Donald King

Just watched the F1 and Lewis Hamilton qualify in second place which hopefully will end in a world championship in his first year.  Very impressive.  Tomorrow at 4.00pm he should have all of us on the edge of our seats and most of the UK will be hoping for another UK world champion.

Later tonight England face the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup final as the underdogs.  As a Scot I do not really care too much about the outcome but JW is really a very special person - he certainly has had many miles of newspaper print over the last few weeks.

Sporting events at the highest level, irrespective of the sport are always worth watching.  I wish we could have this level of sport nightly on TV instead of the usual c**** we are expected to watch on mainstream TV.

Went for a cycle today - not very far but it was good to be bck on the bike and I really enjoyed it.  Weather was cold to begin with but soon warmed up.  I am going to look for a Granny gear for my long bike so I can get it on the road again - mind you I need to fix the seat first of all.

Will write soon

Had a bad day last week - the Jag did not start, one possible cause was a defective coil - in Jags each of the 8 plugs has a coil and they cost £150+ each coil!!!!  Thankfully this was not the cause, it was lack of compression caused by me starting engine and then switching off immediately. 

Enjoying this lovelly weather - it makes such a difference to take the dogs out when it is dry and it is so mild.

Work is still keeping me busy, but I do get hacked off when I read in the papers about the various "Elf N safety"  gestapo who seem to be banning everything in site. IT NOW APPEARS THAT CHRISTMAS IS UNDER THREAT.

I beleive it is a combination of poor risk assessments by people, and not being prepared to stand up to Insurance companies.  The though of very few CHristmas lights or decorations because the lamp post may fall down, a ladder must not be used, someone may get hurt is bloody stupid.  Sensible assessments will allow lights to be put up just the same as in previous years - yes they must be put up safely but that is possible. Too many people are looking to see how they can get additional money for tasks and safety is a good reason to up prices.  Find a good safety practioner (www.kingconsultancy.com) and get them to come up with sensible proposals and if necessary they will communicate with insurers, local government etc etc.

Christmas is a time of joy for us all, especially the children, and it helps us through the first few miserable months of the year - cold or wet weather, little money, long dark nights, lousy TV so we need to have had a good CHristmas to sustain us all.  If your council or whoever is trying to stop lights in your area, phone/write/email your Member of Parliament, local press and radio, national newspapers who will hopefully support your campaign, local councillors and organise protests with friend and neighbours.  GOOD LUCK.