BBC NEWS | Business | Legal fight over red cross symbol

If you needed any more proof that drug companies are nasty evil money grabbing bas**rds you just have to read this article:

BBC NEWS | Business | Legal fight over red cross symbol

Sorry folks, I'm Lazy

OK folks, I have to hold my hands up to being incredibly lazy with putting new articles into this blog again. I promise that I really am going to try harder to make time to write stuff to put here. Loads has been happening lately, so I hope to be able to tell you about it soon.

Lazy Sunday UK (Tea, Motherf*****!) WARNING - Strong Language!

Come on America, Give us a Break

I've just returned from A very relaxing break on the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. I however had to take time off unpaid because this country doesn't believe in giving employees paid vacation. My situation is exacerbated by the fact that I am classified as a temp even though I work full time for a large corporation. This status doesn't entitle me to anything, no healthcare, vacation or even sick pay.

Compared to the rest of the industrialised world, the USA is one of the only countries that doesn't mandate ANY paid vacation for workers. In Europe, the average paid vacation is for employees is four weeks, with some European countries giving much more. It can take an American worker many many years of service to achieve this. Most Americans may be given one week of vacation after a year of service, and this is seen as generous. In This Article, you can see that after 25 years of service, the average American will have accrued slightly less vacation time than a European with the minimum mandated vacation time allowed.

In his book Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life, Joe Robinson debunks the myth that America has a higher productivity than that of Europe:

“Evidence shows that time off is not the enemy of productivity; to the contrary, it’s the engine,” according to Robinson. “Contrary to the American myth, a number of European countries have caught up with the United States in productivity.”

In fact, as this article states, according to US federal reserve figures. Europe had a higher productivity in 14 of the 19 years between 1981 and 2000.

Surely this lack of vacation time available to Americans will have knock on effects on the health and family lives of American people. For an administration that states that it is in favour of family values to not allow it's citizens to spend time with their families seems like a contradiction to me. It seems to me that stress levels here are much higher than they were back home in the UK. I have never known so many people who are on medication to control stress and depression. This seems to be the alternative to letting people have time for rest and recuperation - just medicate the hell out of people. Although, even this terrible solution may not be available to those who are unable to afford healthcare, but that is another story altogether.

So, why does America insist on this policy of not regulating vacation time. Partly it is due to the stranglehold that big business has over the government of this nation. It is also due to apathy of the very people who have the power to make the change - the workers themselves; This article states that a 2004 poll found that 59 percent of those polled were happy with the amount of vacation they receive, you have to wonder whether that 59 percent were the ones who actually receive the reasonable vacation in the first place. There is no protection for those in lower paying jobs who receive little or no vacation or sick days. It is appalling that somebody who has an illness would have to weigh up whether they can afford to stay home.

Correction - Winter in the City

Well, I guess I was a little premature with my proclamation that summer had arrived, the temperatures are again below freezing and there's snow on the ground. Sometimes I really wonder why anyone wants to live in Minnesota.

Summer in the City

It was 81F (27C) in Minneapolis today, this is pretty amazing for the end of March, especially considering that just a few weeks ago we were in Sub-Arctic temperatures.

One of the things about Minnesota is that as soon at it is above freezing, they all go out in shorts and start barbecuing. Last weekend it was about 40F (4C) and I swear I could smell charcoal burning.

The New Comic Relief Single

Emergency! Emergency! There's an Emergency Going On!

But don't panic too much, this is a snow emergency. I've always thought the word 'Emergency' is a little dramatic for what it actually is. A snow emergency generally means that you can only park on one side of the road so that they can plough the other one. It really should be called a 'snow inconvenience' or something like that.

The first time I heard them say 'A snow emergency has been declared', I was expecting sirens to be going off and people running about in the streets screaming, I didn't realise that it was just 72 hours of inconvenient parking measures. I'm surprised that they don't try to blame it on the terrorists and their magic snow making machines!

Well, I guess I'd better get into the Snow Emergency bunker and wait until spring, see you soon!

New Car

We are now the proud owners of a brand new Honda Civic. This is the first time we've owned a new car, but we thought we'd just take the plunge, considering that it wasn't much more than buying a new Honda.

The picture is the same model and colour as the one we bought. It's very nice to drive, and very unusual to be able to drive a car that isn't thirteen years old. The added bonus is that I don't have to take the bus in Sub Arctic temperatures any more.

Another Week, Another...

Well, another week seems to have passed by since I last wrote anything. The main reason for this is life at the moment mainly consists of the following pattern...

Get Up... Go To Work... Eat... Watch TV... Bed (Repeat until fade.), occasionally a weekend will get in the way of this routine and you'll have to find something to fill up the 'work' part of the day. This has not been easy since neither me or Mrs Teapot have received a full pay cheque yet.

So, I'm sure you'll agree that this would not have made very exciting blog entries.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, we've been having a bit of a cold snap here in the Twin Cities, which is great fun when you have to walk a mile to the bus stop after work because you're having to share one car. They don't believe in providing proper public transport here, I think they think it's a bit communist or something. It's far better to drive around, one Hummer per person, killing the planet as you go!

Anyway, I promise that you'll be the first to know when something interesting happens in my life; maybe I should start taking notes so I will at least remember what has been happening.

Well, I think I've bored you enough today, feel free to go about your business....

Getting sorted now

Ok, so we're back in Minneapolis and we're starting to get settled in.

We now have our computer back and an internet connection, so I'm going to try to keep this blog updated much more frequently.

The first thing I have to say about Minnesota is I'd forgotten just how cold it can get. It's currently -20C outside, with a much lower wind chill temperature, so I don't think I'm going to be going out today if I can avoid it.

I have my old job back at the place that I worked before, which is nice. I spend most of my time doing nothing, and just trying to look busy. They've even given me a pay rise. I think I'm now pretty well paid for an admin assistant.

Mrs Teapot now has a job too, so I think that once we start getting two pay cheques in, we should start getting a little more financially stable.

Not much else going on right now, but I promise to try to keep this blog updated more frequently from now on.

We'll be Right Back

Don't worry folks. I haven't abandoned this blog. I've moved to the USA and am currently awaiting an internet connection. Currently I have to go to the library to use the internet. As soon as normality has been achieved, I'll be updating regularly again.

Remember This?

Paul McCartney's Classic 1984 children's song We All Stand Together... Who could forget such a thing!

A Global Warning...

Train companies get away with extortion, yet again

BBC NEWS | UK | Train passengers face fare rise

It is unbelievable to see that the train companies will yet again be putting up the price of rail travel above inflation. My local train company ONE will be putting adding another 5% to their already extortionate fairs in the new year. It already costs us 6 pounds for a 15 minute train journey, which is ridiculous anyway.

A representative from the Association of Train Operating Companies said : "While no-one likes to pay more for their travel, we need the revenue to pay for the ongoing improvements to the railways that passengers expect - and overall satisfaction levels are now at an all time high of 80%."

"Train operators will continue to raise their game, delivering further improvements to the railway and enhancing the travel experience of passengers."

I have yet to see any evidence of these improvements anywhere, especially on our line. It seems to me that services are just getting worse. The fare increases do not go into improving services, but instead go into shareholders pockets.

I just wish that they would see some sense and re-nationalise the railways, the railways should be a public service, not a way for shareholders to get richer. It won't be long before they are the only people who will be able to travel on the railways.

FOR ALL THOSE

- who have died or are dying in wars

- who have died or are dying because resources that could have fed or housed them have been wasted on war and war preparations

- who will die until we learn to live in peace


WHEN SHALL WE EVER LEARN?

Tags: peace, poppies, poppy field, poppy, war, rememberance

The Great Telephone Swindle

Do you have one of those 'Unlimited Local & National Calls' packages on your telephone line? If so, you may or may not realise that most telephone companies do not include calls to 0845 (so called "local rate" numbers) or 0870 ("national rate"), you will probably only find this out by looking at the very small print at the bottom of the advert.

Unfortunately most companies that you have to call use these numbers for their call centres, and make you think that they are saving you money by saying "calls charged at local/national rates". This is incredibly misleading, especially since these companies often leave you sitting in a queue listening to 'your call is important to us' for hours on end. To make matters worse, the companies often receive a cut of the revenue from these calls.

I've found a great website saynoto0870.com which has a searchable database of companies geographic numbers which you should be able to call for free using your inclusive call packages.

Yeah, Stick it to the man!

Tags: non geographic numbers, o845, 0870, geographic numbers, rip off, expensive

Earl & Lady Grey's Teahouses of the World

After my plea for contributions yesterday, I was contacted by Earl & Lady Grey (Of the refreshing citrus infused tea fame). They have agreed to contribute a new feature to my blog, in which they will be reviewing tea rooms from around the world. I may even have to submit a few reviews myeslf (Can't let them have all the fun). Hope you enjoy sampling these tea shops.

Introduction

While Lady Grey and I were on Honeymoon recently we popped into a couple of Tea Rooms for a cup of tea and a bit of something nice. While enjoying ourselves we felt that other connoisseurs of tea such as ourselves might be interested to know about the quality of the tearooms we were in. Therefore we have written the following short reviews.

Rectory Farm & Tea Rooms, Morwenstow, Cornwall

Quality of Tea -
A Bit of Something Nice -
General Ambiance -
Service -
Value for Money -

What can we say about the Rectory Farm and Tea Room except that if you are in the area you have to visit this Tea Emporium. The setting itself is stunning. You can sit either inside in the beautiful parlour or outside in the beautiful garden with views out towards the sea. The tea is top quality. It doesn't get better than this. For a bit of something nice I had a traditional cornish pasty followed by a cream tea. Lady Grey had a bowl of apple and parsnip soup followed by a cream tea. Everything is made on the premises and mostly from local ingredients. The pasty was as good as anticipated and the soup was gorgeous and exceeded all expectations. The cream teas were just divine. Two huge scones and homemade jam with thick clotted cream. Mmmmm.

If I absolutely had to find a criticism at all it would be that it is not hugely cheap. A pot of tea for one and a cream tea is £5.95. However, the overall quality of the experience is so good that we still felt we were getting value for money so we haven't marked this down. As I said above, if you're anywhere near here you really should visit it. We couldn't fault it.

Website: http://www.rectory-tearooms.co.uk

Earl Grey

---oOo---

Cottage Tea Rooms, Clovelly, North Devon

Quality of Tea -
A Bit of Something Nice -
General Ambiance -
Service -
Value for Money -

Clovelly was the home of Charles Kingsley, author of the Water Babies and is an amazing place stuck in a time warp. Cobbled streets lead down a very steep hill to the historic harbour. The Cottage Tea Rooms are about two-thirds of the way down the hill on the right hand side.

When you enter the tiny parlour you have to queue up to order and pay before sitting down and waiting for your order. The service was slow and we had to wait five minutes for someone to come and take our order. This was despite the fact that it didn't seem to be hugely busy. I had a pot of tea and a cream tea which came in at £3.95 while Lady Grey had a 'Gentleman's Delightful Tea'. This consisted of a salmon and cucumber sandwich and a cream tea with one scone (my cream tea had two scones). This was £4.95.

The food was delicious although the scones were on the small side. However, the Cottage Tea Rooms was let down badly by the standard of it's tea. The tea was simply not very good. As this should be the strong point of any tearooms we were left feeling disappointed by the experience. We would recommend the food but improvements could be made in service and the quality of its tea.

Earl Grey

Tags: Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Tea Houses, Review

Writers Block

Once again, I find myself without anything interesting to say to you.I know this is a very bad thing for a blogger as I know that nobody will want to read my blog if I don't post frequently.

I'm going to try very hard to think up some interesting stuff to say, but not sure that much in my life is going to be that interesting to you people right now.

If you visit, why not just put a few words in the comments field, just so I don't go mad talking to myself here. Maybe something you say will spark off an Idea and I can bring something new to the world through the medium of the House of Tea and Biscuits.

Tags: Writers+Block, Boring, Entry, Blog, Comments

FCC Song Take 2

I tried to post the Audio of this yesterday but it went wrong. I've found a version of it on you tube, but the video is a bit lame.

If you didn't see yesterday, this is a song that Eric Idle wrote after he was fined $5000 by the FCC for swearing during an interview. As well as the FCC, he spouts opinions about the rest of the US administration.

***Warning - Contains very strong language throughout. Do not watch / listen if you are easily offended or a Republican***

Technorati Tags: eric idle, fcc, song, you tube, video, monty python