I am not meaning to tread down the path of doom and gloom. Far from it. I just find it a  question of cynicism but maybe the truth.

The UK used to be at the forefront of innovation, technology and development but it appears to me that this is no longer the case in many areas. Can our leaders be so careless and narrow-minded? Have I missed the point or is there a bigger picture? Why and how do we have to put up with things that are so out-dated and poor?

Its mainly in the service industries that I feel we lag behind. Take for example the Internet. Whether  it be a new build or an upgraded service, why don’t we have fibre to the house and not just to a cabinet miles away? Speeds in some areas a woeful and a disgrace. Then there is wireless technology which could be brilliant but we are let down by being way down the list of countries where things are released or updated. Smart meters for one’s electricity and gas sound a good way of monitoring personal use but no one is singing from the same hymn sheet and as a result one can’t switch suppliers as their service is not compatible with another’s meter. This should be standard across the board. It should have been a basic remit.

Recycling is a joke and I am certain that a vast majority ends up in landfill even when households and businesses take the time and trouble to separate it. The Germans have been doing it for decades and seem to have a good handle on this so why can’t the UK adopt a model from them? We waste so much and huge amounts are avoidable. Does a product actually need three layers of packaging in the first instance? I can’t believe our nation is so far behind when it comes to this.

For foods sake! The tonnes of food thrown away every hour of every day is shocking and I am sure that it has a knock on affect to lowering our immune systems. Something that is near it’s shelf life or display life doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad to eat. Cut the mouldy bits off and the item can easily be used. Are we that dumb that we can’t use our eyes and nose to tell if something is bad? Places like India and Africa would cry out for our leavings, misshaped vegetables, beyond sell by dated produce and unused stock items in every household throughout the country. Its meant to be progress but all I see is waste and backward thinking.

Our new home building is outrageous and so basic that we are laughed at by our neighbouring nations. We could be building “Smart Homes” with energy efficient products such as solar panels, ground and air source heat pumps, rainwater catching and reuse of our daily water, energy saving sockets and fittings, properly fitted and energy wise windows but no we can’t do that Like our Canadian or Swedish counterparts. We end up with one up from a mud hut which costs the earth and even a rabbit would feel cramped in because its so  small and badly designed.

Our roads are a criminal disgrace but should be so much better and user friendly. We are constantly bombarded with campaigns of keeping fit and healthy yet footpaths cycle routes and pavements are non-existant in some areas. Just travel to Holland, France or Germany to find an example way ahead of us. And fix the damned pot holes so driving is not like having to travel across a rural outback. We will all have to have four-wheel drive utility vehicles if our present attitude carries on.

Hospitals and health care is a lottery in today’ UK towns and cities. What was once an envy of the world is now a very poor relation. Here are a few ideas to bring us up to speed. Clean them properly, employ well trained health practitioners and not pen-pushers, stop employing so many foreigners who can’t speak English and stop abandoning the elderly and leaving so many to cope in the non-caring communities.

I do think however, is not all bad. Our music, comedy, television, radio and writing is still probably some of the best in the World and our scientists and scholars are all world beaters. So the UK can be proud of that. Oh and our armed forces, albeit a dwindling affair, are amongst the best trained and elite throughout the globe.

I have no answers as to  how to remedy the endless list of our nations failings but I do still live in hope that things will improve otherwise we will be left as a forgotten and humbled state.

Smile as I salute the future.