Northern Grep - The blog of Shaun Holt

Charity begins at hooom jimmy

Gordon Brown (The Lying Scotsman) yesterday announced an overseas aid package of £825 million for India, one of the world’s emerging, economic giants. Large quantities of this funding goes into collective aid ‘pots’ in the recipient states that cover medical supply aid, infrastructure and books for education/literacy projects.

Assuming that amongst the smokescreens of the time period that this aid package is spread over and allowing for any New Liebour double accounting, that this is true, then I would like to say ‘bravo Gordon’. I quite honestly didn’t realise that Britain had that sort of cash to splash around to such a deserving cause (sorry about the sarcasm). I would like to list some of the reasons that this announcement was a surprise to me:

• In England the National Health Service is closing wards and hospitals, laying off staff and denying medicines and medical treatments to patients due to spending cuts.
• Public libraries are closing here at a rate of one a week due to a lack of money to keep them open. No wonder that England’s place in a league table of primary-age reading skills has dropped to 19th.
• Despite the lessons of last year and promises of money to improve flood defenses areas of the South West have once again flooded (was the money promised ever there?).

• 1,483 ex UK service personnel are homeless - what a way to reward our personnel.

Perhaps anyone reading this blog would understand my confusion and surprise. In the meantime may I suggest that we start an appeal in India for aid to England?

In the meantime have a look at this - truly amazing.