One of the icons and great men of our time (and hero of Wilt) has resigned – the impeccable and gorgeous Dr Desmond Tutu. God bless him. We will miss him and the world a lesser place without him. However, we doubt if he will entirely “retire” as men of his ilk tend not to fade away – he does however deserve retirement after long service to humankind. His standing down is an inevitable but sad loss – we remember his very kindly, warm smile, directness of personality and “no shit” tell it how it is approach.
What a hero.
Another hero not yet lost, is also featured in the news – Dennis Healy, or rightly known as Baron Healy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Healey
Sadly, his beloved wife Edna May has passed away. He will be bereft and without his anchor in his late age of 92. What a character, what a brilliant man he is and what “a silly Billy” he never was. Dennis Healy was probably the first political figure Wilt recognised – he was difficult not to recognise due to his bushy eyebrows.
He however stood out as a politician of conviction, although some would disagree, and of some intellect – he is another Oxbridge left wing graduate from a historic college, like Wilt and friends.
Even today, and especially today in reflection of his sad loss, Wilt recalls happier times when hearing many years ago Healy say “don’t be a silly Billy” but especially his exceptional house of commons response to his friend but opposition MP Sir Geoffrey Howe’s attack in the Commons, “It’s like being savaged by a dead sheep.”
He was and is, and may he live much longer, the best Prime Minister the UK has never known. Ken Clarke follows in his footsteps – another best Prime Minister we have never known.
Time moves on however, and today we have (call me) ‘Dave’ and I am frankly impressed with him to date – he has that kind of gritty and grounded attitude I admire in Tutu and Healy.
Our thoughts are however with Dennis, with his menacing eyebrows and intelligent wit. As is said, behind every good man is a good woman – and we think that is true in the case of Dennis. Edna is a real loss, in her own right, but especially in support of her man.
Live long brother Dennis. God bless you Edna.
Wilt
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Friday, 23 July 2010
There are no lifegaurds.........
While some friends of Wilt are off to the near East for a long sojourn (for a month no less) Mr & Mrs Wilt are away shortly to the Channel Islands for a week and later (September) also with Ms Wilt back to Egypt – but not, I emphasise, Cairo.
Not after this last experience: http://regulatorwatch.co.uk/2010/07/virgin%E2%80%9D-on-the-ridiculous/
The Channel Islands are a new adventure for the Wilts. Egypt is not. While in Egypt Mrs and Ms Wilt no doubt be listening to their Ipods whilst roasting in the sun. Wilt will be in the shade, with a beer and a book.
Master Wilt will be chasing after his rather glamorous new girlfriend back at Oxbridge.
Even in mid-September it is 38c (100.4f) in Egypt. This time, we plan less sightseeing and more a relaxing time around the pool with lots of Egyptian beer – what they call beer. No cider, unfortunately and Salty Dog will be residing with mother in law for the duration – no cider there either.
Poor Salty Dog!
Another superior hotel, albeit not quite up to the Four Seasons standard in Cairo, awaits the Wilts – we have been there before and the standards and service are better than any in the UK, and indeed in the US. The pool (s) with its own “island” bar is brilliant – get drunk, fall off the stool and hopefully not drown!
There are no lifeguards.
And the gardens are absolute bliss. It shares it with its sister 5 star hotel, probably the most famous of hotels in Egypt – and about the most expensive. Yet we get to use those facilities too, if you care to spend huge amounts on a meal or on drinks on the terrace overlooking one of the best sunsets in the world.
Otherwise, you pop down the road to a restaurant and pay £5 a head for a perfectly good two course evening meal with (soft) drinks. Yes, I did say £5.00 – no joking. Egypt is so cheap, if you know the right places, as to be ridiculous.
Egyptian wine – well that is a bit of a sad story. Once when Wilt was on a Nile Cruise there was a competition and the first prize was one bottle of Egyptian wine and the second prize two bottles of Egyptian wine – even the Egyptians admit it is crap. So avoid it unless you have a serious alcohol problem.
The trouble with Egypt is that there is no reliable supply of UK newspapers – never mind, we have free Wi-Fi and with the trusty laptop Wilt et al can keep up to date. I wonder if it works around the poolside – indeed is the laptop waterproof?
We will find out.
Now all we need is a few pair of shorts, sandals, t-shirts, passport, laptop, shades and a few good books. Come September, even with the Chanel Island break, Wilt et al will be very ready for some simple relaxation.
Oh, and we avoided Egyptair to get there and back – thank Gawd!
Meanwhile however Wilt has several other trips overseas for business, a UK business contract up North for a week, several reports to complete and about £70,000 worth of invoices to process – plus the Gawd awful VAT return!
When for Gawd sake will Wilt next get to North Wales – he is missing it! Fortunately for Salty Dog, she has a week long holiday there with Mrs, Ms and Master Wilt (and girlfriend) shortly – Wilt is otherwise engaged on a contract elsewhere. Mmmmmm.
Nevertheless, life is good.
Wilt
Not after this last experience: http://regulatorwatch.co.uk/2010/07/virgin%E2%80%9D-on-the-ridiculous/
The Channel Islands are a new adventure for the Wilts. Egypt is not. While in Egypt Mrs and Ms Wilt no doubt be listening to their Ipods whilst roasting in the sun. Wilt will be in the shade, with a beer and a book.
Master Wilt will be chasing after his rather glamorous new girlfriend back at Oxbridge.
Even in mid-September it is 38c (100.4f) in Egypt. This time, we plan less sightseeing and more a relaxing time around the pool with lots of Egyptian beer – what they call beer. No cider, unfortunately and Salty Dog will be residing with mother in law for the duration – no cider there either.
Poor Salty Dog!
Another superior hotel, albeit not quite up to the Four Seasons standard in Cairo, awaits the Wilts – we have been there before and the standards and service are better than any in the UK, and indeed in the US. The pool (s) with its own “island” bar is brilliant – get drunk, fall off the stool and hopefully not drown!
There are no lifeguards.
And the gardens are absolute bliss. It shares it with its sister 5 star hotel, probably the most famous of hotels in Egypt – and about the most expensive. Yet we get to use those facilities too, if you care to spend huge amounts on a meal or on drinks on the terrace overlooking one of the best sunsets in the world.
Otherwise, you pop down the road to a restaurant and pay £5 a head for a perfectly good two course evening meal with (soft) drinks. Yes, I did say £5.00 – no joking. Egypt is so cheap, if you know the right places, as to be ridiculous.
Egyptian wine – well that is a bit of a sad story. Once when Wilt was on a Nile Cruise there was a competition and the first prize was one bottle of Egyptian wine and the second prize two bottles of Egyptian wine – even the Egyptians admit it is crap. So avoid it unless you have a serious alcohol problem.
The trouble with Egypt is that there is no reliable supply of UK newspapers – never mind, we have free Wi-Fi and with the trusty laptop Wilt et al can keep up to date. I wonder if it works around the poolside – indeed is the laptop waterproof?
We will find out.
Now all we need is a few pair of shorts, sandals, t-shirts, passport, laptop, shades and a few good books. Come September, even with the Chanel Island break, Wilt et al will be very ready for some simple relaxation.
Oh, and we avoided Egyptair to get there and back – thank Gawd!
Meanwhile however Wilt has several other trips overseas for business, a UK business contract up North for a week, several reports to complete and about £70,000 worth of invoices to process – plus the Gawd awful VAT return!
When for Gawd sake will Wilt next get to North Wales – he is missing it! Fortunately for Salty Dog, she has a week long holiday there with Mrs, Ms and Master Wilt (and girlfriend) shortly – Wilt is otherwise engaged on a contract elsewhere. Mmmmmm.
Nevertheless, life is good.
Wilt
Labels:
Wilts Ramblings
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Off with his head.............
Oh dear, what a shame, Nick Griffin got his invite to the Palace withdrawn: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10723764 and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7904464/Nick-Griffin-denied-entry-to-Buckingham-Palace-garden-party.html
Send him to the Tower ‘Maam’ – Off With His Head I hear a cry!
Wilt would be quite happy if he were hung, drawn and quartered.
Wilt
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7904464/Nick-Griffin-denied-entry-to-Buckingham-Palace-garden-party.html
Send him to the Tower ‘Maam’ – Off With His Head I hear a cry!
Wilt would be quite happy if he were hung, drawn and quartered.
Wilt
Labels:
Wilts Ramblings
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Renault 4............
It’s funny how the chap in the cartoon looks a bit like Wilt: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/cartoon/2010/jul/21/social-care
You know, tall, dark, handsome, and intelligent! No dress sense, 1970’s beard and drives a Citroën 2CV with that odd gear configuration via a gear lever sticking out of the dashboard.
Personally, Wilt preferred the old Renault 4 – it was the ‘posh’ 1970’s/80’s social workers car and a bit more ‘racy’ both in appearance and performance. It was a “big (social worker) boy’s car” whereas the 2CV was for Nancy boys and girls. The only trouble, both were French built – many things French, except wine and food, stink.
Wilt moved into Italian such as Alfa Romeo (otherwise rust buckets) in the 1980’s, Lancia (equal rust buckets) and the Fiat super sport models Abarth – they went like a bat out of hell. Wilt is amazed he is still alive. He had a brief return to the Renault 5 Gordini Turbo – a little less sedate than the old Renault 4; in fact very scary.
In those days, as cars went, it was all Italian, French and German, oh and to be balanced GM Vauxhall who put up a good show in terms of the boy racer Astra. Ford of course had its Escort XRi.
None of these were however quintessential British – unlike Bristol, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce or the kit car makers etc. However, then, none of these were even remotely within the reach of Wilt – he did however manage a day long test drive in a very red, very fast and very ‘girl pulling’ Ferrari.
Trying to shag in the back of a Ferrari should, seriously, come with a health warning.
So Wilt got a conscience (not about shagging – he just got a bad back) and becoming a married family man (not the lass in the Ferrari) decided he should end his boy racer career and became New Mondeo Man (via the Sierra) and, in fact, New Labour Man, eventually.
Latterly, over the past 20 years, Wilt has moved from Old Labour to encompassing New Labour and then to outright Blue Tory – gradual but persistent, I think, and inevitable progress. He has been worker, trade union rep, manager, senior manager and independent social worker and businessman - now that is a fair old journey from owning a quirky Renault 4 to running several high end UK cars based in a rather high end privately owned house, with a very profitable business.
The moral of the story – never judge a book by its cover. Some sandal wearing, hippy looking bearded social workers might just not seem to be what the image portrays. Whereas Wilt loves the (image of) the old Renault 4 he much prefers the comfort of the jolly old Range Rover and other UK Marques in the garage and on the drive.
Life is good, even without the Renault 4 – we do miss it however.
Wilt
You know, tall, dark, handsome, and intelligent! No dress sense, 1970’s beard and drives a Citroën 2CV with that odd gear configuration via a gear lever sticking out of the dashboard.
Personally, Wilt preferred the old Renault 4 – it was the ‘posh’ 1970’s/80’s social workers car and a bit more ‘racy’ both in appearance and performance. It was a “big (social worker) boy’s car” whereas the 2CV was for Nancy boys and girls. The only trouble, both were French built – many things French, except wine and food, stink.
Wilt moved into Italian such as Alfa Romeo (otherwise rust buckets) in the 1980’s, Lancia (equal rust buckets) and the Fiat super sport models Abarth – they went like a bat out of hell. Wilt is amazed he is still alive. He had a brief return to the Renault 5 Gordini Turbo – a little less sedate than the old Renault 4; in fact very scary.
In those days, as cars went, it was all Italian, French and German, oh and to be balanced GM Vauxhall who put up a good show in terms of the boy racer Astra. Ford of course had its Escort XRi.
None of these were however quintessential British – unlike Bristol, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce or the kit car makers etc. However, then, none of these were even remotely within the reach of Wilt – he did however manage a day long test drive in a very red, very fast and very ‘girl pulling’ Ferrari.
Trying to shag in the back of a Ferrari should, seriously, come with a health warning.
So Wilt got a conscience (not about shagging – he just got a bad back) and becoming a married family man (not the lass in the Ferrari) decided he should end his boy racer career and became New Mondeo Man (via the Sierra) and, in fact, New Labour Man, eventually.
Latterly, over the past 20 years, Wilt has moved from Old Labour to encompassing New Labour and then to outright Blue Tory – gradual but persistent, I think, and inevitable progress. He has been worker, trade union rep, manager, senior manager and independent social worker and businessman - now that is a fair old journey from owning a quirky Renault 4 to running several high end UK cars based in a rather high end privately owned house, with a very profitable business.
The moral of the story – never judge a book by its cover. Some sandal wearing, hippy looking bearded social workers might just not seem to be what the image portrays. Whereas Wilt loves the (image of) the old Renault 4 he much prefers the comfort of the jolly old Range Rover and other UK Marques in the garage and on the drive.
Life is good, even without the Renault 4 – we do miss it however.
Wilt
Pile on the shit..............
Now is this proportionate in terms of a disposal: http://www.gscc.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/5ACC11F0-B8F9-4647-A690-9C85F7DF986C/0/NOTICEOFDECISIONMainsahKiven.pdf
A five year admonishment – why? Are the GSCC effectively deciding to stop the woman working? We think so.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will have a record and her CRB check will show the convictions. What exactly are the GSCC achieving by adding a 5 year admonishment? They just love to pile on the shit whenever given the opportunity.
This disposal is so disproportionate – indeed it is outrageous.
Wilt
A five year admonishment – why? Are the GSCC effectively deciding to stop the woman working? We think so.
The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will have a record and her CRB check will show the convictions. What exactly are the GSCC achieving by adding a 5 year admonishment? They just love to pile on the shit whenever given the opportunity.
This disposal is so disproportionate – indeed it is outrageous.
Wilt
Screw bomber.....
What a fucking twat: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/07/21/114947/Doncaster-social-services-bomber-jailed.htm
You see social workers are in the eyes of some legitimate targets. This twat joins the ranks of the likes of Mrs C although her brand of terrorism is (to date) a little less physically violent.
What is it of late with these Northerners roaming the towns and countryside with guns and bombs? Now the latter bloke (the “screw” bomber) might have been tipped over the edge, but the two gunmen, and those that support Moat, were/are just fucking evil.
Wilt
You see social workers are in the eyes of some legitimate targets. This twat joins the ranks of the likes of Mrs C although her brand of terrorism is (to date) a little less physically violent.
What is it of late with these Northerners roaming the towns and countryside with guns and bombs? Now the latter bloke (the “screw” bomber) might have been tipped over the edge, but the two gunmen, and those that support Moat, were/are just fucking evil.
Wilt
Stig.............
If it is not the Stig, who the hell would want to be impersonating him? See the Telegraph article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7901767/BBC-investigates-Top-Gear-Stig-mystery.html
See one theory here: http://regulatorwatch.co.uk/2009/11/csci-internal-review-report/ (comment 13).
Might it be Wilt? He has a Range Rover. Someone is having some fun, but not Wilt in this case.
Brilliant!
Wilt
See one theory here: http://regulatorwatch.co.uk/2009/11/csci-internal-review-report/ (comment 13).
Might it be Wilt? He has a Range Rover. Someone is having some fun, but not Wilt in this case.
Brilliant!
Wilt
Labels:
Wilts Ramblings
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