Tony Blair is a national hero
Discussion
turbobloke said:
Glad to hear that it went well for you Derek.
I presume you had one of those 14 day protocol letters beforehand? If so I know what that's like.
No, I was lucky. On a Tuesday I went I for an X-ray on my chest – which turned out to be an allergy – and afterwards I was told to wait. They wanted to do some more as the image ‘didn’t develop’. They then X-rayed around my throat with a different machine. You didn’t have to be a genius to work out they’d found something they didn’t expect. Appointment Thursday with the surgeon who booked me in for the following Monday. I presume you had one of those 14 day protocol letters beforehand? If so I know what that's like.
No time to worry, which is what I’m good at.
Went in on the Sunday for prep and met and chatted to the others. They were a pleasant crowd. One was a new mother and she chatted away with a father to be. There was a woman who answered the phone and used the radio for her husband’s taxi service and they were just breaking even.
There was a chap who’d just changed jobs to one he’d been after for years. He had a bad cough. Then the very pleasant bloke from Gatwick who spent his working days in the atmosphere of burnt kerosene. Highly cancerous. A bit of a nerd with aero engines.
When I woke to find that all but one of the others had a tracheotomy I felt guilt about the degree of relief I felt. The women were crying. I saw the pregnant wife. I chatted to the bloke from Gatwick, thinking they he, like me, had got away with it. The surgeon came in to see him. His cancer was too far advanced for surgery. There was a horrible irony in the fact that he didn’t smoke, unlike all the others.
I went to see the surgeon the day following being booked to clarify what my chances were. He had a lovely bedside manner. He asked how many I smoked. None. How much I drank. Nothing since April 1979 – this was in the middle 90s. He said that smoking increased the likelihood of this type of cancer by around a factor of 10. Drinking increased it by about the same. Drinking and smoking together, ie have a drag and then drinking, increased it by 80 or so. Drinking in a smoky atmosphere increased it by about the same. “I’ve never done a tracheotomy on anyone who neither drunk nor smoked,” he said. “But all that does is lower the odds.”
I became a bit of a standard bearer for non-smoking for a while. A bit of a pain I suppose, but the people I met in hospital really got to me. The kid who’ll never hear his father's voice, the women silently crying sort of thing. I’m not sentimental, but I think the situation and the drugs increased my susceptibility. It’s stuck with me. I can still see the face of the bloke from Gatwick as he came out from his chat. Ironically, I felt rotten for not being able to say anything. Little tragedies, all for a drag.
Much as I dislike Blair, and hold him in contempt, I’m glad he brought in the legislation. He’s probably saved lives.
It was interesting listening to the Tony Blair interview today on radio 4 just before 9am. I didn't catch the name of the chap they had on directly afterwards but he sure did lay into the presenter, saying he's never heard such a sycophantic interview and inappropriate interview style in all of his life!
princeperch said:
It was interesting listening to the Tony Blair interview today on radio 4 just before 9am. I didn't catch the name of the chap they had on directly afterwards but he sure did lay into the presenter, saying he's never heard such a sycophantic interview and inappropriate interview style in all of his life!
If you mean the interview on Today just before 9am, I suspect you may have had the pleasure of listening to Owen Jones.irocfan said:
Europa1 said:
If you mean the interview on Today just before 9am, I suspect you may have had the pleasure of listening to Owen Jones.
I suspect that the only pleasure I'd get from listening to oj is his shrieking while being constantly punched in the mouth, as per the old PH thread
Tony Blair has claimed more than £1m in taxpayers’ cash to help fund his role in public life — without submitting a single receipt for public scrutiny.
The former prime minister has invoiced the Cabinet Office for an allowance worth up to £115,000 a year to help pay for his public duties after leaving government. Since he stood down as prime minister in June 2007, he has claimed £1,077,888 from public funds.
The allowance, called the public duty cost allowance (PDCA), was introduced to provide financial support for former prime ministers who remain active in public life.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blair-claims-1m...
without submitting a single receipt.....
The former prime minister has invoiced the Cabinet Office for an allowance worth up to £115,000 a year to help pay for his public duties after leaving government. Since he stood down as prime minister in June 2007, he has claimed £1,077,888 from public funds.
The allowance, called the public duty cost allowance (PDCA), was introduced to provide financial support for former prime ministers who remain active in public life.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blair-claims-1m...
without submitting a single receipt.....
TonyToniTone said:
Tony Blair has claimed more than £1m in taxpayers’ cash to help fund his role in public life — without submitting a single receipt for public scrutiny.
The former prime minister has invoiced the Cabinet Office for an allowance worth up to £115,000 a year to help pay for his public duties after leaving government. Since he stood down as prime minister in June 2007, he has claimed £1,077,888 from public funds.
The allowance, called the public duty cost allowance (PDCA), was introduced to provide financial support for former prime ministers who remain active in public life.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blair-claims-1m...
without submitting a single receipt.....
I’m really not surprised. He’s just like the vast majority of politicians; pigs in the trough. The former prime minister has invoiced the Cabinet Office for an allowance worth up to £115,000 a year to help pay for his public duties after leaving government. Since he stood down as prime minister in June 2007, he has claimed £1,077,888 from public funds.
The allowance, called the public duty cost allowance (PDCA), was introduced to provide financial support for former prime ministers who remain active in public life.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blair-claims-1m...
without submitting a single receipt.....
Working in West London a few years ago one of my lunchtime walks took me past the Blair's London home. Four armed police officers stood guard; two at the front of the house and two at the back. It was his 'If I Pretend Loads Of People Want To Kill Me Other People Will Think I'm Important' phase. Late one evening I passed Douglas Hurd at Paddington station. He was never Prime Minister but he had been Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. He must have had enemies. He didn't have an armed guard. Not even a minder. It was just him and his ancient brief case. Stylish.
he is? Tony Blair promises to STOP Brexit – 'I will do everything to END it'
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1042159/Brexit-n...
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1042159/Brexit-n...
amgmcqueen said:
Tony Blair promises to STOP Brexit – 'I will do everything to END it'
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1042159/Brexit-n...
I hope he doesn't go about it in the same way as when trying to end weapons of mass destructionhttps://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1042159/Brexit-n...
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