The recession has affected many businesses, many people, and many families. The news about British Airways losing money is further evidence of this. Personally, I couldn’t be happier that this airline is losing money – I don’t like flying, I don’t approve of their practices and I think people should cut down on such a polluting hobby. But this attitude leaves me with a dilemma – what about the staff? (more…)
So the election is all over, but we won’t find out for a couple of days what the result is. Some colleagues weren’t bothering to vote because, as they said, ‘they never vote’. Others were waiting until they finished work. Of course most of the talk between staff and borrowers (I work in a library) was about The Apprentice, on Wednesday night. We had no local elections here. But I voted last week, via postal vote. (more…)
There is a lot less sympathy for obesity than there is for anorexia and yet in some ways they’re both socially determined, particularly obesity. Education and class are the most significant factors in obesity and neither of them are the fault of the individual. In my local newspaper last month, there was an article about a family who were all obese, and who stated they could not survive on the benefits they were getting. (more…)
So it snowed last week. Heavily, in some places. It’s interesting to watch how the country reacts to snow. I think the North West, specifically Lancashire, where I live, was one of the few places that did not get any heavy snowfall at all. Certainly in my home town, we only had a sprinkling last Sunday night and then Monday we experienced a few snow showers, but it was not deep and no where near the thickness of London’s.
‘If you fly, you destroy other people’s lives’. That immortal line, written by George Monbiot in Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning, describes plainly where he sits on the ‘to fly or not to fly’ fence. Certainly it’s a controversial issue, even amongst environmentalists. (more…)