A Good Old Scotch Benefits All!

Remember the days when your drunk uncle started to make inappropriate jokes at uneventful Christmas dinners? Or when your Auntie Christina passed out in the flan due to too much whisky?
Turns out we should all be thankful for them!

SCOTLAND 29/05/2010 – The Scottish whisky industry is worth £4bn, according to research carried out for the industry. The earnings per worker are twelve times higher than the earnings per worker in the tourism industry. Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Whisky Association, said ‘Whisky is a true corner stone of the Scottish economy’. The Government of Scotland is worried that these percentages will give out the ‘wrong message’ to the rest of the world. Building your economy on Whisky is not really a good example of a healthy economy. How they would like to change these figures is still unknown…

To me it is not a surprise that whisky plays such an important role in the Scottish economy. When I think Scotland, I think whisky and a lot of other people do probably too. I can see why the government worries about the ‘wrong message’ but I do not think that it is necessary to change the whole industry. If they make enough money to keep the economy rolling they should not be worried, especially in hard times like these with credit crunches right round the corner.
What do you think forum? Change it, or leave it?

Marijn

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/10191267.stm

Happy Staycation!

Pack your bags and get your ticket, we are leaving for a fine holiday abroad! Or are these thoughts misleading..? Forecasters are predicting a fine weekend in the UK, so there are no reasons at all to escape to the sunny side of the globe…

UK 21/05/2010 – Forecasters have predicted perfect weather conditions for the upcoming weekend, the temperature will be about 28C. The tourist industry is expecting to make a high profits and is boosting up for all the people expected. The hottest locations will be central and south England, but the coast places will be a bit cooler due to sea breezes. Isolated thunderstorms could occur in the inlands because of the high temperatures in combination with the air humidity. Unfortunately the temperatures will drop back to 15C next week, so enjoy the weather and keep rubbing sunscreen.

It seems to me that high temperatures in England are rare! I have this image of England where it pours down constantly and you have to wear long sleeved shirts in summer to keep yourself warm. It is a good thing that they will have some good weather this year, it is a chance for our pale limbed friends to work on their tan. But the be quite honest, I do not want to be around when they expose their pale limbs to the sun, the sight of all those white flabby whales baking in the sun is not a joy to the eye…

Marijn

source:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/21/warm-weather-boost-uk-tourism

Where's Oliver?

When a child goes missing parents usually try everything within their power to get him or her back. Every roof, every street and every gutter is checked to find the person in question, but Sue Machen took it one step further…

BOOTHBY GRAFFOE 22/05/2010 – Last October Sue Machen found her beloved cat Oliver away from their home. Instead of accepting the fact that he might be gone forever, she called in the help of an expert team. A team of Animal Search UK went from door to door to question the inhabitants of Boothby Graffoe about the missing Oliver. Unfortunately they had to come back empty handed, no one had seen Oliver anywhere. The price that Sue Machen paid for this team of experts was estimated at £1.000, but it was not enough to get her tabby friend back home.

I am an absolute cat lover and therefore I can really relate with Sue. I would be devastated as well when my cat would go missing. The only problem is, I do not have the money to pay for a team of specialists to go and find him. But does that mean I do not love him? No. Sue paid a ridiculous amount of money for her pet and I believe it is sweet that she does that in effort to get him back, but cats are animals that love to play outside. In the end she could have seen this coming...

Marijn

Source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280278/Distraught-owner-missing-cat-pays-team-PSYCHICS-1-000-moggy.html