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 [...]
Archive for the 'This & That' Category
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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
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Fair Pensions for All – Part Two
Public sector pensions: affordable and sustainable
The pensions of public sector workers have come under intense scrutiny in recent months, with ministers and the media describing them as ‘gold-plated’ and ‘unaffordable’. Currently public sector workers are being told they must pay more and work longer for a lower pension – but is this necessary?
Last year [...]
4 Comments CherryPie on Nov 27th 2011
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Fair Pensions for All – Part One
A booklet entitled ‘Fair Pensions for All‘ has been produced by PCS, the general union Unite, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the University and College Union (UCU) and the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC). It looks at both private and public sector pensions and reveals a different point of view than the one [...]
9 Comments CherryPie on Nov 26th 2011
