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Disastrous Nuneaton Building Development Madness in George Eliot County: The Long Shoot, Weddington, Bermuda Village, Galley Common and More

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There are proposed to be over 7000 houses to be built in and around the modest market town of Nuneaton, the birthplace of George Eliot. These horrible building developments are said to be needed to provide affordable homes for first time buyers, to boost economy and provide jobs – but for whom? Not the residents for sure, but the greedy builders. Nuneaton's Horrendous Building Development This provides nothing but misery for the Nuneaton residents. Namely because: Nuneaton’s Crammed Population in Warwickshire. According to the Nuneaton & Bedworth Housing Strategy 2010-15 paper, Nuneaton is already crammed compared to the rest of Warwickshire. Nuneaton possesses over 121,000 residents crammed within 30 sq miles. Rugby has 91,000 in its relatively spacious 137 sq miles. Stratford-upon-Avon has almost 118,000 residents to enjoy 377sq miles of land and the whole of North Warwickshire has 62,000 residents to spread over 110sq miles ( source: Nuneaton & Bedworth ...
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Government’ Housing Strategy Contributes to Houses to be Built on Floodplain and Other Unsuitable Land: Future Flooding Worries for Homes

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How can it be that building is happening on water logged land? How can it be that planning had been approved on land that is known for flooding? It seems builders will build anywhere so long as there is profit to be made. Buildings insurers are loathe to insure a property that is built on a known floodplain. Time will only tell what will happen. See my time lapse video below showing houses being built on a floodplain in Nuneaton. Time Lapse Video of Building on Flood Plain This video show time lapse images of building work occurring on a known floodplain. Roughly 2 photos were taken per day between February and December 2014. Nuneaton is presently bearing the brunt of property developers ruining this modest market town known for George Eliot and green countryside. Not anymore. Here, we can see Davidson Homes Development, Heritage View in Nuneaton. (Read more about the horrendous building plans underway in Nuneaton on my other blog post). Question of Compensation for F...
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Stop Repossession in its Tracks: Repossession? What Repossession?

The word repossession could one day be an obsolete word with the following golden advice on how to subvert what would appear to be certain seizure of your most prized possession. You don’t need a lottery win, a caseload of money or an imminent will-payout to save your house. Advice on Saving Your House from the Debt Collector Tell the creditors that your house is no longer yours to pay the debt with, as you lost your house to a friend during a round of poker last night. But since your friend already has a house to live in, he has allowed you to continue living in this one. Tell the bailiffs that the house is built on top of an old pagan burial site and sadly report that the house unsellable with much paranormal activities going on. However, you would hate to burden these poor innocent evictors with this cursed house, but to let it remain with one guilty of numerous monetary misdemeanours. It would be a fair punishment. Offer the bailiffs the use of the bunker underneath your ho...
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Bad Book Covers, So Bad, They’re Good, but Some are Simply Crap

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Crap book cover designs don’t necessarily dent the author’s sales as I had thought. They in fact attract attention. In this case, mine. Some are so bad, they are great. Find my choice selection of poor book cover designs. PRE POLITICALLY CORRECT BOOK COVERS Beethoven and Harpo have horrible secrets and so does the sexy daddy who is also a good lover. Never knew Baden-Powell felt that way, nor Tarzan about Cheetah. Anything with Savile’s face is abhorrent, and who will toss my salad? BAD ARTWORK ON BOOK COVERS Wobbly airbrush, dodgy compositions, figures look like taxidermist models or plastic Ken and Barbies. In the case, of Steez big red letters plonked over the redhead’s face. Stallion males have weird abs, cartoonish crabs and octopi instil wonder rather than fear and what is that face on fire? DIVINE BOOKS NOT DIVINE IN COVER DESIGN Questions arise, what is beneath the Mantle? Mother Theresa would be horrified and BIRTH CONTROL IS SINFUL IN...
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Junk Food in Supermarkets are Giving you Diabetes, Obesity and Candida

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According to the government’s obesity and healthy eating policy, most people in Britain are overweight or obese. This means that the risk of developing heart disease, cancer and diabetes are rife. But I find it no surprise when I see the dire state of our supermarkets. The food they stock is a disgrace. Why the Government Action to Tackle Obesity in Britain will Not Work I took this pic in the Coop Superstore Their strategy might sound good on paper, but will not work in practice, and I’ll tell you why in a moment. For now, government’s strategy informs on: Having a healthy diet and getting exercise. This includes getting people to eat their 5 a day, reducing fat and salt, reducing portion sizes as well as alcohol intake. Better labeling on food and drink to help consumers make healthier choices Include healthy menus in restaurants. Local councils to provide health services for obese people. Their ‘call to action’ makes the statement that it is everybody’...
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Notice of Default Sums for Bums

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How to Deal with Bank Letters In the face of climate change, the debtor may experience a fit of conscience before disposing of numerous default letters printed on lovely crisp paper. It is a shame that a notice of debt should be the fate of some poor tree. Well, here are alternative suggestions to give those final demands a new lease of life. Save Money Using Creditor’s Letters  Why not use the creditor’s letters to save money? This might help reverse the association of “debt” with “final demand”. Here are some creative ideas on turning debt on its head for good use in the home. Shred up the final demands and use them for a compost heap. Combined with teabags, vegetable peelings and old leaves, shredded up bank letters help to oxygenate the mixture and contribute to a better harvest next year. Furthermore, the quality of the paper banks use is good. Of course, you could use the bank summons as toilet paper, an old idea, but still useful. Use the shredded up bank stat...
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The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve: Slow Burn Suspense of a Husband’s Betrayal

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This mystery thriller has a strong beginning, drawing the reader in with a multitude of questions. A wife living a blissful domestic life is interrupted by news that her pilot husband has been killed in an air crash off the cost of Ireland. But the nightmare is just beginning when Kathryn soon realises her husband was not the man she thought he was. Buy from Amazon Thriller of a Double Life Shreve’s strength lies in her compelling narrative of the protagonist’s inner thoughts and resultant difficult emotions when investigator, Roger keeps coming back with questions about the cause of the crash. Had it been suicide? Political? An accident? Nothing seems to fit. This thriller demonstrates how a woman living in domestic blissful life can be blind to her husband’s indiscretions. Her belief their marriage had been watertight falls apart, as well as her former identity which she questions. What had her role been in this long-standing marriage? Revealing a Murky Past Aft...
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The Violet Hour by Richard Montanari: Regular Reporter in Cat and Mouse with Serial Killer

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I was sold by the blurb and the opening of this thriller. A priest is murdered via overdose during shenanigans and then is thrown out of the window, mantel and all to plummet deathwards .Well, what isn’t there to hook the reader? We don’t know who the killer is, there are some colourful characters and the writing was fine. But I didn’t anticipate the next reading. In fact, I got distracted by another book halfway through and that is never a good sign. Thriller with Colorful Characters When I returned to the Violet Hour, I found I didn’t care much about what happened. There was a fair amount of aimless bantering between characters, it seemed, to illustrate the nature of cousins Nicky and Joe’s relationship, as well as the mete of the other hustlers in the neighbourhood. Nicky is a regular good guy with a lot of weird associations, only I didn’t care. Thriller about Halloween Past Halloween 1988 has significance to the killer and he is out for revenge for a traumatic even...
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I Want to Erase all My Credit Card Debts Quickly and Legally

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Having witnessed how credit card debt can get out of control myself, I have learned that the only way to clear credit card debts is to face the debt monster, research into my legal rights and get help of the best debt counsellors. Credit Card Misery Credit cards have a good side and a bad side. The good is that they protect purchases of up to £100 under the consumer credit act, and that cashback cards are great for making money on purchases as well as getting perks. But borrowers are often seduced into borrowing more money and increase spending. What may at first be a convenience could spiral into massive arrears thanks to late bank charges, admin fees and borrowing rates that could make your eyes water. It is small wonder the borrower feels increasingly trapped and wishes it would all just fade away. Steps to Clear Credit Card Debts Only radical steps can put a stop to the credit card debt from snowballing out of control. The first is facing it. This means talking to a partner...
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Where has all the Non Padded Bras Gone? Invasion of the Padded Cups

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Shops stocking lingerie seem to be sending the message that all women want bigger boobs. Er, no. Some women simply want a bra that offers support and comfort. What do I see when I venture into the high street shop stocking lingerie? Racks and racks of padded bras. No non-padded bras to be seen. Doreen Bra non padded Click to buy from Amazon Bras with a Padded Big Cup I decided to try George at Asda the other day to be confronted with further racks of padded bras, every colour, support and style. I couldn’t find a normal bra anywhere. Yes, I could find sports bras, but you have to be a contortionist to get them on), and I could find kid’s bras (some of these were padded! Padded bras for twelve-year-olds, I ask you). But no other choice of bra. When I asked the shop assistant where I could find a non padded bra for adults, she said the padded bras were what the ‘younger generation’ wanted. I see. So us over-thirties don’t count, in the consumer demographic? So...
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Andy Weir The Martian: In Space there are Potatoes Aplenty But No One Can Hear you Scream like a Girl

This book seemed to be written with Matt Damon in mind, although I haven’t seen the film. Most of the story is told through abandoned astronaut, Watney’s log, which is tinged with tongue-in-cheek comments such as, ‘I’m off to play with drugs and radiation’ and ‘yay, I’m pretty much f..cked.’

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Science Fiction with Realism

But this irony is what really defines this book as well as an entertaining lesson on physics and chemistry. Stuck with seventies TV and disco as entertainment provides contrast against the harsh realities of Mars.

So, Watney is stranded on Mars after his team, believing him dead, cut their mission short. Knowing what we now know about Mars, the book asks ‘what if...?’ There are no little green men, only dust storms, low gravity, extreme cold and the sterile environment. In Bond fashion, Watney has to find creative solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.

And the answers lie in a combination of potatoes, duct tape and sending Morse code via the positioning of rocks. At any moment, Watney could blow himself, up, starve to death, suffocate or die of thirst.

Survival Odds on Mars

I liked Watney being ahead of me in overcoming problems, some of which were nail-biting. Examples were avoiding dust storms that would reduce power to solar cells, leaving him stranded; getting blown up via a lethal mixture of oxygen and hydrogen and avoiding an overdose of radiation from the RTG, a vital source of heat.

But enjoyable though the book was, I couldn’t believe any human could get through those 18 months alone on a desolate planet without more traumas to the psyche, even with NASA training. Where was Watney’s mental breakdown, being spooked or craving intimacy? He didn’t seem to miss a blue sky, a girlfriend or yearn for smell fresh air. There were no descriptions of the other characters or of the Mars’ landscape. How about the light? The mighty canyons? The weird haze in the sky? Sometimes, I didn’t get a sense of being there.

The read was diverting and educational, but the science stuff overshadowed what the experience would really be like for a lone astronaut on a desolate planet. Still, I left with a strong impression of Watney’s sardonic wit.

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