Other people’s money

  As I write it has just been announced that another group of top “bosses” are in line to receive a six-figure bonus. This time it is for improvements to the railway system. Of course many readers love this sort of thing and can’t get enough of it, but I wonder if I am in the minority in finding the whole business distasteful in the extreme?

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What the Romans did for David Davis

"The prospect of catching murderers, rapists and terrorists before they strike again makes it, to me at least, a price worth paying." Was David Davis right to stand on a platform of civil liberties that would make life easier for the criminal? Mature Times editor Tony Watts doesn't think so ... and neither, it seems from your response to date, do our readers.

What a racket

Why, asks Mature Times editor Tony Watts, do some tennis players need to make such a racket when they hit the ball? And MT readers give their views too ...

It's official: the world has gone mad

We can conclusively confirm that the world has taken leave of whatever senses it started with. How do we know? Because Manchester Police have diverted their attention from stemming the rising tide of gun and knife crime in their city to send five of their finest officers to tackle a criminal they feel comfortable in arresting: a 54 year old man with a heart condition, accused of dropping an apple core

Terry Waite: "Politicians are reaping what they sow"

 During the past few weeks, writes Terry Waite, the public have been subject to a stream of political memoirs which have delighted the press. Astute journalists have been able to comb the pages of these offerings and highlight the passages which criticize the behaviour of their former colleagues or acquaintance. What does this say about the ethics of our politicians?

Brit drivers want their sat-nav to speak with a Geordie accent

Way ay, man! Or rather, you're going the wrong way ay, man. If Britain's drivers had their way, our sat navs would be speaking to us with Geordie accents. You'd be driving down to the shops and thinking that you were listening to I'm a Celebrity or Big Brother. What's going on? asks Mature Times editor Tony Watts.

Somewhere in Whitehall ...

“So what is it this time? Are we going to run out of petrol by lunchtime? Has the price of apples gone bananas? Is some busybody complaining about me employing my grandfather as a research assistant, God rest his soul.”

 

Mature Times editor Tony Watts listens in on a conversation at the Ministry. 

Energy bill shocker - but has it happened to you too?

We received our electricity bill recently. Nothing odd with that, you might think. Except the first thing to hit my wife as she opened the envelope were the words, in very large print: “Your account balance is £1,713.33 in debit”.

What has wealth got to do with happiness?

Gross national product "does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education or the joy of their play". Bobby Kennedy's words, 40 years on. But are they still relevant today?

Oh, the injustice of it all!

Of all the things that irk, injustice rankles most of all. Our sense of what's fair and unfair cuts in at an early age and it stays with you throughout life when you see dishonest people prosper or decent people cut down by illness.

Play up and play the game

"Respect" for referees is a hot topic in football at the moment. But its social significance goes well beyond keeping control over a bunch of over-coiffured prima donnas, says MT editor Tony Watts.

"Stop evicting care patients"

Some of the most moving stories in the media in recent years have concerned elderly people being forced to leave their care homes against their will. Ken Mack, Carer and Independent National Voluntary Campaigner for People with Disabilities, is challenging Health Secretary Alan Johnson to “take the battle out of disability” for those in care homes facing eviction.

Why is it so difficult to 'break in' to packaging these days?

I don't know whether this is just a sign of age, but I find myself increasingly frustrated by modern packaging- what ever happened to simple paper bags and string?
 

Feeling blue? Head for the shops!

Men, make sure you keep your wives and partners happy. Apparently the more depressed we feel, the greater the urge to dash down the shops.

Old people aren't rude - they're just uninhibited

If you suffered from piles or incontinence, would you want your friends asking about your condition over a supper party? The answer appears to be "yes" - if you happen to be older. New research from Australia suggests that the older you become the more likely you are to make someone blush with embarrassment - and it could be explained by age-related changes in brain function.