Are they remote controlled?

My normal reaction to ladies who have had enhancement carried out is to wonder why? I can quite understand that it is their body and they may do with it as they will. Just what is it that causes them to think that anything so - um - overblown makes them attractive? Here, I would be concerned about the obvious strain on her shoulders. The practicalities of such a body must be limited. One of my most early girlfriends was very well built and it was almost impossible to touch anywhere above her knees without coming into contact with her chest. Way back then, this qualified for a hearty thump and I had a truly Mohammed Ali-type ability to ride with the punch. I think this lady looks deformed - much that my opinion would bother her!
Since my own re-modeling, the addition of a counter has been eye-opening (to continue a theme). I now have the ability to see from where people have connected. Unless something is wrong, I see that I have been connected to someone from Turkeistan. This conjures up all sorts of images. I'm sure it is some sort of adverse propoganda but I see that part of the world as rather grim and industrial or very wild and barren country. The thought that something here caused someone from there to connect with the sort of drivel I manage, is fearsome. Good luck to you whomsoever you may be!

Practically funny

A young boy went up to his father and asked him "Dad, what is the difference between potentially and realistically?"The father thought for a moment, then answered "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars. Then ask your sister if she would sleep with brad pitt for a million dollars then ask your brother if he would sleep with Tom Cruise for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you have learned."So the boy went to his mother and asked "Would you sleep with RobertRedford for a million dollars?" the mother replied, "Of course I would! I wouldn't pass up on an opportunity like that!" The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?" The girl replied "Oh my god! I would just love to do that! you would be nuts to pass up that chance!" The boy then went to his brother and asked, "Would you sleep with Tom Cruise for a million dollars?" "Of Course!" The brother replied. "Do you know how much stuff a million dollars could buy?" The boy pondered for a few days then went back to his dad. His father asked him "Did you find out the difference between potentially and realistically?" The boy replied "Yes sir. Potentially we are sitting on three million dollars, but realistically, we are living with two slu*s and a p0of."

A mad mad mad world

Today, I finished reading what might laughingly be called the ‘news’ in my daily Torygraph but was feeling too idle to get up and be-doing something or other. My eye was caught by a phrase on the Kindred Spirits section of the page. This is a lonely hearts-type thing. Women looking for men, men looking for women and, shock horror, even men looking for men. There is a further section headed Friendship which I assume is for those of the Sapphic persuasion. I’ve never paid any attention to these items before – and don’t suppose I will ever again – but they paint colourful images on my mind which, I freely admit, is some way from driven snow.

Thus, we get things like “Are you a vivacious lady of any race who enjoys wearing strappy high heels?” So, much not doubt what is wanted there then and I don’t suppose that it would be a lasting relationship. Once you have seen one strappy high heel, you’ve seen them all surely. Another caught my eye thus “Rough diamond. 60, gsoh, adaptable, caring n/s seeks friendly tactile older female for home life in SE Sussex” This translates to me as an irritable old sod looking for a housekeeper who will occasionally lay hands upon him. He has low aspirations as suggested by his being ‘adaptable’

There seems to be a pronounced desire amongst the lonely females for males who are ‘tactile’ or who enjoy ‘cuddles’. There are some where they want someone 65+ and also has to be athletic. That’s him into an early grave from over-indulgence then. Some seek to attract attention by painful honesty such as “Grumpy old woman, still working, tall, grey-blonde, drop-dead and wrinkly wltm tallish grumpy funny old man for walking, picnics, fine dining and fun” What happens when the grumpy coincides with a one in four incline, boggy track in a force nine downpour where the picnic basket has been left in the car? No fun or fine dining there then?

I’ll not go too far into the men on men styles – there might be something there that turns my homophobic into homoerotic. I cannot but help noticing a number of stated preferences that the partner sought be military, ex-military, Royal Navy. That guy is missing a trick – what he really needs is a Royal Marine. They are very tactile, athletic, like cuddles and would have no problems with a grumpy attitude.

Weapon fires short while then stops again

I've reproduced this rather than link to it. It comes from a gun-control site and I do not intend to bolster their ideas but I like the sound of this as a good week-end's sport.

Machine-gun fiesta: "It sounded more like what would be heard around the war zones of Baghdad or Mosul in Iraq rather than rural Wyandotte. On Saturday, more than 200 avid machine gun enthusiasts from around the nation gathered for the fourth annual Oklahoma Full Auto Shoot and Trade Show -- and brought with them a full arsenal of fully-automatic weapons. Featuring everything from mini-guns to MG-42s to AR-50s to Quad 50s, the auto shoot drew crowds of nearly 1,500 spectators who, setting up lawn chairs in the shade, sat back and watched the bullets fly. Positioned under a long line of tents atop a ridge, the shooters fired down into an assortment of targets including cars, trucks, buses, washing machines and even a small airplane. Explosions resounded throughout the hills as hot lead tore through car metal and set off "fuel bombs" that were placed in some of the vehicles. "It just keeps getting better and better every year," smiled Mike Friend, owner of "The Firing Line" and co-organizer of the event. "People that own stuff like this need a place to shoot and we feel like we've got a good, safe place for them to do that." Co-organizer DeWayne Convirs, who owns both "The Bunker" army surplus store and the land used for the auto shoot, said the number of people who want to come out and watch the machine guns blaze gets bigger every time. "This is twice the attendance we saw last year," Convirs remarked."
Sounds like good form of stress relief to me.

Various things have been causing me to reflect upon my age; don't worry - this is not depression related. No one can deny that age makes its presence known in many ways. I was even aware of this at about thirty when I thought 45 was unattainable. So, it was entertaining to read this comment on how to survive the matter.

Oh, by the way, if you are looking for something about The Black Dog, then this lady seems to have cracked it. More power to her elbow.

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. This was said by Hermann Goering. Seems to fit in with a lot of the things that are going on now or since 9/11.

Sin and the law

I was often amused when reading about Cardinal Sin who died a little while ago. It was rather a schoolboy sense of humour and I used to try and fit him and his title into little stories. I have to admit that the one that appears in ‘Off Topic' here is better than any I ever achieved.
The Government has gone off on another of its poorly thought out hobby-horses regarding racial matters. I spend time reading blogs by police and legal bods and they are universal in criticitism of the speed and manner in which new legislation is drafted and introduced. This rush-to-justice almost invariably fails to take account of existing law and the new stuff clashes badly. All money for my learned friends of course.
I was talking on the phone to a store in London about something small and shiny. The sales guy had a very broad Scots accent. When time came to do the order I gave him the addess. "Duns - where is that?" he asked. I pointed out that it was funny that I, an almost-Cockney calling from Scotland, had to tell a Jock in London where a place was in Scotland. Not too dour obviously as he saw the joke.
Having struggled with setting up the satnav stuff, I took it with me when we did this morning's walk at Berwick beach and 'told' it to bring me home. We had to drop Norma off en-route and then continue into Berwick. The woman who gives directions spotted we were off course and started her diversion mode. She kept saying 'turn right', 'turn left' or 'do a U turn' I persistently disobeyed her. Any minute, I expected her to go into PMT mode and blow up 'what's the matter with you today? Can you do nothing right?' When we got to the beach the road ended and all that was in front of her was sand and the North Sea so I wondered what she would say about that. However, as we had stopped she was silent.
I have been thinking about how I might present myself as less hideous on the trip to Germany. Maybe a change of image such as this?

Good dogs

My entry about war dogs made me remember this. I cannot now remember from whence it came. They look really angelic but I'd stand with my back to the escape hatch before I said anything like "Dinners - leave"

Dogs life

Here is a good example of an ordinary policeman's interaction with police dogs. The Military Police method of using dogs differed slightly from the way the regular police dog works. For a start, they were designated as attack dogs and that is exactly what they did. Attack. Not for them the genteel grasping of an arm. They did a full-on assault and were not in any way fussy how they did this. Indeed, they didn't too much care who they attacked. Anyone running was fair game. If they felt a bit grouchy and no one was running, they'd see who they could scare into running. One way to ensure that everyone left a training grouind at the end of the session was to shout "Dog loose". Sales of Ex-lax fell alarmingly.
As someone with an interest in dogs, I used to spend time with the dog handlers. Inevitably, I got dragged into the training sessions as a quarry. Because they are indiscriminate as to what they grasp, it was necessary to wear a full padded suit. This covers, supposedly, the whole body from a built-in mask like a fencer wears down to bootees. Hot and cumbersome. I was able to withstand one dog attacks - almost - but stood no chance if two 90 pounders came at me. This was deemed to be such a laugh that I got roped into demonstrations. One night I was doing my best to struggle free when I felt a dog's nose right in my groin. Dog's noses are immediately adjacent to their teeth! This mutt had managed to worm his way under the jacket and into the trousers. What was happening was immediately clear to everyone - including the handlers. They decided to milk the display and encouraged the dogs to more frenzied attacks. I got away without anything more than an almightly scare but that was my last night in a suit.

2+2 = 5

I suppose this is the origin of the phrase "A Blonde Moment"
That concludes the case for the prosecution Your Honour.

Thought for the day

I've Heard it all, I've seen it all, I've Done it all, i just don't remember any of it.

Things you see when you haven't got a gun

Hot or not?
I fully accept that pregnancy is a natural condition and those in such a situation cannot be expected to stay indoors for the full nine months but I today saw a woman in Berwick even more extreme that either of these two. She looked as though she were 12 months pregnant and, other than her bump, was almost anoxeric. She was still able to get into her courting-days outfit of very low-slung jeans and shorty top with junior jutting out like the sort of rubber ring one might see in a kids paddling pool.
I seem to remember that some while back, the advertising standards agency criticised one of our more meaty models who was shown on roadside hoardings and had it removed as being a danger to passing drivers. The girl I saw today constituted the same sort of risk.
Something else to blame on the hot weather - or is this comment something else to blame on my being a miserable old s*d?

Another hot place

This is on the way into Monument Valley from Arizona side. About 110 degrees but very low humidity. Even Norma managed to stand the heat. Great trip - all my John Wayne tendencies came out here. Oh yes! I guarantee not to show my 250 or so shots of the Grand Canyon from my first viewing. When we went back the second time, I locked the camera in the glove box.

Ain't half hot Mum

The warm weather of the week-end will doubtless be described as a "killer heatwave" in the media. I thought I'd have a look through my scrapbook for some really hot weather. This was Bahrain fish-market in, about, 1966. Temperature would have been somewhere about 105 degrees with something like 99% humidity. This temperature would have gone higher as it got to 3 or 4 p.m. There was quite a bit of air-conditioning but most of our time was spent in the open air - down at the beach in the afternoon luckily. There was a system with the military where when it was deemed too hot, a Jolly Roger was hoisted and all military activities were suspended. There was very little temperature drop at night as everything was full of retained heat. Our flat had air-conditioning in the bedrooms. The electrical distribution was frequently overloaded and the conditioning units ceased to blow cold. Many Europeans failed to get adjusted to the heat and humidity but we were OK. We found that one of the solutions was to over-fill with water at breakfast and then again at lunch. This was far better than trying to re-hydrate during the day. Still, we lived through it.

Quite pleased with this image after nearly 40 years but then, it was a Leica that caught it.

Official - sun is here!!

Only a male intellect clouded by the sexual drive could call the stunted, narrow-shouldered, broad-hipped and short-legged sex the fair sex. Arthur Schopenhauer

Yes, well, that kind of surprised me. I had always thought of old Arthur as a bit of a sober sides and not given to such thoughts. I had to labour through his ideas about the human Will when I was doing my OU sociology thing. Looking back with the benefit of this, I can see that he had some sort of fixation. Suppose it was something along the lines of the way some men attribute a life and separate existence to their penis where they end up discussing things with Mr. Willy.

With the warm and humid weather we have had this weekend, I ventured out today in my shorts. Me and dog wandered up to New Craighall by way of various streams and the sea. Sharing chicken sandwiches at Longniddery I noticed that my legs looked like over-cooked spaghetti. Back in the days before we moved up here, I had had enough exposure to get them something like a Madjeorka ten-day holiday tan. Looks as if I’ll have to get along to the vertical tanners – that Killjoy Slink orange is soo attractive and soo now.

I had a blogging life before I came to blogspot. Anyone who wishes to read those burblings can find them here.

Deep thinking - sorry about this.

Consider, please, this statement “I am continuously surprised as to why the British government is unable to make a statement as follows: “Select immigrants are welcome. We will set the selection criteria. Since no one is forcing them to come in, we will expect that once they are here, they will blend into our culture and not expect Britain to accommodate their cultural needs which they are welcome to address privately at their own cost”. This would be an eminently reasonable position that would considerably diffuse the matter.”

Now, that could well start the dogs of political correctness and racial diversity to chewing at my heels for daring to give it even the slightest further publicity. But, hey guys, it is written by an Indian in a Indian newspaper. It is just the sort of comment one might expect from a racist bigot such as me.

I freely admit, in the absence of thumb-screws and the rack, that my racial attitude is old fashioned. But it is only that – old-fashioned as it is the one I grew up with and where I am most comfortable. Having lived in a number of places where I was one of a racial minority, I know some of the effects of prejudice. I did not start riots just because, for example, Hong Kong Chinese thought it necessary to spit dangerously close to me. I’ve previously explained that I keep myself out of the law courts by adopting a form of reverse apartheid. I stay away from situations where my prejudices might cause me to do or say something I regret. This is not based on creed or colour; I’d no more willingly associate with fake-Burberry clad chavs than seek the company of baggy-trousered Gangsta Rappers.

What I am not so sure about are the reasons for the change in relationships between human beings which are determined by pigmentation or racial characteristics. Back in the early ‘50s I spent a lot of time in Aldgate amongst the Jewish community there. My girlfriend came from a family with a relaxed attitude to goyim. Besides, I came in handy for a number of tasks on their Hold day. I heard how the initial wave of Jewish immigrants were subjected to persecution from the working class residents of places like Manchester and London at the end of the 19th century. Much of what went on was exactly what one may read in the stories of Nazi persecution around 1933. An anomaly here was that when Moseley and his Blackshirts marched through London’s East End to terrorise Jewish families, they were kept away by that same class of people who initially attacked jewish business and individuals. Whilst there is an under-current of bad feeling towards Jews, there is little evident problem. So, why the problem with Africans and Asians?

It is my opinion that much of the current animosity is down to heritage. It is quite clear that we were not the nicest of people in our dealings with colonies. Think of General Dyer and his riot-control methods. This started Gandhi off on his crusade (if I may use that term for a non-Christian). But, even with this background, many Indians served bravely and with great loyalty in WW2. So why did they change their attitude? They had independence a long time ago. We did not adopt any controversial trade policies. Could it be that their current attitude is due to the matters given in my opening paragraph? Someone told the masses that they were downtrodden and they reacted. Until then, the vast mass was possibly unaware that they were being treated in any way that was wrong.

This focus on past events leading to demands for change is particularly noticeable with Africans. The major pressure for change came from America. They had the slave history as a sore spot but their demands for better treatment did not go back to those times. To me, the 1968 demonstration of Black Power at the Olympics did most to awaken that dragon. Maybe even more than the actions of the Freedom Riders – it was the limited success of the NAACP that inspired those two sprinters to demonstrate on a world stage.

So, who else? Those of the Islamic faith? Whilst much of their ire does go back to the Crusades this only covers Middle Eastern Muslims. Note I do not use the word ‘Arab’. Many of the Middle-Eastern people I have known always correct use of this word. There is no such thing as ‘An Arab’ even as an amalgam or melding of Saudi, Egyptians, Iraqi, Iranian etc. What sets one lot off is no problems for others. The Muslims of the Far East have quite different characteristics to those of the Near and Middle East. I think that a lot of our latter-day conflict with Islam is down to Lawrence and the way he was used. Another factor is the belief that land occupied by Islam at any time is permanently dedicated to Allah and must be recovered to honour him.

This very shallow enquiry into why there is racial conflict will not get me any Masters degree. However, it does seem to support my theory that the conflict we have is due to factors other than actual discrimination and unfair treatment. It is mainly propaganda and bad publicity that sets people onto demanding a righting of old old actions and events. It is this we should address.

Catch-up time

Time marches on.
That good looking bstard to the left was me. In Ismailia, Egypt, the day before my 21st Birthday in 1954.
This not quite so good looking bloke is me in Hong Kong early in 1974. Pounds piled on. Gone from sergeant to RSM. MBE, Long Service medal, Campaign medals for Malaya and Northern Ireland. Six or so months later - bloody civvy!
I thought it politic to show this. I have many friends with, thank God, wicked sense of humour and this will limit their options. What we used to call a prophylactic statement - saved an abortion later.
Even becoming a civilian did not cut the ties that bind. Just a few months ago, I was answering questions about things that happened in 1970 and my 'When did you last see your father?' moments at the Bloody Sunday saga two years back. People say many things about the errors of soldiers and what rubbish the army seems to them. All I can add is that it does not seem to have done me any harm and, even in my worst night terrors, I do not see any accusing ghosts from those days.
The similiarity of poses is accidental - must be the influence of James Dean who stood something like this!
What about my clever daughter?

Dah Daa

Well now, what about this new look? Isn't it smashing? I'm so knocked out by it that I'm not going to do a 'proper' blog tonight as nothing will do the new layout justice until some of the newness has worn off.
When I was a kid, I used to insist that anything new came to bed with me. I still do something like that if the 'new' thing is suitable. I'm thinking I'll move my bed into the study to keep and eye on my new blog so noone nicks it or pawns it.
Bravo Gemmak and thanks/ Hell of a bang for 10 bucks.

Eternal tourist

Off on my travels.
Looks as if I got the damned forms right this time. The guy in the Post Office does a check and it seems I got all the writing inside every tiny box OK. Seems daft anyway as last time we went to Frankfurt and on the trip to Berlin no one looked at the passport going out or coming in.

Blogging on

I admire those who retain a sensible perspective on blogging. By that I mean the bloggers who post when they have something to say and otherwise live ordinary lives that do not depend upon the blog. How wonderful it must be to have no concern over whether the blog is read or not, to care less about statistics, to post without even a thought of whether you last posted yesterday or a month ago. What freedom that must be!
The rest of us are slaves. Oh, we can explain that there is a purpose behind what we do, that the blog serves us in the achievement of some high-minded goal, that it is merely the means to an end. But the fact is that we become slaves to the blog. To blog with a purpose implies that we intend to reach others, for whatever reason. And that means we have to be concerned with traffic, to know that others are reading and that we become more effective in drawing return visits to the blog. So we become interested in statistics, beginning perhaps with a hit counter but soon desiring more details. Then we begin to learn how to ensure that the numbers continue to mount: post regularly, know your audience and deliver what they want, make the blog attractive and easy to navigate. All these are the elementary things that add up to blog success.
But we hunger for more and so, eventually and inevitably, we head for the traffic exchanges. Now the pressure really increases. Suddenly the blog is being viewed by hundreds and we have to think about how to capture some of those fleeting visitors, how to turn them from browsers into regulars. The blog has won and we have become its slaves.
This comes from someone else infected with the blogging virus. I can fully understand what he is saying. I started my own journal whilst running a forum that prospered and died as I had found it an outlet for things I wished to say but was not sure how to find someone to listen. It seemed better than haunting the neighbourhood ranting into space or sitting next to nice people on a bus and engaging them in idiotic conversation. Anyway, I lacked the hair as required to produce that electric-shock look. Now I have progressed to the stage where I want to add to the experience of muttering into the void by dressing my efforts in finer clothes. Not, I hope the Emperors New Clothes. There is a very interesting and finely-produced blog that I follow (and recommend to you also) and the Keeper of That Blog made an offer to do a bespoke page for a ridiculously small amount of coin. I took this up. It entailed joining PayPal which is a bit scary. I worry that I might find myself bidding on eBay for things like Japanese teenagers' knickers or Destroy It Yourself projects of a dubious provenance. I hope my brief to Gemmak was right. Given that she produces pages which change two or three times a day - does she write them in PowerPoint I wonder? - she will certainly come up with the goods. I wait with bated breath.

Interior fittings.

What I would like in my new bathroom.
I think the blue of the tiles matches my eyes. (This picture stolen from the superb blog of BlackRat) I never cease to wonder at the flexibility of models. The pose of this young lady would have me screaming for mercy even back in the days when I was a gymn-bunny. She holds it without any sign of strain. Oh yes, and when you go to BlackRat, make sure you have a look at the Virgin Rail advert he mentions.
Off again today to see if my passport homework gets past teacher. Good idea where the local post office vets things before they go and it saved me a lot of karma-decreasing swearing when the PP office rejected things.

Looking for changes

Not quite Scott of Antartic.
But then, I'm seeking change rather than some point on a map. I have just been sent this synopsis of what our gallant and industrious parliamentarians are up to. It seems that there are lots of meetings and speeches. Suppose this is an average sort of day. Now compare what actually happens in changes, new legislation or anything that actually benefits us.
Tony Blair flies to Luxembourg for talks with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in advance of the European Union summit later this week. Discussions are set to centre on the future of the constitution and the 2007-13 EU budget, including the level of Britain's rebate. Blair also travels on to Paris for talks with President Chirac just days after relations between the two men reached a new low as a result of the rebate row. Number 10 has said that, at the request of the French government, Blair and Chirac will not be holding a joint press conference after the talks. The prime minister is expected to hold a media event at the British embassy in Paris.
UN secretary general Kofi Annan is also in Paris, where he addresses a conference at the Elysee Palace entitled 'the business contribution to the millennium development goals'. He also has a working lunch with Blair and Chirac, as well as bilateral meetings with them individually. Discussions are set to focus on UN reform, the G8 summit and international development.
EU foreign ministers are expected to conclude two days of talks in Luxembourg ahead of the meeting of national leaders later this week. Foreign secretary Jack Straw returns to the UK for talks with Slovenia's minister of foreign affairs, Dr Dimitrij Rupel.
International development secretary Hilary Benn continues a visit to Sudan and Ethiopia.
Ruth Kelly today backs a programme launched by E-skills UK aimed at encouraging girls in England to consider careers in technology. "It is absolutely vital that we take every opportunity to help girls recognise the relevance and attractiveness of careers in science and technology," says the education secretary.
Kelly is also among the speakers at a Kick It Out conference in Manchester focusing on how schools can use football to address diversity, anti-racism and citizenship issues.
Transport secretary Alistair Darling addresses the European parliament's transport committee.
Work and pensions secretary David Blunkett speaks at a conference hosted by Remploy.
Environment secretary Margaret Beckett visits Berlin as part of a tour of EU member states ahead of Britain's presidency.
Energy minister Malcolm Wicks announces details of government support for carbon abatement and hydrogen technologies ahead of the G8 summit.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes publishes the Child Contact and Inter-Country Adoption Bill. The Department for Constitutional Affairs also publishes research on contact disputes in court.
ODPM minister Yvette Cooper attends a Local Government Chronicle conference on delivering sustainable communities, where she launches the local development framework implementation study.
Home Office minister Paul Goggins and Commission for Racial Equality chairman Trevor Phillips are among the speakers at a New Local Government Network conference on race equality.
Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart and Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, are among the speakers at a New Local Government Network conference on local strategic partnerships.
Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman begins a four-day visit to Tanzania. Speaking ahead of his departure, the Africa minister said he was "looking forward to meeting Tanzanians from all walks of life and to developing the good bilateral relationship that exists between the two countries".
As a new poll reveals mounting opposition to identity cards, the Tories and Liberal Democrats have claimed the government is losing the argument. The NO2ID survey, conducted by ICM, finds that support for ID cards has dropped from 80 per cent to 55 per cent. Shadow home secretary David Davis has warned of a mounting revolt both within parliament and the country. "The ID cards scheme is fast turning into Labour's poll tax. It is no surprise that public opinion is turning against it," he said. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten added: "The more people hear about the ID cards scheme, the less they like it."
SDLP leader Mark Durkan and education spokesman Dominic Bradley hold talks with Northern Ireland Office education minister Angela Smith at Castle Buildings, Belfast. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Bradley said: "Obviously the main item on the agenda will be the cuts being faced by the education and library boards. The minister has made positive sounds in relation to the situation...we will be asking her what action she intends to take to deal with the situation."
Former Europe minister Denis MacShane is expected to address a Communication Workers' Union meeting on the proposed EU constitution.
As part of 'national bike week' around 60 parliamentarians, including transport minister Derek Twigg, are expected to take part in a bike ride in Westminster.
Commons speaker Michael Martin opens an IT exhibition for MPs and peers in Portcullis House.
Baroness Thatcher attends a Conservative Way Forward dinner to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her election as leader of the Conservatives.
Edward O'Hara, Labour MP for Knowsley South, presents a report on the European technology acquisition programme during the second day of the assembly of the Western European Union in Paris.
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, chairman of the Human Genetics Commission, is among the speakers at a Chatham House seminar on terrorism, security and human rights.
Scottish communities minister Malcolm Chisholm and Christine Grahame, SNP communities spokesman, address the annual conference of the Scottish Pensioners' Forum. The event will focus on the political agenda for older people after the general election.
Welsh education minister Jane Davidson speaks at the Quality Assurance Agency's higher education conference in Cardiff.
Ahead of a debate on school funding, Plaid Cymru has warned that there is no mechanism within the assembly that can be used to scrutinise school funding. "There needs to be far greater degree of clarity on the money that is announced from the assembly and how that translates to school budgets in Wales," said shadow education minister Janet Ryder.
Plaid Cymru holds its weekly press conference in the Welsh assembly.
London mayor Ken Livingstone holds his weekly press conference in City Hall.
London Liberal Democrats publish figures showing that in the last four months the 24-hour London TV channel, funded with £630,000 of taxpayers' money, was watched on average by just 481 people an hour. "Serious questions must be asked of the mayor as to why more than half a million pounds of Londoners money has been spent on a TV channel watched by almost no-one," said Lib Dem culture spokesman Dee Doocey. "This is more a case of LondOFF TV rather than LondON TV."
The Association of London Government hosts its regular meeting of London borough leaders.
The government may need to limit the private sector's involvement in the running of the NHS. Interviewed in the FT, the health secretary denied this was a U-turn away from reforms, but says that too many NHS employees feel that "change upon change has been done to them, rather than with them."

Michael Howard will today face another confrontation as senior Conservative backbenchers move to block his plans to shake up the party. The executive of the 1922 committee is to set out its case against the overhaul of the way the Tories operate in a meeting with Raymond Monbiot, head of the voluntary wing and chief architect of Howard's reforms.

The Social Market Foundation has set up its own working group of experts to examine how a compulsory pension system would work. They will meet over the summer and are expected to report in the autumn ahead of the government-backed Pensions Commission.

Dame Ruth Deech, independent adjudicator at the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, delivers the keynote speech to a Neil Stewart Associates conference on managing student complaints.