I am all for doing work and when called for doing hard work and going that extra mile to deliver a gold star service. I despise those who sponge off the state and have a better standard of living just because they are work-shy and lazy. Who is to blame? The State for giving such outlandish handouts or the people who adjust their lifestyles to suit the System? Both probably. Its sucks the majority of our taxes to pay for it.

But are they so stupid? Lets face it, they are given a house, free this-that-and-the-other, money for food and and living expenses and who knows what else.

In some respects the hard working people are the stupid as we are treated like modern day slaves, paid insulting amounts, have to fund our own accommodation and living expenses and contribute to the rising Tax Bill.

The greed of the senior management and business owners shows no bounds and it has become normal in today’s society to cream off huge salaries and bonuses to create this top heavy style of living.

Its seems fine to cram eight hours work into a six hour working day but charge ten hours to the customer and this is achieved by bullying, harassment, cut-backs and immorality. Is it really justified to pay an employee twenty thousand a year but reward the boss two million? That equates to two employees working a lifetime for one years pay and this seems fair and just.

Are we only good for one thing, to line the pockets of the already wealthy class with no regard for health, lifestyle, living standards and morality? Are we just things to wear out and throw away when broken like an old machine or tool? Our Victorian forebears fought long and hard to narrow the divide between the boss and worker and this has now all been washed away and ignored. I am convinced the only reason the work-house is not re-introduced is because there is no space left to build them.

Work the middle classes, tax them in every way possible, leave no room for aspiration and herd them like sheep to a taxed grave. Ha Ha Ha….we have you and own you.

The two extremes of our community are not that far apart. On the one hand there are the ones that are happy to take the ballooning Welfare Payments so they can remain at home and come and go as they please and on the other we see the “rich” pleased to use the skills of the employee to line their pockets so they can enjoy the lavish playgrounds beyond the normal dream. The only difference between the two ends of society are the venues and vistas.

Unfortunately most of us have to wallow in the middle of the quagmire which becomes increasingly difficult to sustain a normal existence.

So either grow thick skin, lie, cheat, bugger, be corrupt and corruptible or take the moral road to justification and sleep easy.

The only other option is to become a dog or cat or not think about it.

I quite like browsing online and reading reviews about products and goodies and buying online can be relaxing and, if ordering clothes, one can try on in the comfort of the home without pushy sales people ooing and arring over how good each item looks.

I thought a trip to Oxford would be fine. Primark was the store to visit so it would be quick and easy. Jump in the car, drop it off at the Park and Ride, catch the bus and then walk to Primark. Then its just a matter of choosing a couple of items and then repeating the process in reverse. Leave at eleven and be home by one thirty.

Yeah right!! How wrong can a man be?

Leave at eleven and get home at four thirty. It was okay though but it was so tiring. Five and a half hours, four of which were being steered about shops was exhausting. A full-on day at work was less demanding. I have no idea where folk get the energy or enthusiasm to shop regularly and that is before the bills arrive at the tills. And this was a short trip with only a few stores visited, most of which was overpriced tat. I guess I am not fashionable.

However, I was a good chap. I didn’t moan or make any obvious signs or shows of boredom and carried the bags and baskets and gave my opinion when asked.

Actually it was not that bad for an occasional thing to do on a Sunday and it was far better than sitting on the sofa, eating crap and watching television.

The oner very sad sight was the amount of homeless people I saw sitting in doorways and wrapped in blankets. I appreciate some are professional beggars but I bet many are genuine cases of hardship. Freezing cold weather and utterly miserable. It does make one stop and think how lucky we are to have somewhere warm and comfortable to call home rather than a windswept doorway or hard street bench.

Shopping then. A leisure activity I will leave to those who enjoy it and have reason to tackle the high streets. For me online or no shopping is the way I shall continue my habit.

We all need a car, right? We all know how many vehicles we own or need when we move into a new property? We are told what is acceptable and is not. So why are our streets so full of inconsiderate parking?

Add this to an increase in population and a decline in public transport and increase in train travel and the problem is overwhelming.

When one visits or looks at parking in, say, Europe we find very few cars out on the streets. They are either in the garages or on a driveway. The streets are therefor used for what they are intended (to drive on) and traffic flows smoothly and efficiently.

It was revealed to me recently why this could have been caused in part. After the World War Two conflict America gave huge loans to Europe, including The UK, to help rebuild and restructure the damage caused by years of destruction.

Most countries used this aid to good use but what did we do here in the UK, we spent it on our National Health Service set up and Benefit System. Very little was done to improve our infrastructure and we just patched up the mess as cheaply as possible, a sticking plaster repair if you like. It is little wonder we have been left with outdated street plans, unmodernised roads and poor quality town centres.

New homes are built with communal parking, garages and some driveway space set aside for the car but often these homes are bought by people with more than the allotted cars for the space provided and have no intention of using the garage for it’s purpose of use.

There is a case for an excuse for garage builders of the past making the size unuseable for the modern car as the width and length of vehicles have increased over the decades but why build a brand new carport or garage which is not fit for purpose? So many are either turned into extra rooms or are used for anything but the car.

A friend of mine is horrified to see garages full of junk and rubbish yet their second most expensive possession (after the home) is left out on the street in all weathers and at risk of being hit by other drivers or target of vandalism. But No One seems to care.

The flow of traffic is constantly being hindered by street-parked vehicles, the pavements are blocked and damaged by cars mounting the curbs to give a narrowest space for traffic to squeeze through and pedestrians can find it hard to be seen properly when needing to cross the roads.

As for the emergency services!! It must be a nightmare for them and I suspect many lives are lost or properties are needlessly ruined as a result of a lack of speedy access.

Why move into a property with five cars when there is only room for three off the street? These folk should be fined. Its a different matter if one has guests as there may be no alternative but this would be a temporary matter.

I appreciate our older terraced street layout has it’s limitations and street parking is unavoidable but quite often some of the busier ones are made one way to allow both sides to be designated to parking.

It won’t be long before our, once beautiful and envied, island become one huge car park and it will be easier to walk from car roof to car roof than is will to navigate our shrinking streets.

The only other option is to develop underground parking for all our homes or build our homes on stilts leaving space under the ground floor.