There Is No Possibility of Reading Anything Interesting Here

Although I'm very interested and engaged in the current domestic political process here in the UK, I'm conscious that a lot of my posts are covering political events and attitudes and I worry about becoming one of the myriad 'political commentators'. I have no intention of wanting to, or becoming one. The world has far too many already; most of them burning oxygen for no good benefit! To keep it light and to vary the post content, I'm going to sound off, this week, about an everyday observation that some of you might find amusing, but I guess, most of you won't. The Evils of Smoking Tobacco The UK has recently introduced new legislation to further regulate the sale of tobacco. That's a whole (or series) of posts in and of itself, but I'm staying away from politics this week. My observation is of a more personal nature. Since the new legislation has taken effect, the standard amounts that can be legally retailed in the UK has changed. It...

Note: I had intended to post this article last week, but unfortunately I was unable, due to many appointments that I was obliged to keep. I'm 'late to the party' with this comment, but I hope that you'll consider it anyway. Thank you for your patience. An Historical Introduction Phyrrus of Epirus (c.318 - 272 BC) was a classical Greek General who won a costly victory at the Battle of Asculum. This is now referred to as a "Phyrric Victory" since he was quoted (by Plutarch) as saying: If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined. (Sorry for the hideous paraphrasing.) Phyrric Victories and Losses The General Election on the previous Thursday was labelled as what is referred to as a "snap election", since it was called by the Prime Minister at six weeks notice, which is a very short time as far as General Elections go. The result of the election was bizarre to say the least. To bring in Phyrrus...

Please use your vote this Thursday.  Apologies for the late posting. I was at the UK Games Expo this weekend and I've taken today to 'recover'. Right! If anyone out there in virtual space is actually reading this I was going to post an article on a completely different topic, but I've decided that the upcoming General Election is just too darned important not to spout my piece. So, here goes. The General Election is happening this Thursday, despite some doubt after the horrifying events in London on Saturday. I have one request: Use your vote and have your say. Do this on Thursday, if you do nothing else. I'm not worried about your views, it's just that if you don't vote, you can't have a say and you can't whinge about the result if you don't like it. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Use your vote. As the febrile campaigns have gone on (and on, and on) it's become clear that the result is likely to be far close...