In 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a promise at his party conference to grant free prescriptions to all those in England with chronic, long-term and serious conditions.(those in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales either already get this, or are about to) Time is now running out to getting this into and through Parliament before the next General Election (likely to be in May or June). After this point it is likely to go right to the bottom of the list of priorities, if not be abandoned altogether. 20 charities are joining together, focussing on Monday 1st February 2010, to make the Government come through on their promise. The economic downturn is no excuse not to follow through on this promise, since the recession has made it even more costly for chronically ill people to pay for their medication. Many are forced to take risks with their welfare by not getting their medication rather than see their families struggling to cope financially.We all know how important our regular medication is!
For Asthma UK's take on this please go to: http://blog.asthma.org.uk/30_seconds_with_gord.html
and for Mind.org's go to: www.mind.org.uk/news/2735_charities_call_for_gordon_brown_to_keep_his_prescription_promise
You can help! You can sign a petition at http://www.prescriptionpromise.org/ where you can also email your local MP and see a list of the charities involved, and you can utilise social networks like Facebook & Twitter to get the word out.
Please use everything you can think of to get the word out - the Government would like the promise to be forgotten, but it's our job (and to our benefit) to make sure it is not.
Thanks!
29 January 2010
16 December 2009
To the thief who tried to take my money ...
Dear Thief
You know who you are, even though you probably do this so often you won't even remember my name. Well, let me remind you. I am the British tourist whose credit card you cloned when I paid in a restaurant in Berlin last week and used it in Russia to buy from an Italian website. I don't know whether you are the cheerful and friendly waitress (who I tipped generously for your excellent service), or whether you are another member of staff. Perhaps you are the owner of the establishment that boasted it had been in situ for 100 years. Perhaps you have no connection with that restaurant aside from having the opportunity to place something inside the card reader to copy my information (as my credit card company informs me you operate). Whatever, whoever you are you may have managed to inconvenience my entire family, who now have no credit cards for up to ten days. You may have forced us to rethink our activities in the lead-up to Christmas. You may have stopped me purchasing a limited-edition item I had been waiting weeks to buy. You have almost certainly landed us with the embarrassment of having to field calls from people who find that our payments have been refused. But you will not get our money. You may find that you do not even get your fraudulently-acquired goods because our credit card company spotted it very quickly.
You're probably wondering why I'm even bothering to write this. The simple answer is it makes me feel better. When I go to bed tonight, it'll calm me to know I've had my say, and I'll sleep well. I wonder how well you sleep at night?
You know who you are, even though you probably do this so often you won't even remember my name. Well, let me remind you. I am the British tourist whose credit card you cloned when I paid in a restaurant in Berlin last week and used it in Russia to buy from an Italian website. I don't know whether you are the cheerful and friendly waitress (who I tipped generously for your excellent service), or whether you are another member of staff. Perhaps you are the owner of the establishment that boasted it had been in situ for 100 years. Perhaps you have no connection with that restaurant aside from having the opportunity to place something inside the card reader to copy my information (as my credit card company informs me you operate). Whatever, whoever you are you may have managed to inconvenience my entire family, who now have no credit cards for up to ten days. You may have forced us to rethink our activities in the lead-up to Christmas. You may have stopped me purchasing a limited-edition item I had been waiting weeks to buy. You have almost certainly landed us with the embarrassment of having to field calls from people who find that our payments have been refused. But you will not get our money. You may find that you do not even get your fraudulently-acquired goods because our credit card company spotted it very quickly.
You're probably wondering why I'm even bothering to write this. The simple answer is it makes me feel better. When I go to bed tonight, it'll calm me to know I've had my say, and I'll sleep well. I wonder how well you sleep at night?
15 September 2009
Recipe for Scandinavian Christmas Vodka
In a complete change of tack from my usual blogging, here is a recipe for a lovely (and definitely alcoholic!) Christmastime drink. I have been making this with enthusiasm for several years around this time of year and consuming it during the Holidays with even greater enthusiasm! I recommend it as an accompaniment to pre-dinner nibbles - I'd choose blini and caviar! Enjoy and go steady - it's pretty potent stuff! Remember breathe OUT after swallowing unless you want, literally, to take your breath away
You will need:
700ml ordinary vodka (no need to buy the fancy stuff here)
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 sticks of cinnamon
12 whole cloves
12 whole cardamon seeds
1 orange (you only need a strip of fresh peel - you can eat the rest!)
An empty one litre bottle or other glass container with a tight-fitting lid- use one with a wide neck it will make life easier later on and be sure it's been thoroughly cleaned
Empty bottles to decant finished liquor later on
Here's what you do:
Put the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and cardamon seeds into the clean container.
Pour the vodka on top of the sugar and spices.
Fasten tightly, shake thoroughly and leave in a cool place, such as a pantry, for two days, during which time you should shake the bottle several times.
At this point cut a long strip of orange zest, drop it into the mixture and leave for another 24 hours.
You can alter the flavour slightly either by infusing the spices for a few days longer or adding the orange zest along with the spices.
Strain the liquor and pour into the other empty bottle(s). Serve very chilled.
Skal!
You will need:
700ml ordinary vodka (no need to buy the fancy stuff here)
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 sticks of cinnamon
12 whole cloves
12 whole cardamon seeds
1 orange (you only need a strip of fresh peel - you can eat the rest!)
An empty one litre bottle or other glass container with a tight-fitting lid- use one with a wide neck it will make life easier later on and be sure it's been thoroughly cleaned
Empty bottles to decant finished liquor later on
Here's what you do:
Put the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and cardamon seeds into the clean container.
Pour the vodka on top of the sugar and spices.
Fasten tightly, shake thoroughly and leave in a cool place, such as a pantry, for two days, during which time you should shake the bottle several times.
At this point cut a long strip of orange zest, drop it into the mixture and leave for another 24 hours.
You can alter the flavour slightly either by infusing the spices for a few days longer or adding the orange zest along with the spices.
Strain the liquor and pour into the other empty bottle(s). Serve very chilled.
Skal!
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