Well Sunday arrived and so did Nicola. Emily loved the Snakes and Ladders quilt/play mat we’d made her.

Yesterday we went out in the morning sorting tins for the St Albans project, which is an occasional drop in centre for the homeless. We remarked on how amazing the sort of things people thing are practical, or even paletable to homeless people. Luckily due to that vicar we weren’t swamped with tins of beans, but found tins of veg dificult to pack togther due to irregular tin sizes. Soup was also a favourite. Some of

the food has been taken to help the mustard seed project.

Today I’ve been a little ill, but apper to be better right now.

Christmas viewing

Briefly watched “The phantom Menace” having difficulty with the blank looks when explaining the little boy is Luke Skywalkers father.

Also been viewing the Andrew Davies series on BBC4- my mum and dad have a digibox- not an Echostar one on staff purchase, but a Grundig. Seen several episodes of A Very Peculiar Practice, along with Ian Richardson in “House of Cards” Geneus. Just need to have series 2 of AVPP repeated and I’ll be happy. Needless to say the forthcoming DVD has gone on the wishlist.

Merry Christmas Everybody

A quiet moment before the festivities of the day.

The alternative underground

The tube remixed.

Chtistmas time…

Well we now know that the all important Christmas number one is the cover version of Tears for Fears “Mad World”. I feel old (again). There is jubiliation in some quarters, perhaps because it keeps spoof stadium rock band The Darkness out of that slot. First time I heard it, I thought “Interesting: Tears for Fears unplugged, this was a really good song.” But now I’m just nostalgic for the orginal. It possibly works on the Donnie Darko soundtrack, but not for me standing on its own two feet.

This is not to say I prefer the alternatives. The Pop Idols’ luke warm reheat of the John Lennon classic deserved not to get to number 1, and two novelty records don’t either. While I enjoy being reminded of Queen, a cheep knock-off doesn’t deserve it either.

I feel like I should be grumbling about how it was better in my day, but you’d only taunt me with Kylie and Jason.

A space man went traveling…

Only just realized what a surreal Christmas song this is. For those who also haven’t listened closely to the lyrics, it’s by Chris de Burgh, and has the chorus, “and it went nah na na nah nana nah na na nuh, nah na na nah na na nah.”

It’s all about a space man whose star like ship visited earth the day Jesus was born.

Data protection

I wasn’t going to be moved to write about the Soham murder case. I mean what Huntley did was obviously so vile- it’s obvious to anyone and does not require any comment.

But what has prompted me to write has been the question of data protection. As a non-paid data handler “Child protection” was as far as I was aware an exempt area as far as keeping sensitive personal data. Perhaps this just refers to the results of CRB checks can be kept without registering under the DPA. Whatever it does mean, the police obviously aren’t exempt from any data protection duties for child protection purposes.

As it appears the problem is not laws or procedures, but in the competence of following procedures through. Lets not let blind fear take us back to Orwell’s 1984 when there’s a more practical solution. If earlier prosecutions had been effectively done, there would have been records to look for.

The Scout Association, for all the criticism it gets from some quarters, would certainly not have allowed Huntley to be a leader, his failed convictions would have turned up on their own security search, if not the on the CRB return.

Aside from CRB concerns there is one other over the hysteria of this case. If Holly and Jessica had been 30 instead of 10, would there have been the same reaction? If they had been male, or a couple would there have been the same reaction. To me the crimes would have been just as vile; but to some the crimes are not the problem, but the age and popularity of the victims. In my book, after birth, a life is a life.

My concern is that the case will produce an official witch hunt leading to unweildley procedures that don’t make anyone safer, but make voluntary bodies more difficult and expensive to operate.

Richard Allan, Andy Hardy and Jade Farrington have interesting things to say about Soham and Data Protection.

Update on Nigerian Scams

OK so they’re sometimes not so obvious and people who would know better are taken in. In defence the scam in this case wasn’t asking for advanced fees for promised millions; there’s more than one kind of “Nigerian” scam.

Link from Tom Watson MP.

More money idiocy.

Chemist shop is innocent victim of a “Nigerian” scam. I highlight the word innocent as the people who have handed over money to con artists are certainly guilty, if only of gross stupidity.

I wonder if imposing a publically advertised tax on money spent on “advanced fee” scams would make the idiots who fall for them think twice. Possibly not as such people pay so little attention to the stories of people who’ve been caught in the past, that they fall for the same tricks. What really gets me is that there is frequently no shame on the part of the people who recount tales of being taken in by such obvious fraud.

We were talking at the weekend about this. People fall for these things only too frequently, sending fee after fee. Surely they should have twigged on the third or fourth attempt?

Responsibility with finance

Slightly put out by last weeks budget, cutting tax allowances on ISAs. However I acknowledge that any allowance over £4000 is probably only going to be an incentive to those who would invest the money anyway.

What does concern me is people’s opinions of saving, thinking that their savings themselves get taxed, rather than just the interest. While I’m in no way someone that wishes to patronise people, opinions like this put the whole country in a precarious financial situation.