Archive for March, 2010

Approaching the General Election

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Paper People

The looming prospect of a General Election, leaves me in a quandary, I am desperate to see the back of the labour party, but I am equally unconvinced by the somewhat wet Conservative opposition. Labour have had thirteen years, and by any measure, we can see the wrecked economy, you only need to consider that the Government’s share of national spending has moved from around 36% at the time Labour took office in 1997 to around 52% today. Hardly a position to be envied as any government attempts to restore the budget deficit we can see ahead. Which according to some observers will peak in 2014 at £1,400,000,000,000 or £23,333 per individual based on a population of 60 Million!

The Sting, the Pig and a bunch of MP’s

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

I watched that excellent film, The Sting, starring Paul Newman, (now sadly the late) and Robert Redford the other evening and it reminded me of the recent Channel Four Despatches programme in which Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt, Geof Hoon and Margaret Moran were set up in an undercover operation to reveal the murky goings on by our MP’s, using their influence to affect an outcome for a fee. I always like to add a picture to go along with any comments, so I had to dig through my archive to find an appropriate one for the article, here it is…

Limestone Quarries

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Jackdaw Quarry

Jackdaw Quarry, near Tadcaster

One of the great features of Yorkshire is the wide variety of quality stone which is to be found across the county, around Aberford on the Parlington Estate and on the north bank of the Cock Beck are numerous worked out old quarries, looking closely at the stone face you can often find the quarrying marks, holes drilled for explosives. Today the number of quarries is much less, but the size of them is far greater, the photograph of Jackdaw Quarry just off the A64 near Tadcaster is one such example. I recently took some pictures around the quarry and this one in particular I liked because of the intense cloud formation. The view is looking roughly south and is across a worked out part of the quarry.

Photos are King

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Parlington Driveway Ground Mist

Yesterday I posted some pictures of Tewkesbury, which I believe set the scene in that part of the world, but remember local photographs of Parlington can hold up against most things. The picture here is of the driveway with a slight mist affecting the ground levels but the trees are dreamlike, and all is enhanced by a wild sky. The Triumphal Arch in the background just makes it for me!

Local landmarks around Tewkesbury

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

The Nodding Gables, currently a Halifax Branch

Halifax Building, Tewkesbury

A weekend in the Cotswolds gave me the opportunity to do some local scenes, and where better than Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, sadly Saturday’s weather was less than favourable, but by Sunday morning it had turned around and a walk around the old Abbey and along the streets full of old timbered buildings was delightful in the morning sunshine.

The Former “Ye Olde Hat Shoppe”

Ye Olde Hat Shoppe, Tewkesbury

Why You’ve Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Pound Symbol
The following talk by Tom Woods at mises.org, is a refreshing take on dealing with a recession in a manner that does not involve government spending yet more of the taxpayers hard won earnings! The entire talk lasts around 47 minutes but is well worth listening to. The frankness of economic theory that the speaker exspouses makes me realise how the UK Government has made serious mistakes on our behalf with the quantative easing madness that has followed the equally horrendous bail out of the banks.
Why You’ve Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920 Thomas E. Woods, Jr., from the Mises Circle event “The Great Depression: What We Can Learn From It Today.” Professor Woods, author of MELTDOWN, provides an excellent presentation.

A Book about Lotherton and Bill Burlingham (The Chauffeur)

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

spirit_of_lotherton

A book about the twentieth century Gascoignes and their chauffeur, Bill Burlingham, was launched today at the local pub in Saxton, The Greyhound (worth a mention on its own, a small quiet country pub, virtually unchanged in a 100 years!). Bill who was the second chauffeur after Louis Hawkett (details here), is in his 95th year and still lives on the Lotherton Estate. If you would like a copy of the book by local historians Pauline Robson and Martin Tarpey, please contact Pauline here, it’s a snip at £5.00 and has 117 pages, making it only four pence per page!

From Hillsdale College!

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Three Masted Sailing Ship Whitby

Three Masted Sailing Ship Whitby

The UK general election is not far away, I reckon that if one of the parties were to adopt the following strategy, we might be able to put the “Great” back into Britain; I wish.

“Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College