Category: Uncategorized

Porridge.

SuperValu Porridge Oats

70 cents/kilo

 

Here’s something I came across last week – i forgot where. A man made a compliant about a restaurant charging him €16.15 for a bowl of porridge and a coffee in Eyre square in Galway. Sounds pricey allright … there is alot of restaurants that overcharge people and seem to get away with it. Tourists are particular prey for them wont get a regular crowd with prices like that.

He was charged €7.50 for the bowl of porridge… extra for maple syrup €1.50 and charged for the milk and some raisins. The c0ffee worked out at around €6 still pricey for a latte. I guess the man had grounds to complain alright.

The restauranter responded that the prices where clearly displayed and the meal was of good quality and the ambiance of the restaurant was good.

what this gourmet porridge ! Any excuse to rip someone off. To be honest i would have looked at the prices and done a quick exit. Value for money is a alien concept for most Irish retailers and who charge whatever they can get away with.

What’s your experience of restaurants in Ireland ? Rip off or value for money ?

The State of the Defense forces.

One thing that has come up recently is the condition of the defense forces. Apparently they aren’t in any condition to defend the country with less than ten thousand men to staff the army, navy and air corp. That would leave about five thousand men as combat soldiers . Lack of Capabilities for example No combat aircraft, just a few helicopters, No tanks just a few APC’s, No air defense capacity, scare Artillery and just a few days ammunition . Shockingly state really. Who would leave us in a defense less state ?|Hundred years of fianna fail/fine gael has us a push over for anyone who wants to take us.

The establishment obviously isn’t reliant on Irish arms to keep them in , we have a bigger army if that was the case . There is no guardian force to protect the country, kick out corrupt governments and so on.. Kept weak deliberately so ..We need a modern army with full capabilities  to protect us in this threatening. world

Feeling the Pinch…

 

We have all noticed in the past few months, the price of everything has gone up  especially petrol/diesel.gas which has brought knock on increases in the price of food,fertilizers,home heating oil or kerosene and . .just about everything else.

I recently bought five hundred liters of kerosene which worked out @€1.40/liter or €700 for the fill. It was €0.86/liter before Christmas (which was up on a previous price). Very wallet emptying these increases, Bord Gáis put up prices 27% for electricity and up 40 % for gas other energy  companies have made similar increases..

What does one do ?

No body has got wage increases of 27%, poor people have decided to turn off the heating as they can’t afford it, take less journeys by car, shop at Lidl or Aldi, look for wage increases or increases in social  welfare all in aid  of making one ends meet.

  • Whats the reason for all these increases ? More demand for oil and gas, production cuts by OPEC and other oil producers, more demand by Asian countries.. Largely i blame the Saudis for “gouging” consumers and being able to get away with it..
  • The Irish Daily Mail says most people are €3,000 worst off than before all the prices increases in oil&gas. Maybe people will switch to renewable energy i.e Wind/Solar/Hydro/Nuclear it should be cheaper. . They should be a switch to electric or hydrogen cars in the next ten years that will reduce the demand for oil and gas.
  • I can’t wait for that to happen !

Books That I have Read- Billy Connolly Windswept and Interesting.

Here is the autobiography of Billy Connolly A Glasgow born Catholic who is famous for his comedy sketches. He was described as Windswept and Interesting by a singer who he knew. He describes people who are “Windswept and Interesting” just have to be it … they don’t care what people say about them, they don’t buy new clothes , they’ll  try on a tea cosy when no-one is around and tell their story their own damn way.

“Billy” was born in November 1942 in a Glasgow tenement to a father who was away at War and a young Mother. Their mother abandoned them when he was four years of age and was placed in a children’s home but was taken out by his Aunts on his father’s side, He went to live with his Aunts in a rather cramped house. He got a rather tough upbringing, one of his Aunts used to  beat him till he stood up to her years later, he also got a trashing from the nuns which continued when he went to the “big” school. He told his classmates that he wanted to be a comedian and they all laughed !

He was abused by his Aunt and sexually abused by his father who he had to share a bed with when he came back from the War. “Billy” didn’t do well at school, he couldn’t do his homework with the situation at home and was regularly bashed by his teachers.. He apprenticed  as a welder at a Glasgow shipyard but his heart wasn’t in it and dossed alot.

He started to play at  a folk hall with a banjo and began telling jokes to the audience. He was a “stand by” act if someone didn’t show up. His career in comedy begin to take off and played at larger and larger venues.  He experienced his marriage break up but his career kept going, He lived and worked in Los Angeles and New York  and starred in a few films.

He is now in his late Seventies  and suffers from Parkinson’s, he lives in the Florida keys and says he hasn’t done bad for a welder who got away with it.

 

 

 

 

 

State Pension “Reforms”

Here’s a story in Today’s Irish Independent

,Work 40 years to qualify for full State pension – report urges – Independent.ie

A state commission will propose that the length of social insurance contributions should be up to forty years duration to qualify for a full “state” pension, This is up from the present ten years contributions so it is quiet a hike really,

They also want to raise the pension age to 67 from 65.  It must be a pretty nasty bunch this commission, their proposals are anti people, designed to catch the poorest (who have no private pension) and leave them with nothing. It is really work till you die for alot of people, people who will not qualify for the 40 year contributions -stay at home mums, self employed, people with bouts of unemployment, people who studied a lot all will be caught under these proposals.

Maybe they should concentrate on the civil service there pensions cost the most. No fear of that is there ?

It is reported that the Irish Congress of Trade unions has already rejected these proposals. It shows the real nasty side of FF/FG Tories who give tax cuts to the rich and turn the screws on the poor . This commissions report must be sent to the recycle bin as it is meant to increase poverty and worsen conditions for ordinary people. Reject this !

 

Katherine Zappone Controversy

On the news of late is ex minster and ex td Katherine Zappone, firstly she made the news with her party at Merrion Hotel contravening Co vid regulations and next her appointment to the UN as “special envoy”. Apparently no vacancy existed, none was advertised and is a made up post to suit Miss Zappone whims and fancy. Would we all have a cushy number  such as this, lots of  travel and meetings and no real work really. It seems the job didn’t pay that well according to the irish times it only paid €15,000 and was of 60 days duration, thats the Irish times version of it anyway.

The appointment (now declined) smacks of cronyism and jobs for the boys/girls mentality. We have alot of this mentality in Irish government and have a civil service full of people who have this feeling of entitlement. The Government and Rich people tell ordinary folk  that they are entitled to nothing and the “World doesn’t owe anyone a living ” while they plunder and steal. Governments appointing their supporters to state jobs is nothing new and all political parties do it if they get the chance, These practices block suitable people from taking up positions on merit, The Government departments are mismanaged, cost too much and are a burden on ordinary people.

Those Summer Days …

Well that’s it for another year, the Summer was so so. A few sunny Days in the month of July about 10 in all and that’s the summer. Well i suppose it wasn’t a complete washup in comparison to the Summer other countries got, heatwaves and floods so i suppose we better count ourselves lucky.

A  recent report by the United Nations says we have possibly done irreversible damage to the balance of nature and will take thousands of years to undo. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.   I guess that’s peoples lifestyle will have to become more environment friendly and cut down on toxic emissions but will they really do it ? Lip service is cheap and doesn’t cost anything but the weather chaos can’t be wished away. So what must be done ? A cut in the absolute huge number of humans must happen, two children is enough for any couple. certainly there’s no good jobs for  massive populations and all the children they have. What’s the  Solution here ? I don’t think anyone knows.