Thursday, 31 December 2015
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
STOCKHOLM IS THE PERFECT FESTIVE GET-AWAY.
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| Credit: Stockholm Our Way |
There is no better city in the world to
choose for a festive getaway than Stockholm in Sweden.
At this time of year its covered in a
healthy blanket of white sparkling snow. The city which dates back to
the 12th Century is simply beautiful. Known affectionally as the
'Venice of the North,' it’s the jewel in the crown of the Nordic
lands.
Famous for its museums, universities
and art galleries, Stockholm is the most populated city in the region
attracting a whooping 11 million visitors in 2013 alone. Picture
perfect with the back drop of it's imposing 12th and 13th century
architecture, Stockholm is the ideal destination for romantic
couples, festive shopping, cultural escapes or just fun with the
family.
Stockholm at this time of the year is
especially special because the snow-globe setting is sure to warm the
coldest of moods.
From visiting a Christmas market to
enjoying some glogg and ginger bread, bathing under the glow of the
beautiful festive decorations, to shopping in its narrow shopping
streets, to enjoying a well deserved drink and meal at a bar or
restaurant, Stockholm ticks all the boxes and will bring a smile to
any face.
Stockholm is easily accessible on foot,
bus, train and boat. Taking a reasonable two hours twenty minutes to
get there by plane from the UK, and at the equally reasonable price
of about £195 there and back, there really is no excuse not to visit
Stockholm, even if you have or haven’t been already.
With over 1000 restaurants, 100
museums, a vibrant art scene and distinguished theatres, Stockholm is
a truly wonderful city to visit. Spread across 14 islands,
Stockholm's most popular region, it's old town is accessible by
bridge, walking over the often frozen Lake Mälaren which meets the
Baltic Sea in the South East region of the country.
Located just south of the 60th
latitude, the number of daylight hours at this time of year is only
about six hours. So expect darkness to fall about 3pm. Contrasting
with it's summer nights which are short, it brings an element of
magic, suspense and romance unlike any other city in the world.
With temperatures at Christmas well
below freezing and snowing falling on any given day, it'll bring a
smile to your face when you walk along their commercial shopping
areas free from snow due to their under pavement heating, while
walking further afield wading knee deep in crisp sparkling snow
freshly fallen.
Night-clubs, restaurants, cinemas,
cafes, casinos, you name it, you'll find it in Stockholm. Watching
men fish salmon from the river, to marvelling at the royal
architecture, Christmas lights, smells and sounds; Stockholm holds a
certain endearment which will surely bring you festive cheer.
Famous for hosting the Nobel Peace
prize, Stockholm boasts a wealth of history going back as far as the
6th millennium. Its people are warm and friendly. The streets are
well kept, clean and tidy.
The spirit is jovial, romantic and
inviting. A beautiful city full of beautiful people living beautiful
lives and having a beautiful time.
If you are feeling in the mood for
something more this festive season! In need of a quick get-away to
lift your spirits; Stockholm is your perfect destination.
Monday, 21 December 2015
Saturday, 19 December 2015
12 Good Things About Christmas.
1. Christmas Presents.
We all love opening Christmas presents passed to us from under the Christmas tree. With over £74 Billion being spent in the six weeks before Christmas Day on presents this year, the prospect of a special gift is sure to bring some festive cheer. From friends, colleagues and family, receiving presents is one of the best thing about Christmas.
2. A White Christmas.
The last time mainland Britain enjoyed a white Christmas was in 2010. Defined by the Met Office as “a single snow flake falling during the 24 hours of Christmas Day”, a white Christmas is a dream come true for all Christmas enthusiasts. With bets of £200,000 placed every year on whether it snows or not, a white Christmas is still a major talking point. Building snowmen, making snow angels and throwing snow-balls, nothing completes Christmas more than a picturesque covering of snow.
3. Christmas Dinner.
The main event of Christmas Day is the coming together around the table, cracking open the Christmas crackers before feasting on the Christmas meal. Traditionally turkey, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and all the trimmings; Christmas pudding and mince pies, no Christmas would be Christmas without collapsing back onto the sofa after the meal, feeling as if your stomach is about to explode. “Watch the calories at Christmas,” is often a warning which falls on deaf ears!
4. Christmas Shopping.
While some may detest the Christmas rush to buy presents no one really appreciates, Christmas shopping can be an adventure all in itself. With your Christmas list in hand there is nothing better than buying your loved one’s presents to be opened on Christmas morning. Wrapping paper, labels and bows, neatly wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree, you can sit back with satisfaction with a mulled wine in hand; Christmas is sorted, well done.
5. Jesus Christ’s Birthday.
Not far from anyone’s mind is the real reason we celebrate Christmas. With a nativity play performed in primary schools across the country, to mangers set up on mantle-pieces, the story of a special boy being born into abstract poverty is on the top of many a mind. Religious or not, Christmas Day is ultimately a huge birthday party enjoyed by all. Are you going to midnight Mass this Christmas? If not, why not? Why don’t you give it a try!
6. Santa Claus.
Ho, ho, ho. Saint Nick, Mr Crinkle or Father Christmas, Christmas is the only day of the year conscientious parents are happy for an old man to be creeping around their homes at the dead of night. A firm legend for all kids, the story of a merry and kind spirited man delivering presents under the Christmas tree is still enjoyed today as it has been for kids for centuries.
7. Christmas Decorations.
With a whopping fortune spent on Christmas decorations every year, decorating our front rooms, Christmas trees, homes and gardens has become a national pastime. Raising the spirits of any mean spirited individual, Christmas decorations light up the festive season like no other way. Doing our Christmas shopping under the twinkling Christmas lights of city centres and shopping malls, to passing elaborately decorated homes on the way home, to walking into our own front room covered in colour and twinkling lights. Everyone loves to hang a piece of tinsel and kiss under the mistletoe!
8. Christmas Carols.
The fight for the Christmas number one should be kicking off about now. Will it be Simon Cowell’s X-Factor winner, a heart-warming charity single or someone out of the blue? The music we share at Christmas adds to the cheer and nothing is more soothing and heart-warming than a Christmas carol that we can all sing along. ‘Away in the Manger,’ to ‘Jingle Bells’ to the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, Christmas carols have been imprinted into our memories in a good and wholesome way.
9. Christmas Parties.
“It’s Christmas!” Noddy Holder once famously shouted at the top of his voice. It’s also the time for Christmas parties, the one and only time you can kiss your boss and behave outrageously without getting the sack. Work colleagues across the nation are coming together around the Christmas table this year to enjoy their annual Christmas parties. Have you brought their presents for Secret Santa? And remember, drink in moderation, it’s back to work on Monday morning.
10. Christmas TV.
Other than settling down as a family to watch the Queen give her Christmas speech, there is nothing better than making yourself comfortable in the sofa, with a mince pie in hand, readying yourself for a Christmas movie treat. There is something for every taste at Christmas time. From the classic black and white movies which bring a tear to Granny’s eye, to the most recent block-busters which make the kids shake with excitement. Christmas TV boasts the spirits and banishes the boredom, the only downside of which is deciding which movie to watch.
11. Friends And Family.
Other than weddings, baptisms and funerals, Christmas time is the best time to meet up with friends and family. A festive season to give and receive there are no better people to share it with than your most dearest and nearest. Smile, laugh, cheer, eat and drink, friends and family make it complete. Remember to send out your Christmas cards. Everyone likes to receive them through their doors. Also, remember that without your friends and family, Christmas would be a bore!
12. Goodwill To All Men And Women.
“Humbug,” Scrooge once groaned; but just remember how the story ends. The good will to all men and women this Christmas season is sure to warm the coldest of hearts. Think about the lonely this Christmas, those without families and friends to enjoy it with. Extend your good will to the people you have nodded to throughout the year but never quite managed to speak to. If ever there is a season to be jolly, a season to be fair and generous, it’s Christmas time. Smile, laugh and be happy. Christmas time is upon us and we have plenty to be happy about. We are alive and kicking. The Sun is shining and our planet is spinning. Christmas time is about remembering the past and looking forward to the future. It’s about remembering dear friends and family and showing consideration to those worse of and in need.
Happy Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!
Source: www.zestforlifemag.com/
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
AN OPEN LETTER TO WARREN MORGAN: Please refund £719 fine or provide a two bedroom council flat for my sister and I....
Tuesday 24 November 2015
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| Cllr Warren Morgan - Labour Council Leader |
As the leader of Brighton’s Labour
Party and as such, the leader of the Council, I wish to bring to your
attention an injustice and moral atrocity which I pray you can
resolve for me.
I’ve been forced to pay £719.00 to
get our family car returned; towed away because I hadn’t obtained
the necessary parking permit.
Please allow me to put what happened
into perspective. The family car, (a silver Renault Scenic
Registration No' LV03 RYM) which is registered in my name but used by
my ex-partner, is yearly insured, MOT’d and whose car tax of £260
is paid yearly.
A few years ago I received a letter
asking for my opinion of parking permits being issued across the
Moulsecoomb area in light of the vehicle congestion of Brighton and
Hove Albion fans parking in residential streets on match days.
I replied, “No,” that I’m not in
favour, but my opinion was evidently dismissed because weeks later it
was degreed by Brighton & Hove City Council that all resident’s in
Moulsecoomb must get parking permits.
I filled out the necessary form and
took it down to my local resident’s office to get the necessary
parking permit.
It was explained that I never had the
appropriate paper and that I must obtain a V50 to complete the
requirements and get the permit.
I confess I didn't understand what they
required and got back to life. Earning a living, raising children,
maintaining the house, keeping healthy and doing the other 101 things
people do necessary to lead a law abiding existence.
So you can imagine my surprise when
within weeks I got a parking ticket on my vehicle, when it was parked
outside my home, fully insured, MOT’d and taxed.
I wrote to the parking enforcement team
in Brighton explaining the circumstances and they deemed my
circumstances reasonable and dismissed the parking charge forthwith.
Again, a few weeks later another
parking ticket was issued against me.
Intent in resolving the matter I
contacted the parking department by phone and letter explaining my
difficultly in understanding what paperwork was required.
Perhaps it's because I’m dyslexic or
perhaps it's because I’m mentally ill, but I simply didn't
understand what a V50 was and having asked for help, none was
forth-coming.
I begged my ex-partner for assistance
but she said “no” with the excuse, “Everything to do with the
car is your problem.”
I begged officials from Brighton’s
parking enforcement team to come to my home and help me find the
necessary paperwork, but they instead insisted I must visit their
offices at Hove Town Hall on the weekend to resolve the matter.
I simply didn't have time to do so.
- I was in the middle of a parliamentary political campaign as the prospective MP for Brighton Kemptown and was under considerable stress and strain having been attacked at my election office in Peacehaven, and arrested by Sussex Police when I called for help.
- I was under stress and strain from my ex-partner as our relationship steadily deteriorated.
- I was under stress and strain with an impending mental illness manifesting in the belief that our Government are out to kill us through false flag events such as 7/7 and the Woolwich terrorist attacks.
READ MORE: SUSSEX POLICE ARE THE CRIMINALS.
All this was confounded further by the
regular issuing of parking tickets upon a vehicle which was legally
parked outside my property, fully insured, MOT’d and taxed.
The continuing harassment I was
receiving made my feel suicidal. On one night in particular I walked
to a cliff’s edge in Peacehaven with the intent of ending my life.
It was only for the love of my children that I stepped back from the
edge.
I am a law abiding citizen who works my
hardest to provide for my children. I maintain the family car,
ensuring it’s MOT’d, insured and taxed and all I got in return
was a parking ticket every match day.
Before I knew it I was drowning in
bureaucracy. I had nowhere to turn. My ex-partner said it was my
problem and the parking enforcement office simply carried on issuing
the tickets without understanding my predicament.
I simply didn't understand what a V50
was and how to get it. Suffice to say I eventually took it onto
myself and rang the DVLA. They didn't know what a V50 was either but
explained a V5 was a document which declared who the owner of the
vehicle was. I explained that I hadn't got a V5 and asked for a
replacement. They confirmed the vehicle was registered in my name and
that a replacement V5 would cost £20.
I had reached the end of my tether.
Unable to afford £20 and unable to afford or address the mounting
balance of the parking charges against me, I fell into depression
which continues today.
Bringing the situation up to the
present, I was forced to return to the family home because the campaign
office in Peacehaven in which I was living, was fraudulently occupied
by criminals in partnership with the local authority and Sussex
Police.
READ MORE: I'M BROKE, HOMELESS AND PISSED OFF.
The family home is a
council house registered in my name but like the family vehicle, is
predominately used by my ex-partner and children. I tried to get the tenancy
signed over to my ex-partner but was unable to because doing so would
make me ’intentionally homeless’ and unable to be housed by the
Council.
My ex-partner is desperate for me to
move out and to eventually sign over the tenancy to her, allowing her
to get on with her life without any disruption to the children's life
and schooling.
The £719.00 which I was forced to pay
to get our car back was ear-marked for a deposit for a new flat for
myself and sister, Emma Taylor.
Emma Taylor was made homeless in 2013
following a fire at 3 Widdicoombe Road in Mouslecoomb. Police
originally accused her of arson which meant she was evicted by the
Housing Association, becoming intentionally homeless and forced to
sleep on the streets.
Since then Emma was housed at St
Patrick’s hostel but has since been evicted and has been homeless
and sleeping rough since July 2015.
The £719.00 was ear-marked for getting
a flat in which my sister and I could share. Its worthy of note that
we are both Brightonian, born and breed.
I now find myself back to square one,
through no fault of my own.
- My sister’s girlfriend froze to death while sleeping rough on a shop’s doorway on Boxing Day 2013.
- My sister is presently sleeping rough in doorways now and I fear she is liable to die due to the cold weather we are presently experiencing.
Through no fault of my own I have been forced to spend £719.00 to recover a vehicle which is fully insured, MOT’d and car taxed, legally parked outside my front door.
I had no notice that I had broken any
laws by not having a parking permit... What law have I broken by not
having a parking permit?
I took all reasonably steps to acquire
the necessary parking permit. I made numerous telephone calls at my
own expense and time and I wrote a number of letters explaining my
situation and difficulties in understanding what was required.
I explained my situation at every turn
and on a number of occasions those parking tickets were dismissed in
light of the difficulties I was experiencing.
I feel gravely aggrieved and harassed
by Brighton & Hove's City Council’s parking enforcement team. I feel
suicidal and depressed that I’ve been forced to spend my savings paying for a fraudulent charge which on moral grounds is null and
void.
What laws have I broken and what notice
was I given that my vehicle was to be towed away? Where is the court
judgement which justifies this?
Nothing has been stated in Law and as
such I consider the action of towing away the vehicle and impounding
it, unlawful, illegal and immoral.
- My sister is sleeping rough on the streets.
- My ex-partner is in distress because I am living at the family home.
- My children are in distress having to experience the tension between their warring parents.
- And I’m depressed and suicidal because I am back to square one, having worked so hard to save money to get a flat for myself and sister.
Warren Morgan, I am applying to you
directly to resolve this matter.
I am making you directly responsible to
resolve this matter by either refunding the £719.00 spent on
recovering the family car or alternatively I’m making you directly
responsible to resolve this matter by providing a two bedroom council
flat for my sister and I.
This is deadly serious Sir. I am at the
end of my tether and while jumping over the edge of the cliff is no longer an
option, knocking on the asylum’s front door is.
In the same manner you publicised an
open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, I too am making this
letter public, demonstrating my desperation to resolve this matter
with urgency.
Please refund the £719.00 or
provide a two bedroom council flat for my sister and I....
Yours Sincerely,
Matthew Taylor
Sunday, 22 November 2015
MY ORDER TO THE UNIVERSE!
TO LIVE IN AN EARTHSHIP
GROW MY OWN FOOD
BREW MY OWN BEER & WINE
PUBLISH BOOKS
LIVE OFF THE GRID
GROW COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF GRASS
MAKE CANNABIS OIL
HAVE A CHEST LOAD OF GOLD
OWN A DESERT ISLAND
MARRY A BEAUTIFUL LADY
OWN A SPACE SHIP
OWN A MOON BASE
OWN A SPACE STATION
REAR LIVE-STOCK
EAT FINE FOOD
DRINK FINE WINE
DRIVE A FLYING CAR
BE HEALTHY
BE HAPPY
BE SATISFIED
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