RE 183
If I knew what ‘life coaching skills’ were, I might agree.
I’m happy to send you a cheque for 31 pence but, only if graced by the attachment to a photo of our former Leader.
Alternatively, I’ll put another couple of quid to it and buy you a pint. Then you can educate me with tales of your life coaching skills.

John.
I’m happy to receive a picture of Winston Churchill whenever you want.
:);):)
Although he wasn’t above a bit of funny business.

‘Life coaching’ in my case only requires you to stand in my workshop while I spanner a motorbicycle and listen while I put the problems of the country/World in their proper context–with suitable remedies.
If by 1100hrs I’m running out of people to have executed, we can put Jeremy Vine on the radio and there’s usually a rich harvest of potential public hangings on there.
My outlook is generally dark, intolerant and devoid of the trappings of the modern World.
I don’t heat the place because I find it hones my dark side better when it’s below freezing.
The Tea is free though.

A.

Well everyday I’m told the country is skint, then suddenly it can find millions to bury Margaret Thatcher.
I hope you’re all so enthusiastic when we have to pay to plant Tony Blair–now the precedent has been set.

Even the Torygraph has reservations.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9984619/Margaret-Thatcher-This-is-a-state-funeral-and-thats-a-mistake.html

This country is either skint or it ain’t.
My own belief is that it is, with cuts everywhere–and I actually believe quite rightly so.
In fact more, rather than less cutting is going to be needed–just to keep our national head above water.
However, the self serving w*nkers who supposedly run the country are quite happy to appear on the media and justify this.
Hague made me feel billious yesterday.
They could justify mass murder with a straight face if it suited them–well in fact Blair did.
So nothing new there then.
As ever, my contempt knows no bounds.

Yes, you have. Me.

Yes, but you only do it to irritate me–in most other respects you seem at least partly sensible.
I’ve always thought that the spare plinth in Trafalgar Square should have Captain Flack from Trumpton on it.

“Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub.”

Seems as sensible to me and a lot less likely to get vandalised.

John Green.
I’ll happily supply my life coaching skills for free to you.
Sadly though, I fear we may agree on more than disagree…!! :);):)
You still owe me 31p though.

Edgar is right in what he says and that point I’ll desist.

Moggy, I apologise for giving you extra work, although seeing that my last posting was at 01.04, several of us must have disturbed sleep patterns.
Perhaps it’s something in the water…..

A.

You do realise, I hope, that your closing words can constitute an offence under the equality and hate speech laws?

Steven

Again, I reiterate.
Would you be making that comment if we were discussing a socialist party leader..??
Just checking…:):):rolleyes::)

…suggesting that she was responsible for the conflict or that she somehow engineered the whole conflict just to get re-elected (ironically crediting her with almost supernatural powers of international manipulation in the process).

But I don’t.
What I do say is that her Government had taken their eye off the ball in the lead up to the invasion.
After all, the FO officials who were openly briefing about the future of the islands in Buenos Aires were working representatives for her government and John Nott was her Secretary Of State For Defence, so his navy cuts were her navy cuts.
Surely therefore any failures were her failures too–especially seeing as you’re all telling me she was such a strong leader–or were these people working without her knowledge?

And her popularity was hugely boosted by the outcome of the Falklands war.
So, when the balloon went up, she very cleverly turned a bad situation to her advantage.
I never said it was pre-planned, but she saw a chance and took it.

What saddens me is that as soon as anyone has the temerity to question your totems of what’s right and proper, many of you fall back on the rhetoric of the reptiles of Fleet Street.
I have no left (or right) agenda to pursue unlike some here–you know who you are.
But you still ache to accuse me of socialism or some other evil–which you cannot, because I’m not.
However, I stand by my assertion that she was just another self serving politician.
And therefore by default, if Tony Blair dies tomorrow (God willing) then by the criteria many of you are using, he should be afforded a state funeral too.
Of course you’ll all rush to the defence of that using words like respect etc–I think not.

The thing which does bewilder me is this.
Why didn’t the Argies wait 12 months?
Then they could have walked in the door and there was nothing Britain could have done.
I bet history would be judging her differently now.

And I haven’t even mentioned how Hong Kong got given away–I suppose principles don’t apply when you’re outnumbered by 800-1

So what you’re saying is that Prime Minister Thatcher intentionally planned to scrap the Fleet Air Arm and the Carriers (or sell them to Australia) because she knew that that would provoke the Argentine Junta into invading the Falkland Islands…

…so that she could then rush to their rescue, using the Aircraft Carriers and Aircraft that she had disposed-of and get re-elected?

Somehow I’m seeing a flaw in that argument. :rolleyes:

No, I’m afraid your fervid imagination is running away with you again and in presenting your argument in that manner, you make yourself look both foolish and disingenuous. Which I’m sure you’re not.

What I’m saying is this.
Someone said ‘the Argies have invaded and we’re in the sh*t Prime Minister’ and she saw a way of turning disadvantage into political capital.
Just what I’d expect any politician to do–or any chancer to be honest–self included.
Then you lot dress it up as some sort of divine intervention–God knows why.
It wasn’t.
The planned withdrawal of HMS Endurance by the British Government gave a clear signal that Britain wasn’t apparently that interested, coupled with the language used by FO officials in Buenos Aires gave the junta the idea to invade.
How much better it would have been if HMG had made it clear before hand that invasion wasn’t smart.

And I’ll take the 31p please, because I grudge every penny to anyone else–especially the government.

However, it wasn’t the first time was it..?
I’ve been fortunate enough to be allowed to read the log of a sub-mariner officer (quite senior) who was sent down there in the crisis of 1977. Then the threat of Argentinian invasion was well understood, so why was it so easily missed only a few years later?
Someone took their eye off the ball.
Of course the Prime Minister who despatched the naval forces in 1977 was the Labour man Jim Calaghan and war was neatly avoided. No doubt one of the culprits many of you here would blame for the sh*t state of the nation pre-Thatcher–I certainly would anyway.

And while you’re all getting all over-wrought because I’m of the opinion that Thatcher was just another politician on the make, consider this: If Tony Blair had gone west yesterday, would you have been so magnanimous about respect for the dead..?–I doubt it.
So don’t give me a load of glib/trite sh*t about respect because I don’t hold with it and ain’t interested.
And personally, I won’t be resting easily in my grave until I’ve heard that Blair has been indicted as a war criminal.

And John Green, if you’re serious, about paying my share, I’ll work out the pro-rata cost of to each tax payer and you can send me a postal order for the amount of my share.