Football, dear Football! A Woman's Perspective.

It is with some shock that I realize my last post on this blog was January 2010, but so much has happened that my head has not been working properly - still isn't if the truth be told. What I am here to say is in support of those women whose men are football crazy, men who now have a free reign to their madness, thanks to the World Cup. I thank the stars above and all other heavenly bodies, that the males of this household give not a jot nor a tittle for the "Beautiful Game."

We are happy to search the channels for anything that does not contain a lot of men running around after a ball, while tribal chanting eggs them on from every direction. As my good friend said, after only two days of the tournament had passed, "Oh God, I wish our television was broken."

Ah, but every cloud has a silver lining and so we women have all taken up walking, running and jogging, and the result should be a lot of very fit women and some disgruntled menfolk. Or if not disgruntled, slightly fatter and less-fit menfolk, thanks to sitting in chairs, shouting, swearing and cheering, while watching the games on TV. Roll on the end of the whole carry on.

Cheese or Chocolate?

How sad to learn that Cadbury's, the makers of the best chocolate in the world, are to sell out to Kraft, an American company more noted for its rubbery cheese slices than its quality confectionary. I suppose it has to be the way of the world, debts and running costs are too much to let Cadbury keep its independance. Let us hope that if on 2 February, when the takeover might happen, that the workers at Cadbury's keep their jobs.

It would seem that yet another fine English tradition bites the dust. Even more worrying, is the thought that Kraft will mess around with the products and we the consumers will not know whether it's cheese or chocolate we are eating.

Update on "Support Peter Robinson Northern Ireland First Minister" Group on Facebook

It is amazing to note that since creating this group a couple of days ago, 359 people have joined to pledge their support. Sad to note that Mr. Robinson has had to stand down in order to deal with the whole sad business and to help his family through it all. He intends to take about six weeks away from politics to sort things out on a personal level. He intends to clear his name. He has support from the Democratic Unionist Party.

From the majority of comments on the Facebook site, he has the support of ordinary people of all creeds and political beliefs, simply because he is a man of his word, he has proved his integrity by his past actions, and that is what matters. As ever, though, there are those who defeat the object by misunderstanding the meaning of the word "support." Several people have decided to pontificate on the morality of it all, though how the hell they would know what goes on inside somebody else's head or house is one of life's sweet mysteries. Red herrings have been swimming around, too but not worth the time and effort to explain here.

Let us hope the support continues and the group increases with positive messages and good wishes for Peter Robinson and his family.

Support Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland First Minister

I have no interest in politics, but I do come from Belfast and I do keep an eye on what is happening in Northern Ireland. Peter Robinson, First Minister, is under scrutiny over something his wife, also an MP, did. It was foolish, wrongheaded and certainly a very big mistake on her part. But today, it is her husband who is threatened with loss of career and position. Of course there are a lot of questions to answer and I am sure he will answer them.

BBC news tells us "He has come out fighting" and good for him, I say. Now you may be wondering why a Catholic, brought up in a largely Republican area, would be supporting a politician from across the religious and political divide. Well, here is why.

Many years ago, when the Troubles were still a part of everyday life, my mother needed help with a housing matter, in fact, she needed a house! As urban redevelopment in the 1980s brought better housing and conditions, a little Catholic widow, living alone was far down the pecking order, despite suffering many illnesses. She decided to see her MP, who, at the time, was Peter Robinson.

She had many reservations, given where she lived and her religious beliefs. She visited Peter Robinson in his constituency office and voiced her reservations, along with her needs. His response tells me he is a man of his word and his integrity cannot be questioned. He replied that he didn't care what religion she was, or what politics she favoured, but because he was her MP, he would do all in his power to help, because that was his job. And you know what? He did just that, and my mother was allocated a house within weeks, after waiting over two years.

All I can do is relate this to the character of the man today, and offer support for him. I hope others do the same and that hypocritical hounding does not get in the way of a fair hearing. He is a man of his word. Support him. I have started a group on Facebook, where I am Annie Moore. Should you wish to join the group, please go there and do so.

Farewell Wossie

Jonathan Ross is leaving the BBC, OK I know this this old news, but felt impelled to comment. All I am wondering is, does this mean, that savings made by not paying his huge and undeserved salary will be passed on to the license payers? I think not, but one can always hope. He has got to be the most over-paid, under-talented whateverheis that the media has ever spawned.

When he first became popular on TV, he was great fun, witty and almost humble in his ability to laugh at himself. He was talented without being arrogant. But over time, as his fame grew, so too did his ego, or so it appeared. The silly amounts of money he was paid - note I did not say earned - bear no resemblance to his actual abilities. Rather like those Turner Prize "artistic representations" where the Emperor's New Clothes come to mind, Jonathan Ross made it because so many fools believed the hype. As for his "difficult year" and the diplomatic, sycophantic speeches of BBC executives, I wonder how we could sack them all?

Oh well, no doubt the Beeb will find someone similar to endow with the vast sums of money that the citizens of Britain are forced to pay in license fees, or face a fine or jail, should they dare to refuse. Meanwhile, I am sure Mr. Ross will find other ways to get richer, and good luck to him. We should all be thankful that his wages will no longer be coming out of our pockets. We hope.