Hi Everyone
I am sure that at Christmas or over a dinner party table we have all dreamed about what we would do if we had lots of money. Now I don't know about you of course but to my knowledge, I have never met a billionaire. That is probably something to do with the fact that they are not often seen in our local budget supermarket or on the next table when we are in our local eatery offering a two course meal for £12. I suppose the nearest we get to one is when we are on holiday sitting with our bottle of water watching people come and go from their luxury yachts where the crew usually outnumber the passengers. Tragicly a couple of billionaires lost their lives with others in a submersible this week having paid £200,000 each to go to the seabed to see the wreck of the Titanic. I have complete admiration for explorers, scientists, and astronauts who put themselves in great danger pushing the limits of knowledge and I can completely understand anyone wishing to look back at our planet from space. I find it difficult to see that descending to the bottom of the Atlantic in a vehicle that was already the subject of warnings about it's suitability to withstand the enormous pressures at that depth and that was apparently controlled by a games console was a risk too far, especially when one of the billionaires took his son with him. Maybe some on board were genuine explorers and experts but some were not. Thankfully men and women will continue to push the boundaries of knowledge but, for me, it should be left to the experts rather than billionaires with fantasies, dreams, and too much money.
I was reminded that both the Senior and Junior Partners had birthdays this month. It must have been one of the Junior Partner's special birthdays as we had a party of family and friends when I decided that the Junior Partner would appreciate a surprise. The idea I had was to present him with a special medal for extreme bravery for living with the Senior Partner for so many years. Now it was not the usual small medal to be pinned on the lapel but this special award was handmade by me and covered the Senior Partners' chest. Everyone enjoyed the presentation including the Junior Partner except, yes you have guessed it, the Senior Partner who did not appreciate the joke at all. The look on her face said it all. Looking back it was perhaps not the best idea I had ever had but then again, of course, it was as it was a combined statement from the Junior Partner and myself.
Our Minister of Housing says that there is a serious need to build more housing, a pretty obvious statement that many will agree with. Then this week I read that there are one million building plots that have planning permission but with no properties on them as the large building companies and property developers have 'land banks' which they hold on to in the expectation that the value of the plots will increase. They would say that it is necessary to have reserves of land to ensure continuity of supply but surely not one million plots. I seem to remember the then Minister of Housing back in the 1970s saying the same thing with practically every Minister of Housing since then saying the same thing. That is fifty years gone by so how many years will it still take to solve the problem. Not before I reach middle age I guess.
Just a Thought :
A billionaire, a clown, and a Presidential candidate walk into a bar. The barman says "How's it going Donald".
Where would we be without builders? Outside.
My friend Ty came first in the Beijing Olympics but he was not awarded the gold medal.
The Chinese refuse to acknowledge Ty won.
Brian
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