How To Be A Winner

As usual, the beginning of a new month signals the beginning of our caption contest.

This month I am giving away a 25.00 GBP/USD equivalent voucher for Amazon, as well as a free dream analysis session.

What do you need to do be entered in this fantastic competition?

Easy; look at the photograph below and come up with a funny/clever/ sarcastic/smart caption that fits this unfortunate situation.

You have until the 30th September to post your caption in the comments box below, and the winner will be notified by email the following day.

Good Luck!

Why Women Can't Have It All

I was brought up to believe that as a woman, I could have it all. A fabulous career, a rich social life, and adorable children. Though this was something I heard on an almost daily basis, I have always been a little unsure of it as a fact.

Thanks to Sylvia Pankhurst and her suffragettes, women began to change the typical male ideology that females belonged in the home rather than in the male world of work and politics.

Today, however, we can see how the suffragette movement has change the way men think about women, and indeed, how women think about themselves. We have women CEOs and female self made millionaires; We have female political leaders and writers (the list is endless, but I think you get my point)!

It was only when I gave birth to my own daughter that I realised this modern ideological 'have it all' life was difficult to attain. As I sat with my new baby in my arms I discovered that I could never go back to work and leave my newborn in the care of a daycare centre with total strangers.

Thinking back to my ex-boss Emma, I remember how her life was as a working mum. I imaging she would have had to get out of bed at silly o'clock just to arrive at work by 7am and often her work would not see her leave the office until a staggering twelve hours later, even then, she would be on call. At the time she had a toddler and was finding it really difficult to balance handling her flourishing career and having a life outside the realms of work.

The two fundamental reasons why women cannot have it all lies with time and, more importantly, guilt.

I know from experience, that if you are working, you feel guilty because you feel you should be spending more time with the children, and alternatively, if you are with the children, you feel as though you should be working.

To be fair, I know there are some women out there who have managed to do both, but I think it always has to be with a certain amount of sacrifice, either to themselves or their children, as the focus on career always seems to take precedence.

Now, I'm not saying here that all mums should be at home with the kids, I am well aware that some mums simply have to work, but I do think that children would be better off being looked after by one parent to offer consistency and guidance.

As you may already know, I am a work at home mum and I find trying to get the balance right very very difficult. I actually don't think there can ever be a happy medium in which you can work and be a productive parent for your child. I have no 'me' time and no social life what so ever, simply because I am constantly being torn in two between what I need to do, and what I think I should be doing.

If you have found the happy balance between being a working mum and career woman, please let me know how you managed it, and if it has come at any cost to you of the family unit as a whole.

Lockerbie Bomber Release

I am starting this post in the hope that you, my readers, will participate in the debate.

Just four days ago Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was freed from prison after serving just eight years of his twenty seven year prison sentence due to compassionate grounds.

Apparently suffering from terminal cancer, Megrahi was convicted of bombing Pan Am flight 103 in 1988, killing all 270 people on board. If you have seen the footage of this convicted murderer on his return home, I am sure you would agree that Megrahi did not look like a man who was 'extremely ill', he was not frail, fragile, or excessively underweight; which is what I was expecting the dying man to look like.

My main gripe is that prisoners can actually be release due to 'compassionate grounds' at all. This has only served to weaken my belief in the justice system, and personally, I don't think there is room for compassion when we are talking about convicted terrorists and murderers. What about compassion for the people who died?

It was not just the people on that aeroplane who died that day, but a piece of every victims family also died, and has had to cope and live on without their loved one.

I am not an expert in law or on this case, but many do say that Megrahi was not the man who did the deed, and I believe that there is some 'startling' and 'confusing' evidence in existence that can perhaps prove Megrahi innocent.

Now I would like to know what you think; Was Megrahi the Lockerbie bomber? Should he have been released? Is there room in the system for early prison releases due to compassionate grounds?

Roadside Safety

So...here is something that you may find interesting.

Many of the roads around my area are partly closed because the highways agency and the local council are installing some new roadside guardrails . This prompted me to think about these guardrails and find out if they are actually a good enough safety device for our roads and highways.

As always, I did a search and found some stats on guardrails which drew me to conclude that they are in fact the most cost effective way of saving lives on the road. Guardrails are there to protect drivers from natural and man made hazard such as ditches and trees, sign posts and utility poles etc, but also as an effective safety barrier between lanes on the busy highways.

Skimming over some photos of cars that had been impaled on these rails, I found out all sorts of interesting details about guardrails from manufacturers websites. One company in particular has an interesting history. Mid-Park inc is a manufacturer of all manner of roadside safety rails and was started up in a barn in West Hardin County, Kentucky back in 1971. Given that they have been in business for more than 35 years, I tend to believe that these guys know what they are talking about.

Anyway, Mid-Park have a really impressive website, and if you take a look you can see how complex it actually is to produce such a standard (and if I may say, ugly) looking piece of roadside safety equipment that we all just take for granted.

So the next time you are out and about in your car, take note of these roadside guardrails and remember that they do have a purpose, and one day they could save your life.

Schumacher Returns

Being a massive Formula One fan I just had to write about the fantastic news today. The legend that is Michael Schumacher will be making a shocking return to the sport replacing injured Felipe Massa after the summer break.

Now, I have to point out that I am not generally a Ferrari/Schumacher fan, because I am British and favor Button (and Alonso because I live in Spain and he is quite cute), but I think that this return is just what the sport needs right now. After all the negative press that has surrounded the sport since the end of last season, with rumours of the breakaway etc, this news will certainly boost the sport, and I cannot wait for the next race in Valencia on the 23rd August.

Come on Schui!

Oh yes, another thing, since when did Formula One have a mid season summer break?

July Caption Contest

Disappointingly, nobody even bothered to enter June's caption competition. Never the less, I will endeavour to keep on with the competition as I am willing to spend 15 Great British Pounds (or your countries equivalent) at Amazon, just to give away to you guys.

What with the recession and the state of the world in general, I thought offering a prize like this would make someone smile, so please humour me and enter.

The rules are simple. All you have to do is come up with a clever, funny, sarcastic, serious....whatever...caption that goes with this photograph here:

When you have thought of your caption, enter it in the comments box with details of where I can get hold of you just in case you are chosen as the lucky winner.

Deadline for entries is the 31st July, and the winner will be notified by email.

Good Luck!

In The Mornings

My normal morning routine;

The baby wakes me up, she's hungry. Still half asleep I walk into the kitchen and switch on the kettle, prepare baby cereal, walk into the living room turn on the television blah...blah...blah...

While I am trying to wake myself up the news is blaring out about the latest death toll in Afghanistan, the latest death toll of swine flu, the latest death toll of domestic violence victims, the latest death toll of a suicide bomber and the short prison sentences handed out to murdering yobs and child killers.

Wouldn't it be much nicer to wake up on a morning, eat breakfast and drink a cup of tea without being told about the ever increasing violence in the world.

Is it any wonder that I worry so much and am verging on the brink of paranoia. At the moment the world outside my little house seems like such an ugly place. Will it ever improve?

Freelance Writing

Finally the day has come and I have officially announced myself to the world as a freelance writer.

I know I have been writing web content for a while now, but things really seem to have taken off recently.

Always a little unsure of calling myself a writer (I will explain why soon) I have seen sense and told people that this is what I do for a living. Nobody, not even my own mother or sister knew until today that I write content for websites and get paid for it. After all, how can I ever expect to earn a full time living from writing if no one knows that I exist?

So, with a little apprehension, I have set myself up a little free website that you can take a look at here. You have to bear in mind that it is not as comprehensive as I would like, but hey... it has not cost me anything yet and it's my first website.

Well, why has it taken me so long to admit to my career choice?

The story starts way back when I was a young teen; I told my mother that I wanted to be a writer and, being the supportive parent, she told me to 'get real' and that nobody ever made money writing. Mmmm, and as a shy girl who was enveloped in self doubt I left that idea behind with my Barbie dolls. Leaving college with a respectable amount of qualifications I walked into one of the most tedious office jobs in the world - in a law firm.

Only now, some thirteen year later I have finally felt brave enough to tell people what I do, and have been doing, for almost five years. Somewhere along the way I got lost and felt somewhat ashamed of myself. Over the last five years I have been getting paid for writing all manner of things and have never told anyone that I am a writer. I never thought of myself that way, after all writers are Oxford university graduates and a little bit eccentric...aren't they? Both of these things that I certainly am not!

Today I am thrilled to be launching myself officially as a writer, though I have no ambitions to write a novel yet, I am at last happy and comfortable with my career choice, and who cares what my mother thinks!

Need a writer? Contact me or visit my website for more information.

June Caption Competition

I have just realised that we have not had a caption contest for some time (since April) so I thought it was about time we had another one here at The Daily Gripe.

This time one lucky winner will recieve a gift voucher to spend at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

The rules are just the same as last time; take time to look at the photograph below, leave your caption quote in the comments section by the last day of this month and the winner will be notified within the first week of July.

Try to make your captions original, and I look forward to reading your entries.

Good Luck!

What Is It With You People?

I honestly do not know what to say!

I don't want this post to turn into a rant about Ebay, but it will probably sound that way.

In my search for making money online I thought I would try and jump on the Ebay band wagon. Like any sensible person, I did my research first and realised just how unprofitable working Ebay was going to be. I know it's a huge marketplace, but that is it's major disadvantage. Selling prices have been driven so low that I have no idea how anyone can afford to sell anything, let Alone make a significant profit.

So this is why I am asking what is wrong with you all. As far as I can see Ebay is a non starter for generating an income. It's too expensive and a new seller just cannot compete. So why is it that there are so many other auction sites that are cheaper but are not popular?

Buyers are looking for bargains and sellers are looking to make maximum profits, so why are they not choosing to go elsewhere?

I know it has to do with clever branding, but I think Ebay really has lost it's novelty. From a sellers perspective it's not economically possible for me to sell at a profit, so how is anyone else managing it?

Answers on a postcard to......

Anyway, I found lots and lots of Ebay alternatives but they are not as busy as ebay, but by far the best alternative is 121bid.com but if you go take a look at it you will see it's not the busiest of places, but it is FREE to list. Infact it's just FREE.

I just wish more of you bargain hunters would look on other auction sites, and that more sellers would perhaps build yourselves a second shop just to give it a try.

I Know, I Know!

It seems that I have fallen into the trap of not updating my blog as regularly as I should, but I do have a good reason.

For those of you who are strangers, I will have to explain.

I have a problem...I suffer with depression, anxiety and panic attacks, which I still have not seen a doctor about, to get a diagnosis. I sometimes wonder if I have something like Bipolar because the mood swings and irrational thoughts are so demonic. The more I read about this illness, the more I convince myself that this is what I have. I don't really want to go into it right now, perhaps I will talk more about my problems in a later post.

Anyway, back to the present.

Today I feel just amazing, almost euphoric, and for no obvious reason. Even though it is Sunday I have the urge to work, so that is what I have been doing this morning while the OH (other half) is looking after the kids...bliss!

You may detect a slight change in this blog from my previous posts, that is mainly down to my mood, but I want to change things a little around here. I've decided that I want to get a little more personal, rather than just ranting about topical matters that are affecting society.

Of course I will still be ranting and griping, and at the moment there is so much going on to rant and gripe about i.e Parliamentary expenses rows, poor television programming, crime and punishment, and how my cat was murdered last week.

Anyway, I will be back...sooner rather than later ;)

Porn- Courtesy Of The Tax Payer

I do tend to moan a lot about the British leadership, but in retrospect, there is an awful lot to moan about.

Not only do our political representatives get a nice fat paycheck, as well as an expenses account to help them fund and decorate a second home, it seems we are now paying for their pay per view porn!

The last thing the labour government need in a time of economic downturn is revelations such as this.

Okay, so it might only be an argument about 5 GBP, but that is not the point is it?

I have to work my socks off to get the money I earn. I don't get to fly around the world, stay in the best hotels, and meet some fascinating people. Just like you dear reader, I have to pay the mortgage, the gas, electric, food, taxes...blah blah blah, with out any help at all from the government. While small businesses are struggling to keep going, our government representatives are busy filling out ridiculous expenses claim forms and expecting us to pay for everything from flat screen TVs to the porn they watch on them!

I wonder what happened to the days when the Kings and Queens ordered Parliaments to be dissolved. The Queen Of England has a guillotine in that tower of hers in London, maybe it should stop gathering dust and be put to good use!

Question Of The Week

Alcohol - Should the worlds favorite drug be more restricted or even banned?

In almost all countries in the world, adults are allowed to buy and consume alcohol with very little restriction (although there are often laws about the exact hours that bars and shops are allowed to sell alcohol, and laws against drinking and driving).

This is in contrast to the legal situation with regard to other mind-altering (or ‘psycho-active’) drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, acid, and heroin etc.

The experience of ‘Prohibition’ in the USA in the 1920s and 1930s, when there was a huge black market in alcohol run by a powerful criminal underworld, makes most people very wary of trying that solution again.

In this debate the you can argue either for tighter restrictions or for complete prohibition. This is one subject that boils down to a debate about what balance should be struck between the need to protect society on the one hand and the need to preserve individual liberties on the other.

This is a not a difficult one for me. I have not touched an alcoholic drink now for almost a year, and my life has change dramatically. I am a much calmer person, I feel and look healthier and I feel much more positive about the direction my life is taking.

Alcohol is just as addictive as any drug, it is also just as destructive. Those that are addicted to alcohol often find themselves loosing their marriages, families, jobs and lives. Any drug that is this addictive should be treated like any other, and be made illegal. These are my reasons why;

Violent crimes, including child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence and even murder are predominantly fuelled by alcohol.

Despite advertising campaigns, there are still thousands and thousands of drunk drivers on our roads today causing death and destruction.

Health systems are struggling to cope with the amount of admissions for drunken related injuries in our A&E departments, as well as the increase in liver disease.

Have your say.

What do you think about this topic?

Feel free to put forward your views and opinions.

Do you think Alcohol should have more restrictions or be banned?

Birthday Cheer!!

I just cannot believe that my Little baby is one year old today. It hardly seems like two minutes ago that I was racing to the hospital and holding her in my arms for the first time.

Like any other baby having their first birthday, she doesn't know much about it, but I have taken lots of photographs to mark the occasion!

So what did we buy her? Well she is not walking yet, only shuffling on her bottom, but she does like to spend time outside watching her big sister riding her bike. Well now, she no longer just sits in her pram to watch her sister, she can now ride alongside her!!

Smart Trike Plus is a brilliant invention. A trike which has supported seating, (with harness), parent handle, and a sun shade (perfect for Spain). We bought it from Otherland. Although they are UK based, they ship to the EU, so we were really happy at paying the extra delivery fee for this great product.

Libby loves it too. We have already been out in the garden with the Smart Trike this afternoon and she was chuckling and Wooo Woooing with delight as we trundled around the garden.

All that racing around has left Libby tired, so she is having a nap at the moment, which gives me a little time to put up the birthday banners and blow up some balloons!

Caption Contest.

Today I am introducing a new element to the blog...A caption contest.

Each month I will put up a new photograph and you have the chance of winning some great prizes.

Who can play?

Anyone. There are no restrictions, it's open to all.


What do I need to do?

It's simple. We give you a picture and you come up with a witty caption. Submit a new caption as many times as you wish. The more times you enter, the more chance you have of winning.

How long do we have?

Closing date for this month ends on the 7th April, which should give you plenty of time.

So...What can I win?

This month you can win an ebook work of fiction. One lucky winner will be sent a PDF copy of 'Bicycle Shop Murder' by Robert B. Robinson. Here is a quick synopsis :

Greg Tenorly lives a quiet and lonely life in a small East Texas town, until he is selected as a juror for a murder trial. A beautiful, mysterious redhead befriends him, and seems to have a romantic interest. But is she merely using him to influence the outcome of the trial? By the end of the first week, three people connected with the case are dead, and Greg is beginning to fear for his own life.

So here is this months picture (cats stuck in a vending machine). Good Luck!

Earn Extra Income

I don't even want to discuss what is going on in the news today. There is just so much violence and murder at the moment that it is all making me wonder what on Earth is happening to the World.

On a happy note, I have to congratulate my daughter Lauren, who finally found the courage to ditch the stabilizer wheels on her bike this afternoon. After a few bumps and scrapes, she is now officially a member of the two wheelers!

One thing I do want to tell you about is a new website I found last week that offers some freelance work at home opportunities. Now normally I don't buy into this sort of thing, but to be honest with you, I am really glad I did.

The company is called Income Seekers and they do exactly what it says on the tin! After I signed up, I received my ebook and it had links to numerous websites that pay you to do all sorts of work using your very own computer. I have already taken a look at some of the recommended opportunities, and have signed up for all but one. Every single site I registered with has already approved and accepted my applications, so I plan to get straight to work after finishing this post ( I am pretty excited).

So, If you are wanting to do something a little more productive with your spare time, go along to the Income Seekers website and start earning a little extra cash for yourself :)

Education, Education, Education.

A story that has been talked about a lot today has really got me shaking my head. I think it has evoked feelings of both disbelief and shame; Shame that some school pupils in the UK think that Auschwitz is either some type of beer, or a religious festival.

More than 1.3 million people perished in the Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War, but a recent survey of 1,000 high school children aged between 11 - 16 revealed that 25% of them had no idea about Auschwitz.

Of the 1,000 pupils 10% did not know what it was, 8% thought it was a country bordering Germany, 2% thought it was a beer, 2% said a religious festival and the remaining 1% said it was a type of bread!

Looking at the bigger picture, there are around 4.5 million children that fit into this age group within the UK, and this potentially means that a staggering 90,000 children could wrongly identify Auschwitz as a type of beer.

I think it is such a tragic reflection of the British Education system. It is a crime in itself that the history of World War Two is already being lost. We have to remember that this is still history from living memory. People are still around today who were there, who can still recollect horrific events in such tiny detail.

Everyday we are doing things and creating our own history, but surely these statistics cannot be ignored. I just want to know what is going on in modern history classes today that makes the events of World War Two missable.

DNA Test The Dog Dung

There is nothing worse than taking the kids out for a walk in the park, down by the beach, or just down the street, and constantly having to tell them to watch where they are walking because of the amount of dog Sh*t in the area. It's just disgusting...in fact it makes me feel physically sick.

When I came across this story today I just had to tell you about it.

German conservative MP Peter Stein has plans to end the mess dogs make on the streets in East Germany, by sending out officials to inspect the piles of dung on the street and test it's DNA to trace the canine culprit and fine it's owner.

Many countries now fine dog owners for not cleaning up after their pooches, however not very many ever get caught as the excuse of 'it wasn't my dog' is often used.

Now I think this is an excellent idea, but I am not convinced it could work. Can you imagine the cost implications in setting up a doggy DNA database and keeping it up to date!

Before I go any further I have to point out that I am not against dogs at all, in fact I have one of my own, but I don't see why I should have to clean excrement from my baby buggy wheels, or from the shoes of my seven year old every time we go to the playground.

If people are not prepared to pick up the crap their dogs leave behind, then maybe they shouldn't even have dogs at all.

February Round Up.

Where does the time go?

Already I am making my final post of the month and it feel like I just began.

There is no doubt at all that as you get older the clock seems to be ticking just that little bit faster. Days go by in a blur and everything around you changes.

February has been a very bleak month for most of us with the financial crisis and one disaster after another. On a personal level, it's not been the best. Burning the candles at both ends has resulted in me getting the Flu, but at least I am on the mend. The girls have been sick too and work is in decline.

I am a great believer in the saying 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger', and at the moment I just have to keep on believing that our fortunes will change. When I say our, I mean every ones; the worlds.

As we move on into a new month, I intend to go into it with more vigour and determination than ever before. We all have our bad days of course we do, but we do not have to let those days get on top of us, nor do we have to let them hinder our personal advancements and goals. After all we cannot change the past, but we are all in control of what happens in the future.

Playboy And Kate Winslet

Now there are four words that I would never have thought possible to put together!

It seems while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been praising our Kate for her Oscar win, the likes of Hugh Hefner have been admiring her for a whole lot of other reasons.

The Oscar winning actress is well known for stripping off in her films, but has vowed to never do it again on the silver screen. The big question is will she do it for Playboy?

Hefner is still hoping to convince Kate to appear as a centrefold in his magazine stating she would be a 'most welcome addition to our pages.'

So, do you think she should do it?

Me thinks not! Kate Winslet basically has the world at her feet now she has won an Oscar, she does not need the money either, and to be quite honest with you, I think doing something like this could do more harm than good to her untarnished reputation and take the spotlight away from her acting career and future achievements.

So Kate, if you are out there...please don't do it. Use your Oscar winning status wisely, because you already know that the media (or the British press in particular) will be more than happy to knock you down from the high that you are on now.

What Would You Do?

Recent events (with Jade Goody) have made me think a lot more about what I would do if the doctors told me I only had a short while left to live...perhaps a couple of months.

I suppose it is one of those questions you could not answer sincerely, as you have to actually be in that position for real to be able to associate it with your life.

Me? Well I am already married, so I wouldn't be able to do that. To be honest with you, I know I would waste a lot of my time in despair about leaving behind my two children, and with those in mind, I would probably move back to the UK pretty quick sharp. That way I would know that they had extra love and support from aunts, uncles, granny's, and grandads.

This is not turning out to be a very pleasant post is it? but I do think it has to be something that one must think about. Too many of us are of the mind that it will never happen to me/us/them, and I am often left wondering if my dad, who was in a similar position to dear Jade Goody, ever thought he would be leaving behind a young wife with two young-ish children.

I read a blog the other day that said life was too short for working hard, and I agree it is. On the other hand I had to disagree (as an adult) because in this life we are not able to live without earning an income, without putting in a lot of work to get something out of the rat race.

One thing is for sure; no matter what you think about Jade Goody, you must have sympathy for her and her children. If I were in her shoes I would be selling my story too, she is doing what every mother would, she is trying to create a stable financial future for her two young sons.

Congrats Helen!

I just wanted to say congratulations to my friend Helen who won 250 pounds worth of shopping vouchers with Get Me A Ticket. Usually you see a free to enter website like this and you think 'okay, whats the catch', but with these guys, there isn't one.

You can enter as many competitions as you like and the only personal information they ask of you is your email address. Another thing they don't do is send junk mail to your inbox. I know everybody likes something for nothing so I thought I would tell you about them, especially as I now know someone who has won.

If you visit the Get Me a Ticket site, you will see that they are currently giving away all sorts of goodies; ranging from a weekend trip to Paris, a VW Golf GTI, Cash, Vouchers, and much much more.

By the way Helen, if you are reading this I don't expect anything in return for telling you about Get Me A Ticket ;)

Missing Boy Remains Found

Five year old Jeremy Doble went missing whilst playing with his big brother Ryan, behind their home by a mangrove swamp in Australia.

Police have today confirmed that the remains of the young boy have been found inside the stomach of a 14ft crocodile.

Older brother Ryan (7) told police that he did see a crocodile after he realised his brother had gone missing, but did not see any signs of an attack or struggle.

At this stage police are unable to confirm what will happen to the crocodile, who was trapped in the flooded Daintree River in north Queensland.

Crocodiles have been a protected species in Australia since 1971, which has given rise to a steady increase in the crocodile population ever since.

Authorities do have the power to destroy any croc that poses a threat to human life, but what do you think should happen to the croc?

In all honesty I don't think the offending crocodile should be let back into the wild again, even though that is where it belongs, and it was only following it's natural instinct to eat. Destroying the animal isn't the way to go for me either, it had as much right to be there as that poor little boy did, and deaths like this are very rare.

I am even wondering if little Jeremy could have perhaps fallen into the water, drown, and was later picked up by the croc. Perhaps this could explain why Ryan never saw any kind of attack take place..But what do I know? Anything could be posssible.

Alphainventions

Hi, back again and this time I do have something that you may be interested in.
A few days ago I came across a site called alphainventions.com . If you are a blogger and want your gripes/opinions/products/whatever to be seen by people who are actually interested in what you have to say, then this is the must visit place for you.

You get real people in real time looking at your blog, reading your blog, and commenting on your blog. It's also FREE, but if you don't have the time to sit and work the system you can be a paid subscriber or make a donation and the site owner will 'do something special for you'. (yes that is a quote taken from the site).

What are you waiting for?...Go to alphainventions.com now and get the traffic that your blog deserves.

Help Me.....Please

I have totally lost the will to live!

I think the bad weather here has blown away my direction and focus. I know what I want to do, I know what I should do, but I just cannot seem to do it.

Do you know what my trouble is? I think too much and I can talk myself into feeling like this.

Considering I have not had much sleep lately, due to two poorly children, it's hardly surprising I am exhausted, deflated and just generally pooped out.

I am sure to be back later when I have something a little more interesting for you to read.

Who is the Daddy?

Nobody was more shocked than I to see the front page of The Sun on Friday morning declaring that Alfie Patten - aged just 13 had become a father.

Not surprisingly this has sparked a huge and fierce political debate over the fact that Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe.

Every politician in town has jumped on the wagon throwing their political mud at each other, pointing the finger, delegating the blame.

My worry is that the degree of politics that has now developed will end up masking the facts and creating some sort of resolution, while individuals voice there own political agenda at the expense of society (nothing new there then)!

This morning I tuned into Sky News, and read the ticker along the bottom of my screen which suggested that another boy - aged 16, has put himself forward as the real father, and is demanding a DNA test. This new revelation has done little to deflate the situation, and indeed my shock, at the fact that there are three children here arguing about the paternity of a baby.

I may be old fashioned in my ways, but why children are indulging, and even thinking about sex at such a young age just makes me want to question the morality of what I would call a 'lost' generation. Why does it seem that a whole generation of the UK seem to think that this sort of behaviour is acceptable, and how long will it be before stories like this become the norm?

The current way of thinking in the UK is to bring sex education into primary schools, but is this just adding fuel to the fire?

I do have a lot more to say on the issue, but it could turn into a 1000 word rant so I will leave it there for now...over to you!

Whats In A Name?

I just had to get on my high horse about this one today.

Firstly I would like to offer my congratulations to Sophie Ellis-Bexter, who reportedly gave birth to her beautiful baby boy last week. He was delivered by emergency Cesarean, two months premature, at the London's Portland Hospital.

The next thing you will want to know is his name right? So, ladies and gentlemen, we have now reached the topic of my gripe for today-stupid baby names! Sophie Ellis-Bexters new little bundle of joy has been blessed, from here until eternity, with the name Kit Valentine.

This sent me off in all directions yesterday in search of some other, shall we say, highly unconventional names. One would assume that this sort of baby naming was reserved for the world of celebrity, but oh no. I have found a couple of ordinary civilians who grace this earth with some of the strangest names around.

On February 15th 2003, a little girl was born and her loving parent gave her the name Urhines (pronounced your highness) Kendal Icy Eight Special K.

In Singapore a Javanese couple named their precious son, born in May 1990, Batman Bin Suparman.

It seems as though this culture of bestowing your children with bizarre names is not a modern phenomenon at all, with Dick Assman being the oldest person with a strange name that I could find.

It really begs the question as to what these parents are thinking; Okay I have had children, your tired, cranky, and hormonal, but is that really a good enough excuse?

Listed below are some of the most ludicrous names from the world of celebrity

Bluebell Madonna - Gerri Halliwell
Kal-El - Nicholas Cage (Kal-El is Superman's original birth name)
Lark Song - Mia Farrow
Luna Coco - Frank Lampard

And finally we have to take our hats off to Frank Zappa for blessing all three of his children with the names, Moon Unit, Dweezil and Diva Muffin.

Making Money

With the ever decreasing decline in the value of the money in our pockets, it seems more and more of us Internet lovers are turning to the Wild Web to help us create an extra income.

Now, I have been earning money on line for almost a year now as a writer, but I have yet to make any progress in seriously monetizing my blog.

With this in mind I pulled up Google, did a search, and found what I think is one of the best ways to get some revenue from my blogging activities.

The site is called blogsvertise.com and they can help both old and new bloggers get some advertising revenue from your opinions on anything from products, services and websites.

Blogsvertise do have a few requirement that you need to meet, so be sure to check out the FAQs before submitting your blog for approval. Once your blog has been reviewed and approved, you will then be assigned specific writing tasks. You don't even have to endorse the products or services that are up for review, just simply comment on them and most importantly, get the links in your post!

I put my blog up for approval today, so hopefully I will be hearing back from blogsvertise.com within the next twenty four hours....Wish me luck!!

The Giant White Horse Tale

Boy am I on a roll today!

Everyone and everything is really getting me riled, (it probably has something to do with PMT). I decided to pick on the white horse story this morning just to outline what an utter waste of money this piece of 'public art' actually is.

Yesterday a giant white horse was announced as a two million pound public art commission in the South East of England. The structure itself will see the white horse standing on all fours at the scale of 33 times life size. Once built, the landscape of north Kent will be dominated by the 'artwork' at a staggering height of around 164ft.

It honestly makes me wonder if the people involved are aware that we are in the midst of an economic slump. By the end of today, figures are expected to reveal that unemployment has exceeded the two million mark.

Do the government, local councils, or anyone else with a bit of common sense not think that the money involved in creating this monster of a structure could be put to better use elsewhere?

And The Rihanna Stories Continue

Rihanna has blamed her no-show at the Grammy Awards on a traffic mishap, according to the latest reports.

The Umbrella hit maker was due to perform at the Grammys annual awards show in Los Angeles on Sunday night,but she cancelled after her R&B singer boyfriend Chris Brown was arrested over an alleged domestic violence felony.

Some reports in the US are now suggesting Rihanna was involved in the alleged incident - but her spokeswoman insists the singer was caught up in an unspecified traffic problem, according to E Online.

Brown, 19, was booked for making criminal threats and freed on a £34,250 bail after Los Angeles police received a 911 call in the early hours of Sunday morning. It followed an incident in which Brown and an unidentified woman were involved in a heated row in a vehicle in Los Angeles following music mogul Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party on Saturday.

If you believe everything you read, then Rihanna must be in a real mess. Reports that Chris Brown has bitten and bruised her are working there way around the web as we speak, but my cynical mind needs to ask if this is all part of some elaborate publicity stunt.

I am sure there are some paparazzi types sitting outside Rihannas front door right now just waiting to take some snap shots of her alleged injuries.

How Many Times Did It Take You?

Here is a lady I can completely sympathise with how about you?

A South Korean grandmother has failed her driving test 771 times, police said Thursday, but a local newspaper reported she will keep trying.

The 68-year-old, identified only by her last name Cha, has taken the test almost every working day since 2005 in the southwestern city of Jeonju. She failed again on Monday for the 771st time.

"It was a record-breaking number here," Choi Yong-Cheol, a police sergeant supervising the test in the city's Deokjingu district, told AFP.

"I wonder if she will try it again for a 772nd time."

The Korea Times said Cha will in fact be back for another attempt.

Choi said that Cha cannot pass the preliminary written section of the test, averaging scores of 30-50 whereas the pass mark is 60 out of 100.

Local media said that Cha sells food and household items door to door at apartment complexes, carrying the items in a handcart, but wants to get a car for her business.

Police estimate she has spent almost five million won (3,600 dollars) to take the written test, with each test costing 6,000 won in addition to other expenses.

"I feel sorry every time I see Cha fail. When she passes, I'll make a commemorative tablet myself and give it to her," one officer was quoted as saying.

In one respect you have to admire the lady for not giving up, but then you also have to ask why she would continue to put herself through it all time after time, and at such a huge expense.

Lost Thief Finds Himself In The Toilet.

If there is one thing I really hate it is thieves. What gives them the right to assume that they don't have to go out there and earn a respectable living like the rest of us? Why do they think it is okay to steal someones hard earned money and sentimental valuables?

Imagine my jubilation when I found this story today about one thief who got himself a little lost.

A hapless thief drilled his way into a French bank at the weekend, but missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, a French newspaper reveal.

The 21-year-old broke into a building adjoining a branch of Banque Populaire in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille in the early hours of Saturday morning, La Provence newspaper said.

The paper said the man, who came from Belgium and was not named, thought that he was going to end up in a room housing safe deposit boxes but instead drilled into the lavatories.

Alarms were triggered when he broke through the wall and police caught the man when they arrived on the scene.

You just have to laugh don't you?

Charity Donations

Since 1985, Comic relief has been striving to end poverty by raising cash to change the lives of those people who are most in need.

Here at The Daily Gripe, I am also going to help various charities by asking you all to express kindness and support for many of our featured charities. From now until the arrival of Red Nose Day on March 13th, we will be collecting for this very worthy cause.

The money you raise gets spent by Comic relief to help poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people turn their lives around across Africa, throughout the world's poorest countries and in the UK.

I know that the economic downturn is leaving us all with very little extra cash in our pockets, but there are still people in the world who are less fortunate than you. Please look for our donations button on the left hand side of this page and make a contribution today. It doesn't matter how small your donation is, every little helps.

Thank you

Hello And Welcome

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my very first blog post on The Daily Gripe.

As I have gotten older, I seem to have become slightly more cynical, not very much wiser, and certainly more opinionated. Before today I was always know as one of those people that just sat on the fence and didn't really have an opinion about everyday events.

I have never really been one for gossip either, but lately something must have happened to me. At last I have found my voice! I get emotional about stories in the news, I get dismayed at the stupidity of some individuals, and I get angry about governments and leadership policies.

Another bonus is that I have now found a place (here) where I can air my concerns and create material to open up debates in which you can all contribute.

If you do happen to come across this weblog on your Internet travels, please make sure you put forward your comments, suggestions, and opinions then at least I know I am not just talking to myself!