Attack on US Embassy in Libya

I may live in a lovely remote part of Scotland, but I still keep up with the news from around the world. The attack in Libya on the US embassy hit the headlines big time. I read a report today that makes me wonder and makes me afraid. The writer interviewed one person who attacked the embassy and he said "we heard about this terrible film insulting Allah". Not I saw it and it upset me, but "we heard". So he attacked the embassy on hearsay. Second the interview with the two heads of Libyan security are reproduced below:-

"There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths and injuries and attacks are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."

Bargathi, of the police command, said the killings had taken the protest too far, but said: "What we saw was a very natural reaction to the insult to the Prophet. We condemn the deaths but the insult to the Prophet made people very angry."

So the head of the security in Libya, who also hasn't seen the movie is saying he and his men approve of the attack and ANYTHING is justifiable if there is even a hint of an insult......"they would ABSOLUTELY put their loyalty to the Prophet over anything else". "The deaths and injuries are all nothing", says it all.

We should be warned, so many times we have seen that the people involved in these attacks all over the world are ignorant men and women who follow blindly what they are told by their religious leaders, without any thought themselves. This is a danger to the whole world, a world which is attempting albeit slowly, to become more civilized, more discursive, more thoughtful and considerate of others feelings. The attacks were not justified in any way, and never could be under any circumstances. The International law which governs respect for an embassy is clearly meaningless to these fanatics. 

Jehovah's Witnesses

In the last few months I have been attending a weekly meeting in Kelso and my observation is that this group are sadly and mistakenly maligned in movies and TV shows. This is a group of very dedicated people who not just read the Bible but research it to a great depth. In fact their meetings unlike most churches are really a  chance to ask questions and share answers on Bible topics. The attendees being encouraged to take part. Their fault from the common perspective is that they take Jesus request that a believer should "spread the good word" very literally so they come around and knock on peoples doors at inconvenient times. It seems a small fault if fault it is. All the people I have met have been decent honest people with a thirst to understand the Bible and to bring up their family with a like thirst. This does not seem to me to be a bad thing in this day and age where my son attends a party (he is 15) and the family and birthday girl have alcohol available and encourage drunkenness. It probably time everyone stopped spurning this well meaning group and listened to their message. We need dedicated caring people in this world, and they certainly are that!

Avoid UK Airport Tax

I am surprised that no company has jumped on the idea of flying to Amsterdam or Paris and then flying to the   Caribbean or any other long distance destination. After all in the UK the tax on a family of four flying to the Caribbean is nearly 500 pounds! When my wife went to the USA to visit her sick mother last year the tax was MORE than the air fare! With a bit of work it could easily happen that London becomes an isolated airport which caters only to local flights. What a shocking state of affairs. I have written to my MP about this and his reply stank of London politicians lack of care for anyone but themselves.

Harvest Time

While the farmers are out in the fields with their huge tractors trying to salvage something from this years rained on disaster, we gather a more modest harvest. Our garden has been a mess this year with the rain so consistent we have hardly had time to weed or clean, so the garden is a total mess with weeds 3 feet high. Despite this disaster we were able to crop this week and got in about 250 onions laid out to dry plus 5 whole supermarket bags of broad beans which are a hardy crop and survived and even thrived on the nasty weather. Broad beans are a big operation and it took my wife and I all day to pod them, then blanch in boiling water and strip off the outer bitter hull, leaving the nugget of wholesome goodness that is the core bean. We managed to freeze about 15 bags with enough in for four of us at a serving each. That will help with the winter bills. Still to come is the runner beans which are just starting with small beans and the potato which died from fungus but we hope to get some crop from when we dig it up and of course the wonderful carrots, still growing strong and looking good. 

Scottish Education System

Scotland has its own education system managed by a large number of people near Edinburgh and Glasgow (two locations) called the SQA.
THEIR WEB SITE
It is VERY hard to understand versus other countries, even England right next door. Much worse its evolviong so one year does not equate readily to the next, a nightmare for HR Managers.  The EU says:-

http://ec.europa.eu/eqf/compare/uk-s_en.htm#comparison 

According to the EU, the Scottish SQA Standard grade General level is equal to level 2, which for England is GCSE grade D and below

Standard Grade Credit is  EU level 3 which in England is GCSE A - C

Scottish Higher is equal to level 4 which for England is GCSE A level

Scottish Advanced Higher is level 5 for which there is no English school equivalent (although its equal to an HNC/D)

Now I am not sure this is even accurate, for example based on the first two, one might surmise that a Scottish Higher grade 1-3 might be an A level grade D, which is why Universities demand Advanced Highers, otherwise why would they? it isn't clear even on the EU site.

There may have been many complaints about GCE, but I have traveled the world and I know that in hundreds of countries it is the standard of education, one knows what it means. More importantly HR managers the world over know what it means.

Coach and Horses - Lubbenham

Their Web Site


Had Sunday Lunch here and it was awful. "Daily Roast" that was really catering packs of pre cooked and reheated meats....nasty stuff. I hate places that do this when you looking forward to a nice slice of roast beef. The vegetables were not bad but the total meal was awful. AVOID

Foxton Locks - Leicestershire

LINK TO THEIR WEB

L
Lovely pub and restaurant right by Foston Locks, which according the BBC is one of Britains seven wonders, see below. The food is good quality honest British fayre and reliable. Nothing fancy, good steak, gammon, fish, excellent large chips and salad, a great place with a lovely view.


The Foxton Locks on the Midland canal system are a unique example of 19th Century engineering synonymous with the famous British waterways.

Back when the locks were first built there were no roads to speak of, and literally everything had to be moved by water.

With its unique staircase of 10 locks, traversing 75 feet (and two inches) from bottom to top, the Foxton Locks were unique in that they took boats up and over a steep incline, linking the North and South of England by canal.

The Foxton Inclined Plane Boat Lift was opened in 1900 to widen the canal, speed up river traffic and save on water.