Cabinet Reshuffle

 Recently David Lammy became the new deputy prime minister, this also means someone else had to move to his old position, we call that a cabinet reshuffle  because cabinet ministers are moved around to different roles. David Lammy took Angela Rayner's job because one of her properties was owned by a trust and that meant she paid less property tax than a regular home owner, so the public felt like they were being blind sided. If a trust or a bank owns a property, they pay less property tax because the law protects banking assets in this county, the trouble is individuals can set up a trust or a small private bank and use it to own property so they would be exploiting a tax loophole. If a minister uses tax loopholes, it is unacceptable because the public community is looking up to them for help and they're helping themselves. I'm not saying she is a crook though, I think accountants can sometimes tell people to do things like that. When you're working in the leadership cabinet, journalists and opposition leaders will scrutinise everything you do and your job is temporary. 

I only think about it when it happens or when it's on the news. Otherwise I just explore my imagination. I imagine owning a 12'' gauge train set, one you can ride on that is tucked away inside a large vent space in your home. No one would see it unless they opened a cupboard with no back panel, it would be a doorway to a mini train station. You could dress up all the fittings on the station and even build the train yourself out of large boxes. The wheels of the tiny train would just be skateboard wheels that sit downwards and sideways on the rails; the rails would just be sheet metal bent into a rectangle shape. The train itself would move by being dragged by electromagnets that are on the floor. The train itself would look like boxes with hinges holding them together but as you modify it, it looks more and more like a train. You cut out holes in the large boxes and put see-through plastic for the windows. You add stickers and paint, things like that. You use a 3D printer to print out seats and housing panels for the progress displays. Finally you make the doors because you're not content with a cavity on the side to get in. The vent would also take away the stale damp air and leave cool fresh dry air. 

Missing my innocence

One of the songs on my main music playlist is 'Deeply Dippy' by 'Right Said Fred'. I play it to remind me how innocent I was in the '90s. I would hear the song on the radio and think it was a sea shanty about a boat. I actually thought they were singing about a boat. You need the mind of a kid to understand how the lyrics fit into a sea shanty. 

'90s-Alan also thought that the police were infallible, that all their staff had very strong moral fabric. I now think differently, I think there are harmful people present in every profession, there are doctors that murder people and police officers that abuse their authority. This way of thinking was reinforced earlier in the week when I learned that constable 'David Carrick' was a rapist and a prolific sex offender. 

Even a few months ago I felt angry because people were filming police officers with their phone because I thought it was rude. It would be like going to shop and filming a shop assistant and putting the video on social media to invite strangers to mock that person, it is very disrespectful. I still think it's very disrespectful to do that. When I see a video of staff being criticized on social media, I flag the video as abuse and complain in the comments. I say that filming a staff to mock them on a public domain very disrespectful and akin to bullying; not always though, sometimes the person is taking the piss. 

Drought in England

I was listening to the news on the radio and they said they will declare there is a drought very soon, possibly as soon as tomorrow in some districts. I thought to myself that it is obvious, we have had just a few hours of rain in the last three months, all the grass verges and lawns are dried up and dead. There is wild fires breaking out everywhere. Parts of Britain had temperatures above 40°c for the first time in History that we know of. It's not just the weather that is unstable, global leadership seems to be in a bad place. 

In 2016, David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister of the UK because the referendum was in favour of Brexit. That same year Theresa May took over but she resigned in 2019 because her team couldn't break the Brexit deadlock. Now Boris Johnson is resigning because he can't hold down working team. It was during the hot dry summers of the recent years that I noticed staff throughout government was changing very often, not just the leaders but the cabinet staff as well. Nothing seems to be normal anymore. It is like no one trusts anyone anymore and everyone is cold hearted. They love themselves but hate others. 

I was thinking that there shouldn't be one prime minister. There should be at least five of them because ego should never be a motive to make progress. It should always be down to care and passion. It shouldn't be we are better than you because we get quick results, it should be we are doing things now for people that are not even born yet. I don't know. There are so many things I don't know. 

New City

Last week the MP for Southend, 'David Amess' was assassinated while he was serving the community by a extremist terrorist. One thing that stood out about David was his desire for Southend to be reclassified as a City. So, the whole house of commons chamber of Parliament decided to ask the Queen to reclassify Southend as a City. The Queen agreed and will declare Southend to be a city on her platinum Jubilee celebration on June 2022. I'm not sure sure how they will go about it. Perhaps they will condense the whole district into a city, so Basildon, Canvey island, WestCliff and Southend will be one city. Perhaps it will only be Southend town centre that will be classified as a city. I don't know. I will watch and observe.  

Southend is the nearest coastal sea town to London and it is very straightforward to get there. You just go to 'West Ham' train station and take the c2c train from there. The ticket machines are in the station and the tickets are about £11 return last time I checked. It takes less than one hour for the train to get there. I think that 'West Ham' train station intersects with the Jubilee line, DLR and a few others so it is very easy to get there. I'm no stranger to Southend, I took my son there for his first day trip to the coast last summer. Southend is on the Thames estuary, the place where the river Thames meets the sea. There is something there for the whole family, it has the longest pleasure pier on earth, beach side cafés, amousement parks, adventure golf, all sorts of things. Plus there is a nice view of the Ocean. 

Let's see what happens in 2022. 

David Amess Assassinated

About two days ago on the 15th of October, the MP for Southend 'David Amess' was stabbed to death while he was meeting the community. The news thinks his death was an act of Terrorism. This is the second time in a short period that a member of Parliament has been assassinated. I feel pity for the man and his family. I'm sure other MPs are wondering if they will be next. 

My view is that death can come at any time, there are so many hazards that could end my life and eventually I will die. I don't know when or how I will die but I know I will eventually. The heart could stop pumping, blood clot, stroke, infection, accident on the road or blunt force trauma to the head. So many things could happen. I am lucky to still be alive, I could have been in a country that is at war and forced to fight and be killed already. I have avoided all the deadly diseases in this world, I am grateful for that. 

I think to myself every day that this day could be my last day in this world so I try to make something nice every day even if it is just an entry in this blog or a pen and pencil sketch on paper. 

Library incentive

I want to read Mr Tight Fist's book but don't want to give him any money. I have many questions about his decisions. I want to know why he increased our imcome tax allowance yet also increased VAT from 17.5 to 20%.

I want to know why he told us we need austerity yet had money to launch a persistent air strike against Libya. I want to know why he gave us printed documents that stated his government would implement the referendum result yet he quit when we voted to leave. I want to know why he thinks public money should be spent on one of the biggest foreign aid budgets in the world, some of which is wasted dramatically yet    education was cut so students have to pay the whole cost of their higher education. I have many more questions but I won't go on.

I looked in the charity shops yet it was not there; it would probably have scuff marks where people kicked the book across the room if it was there. I guess I need to get a library membership and borrow the book. I wouldn't be surprised if the library was invented for that very reason; to allow people to get answers about decisions without giving any money to the person.

5 months old

Jacob my son is five months old today. He has changed a lot since he was born. He tries to put his feet in his mouth and dances in his baby chair when he hears music. He is the only baby I know of that dances before he can walk. He also makes flapping farty sounds with his mouth.
I sense he will be a very active boy as he ages.
He grows fast. Can't believe is already nearly six months old, were did all the time go?

I can say that at the time my son was five months old,  Mr Tight Fist published his memoirs, I am very curious about his book but don't want to download it now because I know it will talk about brexit and make me feel more afraid about the near future.

If my ancestors only knew what their island homeland was like in my time! I literally moved out of London, got married and had a family while they were arguing about how to implement brexit. And my son Jacob was born in the thick of it all at the dawn of the twenties decade.

Oh, and a gold toilet was stolen earlier this week. I think some rich people have more brass than sense. What is wrong with using a plastic toilet seat? Really!!

I couldn't make it up... They say the truth sets you free. The truth is more headache right now.