Does the guy on the left(Is it Prescott??) look soooooooooooooooooo BORED and look like he is going to sleep most of the time
At least Blair actually looks as if he is slightly interested LMAO
Lea :)

I'm afraid that GB is terribly boring .................zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Daisy

Well yes, I totally agree,
BUT
That guys eyes have been closed more times than open!!!!!
And am sure there is a women with a short skirt across the commons to him as he looks as if he is oggling someone ;)
Lea :D :D :D

ROFL...yes! Jabba the Hut now looks as tho' he's given up the will to live!! fighting the nodding head syndrome :D

LMAO :)
Havnt a clue what GB is saying, I am more interested in 'Jabba' LMAO
Just decided he likes GB bum!!!!!!! LMAO
This Budget is hilarious :) :)
But i havnt a clue whether I will be better or worse of PML :D
Lea :)

Im now waiting for the waistcoat (with jazzy tie ) behind DC to BURST open!!! :P :D

LMAO @ HuskyGal.
Now half the labour party are just about to be thrown out!!!!!!!!!!
And its the blue skirt that Jabba was watching ;) ;)
(How to make politics amusing!!!!!)
Lea :)

I like it when they cut back to the studio..did you notice Evan Davies (political editor) *HG perks up* He's quite sexxxxy!! :D :D

yes,Jabba was definately doing the 'angled head-looking up girls skirts' manouveur!! :D

Whats the damage then anyone know?

I was just about to ask the same question. Just put sky news on for an update, and its commercial break time, typical. Got to get back to work at 3 so hope to see the damage before then (incase I need to stock up on my fuel and naughty sticks)

oooohhh, petrol duty frozen until september, good start.
Family tax credit worth £88 a week (no difference to me but hopefully useful to some)
Cigarettes up 9p a packet (no surprise there then - could've been worse though....must give up)

>naughty sticks<     :D LOL
>must give up<

Yep!!!! :P
There is a merry (well crabby and grouchy actually ;) ) Band of us on here trying to give up Poppysmum..your welcome to join us!!!!

Blimey the price of cigarettes is gonna kill me ;) Has the 'ribena' been hit ard too

4p on a bottle of wine.
Nothing on Whisky or spirits surprise surprise!!!!
Lea :)

I've just been off investigating this zero car tax thing for low emission cars.

Had to laugh, apparantly there are no cars about yet with emissions that low LOL, how typical is that. So to qualify we all need to sell our cars (unless you've got LPG of course)

No decision on pensions yet - now theres a surprise, but we'll all keep plummeting our money into the system to fund the governments 'restructuring' of pensions. Cor, we are mad.

3000 science teachers to be recruited, do they really think there are 3000 people out there who want to work with unruly kids messing with bunsen burners (LOL memories) especially when the teachers wont even be able to afford a packet a ciggies to calm their nerves before each lesson LOL

I am pleased our personal tax allowance has gone up though (I wonder if that will counteract the rise in ciggies....hhmm)

>there are no cars about yet with emissions that low

Exactly, it takes an incentive like this to encourage the car manufacturers to take developement in that direction rather than speed, speed, speed that nobody on British roads can use.
More and better science taught in schools is something I will love to see looking at the drivel on the internet web sites by people with no science based qualifications on science based subjects :rolleyes: and knowing that so very many children are leaving school without any means of discerning how poor these forms of information are.

Yeah that's a bit like the one that they brought in for older cars,  They found out that there were so many out and about on the roads that they stopped it 2 years after the date that they gave so some of us have cars that just miss out and still have to pay road tax even though they are over 25 years!  Shame really as mine's only brought out occasionally in the summer!

I didn't realise they had stopped that one.  I must admit I never understood it anyway and it was never an environmentally friendly measure was it?  Plus it favoured rich, fat old cats taking their huffing and puffing classic cars out on a Sunday, hardly Labour territory :p

Isobel........Ermmm, beg to differ re the fat cats! Bit of a scathing remark to the many people who lovingly restore old vehicles to their former glory :( It was more aimed at classic car/lorry/military/landy people who restore these beautiful old vehicles, and exhibit them all over the country. Nothing nicer than a sunday afternoon drive with the local car club for these people. But as these vehicles are rarely used on a day to day basis, it was nice that they did not have to have road tax. The old ones that qualified are still exempt. Maybe not enviromentally friendly, but lovingly restored vehicles are a welcome sight at many shows through-out the summer, and its good for our youth to see the past in motion, and to be able to look over these vehicles.

You obviously missed my signature displayed at the time to say that we owned 2 of them :)
I still don't understand why a Labour Goverment granted them a concession though.

isabel....(Hoping this follows on from your post coz i can't seem to get them where I want them).........yes I saw your OH has a landy and a Norton, my point was an objection to the fat cats remark regarding those that have these classic vehicles. There are an awful lot of people who restore and show these vehicles, and yes go sunday driving. They are not wealthy fat cats, simply people with a hobby they enjoy and put a lot of their hard earned cash into, and help others in their clubs with parts etc.  or maybe you just don't like them not having to pay to tax them. But, as they are not used on a regular basis, usually only summer and good weather anyway, and on a low mileage, i don't see the objection. I certainly don't object, and find them lovely to see in the summer. There may be some use them as their main mode of transport, to avoid paying high levels of road tax, especially if it is the second vehicle, but I would think they are few and far between, allowing for the pure age of the vehicle.

Perhaps you have missed the little face after the fat cats remark which together with my signature at the time I had hoped would complete the little joke against myself
I'm still embarrased that a Labour Government have been so magnanamus to us about our hobby though, what on earth have we done to deserve it? :o :)

Ok, thank you for taking the time to explain it to me isobel. taken as read, I misread your fat cat comments. I thought you were totally against these beautiful old vehicles, and sunday afternoon drives, obviously i stand corrected :)

Well, sat directly outside my kitchen window I sometimes fail to see the beauty of our old Landrover :) but, no, it's a nice hobby and, as you say, in the numbers and usage these things get, not a great deal of impact on the the environment but I still can't see why they should attract tax relief when lots of other hobbies don't.  You choose a hobby, you pay the cost is how I see it :)

Isobel........'Landy sat outside the kitchen window'.....lol love it......can see why you fail to see the beauty ;)  and yes, I take your point re the tax, it was a nice favour though, even if it didnt carry on :)

>it takes an incentive like this to encourage the car manufacturers to take developement in that direction rather than speed, speed, speed that nobody on British roads can use.

I don't think car manufacturers market cars with speed in mind these days.... more convenience and added extras.
And I don't think that car manufacturers take notice of GB's budget - same as putting petrol taxt up doesn't force folk to use public transport....

I think car manufacturers take note of where ever they think there will be a market :) and a tax incentive can create that.

>the price of cigarettes is gonna kill me

:D :D

A penny on a pint of beer. :(

That's a pity, should have been at least £1 ;)

Daisy

:p to you! :D

:D

It would have been nice to see them investing in education as a whole rather than concentrating on science - for starters they should be looking at the level of English that is taught in schools (not that I'm one to speak) -
Not that science is a waste of time - certainly not.

Isabel: If you do not mind me asking, what cars do you have that are tax free? - is it the LPG - if so how  easy is it to convert? I'm all for it (road fund licence or not) but have envisaged it being thousands of pounds

Sadly, nothing so environmentally friendly :(.  They are tax free because they are so old, a Landrover and a Norton, both hubbies really.  What was that relief all about? :rolleyes:  Still at least they are so unrealiable he only polutes the atmosphere with them, literally, a handfull of times a year :)
Agree with you about the English but I do feel the lack of real science currently being taught is more damaging in terms of people being exploited by the antiscience bandwagon.

My daughter had a fantastic science teacher - a scientist who could actually teach ;)  Unfortunately for the kids she was cleared off to Glaxo. So how are 3000 science teachers going to be recruited and by when?  I haven't seen the budget so don't know the details (been on phone for 2 hours )

By providing funding for training them it would appear, so obviously it will take a little time to churn them out :)
He is also funding 250 after-school science clubs :)

Unfortunately I doubt whether it will encourage the really good scientists who are passionate about their subject to teach :( Until the environmental conditions are better in school, a lot of pupils are going to miss out on the best teaching :(

Daisy

Chicken and egg maybe :) More good, inspirational science teachers who really know their subjects, physics, chemistry, biology rather than wishy, washy general science may help create an environment where pupils are more receptive and, indeed, inspired to apply themselves.

Until society changes and produces children who behave at school and the teachers can teach rather than babysit, many talented people will not be attracted into the profession :( My OH gave up teaching physics many, many years ago after a spell in an inner city school - it just wasn't for him. Since then, many non-inner city schools have the same problems and many people just won't consider teaching :(

Daisy

I suppose I see it the other way round to you Daisy :)  To me, it is good teaching that has the prospects of improving society, after all teachers are something that we can select, train, examine and regulate but unless we adopt some very unpleasant practices the selection, examination and regulation of parents can never happen.  Which leaves us with training and who does the training of future parents........teachers :) So, power to their little leather patched elbows :D

I think one of the problems with teachers is they're not allowed to teach! - they get caught up in the red tape, can no longer discipline the unruly pupils and are given strict ways in which to teach the kids. A bit like nurses, its not about looking after people or teaching anymore, more about running a business, getting the books to balance and avoiding being taken to court.

Its a great shame really becuase with a little inspiration and excitement thrown in, I'm sure kids would relish the opportunity to learn more.

Oh I agree, Isabel - but you still have to persuade graduates to want to teach :)

Daisy

Providing the funding looks like a good basis to start with to me :)

Be a teacher..........hah,,,,,,,,, I would rather drink bleach
They have no form of discipline (the cane was around when I was at school) no respect and tied up in paperwork.......take my hat off to those who persevere in that career.

Flo has said she wants to be a teacher
I have tried to be very objective in my opinion on whether she should go for it and have said my piece :D

Would only be a teacher if they brought back the cane!!!!!!
The way I see kids talk to adults these days is horrendous (had it tonight with 2 little beggers rode into my car on thier bike)
Have given my kids STRICK INSTRUCTIONS that if i EVER hear that they have spoken like that they wont be able to sit down for a week.
But then without blowing my own trumpet they have been brought up with respect for elders and actually moan when they see and hear the things kids do these days!!!!!
Lea :)

Have just seen your new signature :p

Yes but we are like minded people as in are a fair few of us on here that have standards ;)

>Would only be a teacher if they brought back the cane!!!!!!

Usually makes me cross when I see statements like this but on this occasion it's quite funny. How would you feel if you saw a badly behaved dog being beaten with a stick?  What do you think beating a dog with a stick is going to teach the dog?

Cheryl I can see the point you are making, but you can discuss events with a child, unlike a dog, who will have no idea why they are being punished. All I can say is the the thought of getting the cane, kept me out of trouble at school........JMO

All I can say is the the thought of getting the cane, kept me out of trouble at school........JMO

I never ever got it as i was too scared i was a goody too shoes!!!!!!
But if my children did half what some of the kids do in this area I would quite willingly let my kids be punished severly, but the difference is, I dont believe my kids would do that as they have been brought up right from wrong and if they do do anything like it then I will come down on them severly and they know it!!!!
Lea :)