The Grumpy Old Blog

It defies belief the corruption, back-handing, bonuses for mediocrity, crooked Councillors, bent Boroughs, putrid planning applications and on and on and on that are reported in Private Eye every fortnight, yet no one in authority seems to take a blind bit of notice. For example, in this issue, five Network Rail directors reduced their bonuses to £350,000 after train performance targets were not met. Why are they even getting a bonus in the first place? Unless it's because of the entertainment we, the suffering public get as a result of the railways being such a continual joke. £197 one-way for a trip from London to Leeds. I'd expect part-ownership in the train for that price.  Even paying myself 50p a mile, the congestion stealth tax, parking in London and petrol, I'd still come out with money to spare. Yet Megabus or National Express can do it for change out of a tenner. OK, the journey takes twice as long. Atos, the medical con-sultants are highlighted issue after is...

With the impending publication of the Sunday Times annual "Rich List", it will be interesting to see the mix of people who achieve a listing. No doubt it will be all the usual suspects - the retailers "gone large", the entertainers, the inheritors, the lottery winners, the surviving dot com entrepreneurs and those who gain their millions at tax-payers expense while attracting the interest of the researchers at Private Eye! It is fair to say that most deserve the accolade. Yes, there may have been an element of some being in the right place at the right time, but most have maintained their position through hard work, with the added bonus of employing hundreds of thousands of British workers between them. People like Sir James Dyson with his wonderful, great British inventions, Sir Philip Green, maybe not at times the most popular guy in the UK, but nevertheless one of those whose empire employs thousands, Emma Watson the Harry Potter actress who has brought joy...