This morning Chris Evans gave a lot of air time to the subject of onesies. In sartorial terms, the onesie (in my considered opinion) is the equivalent of stylistic depravity. An analogy would be to a keen and capable cook resorting to eating tinned spaghetti and white bread. The question being ‘why’? Why would you wear this, or eat that, when you could do so much better?

My objection to onesies is well known to my family and friends – in fact Angela (I am sure she won’t mind a name check), our child-minder, even suggested a few nights ago, when I picked up the kids, that the essentials for a blog entry on the subject were obvious.  

Catalyst Evans was the final straw and so today I share my grumpy views.

I understand why kids like onesies, and why they want one. My five year old daughter loves hers and both my nieces love theirs. My daughter had a friend come for a sleepover and once she had seen the onesie that arrived with the suitcase, she was determined to have her own. In fact Miss Baldwin pestered Mrs Baldwin until she surrendered and the article of clothing was purchased. To be honest, my daughter looks pretty cute in her leopard print all in one with pink trim and ears on the hood.

Where onesies start to bother me is when adults think they are acceptable attire. I have seen people out in our local high street wearing onesies and I think they look stupid! Mrs Baldwin has bought herself one and it reduces me to despair. I’ll admit I tried hard to talk her out of buying one ... and failed.

From a sexy perspective, the onesie is less alluring than a set of workman’s overalls (at least they could possibly suggest some kind of kinky dressing up thing).  They even have pockets, which are useful, and slide splits that you can get your hands in.

In cinematic terms, picture these two scenes:

1) A woman going to bed in a onesie

2) A shopkeeper closing the premises up for the evening, turning around the ‘closed for business’ sign and switching off the lights.

Fellas, do you see the essential similarities, are you with me on this or am I alone?  

I don’t care how snuggly and comfortable the damn things are, they are shapeless and sag at the arse and this is bad! For adults that think that integral feet/paws, ears or tails (or other sundry appendages) are fun, I feel genuine sadness for them.

If you are a bloke and think that it is okay to wear one, you need to get yourself to a shrink and have your head examined!   

Finally, the word ‘onesie’ has even been incorporated in to the English dictionary and this is a linguistic tragedy.

Rant over and I for onesie feel better for it.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Following on from my recent post about nuclear profligacy, I contacted my local MP Chris Heaton-Harris (CHH) as I stated I would. I am pleased to report that he has responded to my enquiry of him – at least with a holding type comment anyway! You can read it here for yourself.

In the style of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, he has phoned (well written to) a friend (if politicians have friends), in this case Edward Davey the secretary for state for energy and climate change.  If the right honourable gentleman responds to CHH then he will in turn come back to me. If he doesn’t, I guess my MP won’t be getting back in touch.

I am glad that CHH sent me a letter because, whilst it’s his duty as a member of parliament to engage with his constituents, I had an expectation that my approach would be ignored.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. I’ll update you again in due course and unlike CHH, I make no caveats.

Separately, I recommend that you think about subjects to challenge your MP on because if nothing else, it is actually quite pleasing to get a letter on House of Commons stationery landing on your door mat.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

I read with regret that Richard Briers has died at the age of 79. The tributes are flowing in for an actor that was a national treasure. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21498077

Richard Briers was famous (amongst many roles) for his portrayal of Tom Good in ‘The Good Life’, the TV sitcom, which ran from 1975 to 1978.

For Christmas 2012, one of the presents I bought Mrs Baldwin was the DVD box set of all the episodes ever made. We have been watching the series recently and thoroughly enjoying it, in fact I saw the first ever episode for the first time just days ago and thought it was most entertaining.

The Good Life had the seventies stamped all over it (the cars, the clothes, the sets and the cultural norms) and, from an aesthetic perspective; that added to its appeal for me. If I am honest, Felicity Kendall did rather add to the visual appeal too.

On the subject of that marvellous decade; in the seventies I used to enjoy the sitcom but it’s actually more relevant and more interesting to me now in my forties. Mrs B and I are now at a similar age to Tom and Barbara Good and do ask ourselves the ‘what’s it all about?’ question from time to time. 

Unlike Tom and Barbara, we have children and have not yet therefore managed to pay off the mortgage; so whilst we dream of more flexibility, the fact is that we won’t be jettisoning our jobs, investing in livestock or turning our gardens into vegetable patches just yet. Doing something different, but perhaps not quite so radical, does have some appeal though.

Tom and Barbara were brave enough to throw caution to the wind but I don’t know if Mr and Mrs Baldwin are. Still the Goods didn’t have to worry about how on earth to fund their kids through university (with tuition fees at £9,000 a year).

So soon after rediscovering the charms of The Good Life, it is a real shame to hear that Richard Briers has died. Watching him as a 41 year old in the program, one forgets that he was 41 ... 38 years ago.

From what I have read, he was well regarded and respected by his peers and he had a pretty good innings too. Everyone has to go at some point and as an epitaph, ‘he enjoyed a good life’ would be as desirable as any.

R.I.P.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

What a story this is; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21410565

This chap, on his way home from the chip shop gets attacked and fights off four blokes, whilst keeping hold of his dinner. In the process, he gets stabbed with a screwdriver but still sees the attackers off; he then goes home, eats his chips and later drives himself to hospital because his stab injury felt a bit ‘odd’.

He didn’t even call the police, the hospital did that.

What a bloke! What an advert for aikido!

Not a great advert for Wisbech!

Now I have been to a few grotty places over the years (Primrose Valley, Filey springs to mind), but driving through Wisbech, on the way to Norfolk, is one of the most depressing journeys I’ve had in the UK in a long time. The landscape is flat, featureless, bleak and rubble/litter strewn.  In fact it would suit an episode of Mad Max, if mad Mel ever needs a pre-post-apocalyptic location for another sequel.

Obviously some of the residents are the kind of denizens that think four on to one is a fair scrap. I hope the police find them and expose them for the detritus they are.  

Next time I am driving through the nether regions of Cambridgeshire, I’ll avoid Frank’s chip shop (although his chips must be pretty good to make them worth fighting with one hand instead of two) but I’d be prepared to stop by John’s pub in Marshland St. James and buy the landlord a beer.

Thumbs up and respect to Mr John Wood!

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Regular readers will know that nuclear power is an occasional ‘soapbox climber’ for me; today the BBC news website presents a few articles that give some interesting insight into the country’s current set of nuclear power challenges. These are articles that everyone should read and contemplate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-21298117

First up, the recognition that the costs of cleaning up the nuclear waste disposal site at Sellafield are spiralling out of control! £67.5 billion spent so far and no end to this huge expenditure in sight.  Bearing in mind the fragile economic state of this country, and the austerity cuts having such an impact in the daily lives of everyone; the costs associated with decommissioning the Sellafield site are staggering, and more than a little offensive!

The fact is that the costs are unavoidable because corners just can’t be cut – belt and braces are necessary for public safety. If there is anywhere where risk aversion is to be applauded, it is in Cumbria. This does mean that there is very little that the politicians are going to be able to do to save money or influence timescales - action will probably be limited to moaning and groaning and attempting to apportion blame away from them!

Perhaps it is no wonder that the plan for burying yet more nuclear waste (in a not yet specially constructed underground vault deep in the Cumbrian hills) was recently voted against by Cumbria Council. Handling the existing haul is problematical enough without compounding the issue another 100,000 years into the future.  No other authority in the country is prepared to entertain such a scheme either and who could blame them?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-21161367

The nuclear problem is a hot potato that the government is ill-equipped to deal with. In fact this problem shows the limitations of our political system as a whole. Political short-termism and coherent, long-term nuclear strategy are completely at odds.  How can you have a government with a five year life expectancy making appropriate provision for a timescale up to 20,000 times its tenure?

If the preceding paragraphs were about the nuclear legacy, what about the nuclear power of the future!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21319031

Unsurprisingly, there are problems with sliding timescales and increasing costs in this sphere as well! Today sees the news that Centrica has withdrawn from the UK's nuclear re-building programme.  EDF will now have to find new financial backing in order to fund the construction of new reactors at Hinkley Point, in Somerset, and Sizewell, in Suffolk. In my opinion, this is good news because it may delay new investment for years to come (although the Chinese may now get involved, which though slightly worrying, would at least be preferable to the North Koreans).

Nuclear power generation should not sit in the hands of private companies (that are answerable to shareholders and in it to make money) because it’s too risky and too expensive. Arguably it should sit in the hands of the government; but successive UK governments have proved inept at managing the responsibility. The other option, preferable to me, would be ‘stop’. The position being - don’t invest in the new when you can’t manage the old! What do you think?

My questions for Mr Cameron are these:

If the bill for decommissioning Sellafield is already £67.5 billion – what will it rise to before the task is finished?

There are eight other shut down sites in the UK; will these cost a similar sum to decommission? Is this at least another £540 billion?

There are nine functioning reactors in the country – in due course, will these cost at least £607.5 billion to decommission?

There are eight new sites confirmed for the UK – what on earth will it cost to build those? What is the value to the UK tax payer of the investment?

How much value for the UK (stated in UK pounds) did Sellafield create in its entire functioning existence? Does that value cover the £67.5 billion being spent to take it apart (let alone what it cost to build in the first place)?

I am going to send this piece and my questions to my local MP and I’ll ask for some comment. I’ll share with you any response that I get. In the meantime, if you are uncomfortable with what you read – not just here but in the media more widely – raise the issue with your MP too! Alternatively think about joining CND and let the movement represent your voice in its lobbying!

19/02/2013 UPDATE TO POST - I am pleased to report that Chris Heaton-Harris the Daventry member of parliament has responded, or at least acknowledged, my approach to him. Read all about it here!

If this subject area interests you, here are some of my earlier posts:

http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/1/post/2012/11/a-cumbrian-earthquake-why-a-21-score-should-still-bother-you.html

http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/1/post/2012/11/post-purchase-satisfaction-and-sellafield-dissatisfaction.html

http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/1/post/2012/10/more-nuclear-nonsense.html

http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/joining-cnd.html