Happy New Year 2015 Happy New Year The curtain has come down on the Year 2014 and we may now look forward to the new year 2015. May the aspirations, hopes and dreams of each of us on this 1st day of January, be fulfilled over the next 12 months. To readers of this "New Agenda" Blog all Facebook "Friends", "Followers" on the Twitter account, readers of "New Agenda on Sunday" and any others who may venture onto any of the pages, I wish you and your families a very Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year.
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Christmas 2014. To readers of this "New Agenda" Blog (according to Google statistics) all around the world, all Facebook "Friends", "Followers" on the Twitter account, readers of "New Agenda on Sunday" and any others who may venture onto any of the pages, I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Peaceful, prosperous New Year. Merry Christmas Thank you for taking the time to read my observations and remarks on events and for your support and comments over the past 12 months. May we all look forward to what promises to be a momentous 2015.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/two-nations-13m-brits-will-spend-12bn-on-panic-saturday-but-13m-others-across-the-country-will-spend-this-christmas-in-poverty-9937088.html 13m will spend £1.2bn on 'Panic Saturday', but 13m others across the country will spend this Christmas in poverty In the first quarter of the 21st Century, it is a scandal and a disgrace that 13 million people are, no matter what measurement you choose to employ in establishing that figure, living in poverty in this country today. Over 1 million families reliant on Food-banks and other charities, 1 million in child poverty, hundreds of thousands of people homeless, or in inadequate accommodation, many people actually in work who earn less than the minimum wage or are on zero hour contracts, having to claim benefits, which are being further reduced by government cuts, are indicative of a fractured nation....
Royal mail can look for other "victims". A tool used for "Blackmail" The Royal Mail put a card through my letter box yesterday, (Saturday 13th December 2014)advising, "Unfortunately we can't deliver your item because there is a fee to pay". Upon closer examination, it seems that "The sender didn't pay the full postage", and Royal Mail are demanding a payment from me of £1.11 This "Fee" includes a £1 handling charge! The item in question, I know to be a Christmas card which probably exceeds the arbitrary size restrictions (measured by a rather crude template device) impose d by Royal Mail a couple of years back as a means for extorting even more money from the long suffering public. The "excess charge" of 11p is really neither here nor there, but to add a handling charge of £1 is really adding insult to injury. I have no objection to excess charges where the sender has either forgotte...
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/09/morrisons-tesch-marks-spencer_n_4566246.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Morrisons, Tesco, Marks & Spencer Sales Hit By Tough Christmas Who next? Following on from the "Years of plenty" when these supermarkets, particularly Tesco, were proudly announcing "record profits" running to £ Billions, I for one have little sympathy for the decline in their fortunes. It seems to me that the general downward trend in the high street and supermarkets fortunes has more to do with their previous profiteering and greed, forcing up prices at the expense of their customers and their suppliers. Now is the time for these companies to recognise that their prices are too high and have been for some time which is the predominant reason why people are now cutting back on their shopping expenditure. The supermarkets can join the rest of us and experience a dose of "austerity".
Boxing Day ! Its December 26th, Boxing Day 2013. The wind seems to have died down and it is not raining at the moment. Hopefully you are all well this morning and not suffering too much from yesterdays celebrations. No doubt however, some people may be regretting that final slice of turkey in the sandwich before going to bed, or the "just one more" chocolate from the box of Quality Street, or even that "this is definitely my lot" glass of Scotch or vodka or what ever your favourite tipple may be. What ever your condition may be this morning, I do sincerely hope that you had a wonderful day and are having a great Christmas holiday. Sadly, there are those in our society, who will not be of the same disposition as the majority of us as we nod gently over the breakfast table contemplating whether we do actually want that slice of toast and marmalade (rather that the usual scrambled egg, bacon, sausage and tomato and perhaps even a slice of fried bread...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-camerons-young-sidekick-claims-1852193 Liam Walker claims families use food banks so they can spend cash in the pub A young sidekick of David Cameron has claimed hard-up families are turning to food banks because they’ve wasted their money on booze. Liam Walker and David Cameron A vile and despicable comment demonstrating yet again, how out of touch and insensitive the hierarchy of the Conservative party actually are. Liam Walker, Chair of the Conservative Future, Witney, joins Iain Duncan-Smith, Nadhim Zahawi, Rupert Charles Ponsonby, David Anthony Freud and numerous other Tory ministers and MPs' who have consistently belittled the work of Foodbanks and demonised the people who, due to ConDem coalition government policies, are now reliant on the charities for food to feed their families. In this first quarter of the 21st Century, it is an outrage that there is a need for such charities and it is to th...
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/22/my-first-year-food-bank-organiser My first year as a food bank organiser 'I love the work' … Ruth Fox at the food bank at East Cleveland Baptist Church in Redcar. The following text is from today's (23rd December 2013) Guardian and is reproduced in full: "I resisted getting involved with the food bank at first. The minister at my church kept asking me, but I had managed a charity for homeless young people and was looking for something with a little less responsibility. Finally, at the end of last year, I said yes. We opened on 30 January, and it's the best thing I've ever done. When we started, we knew there was a need, but had no idea how much. We quickly realised we needed more distribution centres, because people were walking nine, 10, 11 miles for their food parcel, then home, struggling with the bags. That's not just people wanting free food, is it? It's desperation. ...
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/21/christmas-shoppers-flock-to-high-streets-across-britain_n_4486149.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Christmas Shoppers Flock To High Streets Across Britain Christmas in the high street Austerity Britain. We should wonder how much of this "Christmas Shoppers Flock To High Streets" is being funded by Barclaycard and/or the usury companies of the "Payday loan" industry. We might also consider that this Christmas, more than 1 million people will be taking payday loans to put food on their table on December 25th and countless others will be collecting their Christmas day meals from the local Foodbank. Preparing Christmas dinner? It will be interesting to learn sometime early next year, how many of these high street stores will be proudly announcing "record sales over the holidays" with increased profits ! If these companies can discount prices by 50% or even more and still make profit, then why are...
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=508750 Channel on line television with their tips on how to stay fit over Christmas Reaching for the bowl of Quality Street or the dish of mixed nuts, not to mention lifting the glass of Merlot from the table to the mouth, is more than enough exercise for anyone over the Christmas period. Thank heaven for the remote contro l device to save having to get up from armchair after the Turkey, roast gravy and cranberry sauce to change channels on the television. A merry Christmas to all friends and acquaintances in Jersey and on the mainland. (And with thoughts for all those people who are sick, or disabled or homeless or reliant on Foodbanks and other charities, who are not so fortunate)
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/29/fights-asda-black-friday-us-shoppers Black Friday chaos as fights break out over televisions Black Friday, seems to have been imported into the UK My e-mail inbox has been inundated over the last week or so, with mail from Asda. Amazon, Curry's, Big Fish Games, Lights for Fun, Argos and what seems to be a hundred other retail outlets, all telling me how many "wonderful deals" are available for their "Black Friday" event. It seems to me that yet another "Americanism" has crept into the British way of life, but Black Friday is perhaps the most insidious one to arrive on British shores so far. Coming as it does just 25 days prior to Christmas, Black Friday provides another opportunity for the "hard pressed" shops and supermarkets to capitalise on the potential of an artificially created consumer market. However, many see it as just another exercise to persuade shoppers to bu...
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/26/mrsa-poultry-east-anglia-infected MRSA found in East Anglia turkeys and chickens destined for stores. Government reassure consumers of low risk to health Within the space of the next few hours, a "spokesperson" for the turkey industry will say (if it has not been said already) on BBC News or Sky or some other media outlet, "Of course, prices will have to go up". There is always a reason for increasing prices of almost everything, particularly at this time of year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/07/morrisons-sales-fall-christmas Morrisons suffers miserable Christmas Sales slump at Morrisons On the first of January, the Morrisons Facebook page asked, "We hope everyone had an amazing night welcoming in 2013… let us know what you got up to!" In response, I posted the comment, "Brought a couple of Sirloin steaks from Morrisons Bridport, cooked them to medium and served with thick potato chips and a bottle of very nice red wine. The steaks were awful. tough, inedible and were eventually consigned to the bin.(and they were very expensive ! That's the last time that we buy steaks or any other meat from Morrisons)." Now this is not the first time that the quality of products from Morrisons has been poor and the price has been excessive, so it is not surprising that their sales have dropped. The only surprise is that it seems that they are only referring to the Christmas period. In these time of econ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/24/households-gloomy-2013-survey-economy Consumers are braced for another year of austerity George Osborne Osborne is wearing that conceited smug half smile that he is famous for, because he knows that his "austerity measures" will nor really affect him or his Downing Street chums. In his insulated position, the smirk is not surprising. Merry Christmas George. I would wager that his turkey did not come from the local foodbank either.