Longrider

The BBC has a series of graphs showing the latest poll results. While I tend to take these with the proverbial pinch of salt, they make interesting reading - showing Kerry marginally ahead. Mr Bush’s lawyers will be getting ready, no doubt….

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The laws in Britain are somewhat skewed when it comes to homeowners defending their property. While, technically, it is possible to injure or kill an intruder, the householder will have to show that such extreme measures were not only necessary, but that they were not premeditated. Failing that, prosecution at the very least, for manslaughter will result. In the case of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who shot an intruder it was murder. Okay, yes, he shot the boy in the back - and that’s why it was murder - however, the law does not adequately protect homeowners and is not sufficiently robust to allow them to protect themselves. And none of this gets into the murky area of Civil Law where the injured intruder can sue for damages….

According to the Telegraph the Conservatives want to change this. So, is this a genuine desire to see justice for householders or a cheap election stunt?

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My brother-in-law is staying with his extended family at our house in France this week. I keep getting twinges of envy - he tells us that they are having a wonderful time and it’s 22^o in the Lodève area. That, of course, is why we bought it. That and the French lifestyle. I commented on the right of residence in the EU in an earlier entry. This means that retirement for us will be in the Languedoc Rousillon. Decent weather all year, fantastic countryside and the best motorcycling roads you could imagine. It seems however, that the exodus from these damp and over-regulated islands is starting to gather in momentum and we will not be alone, according to the Sunday Times….

Dunno if that’s a good thing or not.

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As the two candidates enter the final furlong and seek to influence the swing states, I’m in something of a quandry….

On the one hand, George Dubya has proved himself the dangerous, incompetent buffoon I always thought he was. He certainly didn’t disappoint . Yet, a Kerry victory may well be seen by Al Queda as a victory for their tactics - in the same way as the socialist victory did in Spain following the Madrid bombing.

It’s a dead heat according to the polls - will the electorate prove them hopelessly wrong? And what happens if it is a dead heat? Will there be the awful legal wrangling and shenanegins of the last time around? Steal an election? Surely not…

The Chinese have discovered a fossilised embryo. Thought to be the earliest fossilised remains of a bird, it is unique because it has feathers. According to Dr Angela Milner of the London Natural History Museum:

"The fact that its feathers were so well developed could mean that these things could fly quite soon after they hatched,"

Well if you were likely to be Allosaurus lunch, you’d learn to fly quite soon, too.

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So the biggest civil service union has called a strike for the 5th of November. Um…. will we notice?

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Craig Murray has committed the gravest of blunders. As a Foreign Office diplomat, he made the mistake of telling the truth. Bad enough that the government tried to shut him up. Worse, and more worrying perhaps, is that they were so inept at it….

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There are plenty of people out there who will try to relieve you of your money. These two scammers lived the life of luxury in New York while relieving "investors" of thousands of dollars. When questioned they responded with Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.�?

Nope - you really couldn’t make it up. Just as well I don’t believe in God, isn’t it?

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Not content with the furore over his A level exams (The BBC story last week) the third in line to the throne now gets himself involved on a fracas outside a night club. BBC again
This time, it seems, there will be no apology - Boris Johnson, eat your heart out….

Our Post Office closed this week. Despite mobilisation of the local community and the MP. So, consultation really means, we’ll give you the impression that your opinion counts, but we’ll ignore it anyway….

Okay, so the GPO is in trouble - the internet has changed the face of our financial transactions. But how, exactly am I going to post my packages without one? And, even buying on the interent means someone has to deliver what I buy.

Now I’ll have to use a vehicle to post those packages because my "local" post office isn’t local any more.

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