General Sir Peter Wall KCB CBE ADC Gen, Chief of the General Staff
It’s a few weeks now since I was at a dinner where the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall was speaking about the challenges for the Army now and in the years to come.
But one message that came over loud and clear, between the lines, was that the Army is both preparing to downsize and also preparing for war. He didn’t say where, and nor would I expect him to because he probably doesn’t know where. But there are “options” being considered without doubt for military activity in more than one country.
Will it be The Falklands, Iran, Syria, Somalia or even somewhere in Africa? Lord only knows, but one thing is certain, we will not be able to open up another offensive operation without first being out of Afghanistan. The end of that campaign is advancing.
Around 3 years ago I had a hip operation to resurface an arthritic joint. It was done in an NHS hospital on recommendation of my GP and was required to relieve pain and to stop my back going out of shape as the arthritis got worse.
I went into hospital with severe low back pain and came out with none. Wonderful. Or at least it was until I was informed that the procedure used now has a high incidence of failure (Story here) and the new joint was subject to recall. Sounded a bit like a Friday Ford of the 1970′s. But there is no plan to replace it, only to monitor it for failure. Which translates to: “let it start affecting you before we fix it”.
This week we hear that breast implant cosmetic surgery, undertaken privately, will be repaired at public expense, even though there is only a risk of infection. I’ve heard no explanation of what that infection might be or the likely incidence. So why on earth are we leaping to replace something that had been bought privately and may not even have been required for medical reasons?
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For my thoughts on the New Year Honours please refer to this old post
Some messages just never lose their relevance!
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We’ve just got back from the park, Ben and me that is, and whilst watching him sniff his way around it struck me that this was the last walk for us for 2011.
I do the morning walk and one of my sons does the afternoon walk (most days that is) so on reflection that’s 365 morning walks this year. Then there’s the 20% of afternoons when I have to fill in for one reason or another, so that’s another 91. Total 456 walks.
At an average of 30 minutes each, that totals a massive 228 hours of walking in all weathers and often in the dark.
There are 168 hours in a week, so 228 hours equates to 9.5 days.
Which equates to 2.6% of my year, for 100% of his love and affection all year long.
Thanks Ben.
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This lovely tale explains our tax system and the flaws in a lovely way:
Suppose that every evening, 10 men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this :-
- The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
- The fifth would pay £1.
- The sixth would pay £3.
- The seventh would pay £7.
- The eighth would pay £12.
- The ninth would pay £18.
- The tenth man (the richest) would pay £59.
Continue reading »
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You know the old story about the importance of 3 S’s when on holiday (sun, sand and sex) well I couldn’t quite expect them over my short break to Aberaeron last weekend (not much sun in October, no sand on the beaches and …. I can’t remember the other one!) but I managed to find a great replacement for them.
- Squid
- Scallops
- Skate
All cooked to as close to perfection as Ive ever had.
We were in Aberaeron for the weekend and had a sausage casserole in the oven when we popped out for a quick pint before supper in a new restaurant/bar called The Cellar. The specials menu grabbed my eye and I decided there and then that the sausages would only improve after a night in the fridge. Mari went home to sort them out whilst I looked forward to supper.
And what a lovely supper it was:
Squid: stir fried with chilli, ginger, coriander, garlic and sea salt. Glorious fresh flavours, clean, light and wonderfully tender squid.
Followed by the scallops: 8 of the little darlings, surrounded by chorizo, belly pork lardons, peas, and a really flavoursome sauce that just screamed “Lick the plate!”
And to top it all a skate wing, thick and juicy, baked to perfection and supported by a shrimp and caper sauce that had lashings of both in it. Taste was fabulous.
So a grand meal was had, all washed down with the right amount of Sauvignon Blanc and finished, to a tee, with coffee and brandy. A marvellous evening out on the spur of the moment and one I will remember for a long time.
I’d recommend it: The Cellar – Aberaeron.
But you’ll need to book as the place was packed the night we were there and was full for the coming nights as well. The sausage casserole was pretty good too the next day.
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At the start of the Competition I wrote about my 8 hopes for the tournament, I ended up being disappointed by just about all of them!
- First off: the French team only turned up for the final and even then could proably have made a better fist of it.
- Second: there might not have been minnows, but there were Second Class Citizens expected to play with shorter breaks between games, making their life far more challenging.
- Third: Hard tackles seemed less apparent,but the new tip tackle was invented to overcome some of the negativity associated with Sam Warburton’s class in the France v Wales match. It looks as though a Tip Tackle is the same as a spear tackle but with a little less intent!
- Fourth: Not only did NZ continue with some throat slitting gestures, in contravention of IRB directives, nobody seemed to care as it only “added to the atmosphere”.
- Fifth: Good Officials! Pah! Allain Roland might have been a culprit but he was acting on the orders of the IRB whjo failed to cover themselves in glory at all. And fining France for responding to the Haka in the final should how officialdom is taking itself far too seriously.
- Six: the anthems were better than expected, the small choirs were very appropriate and the opera stars toned it down just a little. But some did try to entertain and spoilt the moment.
- Seventh: The referees let the stars – oh OK it’s actually Richie McCaw – get away with anything and everything, AGAIN and AGAIN.
It was however only the final point that nearly made it right: NZ did deserve to win and they had to battle hard in the final to defeat a very plucky French team. It’s a shame though that they did not demonstrate respect for them in the immediate post match interviews with neither Henry or McCaw mentioning the opposition.
So overall it wasn’t a great tournament. There were fewer tries than usual, lower scores than usual and my aspirations will now have to wait for another 4 years for the next one to come around.
But despite all that it remains – IMHO – the greatest sporting show on earth bar none. Roll on 2015.
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Congratulations to the All Blacks on becoming world champions yesterday. A really well deserved crowning of a great side.
One area they’ve significantly improved in is their pre-match Haka. Check this out for the way it was done in the 70′s
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