Strike action hits Essex
Strike action by public sector workers is hitting Essex today. Some schools are shut and other services such as refuse collections have been affected.
Up to 1.5m UK council workers have begun a 24-hour strike over pensions.
Hundreds of schools, libraries and sports centres are shut, with services including transport, courts and refuse collection also hit.
Unison, the biggest of several unions involved, said early indications were of "solid" support for the walkout.
The strike is over plans to scrap a rule allowing some people to retire on a full pension at 60, which the government says is discriminatory.
Unions have warned of further action in the run-up to the local council elections in May.
At the centre of the dispute is the so-called Rule 85 - which lets staff whose age plus years worked equals 85 or more, retire at 60 rather than 65 on full pension.
The government is planning to scrap the rule. Employers say that with increasing life expectancy in the UK, the rule means they could face a rise in contributions of 1.5% to 2% - £5bn to £6bn - in the next 20 years.
The unions say local government workers should be treated in the same way as uniformed police, NHS workers, civil servants and teachers - who can all retire on full pension at 60.
The average pension for a council worker is less than £4,000 a year and for women £31 a week, according to the unions.
BBC News
Today is Mothers Day in the Uk......and also the clocks went forwards to spring time.......smiles so that lay in wasnt really a lay in.....
Wishing all the moms a Great Day........be they be blood or adopted.....It takes a lot of courage and patience to be a good mom......
I MISS YOU, MOM
I used to think that people didn't need
their moms so much after they grew up.
But I've realized that's not true.
So often, when I'm making a decision,
I wish you were here
so I could ask your advice.
And so many times,
when something happens
that I know you would enjoy,
I wish you were here
to share it with me.
Now that I'm older
I've realized how special our relationship was.
And while I'm thankful for that bond,
somehow it makes me miss you all the more..
Mom, I miss you so very much.
What is a troll?
The traditional definition of a troll refers to a member of a community or usenet group who makes posts deliberately designed to attract responses of outrage or indignation. It is the troll's intent to "hook" unsuspecting members into responding, (hence the term "trolling"), thus providing him/her self with the satisfaction of knowing they have impact on others.
What is a Troll
Use the above link for total explanation, how to recognise the traits and protect yourself.
Vulture 'on the run' coaxed back
A four-year-old North American black vulture which has been on the loose since the weekend has been coaxed down from trees by bird experts. Guinevere flew off during a training session at the Tropical Wings World of Wildlife (TWWW) in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, on Saturday. TWWW staff tried to coax the bird down from nearby trees, but without success until Thursday morning.
Handlers were eventually able to lure the vulture down with dead rabbits. Guinevere was lured down from a low branch in a garden in Wickford, Essex - about six miles from the centre. Guinevere, now heading back to the wildlife centre, has a 5ft (1.5m) wing-span and stands 2ft 6in (79cm) tall. Guinevere's mate, another black vulture named Lancelot, had been "missing her terribly", a spokesman for the wildlife centre had told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/4812506.stm
This was edited due to the fact that the picture disappeared this took place 09.03.06
Must be a visitor of the Bulldog Bash.....
This was in one of our tabloids today, what someone does in there own time really has nothing to do with others, so long as it doesn’t harm the people or children they are working with……pure ignorance isn’t the answer. I thought that the witch trials were a thing of the past but it appears that it is alive and well in the UK…..even though we are over run with multi cultural religions Paganism can make the tabloids……come on people we have to live and let live Moslem religion Paganism was here in the Uk far longer than Church of England……look at your roots….
Another strange thing is …….I had already come across this place that the cutting refers too along my travels through the internet …….and even though there were some hard core people that wrote there…….it really does come down to personal preference nobody actually brainwashed people to take the advice offered.
Paper Cutting
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