Christopher John Myers

Did Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London and third most senior cleric in the Church of England, really suggest a permanent memorial to the Anti Capitalist protesters inside St Paul's? And did he also suggest that this should be A TENT!? Wait! Somebody ring Georges Feydeau *, this would be a great idea for a play. Apparantly the tent would be a place where people can come together to discuss a more fair way to distribute income from the banks and work with companies to improve corporate responsibility. Aaaaargh!! See this blog: oyiabrown * I have just been informed M. Feydeau is dead.   OK, then how about my (other) hero Michael Frayn? I have tried to substantiate the tent idea, see links, above, but cannot confirm the attribution. There’s nothing on Dr R’s blog, or the Anglican website. PPSS: Anglican Christians are being bombed in Nigeria .   What about a sense of priority from our Archbishops and Bishops?   Not a peep from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nor Dr Char

Archbishop's Christmas sermon – ‘Don’t build lives on selfishness and fear’ Sunday 25th December 2011 Happy Christmas Rowan Williams!   Your widely-leaked Christmas Day sermon stuck, as I feared, to the central, recurring theme of your tenure … that of asking interminable questions.   You spoke of an exploding, disintegrating Britain .. what a terrible shame you didn’t take the opportunity to give us some answers! But first, here’s what we learned from this very clever, perplexing, man: 1)       In Hebrew, 'word' and 'thing' are the same 2)       Edward Elgar said of his Enigma Variations that they were all based on a tune that everyone knew – and no-one has ever worked out what he meant. 3)       Some people respond deeply and truthfully to Jesus without fully knowing who he is or what exactly they are doing in responding to him; this is not a recipe for tight religious exclusivism. Paradoxically, the Archbishop’s speech doesn’t begin with a question, but en

What do we want from the Archbishop of Canterbury? It’s easy – leadership, guidance, inspiration, faith at the very least.   And what do we get?   Easy; questions…questions ... more questions.   And no answers. I always knew he’d be a disaster when some academic said, on his appointment, “here’s a man who knows how to ask difficult questions.” Well, that’s pretty much ALL he’s given us.   (Not to mention apologies, for English hymns, missionaries and the rest…). And now, the final insult – this Christmas: more questions. He’s leaked the contents of his Christmas sermon.   And here it goes, “The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society.   Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.” Brilliant!   He’s worked that out all for himself! On and on he’ll blunder – “Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate c

Dear Leader dead - The few elite party members with a TV in North Korea learned yesterday that their ‘Dear Leader’ was dead.   A sobbing newsreader in black robes, her voice quivering with grief, read: “Our comrade, Kim Jong Il, the General Secretary of the Korean Workers Party, the Chairman of the National Defense Commission and the commander of the Korean People’s Army has died.” “We make this announcement with great sorrow.” The outpouring of grief from Kim’s loyal subjects was palpable (and worth watching). But let us not mock.   Instead let us rejoice in his achievements, which include shooting a 38-under par round, with 11 holes in one, all in the same year he first picked up a golf club.   Kim-Jong-ils-greatest-achievements.html

Cashless Scrap Metal Trade - Amendment to Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 Rapid rises in the value of scrap has led to a plague of metal thefts ... even from church roofs and power lines.  This e-petition is after a debate that will force scrap metal merchants to trade through bank accounts and not cash in hand. Metal fencing, gates, manhole covers and other metallic items are stolen on a regular basis. Property is raided for lead, copper and cabling. War memorials and statues have been taken. Overhead power lines are stolen at serious risk to personal safety with huge costs for replacement and major inconvenience to the public. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry. This creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payme

STOP PRESS The CQC is advertising for a £70k!! Head of Public Affairs - see blog below. Now there's a challenge. Head of Public Affairs Employer: CARE QUALITY COMMISSION Posted: 23 November 2011 Location: London   Function: Administration Level: Management Contract: Permanent Hours: Full Time Salary: Up to £70k Visit website

More evidence of the failings of the so-called Care Quality Commission (CQC) emerged today (Friday 2 December 2011) as the National Audit Office (NAO) warns that checks on English care homes are falling. Inspections fell ‘significantly’ after April 2009, ‘due to the Commission's decision to prioritise registration over compliance’. Now a CQC board member, Kay Sheldon, has called for the resignation of chief executive Cynthia Bower (£200,000 a year) over a failure of leadership at the regulator. The call came in a statement to the public inquiry into the Mid-Staffordshire Hospital scandal.   Kay Sheldon said, “it is clear that a change of leadership and culture is needed to ensure the organisation is effective and accountable." Cynthia Bower, whose pension pot grew by £240,000 last year from our taxes, was in charge of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority which was supposed to check the performance of hospital trusts and primary care trusts, including Stafford h