A few months back, Reader’s Digest published a study of the British National Health Service and though the results weren’t shocking, it still sent a jolt to see in black and white what you have suspected all along: if you think the day-time service is pants, then the nighttime is nothing but diabolical. The long waits, lack of facilities and other niggles aside, the fact that one can never get a decent health service, because, ironically, it itself is ailing, is almost laughable. ‘Almost’ because it sure isn’t laughing matter …

Immigration in Briain: What needs to be done for smoother integration?
 
As you can see, I am not letting go of this topic! Thing is, I need to sound quite knowledgeable about it and I have just about a week’s time. Which is where you, my lovely blog readers come in. Please log onto my show on BlogTalkRadio and click on the appropriate button to speak to the host – me! All you need to do is tell your own immigration story. Location, your stance – nothing matters. You might be …

Immigration in Briain: What needs to be done for smoother integration?

As you can see, I am not letting go of this topic! Thing is, I need to sound quite knowledgeable about it and I have just about a week’s time. Which is where you, my lovely blog readers come in. Please log onto my show on BlogTalkRadio and click on the appropriate button to speak to the host – me! All you need to do is tell your own immigration story. Location, your stance – nothing matters. You might be …

Britain is all caught up with the news of teacher Gillian Gibbons being thrown into jail in Sudan, facing a 15-day jail term followed by deportation. At one point, it was reported that she might be looking at the business end of a whip – 40 times. Her crime? Letting her class of 7 year olds name their class teddy bear ‘Mohammad’. All over the country loud, disbelieving gasps can be heard, accompanied by the typical ‘they must be joking, surely!’ Foreign Office is scrabbling about trying to stop the …

Gordon Brown’s government has been blundering about since his first day at the office. The Northern Rock crisis hit them long and hard and they have barely got past that. But with the latest ‘offering’, they have taken incompetence to levels barely scaled before.
They have only gone and lost our child benefit records. All of it. All 25 million of it. Gone. Child benefit records, that contain everything from the names, national insurance numbers, addresses, date of births, bank accounts. Know what the funniest bit about this whole thing is? …

It was like a scene from the Twilight Zone; flickering light, damp floors and women in various stages of undress. Within minutes, squeals rent the air as one by one we got stuck into our neoprene suits that seemed at least two sizes too small for each of us.
We were getting ready to go white water rafting. Outside, the weather was a nippy 10 degrees or so and the buffeting wind made it seem worse.
We must be crazy.  
As we walked out, I could see my family huddled …

Everyone has a favourite song. Couples have their own “couple’s song”, a bar of which triggers powerful harmone-induced reactions in them. Inspired by the movies, most families have a kudumba paatu, mainly so estranged members of the family can find each other in situations like Trade Fair, Ideal Home exhibition etc.
Me, I have a whole soundtrack to my life. Let it not be said I do anything by halves!
This is highly unintentional though. For the past week or so, my ears have been constantly assautled by Channel Five, day and …

Immigration has reared its head again in the UK and the past few days have seen a flurry of news articles on the impact immigrants are going to have on everything from population to house prices to job oppurtunities. While some flee to Britian, escaping from the hell their own country has become, others come here in search of better jobs. Latest population figures stating that by 2031, the country would boast 71 million people, is prompting people to ask the question: how can the UK cope?
With the widening of …

I had picked up P from school last evening and we were both walking slowly down the roads. When we neared the station, an older boy on a cycle and a girl on foot rushed past us. That was when I saw her. The girl. And what she was wearing.
Well, it was one of those ‘blink and you miss it’ type outfits. As it was kind of warm out, she had taken her jacket off and as a result, all I could see of her from behind were here black …

First there was Blue Peter; then there was the GMTV fiasco; now there are rumours of X-Factor going down the same ‘match fixing’ route. All of this is making me wonder: is this the beginning of the end of Reality TV?
Earlier this year, the presenters of popular children’s programme Blue Peter went on air and shattered a few thousand kiddie hearts when they said they had “faked the winner of a phone-in competition.” Apparently, a technical glitch came up after a phone-in competition was announced and one of the production crew …

Now, how can I resist this?