Wind, Steam, Porn, and Tripe

This weekend we went to Wilton Windmill. This is a significant location in our family, because six years ago, the boy took his first steps here. I say first steps, it was more like a stagger followed by a dramatic face-plant, but it was a turning point. Thus we go back every so often to see the place and to remind ourselves of the event.

Just a minute or two up the road from the windmill is Crofton Beam Engines. We’ve never visited before, but we did yesterday. The steam engines weren’t running, so we didn’t do the tour, but we did see the canal have a look around. I think we will go back when they are fired up some time. Apparently the engines were installed to keep the Kennet and Avon Canal full.

Our PM is going to announce that all internet service providers are to filter out porn unless subscribers opt in. This gets up my nose, not because I spend all my time looking at porn, but because it’s a waste of time, and there is a principle at stake here. I don’t want the government deciding what I can and can’t access. The other thing of course, is the fact that it won’t work. You cannot trust service providers to filter out everything you don’t want and allow everything you do. On the other hand, if you sit next to your seven-year-old when they are googling for dinosaur pictures, you can be absolutely 100% sure that they don’t click on anything you don’t want them to. I can’t see it being a particularly popular policy. People don’t like being told what they can and can’t do.

The Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a baby boy this evening. I suppose we should congratulate her. I quite like Kate and William, but I do sort of hope that the monarchy has been abolished before this child makes it to the throne.

On the subject of the House of Windsor, it emerged today that once again the Prince of Wales (nutter) has been attempting to influence the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt (idiot) with his bizarre ideas about homoeopathy. The only interesting thing about homoeopathy is how the hell anyone still believe it works after it has been tested and shown to be tripe so many times. Apparently our future king is still trying to get it supported by the NHS, which incidentally declared it was nonsense years ago.

Most astounding about the report in the Independent, other than the fact that they have used the American spelling of homoeopathy, are the comments by Tory MP David Tredinnick. Tredinnick (never heard of him, but clearly a simpleton) sits on the Health Select committee and claims Charles is, “probably as well placed as anybody in the country to comment on this”. What the f**k, seriously? Usually I go to s doctor when I need health advice. I wouldn’t normally think of going to a weirdo who advocates planting vegetables by the phases of the moon, and talking to plants. Tredinnick goes on to say, ” We should do what they do in the rest of the world, which is to take [homeopathy] seriously.” He’s having a laugh isn’t he?! Even the notoriously stubborn WHO has admitted that it’s utter cobblers. Who is this nonce? I’m going to have to look him up.