Contrary Mary's Road Rant

I am a contrary sod, I know that. I don't follow the crowd in the way I think, look, behave, eat or believe. And I don't trust the media or the government; whatever they say I immediately assume they are lying. This contrariness has so far stood me in good stead and I have no plans to change it, unless everyone starts copying me of course. Take the A11 expansion in Suffolk. This is supposed to be the answer to our traffic congestion prayers - make the road wider and the traffic will flow better, easing the jams that build up in my little market town caused by drivers taking shortcuts to avoid the, er, traffic. We have lorries clogging up our narrow high street because a neighbouring local authority, not even our own one, gave them permission to cut through our town after businesses complained taking the longer way round was costing too much. And strike me down with an AA route planner but I'm a driver yet I don't want to ease the traffic by widening roads. I want to ease the traffic by improving our pathetic so called public transport. Put more of those extra long cars with lots of seats in, buses I believe they're called, put more of them on the road. But of course that won't happen because the road lobby want us to drive our individual fuel wasting, countryside flattening cars. There's a lot of money to be had from selling cars, selling accessories, charging tolls, charging for taxes, MOT tests and licences, and not forgetting of course the massive profits to be made from the sale of petrol and diesel. The bus companies won't put on more buses because there is not enough profit in it for them. These people bid for the routes knowing full well they would not be able to maintain a "service" to benefit the passengers. As profit making concerns their priority is to make money, not to get passengers from village to town and back again. I have to drive to get to work in Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area. I would rather take the bus than drive and I would love to get on a bus that departs on time and gets me there on time. But our buses run at two hour intervals, at times which are not conducive to many people's working patterns. Capitalism does not have the will to fix these problems; its priority is to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible. Any concern for the environment and passengers is at odds with this. And they say I'm contrary.

Paul Rodgers - Free, Bad Company & A Nice BTM

Long before Beyoncé, Rihanna and other similar talentless shriekers known for their pert bottoms, there was a fine singer called Paul Rodgers. Now not only is My Brother Jake a great tune but Paul Rodgers had, and probably still has, the finest btm in show business. Cop this:

Jam v Conserve - Fight!

So what is the actual difference between jam and conserve? Just the word conserve puts the sticky confection onto the shelf marked "exclusive", "not for the likes of you" and "if you are a pleb avert your eyes NOW". But seriously, what is the difference?

Before Paul Young Went All Rubbish

Before singer Paul Young went all bland, a prototype Michael Buble for the 80s, he produced something very special. And I am hungry.

There Must Be Two Eds

The Ed Miliband I have read about talks of immigration control, unemployment loans and a firm refusal to renationalise. The Daily Mirror and folk on twitter talk as if he is a shining beacon of the left; the man who condemns UKIP and the Tories for their rightwing-ness. I see one Ed, they see the other Ed, let's call the whole thing off. TUSC is what Labour should be and more.

Capitalism For All Ages - There Is No Escape

I work for charities in a number of different roles. One of my jobs involves seeing elderly people in their own homes, and we get talking as you might imagine. The clients like me because I am cheerful and one of them even told me recently I've become a part of the family. Things like that are precious to me and can never be bought. Human interaction at its best is just wonderful. Under this vicious government we are all suffering cuts in jobs, services and benefits. These cuts affect everyone across the board, from school leavers unable to secure their first jobs to the elderly doing their best to manage on a small state pension. The cuts have made us all pull in our belts until we cannot pull any tighter. One thing I have noticed through this particular job is how vulnerable the elderly are to trickery and exploitation. One client is bombarded with junk mail asking for money, and this lovely old lady sends cheques to everyone who asks. Her kind and generous nature has led to a great diminution of her savings but of course these faceless companies would neither know nor care about that. What these companies do is not illegal - she doesn't have to send them money if she doesn't want to. But when there is the promise of a large prize it is very tempting to keep sending them one more cheque; after all this might be the one to make her dreams come true. When elderly people are living on their own with no family to protect their interests these vulture-like companies take the opportunity to swoop. The junk mail comes from different places, usually some out of town trading estate, on different coloured paper, in different fonts and showing different signatures at the bottom. But it's strange how once a client gets roped into entering a prize draw for one organisation, they find themselves inundated with similar requests from others. It's almost as if they're all coming from the same person;) I've gone off script a bit here but I just feel so angry and saddened when I see people being tricked at a time in their lives when they are least able to understand what they are getting into. Capitalism is behind this. Making money is all that matters and to hell with any notion of decency and morals.

The Bloodstained Roadshow - Let's Do It

We should buy clothes from charity shops, splash them with blood (red paint obviously) and anti-capitalism slogans, then put on fashion shows in high streets. Primark need to answer questions. Why was there no health and safety agreement in the Bangladesh factory? Any suggestions for good music - Walls Come Tumbling Down by The Style Council? It may sound sick but capitalism is sick and it deserves to be shown up for the evil that it is. And of course it is time we actually started changing it.