Nancy pointed out that during the last couple of weeks we really haven't had any weather. The temperature hasn't been hot, but then it hasn't been cold. The sky has been overcast, but the precipitation, when it comes, has been a light drizzle. We're sheltered from the wind - all-in-all we haven't had any weather.
The snooker world's championship dominates the telly. Broadcasting about 7-8 hours each day and they've just started the quarter-finals. Sorta like the basketball playoffs. The only problem is that as we watch the matches and understand the game better - it's becoming additive.
Next Thursday is the National Elections. So far we haven't been inundated with slanderous ads. Because the people don't elect the head jobs, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, we are presented with ads touting the virtues of the various parties (there are more than two) and throwing mud at the party in power. Politics is a party issue and only occasionally an attack on individuals. There are basically no billboards, car stickers or campaign buttons anywhere.
Tony Blair's cabinet is very much like George Bush's cabinet. Its members are appointed and not elected but they serve at the pleasure of the Parliament. In theory, the Queen appoints the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. In practice, the dominant party in Parliament has to approve the appointees and if the appointees are not of their political party, they are given a vote of "no confidence" and asked to step down. It's much more complicated that that because the dominant party can be a coalition of two or more of the smaller parties.
Right now there are several scandals with various cabinet ministers. The scandals are vying for an attempt to influence the elections. It's fun to watch but this election is not nearly as combative as say the San Jose mayor's race. You have to search the newspaper for any news of the election.
Every government needs money to operate. Therefore, every government must have taxes. How these taxes are assessed is what makes countries different. We are being affected by three different taxes at the present time:
TV tax: Everyone who has a television or radio is expected to have a license. These licenses are issued on a yearly basis and cover the expenses of the BBC and the other nationalized broadcasts.
VAT (value added tax): This is just the sales tax. The sales tax is a whopper; it runs from about 17% to, in some countries of Europe, over 20%. The sales tax is hidden because every item on the shelf has the VAT included in the tag price. Depending on the item you want to purchase, the VAT will be shown on the pricetag.
Bristol City Council Tax: The city Council Tax is similar in function to our property taxes. It raises money for the county and city governments to run their services like police, fire, buses, hospitals, etc. The difference is here the renters are charged the tax directly instead of it being hidden in the rent. It effectively raises our rent by £135/month ($243/month) - that's a gotcha!
Spring is busting out all over. Right now the flowering trees are very impressive. The various fruit trees and flowering fruit trees are out in their full splendor. The trees that catch my eyes are the magnolia trees - wow! The flower gardens are a riot of colors and the only limit is that this is an urban environment and most of the gardens are hidden from the streets
