God save the Queen!

ROYALIST or not you have got to take your hat off to the Queen and HRH Prince Philip. I was lucky enough to be at the official opening of the new £30 million Orford Park Community Hub in Warrington today and although it was only a flying visit - they certainly put in plenty of effort for a couple now aged 84 and 90. While my legs were seizing up standing waiting for them to arrive from an earlier tour of duty at Chester zoo, I reflected on how much running around I would be capable of doing if I am still lucky enough to be alive at their age! After their 45 minute tour of duty in Warrington it was then off to Liverpool for their next engagement. A truly remarkable couple - and thank you for taking the trouble to visit my home town when I am sure you would have much rather been enjoying your later years in the comfort of your own home. God save the Queen!

Cheating footballers!

Having watched the Newcastle v Liverpool game in disbelief I think my days of watching any Premier league game are numbered as it is becoming an absolute disgrace.
Players who clearly cheat should be fined a months salary (which should be donated to charity or grassroots football) and banned from the game for eight weeks!
During the Liverpool Newcastle game we clearly saw
1. A Newcastle player handle the ball on the line stopping a certain goal. That player is a cheat.
2. We then saw Liverpool's Andrew Carroll clearly dive - the ref saw it but the player escaped with a yellow card. That player is a cheat.
3. We then saw a Newcastle player trip the Liverpool goalkeeper. The Newcastle player then pretended that he had been head butted in the face with great force - replays seemed to show no actual contact. The Newcastle player again was clearly a cheat but escaped with a yellow card. The Liverpool player got a red card for violent conduct which was the correct decision - but it is easy to understand why players lose the plot when so many mistakes go unpunished or unseen.
Premier League football is meant to be the best league in the world and certainly commands huge salaries.
In reality it is becoming a joke.
It is time fans voted with their feet!
I have been a proud Liverpool fan all my life and witnessed many great occasions following the club.
But I am sad to say my beloeved Liverpool are as guilty as any other club these days.
They are all becoming over paid cheats!

Happy New Year for 2012 - but not if you believe the papers!

AS we prepare to celebrate the start of a New Year - 2012 is already being heralded as a year of double dip recession and misery for many - if you believe what you read in the newspapers.
In reality the past decade has been pretty tough and for many of us the year ahead will only be as bad as we allow it to be.
Yes it is tough out there - believe me as someone who works closely with many small businesses - I know exactly how tough the economy is.
But nothing is to be gained by sitting back and thinking - it is tough out there so I may as well just give up the ghost now.
Reading today's newspapers one could be forgiven for giving up now - putting the champagne/sparkling wines back in the cupboard and saving the fireworks til next November!
Instead I intend to look forward to 2012 with renewed optimism, a health campaign to get my mind and body back into shape and work twice as hard to try and make a success of everything I get involved with.
If we all try and do the same we have a chance of making 2012 a year to remember as the year when the good times started to roll again - but then again good news doesn't make headlines! Oh the cynic in me.
Here is to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year to everyone - lets make the most of it and not wallow in self pity - or believe what we read in the papers - otherwise there will be rioting in the streets, banks collapsing all around us and global poverty on a scale never seen before!
Whatever happens lets hope for some responsible reporting rather than scaremongering to sell a few more newspapers - stick to reporting on the weather - hang on they always get that wrong as well!
What happened to the coldest winter on record for decades and the white Christmas we were promised!

Foul mouthed Yankees - not funny!

AMERICAN rockers Steel Panthers may think they are funny with their foul mouthed abusive comments about women.
Well I can assure you that when you attend a rock concert with your teenage daughter - it is not funny - in fact the language they used was too obscene to publish on her.
Having attended rock concerts for more than 30 words I am no prude and expect plenty of F'in and jeffin - even sexist jokes - it all goes with the territory.
But Steel Panthers crossed the line as support act to Motley Crue and Def Leppard at the MEN Arena last weekend.
God knows why they thought they had to be obscene - because musically they were OK - but due tot heir extremely abusive comments about women I certainly would never consider seeing them again live in concert or indeed purchasing anything associated with them.
The fact they made Motley Crue seem like pure gentleman - and they are not backwards in coming forward with sexist overtones and starting every sentence with the F word - they are seasoned professionals and produced a very entertaining show - especially the drum solo on the roller coaster - probably one of the best stage effects I have seen after AC/DC's Rock n Roll train and Kiss's firework show.
Last up on the night were British rockers Def Leppard who produced a very polished performance and most definetly were the gentleman of rock on the night.

Money saving tip of the day!

Are you one of those many people out there who let your home insurance renew every year - well I was!
But with the annual bill from Barclays approaching £1,000 to insure my property I decided it was time to shop around - and guess what I have saved over £300 a year, been given added benefits and the promise of £100 worth of M&S vouchers - and I am still with Barclays!
I shopped around for a better quote, which I achieved with my first call and as soon as I phoned Barclays to cancel my existing deal - the offers flowed - first the reduction, then the offer of an extended service and finally after I was still showing reluctance to stay with them - the £100 sweetner.
At one time the "big boys" seemed almost happy to let you go - well it would seem event he giants of the financial world like Barclays Bank are now more than happy to be accommodating to ensure they keep your business.
So if you are one of those lazy people out there who just let the direct debits roll over - make sure you pick up the phone when your next renewal is due - and you are guaranteed on making a saving - probably withou the hassle of even having to move.

National Strike Day

Many public workers will be staging a national strike Day on Wednesday - mainly due to the fact that their pensions are not going to deliver what they have previously been promised.
I am in exactly the same situation after paying into a private pension fund with my own money for the past 25 years - but no one is going to come out on strike for me.
What will I be doing - working harder than ever to try and continue to be competitive during these tough economic times.
We all need to work a little harder for a little less to ensure we can all survive and come back stronger once the global economy starts to recover.
I fear it will get tougher during the next 12 months before we can even start to think of a recovery.
All strike action will do is cost the country millions of pounds in lost revenue - and many workers who strike will have it deducted form their wages- so have less money in their own pockets as we approach the most expensive time of the year for many of us.
Vicious circle.
Everyone is having to cut back and make savings and if the funds are not there to provide good pension pay offs further down the road striking will not boost the economy - it will damage it.

An example for us all!

CONGRATULATIONS to Warrington Disability Partnership on reaching their 20th anniversary milestone!
I feel honoured to be a trustee of this ground breaking organisation which is setting examples others should follow during these tough economic times.
Realising revenue funds are drying up from various funding bodies WDP has now set up its own trading company, The Disability Trading Company, offering the sale of disability equipment as well
as a repair service to ensure its future survival.
On top of this Golden Square has generously offered a retail unit in the town centre to help further promote the good work of the organisation.
I knew WDP's Chairman Dave Thompson prior to his life changing accident when he broke his neck playing American Football.
Not content with spending the rest of his life sitting in a wheelchair doing flower arranging and painting classes, Dave not only helped launch a charity from scratch
but also got himself back into employment as a senior manager in the health service.
Yet again another fine example of how to deal with adversity in life.
For any organisation or business struggling during the current economic down turn can I suggest you look closely at the example being set by Warrington Disability
Partnership and Dave Thompson.
The key to their success is partnership - by working in partnership we can hopefully ride the tough econimic storm together and come out the other side
stronger for it.
Keep up the good work Dave and the Team - You are a shining example for us all to follow.