Resident Hippy

A list came out in the news the other day showing some of the things that have been banned in the name of health and safety. For us of an older generation a lot of things that we wouldn’t have thought twice at doing now seem to have been banned and other activities would probably leave parents running to stop their children doing the same!

It does really say a lot, although Health and Safety has reduced a lot of deaths and accidents it has been taken to the extreme by some people/organisations. Case in point below:

Butlins- banning dodgem cars from bumping to prevent whiplash and broken bones.

Footballs – Some schools will only allow footballs made from sponge so they don’t hurt you when they hit you!

Sack races – Traditional sports day game banned just in case kids fall and twist their ankles.

Flying Kites – Banned on beaches in Bridlington so no one can be hit by one.

Poppy pins – Pins stopped being given out for Royal British Legion Poppies in case someone pricks themselves.

Now to me these just seem stupid to me, bumper care with no bumping? No pins for poppies, isn’t it about time we realised we have to look after our own personal safety? I know there needs to be some legislation but some of these mentioned above are just plain stupid. 

Wow man, I just can’t believe what happened over the weekend in London, the damage caused by mindless thugs is shocking. I still can’t believe the police can’t control them. I watched the news last night as it showed the thugs going in for a third night. These kids must be on some shit to burn and destroy where they live basically because they think they are owed something.

I feel sorry for the peoples livelihoods who have been destroyed because of this, in an area where these ‘youths’ complain of no jobs and no prospects for their lives they just go and make it worse. A lot of the business that were targeted were family run ones these may not be able to open up again especially in these hard financial times which means a loss of jobs. Even chain stores may think twice about re-opening their insurance costs will go sky high now. So basically these mindless kids have shot themselves in the foot.

I believe that the only thing that will stop these kids is force, rubber bullet and water cannons, which were successful in Northern Ireland. There are no deterrents with the law; lax sentencing etc. so physical force may be the only thing to scare them off. 

It has been looking like it could spread across the country with groups popping up in Manchester and Birmingham, which is why force is needed before it escalates and the whole of the ‘youth’ in the UK joins in. Although if any kids try this shit on me I will use force especially if they try to rob me, you have been warned……..

I read this week that beer sales at both pub’s and supermarkets have fallen sharply in recent months. According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) this is due to higher taxes. Now it doesn’t take an idiot to know that this would happen, when announcements were made about increased taxes on alcohol everyone I know at least said they would buy less because it was getting too expensive.

Taxes have added 10 pence to the price of beer last summer and since then many people have been squeezed financially, myself included, which means we do without or consume less. The problem with the decrease in sales is that there will also be a decrease in tax revenue too, because although the amount of tax collected on each unit sold increased, overall the numbers sold have dropped so the there is a good change the extra tax increases will have failed to bring in the estimated revenue the government wanted.

Recently the same happened with fuel revenue, many people cut down using their cars because high prices which include at least 70% tax meant they couldn’t afford it. The government then lost a lot of revenue here because of low sales.

I personally don’t go to pubs anymore, was put off by the smoking ban and now high prices, I feel like I have much more freedom at home and can relax much more without feeling like I am being hounded for having a couple of bevvies! The main losers that I feel sorry for are the staff, at the pubs and breweries that may lose their jobs; don’t feel sorry for the government as any person could have told them what would happen if they kept increasing taxes.