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The Next General Election – Why I’ll Be Voting For Labour

By PoliticalNo Comments

So the next General Election has been announced and will take place on Thursday 8th June 2017. Neither of the two main political parties have released their manifestos yet. But Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of The Labour Party has released his 10 Pledges To Transform Britain.

The Labour Party are doing a few interesting things at the moment. Firstly they’re reaching out to people through the use of social media. Social media’s influence on politics was recently shown in the USA election and if the results are anything to go by (Donald Trump used social media and got elected to The White House) it’s a good move.

The mainstream media has been at best barely mentioning The Labour Party and worst highly critical of them. The mainstream media has become like reading a Conservative party pamphlet. The same lies and bogus phrases repeated again and again.

Secondly The Labour Party is reaching out to people and encouraging them to register to vote. In particular young people. This is clever as it recognises that Labour must reach out to disenfranchised young people who wouldn’t normally vote at all. This isn’t a new Labour idea, it was tried before the last General Election, it just wasn’t done very well then. Hopefully it will be done better this time. But it is also part of a larger vision for Labour to broaden its appeal to all.

Thirdly The Labour Party is doing something unique (at least to UK politics), fascinating and potentially election winning. The Labour Party is running an online National Policy Forum Consultation 2017, where everybody – both members of the public and Labour party members are invited to give their thoughts, opinions, ideas and views in 8 policy areas covering every part of Government.

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The Labour Party are already doing things differently than the political norm. They’re running an online National Policy Forum Consultation, where everybody – both members of the public and Labour party members are invited to give their thoughts, opinions, ideas and views in 8 policy areas covering every part of Government.

The 8 policy areas are: Economy, Business and Trade; International; Health and Social Care; Early Years, Education and Skills; Justice and Home Affairs; Housing, Local Government and Transport; Work, Pensions and Equality; and Environment, Energy and Culture.

For each area you read a short policy document (around 7-8 pages with plenty of spacing) and then can submit your thoughts, opinions, ideas and views. You can also read what others have wrote and comment on their input.

National Policy Forum Consultation 2017 comments are then fed in Policy Commission meetings. These meetings will likely decide what Labour policy is and form The Labour Party’s manifesto. This is a way to involve and empower people who usually don’t feel listened to by Politicians. A genius idea.

I’m voting for Jeremy Corbyn and The Labour Party in this upcoming election. Why? Because I think and feel that Labour Government will:

  • Tackle the growing inequality in our society. At the moment the rich are getting much more richer than ever before, while the poor are becoming destitute.
  • Properly fund and resource our National Health Service (NHS), Social Care and Public Services – all of which feel like they are so close to shattering right now.
  • Deal with decreasing opportunities for young people.
  • Build more affordable homes and address homelessness which is now visually evident in every town and city in the UK.
  • Get control of the rapidly rising cost of living (including fair energy prices and reduced public transport costs).
  • Increase worker’s rights and protections.
  • Keep The Human Rights Act (1998).

Some people say that they aren’t keen on Jeremy Corbyn. Sometimes with poor or no reasons for their dislike. I can only put that down to the power of the mainstream media.

My impression of Jeremy Corbyn is that he’s honest (refreshing for a politician), he’s passionate, he genuinely cares about people, he’s got a lot of experience (both as a politician and working within Trade Unions), he’s been on the right side of history (check out his voting history here), he listens and he wants to empower people. He wants a country that works for the many and not the few. All good qualities for the next Prime Minister.

Still unsure about Jeremy Corbyn? Read this article: Here are 16 reasons to vote for Jeremy Corbyn by The Independent.

Write soon,

Antony

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Monday 1 May 2017

15 Lies That Depression Would Have You Believe

By HealthNo Comments

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Here are 15 lies that depression would have you believe:

15. That it is bigger than you.
It’s not. It just makes you think this so that it can keep in control of you.

14. That it would be better if you never left your bed/room/house again.
It wouldn’t. You have so much to offer the world and you would miss out on so much if you never moved again. On days you feel like this practice self-compassion. Be kind but firm with yourself. Set yourself a small achievable goal. Force yourself into action to achieve this goal. Achieving a goal, no matter how small the goal is, will help you to feel better.

13. That you’re a failure.
Firstly you can’t be a failure. Failure only comes by attempting to do or achieve things. Failure is no bad thing – you learn more through failure than you do success. Don’t believe me? watch this TED video where J.K. Rowling talks about the benefits of failure.

Depression likes to magnify experiences in your mind. It focuses on only the negative aspects of an experience. Most experiences are a mix of positives and negatives. Try to put experiences into perspective. Examine the positives. Try to practice balanced thinking and self-compassion.

12. That you’ll never laugh again.
You will and often. People can and do recover from depression. Feeling okay doesn’t mean that you’re in recovery, starting to feel good again does. If you’re just feeling okay, go back and see your GP.

In recovery you will start to experience a number of long lost emotions such as happiness, joy and elation. When you do, greet them as old friends and experience them fully.

11. That being physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted is a normal state of being.
It isn’t. You might be sleeping for 18 hours and wake up still exhausted or you might be suffering with insomnia. But people usually have a stable amount of energy throughout the day and should sleep for a recommended 8 hours.

Depression is physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting, but if you go to your GP and get the right treatment (see my blog post on treatment options for more details) things will improve.

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10. That you’re pathetic. That you have no right to feel the way you do. That you are a disappointment to all that know you.
Shame and guilt are two emotions that depression uses to try and control you. Let go of any shame and guilt you feel. Accept how you feel now and know that it is temporary, almost fleeting compared with you life. Be confident knowing that how you feel now will change with the passage of time.

9. That the physical, mental and emotional pain you feel is all that there is.
There’s more to life pain. There’s care, love, happiness, joy and so much more. Just hold on. You have experienced the more-than-pain emotions before and you will again.

8. That you can’t do anything right or well enough.
My mum has lots of wisdom. She once said that all anyone can ask is that you try your best. Remember these words.

Remember that depression likes to magnify failures and things that didn’t go as well as you hoped. On days when you feel like this, practice self-compassion, use balanced thinking and try to put things into perspective. What where your intentions? Did you kill anybody? No? Well then, it’s not the end of the world.

7. That you are worthless.
You are unique. There has never been anyone exactly the same as you and there never will be. You are priceless and beyond value measures. Don’t listen to this lie, instead remind yourself that you are special and remind yourself what makes you, you.

6. That you’re going mad, mental or loosing your mind.
No you’re not. Your brain is just overwhelmed with cortisol – the stress hormone at the moment. Take a break and stop doing anything that you don’t need to. Practice relaxation techniques and be kind to yourself.

Remember that among the great and the good are people who’ve experienced depression. Even at the height of their success.

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5. That everything is too much effort. That just getting up and out of bed is too exhausting.
Set yourself a small goal each day and try your best to achieve it. The goal might be as tiny as having a bath, calling someone for a quick chat, changing your bedding or going for a short walk.

Despite how you feel, get yourself to your GP and get treatment. If this seems too ginormous of a task, break it up into smaller steps. Ask family members or friends to help you to do this.

4. That your soul or higher self is being destroyed.
Your soul or higher self has survived several lifetimes and the accompanying reincarnation processes. It can and will survive depression. Depression is tiny and insignificant in comparison to the challenges your soul or higher self has already experienced.

3. That everything is hopeless.
You may feel this way, but it is not and will never be hopeless. According to The Royal College of Psychiatrists people can and do fully recover from depression.

2. That life isn’t worth living.
Here’s a plea from the heart: darling you might feel this way now, but how you feel will change. If you are feeling suicidal please visit your nearest A&E Department for crisis support.

1. That you’ll never be happy again.
You will. It will just take the right treatment and time.

A Depression Self-help Guide
Whilst doing research for this blog post, I found this brilliant Depression Moodjuice Self-help Guide by Paul Gilbert online. This doesn’t replace treatment, but will give you some tools to help yourself.

Not sure if you have depression?
Here is a depression self-assessment tool from NHS Choices website:

Click here to display content from media.nhschoices.nhs.uk

Open "self assessments" directly

content provided by NHS Choices

Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 15 July 2016

Adios Vodafone – After A Nightmare Trying To Upgrade, Hello Giffgaff

By Life, Money / Finances, Shopping, Technology, ThinkingNo Comments

Recently my old iPhone 5 battery started dropping it’s charge. So as a loyal long term Vodafone customer, one that had been with them for years, I decided to speak to them about an early upgrade. They said I could and I opted for Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus (64GB, GOLD) as a new handset, which they said would be delivered the next day.

After three weeks of telephoning Vodafone customer services practically on a daily basis and receiving many broken promises, I still had no new handset. I felt frustrated, that the order was no further forward and like anything that they said to me on the phone would be a lie. Despite how I felt, I always remained pleasant and patient. But I decided to cancel my telephone upgrade order and re-order the upgrade in store.

My local store had Apple iPhone 6 Plus (64GB, GOLD) in stock. Hurray! But wait, I couldn’t have it because of their IT systems still showing the original upgrade order as open – despite me cancelling it and reassurances from Vodafone customer services on the phone that I would be able order in store. I tweeted my frustration to them, not that the staff in store, on the telephone or on twitter seemed to care.

I’d lost my trust in them. A search online revealed that I wasn’t the only one experiencing issues upgrading. Vodafone’s problems seem to be:

  • Their IT systems. An order gets canceled because they don’t have the handset in stock, but the order still shows as open and gets stuck.
  • The warehouse stock levels, warehouse management (in terms of ordering more handsets before they run out) and distribution.
  • No complaints department or way to escalate order issues to get them sorted.

Up until this experience, Vodafone have always been good with me. But this experience felt like a bad joke. I decided to show them what I thought of this experience by walking away and taking my wallet with me.


Get a free giffgaff Sim

giffgaff-logo A friend on Facebook recommended that I sign up with GiffGaff. I did and everything went smoothly. The handset was delivered the next working day as promised. It’s been a brilliant, easy and enjoyable service so far.

Here are some advantages of being with GiffGaff and how they are different to other providers:

  • They do sim only deals or handset and sim deals.
  • You buy the handset as a credit agreement. Meaning you can pay a small or larger deposit, choose the term of the credit agreement and it’s all really clear and easy to understand.
  • All handsets come unlocked, so can be used on any network.
  • You buy monthly goodbag packages, rather than having a fixed term contract.
  • You can leave GiffGaff at any time by turning off the auto-renew goodybag and getting a sim card for another network.
  • They’re competitively priced – cheaper than most other companies from the prices that I’ve seen.
  • Free GiffGaff to GiffGaff calls.
  • They regularly listen to customers and take their ideas on board.
  • And much more…

So if you’re looking to switch mobile phone providers, I’d highly recommend GiffGaff.

Blog soon,

Antony


Get a free giffgaff Sim

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Friday 19 June 2015

Book Review: Lies by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
lies-michael-grant-cover Lies is the third book in the Gone Series. The first book was Gone, which I have reviewed here. The second book was Hunger, which I reviewed here.

Lies is an epic read. Kids are trapped in a Dome and without any adults. In Perdido Beach, Sam and Astrid aren’t getting on. Zil and his human crew continue their campaign against kids with powers, leading them to set a massive fire that threatens to destroy all of Perdido Beach.

Albert continues quietly with his Alberto currency and running the market. Mother Mary struggles with the responsibility of the daycare, her mental health and her upcoming fifteenth birthday.

Brittney comes back to life and digs her way out of her grave. Kids start to report sightings of a Drake, the boy with the whip hand who died in Hunger. Sam is frustrated at the council’s lack of decision and action about the Human Crew’s antics. Sam goes AWOL emotionally traumatised at the thought that Drake, who tortured him, may have returned to the land of the living.

Orsay becomes a self-proclaimed Prophetess, claiming that she can see into parents dreams outside of the barrier. She also claims to be able to predict the future. Orsay gets a protecter called Nerezza, a weird kid that nobody seems to have seen before. The council decide to spread the lie that Orsay is making up her ability to reach kid’s parents on the outside of the dome.

Meanwhile Caine and his followers have become desperate. The last straw for Caine is eating a dead kid. Caine, Dianna and his followers steal a boat to head to an island which holds the promise of food. I particularly enjoyed reading the good side of Dianna, as it added depth to her character.

As Lies continues some of the kids are start to get ill, knocking some of the kids with powers out of play at vital moments. The darkness continues to manipulate kids and events throughout the book.

Lies develops the main characters well – each having their own strengths, weaknesses and motivations. It adds in some new characters as well. Some of my favourite new characters were: Justin & Roger, Peace, Sanjit and Virtue.

As always the plot is fast-paced, mostly showing rather than telling the story. Description is sparse, but enough to give the reader a good visual. Lies gives enough of the back story, so if you haven’t read Gone or Hunger you can still enjoy it without feeling like you’re missing something. But I would still recommend that you read both of them first.

On everyone of the Gone Series books it has a quote from Stephen King ‘I love these books.’ and I completely agree with him. I love these books. Lies is a fantastic read which is available to buy on Amazon.

I can’t wait to start Plague, the next book in the Gone Series.

Review soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Sunday 2 March 2014
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