How long has Clegg got? This man's desperate desire to sit on the government front bench has turned his party and himself into a laughing stock. Having become a lackey to the similarly desperate Cameron he has brought into power a Conservative government and happily thrown away all his 'beliefs' in the process. There have been more 'U' turns by the Lib-Dems in the house of commons than on a major road during the bad weather. While claiming much of the government policy as Lib-Dem in fact the parts that will be put through are entirely Conservative! All their ideas are falling by the wayside and will soon be forgotten. However he is sitting on the front bench, he has a position of 'power' and he is the one that matters not his party or the nation! Not any more! The latest failure, to force his backbenchers to support the government position on student tuition fees was a farce all round. Vince Cable, a Lib-Dem, forced to bring in a bill he did not like, almost refused to vote for it, did so because he had to, and looks as big a failure as his millionaire leader. What a shambles this lot are! How long for Clegg? How long therefore for Cameron, another rich kid desperate for high office and happy to lead an unelected, unwanted government? The worrying thing for us all concerns what happens when this absurd coalition falls apart. The opposition comprises a new inexperienced Labour Party with bumbling fools in charge and they have no policy, no idea, and I suspect no hope! The futures bright, but nothing appears very bright in the house of commons!
As I was standing at the window, harmlessly watching the girls in the park with my binoculars, I noticed a man standing on the pavement below. He then did a strange thing. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a silver cigarette case, selected one of the white killer sticks inside and placed this in his mouth. Replacing the case he then lit the cigarette and began to increase his lung cancer. Now I was shocked by this as I have not seen a silver cigarette case in use for a great many years. To be honest it was never likely in my family for anyone to have such an item, not counting my aunt, she worked for 'Jenners' (Where the rich shopped) and as such got good things on the cheap! We were only allowed in under guard. The rest of the family continued to dwell in poverty, a habit that remains with me today. During the days of my young childhood, which some suggest still endure, it was common to see folks taking cigarettes from those oblong packets of 'Capstan' or 'Senior Service.' I used to enjoy watching the smoke from my dad's cigarettes slowly curling and twisting into the air. Being told to "Clear off" because I was annoying, did not really compute. It couldn't as we did not have computers in those days did we? The sound of cancerous growths in my fathers lung I must say was not noticed at the time. Both film and TV stars continued to smoke well into the seventies, possibly even the eighties and in the days of black & white films many a director made use of the smoke to create atmosphere. This habit of smoking continued even though we were made aware of the dangers long before we left school in the mid sixties. The site of a lung preserved in an chemical did not stop us obnoxious brats wandering around coughing on our ''Cadets' or 'No 6' brands. It was an important part of adolescence to smoke 'Silk Cut' or some such as everybody else did, although our folks never knew of course. I was somewhat surprised when my dad asked if he could have one of my 'No 6' one day. "I don't have any," said I, "Yes you do they are in your top drawer." Never trust a father! I suspect today's youth know more about 'funny cigarettes' rather than 'Players.' Today China and those nations less aware of the dangers are recipients of heavy advertising by the tobacco companies. Such nations, China in particular, are now becoming aware of a huge rise in numbers of lung cancer victims, yet advertising and peoples ignorance continues. Why do we not ban this foul activity? I do not know? I suggest that we insist that those who smoke wear a black cowl and walk the streets ringing a small bell and crying "Unclean, unclean!" The banning of smoking in pubs and clubs, businesses and all places where humans gather has already benefited all of us.The air is healthier, clothes worn in public houses no longer reek of others smoke, and only the beer spilled leaves a mark, not counting the falling down stairs and abusing police officers 'student style' of course. The difference in attitudes over fifty years is amazing. Everyone smoked in times past, pipes, or cigars, then cigarettes became very popular during the Great War, given then to comfort the wounded and often advertised in the press as 'healthy!' Today it is the dumb minority that smoke, Nick Clegg smokes apparently, is this the time to mention this I wonder? It took so many years to realise how daft we were! There again today our streets are filled with the stour pumped out from the back end of oil guzzling motors and this is just as big a killer yet we are slow to develop a better system. The stupidity of the human knows no end.
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