Well it's a bit sexist of me to say this from a girly point of view, but it's about time we found a use for all the high grade steel floating about that means it isn't used for munitions.

I never had a child. This makes it even more difficult for me to imagine losing a child. I am Sixty this year and still grieve for not having a child. How much more awful it must be to have a child, and lose this child to war, terrorism, accident, illness, and so many more threats to their wellbeing. I can't even imagine the loss. I grieve with a low grade sense of loss. For a woman who has a child this must be an acute and ever present anguish.

This may seem a bit simplistic. If we demand only stainless steel cookware, and use pressure cookers rather than microwaves, we will demand a huge quantity of steel. It is the same high grade steel that weapons are made of. If there is not enough steel for weapons, bullets, then there can't be enough for the boys to go to war.

I just found out that the Diffusal base on a SEB pressure cooker works on Induction, so we can cut energy consumption in the kitchen. Honestly, pressure cooking is fun, and very tasty. It saves loads of power. Which means it's cheaper to use and environmentally friendly.

We always have the initiative, and courage to keep humanity sane. Mostly because persuasion starts at home, in so many ways....

Send the Men out to work, let us girly types get with running the world! Girls need to get into politics!

I am assuming that because all these files on networks have been encrypted half the web is shut down. This might be a good way to crawl the rest of the bad web and find out what is going on.

I remember a comment that in order to clean up the web it would have to be shut down. I think if this were a real cyber attack it would have been a lot more random. It looks as though China wanted to 'wait and see' the results before letting the program loose on their networks.

It seems to have hit with the special summit over the weekend in the Far East.

As my dog would indicate, 'I smell a rat'. It's not so much the countries it has hit, as the ones it hasn't that Is interesting. All sorts of issues regarding the use of the web have come out in the open, so it it inherently a good thing.

Perhaps the money raised from this scam might go to a good cause if people have paid up.

​If it's going to terrorism and crime in bitcoin, then the bitcoin industry will get shut down.

I suppose the only solution to such low wages is a black economy. 

Perhaps we we should Re-name that and call it the Blanc economy! 

So many people are having to survive with food bank visits. They are under the tax threshold. Also in danger of losing their poor quality home.

Then there are the public services that are more expensive to run, offering less public workers, nurses and medical staff to do more hours for less hourly wage than a shelf stacker at Asda.

we just celebrated 'Liberation Day' here in our little Island. Memories of starvation, of oppression and fear. Yet the spirit of the Jersey People was never broken. They helped each other. Gave food to each other. Hid Russian slave workers at the risk of deportation to concentration camps. Hid Jewish people to stop them being deported.

They hid radios, pigs, and all manner of things from their occupiers. They quietly resisted during those six terrible years of hardship and fear.

We went to a typical Parish supper last night to mark the occasion. I did my hair fourties style, and tried to 'get the look' with what clothes I had. I got chatted up on three separate occasions by men in their 90s! .. one of whom proposed marriage! 'Better to be an old man's fancy, than a young mans slave', he said 

Sadly he had just lost his wife six months ago, they were married when he was 33, and she was 20. He was devastated. I told my Husband I was going to cheer him up, so when I sat down at his table, I asked him 'What about this proposal then'? We had a little cheerful leg pulling, and then he said if my Husband ever divorced me to come and see him!

We mustn't lose our sense of fun, or humour even in the most difficult of times. It is our spirit of independence and good humour that sets apart those who fight the system, quietly and effectively undermining the efforts of injustice in the world

The media sell us a picture, its a propaganda machine. After Brexit, and the American and now French Elections, we can see just how effective the saturation of our minds has become with divisive rhetoric.

​I would have voted for Macron if I were French, this gives them another five years to come up with a credible plan of resistance to their problems!

I have been thinking about replacing this window for my new kitchen. I am considering putting in a window with between glass blinds. There are some that also use photovoltaic blinds to charge a battery to operate the blinds.

I was thinking that this could make it a 'smart blind' that increased shade as the sun became stronger. Also with the backup battery there may be enough charge to put in a mobile device charging port to put a small device in. Then cut the power automatically once the item is charged.

So much electricity is wasted leaving small devices plugged in when they are charged. The converter keeps drawing power. I assume if the battery for the window worked on DC, it would be directly compatible with the device being charged.

Personally I think all TVs and Sky boxes ought to have standby batteries connected to power up and down when required, not just leave it all drawing power all the time. The same with computers too. I wonder how much those battery powered rechargeable cleaners and tools use as well. All this wastage converting AC to DC, and permanently drawing power.  What's wrong with a broom!

I hate cleaning louvre blinds, especially in the kitchen where they get a greasy film on them very quickly. I also don't like these astragal bars. However I need to go and look at some of the window options before going to the expense of changing the window.

This would be an ideal solution for Conservatory problems where the room gets too hot in the day, especially when everyone is out at work. The government might even bring in window tax again in five years if the roof is not solar capable! Ha! It would be a great boost to local industry too.

With a bit more joined up thinking the actual construction of the conservatory could incorporate evacuate tube technology.

Right, I want this as my own patented idea! Let it be known this is now a Conserv-A-Tory TM. Pun intended, as I can imagine a Tory government would introduce a window tax again. The sensible thing to do would be give tax breaks on them, and a subsidy.

The French insist solar is put up when a new roof is being done, why not insist on solar blinds for conservation when doing a new build?

I am not planning to get a conservatory.

With a bit of luck there might be something like this on the market in a couple of years. I would just be happy with a small Royalty!

c. (Copyright).

​

The first thing I would do is cut the red tape for small start up business. No pre tax for start ups.

I would introduce a Nationwide program for training entrepreneurs. How to deal with the beaurocracy France has towards small business. I would also cut the tax burden for companies employing up to 50 people.

The growth of  a small business is very difficult. Funding expansion is a nightmare, added to this the attitude the French have towards employers it's no wonder the employment and economy have stagnated.

There is no point retiring in France at 60. You are not able to do any further work of any kind past official retirement. Planning for that retirement in France is not something most people in France can afford. There should be a provision to do part time when someone reaches retirement age. Even 10 hours a week can be enough to help retirees live more comfortably. Also not everyone wants to give up work.

president Macron would have been my choice too. Just don't let him get away with being a glossy toy boy with no real substance. Also don't let him get ruled by his wife's strategic politics like Billy Clinton.

What a great advert. I wonder if Lidl are marketing our potatoes in Europe as well. 

Gorey castle from that hilltop really does look like that. It's a great castle to visit. Wonderful in fact. A superb Hologram of the Queen, a wrought iron royal family tree, incredible views, and the history of Sir Walter Raleigh who brought Potatoes from the New World, and saved this Castle.

The reason the Jersey Royal is also known as The Jersey Fluke, is that it just created itself here.

Our Potatoes are the best in the world too. Even our French friends think they are better than Noirmoutier Potatoes, and the French take some convincing. At £1.50 for 750g they are a great price too. We obviously get them cheaper directly from the farmers, but the costs of packaging and distribution included, this is a tremendous price. 

We are paying £2 for 1.5lb. These are freshly dug though direct from the Farm. The dirt is still wet!

Just wash your Jersey Royals. If they are very fresh the skin will just rub off. If it doesn't, just wash them, and cook them with the skin still on. We don't put mint or anything else in with them as it spoils the flavour. Just cook them lightly, watch over them lovingly while they cook. The moment a knife will go through the potato it's almost done. Just turn off the heat, and let the hot water do the rest of the cooking while you dish everything up.

Put them into a warmed dish for the table, and if you can get some lovely yellow Jersey butter, put some nice chunks of it on top of the Potatoes. This is delicious.

If you can afford a Crab, or a Lobster, these are the most amazing little Jersey Royals to have with it.
Wonderful with Lamb. Delightful if you have any left over in an omelette, lightly fried in butter. Warm with a salad. It is the quintessential spring taste.

The crushed Jersey Royal fad the top Chefs keep using just seems a waste of this amazing product!

I am not surprised, voting for Mme Le Pen, would be like us Brits voting for Nigel Farage.

France does need someone who understands economics, even if the track record of M.Macron has not pleased them so far, they will make sure he does what they want if they vote for him. Perhaps from this French election race, and that both mainstream parties are so out of favour, he will realise this is what led to the Brits wanting to get out of the EU.

The British vote was an anti establishment protest and it has backfired like a faulty missile launch.

President Trump is pushing to reform education. I am not sure how this will work. I think there are two very important subjects missing from every school curriculum.

The first is 'Home Economics'. This is not just how to cook! It's how to budget an income, how to get mortgages, invest, save, book holidays, get repairs done to the house. Some diy to keep the car in good order. Put up shelves, change a washer in a tap, change a tap. How interest works on credit cards. How not to be in debt.

The second is Current Affairs. To include debating skills. Making sure every child knows who the main players are in the current political arena, their policies and their track record. The school children of today are the voters of tomorrow.

We have a States Chamber in Jersey, and there is a session that is run by schoolchildren. We as the electorate find this excellent, as often the youngsters perform better than the actual politicians.

Adding these two subjects would reduce national personal debt, and hopefully have an involved and informed electorate.

Democracy, and women's voting rights fought for in the last century are a priceless gift our forbears fought for. We are squandering our birthright if we don't vote with informed choices.

Over the last month or so I have started to play a game with our little dog. She loves her couple of treats a day. Just to make the moment last a little longer for her, and to give her something to work for, I chop them in four and play 'which hand is it in' with her.

To begin with, she got it right every time, and was quite rough pawing at my hands. A month on this has changed. She knows I am going to give her treats. Sometimes a treat in both hands, sometimes just one.

What has happened over the last week is interesting. She continually chooses the 'wrong' hand. Usually up to three times. She knows the treat is in the other hand, but keeps asking for the 'empty' hand!

This is deferred pleasure, and takes a lot of 'wont' power to execute! This is why we could never train our dog with treats. It is a fun game. I wonder when she will get to 4-5 asks of the 'wrong' hand!

At first I thought she was just getting it wrong. Very soon I realised she was getting it 'right' for herself.
She likes the game to last longer.

She is nearly fourteen years old, so don't say an old dog can't learn new 'tricks'.

... She doesn't like it when I have a treat in both hands! The deferred pleasure doesn't work! She decides for a few moments which hand to choose, then goes back to playing the 'I know it's in the other hand so I will wait for it game'.

M.Junker suggested Theresa May was in a different Galaxy if she expected to commence divorce talks with the EU without agreeing to an annulment fee!

On this occasion he is right, in fact I think she has to deal fairly with the upcoming 'Black Eye' the British tax payer is going to have to suffer when the Billions of debt the UK will owe to the EU is calculated.

This was never mentioned to the electorate during the referendum. Just the stupid and damaging rhetoric of UKIP saying we could spend all the money we would save on being members of the EU on the NHS. 

The Conservatives, led by Boris have definitely shafted the electorate in my opinion. Now they are trying to hold onto power like the barnacles on the keel every vessel has to watch out for. They are more than a nuisance, they need scraping off the keel and hull of the United Kingdom, and a good dose of anti foul painted on before a re-launch of our very fine country with a new leadership.

Sadly there isn't much choice for the Brits to vote for, certainly if I was able to vote, it wouldn't be for the Labour Party. I am fed up with them bashing the Channel Islands for keeping the City of London going. We do a good job, and are well regulated as an offshore banking centre. 

We don't get handouts from the UK, we have to pay all our own bills. We also don't get any say on what the UK does, as we have no vote like Gibraltar.

We are part of Great Britain as a Crown Dependency, to some it is a technicality. To us just as well we are not, as we would have a very different constitution, and have the UK trying to meddle in our Island life. 

Speaking of insurance, the best little policy we have is a Westfield Health insurance policy. It is very good value. We claim towards dental, eye, and health care, and generally draw down almost as much as we pay in.

This Policy also covers your children up to 18 years old. It probably works out to about £65 per month for the two of us.

It is very useful, as we can claim our dental treatment from our French dentist, who is about half the price of a visit to a Jersey dentist. I got excellent root canal treatment done by our village dentist a couple of years back for about £200. We do not attempt to claim anything back from the French system, even if we were entitled to it. We think that would be morally wrong as we don't pay into it.

If there is so much food waste per household in the UK, then every family could save the £700 food waste, cut their council tax, and buy a simple Health policy which would help pay more towards Hospital treatments, speed up on operation times, and pay towards Consultants fees.

The NHS would get better wages, more Nurses training, and less hours for Junior Doctors, not to mention better weekend ward cover.

Take control of household expenditure, and decide which benefits are worth paying extra for. There are many of these 'top up' non profit health schemes out there, and all offer different entry plans to suit your needs and budget.

​Ours even gives a death grant, and a pregnancy payout. When I had a business, I asked my staff if they wanted this as a 'perk' for working for me. It was unheard of then.