Jan Leeming - The Official Website

FLORENCE - Introduction

30th April 2010

FLORENCE - General Overview

I've just returned from an eight day trip to the wonderful city of Florence (and only just in time to miss the Airport closures due to Volcanic Ash).

I made a brief visit about 25 years ago and a longer one in the 70's when I was studying with the Open University and a 5 day trip to Florence was on offer.  I remember certain highlights of that 70's trip and also remembered being 'frescoed-out'.  I'd forgotten that they had a terrible flood in November 1966 and so many beautiful artefacts were destroyed.

On this visit I had a list of 'Must sees' and had learned by past mistakes that you simply cannot take in more than a fraction of the treasures that Florence has to offer. If you try to do too much, you simply go into overload.

The visit was a delight spoiled only by the appalling weather (it rained almost non stop for a week) and the shock of seeing an incredible amount of Graffiti on the buildings in the Old and Historic part of Florence.  (Graffito is an Italian word!!)  It's bad enough seeing Graffiti anywhere but in such a fantastic city, it made me want to cry.  How can these vandals desecrate their city so rich in art and history?  Mind you Graffiti is not new - there's even some on the wonderful statue of Michelangelo's David - done before the Statue was moved from the Piazza della Signoria to the Academia.

We stayed in a lovely hotel in the old part of Florence - the Monna Lisa (no, I haven't got the spelling incorrect - I questioned it and was told this was the old spelling). It had been a convent or some such - certainly not a Palace - but I loved the irregularity of the building - all the little stairways and quaint old-fashioned rooms.

Our plane was delayed so we eventually arrived at 1.00 am and even at that late hour our taxi had to duck and dive down endless one way streets.  This circuitous route decided us to cancel our hire car.  We felt we'd be OK on the open road to Sienna etc, but whether we could ever get in or out of the town was another matter.

The porter on duty was so slight, he made me look fat.  We had two flights of stairs to mount to our rooms and he apologised for not taking our bags but he'd had two hernias!  We'd had nothing to eat since lunchtime on the Friday through till breakfast on Saturday as Meridiana served nothing other than water, juice, tea and coffee on the flight.  Wouldn't have minded so much except we had to while away 3 hours at the Airport because our flight was delayed and no one had alerted us to the fact that Meridiana does not serve food - not even a sandwich.

However, we'd arrived and hadn't been impeded by any Volcanic Ash Clouds so we were extremely grateful.

As I can only mount one photo per story in my blog. I shall break the narrative up into different days in order to illustrate each day with a good picture.  And then I shall put many more into the Gallery.  (You can imagine how many photos I took especially as my good old Sony failed me a few days before the trip and I had to buy another camera.  I wanted another Sony but finally swapped allegiance to a Nikon because it had a 26 Optical Zoom and wow was I able to take some amazing photos - well amazing in that I could zoom in from such great distances.)

Tomorrow - general walk around Florence on our only sunny day!

This was the Loggia to the Monna Lisa - stunning ceiling isn't it! 

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

SPRING IN ENGLAND

18th April 2010

SPRING

The one joyful event at the moment is our late Spring.  It's lovely to see so many of our Spring Flowers putting on their displays con-currently.  The Forsythia and the Ornamental Cherry Blossom are stunning.  Sadly I no longer have a garden but I derive joy from seeing all the fabulous Camellias which are in bloom.  It's sad that they have no perfume because they are among my favourite flowers.

I feel so sorry for all the people stranded everywhere because of the Volcanic Ash Saga - my own Son included who is stranded somewhere in Thailand.   What is happening to our world?    So many natural disasters have followed hot on the heels of each other and I do not believe this is down to Global Warming.  We have had tsunamis, earthquakes, wettest summers, coldest winters and now Volcanic Ash.  All these natural phenomena have occurred across the Ages but they all seem to be being kaleidoscoped together.  And don't fall for the Lib-Dems anti Nuclear Power scenario.  Yes, if there is a Nuclear disaster, it is horrendous but for the most part it is the most efficient form of power.  I have a dear friend in Cornwall whom I visit regularly.  There is a wind-farm just off the A30 as you take the turning down to Truro.  I've never counted the ugly giants - probably about 20 - but I have never ever seen any more than half whirling around at any one time.  I'm also told that they need power to charge them up in the first place.  I rather suspect that many lobbying for the wind-farms are those  with a vested interest in the profits.  And they are so ugly.  Putting money into Solar Panels (even in the UK where we don't have an overdose of Sunshine) might make more sense.

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

PENSIONS - and the Highway Robber!

18th April 2010

PENSIONS - and the Highway Robber!

I don't take a paper regularly - what I read almost daily about social injustice, dodgy politicians  and welfare spongers just upsets me and makes me angry.  I take The Week regularly and have done for years - it gives a balanced view of both home and world affairs looking at the scenarios from the Left, the Right and the Centre.

I did buy the Mail on Saturday yesterday (17^th April)  because I like the the layout of their Weekend Magazine and can easily pick my way around the generally dismal array of TV programmes.  And now I finally understand about Gordon Brown's plundering of the Private Pensions thanks to an excellent article by Alex Brummer.  Yes, I know that the Mail is very right wing but Mr. Brummer also admits that the Conservatives weren't entirely innocent in that under the Chancellor Norman Lamont, tax credits were reduced on Pension fund dividends, but Brown abolished them entirely.  This was done in secrecy and if Mr. Brummer has his facts correct, even Tony Blair was unaware of the true impact of this 'highway robbery'.

Private Pension schemes were able to plough back their dividends into the Pension funds thus making them more viable especially as the world has changed so dramatically in the last few decades with most of us expecting to live for an average of 20 years after retirement instead of the few years anticipated in the 1950's.

The whole Pensions matter is complex but if you can get hold of Saturday's Mail or even find Alex Brummer's article on line, you will understand it fully.

Let me tell you why I am so interested.  I have to smile when I hear many of today's youth declaring that they want to be 'famous' and many of them equate it with wealth.  Let me tell you there is an upside and a downside to being 'famous' and it doesn't always equate with wealth.  I only wanted to do a job I loved and which paid the mortgage - Fame was a side adjunct I did not expect.

I have loved my working life.  I feel blessed that I have always been pleased to go to work and be paid for something I so enjoyed.  Had my fiancée not died in a car crash I would have remained in Australia and continued working in Theatre - my first love.  However fate decreed otherwise and on returning to the UK my path went in a different direction and that was the 'almost' fledgling television.  I have had great experiences through my life associated with TV.  I've been invited to attend great functions, met and interviewed fascinating people - I've also had the downside of the Press attention which has always attended my unfortunate love life!

But WEALTH - certainly not.  I own a very nice but modest flat in Kent and I don't owe anyone any money.  I actually hope that I do not have the longevity of my family - my father is now 95 and still in relatively good health and with all his mental faculties - my mother is 90 next month and, sadly, is sliding into the twilight world of senile dementia.

I don't want longevity because, unless my beloved son becomes rich (and my family don't seem to have the Midas touch) and can look after me, I would be extremely worried about the long term future.

I didn't choose to be Freelance but the Television Industry does not want Presenters and Front of Camera workers to be on staff.  If they are Freelance then they can be thrown out with the bathwater if the ratings drop or the New Producer wishes to install a Presenter of their own choosing.

For over twenty of my working years I worked on yearly Contracts - this meant that I paid all the PAYE required of me but was not on any Company pension scheme - nor could I claim allowances for genuine working expenses.  I am a cautious Capricornian and knew that I must make allowances for a pension but it wasn't until the early 80's that I actually earned enough to pay the mortgage, the bills and have anything over for putting into a Pension.  Even when I was a National Newsreader for the BBC in 1980 my salary was £10,000 and only rose to £23,500 seven years later.  Hardly a fortune but the big problem was the pension.  I invested in a very nice house in Buckinghamshire and saw my mortgage interest rise to 15% at one stage.  But that house was meant to be a very large chunk of my pension - it had to go when work fell off  in the mid 90's along with the departure of my beloved husband.

However, I did pick up some lucrative Corporate work for several years after leaving the BBC and I saved like mad.   I was persuaded to put my hard-earned savings into the Equitable and over a period of 21 years amassed a 'fortune' of £169,000!  Then in 2001 the Equitable almost collapsed - much of it to do with dear Mr. Brown's abolishing of the tax credits on pensions.  My pension would have been modest in any case but I fought for my rights for seven years and finally my case went to the Ombudsman who ruled in my favour due to mis-selling.  In other words, I didn't understand what I was signing up to nor was the salesman explaining the full implications of everything to do with my pension.   This is all very over-simplified and had I not found a superb Pensions advisor in Nigel Markham in Canterbury, I probably would have given up the fight.  It did cost me and in the end we were both fighting for justice as much as the money. 

And just look at the appalling way in which this Government is dealing with the Equitable Case even though EMAG (the Equitable Members' Action Group) has won in the High Court it's case for compensation.  Even Mr. Cameron has not given his support and an interesting and sad fact is that since the debacle nearly a decade ago approximately 15 would be pensioners have died daily - I was never brilliant at maths but if you take nine years of 365 days and 15 pensioners dying daily, then there are 49,125 people who have never been able to take their full pension rates and what has that saved the Equitable!  (And over the years the Equitable has handed out ridiculously large sums to Non-Executive Directors)

I was finally awarded the maximum sum which the Ombudsman could allow and that was £100,000 which had to go into an Annuity with Canada Life and I now have just over £7,000 a year for life instead of the guaranteed £10 - 12,000 that I should have looked forward to.  I receive a small State Pension and it is far less than many people claim on benefit!!!!

Why am I being so honest with you?  Because I want you not to be swayed by Nick Clegg's apparent charm and vacuous policies, definitely not to vote for the Labour party and to hand the sadly 'poisoned chalice' to the Conservatives. 

I can't wait for next week's instalment from Alex Brummer on the Scandal of the Fat Cat Public Sector Pensions.    No wonder Mr. Brown trebled the number of Public Sector employees - he was engaging the services of yet more people he knows will vote for the Labour Party.  And who is paying for those Public Sector Pensions - you are and I am.

We have a Pensions Time Bomb - I hope I'm not around when it goes off.

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

PRIME TIME DRAMA - THE FIRST ELECTION DEBATE - a DAMP SQUIB!

16th April 2010

PRIME TIME DRAMA - THE FIRST ELECTION DEBATE

Well what a DAMP SQUIB that turned out to be.  I actually nodded off for a few minutes at 9.00 pm - it was all so boring and predictable.  And Alastair Stewart was jumping up and down with the excitement one would associate with a £100,000000 winner in the Lottery.  The whole thing was so contrived.  No-one in the audience was allowed to ask the sort of questions most of us are busting to ask and which are being discussed around dinner tables up and down the land.  Why did this Government bail out the banks and let them off so lightly.  Why are there schools in this country where English is not the prime language.  Why do we reward young women with Council flats and subsidies just for getting pregnant time and time again.  Why did Gordon Brown increase the number of public servants almost threefold.  I'll tell you why - because they will vote for the Labour party, as will the immigrants who get so much for nothing in return, as will so many of the workshy who are happy to live off benefits.  And who was the man who sold off our Gold Reserves when Gold was at an all time low - Mr. Brown.  Who was the man who ruined the private pension schemes (including mine and it was small I can tell you) - Mr. Brown.  And who holds the most Greek Government bonds - we do!!

I have to admit that Nick Clegg did come across as the most likeable of the three participants  - but remember back to 1997 and the good-looking and charming Tony Blair and look what he did for this country - I think DID FOR is the operative phrase. And remember that Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems are rather pro-Europe.  I know the Euro is strong at the moment but many European countries are in a mess financially - so watch this space.  And look what joining the European Union has done for us - we can't make and keep our own laws - we are ruled by a load of Eurocrats with their noses in the trough.  And as for the European Court of Human Rights - don't even get me started.

I would have liked to have taken a swipe at Brown with that smug smirk which kept appearing on his face. I know that there is a whole World Economy problem but Brown was the Chancellor who was in charge of the ship which he sailed onto the rocks - he is unelected, uncharismatic, and fails to see the damage that he has done to our country.  Mind you 'Power corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely' and the Labour Party had such an overwhelming majority that they could do what they damn well liked almost unhindered.  It's just come to my mind what Brown said about an elected House of Lords.  He is the Prime Minister who 'allowed' Gorbals Mick to be elevated to the Lords - now John Prescott is thinking of taking a Peerage in order to repay his wife who stood by him when his affair was brought to light.  And as for the Prince of Darkness - how can you be disgraced time and time again and still be elevated to the Peerage.  I no longer have any respect for the Upper House.  At least many of the Hereditary Peers did the job as a duty and hoped to improve the lot of their fellow men.  I had the honour to know Lord Kings Norton - a totally self-made man who took his duty very seriously right up till the end of his long and productive life.

David Cameron came across very well and with great earnestness and he will get my vote anyway.  It was very good of him to wax lyrical about the wonderful treatment his little son received at the hands of the NHS - but he is the Shadow Prime Minister for heaven's sake - of course he would get the best treatment possible.  What about those who have contracted MRSA in our dirty hospitals, the elderly left to rot ....... , the nurses too highly qualified to do what nurses always did so well in the past - care for their patients.  As a life-long Tory, they would have to put me on the rack to get me to vote otherwise.  To me the Labour Party are just communists in thin disguise.  They take away the money from we hard-working tax payers and hand it out to the profligate and the immigrants who've never done a day's work in this country.  Basically I think they want to see us all reduced to the same level with the notable exception of themselves of course.  Look at any Communist country and those in power have it all, whilst their countrymen have very little.  I am told that the peasant class in Russia are worse off now than they were under Communism - but their leaders and the Mafia are doing very nicely Thank you.

 I just pray that the electorate won't waste their vote on the very amiable Nick Clegg or we could end up with a Hung Parliament and that would not be a good thing.  Clegg banged on about Trident - and much as we don't like Nuclear weapons, we do have to defend ourselves from the ever growing threat in the East.

A long time ago, when I lived in Buckinghamshire, I was asked if I would consider becoming an MP.  I said No because I didn't think I was Academic enough - well that's a joke for a start - what you need is a bucketload of common sense.  I was also well aware of the way the Press would have crucified me - they were even hard on Glenda Jackson and she is one of their own Left-wing elite.  I'm sorry now that I didn't have the courage because today I would be representing the rights of the elderly and I would toady to no-one.  I have no desire for power other than to try and do good for others and I'm too long in the tooth to have high ministerial ambition.

I think it is a great shame that politicians don't actually get out and meet more REAL people and find out what the man/woman in the street really feels and thinks.  When they do go out and about, their visits are sanitized.  I can tell you this now  because, sadly,  my friend died in January but when she was working at a very large and highly criticized hospital, there was a ministerial visit and all the 'trolley patients' from the corridors were shunted into the X-ray Department so that everything looked neat and tidy.  One specialist broke ranks and exposed the sham.  He was disciplined.  He was close to retirement and could take the risk but if he'd been younger, I doubt that he would have had the courage.  That  kind of sanitization is carried out on a regular basis.

When I was a little girl there was much talk of the 'Class System' - the Aristocracy and the rest of us.  There will always be bad apples in any barrel - that is human nature but it seems to me that in the past those born to Affluence and who didn't need the money, would go into politics with more altruistic motives.  Today we have politicians who've never had a 'job' in the real world - they are actually 'career politicians'.  Today we still have a 'Class System' but it is much more one based on pure MONEY.  Those with the money wield the kind of power which used to be the preserve of the 'Aristocracy'.

It seems to me that the Conservatives come to power and put our house in order, then the electorate want a change and vote in Labour who then distribute all our hard earned and stored 'wealth'.  Our country is in a parlous state so whoever wins the election will inherit a 'Poisoned Chalice'.  Cuts will have to be made and tough action will be required to try and get us back on our feet again - so the new Government is not going to enjoy the popularity and euphoria unfairly enjoyed by the Labour Party in 1997.

Well I've had my rant.  Little good it will do this poor benighted country of ours where we are not allowed to be Nationalistic, where some of our towns have more immigrants than natural born citizens, where English is not the prime language in some schools, and so many of those seeking a better life here do not believe in the maxim of 'When in Rome, do as the Romans Do'.

Bye for now. Jan

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY! - PART 2

12th April 2010

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY -  PART 2

I'd had confirmation by Email of my Booked Business Class seat on the Virgin Atlantic Flight on Saturday 10^th April leaving Cape Town at 8.45 pm.

So my friend Janet drove me to the Airport, saw me to the check in desk (just to ensure the flight times hadn't changed yet again) and hugged me Goodbye.  I handed over my Documentation and my Passport and waited and waited and waited. The young lady behind the desk was ominously quiet until I politely asked if there were a problem - 'We don't have a seat for you' she said.  WHAT - I couldn't believe it - I'd got the confirmations and everything but somehow 'NO SEAT'.  I spent the next hour in a state of anxiety wondering what on earth would happen.  The ladies at the Virgin Check In and their Supervisor were polite and helpful but they couldn't work miracles.  I was told, after the flight was called,  I would have to go to the final check in desk and WAIT which I did as over 300 passengers filed past me.  They'd given the final call several times and still I had no seat.  Then the supervisor came down the corridor as fast as her legs would carry her and announced that they'd got me the last remaining seat in Premium Economy - I dare say they'd off-loaded a staff member!!  As my Business Seat hadn't materialised I was offered Air Miles in compensation but I've found that they are next to useless unless you know where you want to fly about a year in advance.  I've been offered some financial compensation but I daresay that will be a fight too. 

One of the joys of flight for me is settling into my seat and sorting out the films I want to watch - as I rarely sleep on flights, this is my pleasure.  So what happened - the In-Flight Entertainment went down for the whole journey!  I did have my computer with me but hadn't packed any DVD's - Thank heavens I had a good book.

SO I WILL NEVER HAVE CONFIDENCE AGAIN IN TURNING UP AT AN AIRPORT WITH A BOOKED SEAT (AND ALL CONFIRMATIONS) AND EXPECTING TO ACTUALLY GET THAT SEAT.  IN ALL MY YEARS OF TRAVEL AND MANY GOING TO AND FROM CAPE TOWN, I'VE NEVER HAD SUCH A CATALOGUE OF DISASTERS.

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY!

10th April 2010

TO FLY OR NOT TO FLY - THAT IS THE QUESTION

Have you ever had a bad dream where you are desperate to get to a destination but the train/plane/boat has just departed.  Well, for the first time in decades of flying, I arrived at Cape Town Airport at 21.15 on Thursday evening and immediately felt this rather ominous lack of activity.  The porter approached me and when I said - Virgin Airlines - he replied that the flight had GONE.  WHAT!  There I was with my two hours booking-in time and the Flight had gone.  While I'd been having a lovely 'Au Revoir' dinner with my friends at Jakes in Kenilworth, the plane was already in the air.

I must say that Stephanie at the Virgin Atlantic Office couldn't have been more helpful.  She had to deal with a lovely German girl who was in tears - she and her friend were backpackers and they'd no more money and all they wanted was to get home.  I was offered a seat on the flight next day and it went via Jo-burg -  no thank you.  I loathe Jo-burg airport - once missed a connecting flight to Capetown because of the huge distances between International and Domestic - and as a woman on my own it's incredibly difficult to deal with luggage etc.  And a tremendous amount of luggage goes missing at Jo-burg Airport - so all in all that was not an option.

For reasons best known to themselves, Virgin alter their Flight departure times at the end of March and cease their flights to Capetown in mid-April so the last few flights were booked solid.

Fortunately my friends hadn't just dropped me off so at least they were there to drive me back to Capetown.  Needless to say I got very little sleep worrying about the dilemma.

As soon as they opened I was on the phone to Trailfinders in Canterbury.  Initially they insisted that I'd been told of the change of flight times but it transpired they had sent a text to my British mobile phone number and I don't use that in Capetown and had told them so.  Stephen Edwards then went on line and had to admit that all my contact details were there including my email which is the same whether I'm in the UK or Capetown.

To give him his due, he worked like a Trojan and after several hours came back with a booking on the flight tonight - Saturday 10^th.  As the flights were completely full, he had to get an executive decision and they have got me the last seat in Business.  I must admit, I will only breathe easily when I'm sitting in that seat.

I have used Trailfinders many times in the past before I got caught up in the Air Miles trap - most times you can't use them!!  So they've totally redeemed themselves and I'll be using them again.  Also when you book with Trailfinders you get a designated seat No.  I also have to admit that I'd far rather deal with a person than a machine and I'm not good at trying to book on line so for a few pounds more I'd rather talk to a human.

As ever, I'm so sad to be leaving Capetown.  It is in one of the most beautiful locations in the world - the climate is excellent, the people in restaurants and shops so friendly and always prepared to go that extra mile. 

Can't wait to come back.

On the horizon - no work at present but a trip to Florence in the near future.  Went there when I was doing Open University aeons ago and loved it.  I've been back only once since then and can't wait to visit the Uffizi and sit in the square where Savanarola met his end.

Bye for now

What do you think? Send your feedback to contact@jan-leeming.com.