Scargill

According to the press “Internet access remains an unaffordable option for many in the Commonwealth, leaving them unable to reap the benefits of the web, according to the Queen”

The Queen has said that the Internet remains unaffordable for too many people in the Commonwealth.

For HEAVENS SAKE – what with our misguided government wanting to give computers (at cost to taxpayers) to every NON-taxpayer, even though many DON’T ACTUALLY WANT to use the Internet and now we have the QUEEN wanting to help the rest of the commonwealth.

We’re in the middle of the worst recession in living memory, businesses are going bust left-right and centre and we want to make sure everyone has the Internet forced down their throat… why stop at the commonwealth, why now just TAX US TO DEATH so the whole WORLD can have a computer courtesy of the BRITS- then there’ll be even MORE people trying to HACK it to bits in their spare time!

Apparently of those people who don’t currently use the Internet, 71 per cent thought that they should have the right to access it.

Well, they WOULD, WOULDN’T they. I don’t have an APPLE TABLET and I WANT ONE so maybe some other shmuck should buy me one – that’s sounds good to me – does it sound good to you?

As someone interested in technology, by that way of thinking I should have a RIGHT to get all the latest gadgets for FREE, paid for by the government no matter what the cost to taxpayers.

Give me a break.

Apparently “The BBC will cut spending on its website by 25 per cent and cut back on the number of webpages on the site by up to 50 per cent, it has been announced. “

That’s a shame because as a long-term SKY user I’ve always maintained that the BBC is a waste of space apart from a small number of quality programs they produce or import…. and the ONLY thing I personally find to be extremely useful – is their excellent WEBSITE.

I do hope that the cuts will be in the less important areas and that the NEWS and iPLAYER sections are left fully functional!

Sometimes I wonder about people who organise meetings…. for my sins this week I’m in a meeting in Selsdon Park in Croydon… so that’s a car to Newcastle, a train to Kings Cross, an underground to Victoria, a train to Croydon and a taxi to the venue…. 21st century organisation! And no, video conferencing would not do because the people herein like to see the whites of your eyes and the connectivity is absolutely awful anyway!

The room connection works for half an hour then you have to reconnect – and it’s deliberately restricted to encourage you to pay £12 a day.  I thought people had given up on this daylight robbery.

2 days of this then I get a Sunday off – wheeeeeeeeeeeee before starting all over again this time in another easy access venue – Nottingham!

The sooner petrol gets to £5 a litre, FORCING people to rethink this stuff – the better.

Still, the GOOD news is that the property in Bellingham gets nearer to completion by the second… ceilings are dry and as I write this in my hotel room in the middle of no-where, Maureen should be putting the first coat of paint up…

It all began with a cordial invite from the Prime Minister to a select group to attend a reception at 10 Downing Street to “Celebrate the Success of Small Business”. Everyone had a personal invite and we individually had to RSVP directly to number 10.

Arriving at the scene by taxi last night I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I can confirm that they’ve converted Downing Street into something like a prison camp, a sad reflection of our times – you simply can’t get into the street AT ALL without the full metal detector bit. To be fair the police were very friendly with it all and this didn’t really detract from the experience..

After passing security we walked up to number 10 which in itself is quite an experience and from there on it got a lot easier and civilised. We were welcomed inside and asked to leave coats and mobile phones at reception. The place is a lot bigger than I imagined and there is a large entrance-way with lots of racks for coats etc. Everything is well-lit. Having been relieved of our weapons of mass destruction it was each man for himself. Past reception is a large staircase and all the way up are images of past prime ministers – very impressive. I took my time to enjoy the moment. Once upstairs we were greeted not with champagne but simply a choice of red of white wine and very nice too! We were free to wander about the place, I don’t think anyone got to to see the cabinet room which is apparently in the basement (good idea thinking about it) but the place is pretty impressive non-the-less. No doubt the official photos when they arrive will paint a better picture than I could here except to say that the inside of 10 Downing Street is suitably impressive.

As colleagues arrived the wine flowed very nicely. Various well known faces appeared including “Sir” Alan Michael Sugar though I have difficulty with the title as he looks like a barrow boy to me and I’ve not forgotten the call for his resignation, sadly some obviously had as they shook hands with him. Each to their own. Next up was Lord Mandleson (Mandy) who proceeded to apologise for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s absence as he was off on important business and who then gave us a very polished speech about the importance of small business.

I’m not one for deference and I was glad to see that at least some of the other guests felt the same way. As the speech rolled out I imagined the phrase “small businesses” being interchanged with “unions” or whoever else the target audience might be in a less than convincing talk about how much the government cares about business and how much they’re doing for us. Those present for the most part stood politely in their lounge suits and merely listened… but looking at their faces one could see that most of us will be happier when this lot are out, none of which detracts from the excellent experience of actually BEING THERE and of course that was the whole point. There were some groans at one point and Lord Mandleson had to change tack – but then surely he didn’t think business representatives would let him off lightly!

Within half an hour or less the speech was over and everyone was pretty much free to network or simply drink more and enjoy the view. I was doing pretty well at both and having a nice chat with one of my fellow directors when a microphone appeared out of no-where..  For the life of me I can’t remember which newspaper or radio station it was but the reporter went through a whole list of questions about how we felt about government, banking, you name it, clearly he was onto a goldmine with the two of us as we were taking turns at the mic for well over 15 minutes – a MOST enjoyable way to round off the evening though probably not entirely what the residents of number 10 would have preferred to hear.

Several glasses of wine and umpteen nibbles later, though not under any pressure to exit the premises, a small group of us decided it was time to take our leave and wandered back down the excellent stairway and out of the door to be greeted by the official photographer – I can’t wait to see the results – I made damn sure the door number was visible over my shoulder!  We then took various amateur shots as you see above but as always, phone cameras are pretty useless in the dark.

Taxis back to the hotel and the FSB’s vice-chairman and I went off to the nearest Italian restaurant only to be greeted by colleagues on our arrival – and a good time was had by all.

Until the photos arrive – that’s all I’m afraid. Another tick-box ticked… America TICKED, Japan TICKED (very large list), Number 10 TICKED….  magic.