now, late in life, having outlived most of the few friends I had, and as is the trend, a large part of the family is living abroad, with my wife in a care-home and me being handicapped, I have to seek variety of interest in the computer, and books.

My daughter said, for a long time she had recognized the value of having friends, keeping contact, and in effect taking trouble to maintain these contacts on every level, making new friendships as and when they occurred. The experience of seeing her way of life, her friends reactions, and the general closeness of these friendships, I realized from my own experience that what she and her friends were doing was a form of quid pro quo, which after all, is the basis of good relationships

You might have had the same problem, I couldn’t understand how David Cameron could suddenly get into a brand-new job, almost the top job in the country, and still be able to wander about, in and out of schools and all sorts of places, presumably including his constituency, smiling all the time, and using the word ‘I’ instead of we or us, because I was absolutely certain he had to have other people helping him, and also there were people all over the world probably phoning him. Then I remembered a film I had seen decades ago, in which people were trying to kill Montgomery, but he had a double, a look-alike, and he really did look alike, because they used the same actor. Almost immediately I was satisfied that the country was being well looked after, because the real David Cameron was squirreling away in Downing Street, working away with his cohorts, while this double chap was chatting up people in Northern Ireland, Scotland, you name it.

I have had quite a few jobs in my time, and I have read about, or rather seen, for most of the time before television, pictures in the press of prime ministers from the mid-30s right up until the time Queen Elizabeth was crowned, when television became the tool for communication. I don’t remember that all these other prime ministers were shown in such detail in so many places in such a short time. This business of sound bites seems to be an essential part now of trying to justify your existence. I thought a Prime Minister didn’t have to justify himself by standing in front of a camera, it was what he did and what happened after he had done it was the criterion. With regard to the new jobs that I had, I don’t remember that I had all that much time to muck about, in the first few months, I was too busy getting to know my colleagues, understanding the system, and finding my feet, to even some days, missing lunch. But of course that was in the distant past, and we didn’t have computers, just pens and paper.
I just hope that I have settled your mind, as I have mine.

It is not the little people, the young, the elderly, the handicapped, and the impecunious, it is those in big business, rushing for the latest technology, without any thought of the effects their decisions will have on those I’ve mentioned above. It seems to me as a result of my own experience that nobody wants to talk to you by mail, and they prefer to write to you on the Internet and have you reply on the Internet. Now they are going even further by fencing themselves off from those who want to contact them. Instead, they have now instituted a form of robot which when you contact the company, you’re not talking to a human being, but a machine that asks you a question, and depending on your answer, well pass you on to yet another robot, and so on. If the reply to the question the robot asks is not on the list of the replies that it has been programmed for, after a second attempt, you will be cut off and your telephone call will have been wasted. I personally, spent 20 minutes trying to find out how I could pay my account with the AA visa card company by telephone, as I have done previously and now seem to be barred.

While I have made this point before, it comes under the above heading, because not everyone has access to the Internet, or sometimes the Internet is not as reliable as one is led to believe, as the system must be totally overload now, with the upsurge of people watching films at all times in the day. Government information, health information, local government information is all given on the Internet, and quite often it is difficult to find how one can either ask questions or reply to them by surface mail.

I believe that it is the right of every person to be able to read the contracts that he is entering into, to have the facility to write and ask questions, or have a discussion on the matter. The reason we are now having robots is because they are cheaper than employing someone to answer the telephone, and this is also duplicated where companies employ people overseas to answer the questions on the telephone, which very often has considerable problems for our indigenous population, because the foreigners speak so quickly, and have such accents as to be almost unintelligible. The financial crunch is not only losing jobs, it is making life more complicated in areas that one would never have expected.

I firmly believe that there should be some regulation by the government that demands that the individual should have reasonable access by surface mail where contracts, finance or other important aspects of intercommunication are concerned.

Ever since we were made aware of the duplicity of Tony Blair, I have been preaching that the safest way to go was with a hung parliament, which takes more time to come to decisions, but at least those decisions are not the decision of one person. What is obvious now is that more than one doctrine is on offer, and an amicable solution has to be found and agreed-upon by both parties. The fact that the Lib/Dems are more right of centre than the Labour Party, is also a help when the decisions are the opposite to the policies of one or other of the parties in power. The way that the Cabinet was formed is a clear indication of this.

I also believe that in some cases the Labour Party will have influence, because of their long-term association with the Lib/Dems. This would not have the same strength if the Conservatives wish to have a higher majority to force an election than previously. If and when this comes about, I think the Lords will provide a sticking point to that proposal. There is even strong opposition among the MPs of all denomination, firstly because it is alleged to be unconstitutional, and secondly as a hung parliament has not got a firm mandate. I think the road ahead on this item will be fairly rough.

It will be interesting also, to watch the machinations taking place to decide not only where the economic cuts are going to take place, but to what degree. Time will tell, and I believe that things will be done in a more orderly manner than they were by the Tony Blair government.

Such a silly word for something that I find unnecessary and objectionable. I remember years ago there was a saying running around, ‘if it ain’t bust don’t fix it’. There was also another saying that I think came from Lancashire,’ You get owt for nowt’, meaning there is no such thing as a free lunch. I am old and set in my ways, and when I use a computer I learn at the outset what I’m required to do, and then I find it annoying that time and again I have to re-learn because of updates. I cannot believe that any company like Microsoft will send out a product that hasn’t been thoroughly tested. By the same token I don’t think a company like Microsoft is going to gratuitously send out updates, unless there was some financial gain.

The problem is that I have searched my computer to find a way of barring updates, without success, and XP for dummies seems to think that updates are an essential part of computer operation.

Am I the only person who feels this way, and if not, the reason would seem to be that Microsoft who are making the software are happy with the system as it is, and in consequence have no notion of including the ability to choose to bar updates.

Another moan of mine is that I get death messages, couched in legal terms that I find stultifying, with boxes to tick, and I am at a loss to know what the long-term effect will be if I tick the wrong box, so I tend to tick nothing, and that is probably why I’m in the muddle I am today.

I have, of course, solved the problem, I have a professional computer unattached to the Broad band, loaded with quality programmes, where I do most of my work. But, naturally there is a snag, the software sellers, not providers, make one go on line to register, so one is therefore unable to purchase up-to-date programmes, or one would be deluged with updates

I am talking about compensation for those people, caught up in the problem created by the dust storm created by the Iceland volcano. Firstly, the people affected are mainly in Northern Europe. Secondly, if the experts are not able to predict accurately how the cloud will perform, how can the passengers, and the aircraft organizations make valid decisions. We are not talking about minor decisions, where the aircraft are concerned, we are talking in millions, and with the passengers, anything from £500, up to £2000, where the journey can involve three separate flights each way. In this latter circumstance, the chances of making one connection, let alone three, is almost impossible, with the result that the passenger will have missed at least one flight, with all the expenses that involves.

In the case of my own family, three grandsons with their wives and children, were all affected, one in New York. A Scot in London, and one whose home is in Cyprus, holidaying at the family home in Ireland, incurring losses ranging from in excess of £500, to over £2,000. I have not taken the time to carry out any research, because the information that is flying about, varies with everyone you speak to.

I believe that the least the EU, if not a world organization should at this moment be hammering out is a compensation document to refund all those who have legitimately been affected by this crisis. This must include the flight carriers, as in this financial climate, many have cut their fares to the bone. As air travel is as common as using a car, with people travelling the world over, with the result of the dust storm being so unpredictable, a small percentage of the world population is likely to be singled out to have their flight arrangements totally disrupted, causing considerable expense which they may or may not be able to afford, and have not budgeted for. It is noticeable when there is a disaster of high proportion, governments across the world send aid to the region. Is this situation so different? I believe our politicians and those of the other countries in Northern Europe should be appealing to the big organizations to set some simple form of compensation, which is practically immediate, and fair

There must be laws either here or in the EU that prevent Microsoft from its insidious and invasive practice of hacking into private computers to determine whether the software is kosher, or has been illegally obtained. Clearly if they are doing it right across the board, they are using some form of robot, because that’s what it must be, to cover the whole country. This robot will have been programmed to look for certain aspects, and when finding some, or one, to shut the computer down, arbitrarily. There seems to be no way in which the circumstances can be discussed, or that the robot has made an error, because Microsoft only retains the information concerning purchasers of its software for a limited time. I for example, had installed in a brand new computer Microsoft Works, that I had purchased at least 20 years ago, and registered, but because Microsoft did not retain the records and therefore did not recognize the software, and its code number, as I said, arbitrarily, shut my computer down, partly because of the above and also because I would not sign in to a request for information because that included having to deal with updates again.

Another computer which I purchased about two years ago was also shut down because I have had to have a specialist take out software which had gone walkabout and inhibited me from shutting the computer down, even by allowing the battery to run out. So, I was sitting with two computers that were relatively new in one case brand new, and could not get onto the Internet, as it appears that that is the only way people communicate today, There seems to be an assumption that everyone has a computer, and even worse, that they are computer literate. When one has obtained software, either through purchase or as part of a package when purchasing a computer, there should be no time limit on when one can install this, it doesn’t have a ‘use by’ date.

As some of my readers will know, I have been under serious pressure for some months, and this was the last straw. For two days I lost considerable sleep, and it was only when I resurrected an old computer and put it into service, I felt I was in the land of the living once more. This should not have happened to anybody, and I propose to take it up with my MP, but as somebody who is 87, has purchased more than seven computers with Microsoft on them, for myself and members of the family, I feel severely badly done by.

Be warned

As it refers to Northern Ireland, it may put the many people off reading it. Before the election I took an analysis on the way in which any of the candidates were presenting themselves on the leaflets that they put through the doors. I also found it interesting that there was very little personal approach. As many who have read this blog will know, I have long been of the opinion that the old-time politicians, brought up in an atmosphere of politics, and thoroughly versed in them, have been replaced by people with little experience other than that of a university training.

There were seven candidates, but only one had had experience of serving in Westminster, and very few of the others had had any experience in local government. I was always under the impression that people who were proposing to have a career in politics, mostly started in local government. One contestant’s brochure contained nothing but vitriolic sniping at the other candidates, raising matters out of context and in one case, five years old. The public, I believe, are more astute than to be swayed by such a barrage of random topics, while at the same time giving no impression of having any experience, or any warrantable proposals for when in office. Four issued two leaflets per house, some of which were backed by influential politicians, but only one had a CV that would sway one to give them some consideration. In one instance, one candidate had a name that at first sight, was similar to a well-known local politician, and I am prepared to bet that in the polling booth there was more than one X given on the wrong assumption.

On the whole, I came away feeling worried that if this was the sort of choice open to one, it was unsurprising that we had got into the mess we are today. In any large concern, while there are competent people at the top, it is the quality of the people at the bottom ranks who make the greatest difference to the outcome of any project. When you consider the amount of money the government’s handling, the incredible decisions that are demanded of them, some of which is life-and-death, having naive, half educated, inexperienced people on a very steep learning curve, is a prescription for disaster.

The incumbent, who had been in the job for nine years, had a massive majority which was unsurprising, because of the respect in which they are held, and the level of work that they do. There was one other aspect to this election. A party that once ruled for years on end, had decided to link themselves with the Tories. The public voted with its feet, and it was obvious that the decision had been ill thought out. In Northern Ireland, with our strange tribal atmosphere, when a large part of one particular political approach is reduced due to a split vote, those who adhered to the philosophies of that party suddenly become apathetic as a result of frustration.

I don’t know about your area, but here, in North Down, we have been issued with a little green box, roughly 10 inches, by 10 inches, by 10 inches, in which to put the scrapings of the plates after a meal, or the waste from food preparation, such items as bones, fish, and the sort of scraps that we used to put in the bin under the sink. One is expected to deposit the contents of the box at regular intervals into the green garden waste bin. Who ever thought this idea up has not given it the amount of attention required for something which was going to have to be used by people under varying circumstances, and in different places. I am finding that I am not the only one who objects to having received this piece of equipment for a number of reasons. For a start, the item itself is hideous, of a colour that would never meld in any normal kitchen, is difficult to find a position which makes its use simple and easy. They haven’t taken into account the relative differences between a house of a single elderly bachelor or widower, with that of an average household, or indeed, a large family.

There is one vital fact that they have ignored, the green garden bin is often filled to the top on the day that it is empted, especially in the Spring, with the result that the waste will be on the top, and will mount during the 2 or 3 weeks before it is next empted, with the smell and health hazard that will be inevitable. Just for one moment, imagine that you are emptying a minuscule amount of waste at a time, the rate of build-up will be negligible, while the number of trips to the little green box, wherever it is placed, plus the trips to the green bin per day will vary according to the family, but in any case I believe that the saving in time by not using the green box, more than out-ways the level of methane that these small scraps will generate

Finally, the expense of providing these boxes in the current financial climate seems to me to be ill advised. Another case of Globwarm fanaticism overcoming common sense.

I sat listening to the three speakers who were lecturing us in the so-called debate, which at times was more like listening to arguments in a bar. I would have liked to have heard one of the speakers use the word ‘We’, at least once, but no one did. We are, after all, voting for a party, not a person. Anyone who has worked in a large organization would understand that decisions have to be made all the way down the line, or nothing would be done, and the major decisions are taken in committee. From time to time one does find a genius who can carry large projects forward almost unaided, but I don’t think that this is the case now.

I found Gordon Brown obsequious, rather like a butler who had dropped the entrée. Clegg obviously knew that his only chance of rising in status was to be involved in a hung parliament. Cameron seems to have drawn his horns in a little, and rather than going into too much detail, was bent on undermining the other two. The electorate understands that going into a new parliament, is a little like moving house, and it’s difficult to budget until you’ve lived in it for a while. I found the proposals of how the future economy was going to be handled, so much pie-in-the-sky. There is no way that they will be able to sort things out for the first six months, and by that time things will have changed radically, because, geographically we are an island. In every other way we are just part of the world economy, and the effects the changes in the world structure is having on that economy.

We used to vote on tribal lines, but the days of cities being a collection of small villages, where whole families lived their whole lives, generation on generation, with politicians fed politics with their mother’s milk have all gone. Now our families are scattered across the Globe, and our politicians are mainly graduates in Political Science, rather than a mixture of trade union officials, landed gentry and people from industry. Am I wrong in thinking there is not enough experience and knowledge of the needs, preferences, worries and objections of the man in the street, in Parliament? The dichotomy of the lack of public transport increasing both road traffic and Co2 emission, is a case in point, one could list many