Agenda 2019

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/18/iain-duncan-smith-resigns-from-cabinet-over-disability-cuts Iain Duncan-Smith  has resigned as work and pensions secretary over cuts Duncan-Smith resigns.  Iain Duncan Smith said that "he was stepping down because Osborne’s cuts were for self-imposed political reasons rather than in the national economic interest". He also said that “I am unable to watch passively while certain policies are enacted in order to meet the fiscal self-imposed restraints that I believe are more and more perceived as distinctly political rather than in the national economic interest,”. In other words, Duncan-Smith has come to the view that austerity i s not an economic necessity. Austerity is a political choice. It is strange indeed that the man who has over the past eight years, imposed cuts of over £30 billion on welfare spending, condemning thousands of people in this country to hardship and misery and even driving some to suicide. ...

   A fabulous aerial shot of Plémont on the North Coast of Jersey. aerial shot of Plémont   A very favourite beach. Off to the left of the picture is the place where we spent many hours amongst the caves, rocks and rock pools after the tide went out. One afternoon as the tide was coming in with some quite big surf, I was standing in the water facing the beach (with back to the incoming surf, yes, very silly I know) talking to my wife who was still on the beach. She failed to mention a big one she had noticed coming in behind me. A wave has quite a degree of power when it hits someone in the back. I eventually surfaced from beneath the foaming azure, turquoise, sparkling dark water and stood dripping wet and breathing hard. She was doubled up with laughter and was still chuckling about the incident for days afterwards. In fact she can still smile about it now.  https://www.facebook.com/chrisbrookesjersey

A nice ship, but a shame about the onboard organisation Condor Liberation.                         Condor Libertion, the new (well almost new) addition to the Condor fleet, is a fine ship, bigger than Vitesse and Express operating out of Weymouth, which it replaces and with a larger vehile capacity. The lounges provide panoramic views from comfortable seating and with even more comforts in the "Traveller plus" and "Club" lounges. There I am afriad, all praise finishes. There may have been reasons for the chaos on the crossing of 10th April 2015. For example, the Liberation collided with the docking peir in Guernsey on her maiden voyage out of Poole on the 27th March and was taken out of service for over a week for repairs to the hull. Then, upon returning to service, she deloped and engine fault with a further fault on the forward engine control unit which apparently has to be replaced with a unit being...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Porthole-Suites/641756039249302  We have just returned from a week in the Porthole Suites in St Aubin Jersey. The Porthole Suites was our first serious adventure into the world of "self catering" holidays albeit that with all the available first class restaurants to be found in the small village of St Aubin, you probably only need to produce breakfast and even then the usual "Full English" or if you prefer a "Continental, is only a two minute walk away. This post is not an advert for Porthole Suites, but an honest comment that the facilities are first class and the prices are very reasonable. This is a new venture, only opened in May of this year following a complete restructure and re invention of the previous Porthole Cottage, a delightful Bed and Breakfast where we stayed 4 times last year (2013). The new building with its 10 self catering suites is a credit to the owner. If you have ever visited or ...

  http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/11158216.Weymouth_stunned_by_Condor_Ferries__bombshell_plan_to_leave_port/ Weymouth stunned by Condor Ferries' plan to leave port Condor Vitesse departs from Weymouth Why should the latest chapter in the Condor Ferries/Weymouth story cause so much surprise and agitation? I have been predicting a scenario such as this since before the Condor Ferry operation was forced to relocate to Poole, prior to the 2012 Olympics, and the repairs to ferry terminal three at Weymouth during the same year. Since 2012, numerous blog entries have commented on the fact that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s handling of the relationship with Condor Ferries, the Weymouth Harbour repairs and ferry arrangements during the work programme have been a catalogue of ineptitude and incompetence, not to mention the disastrous handling of the Olympics themselves. No matter how far this incompetent council drive their head into the sand, the evid...