Coolcat Gets Political

It's been a while since my eve of poll blog in Mays European Elections. As expected Brown's Labour government was given a kicking by those who bothered to vote. I indulged in this kick-fest by giving my vote to the Liberal Democrats. I was disappointed, but not surprised to see the BNP get enough votes to send 2, yes TWO MEP's to Brussels. The brave men and women, who made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat facism in Europe must be spinning in their graves with disgust.

Putting the BNP aside, It pains me to see how far the (New)Labour project had gone off the rails. Since 1992, I've always voted Labour in general elections and I, like others was taken in by the glitz and smiles of Tony Blair. I supported the invasion of Iraq for 2 reasons.

1 Saddam's regime had flouted UN resolutions dating back to the end of the First Iraq war and the failure of the UN to act on these breaches diminished it's own authority.

2 The People of Iraq would be better off without Saddam Hussein.

So there we have it. I backed the Iraq war. It's not my fault that America was led by that Muppet GW Bush, who only wanted the oil and tried to link Saddam's regime to Al-queda.

In 2005 Labour was punished for the Iraq debacle by being reelected with a reduced majority and the departure of Blair 2 years later was no real surprise. The unchallenged coronation of Brown as his successor was a missed opportunity to debate the future direction of the Labour party and Brown has been paying for it ever since.

The last 2 years have convinced me that Gordon Brown does not have a coherent vision of what Labour should be doing to win back the trust of the country. Worst of all there is no-one in the cabinet or the backbenches willing to present an alternative to Brown.

Last month, I decided to take up membership of the Liberal Democrats. I don't regard my decision as a betrayal of Labour for the simple reason that I was never a card-carrying member of any political party up until now. I believe that Nick Clegg, Vincent Cable and the rest of the LibDem team represent the only progressive political force left in this country. Labour have gotten more authoritarian over the last 12 years and Cameron's Conservatives only offer more of the same, without the real change that this country needs.

From this day onwards, I will be doing all I can make the LibDems the Only alternative to Cameron's Cons.

You have received a new message

You've received an MMS (picture message) from mobile number +447951410660 You can reply to this message once for free... Just click on 'reply', type in your message (you've got a maximum of 500 characters) and click 'send'. It'll go straight to the sender's mobile phone, so they don't need to be on their PC to receive it. You can only reply once to each MMS you receive, so make sure it's a good'n! You've got a chance to reply until 07/08/2009. Subject: You have received a new message To save this picture, right-click on it with your mouse and select 'save image'. Mac users can click and drag the picture to their desktop. You can reply to this message once for free... Just click on 'reply', type in your message (you've got a maximum of 500 characters) and click 'send'. It'll go straight to the sender's mobile phone, so they don't need to be on their PC to receive it. You can only reply once to each MMS you receive, so make sure it's a good'n! You've got a chance to reply until 07/08/2009. If you're a 3 customer you can get more information about sending and receiving picture, video and voice messages on your mobile at three.co.uk

Return To Ingrebourne Hill

Return To Ingrebourne Hill

Today I took my bike to Ingrebourne Hill, an open area to the north of Rainham Village. Paths galore, a lake full of birds and a mountain bike course with great views of Central London, Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster & the Dartford Crossings. A perfect place to take my bike for a spin and test my new 10MP digital camera.

Getting there was a breeze. After taking a few shots of the ducks and swans on the lake. I pedaled up to the summit with the intention of taking some landscape pics. Surprise, surprise, my camera is telling me the 512MB memory card is full. Yes, taking 10MP pictures with a 512MB SD card only allows 20 pics. Hmm..... Maybe I need a bigger SD card for this camera, possibly at least 4GB.

Having deleted a few snaps, I decided to take on the MTB course. One of my best memories of Beijing 2008 was the MTB tournament. Watching the professionals riding to glory only hints at the adrenaline rush that they experience. From the outset the rush that I felt was unbelievable. I was only taking it easy, resisting the temptation of taking on the many jumps, but despite the shortness of breath and aching limbs, I literally felt "On Top Of The World" {sic. Apologies to Leo Di Caprio). MTB course completed and several deletions later I took a series of sunset pics. Not quite in the David Bailey, or Lord Litchfield mould but I hope you like them
Attachment includes the note and its objects

Breaking in

Breaking in.

Lovely day today Temp approaching 25C with a slight breeze. Perfect opportunity to break in my new trainers. Interesting bunch, the new neighbours. 2 cats, a dog and 12 rabbits. Am particularly interested in the cats, they look the perfect candidates for new Coolcat profile pics.

Why coolcat? One might ask. First, I love cats and I believe they're the coolest species on this planet, even cooler than humans. Felis Felix v Homo Sapiens Sapiens, no contest. Second I consider myself to be a Cool Cat, no matter what anyone else might think. So there!

Heared that NZ All Blacks lost this morning to France in Dunedin. Already the reciminations are being voiced in NZ. A defeat for The All Blacks is a rarity, defeat at home, even more so. With Rugby World Cup only 2 years away, a home defeat can only increase the nervousness of a Host Nation still looking back at the glory days of 1987. 22 years of hurt, ouch! The words ALL BLACKS & LOSER in the same sentence don't appear very often so as a proud Brit. I salute La France for their achievment and long may it continue.
Attachment includes the note and its objects

Euro Elections

Euro Elections

I know this sounds a bit boring, but today I'll be exercising my democratic right to elect representatives for London to the European Parliament. It pains me to admit that this lifelong Labour voter will not be voting Labour this time round, in the light of the expenses scandal at Westminster. Cameron's Tories won't be getting my vote either because no amount of spin can disguise their lack of ideas, or their devotion to the same Neo-Con ideology that characterised their brothers and sisters in the Republican party.

Fewer Brittons voted in the last Euro Elections in 2004 than those who voted in the final of Big Brother later that year. This time over 16m people voted in the final of Britain's Got Talent. It would be a shame if fewer people voted in this election. If you want to give the government a kicking over recent events, by all means vote Tory, LibDems, Green, SNP, Plaid Cymru or UKip. The option of staying at home is not an option as a low turnout only benefits the BNP.

In 2 days time we commemorate the 65th anniversary of the noble sacrifices made by Allied Forces to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny. It would be an insult to the memory of those veterans if a low turnout resulted in the heirs of Hitler and Mussolini sending MEP to the European Parliament
Attachment includes the note and its objects

Visit to Westfield Centre

Visit to Westfield Centre

First impressions? Very posh indeed, makes Bluewater look mundane by comparison. Free Wi-Fi available, but yet to get it working

Managed to sort out Wi-fi, works a treat. Love the seating, it makes a change to have comfortable seating in a "public place". Overall , a well designed shopping centre with more imagination than it's rivals. Would love to return in the future.

Attachment includes the note and its objects

Profile Pic

This is my profile picture