Move Your Money UK - Bank On Something Better

Move Your Money UK - Bank On Something Better

Redwings in the garden

I would say the last three or four winters have certainly been colder than I can ever remember here in Thanet, definitely a lot colder and more snow than the previous ten winters.

One thing I have noticed recently are a lot more species of birds visiting my garden, in particular Redwings and Coal Tits during January and February. Over the last few days I have seen up to eight Red Wings feeding on  ivy berries which I have never seen before.

Over the past month I've also spotted a Firecrest for the first time and plenty of Blue Tits, Wrens, Blackbirds, Song Thrush and the solitary Robin. One bird which has been missing in large numbers is the House Sparrow, they used to be the most noticeable visitor but in recent years they only seem to make the odd appearance and certainly not in any great numbers.

Three points for Chris Huhne to ponder

I can't say I'm sorry to see the back of ex-energy minister Chris Huhne, the man was completely obsessed with the fraudulent global-warming scam which has allowed thousands of wind turbines to be built even though they are far more costly than conventional power stations.

Just before he had to resign Mr Huhne boasted that our future electricity supplies should rely on “32,000 wind turbines”, which would cover some 4,000 square miles of our countryside and sea at astronomic expense, to achieve virtually no benefit whatever.

So deluded was Mr Huhne by the “climate change” bit of his job description that not one of his actions in office showed any practical understanding of the “energy” part, and how we are going to survive when we lose all those coal-fired and nuclear power stations which currently supply more than a third of our electricity.

Difficult time for Ed Miliband

It seems the knives are out for Ed Miliband, mainly from the Tory press but also from elements within his own party. He has never been forgiven in some quarters for defeating his brother David in the Labour leadership contest and it seems his face does not fit with many, in fact some people seem more obsessed by the way he looks than what he actually says! this is the mad media driven world we now live in.

The Labour leader now seems to feel the need to comment on every issue concerning Government policy when the usual party in opposition tactic is just to shake ones head at question time, the two Eds got themselves in a right pickle when declaring they could not promise to reverse any of the cuts the tories were making but why did they feel the need to comment on this matter in the first place? It just brought them derision from not only the unions but the Tory press and left wing labour MP's alike. Miliband did eventually focus on the rising unemployment figures this week but Cameron seems always to have an answer for anything Ed throws at him during question time in the House of Commons

David Cameron is on a bit of a roll at the moment, he looks to have been proved spot on in his decision to tell Merkel and Sarkozy to do one and the right wing press have been all over him like a cheap suit recently. The Teresa May border control cock up has been long forgotten and George Osborne and Ian Duncan Smith are quietly going about the business of raising unemployment and then paying them less for the privilege while the British public are too busy tightening their own belts to really notice, at least the unemployed have got wonga.com to fall back on.

All change at TDC

It seems there has been a good few noses put out of joint following the news that Clive Hart has become the new leader of Thanet Council, personally I wish him all the best in what will be a difficult period of leadership with further cuts to the Thanet budget to come over the next year.

I'm sure the new leader and his team will do the best for not only Cliftonville and Margate but the whole of Thanet.

Tesco Margate? It's not rocket science!

A run down part of Margate slap-bang on the sea front and one of the first things visitors see when they leave Margate railway station, an economy in recession with very high unemployment in Thanet and things to get worse in the area next year when cuts to services double. Local concerns about over-development, traffic problems and the effect on Margate High Street! :-)

Well lets put things into perspective, a Tesco metro the size of the one in Broadstairs High Street or the one in Clftonville built on the sea front would not be a bad thing for local people and tourists especially if Dreamland is to be re-opened on a smaller scale and further housing is eventually built on the remaining land as the developers have planned. If I was a day tripper to Margate I would be more than pleased to have a small Tesco right next to the beach, especially for young families whom Margate really needs to attract once again.

If the Tesco development is kept to a reasonable size the extra traffic generated should not be a problem, and in return for allowing the application Thanet Council must get as much inward investment from Tesco as possible, including improvement to all the surrounding area including Arlington House. As long as the Council does not cave in and let Tesco just do as they please this could be a very good deal for Margate.

Thanet Council please don't screw this one up!

A Rich Mans Toy

Earlier today the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond appeared before the transport committee to answer questions on High Speed 2 (HS2) - the planned line between London and Birmingham, this is a similar line to the high speed link between Ashford and St Pancras.


Responding to questions about regulating fare prices on high speed trains he said "Uncomfortable fact number one is that the railway is already relatively a rich man's toy - the whole railway.

He added:"People who use the railway on average have significantly higher incomes than the population as a whole - simple fact."

He went on: “it was an uncomfortable fact that these trains are mainly used by the better-off and some fares were "eye-wateringly expensive".

He then tried to justify the outrageously high fares with this little gem:"If you are a factory worker from Manchester you might never get on HS2 but you will certainly be benefiting from it, if the sales director of your company is routinely hopping on it to meet customers, to jet round the world in a way that brings in orders to keep you employed.”

Britain already has the most expensive rail fares in Europe, how much more of this crap will the British public take before they demand their trains are fully nationalised again?