Fat cats 1 - man on the street 0

This week BP announced that its annual profits soared by 39 per cent to £18.1 billion. This is a week after Shell announced profits of £13.9 billion. Now that strikes me as obscene on a number of levels. I know business needs to make a profit - that is after all what business is about, but 39% for crying out loud. If my salary went up by 39%..... well it wouldn't would it because that's not the real world!! But more concerning is the fact that this profit was made in a year that saw oil prices reach record highs - surely if the oil companies are having to pay more per barrel of oil their profits should drop or am I being too simplistic here? By my reckoning it means that at a time of spiralling energy costs the big corporations were capitalising on things and making a profit at our expense rather than limiting their profits to a reasonable increase and allowing us to pay less at the pumps! Who says polluting and destroying the environment won't pay?

Fairies and hens!

Forgot to update blog to say the missing hen returned safe and sound! The very nice neighbours caught her and returned her to the coop. Since then they have not been out into the extended and obviously escapable run! So today, having been ripped off at B&Q for some fencing posts I actually built a run for them (with the help of Mr Very Nice Neighbour) and tomorrow it will get a net roof and they can once again be free to roam more! It is interesting to see them stand at the end of the smaller run every day demanding to be let into the new run - no long to go now girls - just wish they'd start laying!
And also today we had a birthday party for our youngest - I have always scoffed at the idea of 'invite the number of kids equal to their age' but invariably find that the kids' parties completely floor me and leave me in a semi comatose state gasping for air and gin (not necessarily in that order!) But today we had 3 kids around for her 3rd birthday - and it was fab. Everyone really enjoyed (even liking the fairy cakes I made that looked like they had a squashed frog on top of them!) and no-one was too frazzled. Definitely the way forwards!

Heathrow gets go ahead

Not that it was unexpected but I am truly gobsmacked that the government has given the go ahead for the third runway at Heathrow! When will the government grow a pair and show some leadership on the issue of the environment in general and Climate Change in particular.
I fail to see how this move fits in with the Government's own target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 when the expansion will generate 2.6m more tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and raise the annual number of flights from 480,000 to 702,000. Aviation accounts for nearly 6% of all C02 emissions in the UK and it could, according to the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, endanger the 80% target if it is allowed to grow unchecked. We cannot justify this!
Yet another example of the Fat Cats and Multinationals having more sway with Government than the man on the street!
Amidst this it is heartening to see some people taking some real action - Greenpeace, along with Emma Thompson, Alistair McGowan and Zac Goldsmith have bought a piece of land slap bang in the middle of the proposed site of the expansion aiming to attempt to hold things up. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate/airplot/about-airplot

One of our chickens is missing!

First of all as this is my first post of 2009 - happy new year to one and all and may the gods smile on you this year!
Last weekend I built (no too strong a word for it considering my level for DIY challengedness!) lets say I erected an extension to my chicken run - basically fenced off a veg bed with 1meter high chicken wire. A friend has a similar but larger version in 50 cm high wire and his hens don't attempt to get out so thought mine would be fine.
BUT NO! Last night I got in from work at 4.45pm to find a note from our neighbour to say one of the chickens was on the run but still in our garden. I went to have a good look around, later joined by the neighbour and their dog to no avail - Rusty has vanished! Hopefully she is being a sensible chook and is roosting up high and will appear later today for some food (I checked again this morning but it was still very dark at 7.15am)
I am annoyed at myself for this and my son is really upset.
RUSTY COME HOME!