Archive for the 'This & That' Category
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PhotoHunt – Surprise
A few days ago I was sitting working on my laptop downstairs with half an eye on a film. I logged on to Skype because I needed to make arrangements with a friend about meeting for lunch this week.
Just after I logged on to Skype, I heard an unusual pshtt noise which sounded rather [...]
16 Comments CherryPie on Dec 23rd 2011
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Oh Christmas Tree
A Tannenbaum is a fir tree (die Tanne) or Christmas tree (der Weihnachtsbaum). Although most Christmas trees today are Fichten (spruce) rather than Tannen, the qualities of the evergreen have inspired musicians to write several “Tannenbaum” songs in German over the years. The best known version (above) was penned in 1824 by [...]
9 Comments CherryPie on Dec 22nd 2011
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The Tree of Light
I invite you to join me at Vision and Verb, where I talk about the ‘Tree of Light‘ giving hope and purpose at Christmas time to those who are feeling the loss of a loved one.
Comments Off CherryPie on Dec 11th 2011
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Fair Pensions for All – Part Five
Conclusion: fair pensions for all
Nearly one in five of us , living in the UK, is over the state retirement age. A fair pension for all is affordable in the sixth largest economy in the world, if we choose it to be.
A pension is income deferred. Whether it is through national insurance of contributions to [...]
6 Comments CherryPie on Nov 30th 2011
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Fair Pensions for All – Part Four
The state pension: below the poverty line
UK pensioner poverty is among the worst in Europe – only Cyprus, Latvia and Estonia abandon their pensioners to a greater degree. France spends over twice as much on pensions as the UK, Germany two-thirds more.
It is simply not true to say that the UK cannot afford [...]
Comments Off CherryPie on Nov 29th 2011
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Fair Pensions for All – Part Three
The scandal of private sector pensions
The collapse of private sector pensions is one of the greatest outrages of our time. Just over a decade ago nearly half of all private sector workers were in a workplace pension scheme; today it is only a third. The cost of that decline will be borne by the taxpayer [...]
2 Comments CherryPie on Nov 28th 2011
