Michael Sandel Debate - World View, a Doomsday Scenario? -

If you were an astronaut sitting out in space you would see a beautiful planet covered with land and sea masses. You would not see demarcation lines between countries, apart from possibly the Great Wall of China or Hadrians Wall. They only go to show that man has tried to create fiefdoms for millennia. Why? So that someone could rule, have power, wealth  & subjugate others.

All through history, since the first humanoids, peoples have migrated to escape hardship, find food, or explore. Some have invaded to conquer & colonialise - including us. Nationality is an accident of birth. Borders are invisible in the landscape. Once you create them you create something which needs defending & fighting over. You also create cultural difference, yet human beings are essentially the same. We have the same needs & aspirations.

Despite the ever increasing population of the earth there is space for all. Our ever expanding knowledge & technological change means that we could produce enough for everyone if we shared more equally & more sustainably. But we don't. We want to keep what is "ours". We don't want to lose our advantage. We are selfish.

We see refugees & economic migrants as a threat. We see cultural & religious difference as "us & them". We don't empathise enough to imagine what we would do if we lived under threat of pain, suffering & even death or if we didn't have a fair share of life's goodies. We are in denial about what we should do as human beings. We want to retain our status quo.

Well it won't work. It is already coming back to bite us with a vengeance. Unless we all change, & pretty damn quick, the world will be engulfed in even worse horrors than today. There will be land wars, water wars, food wars, religious wars. The disposessed will not just accept the behaviour of the lucky few.

The role of big multinational companies & financial institutions is not blameless. Their twin "raison d'etre" is profit & shareholders. Workforces are exploited. Resources are plundered regardless of the cost to people & the environment. By the time the finite resources of our bountiful earth are at an end it will be too late. (Read "Collapse" by Jared Diamond if you don't believe me).

There will be a tipping point & there are more of "them" than us.

See Michael Sandel - BBC Radio 4 - Global Philosopher debate. I am not alone!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/the-global-philosopher

Hidden Vices - Paedophilia & Child Abuse

The Head teacher of the last school I was Head of has just been sentenced to prison for abusing girls in Primary school. I didn't know him. When I was a volunteer in Gloucester prison there were obviously men incarcerated for similar crimes. Years ago one of our close friends abused his daughter. I was brought up in an era when corporal punishment was routine. That is just one person's lifetime experience of child abuse.

My conclusion is that there might be clues, but these men are very clever and manipulative & you really can't tell. No one wants to believe that someone they know is capable of this abhorrent behaviour. If you are "normal" you simply cannot envisage what drives a man to think that this is in any way acceptable.

I have always wondered what the likely prevalence of this behaviour is & whether it is increasing, or whether girls are more prepared to come forward & there is more publicity. The following link came as a shock.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11690451/One-in-35-men-has-paedophile-tendencies-crime-agency-claims.html

If 1 in 35 men is a potential paedophile, even if two thirds of those attracted to children would never act on their urges directly, increasingly men are turning to the internet to seek out sick images of child abuse. The NSPCC recently warned that as many as one million children in the UK could have been the victim of an assault, but most crimes are never reported or investigated.

We call ourselves a civilised society. We supposedly love & protect our children. But this abuse is only the worst end of the spectrum. How many children are routinely physically or verbally abused? How many are hungry, cold, don't have a bed to sleep in? How many die because they don't get the medical treatment they need? How many are forced to work & have no childhood or proper education? How many are their parents carers? How many are over pressurised by aspirational parents?

Abuse comes in many forms. Children are the weakest members of society. Adults think they have a right to have children. What rights do the children have?

A new Ensuite - Finis

The ensuite was finally finished last Tuesday - 17 working days. I apparently have to wait for a couple of weeks before thoroughly cleaning so the grout can harden up properly. But the pleasure of moving everything back in & vacuuming was wonderful. The design is a very definite improvement.

Unfortunately there was a small leak from the tap at the back of the under basin cupboard. RH came back on Thursday. Apparently it was because the horizontal part of the basin where taps are mounted wasn't perfectly flat. The remedy was the tap to be seated with a squidge of silicone. You would think that it would be a routine thing to do.

Definitely shouldn't speak too soon. I have discovered that the WC seat has been put on wrongly. Waiting for RH to respond. You can see in the photo that it is set back from the edge of the pan.

A New Ensuite - 10 - Government Building Regulations - Registered Competent Person - Compliance Certificates

Monday
The 16th day of my ensuite saga. Still not finished. RH is coming back to finish tomorrow with a registered electrical trader to provide the Compliance Certificate, which I definitely do need.

I am now more familiar with the Government legislation than I ever wanted or expected to be. It has been a stressful 2 days. I have several observations.

• The government & local councils have definitely not effectively communicated & informed the public or traders that it is a criminal offence for trades to work without being registered. 
• Traders are unable to issue the certificates for work done in clients houses, which are mandatory, unless they are registered.
• RH phoned round all his mates in the trade & only one of them knew anything about the legislation. I asked a friend who has just had an ensuite done & he didn't either & has not had certificates for any recent work in his house, some of which is substantial.
• Apparently the vetting system for registration is rubbish. 
• It would appear that the scheme can not be effectively enforced, which is another reason why it seems useless bureaucracy. 
• How many clients know that they need to ensure that the people they use are registered traders? How are they expected to check?
• The public do not know the questions to ask trades. The onus is on the trades to register & the clients to ensure the people they use are so registered.
• The only reason I know about the certificates is because I moved house in 2013 & my daughter is moving next week & reminded me. Solicitors require all the certificates when you sell your house.
• I can see the need to protect the public from "rogue traders" & "cowboys" & risk of physical harm. It does seem sensible that people doing work on electrics & gas in particular should be professionally competent & up to date. Therefore there should be mandatory, certificated, training on a regular basis to ensure skills & knowledge are appropriate. 
• I can also see that the government wants to crack down on the "Black Economy," which is rife in the building trade. Tradespeople might want to keep their costs as low as possible to keep quotes low & get the jobs, although I have never met a poor plumber.
• Anything which costs trades money, uses time they could be working or increases their paperwork is not going to be welcomed. They are people with skills, experience & expertise. That should be recognised. They are not necessarily financial wizards or academic. It all needs to be as simple & brief as possible.

RH will register himself. He can see that it will benefit him. He doesn't do any gas work. He will use a registered electrician in future. It has been very stressful for him too.

I also wonder what happens if vendors don't have certificates for work they have had done, which I suspect is widespread? Are the solicitors for sale & purchase really going to stop the sale going ahead?  I doubt it. I think they will just ignore it. I doubt there are even checks to ensure an existing  certificate is valid.

I just wonder who devised & implimented this legislation? Who trialled it? Who checks & how is it monitored for effectiveness? In my view it isn't fit for purpose.

EU Referendum - Dishonourable v Decent.

Dishonorable - Having little or no integrity; Unprincipled.

Decent - Polite. Respectable. Proper. Suitable.

These are words, long used to describe people, which seem to belong to a different era. They belong in black & white films. They seem old fashioned and out of date in a modern world. How have we reached a situation, as human beings, in which that can be accepted as normal?

Why is it no longer the case that we expect honorable, decent behaviour to be the norm? How have we reached a point of cynicism where we do expect people, especially those in the public eye, to be self serving & duplicitous?

I can't believe, as individuals, that we think this marked change in expectation is acceptable. Do we not strive to behave well any more? Are we really so self absorbed that our own gratification justifies any behaviour to others?

The only comfort is that I think of the people I know & by an large they are nice people. They are human & they make mistakes, but mostly I trust them. Trust is a leap of faith, because we can never really know someone else, however close our relationship. People do let you down, but they also support you through thick & thin.

My problem is that I have lost faith in the decision makers in the world & those who influence decision making. I can't think of many who I instinctively trust to make the right decisions for the long term benefit of the world. In fact the opposite is true.

The European Referendum is shaping up to be a dog fight of mis-information & vitriol. It's far too important for that, but how on earth are the public going to make an informed choice in the current climate of fear & lies? The only fact is that no one knows what the future holds, in or out of the EU. Everything is speculation. Politicians may refer to themselves as "Honerable Member". I don't think the majority of the public would agree.

                                             

A New Ensuite - 9

Friday

Bad news - the job won't be finished today. RH will have to come back on Monday. I really can't believe that a small ensuite bathroom can go into a 4th week.

Good news - All of the rubbish in my car port is being collected today so I can go and get my car back from my daughters. The ensuite is much, much better than the badly planned, dark, cramped one which is now consigned to the dump - Good design by AK. Good work by RH.

Middling news - My cleaners can't come until Tuesday anyway. So if I want to move back into my own bedroom, & I do, I'll have to make an effort to do some meaningful cleaning myself.

Spent ages vacuuming the dust in my bedroom & the corridor. RH had done a clear out, but the dust gets everywhere. All the stuff RH needs on Monday is in the ensuite. Then made up my bed.  Have to use the bathroom along the corridor or the ensuite in the spare bedroom though.

Saturday

Vacuumed the stairs & downstairs. Washed the sheets from the spare room. Too much - reminds me why I need cleaners!

Sunday

Readers beware. I have just discovered what may be a major problem. I texted RH to remind him I need electrical / plumbing completion certificates. See the government reg's below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433759/150604_Building_Work_Leaflet_amended_version.pdf

He says he has never issued them, so I assume he isn't a "registered competent person". As he is the person recommended by the bathroom design & supply company it never crossed my mind there might be a problem.
I have no idea what will happen now!

Building Tradesmen - A Blueprint for Harmony?

I've had quite a lot of experience of meaningful building work during my lifetime.

We had a huge extension done on our 4th house when I was in my 30's, which increased the size of a 3 bedroom detached house by over a third & re-modelled the existing house. I designed the plan & we employed a structural engineer & building contractor. We didn't have a project manager. It went massively over schedule because the contractor was over extended & was sub contracting everything out. The whole thing was a nightmare & we were both working long hours at the time. We naively assumed that the professionals knew what they were doing.

My previous house suffered a huge water escape from the loft which left two thirds of the house uninhabitable & destroyed everything we owned in it. The drying out, stripping out & re- building took a year because it had to be done twice. The insurers contractors made a complete bodge of it the first time because, again, they sub contracted out too much work. Half way through my husband died. The contractors tried to get me to sign off on the work the day before his funeral. Fortunately I didn't, on the advice of a friend who was a plumber. I then had to project manage all of the work being done again.

In my current house I have had electrical work done, decorating, the kitchen re-modelled, a Moroccan courtyard created, & now am doing my ensuite bathroom. I'm therefore used to dealing with bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, plasterers, painters & decorators, tilers, etc etc. I  also did a lot of decorating & tiling when we were young & had no money, so have some first hand experience. My husband did electrics & plumbing.

All of this makes me really despair when I have work done in my home - because that's what it is - it isn't just a house. It's your own very personal, private space. It's your sanctuary against the world & trouble.

I have expectations of professional trades:-

1. They should arrive on time, when they say they will & put in a full days work.
2. They should know what materials they need to do the job & should ensure that they have everything on site ready to use in advance. The need to "pop out to suppliers" should be minimal. It wastes the clients time & money & puts the schedule back.
3. They should be able to schedule the work to minimise time loss, for example waiting for mortar / grout to "go off", & give a reasonably accurate estimate of how long the job will take.

Obviously I do understand that unforseen things do happen which cannot be planned for ahead & that will alter 2 & 3.

1. They should respect the clients home, keeping the job as clean & tidy as possible & protecting paintwork, flooring & posessions properly. Building work is messy but that isn't an excuse for mess everywhere.
2. If the client is living in the house while the work is going on, as I have done for all the work I have described, the above is doubly important.
3. They should consult & ensure that they know exactly what has to be done, especially if the client is not on site all the time.
4. If the client is there they should consult & inform regularly.

What I don't expect is "bullshitting". But that is often what you get. I'm not an idiot. I can think.There is a difference between excuses & reasons.

It isn't rocket science. There are countries who are worse than the UK - Greece & Turkey spring to mind. There are also countries who are light years ahead of us - Germany & the whole of Scandinavia for example. It can be done. It's a question of attitude, forward planning & joined up thinking.

Most of our building trades people are just not up to the sort of standards that clients have every right to expect in their homes. Just look at the levels of complaints about new build housing.
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/consumer-rights-television-programmes/10392-bbc-watchdog-more-moans-about-new-homes.html

There are numerous websites to help consumers who have problems with any building work -for example.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/problem-with-home-improvements/

The problem is huge & encompasses everything from disruption, stress & hassle to dangerous & shoddy workmanship. It really isn't good enough.

A new Ensuite - 8

Tuesday.

Who would have thought that it would take 3 weeks to do a very small ensuite? It now looks as if it won't be finished until Friday. So I won't be able to get my cleaners in till Monday next week.

Being here all the time is a bit of a double edged sword. I'm living with the noise, the dust & the problems daily. (If I wasn't here RH would just have to sort them out without my input). I'm camping out & can't get to my clothes without negotiating the tip that is my bedroom. I'm in limbo and can't settle to anything. On the other hand I can make sure that it's all done as I want it.

                                    

Like so many things in life, if you knew what was involved before you started you might think twice about doing it at all. Hopefully it will be so much better than what was there before. There is a price, financial & psychological though.
 

I am fed up with it all now.

Private Education - Public Scandal

According to research by the Sutton Trust -
http://www.suttontrust.com/research/

and an article in the Telegraph -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12170357/Half-of-Britains-best-actors-privately-educated.html

50% of Britains best actors went to fee paying schools. 
61% of top doctors were educated at independent schools.
71% of top army officers attended independent schools.
50% of the cabinet, compared to 13% of the shadow cabinet were privately educated.

This is despite the fact that only 7% of pupils attend these elite & expensive schools. Money buys you advantages in terms of tangble & hidden benefits - class size, facilities, networks, privilege.......Money is the key to future success. It simply is not possible that there are no similarly talented children in state schools who could become as successful given similar advantages.

The British disease is alive and kicking - it's just that wealth has replaced class. What a waste of talent.

 

A new Ensuite - 7

Thursday

Good news & bad news.

I have ordered 2 corner glass shelves which will, with a bit of luck, be perfect for the gap between a boxed in cupboard & the wall. They aren't cheap, but a darned sight cheaper than the bespoke shelving would have been. Hopefully they will arrive on Monday in time for RH to fit them. It is amazing what you can find on Google. You just have to have the right search question.

So that makes the bad news - that the work might possibly go on untill Wednesday now, into good news, because RH will still be here to fit them. I have accepted the extended time scale & won't book the cleaners until I'm sure.

Another trip to Topps Tiles for materials today, but the mosaic floor in the shower area is going in as I write this.

Work is progressing & it looks good.

Friday

10 days in. A phone call about an hour after RH was supposed to be here - A client with an emergency - no heating or hot water. What can you say? It obviously takes precedence. So the already over schedule installation will probably go on till even later in the week. It's galling because I had postponed a visit from friends tomorrow.

At least I got some jobs done & cleaned & tidied a bit.

A new Ensuite - 6

Wednesday

Spent ages last night on the roof, in a howling gale, trying to tape up the outside of the spare room ensuite extractor fan which was driving me mad clacking. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep if I didn't do it. I borrowed some gaffer tape from my nice neighbour. Can't get at mine because my car port shed is inaccessible due to bags of rubbish waiting to go to the tip. Apparently it's a real design failure with older extractors.

This morning started with problems. The new WC has arrived minus some fittings & there is a difficult issue about how to finish off two vertical edges & whether to centre the tiles with the basin tap. Difficult to explain without a diagram.

Really the tiles need to be centred on the position of the tap or the vertical grouting line will be offset & look awful. That means that the edge of the tile near the door will be machine cut by hand. What I don't understand is why the manufacturers have stopped glazing the edges of tiles like they used to do when I last tiled a bathroom many moons ago. It can only be a cost saving measure, but it means that you have to have the tacky plastic strips.

So there was a mega discussion & we had to go to Topps Tiles to decide which strips to try before any work could start. That's a couple of hours gone. The upshot is that there is no way I can move back into my bedroom on Friday. Work will continue into next week & I can't get the cleaners in till everything is finished. None of the rubbish stopping me using the car port will be removed till the job is completed. So my car has to stay at my daughters.

I know it's all psychological & it's more important to have a good job than to rush & spoil it, but it is disapointing. I can't settle to anything because there are issues every day. On the other hand I'm hardly suffering. You do get to the stage where you just want your house back though.

A New Ensuite - 5

Tuesday

I chalked out the relative positions of the 2 sizes of washbasins on the floor last night. There is really only a few centimetres difference & the width doesn't matter. It's the depth from the wall that's crucial. RH positioned the WC so we could really see the space between this morning. So I've decided bigger is better. I hate small basins. Ordered it first thing.

RH has had a tidy up in my bedroom, it was a complete tip, & is beginning the tiling today.

I'm in limbo. Living in a mess is all very well, but it saps your will to tidy up as you would do normally. I haven't made my bed since the beginning of last week! I did vacuum, but it was all just as bad within a day. Dust is very pervasive. My mantra is - It will be worth it.

2.30 - Two walls are tiled, but they are the straightforward ones. RH has gone.

I want 2 glass shelves, but the shape is tricky & they will need a very accurate template, which I don't think I can do. That makes them "bespoke" & therefore very expensive - If I can even find someone to do it.

There is a solution to everything on line. You can get ready made, corner, quadrant, glass shelves for a fraction of the price of bespoke. I'm very chuffed.