JP's Corner of The Blogosphere

  Personally, I thought it was “Metrosexual Tea.”  Either way, this is what one gets for rashly deciding to give up coffee for Lent and then agreeing to meet someone in Cafe Nero. Anyway, I’m going to stick with the “Metrosexual” because it makes me feel trendier, and probably has less capacity to offend.

I read this article this morning, and saw that apparently spending cuts will “will have a £1bn knock-on for the Scottish budget.” I’m not convinced.  Once again, the BBC have bandied around a headline figure without citing any source or giving any data to back it up.  Is this really unbiased reporting? Secondly, what does a "£1bn knock-on” look like?  The media love telling us how much the government is spending (or not) on this that or the other, but there’s more to life than a headline figure.  What would this £1bn otherwise be spent on? There is an implied logic in the fascination with figures like this which would suggest that if I am foolish enough to spend £20k on a car for which you paid £12k then I am on to a good thing. Thirdly, Alex Salmond is always bleating on about how Scotland doesn’t need Westminster.  So whatever the effects of the budget cuts, why should the SNP worry?  

  “Isn’t that the game that people play in the middle of the night?” Yes.  Yes it is.

I saw this sign on the platform at Basingstoke station last week.  If they genuinely meant to offer the items in the plural sense then this could be something of a bargain.  “Any regular hot drinks” – the possibilities are endless. Sadly, however, I suspect that you get one roll and one drink for your £4.  Far from being a recession busting bargain, this sort of ‘offer’ requires a mortgage in its own right.  If I was an American I’d possibly consider ordering several rolls and drinks and then suing for false advertising when they charged me more than £4.

I read this article this morning and have been left wondering how long it will be before some English villages are branded racist for having no inhabitants from minority backgrounds.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for diversity – but let’s not force it. 

Whilst waiting for my computer to get on with something, I took part in the BBC’s Great British Class Survey …

"To demand respect, you must first display self respect. Today we have done just that, and the rest of the world can now sit up and take notice of the fact that our small nation, here on the western edge of the continent of Europe, has demonstrated pride in who we are, and what we all stand for." So said Plaid Cymru leader, Ieuen Wyn Jones , following a ‘Yes’ vote in the recent Welsh referendum.  But being deliberately controversial, this is like Gaddafi announcing that all his people love him .  Far from demonstrating “pride in what we all stand for,”  a turnout of 35.4% demonstrates nothing but apathy. Should we be worried?