Wednesday 21 December 2011

Division of blogs?

I've not posted here for a while, that's not to say I haven't been blogging. I purposely set up different blogs to divide my interests. The idea was to create blogs of interest to specific readers. The downside is when my life follows a particular direction one blog gets an uneven amount of posts, and the others look abandoned !!!

After finishing my evening and morning church classes for the school Christmas holidays, I have some free time to pursue a bit of model making. Hence RJR Models blog has had a few updates of late.. This is my latest project.



Its a 1/6 scale Radio controlled boat 43" long 14" wide. To give an idea of size the figure at the back is a 12" Action Man.

To help keep the blogs united I have added a list on the top right of this blog, that will update when ever I update one of the others.



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Wednesday 30 November 2011

Pension reform strikes


There is a high probability that this post will divide opinions. This blogs readership is pretty evenly split between US and UK residents, it is likely that it will mean more to UK readers.

Today has been a national day of protest by many public sector workers, who are protesting about changes to their pension provision. A reported 2 million staff walked out. The country is divided on opinion, in many cases the opinion held depends on if you are employed in the public or private sector. At this point I should remind readers that as I run my own business I am firmly in the private sector, Mrs RJR however as a Physiotherapist employed by the National Health Service is a public sector employee. She is also a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, who voted to strike today.

You may, or may not, be wonder where my opinions fall. I could say that the public sector has excellent pension provision in comparison to mine. I could argue that the country needs to sort out its finances and can't afford to pay pensions at the current rate. I could also argue we are all living longer and therefore pensions paying out longer, cant be as big. But I am not going to! To be honest I think that the government is really trying to divide the nations opinion and turn the private sector against the public sector by telling a one sided story.

There is a popular misconception that the Public sector all get gold plated pensions handed free on a plate. In Mrs RJR's case she has paid a high percentage of her salary into a works pension fund since she started work 20 years ago. If I had paid as much into a private pension fund, I too would have a good pension. When she started working as a Physio she was offered specific pension provision, relating to age, value and contributions. Due to the physical nature of her job, moving people, in many cases taking large proportions of their weight, the retirement age for a Physio's was set at 55. 

3 years ago all National Health workers underwent a pension review and compromises by staff were made in order to meet changing funding levels. These changes were to ensure the fund would be sufficient to sustain its members. Today's action is to protest at further changes to provisions. These include raising the retirement age from 55 to 67, an increase in contributions by a further 3% and a considerable reduction to the pension to be paid. These changes apply to many public sector workers including teachers, civil servants, nurses and many more.

It is easy to say as someone in the private sector " I wish I could retire at 55" or "I wish I could get a pension equivalent to my average working salary" but I remind you of my earlier comment. If I had contributed large amounts to a pension, as she has, then I too could have had such a pension. This discussion is not about feelings of being bitter, because the public sector have better pensions than me. My situation is purely because of my financial planning, or lack of. The discussion is more about an employer, in this case the government, moving the goal posts and making sweeping changes to a pension plan. The new deal is not what public sector workers signed up for.

The argument that the country cant afford it, is weak, when you consider that the Physio's pension pot is in surplus. The ageing population argument is hard to justify, when youth unemployment is running at a record high. Will these youth ever get a job if old folk never retire?

The Government argue that what is on offer is fair. As a private sector worker with poor pension provision, as a result of personal choices, I can't see how what the public sector is being offered is anything like fair.

Just to add insult to injury, having been subject to a pay freeze for 3 years, yesterday on the eve of the industrial action, the government announced that public sector pay increases will be capped at 1% until 2013. This is not subject to negotiation or talks.

In my opinion, what is happening to public sector employees is anything but fair. It amounts to a 3% tax that will help the government balance its books. Of course they need to balance the books, especially as they have just sold the bank they bailed out to the tune of £1.4billion for a fantastic price of £750 million. Perhaps they need to have a think about how they are doing it ! 



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Sunday 13 November 2011

Model Boats


Yesterday Ruth and I spent the morning at the Etherow Model Boat Club's lake, with my Dad. I have for some years been a keen model maker, admittedly it has been some months since I ventured down the to my workbench in the shed at the bottom of the garden! My usual model making is Railway related, ranging  from making layouts made from shop bought 1:160 scale trains, through to hand making my own trains in 1:24th scale. In fact my first steps into using blogger came when I set up RJR Models blog but for the last few months I have lost the model making bug.

Typically I made things like these below. On the left a 1:87 scale US themed layout or on the right a collection of hand made 1:24 scale locomotives and coaches for in my garden..

  

With the passing of my Mum I have been spending more time with Dad and it seemed a logical and fun thing to share our enjoyment of model making. So I have brought one of his large scale boats home to look after and become a member of the Etherow Model Boat Club with him. He has been an active member there for some time, both he and Mum have served on the clubs committee. It was nice to learn that the club plans to name a a yacht racing trophy after Mum, "The Velda Teal Cup" Dad also runs the club blog/website with a little help when required from me.

Having been to Etherow each Saturday since Mums passing, yesterday was our first time putting boats in the water. I took Ruth, my youngest along and we shared my new captains role with the boat we now call ours.


Dad started ofg sailing one of his small yachts. While the two of them concentrated I got out the camera.


After a while the time seemed right and Dad went and got Mums boat from the car and we all had a go of that. It is a lovely boat that he has spent months making and Mum used to spend hours sailing. Pepe the dog enjoyed sitting watching too.


Finally the boats got put away and we went for a stroll round the park, 3 generations and the dog. Although Pepe was not too keen on walking AWAY from the parks Cafe..




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Friday 11 November 2011

11 11 11

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Laurence Binyon






Jake and Joanne reading the inscription at Agny (Pas de Calais, France) Military Cemetery

We went to visit the grave of Joanne's Great Grandfather
Corporal William Carrington
9th Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps
Died Friday 2nd June 1916


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Wednesday 2 November 2011

Auschwitz

Today's blog is a guest post from Jake my 15 year old son........


On October 14th, I went on a school history trip to the city of Krakow (Crack-oov) in Poland. During the course of the 4 day trip, my schoolmates and I visited Krakow old town, The Galicia Jewish Museum, Schindler's Factory, Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz Birkenau. My dad asked me to do a guest post here on his blog about my trip, so here it is!

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and I took over 300 photos, so rather than writing a 300,000 word essay about the trip, I'll post some of the main pictures here, and write a line or two saying what each is a picture of. Due to limitations on the amount of pictures that can be added to one post, I have only included pictures from Auschwitz, both the first camp and Birkenau. And of course I'll be happy to answer any questions in the comments for this post.


The famous sign over the entrance to Auschwitz 1, which reads 'ALBEIT MACHT FREI', which means 'Work will make you free'. This of course was not true at Auschwitz, and, as the commandant of the camp would tell new arrivals, the only way out was through the chimney of the crematorium. Compared to other camps of its type, Auschwitz had an incredibly low escape record.



The redbrick barrack buildings in the main camp. The weather on the day of our visit was very good, which added to the eeriness of the camp, as normally one would imagine such a place to be rainy and grim.


This shows the difference in size between Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau. Auschwitz - Birkenau was created when the complex was incorporated into the Nazi 'Final Solution', the systematic extermination of Jews, Gypsies, and other groups the Nazis deemed 'undermenchen' or 'sub-human'.


Zyklon B crystals. These would be thrown into the gas chambers through holes in the ceiling, and would react with air to form poisonous hydrogen cyanide.



In one of the barracks there was an exhibition about the exploitation of the people sent to Auschwitz. There were piles of shoes, eyeglasses, prosthetic limbs, and even human hair. This was one of the most harrowing parts of the whole trip.


The wall where executions were carried out. People would be tried by the Gestapo, normally for conspiracy, and then taken outside and shot against this wall. One officer personally executed 25,000 people. That's not a typo. 25 thousand people. The youngest person to be executed was a nine year old Polish girl.


The inside of the gas chamber at Auschwitz 1.


This is the train line into Auschwitz Birkenau.The scene at Auschwitz in the film Schindler's List was shot here on the outside of the camp, in a mirror image set of the inside.


One of the carriages used to bring people into Auschwitz Birkenau. One of these carriages would sometimes hold up to 400 people. On this platform people would be separated into two categories: those who could work, and those who couldn't. Those who could would be taken away and registered into the camp, and those who couldn't would be straight away taken to the gas chambers. This group automatically included  children under 14, young mothers, the sick, and people over 50.



The remains of wooden barracks at Auschwitz Birkenau. One of these barracks would sometimes house 1200 people. All that remains are the brick chimneys, which were never used to heat the barracks.


The inside of a barrack. The bunks that can be seen on the left would hold 8 people, so the 'beds' that can be seen would hold in total 48 people, 3 rows each with two sections.


The ruins of one of the gas chambers at Auschwitz - Birkenau. The Nazis destroyed the gas chambers in January 1945 when it was obvious that the war was lost, in an attempt to cover up their crimes.


The memorial at Auschwitz - Birkenau. There were several plaques each in a different language. The inscription reads:

"For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe. Auschwitz - Birkenau 1940 - 1945"


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Saturday 22 October 2011

I'll send you a rainbow

Thank you for all your kind comments, left on my last post, or sent via Facebook, text or Royal Mail.

It has been a long week, but we are all doing well. My Dad and I are very practical people and have found it good to be able to get on with sorting the physical things like forms, certificates banks and such. He has been to our house every night for a meal and a lot of chess has been played! Jacob finally beat him for the first time last night.

I had work commitments that kept me busy on Thursday and Friday and on the whole we all feel a great sense of relief that Mum now has some peace. There are still quiet moments, when tears are shed we have had laughter too, I can sense that time will heal all wounds.

I did have a video that kept coming to my mind. Its an old church production that is somewhat outdated in style but not message. I finally tracked it down on YouTube and would like to share it. I watched it a lot with people when I was a missionary for the church. It is somewhat more fitting to me now, than it was then







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Tuesday 18 October 2011

Mum


I am standing by the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a peck of white cloud
just where the sun and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says :
- 'There she goes!

Gone where?
Gone from my sight - that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the places of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says:
- 'There she goes! ',
there are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout :
- 'Here she comes!'

-----

This afternoon my Mum passed away, her passing comes as a relief to us all, she had suffered enough. We are grateful to the staff at St Ann's Hospice who have cared for her so well this last few days. My Dad, wife and I were at her bedside to be with her as she passed through the veil. We're thankful for the knowledge that just like the ship spoken of above, she will be welcomed by loving family on the other side.

Parable of immortality by Henry Van Dyke - 1852 - 1933 





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Saturday 15 October 2011

Friends

My Dad must be on a lot of peoples email lists ! He gets lots of emails with jokes or funny pictures attached anyway. Most days I get at least one such email forwarded from him, most of which get archived away for future blogging use. This week I particularly liked one of the emails he sent me.

Just to prove that birds of a feather don't always flock together, and that in fact we can be friends with people from different backgrounds, beliefs or environments. I present a lesson in making friends from the animal kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Or as the email was entitled "You don't have to look like a friend to be a friend"


Any stick out to you?? I like the last one, the caption could be the dog saying....

"Don't mess with my lamb!"

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