It's clear what the best thing about being home is.
We've already spent time with children and grandchildren and look forward catching up with the rest of the family over the next few days.
Manchester United's strikers were in poor form last night at Old Trafford.
It would seem that Sir Alex's selection difficulties are made worse by some of the team not really understanding what playing for United means.
A poor performance all round I would say, and an argument for a leaner, meaner, altogether hungrier squad. May be it's time to release some of the makeweights?
If I was Sir Alex, last night would have been enough to make me give serious consideration to retirement, nobody needs that degree of aggravation when George Osborne sends you a winter fuel allowance every year.
It seems that the true strikers made their point pretty well.
Coming through passport control at Edinburgh I whispered a quiet expression of solidarity, 'Good Luck on Wednesday', and received a smiling thank you, in return.
It's interesting. When it works it can be great.
We caught the bus at 6 00 am local time in Genova the bus driver maintained a steady cruising speed and we arrived at Milan Malpensa exactly on time.
The special assistance at Milan arrived in the form of a very pleasant young lady who ushered us through the staff control area, as usual I set the alarms ringing, but the security official simply smiled at my rings and ushered me through.
Common sense is all it takes and how much better than our last experience with bags emptied, trousers falling down and stocking feet.
Then easyjet lived up to their name, the plane was due to leave at 12 05 local time and we were in the air at 12 07, amazing efficiency and lovely staff made the whole experience a pleasure.
Then home at last twelve hours after leaving Genoa we opened our front door and put the heating on.
The social contract meant that the wheelchair and its occupant was assisted onto buses, trains and planes with courtesy and dignity.
Of course that is just one story of one couple. Sadly the European Project now looks in danger of being dragged down by the banking crisis which is gaining momentum again.
Why is it that George Osborne, echoing the rhetoric of the Thatcher years, wants us to believe that the economy is like the weather, and is outside human control. His use of weather related words like 'storm' reveal someone who wants us to believe that somehow the only thing we can do is reach for the umbrellas. Not so of course. The Unions are right to point out that what is happening as working people's income is losing value through inflation and cuts in public expenditure needs a stronger clearer response from national governments.
The Polish Prime Minister put it very clearly saying that he fears German inactivity as much as if not more than, it's activity.
Every time I went to a Bancomat, I wondered whether it would swallow my card and refuse to give me any more Euro's because it had run out of them or worse my own bank was not prepared to exchange the pounds in my account for a currency that is out of control.
The British Government has made itself peripheral to the debate in Europe, if it had joined the Euro it might have more influence, but what is clear that the future is looking increasingly uncertain, the Euro's on my dressing table ready for our next visit into the Eurozone may well be worth little or nothing if the Euro collapses and national currencies reintroduced.
One travel company, based in Germany is apparently already changing its contracts with Greek Hoteliers with a reference to Euro's or New Drachma's in the event of Greece leaving the Euro.
So strike for a day and nothing changes, what we need is a sustained national conversation about how we recover from the mess that the so called 'Masters of the Universe' have got us into.
But I'm not holding my breath, the post war social contract has usually been more honoured in the breach than than observance.
This morning we went into Carlisle and walked past Sir Philip Greens new Top Shop store, it was being refurbished when we left in October, there are two high steps up to the ground floor level. The in-house critic, sitting in her wheelchair observed, 'they want me in there even less than I want to go in'.
Just as well really!
Buses in Genoa, planes in Milan, trains in Edinburgh all accessible, but not the newly refurbished Top Shop in Carlisle?
We've already spent time with children and grandchildren and look forward catching up with the rest of the family over the next few days.
Manchester United's strikers were in poor form last night at Old Trafford.
It would seem that Sir Alex's selection difficulties are made worse by some of the team not really understanding what playing for United means.
A poor performance all round I would say, and an argument for a leaner, meaner, altogether hungrier squad. May be it's time to release some of the makeweights?
If I was Sir Alex, last night would have been enough to make me give serious consideration to retirement, nobody needs that degree of aggravation when George Osborne sends you a winter fuel allowance every year.
It seems that the true strikers made their point pretty well.
Coming through passport control at Edinburgh I whispered a quiet expression of solidarity, 'Good Luck on Wednesday', and received a smiling thank you, in return.
It's interesting. When it works it can be great.
We caught the bus at 6 00 am local time in Genova the bus driver maintained a steady cruising speed and we arrived at Milan Malpensa exactly on time.
The special assistance at Milan arrived in the form of a very pleasant young lady who ushered us through the staff control area, as usual I set the alarms ringing, but the security official simply smiled at my rings and ushered me through.
Common sense is all it takes and how much better than our last experience with bags emptied, trousers falling down and stocking feet.
Then easyjet lived up to their name, the plane was due to leave at 12 05 local time and we were in the air at 12 07, amazing efficiency and lovely staff made the whole experience a pleasure.
Then home at last twelve hours after leaving Genoa we opened our front door and put the heating on.
The social contract meant that the wheelchair and its occupant was assisted onto buses, trains and planes with courtesy and dignity.
Of course that is just one story of one couple. Sadly the European Project now looks in danger of being dragged down by the banking crisis which is gaining momentum again.
Why is it that George Osborne, echoing the rhetoric of the Thatcher years, wants us to believe that the economy is like the weather, and is outside human control. His use of weather related words like 'storm' reveal someone who wants us to believe that somehow the only thing we can do is reach for the umbrellas. Not so of course. The Unions are right to point out that what is happening as working people's income is losing value through inflation and cuts in public expenditure needs a stronger clearer response from national governments.
The Polish Prime Minister put it very clearly saying that he fears German inactivity as much as if not more than, it's activity.
Every time I went to a Bancomat, I wondered whether it would swallow my card and refuse to give me any more Euro's because it had run out of them or worse my own bank was not prepared to exchange the pounds in my account for a currency that is out of control.
The British Government has made itself peripheral to the debate in Europe, if it had joined the Euro it might have more influence, but what is clear that the future is looking increasingly uncertain, the Euro's on my dressing table ready for our next visit into the Eurozone may well be worth little or nothing if the Euro collapses and national currencies reintroduced.
One travel company, based in Germany is apparently already changing its contracts with Greek Hoteliers with a reference to Euro's or New Drachma's in the event of Greece leaving the Euro.
So strike for a day and nothing changes, what we need is a sustained national conversation about how we recover from the mess that the so called 'Masters of the Universe' have got us into.
But I'm not holding my breath, the post war social contract has usually been more honoured in the breach than than observance.
This morning we went into Carlisle and walked past Sir Philip Greens new Top Shop store, it was being refurbished when we left in October, there are two high steps up to the ground floor level. The in-house critic, sitting in her wheelchair observed, 'they want me in there even less than I want to go in'.
Just as well really!
Buses in Genoa, planes in Milan, trains in Edinburgh all accessible, but not the newly refurbished Top Shop in Carlisle?
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