25 Jun. 07

Sat up, till the early hours of the morning watching Poker.
At one time in my working life, cards was a huge part of my life,
I was taking home more money from playing cards than I was actually working and therefore ended up with a large pile of unopened wage packets on the bedroom mantle piece.
I’d play during the shift at work, often accepting a double shift to allow me to target more opposition.
I’d play at night times in the pubs in the surrounding villages and had my own Saturday afternoon/night game at home.
I played brag and pontoon as well as several other filler games in between.

I enjoy watching the game, seeing risky strategies come good and flamboyant play getting penalised.

Having gone to bed with the dawn.
Nearest I’ve managed to come to having female company in the bed in the last 12 months.
I was unable to sleep.
I often find if I stay up late I seem to get a “second wind”, and I felt more alive when I went to bed than I’d been when I’d got up some16 hours previously.

My mind was actively pursuing all aspects of a hypothetical, conference which apparently needed to be planned prior to a successful sales pitch.
I seemed to have been in this particular dream the length of the stay in bed and was dreaming right up till the moment I opened my eyes.

I woke up at 11.30 feeling shattered.
As one does following such a night of brain activity.

I could have been forgiven in believing that today was a Winter’s morning.
It is raining, a dark oppressive sky is centre stage, and there is a brisk, cold Northerly wind blowing.
Not a day to be thinking of venturing out.

I look at my post; junk mail offering cheap car insurance and yet another credit card.

The room is cold; I can hear the wind in the chimney and feel the colder for that.

It really is a miserable day and being deprived of a restful night’s sleep I feel deflated and have little energy.

The tops of the trees are well bent over with the force of the wind, so much for the British summer, although, saying that I assume that most of the neighbouring countries will be similarly affected.

What, if anything, to do today.
There is of course, the obvious task of unpacking plus the household chores and even a couple of practise tests for my course work.
Plenty of options to keep me occupied.
If I was in the mood.

I return to the word, deflated.
I cannot understand why I should feel thus, unless it is a direct result of my sensing that the writing project had come to an acceptable ending.

For whatever reasons, my batteries are flat.
I cannot blame the medication because I chose not to take one when I retired this morning,
If I had, I would no doubt still be asleep.

I am having to type with the lamp on; not ideal conditions.

I take a quick walk through some of the local news and apparently we have had at least two tornado sightings in the area during the recent bad weather.
Apart from that, all seems peaceful,
Save for the fact that a local landscape gardener was found to have nearly half a million quid’s worth of cocaine in his possession.
Hope he is prepared for his stay in prison.

The long-term weather forecast predicts an improvement and highlights today as being the worst day of the week.
Not a nice day to be starting the working week!

I pity the farmers who will undoubtedly be getting anxious over the well being of their crops.
I remember hearing a news report while on holiday,
The farmers were saying the exceptional rainfall had damaged yields, they feared they would be unable to keep up with supermarket demands,
Which invariably will mean higher prices.

I made myself a cup of tea and realised I’d reached the reserve of tea bags which normally remain hidden beneath better quality ones.
You know the ones, 50 pence for 200 or so, and taste like cat’s piss.
I have made myself a coffee and it tastes like diluted road tar.

How I wish I could find a suitable beverage.

I have opened the window to get rid of the smell of the smoke,
The incoming breeze chills even further as the mist rolls over the fields and approaches the buildings of the close.

So, in short, I’m cold, hungry, tired, depressed, pissed off, lethargic, But not angry.

I picked up my art materials yesterday, not a lot survived my impromptu clear out.
All the brushes are there, as is a couple of watercolour sets and oil pastels, some tubes of acrylics have survived but no oil paints.
I had wanted to do an abstract in oil but will have to use the brighter acrylics instead.
I’m unsure if the wall will be able to carry a large bright abstract, time will tell.
I’m not talking wildly abstract, just pure, defining black lines with pockets of bright colours attached.
I’ve seen something like what I want to do but will have to spend a few hours with a computer painting program before committing paint to canvas.

Another project,
Hope the trick cyclist isn’t reading this or I will be deemed to be in yet another episode and who knows may lose my liberty once again.

To be honest I could do with being sectioned again, just till the nice weather returns.
I joke of course.
But to be fair, own room, comfortable bed, warm surroundings, and three meals a day and entertainment everywhere you turn,
If you are aware of it.

I back peddle, not wanting to dwell on the subject.

In a separate development, police have praised a pilot scheme aimed at curbing underage drinking and youth disorder across Ayrshire.
The initiative involved marking bottles with special codes in 100 shops to show where the drink had come from.

Now there’s an idea to curb underage drinking and root out the shopkeepers who base their income on alcohol sales to youngsters.

Actress Cameron Diaz has apologised for carrying a bag in Peru which featured a political slogan likely to be considered offensive by local people.
Stupid bitch.

A photographer who took topless photos of Cameron Diaz and tried to sell them back for $3.5m (£1.9m) has been ordered to pay the actress undisclosed damages.
Perhaps she could back up her apology by donating the proceeds to some of the villages she used in her publicity jaunt in Peru.

Ms Danah Boyd, has finished a survey of users of Facebook
( I admit to never having fucking heard of it)
and the popular My Space.

Facebook is apparently used by “youngsters who are in honours classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities."
They tend to be white and come from families who are keen for children to get the most out of school and go on to college, having parents who for the most part attended college themselves.

My Space users ?
My Space has most of the kids who are socially ostracised at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers," she said.

Verily a lesson on how to make friends in the right circles.

Having no knowledge of one of the camps and only dipped my toe into My Space,
I cannot comment,
Labelling people as geeks, freaks, or queers does seem to me a little unscientific, specific or fucking useful.

She wrote: "This division is just another way in which technology is mirroring societal values."
Teens are using social network sites to build community and connect with their peers," she said. "And through it, they are showcasing all of the good, bad, and ugly of today's teen life." (That is how it appears in print).Such is the findings of PhD student.

Stubbed out: A smoking ban in enclosed public places in England comes into effect. A recent national poll showed that eight out of 10 people questioned said they agreed with banning smoking in public places.
Hardly surprising since Smoking, is after all a minority pastime.

Tony Blair will tender his resignation to the Queen, standing down after 10 years in the job.
To be honest I have very little to say about that, he has aged prematurely having done a difficult job.
Gordon Brown will take over as Labour leader and PM.
Labour leader? Yes, no problems,
PM?
Mr Brown was born in Glasgow on 20 February 1951, the son of a Church of Scotland Minister in the small Fife town of Kirkcaldy.
At 12, he was canvassing for Labour and by his 20s he was a leading political activist in Scotland.
He achieved a first class degree in history from Edinburgh University, where he went on to complete a PhD.
Another PhD student, probably surrounded by geeks, freaks, and queers.

Mr Brown's early career was spent lecturing, working in television, and making a name for himself in the Scottish Labour Party.

During the 1997 election campaign, he is said to have worked an average of 18 hours a day, six days a week after running on a treadmill for an hour each morning.
I used to have a hamster, as a pet when younger.

He has strong support in the party, with every reshuffle of ministers analysed for its potential effect on the Brownite power base.
The outcome of his spending review is crucial to Labour's success or failure over the next three years.
And it will have massive implications for Mr Brown's future too.

I am not a political person, but saying that a leader with an eye on the purse strings may not be too bad for a country which is steadily failing more and more sections of its diverse population.

Trouble with people whose past has been shaped by calculations, predictions, statistics, and multi disciplinary investigations.
Leads me to think of Orwell.

Are we going to be bombarded with almost daily figures in an attempt to prove the success of past policies and the apparent acceptance of more recent proposals?

Will there be a glut of figures compiled by geeks, freaks, and queers,
New departments formed,
A ministry of figures perhaps whose sole purpose is to make the populous believe that the accepted model is in fact working?

We all know statistics can oh so easily be manipulated and then regurgitated as propaganda for the masses.

Crime figures, employment, even population figures to name, but a few.
The craze for Performance figures has grown over the last decade and will I fear,
Continue to do so.

I know I did say earlier that anyone who has no interest in the game should get out of the stadium.
And yes, I would love to live in a sunnier climate.
Why?

I would love to see the politicians get back to grass roots and realise that the majority of the population are desperate for assistance.


Unicef says the study is the first of its kind for child well-being
The UK has been accused of failing its children, as it comes bottom of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries.

The government says its policies have helped to improve child welfare.
Now you see the problem.
Who the hell do you believe?

The UK government said its initiatives in areas such as poverty; pregnancy rates, teenage smoking, drinking, and risky sexual behaviour had helped improve children's welfare.
I think not,
I believe not.

Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green, said:
"We are turning out a generation of young people who are unhappy, unhealthy, engaging in risky behaviour,
Who have poor relationships with their family and their peers,
Who have low expectations and don't feel safe."

They should fit right in with the rest of us then!

Here’s a quote from a Dutch 16 year old.
"Everybody has the chance and the opportunity to do whatever he or she wants to do. There are many jobs - everyone can work and there are opportunities to build a good career in later life."
"You can smoke at 16, you can buy pot in the store next to the school.
You can do what you like and because it's not illegal, it's not that interesting for us to provoke our parents with it."

"There is a strong tendency for mothers to raise children or take a long time off work after children are born."
One of the strong points of the Dutch family, he says, is that it is very open and communicative.
Relations are generally good between parents and children and they can talk about almost anything.

Until our little country decides upon what role it is to play in the world then we will continue to churn out ill educated people into an undecided workplace.
Of course I’m not talking about the PhD students who get grants for labelling people.
Years ago the factory and industry fodder was provided by the majority of the state schools.
Job patterns changed, industries died and there was significant gap of time during which no one had the balls to steer the country towards a new horizon.

True, Maggie knew full well what we no longer needed,
she had the vision to see the demise of a lot of our established work places and helped their death as sure as any euthanasia partnership.
We had the chance to be one of the main players in the new world of computer assisted technology but we dallied too long and were overtaken so easily by other countries mainly due to the fact we had no trained workforce.

When I say trained, I mean a person skilled enough to actually do a job.
Not someone who is simply able to read and add up simple maths.

I remember only a short while ago, a cry for more tradesmen,
I think plumbers were mentioned.
Fucking plumbing!
Anyone can learn how to cut pipe and fit it together using the modern materials available today.
Hell, I’ve installed my own shower in every house I’ve had.
And only now have to suffer without one,
Because it has to be installed by certified tradesman!

I am not picking on plumbers in general or electricians for that matter.
But I am old enough to remember when a trade was learnt in something akin to an apprentice scheme.
Nowadays certificates are handed out like toilet paper, and worth about the same, for simply turning up on god knows how many courses.

I recall the horror at being told by a young female member of the family that she wanted to be,
A probation officer.
Fucking probation officer!
Daily facing all the dross of the life with the dangers involved with same.
What are the careers officers telling the youngsters of today?

I pour myself a drink and chastise myself for putting on my political head.
Something I very rarely do.
Politics and policy making, to be honest politics in general is like the music which I listen to.
I hear it; it goes through and over and is forgotten.

So the youngsters eventually join the rest of us and patiently wait for more homes to be built, because they as sure as shit stinks have very little chance of getting on the property ladder.
They will be destined to live out their lives on one of the many estates on the outskirts of towns, bringing up even more children into their respective micro societies.

As they get older values will change and they too will become wary of venturing out after dark.
Be sceptical of the police force, wary of the state social system and generally disillusioned with life in general and their future in particular.

All I can say is, best of luck.

“The UK and the USA are too commercial and market driven
Kenneth Whyte, Oegstgeest, Netherlands

Simple and to the point.

http://sites.childrenssociety.org.uk/mylife/home.aspx
I leave with that link.

Perhaps if more kids used the Internet to make their voices known to the politicians they may eventually take note.

Lobbying is a concerted effort designed to achieve some result, typically from government authorities and elected officials.

Once again,
Best of luck.
Or as we used to say,
“Best of British,”

Its not often you stumble upon a phrase which is just right for the moment but I found one.
It relates to the 1£million projected over spend of one counsels’ school transport scheme.

“The Country needs to be managed at a high level but needs some detailed micro-management to get it back on track."

Perhaps a return to local authorities having an increased role?
Having worked in local government,
Perhaps not.

A lot of people blame the youngsters for a lot of the ills of society yet do not realise that these youngsters are in fact the future of this once proud and pompous country.

I take another drink and try to forget the last sentence.

Three tier cake.
The leaders are to be found among the University graduates.
The skilled and semi skilled from the college attendees.
The majority of the workforce, straight from school bearing all the scars of their education, often illiterate, innumerate and totally pissed off with their hand off cards.

Perhaps Poker should be taught in schools,
Pupils will learn to make the best hand out of what is offered on the table, take their chance and learn success and inevitable failure thus.

The government aims to get all youngsters up to the reading level of an eleven year old by the time they are 12!
Hang on,
How come any child is leaving school at 16 and still hasn’t reached that level?
Reading and numeracy is something learnt much earlier, by the age of six,
I would expect anyone with difficulties to have become noticed,
not allowed to slip through the net and leave school with only enough Basic English to decipher a text message.

Who was it said “give me the child and I’ll give you the adult”,
or words to that effect.
Perhaps we should stop bickering about state schools, religious schools, colleges of excellence, etc,
(Notice how I omitted Grammar schools?)

To me the child’s education from the entrance into primary school is where the building blocks are laid.
The whole aspect of education should be re-assessed.

The Americans,
And it is very seldom you will ever hear me write anything good about their ideas.
Do follow a path of keeping a student in a particular grade, stream or whatever they call it nowadays,
Until that pupil is ready to progress.
A child’s early learning can be disrupted for many, many reasons, but because it is part of their formative years it can also be controlled.
I’m talking primary education here;
There is nothing wrong with making a child stay another term of whatever before progressing with its peers.

How the hell can any pupil be expected to leap educational hurdles later in life if it has been allowed to walk under them earlier in its schooling?

To be sending a 16 year old to the shops and describing what you want him to purchase by describing the tin, the packet, the colour, or whatever;
Anything to save the poor bastard from actually having to resort to reading is totally unacceptable.
To accept a person on a “work scheme” and having to take him into the job centre and help him or her fill out their basic details such as name and address is also not acceptable.

How could anyone be so cruel as to send a child forward into a world which they cannot understand anything but the spoken word,
(Quite often not even that).
No wonder they reply with grunts and gestures.

If retired Doctors can ask huge fees for coming in and doing work then why can’t retired primary teachers or anyone with the time be drafted in to help youngsters,
“Catch up? ”

True educating everyone to a standard where they can read and write will not solve the countries’ problems but it will improve the quality of life of some of the unfortunate bastards who are allowed to slip through the net.

I thought it was a basic right.
Education.

We, England, are no longer a source of technologic advancement,
Most people with any aptitude for a particular subject are well advised to seek employment elsewhere, and many have taken the chance.
We have no longer the natural resources to lead the world and have long since adopted a policy of “wait and see.”
As producers we fail even our own meagre population.
Made in Britain, stands for diddly squat.

The only thing going for us is our placement on the world map.
We are a gateway and if America ever gets its arse into gear we will be the floating embarkation point it will need.
Until then we have to brown nose any fucking idiot the yanks choose to represent their country and allow ourselves to be led by the balls until we are needed.

At the moment our school kids lie down when they are told to,
Not because some fucking redneck decides “it’s a good day to die.”

I think the Aussies had the best idea, keep out of the way, and keep every fucker out!
And spend the time learning how to play cricket.
Now there’s a game to inspire our up and coming generations!
I think not.

Child obesity; seeing as we are talking about the American way of life.
Should the social services be allowed to intervene in such cases?
Too bloody true they should.

If we can release prisoners because the jails are too full we can use empty office buildings as exercise grounds for overweight kids.
No expensive equipment involved just a few CCTV cameras on the landings and make the bastards run up and down the stairs.

We love cameras in Britain,
Grainy unclear images of the proof that a crime has been committed, yet not good enough to enable capture of criminals or stand up in court.
A deterrent we are told.
I think not.

Mother-of-two Lynn Robson, a nurse at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, was one of the first on the scene after the 85-year-old victim was struck by the black Peugeot 206 car early on Saturday.
The unnamed man had been walking his pet Staffordshire bull terrier along Barley Mill Road, on the outskirts of Consett, County Durham, shortly after 5.30am when he was hit.
Two youths were seen running off and the car was abandoned in the road.
The victim sustained serious rib and leg injuries and was in the University Hospital of North Durham last night.

Poor old twat.
And wait for it.

His dog had to be put down by a vet.

A neighbour who telephoned the ambulance told me he had seen two lads.
One of them told him the `brakes had locked' before they ran off.
Two 18-year-olds were helping police with their inquiries last night.

Probably end up with probation, community service,
Or perhaps they could take his dog for a walk while he recovers.

No I forgot,
It was the dog, that had to be put down,
This time.

Well the weather, and my mood haven’t improved much over the last few hours.

I was going to continue and tell you about a Japanese school kids long day and often night in relation to the continued prosperity of the country as a whole but after reading about the sad loss of the old guy’s dog.
You understand.

It is too bloody easy nowadays to group people together and say whatever you like about them, be you a citizen or a PhD student.
It is articles about a single person’s misfortunate circumstances, that have greater weight.

Perhaps educating our youngsters should be along the same lines,
Construct a net, a safety device to catch the ones which slip through the net,
Who knows, given time the net may become obsolete and the system in general improved to benefit all.
Kinda like a grammar school train of thought in reverse.

There’s a Mayor in our region who uses phrases like, bold new outlook and zero tolerance, perhaps its people like this that we as a community should be listening to and looking for inspiration.

Teachers, overall, are a good crew,
They take pride in their achievements and equally are upset by students who fail to take advantage of their dedication.

Stop closing the smaller schools, get away from the wanting to amalgamate them.
Give the teachers a chance to teach,
Manageable amounts of pupils on a more personal basis,
Especially during the younger years.

At some time in the future some one must realise that pupils will have to be taught about everyday things,
Shopping, banking, management of finances, pensions, security, interactive skills, parenthood, etc.
Life skills.

Instead of allowing television, advertising, peer pressure rule their actions and shape their dreams.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming, but to begin to think that dreams may become reality somehow by showing their arse or tits on My Space, or appearing on some of the hundreds of wannabee television shows; that sad.

Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you.

And is different because?

I pour myself the penultimate JD and delve into the contents of the ashtray to make a rollie.

Learn by the mistakes of others, because as sure as shit stinks you haven’t the time to make all of them yourself.
When our ministers decided to opt for that course of action perhaps the younger generation will take heed and take advice from their elders.

Elders.
Aboriginal persons who are respected and consulted due to their experience, wisdom, knowledge, background, and insight.
Elder does not necessarily equate with age.

See, I told you the Aussies had something going for them.

How I wish I’d been taught that word earlier in life.
Instead of been beaten and told you will do as you are told.

These people are wise indeed,
They have progressed from living in caves to inhabiting houses made from discarded lager tins and beer bottles.
Have built an Opera house for anyone who is prepared to travel, and surrounded themselves with nature.

To live with nature is ideal,
To try and control Human nature while providing a hostile environment is doomed to failure.

That is how the kids of today see the world, a hostile, often frightening environment in which they have to seek similar disturbed people and live in a surreal world.

I care not to comment any further on the growth of electronic societies save to say the real world is out there.

But of course, I have no PhD, no letters after my name not even,
Pro.c. (Proficient in cycling).
I was a failure to several of my teachers and lecturers and parents, even my wife and daughter,
To be honest the last dog I had didn’t care too much for me either.

But I learnt how to survive and chose several times to change my direction in life.
Made the best hand out of the cards I’d been dealt.

Am I a failure?
Who knows?
I haven’t left the table yet!

Like my grandfather used to say,
“You only get out, what you put in,”
If only he’d been talking about education and not farming,
I may have taken some notice.

We talk about the foreigners coming over here and “taking our jobs,”
Hell, they’ve even taken out beggars’ jobs.

Most have come from countries torn apart by civil strife, places where education and health care and state help are not available.
Places where disease is rife and children are sold.
Freedom of speech is forbidden and intelligence is frowned upon.
Places where tradition still upholds caste systems and marriages are arranged.
Where skin colour is a stigma.
Disability leads to a lifetime of begging.
Murder, rape, and financial embezzlement reign.

Talking of which rain is the most talked about subject in this country.
We have a comfortable life on this island but it cannot survive if the majority of the population are not contributing in some way.

As youngsters you obviously never have thoughts about the future but Britain was built on the understanding that there would be sufficient workers to fund the needs of its elder generation.
No longer applies!
The equation has changed and the government is no longer able to provide.
In short, you will miss out.
So it is even more imperative that you succeed in life and provide for your offspring.

If you don’t want to be obese, stop eating so much.
If you cannot provide for children, do not have them.
If you cannot afford all that is being advertised, do without.
If you cannot read this, find someone to teach you, be prepared to learn.

Or be a sheep.
Because it’s a certainty that soon Britain will be needing sheep and cows to replace the animals that we are losing from our countryside as farmers battle to make ends meet and obey EU directives.

I pour my last JD and roll up my very last cig.
Will I perhaps have the will power and sense to pack in smoking?
Who knows, perhaps?

If as a youngster you want to see your future.
Go to Skegness, sit on a bench and watch the world go by,
A myriad of choices will pass before your eyes, and but for the grace of God, you could be anyone of them.
It’s known as reality.
And everyone, at some times in their lives needs a reality check.

The experience can depress you, bring on unwanted emotions and fuel equally unwanted thoughts and ideas.
It can also infuse hope and inspiration.
Living proof that no matter what shit the world throws at you there are people who actually cope and overcome life’s problems.

A cannabis plant will not develop a strong stem to support a good crop unless it is subjected to movement of wind,
Similarly these people have overcome life’s obstacles and got on with the task of living.

Not despairing because they haven’t got the latest gadget or labour saving device, unless you can include a walking frame, cane, or buggy.

Not feeling the need to rob anyone of their hard earned possessions or money.
They exist.
And to be honest and take all the wrapping off things, life is about,
Existence.

The only differences between you and them, is age, experience, upbringing and education.
The majority of the people you will see were brought up on morals, religion, and self-reliance.
Unlike the dog eat dog, media exaggerated generation to which you belong which craves for immediate appeasement with no toil attached.

No one is actually asking you to lay down your life, unless you choose to, no one is asking you to rely on your own resources to exist, there is a safety net in place for you.
These people contributed to such a scheme. Understood about their taxation and are reaping the benefits of same.

You are on your own, and without your wits about you will be poorly tooled up to exist as you get older.

One thing is for certain, in this country, it will take a long time to get things back on track, and if we were hoping on this generation to help us then we are in deep shit.
Britain’s got talent,
Or whatever the show is called.
The only talent comes from the people who organise such charades.

Nothing is free in this world,
Everything good comes from effort and self-determination.
Almost everything has a price,
And because of that simple fact becomes a commodity.

Anyone with a lack of education will have to pay a price, sooner or later.
Before you spout off numerous examples of people who have struck lucky,
For every one there are millions who don’t.

What has today cost me?
About £1.50 according to my meter.
I have yet to feed myself, but am sure a simple meal will suffice.

I just thank the lord that I’m not laid out in the corner, off my head on smack,
Because I cannot face the injustice of the world.
Am not drunk outa my skull and inflicting pain on my partner and child.
Not knocking down an 85 year old guy,
And killing his dog.
Kicking seven bells out of a pensioner to find out where her purse is hidden.

Or perhaps kicking the life out of a dog, owned by a nasty middle-aged guy who decided to stop the local off license from selling booze to underage youngsters.

I love the younger generations, I admire them for their individuality, and eagerness to follow whatever trend is in vogue.
Their need to push away from the accepted sport of England, forget bat and bails and try base jumping or snowboarding form a helicopter on fresh snow.
Their ability to put so many genres of music into a blender and come out with?
Their ability to lose stones in weight and still wear the same old baggy clothes.
I cannot understand their text language nor either their chants or grunted greetings but who cares?

What I don’t like is their enthusiasm to enter the pubs and clubs, in search of better pastimes.
Keep the fuck out!
There is nothing for you, save a game of pool and a glimpse of a television.

Get out there and do what you do best, protected rutting!
Lets face it, once you leave school and haven’t secured a job there is little left but to get stoned, drunk, and rut.

Some may take delight in owning a car with an exhaust big enough to put your foot up,
Others seem to delight in annoying their neighbourhood with a hairdryer of a scooter, baffles removed to produce an excruciatingly painful sound.

I notice that parents are no longer allowed to call out to you in the street,
That it is indeed.
“Time for bed”,
Even though it is well past midnight and you are fucking about as loud as possible; drinking.

You have to understand, your parents weren’t allowed such freedom,
So why the fuck should you expect same?

I look at the clock and it is time for this sad old bastards dose of soaps,
So once again I wish you,
Best of British.
(Made in Taiwan.)