And so here we are. 

I've finally given in, and decided to Blog.  A capitulation to the new democratized journalism.  In the fine tradition of Gonzo, I've decided to let this small corner of the web become my safety valve, a place to pick over the bones of life on my small island and share what thoughts I can drag through the fog, only to spread them thinly on a page that doesn't really exist.

But enough of such talk...by my reckoning I'll have lost 90% of readers so far already, which is fair attrition rate.  This isn't meant to be easy!  Subjects large and small will grace this blog, and I trust they will be of interest to someone.  

New Year, new mutterings.   I had allowed myself to develop a grim-faced acceptance that Britain, wherein I reside, was drifting lazily into a police state, but then the Home Secretary made a king-hell ruckus with the thin blue line by stiffing them over pay.  All the CCTV, ID cards and other minor facisms in the world mean nothing if your putative police state can't keep the police on side.  I'll declare an interest, of sorts, here.  During the day, I'm a public servant, labouring away in one of the more obscure and unvalued parts of the edifice, so the Governments recent pronouncements on public sector pay affect me directly.  That said, I don't really do my work for the krona, but I do take exception to the Prime Minister making large about pay restraint for anti-inflationary purposes, and offering up the potential of MPs voting for a lower than recommended pay rise as some sort of pain-sharing love-in.

Not many nurses, policemen, and junior civil servants (pushing paper around benefits offices for instance) have a raft of executive directorships, chairmanships and the like to make up for taking 2% this year.  Neither do they enjoy an almost limitless expense account.  So whethe the MPs 'do the decent thing' or what everyone expects them to, makes precious little difference out there in the real world.

Oh, and good luck recruiting good, talented people to provide essential public services when they know with absolute certainty that they'll be getting a down at heel pay rise for the next three years.