Hi Everyone
This week I was listening briefly to a radio phone in programme while making a short journey in our car. The topic was the current rise in mortgage rates and the effect on home owners trying to pay the increased payment while, at the same time, coping with inflation and energy costs. The lady who called the programme was one of the bedrock of this country. She and her husband had spent all their adult lives working, buying their own home, and raising their family. Then in the last two years, her husband had to stop working for some months due to treatment for cancer. They got no help with their mortgage payments except for the mortgage lender accepting a reduced payment which apparently then adversely affected their credit rating. Then with the rapidly increasing interest rates their monthly mortgage payment has risen by almost £1000 per month. As they had lived in their house for many years and there family lives in the same area they do not want to consider selling their home. As she said "We do not accept that the government should give us £1000 a month refund but some kind of help would be appreciated but the system is just not fair". What she was referring to without actually saying it was that benefits are paid to many people who deserve help but that too much money is paid out to shirkers or people with self inflicted conditions. Yes the system is broken and is not fair.
If you are now approaching middle age you will most likely recall that back in 1964 two people who had no musical connection at all met in a studio to record an album. One was a young soft voiced Brazilian singer who hardly anyone had heard of and the other was probably the greatest tenor sax musician in jazz. One song on the album was to become a classic track ranked alongside the Beatles Yesterday as a song most covered by other artists. It was a song that could be enjoyed by nearly everyone no matter what style of music they were into. It also brought a new style of music to our ears, a quiet soft rhythmic music. If you are still baffled by all this Rubbish, the singer was Astrud Gilberto, the tenor sax player Stan Getz and the song The Girl from Ipanema, and the music the Bossa Nova. It has become an all time standard with the album selling over two million copies, a huge number at that time. I was reminded of this as, sadly, Astrud Gilberto died this week at the age of 83. To keep her music with you, my advice is to look out your album or CD if you have one or stream the music from wherever on the internet, relax in your most comfortable chair, close your eyes, and for three or four minutes allow yourself to be taken into another world. Just to complete the story Ipenima is one of the beaches in Rio De Janeiro.
Phew, Boris has resigned from Parliament with immediate effect. Was it a case of leave before being pushed? The government ruling party is now in complete disarray as some of his party collegues think that he was our best Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher while others say that he should not have been let within a mile of Downing Street. I think that you know which camp I am in. Is it now a case of one down one to go with the almost mirror image of Donald's antics? At least hopefully Boris has not got any state secrets stored in his shower and he will perhaps have more time to get his hair cut and add to his baby bank.
Just a Thought :
I have a few jokes about unemployed people but unfortunately none of them work.
Teamwork is important, it helps to put the blame on someone else.
Some people really like vaping. I suppose it is a good way to let off steam.
Brian
Comments