Proper English Breakfast

Saw this picture on The Chive today and it dawned on me that it has been ages since I had a proper fry up. Unfortunately, the only place I know to get English bacon and blood pudding is the British Shop in Norcross and I am going to have to think hard about a drive over there just for bacon. Though a good English breakfast on Sunday morning would be brilliant. And yes, all my English friends, I know that the tomatoes are missing as are the mushrooms but rest assured they won't be from my plate. 

Richard III is Found

I don't know about you but I find this whole thing absolutely fascinating. The news conference today confirms that the body dug up under a parking lot in Leicester, England is indeed the remains of Richard III, confirmed by a DNA match with a Canadian descendant of Richard's sister.There was a lot of history lost when George III decimated the Catholic church in England but it is nice to know that some is still discoverable.

Not Good for the Bobbies

While the U.K. is not the safest country in the world it has always seemed to me to be much more so than the U.S. They have their crime but it doesn't seem to be on every corner as it does here in the U.S. That is apparently going to change pretty soon if  the British Conservatives get their way. Note also that British Conservatives are mild mannered chaps compared to our teabagger GOP types of today. One might even consider them a 'liberal Republican' in the U.S. even if there is no such thing today. The across the board  25% budget cuts in the UK will go way too far and there's strong reason to believe the extreme actions will trigger a double dip recession and, of course, increased crime.

The head of the Police Federation today said "a touch of ideology" and bad advice to government from thinktanks had left the police service facing cuts that could leave up to 40,000 officers out of a job.

Paul McKeever, the federation's chairman, warned that some forces would be "devastated" and said the proposed cuts would leave the public less safe.

He said the most vulnerable in society would be worst hit, adding: "It is likely that crime levels will go up."

A lot of people don't realize that the British Bobbies were the first professional police force in the world and were founded by Robert Peel in 1829. They were the model for police forces around the world. It is a shame to see them savaged this way and it will be really too bad for the everyday Brit who will suffer the increased crime. Full disclosure: I have a good friend who is a police officer in the UK. She is smart, dedicated and truly professional and while I don't know if she will be affected it would be a shame for the people of Britain to lose such people.

The Brits Join the Recession Club

We aren't the only ones having a go at a recession. Europe has always seen the UK economy as something to envy but appears that may not be the case too much longer. You need to remember that about 30-35% of the British economy is directly related to banking/finance so all the problems in that sector are telling their tale. On top of that and as unbelievable as it sounds the Brits have racked up even more personal debt than we Yanks have. (I was shocked when I read that.) The combination of the two spells serious trouble down the road. This news is part of the reason the European markets are tanking today in the early trading.

The British economy shrank more than expected and for the first time in 16 years in the third quarter of 2008, as fears grow the country could be in for a painful and prolonged recession.

The Office for National Statistics said on Friday gross domestic product fell 0.5 percent in the three months to September, the biggest drop since Q4 1990 and the first contraction since Q2 1992.

Analysts had forecast a fall of 0.2 percent.

On the year, GDP was 0.3 percent higher, the weakest rate of growth since Q2 1992.

h/t Americablog