UB40: A Critique by Gary Watton
A couple of months ago I rescued about eighty of my old vinyl albums from almost ten years of captivity in my late mother's attic. (Actually, she's never late nor even dead.) Anyhow, I have proceeded to re-acquaint myself with the music that entertained me during my 'bedroom years' of bygone days of yore. In the last ten days I have bravely endured my collection of UB40 LPs. Regrettably, I now find such product rather dreary and uninspiring from a combo that I once held in the highest esteem in my mistaken youth.
What strikes me most about this Brummie outfit is the unremitting politicising, pontificating, preaching, and downright gloom that characterises the large majority of their own compositions. They basically set the tone on their debut album with the delightfully cheerful 'Burden Of Shame' (a critique of British imperialism) and well ever since, their output has been almost exclusively a musical rant. Each track appears to remind us that capitalism is wicked and poverty is wicked and Apartheid is wicked and inequality is wicked and racism is wicked. Oh come on fellas. Change the record, please. You don't have to perpetually persuade me of such dogma. The truth is: I believe you, and indeed most of your listeners are presumably equally sympathetic. I doubt whether the UBs feature prominently amongst the musical preferences of bankers, financiers, and racists!
The only occasions when UB40 mercifully strayed from the tiresome evangelising was when they ventured into the territory of cover versions of classic reggae love songs on the outstanding 'Labour Of Love' project and its inferior successor, 'Labour Of Love II'. There has probably been a mark III and maybe even a IV. Happily, I am blissfully unaware of the group's post-1990 material, with the exception of the awful karaoke rendition of Elvis's 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (a 1993 UK chart-topper which just about sums up the poor musical taste of the British record-buying public.) Oh yes, I did chance upon a new UB40 offering from 2005, 'Who You Fighting For?' which the Mail On Sunday (or possibly the Daily Malice) cruelly supplied as a freebie to every lucky (or unlucky) reader. Not surprisingly (to quote another west Midlands singer, Mr Robert Plant) "the song remains the same". Unfortunately, the Campbells and their cronies just cannot resist the temptation to revisit the same old themes in almost every track.
Not surprisingly, my favourite UB40 tunes hail from their earliest days when they treated the listener to a whole array of fine reggae instrumentals on their debut 'Signing Off'. Then they atoned for the typically depressing 'Present Arms' project by releasing the marvellous (and largely undiscovered gem) of 'Present Arms In Dub' when the lads jettisoned the left-wing wailing and merely provided the tunes in instrumental dub versions.
In my semi-humble opinion, the UBs missed a trick when they failed to take a leaf out of the book of their contemporaries Madness or such luminaries as the Kinks by providing observations of modern life and the quirky individuals that they encountered along the way. Whilst Madness delivered the anecdotal 'Bed And Breakfast Man' and 'Mrs Hutchinson', UB40 were providing the non-joyful 'One In Ten' and 'Don't Do The Crime'. However, don't get me wrong. UB40 have composed the occasional gem. 'Tyler' was a worthwhile tribute to an unjustly convicted murderer, Gary Tyler. However, their song-writing formula almost always seems to be confined to pouring scorn at the same old injustices. The gang rarely stretch their creativity towards mini-dramas and soap operas about everyday people and places and events. The guys may be uneducated [a fact that they certainly don't hide] but you don't need to have gone to Oxbridge to be able to compose a variety of very different songs about a whole range of non-political subjects.
When UB40 did wander into film-making with their half-hour 'Labour Of Love' movie, the result was distinctly drab. The flick lacked any originality and culminated in a scene of police brutality and racism that even the most ardent Trotskyite dramatist might not have conceived for a Channel Four late-night production. The only redeeming feature was the glorious video to the perennial favourite, 'Red Red Wine' in which Ali comes to the pub to meet the woman of his dreams, only to find her arrive afterwards with his brother [and rival]. As if that isn't bad enough, Ali gets his car keys nicked whilst being hoodwinked at the bar by a couple of chancers, masquerading as friends. All of this would be enough to drive anyone to drink, and Ali C doesn't disappoint, as he ends the tune doing a fine impersonation of a drunk, down on his luck, being helped home by his Dad. T'was superb stuff.
For me, UB40 were okay musically until they added the brass sounds of the Tenyue brothers in the mid-80s which only succeeded in drowning out Robin's lead guitar and Mickey Virtue's fine keyboards. Admittedly, the big brass sound of the poptastic 'If It Happens Again' was a glorious exception, but thereafter the band just got submerged in an over-reliance on brass instrumentation.
Sorry UB40, but I have long since fallen out of love with you. Perhaps this is symptomatic of a 'maturing' codger who is no longer easily impressed by anyone or anything, musical or otherwise.
Yours Insincerely,
Gary Watton (a former fan)
My UB40 albums and my favourite song on the LP:
Signing Off (1980) - King
Present Arms (1981) - Don't Let It Pass You By
Present Arms In Dub (1981) - The Return Of Dr X
UB44 (1982) - The Prisoner
UB40 Live (1982) - Sardonicus
Labour Of Love (1983) - She Caught The Train
Geffery Morgan (1984) - D.U.B.
Baggariddim (1985) - Demonstrate by Admiral Jerry
Rat In The Kitchen (1986) - The Elevator
UB40 (1988) - Where Did I Go Wrong?
Labour Of Love II (1989) - Kingston Town
Tags: ali; astro; brian; earl; jimmy; mickey

UB40: A Critique by Gary Watton
A couple of months ago I rescued about eighty of my old vinyl albums from almost ten years of captivity in my late mother's attic. (Actually, she's never late nor even dead.) Anyhow, I have proceeded to re-acquaint myself with the music that entertained me during my 'bedroom years' of bygone days of yore. In the last ten days I have bravely endured my collection of UB40 LPs. Regrettably, I now find such product rather dreary and uninspiring from a combo that I once held in the highest esteem in my mistaken youth.
What strikes me most about this Brummie outfit is the unremitting politicising, pontificating, preaching, and downright gloom that characterises the large majority of their own compositions. They basically set the tone on their debut album with the delightfully cheerful 'Burden Of Shame' (a critique of British imperialism) and well ever since, their output has been almost exclusively a musical rant. Each track appears to remind us that capitalism is wicked and poverty is wicked and Apartheid is wicked and inequality is wicked and racism is wicked. Oh come on fellas. Change the record, please. You don't have to perpetually persuade me of such dogma. The truth is: I believe you, and indeed most of your listeners are presumably equally sympathetic. I doubt whether the UBs feature prominently amongst the musical preferences of bankers, financiers, and racists!
The only occasions when UB40 mercifully strayed from the tiresome evangelising was when they ventured into the territory of cover versions of classic reggae love songs on the outstanding 'Labour Of Love' project and its inferior successor, 'Labour Of Love II'. There has probably been a mark III and maybe even a IV. Happily, I am blissfully unaware of the group's post-1990 material, with the exception of the awful karaoke rendition of Elvis's 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (a 1993 UK chart-topper which just about sums up the poor musical taste of the British record-buying public.) Oh yes, I did chance upon a new UB40 offering from 2005, 'Who You Fighting For?' which the Mail On Sunday (or possibly the Daily Malice) cruelly supplied as a freebie to every lucky (or unlucky) reader. Not surprisingly (to quote another west Midlands singer, Mr Robert Plant) "the song remains the same". Unfortunately, the Campbells and their cronies just cannot resist the temptation to revisit the same old themes in almost every track.
Not surprisingly, my favourite UB40 tunes hail from their earliest days when they treated the listener to a whole array of fine reggae instrumentals on their debut 'Signing Off'. Then they atoned for the typically depressing 'Present Arms' project by releasing the marvellous (and largely undiscovered gem) of 'Present Arms In Dub' when the lads jettisoned the left-wing wailing and merely provided the tunes in instrumental dub versions.
In my semi-humble opinion, the UBs missed a trick when they failed to take a leaf out of the book of their contemporaries Madness or such luminaries as the Kinks by providing observations of modern life and the quirky individuals that they encountered along the way. Whilst Madness delivered the anecdotal 'Bed And Breakfast Man' and 'Mrs Hutchinson', UB40 were providing the non-joyful 'One In Ten' and 'Don't Do The Crime'. However, don't get me wrong. UB40 have composed the occasional gem. 'Tyler' was a worthwhile tribute to an unjustly convicted murderer, Gary Tyler. However, their song-writing formula almost always seems to be confined to pouring scorn at the same old injustices. The gang rarely stretch their creativity towards mini-dramas and soap operas about everyday people and places and events. The guys may be uneducated [a fact that they certainly don't hide] but you don't need to have gone to Oxbridge to be able to compose a variety of very different songs about a whole range of non-political subjects.
When UB40 did wander into film-making with their half-hour 'Labour Of Love' movie, the result was distinctly drab. The flick lacked any originality and culminated in a scene of police brutality and racism that even the most ardent Trotskyite dramatist might not have conceived for a Channel Four late-night production. The only redeeming feature was the glorious video to the perennial favourite, 'Red Red Wine' in which Ali comes to the pub to meet the woman of his dreams, only to find her arrive afterwards with his brother [and rival]. As if that isn't bad enough, Ali gets his car keys nicked whilst being hoodwinked at the bar by a couple of chancers, masquerading as friends. All of this would be enough to drive anyone to drink, and Ali C doesn't disappoint, as he ends the tune doing a fine impersonation of a drunk, down on his luck, being helped home by his Dad. T'was superb stuff.
For me, UB40 were okay musically until they added the brass sounds of the Tenyue brothers in the mid-80s which only succeeded in drowning out Robin's lead guitar and Mickey Virtue's fine keyboards. Admittedly, the big brass sound of the poptastic 'If It Happens Again' was a glorious exception, but thereafter the band just got submerged in an over-reliance on brass instrumentation.
Sorry UB40, but I have long since fallen out of love with you. Perhaps this is symptomatic of a 'maturing' codger who is no longer easily impressed by anyone or anything, musical or otherwise.
Yours Insincerely,
Gary Watton (a former fan)

UB40: A Critique by Gary Watton
A couple of months ago I rescued about eighty of my old vinyl albums from almost ten years of captivity in my late mother's attic. (Actually, she's never late nor even dead.) Anyhow, I have proceeded to re-acquaint myself with the music that entertained me during my 'bedroom years' of bygone days of yore. In the last ten days I have bravely endured my collection of UB40 LPs. Regrettably, I now find such product rather dreary and uninspiring from a combo that I once held in the highest esteem in my mistaken youth.
What strikes me most about this Brummie outfit is the unremitting politicising, pontificating, preaching, and downright gloom that characterises the large majority of their own compositions. They basically set the tone on their debut album with the delightfully cheerful 'Burden Of Shame' (a critique of British imperialism) and well ever since, their output has been almost exclusively a musical rant. Each track appears to remind us that capitalism is wicked and poverty is wicked and Apartheid is wicked and inequality is wicked and racism is wicked. Oh come on fellas. Change the record, please. You don't have to perpetually persuade me of such dogma. The truth is: I believe you, and indeed most of your listeners are presumably equally sympathetic. I doubt whether the UBs feature prominently amongst the musical preferences of bankers, financiers, and racists!
The only occasions when UB40 mercifully strayed from the tiresome evangelising was when they ventured into the territory of cover versions of classic reggae love songs on the outstanding 'Labour Of Love' project and its inferior successor, 'Labour Of Love II'. There has probably been a mark III and maybe even a IV. Happily, I am blissfully unaware of the group's post-1990 material, with the exception of the awful karaoke rendition of Elvis's 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (a 1993 UK chart-topper which just about sums up the poor musical taste of the British record-buying public.) Oh yes, I did chance upon a new UB40 offering from 2005, 'Who You Fighting For?' which the Mail On Sunday (or possibly the Daily Malice) cruelly supplied as a freebie to every lucky (or unlucky) reader. Not surprisingly (to quote another west Midlands singer, Mr Robert Plant) "the song remains the same". Unfortunately, the Campbells and their cronies just cannot resist the temptation to revisit the same old themes in almost every track.
Not surprisingly, my favourite UB40 tunes hail from their earliest days when they treated the listener to a whole array of fine reggae instrumentals on their debut 'Signing Off'. Then they atoned for the typically depressing 'Present Arms' project by releasing the marvellous (and largely undiscovered gem) of 'Present Arms In Dub' when the lads jettisoned the left-wing wailing and merely provided the tunes in instrumental dub versions.
In my semi-humble opinion, the UBs missed a trick when they failed to take a leaf out of the book of their contemporaries Madness or such luminaries as the Kinks by providing observations of modern life and the quirky individuals that they encountered along the way. Whilst Madness delivered the anecdotal 'Bed And Breakfast Man' and 'Mrs Hutchinson', UB40 were providing the non-joyful 'One In Ten' and 'Don't Do The Crime'. However, don't get me wrong. UB40 have composed the occasional gem. 'Tyler' was a worthwhile tribute to an unjustly convicted murderer, Gary Tyler. However, their song-writing formula almost always seems to be confined to pouring scorn at the same old injustices. The gang rarely stretch their creativity towards mini-dramas and soap operas about everyday people and places and events. The guys may be uneducated [a fact that they certainly don't hide] but you don't need to have gone to Oxbridge to be able to compose a variety of very different songs about a whole range of non-political subjects.
When UB40 did wander into film-making with their half-hour 'Labour Of Love' movie, the result was distinctly drab. The flick lacked any originality and culminated in a scene of police brutality and racism that even the most ardent Trotskyite dramatist might not have conceived for a Channel Four late-night production. The only redeeming feature was the glorious video to the perennial favourite, 'Red Red Wine' in which Ali comes to the pub to meet the woman of his dreams, only to find her arrive afterwards with his brother [and rival]. As if that isn't bad enough, Ali gets his car keys nicked whilst being hoodwinked at the bar by a couple of chancers, masquerading as friends. All of this would be enough to drive anyone to drink, and Ali C doesn't disappoint, as he ends the tune doing a fine impersonation of a drunk, down on his luck, being helped home by his Dad. T'was superb stuff.
For me, UB40 were okay musically until they added the brass sounds of the Tenyue brothers in the mid-80s which only succeeded in drowning out Robin's lead guitar and Mickey Virtue's fine keyboards. Admittedly, the big brass sound of the poptastic 'If It Happens Again' was a glorious exception, but thereafter the band just got submerged in an over-reliance on brass instrumentation.
Sorry UB40, but I have long since fallen out of love with you. Perhaps this is symptomatic of a 'maturing' codger who is no longer easily impressed by anyone or anything, musical or otherwise.
Yours Insincerely,
Gary Watton (a former fan)

SCUM by the commentator Gary Watton
I was watching one of my favourite films the other night, 'The French Connection'. There is a remarkable scene mid-film in which Charnier and his heroin-smuggling associate are both seated in a New York restaurant, indulging themselves in helpings of fine wine and cuisine, like a couple of respectable bourgeois gents. However, this duo represent evil. Across the road, sheltering from an icy cold winter's day in the Big Apple is detective Popeye Doyle and his partner Cloudy Russo. These guys purportedly represent the forces for good, namely the law. Well, the good guys are huddled in a doorway, drinking tea from a plastic cup. This scene is something of a microcosm of modern society as it expertly reminds us how perverse our world is. The criminals are enjoying an extravagant lifestyle while the law-abiding, hard-working souls suffer hardship by comparison. This regrettable disparity must not be allowed to prevail - but it does.
Meanwhile, I was particularly struck by a characteristic outpouring of vitriol from Kelvin Mackenzie, the fomer tabloid newspaper editor, who was appearing on 'Pienaar's Politics' on Radio Five Dead. Motormouth Mackenzie described the looting and rioting perpetrators during the street disturbances of early August 2011 as "scum." There may be some validity to such a remark, but I would venture to suggest that such an unenviable epithet need not be confined to the so-called 'feral underclass'.
Fast-forwarding to recent days, the British nation (and beyond) has been treated to the unedifying spectacle of Nigella Lawson and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi having their dirty linen washed very publicly, at Isleworth Crown Court to be precise. From the court proceedings we learn that Charles Saatchi appears to be a horrible, nasty, vindictive megalomaniac (perhaps not a new discovery for those in the know). Futhermore, we are also informed that Nigella's pampered lifestyle features a regular intake of such substances as cocaine. Now, Nigella isn't the first and won't be the last rich bitch to partake of some illegal, naughty 'medication', so her misbehaviour is scarcely exceptional. However, what is more revealing is just how trashy the lives of the wealthy and famous really are. I guess that there have been sufficient tabloid exposures since Profumo's scandal in 1963 to reinforce this. Maybe indifferent Joe Public has grown immune to the shock value of such sensational stuff. Well, for me, the sorry episode of Lawson and Saatchi's private lives perfectly encapsulates the fact that when you strip away the glossy veneer of the opulence of the rich and assorted celebrities, one finds murky, trashy lives lurking underneath. I would therefore argue that people who present themselves in slick suits, shirt, and tie, and elegant frocks and gowns are probably at least as scummy as the 'feral underclass'.
Mick Jagger once sang "raise your glass to the hard-working people/say a prayer for the lowly at birth" in the excellent 'Salt Of The Earth'. I totally concur. Meanwhile, it is high time that people woke up to the fact that our so-called superiors and the high-fliers in our society and expenses-claiming fraudulent members of the Establishment are indeed just as worthy of the word "scum." Of course, one could go further and state that our greedy financiers, politicos , and bankers are on a par with pedophiles - or is such a comparison too harsh and disrespectful towards child molesters?
Tags: cocaine; lawson; opulence; saatchi

GOD, I FORGIVE YOU
I am now the wrong side of forty and I do not have the blessings of a partner. I do not have the blessings of any children either. Admittedly, I had a ‘respectable’ career once upon a time but I ruined it, but the God of second chances has chosen not to furnish me with a second chance. I also used to have a lot of money but through the march of time I frittered it away on gambling and on property investments that backfired. Again the God of second chances has apparently gone missing. You also allowed my daddy to be taken away from me at the age of fifty from cancer. I am left with few friends, no brothers, no car, no nothing. You even sent your son to die a horrible, torturous death apparently because I am such a bad person, thereby making me feel guilty that Jesus had to suffer such an agonising ordeal. You expect me to sit in church and suffer folk who humour me and patronise me [while inside they are thinking "Thank God that I'm not in his sad shoes".]
Maybe I didn’t sing loud enough in church. Maybe I didn’t pray in the right tone of voice all those numerous times when You refused to grant my prayer requests. Maybe I didn’t put enough money in the collection plate. Maybe I’m the only person who ever went to bible study and spoke impressively, but whose life has been a paragon of hypocrisy. Gee, I must be the only person in world history whose Christianity was a bunch of empty words. [Surely not?!] Maybe my angels who have apparently been sent to watch over me aren’t up to the job. Maybe when I ‘repented’ and said sorry, I didn’t really mean it. Maybe I’m just a cruel, evil, nasty son of a bitch, and everyone else around me is a model citizen, a shining beacon of morality and righteousness.
Oh well, whatever the reason for the absence of your blessings, Father, I forgive You!
Tags: cursed; divine intervention

CHRISTMAS FAVOURITES - Gary Watton
We all have different taste buds and a variety of preferences. This is all the more evident at Christmas time when we are subjected to a vast range of seasonal stuff on the airwaves and in the shops which can diplomatically be divided into the good, the bad, and the ugly! Sorry folks but I cannot tolerate Slade's 'Merry Christmas Everybody' or Shakin Stevens' 'Merry Christmas Everyone' or Cliff Richard's twee 'Mistletoe And Wine'. Even more cringeworthy are the Christmas material from Frank Sinatra or Bob Dylan and other American dross from yesteryear, not to mention updated versions of old classics. Here is a 'chart' of the dozen Yuletide tunes [in order of appearance] that I find are most worthy of airplay each November/December:
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John and Yoko [1971]
I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake [1975]
When A Child Is Born by Johnny Mathis [1976]
Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord by Boney M [1978]
Stop The Cavalry by Jona Lewie [1980]
2000 Miles by the Pretenders [1983]
Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid [1984]
Last Christmas by Wham! [1984]
Fairytale Of New York by the Pogues [1987]
Keeping The Dream Alive by Freiheit [1988]
Saviour's Day by Cliff Richard [1990]
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey [1994]
In terms of albums, there is only one Christmas LP that counts and that is 'Twelve Songs Of Christmas' by the late Jim Reeves. Everything else attempted since is a poor imitation.
Personally, I feel that 'Fairytale Of New York' is good, but over-rated. Nevertheless, I must concur with the sentiments of the late Kirsty MacColl: "Happy Christmas? Your arse. I pray God it's our last."

An All-Ireland Soccer Team Is A Must
The dismal, not to say embarrassing, recent failures of both
Northern Ireland and their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland has
convincingly persuaded me that drastic surgery is required to heal the
sick men of Europe. Passing the managerial baton back and forth to
various hapless managers has clearly not worked on either side of the
border. In defence of the poor, wealthy managers, they can only do so
much with what they are provided with. There is after all no rich
sugar daddy owners or transfer windows at their disposal, so room for
manoeuvre is extremely limited. Northern Ireland in particular is
handicapped by a scarcity of footballing manpower, while in the
Republic, soccer must compete against the popular GAA for the
attention of the young. Furthermore, rugby union throughout the island
probably attracts more youngsters than was the case in previous
decades. Even the profile of Irish cricket has been elevated over the
last half a dozen years by the exploits of the national team at the
cricket World Cup.
     Not surprisingly, the six northern counties is seemingly unable
to supply the footballing superstars of yesteryear. The days when
Northern Ireland could produce high quality performers such as a Best
or a Jennings or a McIlroy are long gone. Nowadays, top English
players are struggling to get selected each week for the top English
teams, so what chance have the humble journeymen of Northern Ireland
got in such circumstances? Consequently, the majority of Northern
Ireland's squad are drawn from mediocre lower league clubs. This
speaks volumes for the calibre of players that we are offering these
days. Where once we had Armstrong or Blanchflower of Tottenham
Hotspur, Neill, Nelson and Rice of Arsenal, and Gregg, McGrath,
McCreery, Nicholl, and Whiteside of Manchester United, we can no
longer foresee the cream of English soccer acquiring Northern Irish
players. Most recent Northern Ireland teams would struggle in the SPL
or the English Championship. Most of the Northern Irish team would
struggle to be known or recognised by the next-door neighbour, let
alone the wider footballing public.
     The solution has to be an all-Ireland one. Regrettably, clinging
on to a separate Northern Ireland team is logic-defying and is a
manifestation of a sectarian undercurrent that will have no truck with
any vestige of Irish unity. This is all the more ridiculous when one
observes that we have a long-standing and thriving tradition of
all-Ireland cricket and rugby union teams. The existence of such
thirty-two counties sporting outfits has not led to the walls caving
in on Northern Ireland or the six counties being invaded by the forces
of the Vatican, so please let sanity prevail and combine the dubious
strengths of the six counties with the rest of the island into an
all-Ireland team. In fact, there was an all-Ireland team until about
1950. It needs to be revived, as two separate teams are merely
hopeless also-rans on the international soccer stage, and any
pipedream that Northern Ireland can revive the glories of 1958 or 1982
is delusional in the extreme.
     So why doesn't the IFA of the six counties and the Republic's FAI
join together in unholy matrimony? I don't know if the FAI has any
burning desire for such a move, but certainly north of the border, the
rationale for remaining separate and adopting a Sinn Fein attitude of
'ourselves alone' is itself irrational. About half of the grassroots
supporters unfortunately view a day or night out at Windsor Park as a
boozing session 'with the lads'. I've seen the loyal Northern Ireland
supporters on a number of occasions congregating at the junction of
Tates Avenue and the Lisburn Road, bedecked with scarves, football
tops, and oh yes the obligatory cans of beer. To remove the
'privilege' of huddling together en masse in south Belfast at various
times in the year would merely deprive certain northern citizens of
the opportunity of a good old piss-up. Mind you, they could still
avail themselves of Dublin's hostelries, which admittedly are
considerably more expensive.
     As for the 'top brass' of the IFA, this organisation will cling
on to its status for dear life. It's a mirror situation of the
northern unionists who would not wish to cede their hegemony at
Stormont and join the ranks in the Dail because they would be
transformed from big fish in a small pond to small fish in a bigger
pond. By the same token, the same political considerations condition
the IFA's attitude. They want to dictate their own neanderthal ideas
about soccer to the six counties. They do not wish to be subordinate
to an all-Ireland body where they would not possess the same
influence. Furthermore, Linfield Football Club has benefited a little
too well from being the hostess of Norn Iron internationals, and so
the unique status of Linfield must be preserved by various
self-interested parties. It simply wouldn't do to merge avec the
Republic's FAI. It might be deemed as an equivalent of turkeys voting
for Christmas.
     However, the bottom line is that toothless Northern Ireland
cannot even overcome the perennial punchbags of Luxembourg. Our
players are merely seconded to lower league clubs. We do not have the
assembly line of future superstars nor the resources. The writing is
on the wall for the IFA. They are but a cabal that desperately avoids
facing the grim reality that their national team is now little more
than the international equivalent of a non-league team. An all-Ireland
soccer team is not another step towards the unification of Ireland nor
an erosion of Ulster's so-called culture. It's a common sense step to
ensure that soccer supporters north and south can have a team worth
cheering on. If we can do it in cricket and rugby union, then why
doesn't soccer step into the brave new world too?

The 2013 County Championship: A Review
I tried to have this study published by The Nightwatchman publication, but Matt suggested that it was too "stats-focused". Of course, if an eminent member of the cricket media had compiled this report, he may have found it perfectly acceptable. C'est la vie, mes amis. Happy browsing, fellow cricket anoraks!
Statistics rarely lie, and with this in mind, I have lovingly compiled various facts and figures which go some way to explain why the Division One of the 2013 County Championship ended as it did. The tables underneath focus upon bonus points, while I have also studied and revealed which counties possessed the best opening partnerships. I do take the view that a first-wicket stand can be crucial in laying the foundations for a competitive innings, so it might be of considerable use to the various protagonists to take heed of my findings. Obviously, the opening pair in any encounter face the perils of the new ball in demanding conditions which sometimes favour the bowler. Therefore, it is perfectly understandable that one of the opening batsmen may succumb early in his innings. This explains the plethora of single figure first-wicket stands that each county has incurred.
OPENING PARTNERSHIPS 
Derbyshire: 4 fifties; no tons; highest: 89; 13 single figure scores; 652 runs at an average of 21.7
Durham: 3 fifties; 2 tons; highest: 125; 13 single figure scores; 822 runs at an average of 27.4
Middlesex: 3 fifties; 5 tons; highest: 259; 8 single figure scores; 1255 runs at an average of 52.3
Nottinghamshire: 4 fifties; 1 ton; highest: 105; 12 single figure scores; 715 runs at an average of 27.5
Somerset: 6 fifties; 1 ton; highest: 103; 6 single figure scores; 1026 runs at an average of 34.2
Surrey: 4 fifties; 1 ton; highest: 171; 13 single figure scores; 693 runs at an average of 26.7  
Sussex: 4 fifties, 4 tons; highest: 163; 7 single figure scores; 1132 runs at an average of 41.9
Warwickshire; 1 fifty; 6 tons; highest: 153;  6 single figure scores; 1107 runs at an average of 46.1
Yorkshire: 2 fifties; 1 ton; highest: 126; 9 single figure scores; at an average of 24.3
It was quite startling to discover that Middlesex were head and shoulders above les autres, with Warwickshire and Sussex also recording healthy first-wicket averages. Paradoxically, Yorkshire accumulated more batting bonus points than anyone else in spite of possessing a welter of mediocre opening partnerships. The County Champions, Durham, certainly did not have too many opening partnerships of note, but their strengths lay elsewhere.
OPENING WICKET AVERAGES TABLE
Middlesex 52.3
Warwickshire 46.1
Sussex 41.9
Somerset 34.2
Nottinghamshire 27.5
Durham 27.4
Surrey 26.7
Yorkshire 24.3
Derbyshire 21.7
In spite of boasting the best opening partnerships in the County Championship, Middlesex were less successful at converting their good starts into many batting bonus points. This obviously amounts to one of two explanations: Either their best opening partnerships occurred in the second innings or more likely that the rest of the batting line-up proved more fragile and less able to capitalise upon good starts. This surely must provide food for thought for the north Londoners.
Yorkshire by contrast did not benefit from many good opening partnerships but were instead able to draw upon a strength in depth in their batting formation, as their middle order batsmen of Ballance and Rashid [and Bairstow when available] rescued the team. Consequently, Yorkshire amassed most batting bonus points in spite of having less than impressive opening partnerships.
Durham, rather surprisingly, were well down the batting bonus points list, but clearly their potency derives from a knack of bowling teams out twice.
BATTING BONUS POINTS
Yorkshire 49
Nottinghamshire 47
Sussex 45
Warwickshire 37
Durham/Surrey 36
Somerset 33
Middlesex 32
Derbyshire 31
Let us examine the table that not surprisingly reveals the county champions of Durham as the most lethal in terms of acquiring bowling bonus points. Graham Onions and the gang excelled themselves at bowling most teams out twice, hence the county's impressive haul of ten wins from their sixteen fixtures. Moreover, Durham also accumulated a staggering forty-six bowling bonus points from a maximum of 48. Herein lies the deadly secret to their success. It's not that Durham were less competent at batting, yet when one observes the assorted batting statistics above, it is clear that Durham did not stand head and shoulders above the other counties in the categories already listed - far from it. Secondly, it is also worth noting that the two demoted teams, Derbyshire and Surrey did also finish at the foot of the bowling bonus points table. Clearly, a successful bowling unit is most necessary to thrive in the premier division of the County Championship.
BOWLING BONUS POINTS
Durham 46
Warwickshire 42
Somerset 41
Nottinghamshire 40
Middlesex/Sussex/Yorkshire 39
Surrey 37
Derbyshire 34
The table below for the combined bonus points does underline how adrift Derbyshire were in terms of their first-innings performances and when you loiter many points below les autres, then there is extra pressure to make amends by winning as many matches as possible. Sadly for Derbyshire, they could not win enough matches and collect the crucial sixteen points on offer to redeem themselves for their inability to amass sufficient bonus points. Not surprisingly, their bonus points deficiency was a huge contributory factor in the county being relegated back to Division Two, one year after winning the Division Two league.
COMBINED BONUS POINTS
Yorkshire 88
Nottinghamshire 87
Sussex 84
Durham 82
Warwickshire 79
Somerset 74
Surrey 73
Middlesex 71
Derbyshire 65
Finally, the following facts make for interesting reading, thinks me:
1. Durham lost more matches than Sussex, Warwickshire, and Yorkshire, but still comfortably won the County Championship. The moral of this story is that wins are infinitely more preferable to honourable draws that yield far less points.
2. The two teams at the summit of Division One did win more matches than their counterparts. This again underlines the desperate need to win matches and obtain the sixteen points for such an achievement. 
3. The two teams at the foot of the final table lost more matches than anyone else, so clearly they were more vulnerable than their competitors and most likely to be bowled out twice. Their relegation was therefore 'merited'.
4. Derbyshire won more matches than Somerset [who finished two places above them] and as many matches as Nottinghamshire [who finished above them too]. However, Derbyshire's undoing was a distinct lack of bonus points which suggests that their first innings performances were not up to scratch.
5. Middlesex also won more matches than Sussex and Warwickshire who were perched above them. Again, as a mirror of the Derbyshire situation, Middlesex finished fifth and not third because they did not record enough bonus points to match their haul of six wins.

BRITAIN'S NANNY STATE by Gary Watton
In recent weeks, I have taken the liberty of emailing each and every one of the 650 Members of Parliament. It has been something of an eye-opener for this slow learner. For example, did you know that MPs are not permitted or required to reply to correspondence from non-constituents. Therefore, it is a bit difficult for amateur lobbyists such as yours truly when Mr, Mrs or Miss Elected Representative is unable and/or unwilling to respond. Nevertheless, some parliamentarians (bless them) did take the bait and had the courage and/or decency to grant my emails an answer. To cut a long and exciting (sic) story short, I suggested to the Westminster elite that each of the three main political parties (alternatively described by belligerent George Galloway as "three cheeks of the same bum") were reportedly bereft of ideas and policy proposals. Consequently, being the helpful young (sic) citizen that I am, I proceeded to make the foliticians aware of my manifesto as located lovingly at gw930.blog.com/manifesto
I wasn't remotely surprised that those who browsed through my 'manifesto' replied that there were some ideas that met with their approval and other proposals that did not. This is precisely how I feel about their manifestos too. There are various bits in each party manifesto which are appealing to me and there are others which are considerably more unattractive to my beautiful mind. In a nutshell, I am a radical whose ideas transcend the apparent ideological differences on planet politics. If one were to observe my various blogs revealing the Greedy Bastards of Great Britain, it would be apparent to the lucky reader that I have leftist tendencies. However, I am ultimately a square peg, because I also possess ideas which belong further to the right of the political spectrum. For instance, I am appalled by Britain's nanny state and wholeheartedly endorse the Conservative Party's attempts to improve and reform the benefits system and the rotting welfare state. In fact, my strong feelings about the dependency culture is uppermost in my mind in terms of determining my voting preference at the next national beauty contest in 2015.
Well, various raspberries were blown by the usual suspects at the Conservative Party Conference's most recent welfare reform proposals. The Daily Mirror [a perpetual apologist for benefits exploiters and trade unions that have a grudge against the Conservatives], fronted by its jocular Geordie Mr Kevin Maguire mischievously suggested that the Conservatives' 'earn or learn' scheme in which innocent, little unemployed wretches could be condemned to spending every weekday at the local job centre was a return to the bad old days of the dreaded workhouse. A number of others from the Left as well as representatives of soft touch organisations were equally keen to scoff at the imminent reforms.
Perhaps this reveals the flawed nature of Brits (and others elsewhere) that we are frequently resistant to change. Could it be that most people are conservative in so far as many and indeed any proposed reforms from our political superiors are opposed because they represent upheaval and oblige folk to evacuate the complacency and safety of their comfort zones and embrace the great unknown of change. However, we all need to improve ourselves and our society, and progress can only be achieved via change. This represents the great conundrum of modern society in that change is something of a terrifying concept. Admittedly, there is a maxim that if it ain't broken then it don't need changed. Regrettably, mankind is damaged, and Britain (and elsewhere) is "broken", so the bitter pill of change has to be swallowed by a multitude of reluctant patients.
Anyhow, I have digressed somewhat. The thing is that when benefits reform is proposed, one can be pretty damn sure that the media will wheel out one or two hard luck cases whose lives will be totally undermined by amendments to the welfare state. I admit wholeheartedly that there are people whose lives are characterised by poverty which is not of their making. However, I do also contend that there are many more who benefit a little too well from benefits. I invite any leftist and liberal and naive soft touch personage to visit all the betting shops and public houses in their locality, wherein they will find a whole host of gents who are clearly not working and yet who are able to splash the cash. How can this be? Have they all taken an early retirement? Have they all won the National Lottery? Or could it be that they are some of the recipients of welfare which has enabled them, I repeat, to benefit a little too well from benefits.
I believe that it is increasingly erroneous to use the term "benefits" because there appears to be a plethora of folk who do indeed benefit a little too well from benefits. Perhaps it would be more apt to describe state aid in future as "assistance", provided that it does actually and exclusively assist the deserving poor, rather than fund the dubious lifestyle of the idle. Furthermore, it might well be worth visiting the local council estate to discover just how many houses of the apparent down-at-heel have television satellite dishes and good quality cars parked outside. It might be an eye-opener or at least an uncomfortable truth for the Guardian, the Daily Mirror and other apologists of welfare exploiters to discover precisely how many people are able to drive up and down their local roads, all day, every day, in good cars, funded by a regular supply of fuel, car insurance, and car tax. Can it be humanly possible that such people are impoverished and living on the breadline, or is it closer to reality to ascertain that there are many people who are taking the urine by exploiting the benefits system and laughing all the way to the bank.
Of course, what is most sickening of all is that there are numerous genuinely poor people working in horrible minimum wage jobs who are indeed struggling to cope and maintain any semblance of a quality of life whilst benefits exploiters are enjoying an idle lifestyle at the expense of hard-working and low-paid taxpayers. Why does the British welfare state reward the idle and penalise the hard-working, low-paid workers?
The trouble with the Labour Party is that they prize the welfare state to such an extent that they often refuse to entertain any benefit reforms. The party prides itself with having established the welfare state in the latter half of the turbulent 1940s, and therefore feels obliged to conserve [that word again] this flawed 'institution'. However, now that Labour has been killing the hospitals and schools with kindness and allowing exploiters to run rings around the benefits system, the party has instead presided over the creation of a nanny state. Britain is indeed broken, but I sincerely believe that welfare reforms and benefits adjustments are absolutely crucial to repair the damage to our decaying nation.

PAUL DACRE: A MAN WHO HATES BRITAIN
Like most 'normal' people, I was repelled by the latest dirty trick from the grotesque, self-righteous, holier-than-thou Daily Mail. This organ of hate against the Left chose to pick a fight avec Ed Miliband, the Leader of the Opposition. To do so, this reptilian newspaper launched an unprovoked attack upon Ed's dead father, the respected Marxist intellectual, Ralph Miliband. It is a low tactic to pour scorn upon an individual who is sadly unable to defend himself. Adding insult to injury, the humourless Daily Mail spewed forth a pun in poor taste about the grave of the late Mr Miliband. I would dearly love to see how the awful bully Paul Dacre and his Mail minions would react if the gravestones of their dead loved ones were published with accompanying puns. Yes, herein lies one of the plethora of fundamental flaws of the Daily Mail: they are experts at dishing out hostility but are less disposed towards anyone who dares to confront them or regulate them.
Nick Clegg was correct when he stated that the Daily Mail is responsible for overwhelming bile against the British people. It was Nick's greatest remark. However while immediately listing those groups that this viewspaper denounces, Mr Clegg generously omitted immigrants, benefits claimants, and people who go on strike amongst the multitudes that the Daily Malice despises. Meanwhile Alan Sugar is equally spot-on in his observation that the Daily Mail are "nasty, nasty people". Alastair Campbell is also accurate to assert that the Daily Mail is poisonous. What irks me is how they published a vicious attack upon the Milibands and then lacked the courage to face the broadcasting media, with the exception of Jon Steafel's feeble performance on 'Newsnight'. Steafel's obvious impotence under cross-examination typifies the Daily Mail: a rabble of disapproving journos who mercilessly launch vitriol and stamp upon anyone that they take exception to whilst courageously doing so from behind their computer screens. It is abundantly clear that they dare not leave the refuge of their comfort zone and engage in debate. The activities of the foul-mouthed Paul Dacre and his cowardly cronies are that of a bully.
It's hugely ironic how Dacre and his agents of hate campaign for tough laws and yet are terrified of press regulation. Human nature is so flawed that we all need boundaries. Why should the deluded hypocrites of the Daily Mail be exempt?!

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain
See also aftu.webgarden.com
The following hall of shame is derived from the Town Hall Rich List of 2013 as published by the very worthwhile Taxpayers' Alliance. The listed greedy bastards are all employees of Scottish councils. If I was a Scottish voter at local elections, I would be making my views quite clear about the disgusting siphoning of public funds towards a select group of selfish individuals. Is it acceptable for ratespayers money to be allocated away from public services to feather the nest of such pigs? Surely not? I would advocate a campaigh of civil disobedience to defy the councils that waste public money so irresponsibly. As far as I am concerned, the wealth-worshippers below are my enemies.
Fergus Chambers; Managing Director of Cordia, Glasgow: £394,719
Gerry Gormal; Executive Director of Development and Regeneration Services at Glasgow council: £271,203
Stuart Nichol; Executive Director of Environment & Development at Fife council: £241,636
Ronald Hinds; Chief Executive of Fife council: £211,817
Alistair Dodds; Chief Executive of Highland council: £197,729
Malcolm Close; Operations Director of SEC Limited, Glasgow: £192,214
Gavin Whitefield; Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire council: £190,226
Geoff Lewis; Managing Director of Dumfries and Galloway First: £186,653
Russell Ellerby; Assistant Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire council: £185,368
Ben Goedegebuure; Sales Director of SEC Limited, Glasgow: £182,343
Gordon Lawson; Director of Support Services at Dumfries and Galloway council: £176,134
Tony Fitzpatrick; Director of Economic Regeneration at Dumfries and Galloway council: £172,285
David K Dorward; Chief Executive of Dundee City council: £171,599
Peter Duthie; Commercial Director of SEC Limited, Glasgow: £169,294
Annemarie O'Donnell; Executive Director of Corporate Services at Glasgow council: £166,505
Mary Pitcaithly; Chief Executive of Falkirk council: £164,207
Billy McFadyen; Finance Director of SEC Limited, Glasgow: £163,046
Elma Murray; Chief Executive of North Ayrshire council: £162,180
Lynn Brown; Executive Director of Financial Services at Glasgow council: £161,375
Bridget McConnell; Chief Executive of Culture and Sport at Glasgow council: £157,425
David Crawford; Executive Director of Social Care Services at Glasgow council: £153,890
Alan Geddes; Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Finance at Highland council: £150,979
F Lees; Chief Executive at East Ayrshire council: £150,647
Maureen McKenna; Executive Director of Education Services at Glasgow council: £147,402
Gerry Cornes; Chief Executive of East Dunbartonshire council: £146,901
Alistair Crichton; Executive Director of Finance & Customer Services at North Lanarkshire council: £145,892
Alex Jannetta; Director of Finance at Falkirk council: £145,699
Mary Castles; Executive Director of Housing & Social Work Services at North Lanarkshire council: £145,656
Paul Jukes; Executive Director of Environmental Services at North Lanarkshire council: £145,524
Steve Barron; Director of Housing & Property and Chief Executive at Highland council: £143,455
J Mundell; Chief Executive of Inverclyde council: £141,752
K Lawrie; Chief Executive of Midlothian council: £136,899
Alan Blackie; former Chief Executive of East Lothian council: £136,815
William Alexander; Director of Social Work and Director of Health and Social Care at Highland council; £136,642
Stuart Black; Director of Planning, Environment and Development at Highland council: £136,642
Hugh Fraser; Director of Education, Culture and Sport at Highland council: £136,642
Neil Gilles; Director of Transport, Environmental and Community Services at Highland council: £136,642
Michelle Morris; Assistant Chief Executive of Highland council: £136,642
Lorraine McMillan; Chief Executive of East Renfrewshire council: £135,096
Michael Enston; Executive Director of Performance & Organisational Support at Fife council: £132,462
Kenneth Greer; Executive Director of Education at Fife council: £132,462
Steven Grimmond; Executive Director of Housing and Communities at Fife council: £132,462
Brian Livingston; Executive Director of Finance & Resources at Fife council: £132,462
Stephen Moore; Executive Director of Social Work at Fife council: £132,462
G Short; Executive Director at East Ayrshire council: £131,024
Malcolm Burr; Chief Executive of Eilean Sar council: £127,399
Scott Taylor; Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau Limited: £126,022
Diane Campbell; Director of Corporate & Customer Services at East Dunbartonshire council: £125,490
D MacKay; Director of Education & Children Services at Midlothian council: £124,853
Graham Wallace; Managing Director of City Markets, Glasgow: £124,327
E Morton; Deputy Chief Executive at East Ayrshire council: £123,752
Derek Cunningham; Director of Development & Infrastructure at East Dunbartonshire council: £123,200
A Fawcett; Corporate Director of Regeneration & Environment at Inverclyde council: £122,078
A Henderson; Corporate Director of Education & Communities at Inverclyde council: £122,078
R Murphy; Corporate Director of Community Care & Health Partnership at Inverclyde council: £122,078
A McPhee; Executive Director at East Ayrshire council: £121,639
Roddy Burns; Corporate Director of Strategic Planning & Governance at Moray council: £120,785
P Wallace; former Corporate Director of Organisational Improvement & Performance at Inverclyde council: £120,767
John Wilson; Director of Education at East Renfrewshire council: £119,963
Alain Baird; Director of Social Work at Dundee City council: £119,942
Jim Collins; Director of Education at Dundee City council: £119,942
Michael P Galloway; Director of City Development at Dundee City council: £119,942
Norman Williamson; Director of Finance at East Renfrewshire council: £119,260
Marjory Stewart; Director of Finance & Corporate Services at Dundee City council: £118,910
Andrew Cahill; Director of Environment at East Renfrewshire council: £118,807
Bruce Clark; Assessor at Fife council: £118,774
Julie Murray; Director of Community Health & Care Partnership at East Renfrewshire council: £118,737
Iona Colvin; Corporate Director of Social Services & Health at North Ayrshire council: £118,572
Carol Kirk; Corporate Director of Education & Skills at North Ayrshire council: £118,572
Alasdair Herbert; Corporate Director of Finance & Infrastructure at North Ayrshire council: £118,226
John Simmons; Director of Community Services at East Dunbartonshire council: £118,160
Stuart Ritchie; Director of Corporate & Neighbourhood Services at Falkirk council: £117,816
Pete Collins; Director of Environment at East Lothian council: £117,769
Alex McCrorie; Director of Corporate Services at East Lothian council: £117,769
Rhona Geisler; Director of Development Services at Falkirk council: £116,895
Caroline Innes; Deputy Chief Executive at East Lothian council: £116,695
Margaret Anderson; Director of Social Work Services at Falkirk council: £116,284
Monica Patterson; Director of Community Services at East Lothian council: £116,002
J Blair; Director of Corporate Resources at Midlothian council: £114,945
C Anderson; Director of Communities & Wellbeing and Executive Officer of Transformation at Midlothian council: £114,050
Anne Leonard; Solicitor to East Renfrewshire council: £113,686
Maureen Campbell; Director of Community Services at Falkirk council: £110,802
Julia Swan; Director of Education at Falkirk council: £110,349
Don Ledingham; Director of Education & Children's Services at East Lothian council: £109,919
Elaine Zwirlein; Director of Housing at Dundee City council: £109,761
E Paterson; Head of Legal and Democratic Services at Inverclyde council: £107,513
Alastair Keddie; Chief Executive of Moray council: £107,416
Ian Mackay; Solicitor to North Ayrshire council: £106,507
Stewart Murdoch; Director of Leisure & Communities at Dundee City council: £105,690
Rose Mary Glackin; Chief Governance Officer at Falkirk council: £104,896
Colin Edgar; Head of Communication and Organisational Development at Glasgow council: £104,847
Mark Palmer; Corporate Director of Corporate Services at Moray council: £103,975
Sandy Riddell; Corporate Director of Education & Social Care at Moray council: £103,912
Donald Duncan; Director of Educational Services at Moray council: £103,160
Ken Laing; Director of Environment at Dundee City council: £102,972
Murray Leys; Head of Adult Social Care at East Lothian council: £102,034
Jim Lamond; Head of Governance & Performance at East Lothian council: £101,709
David Spilsbury; Head of Finance at East Lothian council: £101,307
D Mitchell; Solicitor to East Ayrshire council: £100,991
C Houston; Chief Internal Auditor at East Ayrshire council: £100,409

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain
Before I list one hundred more greedy pigs who are exploiting the excessive generosity of various remuneration committees, may I remind the reader of the following. Any individual employed on the degrading National Minimum Wage earns typically about £11,000 per year. Any individual on Jobseekers Allowance and Housing Benefit typically receives eight or nine thousand pounds per annum. Contrast such pitiful rations with the large amounts below, and surely one can see the need for civil disobedience to confront a bureaucratic establishment that looks after itself a little too well whilst literally providing the bare minimum for the rest of the great unwashed. The allocation of huge salaries must stop!
*****SEE ALSO the website aftu.webgarden.com
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz; Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Research Council: £255,000
Paul Wilson; Chief Officer of the London Probation Trust: £240,000
A Richards; Managing Director of ETL (tie Limited): £235,836
David Bennett of the Independent Regulator of NHS foundation trusts: £230,000
Alan Langlands; Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Funding Council for England: £230,000
Neil Lloyd; Chief Executive of NHS Professionals: £230,000
Alison Nimmo; Director of Design & Regeneration at the Olympic Delivery Authority: £225,000
Hugh Summer; Director of Transport at the Olympic Delivery Authority: £225,000
Simon Wright; Director of Infrastructure & Utilities at the Olympic Delivery Authority: £225,000
Tim Byles; Chief Executive of Partnerships For Schools: £215,000
Iain Gray; Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Strategy Board: £210,000
D Murray; Commercial Director of tie Limited: £208,909
Alistair Buchanan; Chief Executive of Ofgem: £205,000
Andrew Hall; Chief Executive Officer of the Qualification Curriculum Authority: £205,000
Ralph Luck; Director of Property for the Olympic Delivery Authority: £205,000
Geoff Russell; Chief Executive Officer of the Learning and Skills Council: £205,000
R Jeffrey; Chief Executive of tie Limited: £200,463
Stephen Henwood; Chairman of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £200,000
Simon Richards; Business Delivery Director of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority: £200,000
Alan Rubenstein; Chief Executive of the Pension Protection Fund: £200,000
Andrew Altman; Chief Executive of Olympic Park Legacy Authority: £195,000
Dr Paul Leinster; Chief Executive of the Environment Agency: £195,000
Professor Michael Murphy; Clinical Director at the NHS: £195,000
Sir Denis O'Connor; HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary: £195,000
F McFadden; Infraco Director of tie Limited: £191,301
Peter Neyroud; Chief Executive Officer of the National Policing Improvement Agency: £190,000
Roger Baker of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary: £185,000
Zoe Billingham of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary: £185,000
John Clarke; Commercial Director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £185,000
Professor David Coggon; Programme Leader of the Epidemiology Research Centre: £185,000
James Morse; Director of Assurance at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £185,000
Dr Derwood Pamphilon; a Clinical Director for the NHS: £185,000
William Roberts; Chief Financial Officer at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £185,000
Malcolm Ross; Executive Director at the Olympic Park Legacy Company: £185,000
Drusilla Sharpling of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary: £185,000
John Vine; Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA: £185,000
Richard Waite; Director of Strategy & Technology at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £185,000
Stephen Walker; Chief Executive of the NHS Litigation Authority: £185,000
Andrew Dillon; Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence: £180,000
Lynda Hamlyn; Chief Executive of NHS Blood: £180,000
Stephen Hay of the Independent Regulator of NHS foundation trusts: £180,000
Dr Patricia Hewitt; Lead Consultant of NHS Blood: £180,000
Elaine Holt; Chief Executive of Directly Operated Rail: £180,000
William Hughes; Director General of the Serious Organised Crime Agency: £180,000
Professor James Neuberger; Associate Medical Director of NHS Blood: £180,000
Steve Smith; Senior Partner at Ofgem: £180,000
Andrew Wright; Senior Partner at Ofgem: £180,000
Rob Clark; Finance Director for NHS Professionals: £175,000
Professor Cyrus Cooper of the Medical Research Council: £175,000
Professor Tumani Corrah of the Medical Research Council: £175,000
Tony Hobman; Chief Executive of The Pensions Regulator: £175,000
Professor Alan Lucas of the Medical Research Council: £175,000
Dr Derek Norfolk; Consultant Haematologist of NHS Blood: £175,000
Dr Ruth Warwick; Lead Specialist of NHS Blood: £175,000
S Clark; Programme Director of tie Limited: £170,232
Professor Sir Iain Chalmers; Clinical Consultant for the Medical Research Council: £170,000
Dr Harsh Duggal of the Health Protection Agency: £170,000
Dr Noel Gill of the Health Protection Agency: £170,000
Professor Douglas Higgs; Director for the Medical Research Council: £170,000
Peter Littlejohns of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence: £170,000
Karen Webb; Executive Director for the Olympic Park Legacy Company: £170,000
John Woodward; Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council: £170,000
Sally Caplan; Head of the Premiere Fund of the UK Film Council: £165,000
Martin Clarke; Executive Director at the Pension Protection Fund: £165,000
Bernard Crump; Chief Executive of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement: £165,000
Chris Humphries; Chief Executive Officer of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills: £165,000
RS Jackson; Chief Executive Officer of the Student Loan Company: £165,000
David Jordon; Director of Operations at the Environment Agency: £165,000
Jonathan Kestenbaum; Chief Executive Officer of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts: £165,000
Zahida Manzoor; Legal Services Ombudsman: £165,000
Peter Marsh; Chief Executive of the Tenant Services Authority: £165,000
Tim Matthews; Chief Executive Officer of Remploy Limited: £165,000
Tanya Seghatchian; Head of the Development Fund of the UK Film Council: £165,000
Jenny Williams; Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission: £165,000
Gavin Stevenson; Chief Executive of Dumfries and Galloway council: £161,361
Dr Nicholas Coleman; Programme Leader and Clinical Consultant of the Medical Research Council: £160,000
RT Ennis; Director at the Homes and Communities Agency: £160,000
E Goodwin; Chief Executive of the Waste and Resources Action Programme: £160,000
Graham Holley; Chief Executive of the Training and Development Agency for Schools: £160,000
Chris Kenny; Chief Executive of the Legal Services Board: £160,000
Fergus MacBeth of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence: £160,000
Jennie Price; Chief Executive of Sport England: £160,000
Dr Christopher Rudge; National Clinical Director of NHS Blood: £160,000
Nicholas Scholte; Chief Executive Officer of the NHS Business Services Authority: £160,000
Sir Nicholas Serota; Director of Tate: £160,000
Dr John Simpson of the Health Protection Agency: £160,000
Dr Robert Spencer of the Health Protection Agency: £160,000
Steve Cowley; Chief Executive Officer of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority: £155,000
Michael Dixon; Museum Director of the Natural History Museum: £155,000
Will Evans; Head of Business Affairs at the UK Film Council: £155,000
Dr Stephen Inglis; Director at the Health Protection Agency: £155,000
D Lunts; London Regional Director of the Homes and Communities Agency: £155,000
Dr Kenneth Mutton; Consultant Virologist at the Health Protection Agency: £155,000
Alex Haswell; Director of the Chief Executive Service at Dumfries and Galloway council: £118,180
G Roberts; Finance Director of tie Limited: £123,688
Colin Grant; Director of the Education Service at Dumfries and Galloway council: £120,017
John Alexander; Director of Social Work Service at Dumfries and Galloway council: £119,464
Alistair Speedie; Director of Planning at Dumfries and Galloway Council: £115,326
Angela Leitch; Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire council: £114,319
Justin Tracy; Director of Community & Customer Services at Dumfries and Galloway council: £109,985
Lorna Meahan; Assistant Chief Executive of Dumfries and Galloway council: £103,552
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/10489120

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain; part 7
Here are one hundred more wealth-worshippers who feel that they are superior human beings. They earn at least eight times what the poor buggers on the National Minimum Wage are "awarded". Is this the kind of inequality that the UK should accept? I would advocate a national campaign of civil disobedience to challenge the grossly irresponsible allocation of public funds. Otherwise, the Chief Executives of greed and selfishness will continue to run rings around the sheepish populace. Let's resist the unfair and disproportionate distribution of salaries which are an affront to common decency and humanity.
***SEE ALSO aftu.webgarden.com
Moya Greene; Chief Executive of the Royal Mail: £1,470,000
Paula Vennells; Chief Executive of the Post Office Limited: £697,000
Malcolm Grant; Provost & President of University College London: £376,190
Richard Ackroyd; Chief Executive of Scottish Water: £336,000
Ed Richards; Chief Executive of Ofcom: £321,749
S Bell; Tram Project Director of tie Limited: £306,780
Sir Mervyn King; former Governor of the Bank of England: £305,764
Sir Paul Stephenson; Commissioner of Metropolitan Police Service: £280,489
Paul Tucker; Deputy Governor of the Bank of England: £258,114
I Coupar; Marketing Director of Lothian Buses: £251,285
Tim Godwin; Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Police Service: £246,969
S Assar; Interim Chief Executive of Luton PCT: £242,500
Mark Elms; Headteacher of Tidemill School, Lewisham: £231,400
Jonathan House; Chief Executive of Cardiff City Council: £219,159
W Devlin; Engineering Director of Lothian Buses: £218,367
Sir Norman Bettison; former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire constabulary: £217,956
Dr Gareth Goodier; Chief Executive of Cambridge University trust: £217,500
W Campbell; Operations Director of Lothian Buses: £217,240
N Strachan; Finance Director of Lothian Buses: £216,491
Lord Hamilton; Lord President of the Court of Session: £214,165
Sir Declan Morgan; Lord Chief Justice of the Northern Ireland judiciary: £214,165
Lord Neuberger; Master of the Rolls: £214,165
Lord Phillips; President of the Supreme Court: £214,165
S Baker; Chief Executive Officer of High Peak and Staffordshire Moorlands councils: £213,155
David Bennett; Chief Executive of the Sanctuary Housing Association: £213,000
John Yates; Assistant Commissioner of Metropolitan Police Service: £211,624
MV James; Chief Executive of Carmarthenshire council: £209,498
Sean Price; former Chief Constable of Cleveland constabulary: £208,691
Lord Brown; Supreme Court judge: £206,857
Lord Collins; Supreme Court judge: £206,857
Lady Hale; Supreme Court judge: £206,857
Lord Hope; Supreme Court judge: £206,857
Sir Robert Andrew Morritt; Chancellor of the High Court: £206,857
Chris Allison; Assistant Chief Constable of Metropolitan Police Service: £204,882
Mike Craik; former Chief Constable of Northumbria constabulary: £204,701
Sir Hugh Orde; former Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland: £202,500
John Belcher; Chief Executive of the Anchor Trust: £202,000
Nigel Pallace; Bi-Borough Executive Director in central London: £200,556
Jacqueline Valin; Headteacher of Southfields Community College: £198,406
Rose Fitzpatrick; Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service: £196,396
S Bruce; Chief Executive of City of Edinburgh council: £196,007
Lyn Carpenter; Bi-Borough Executive Director in central London: £195,265
Ailsa Beaton; Director of Information at the Metropolitan Police Service: £189,896
Andrew Christie; Director of Children's Services at three central London borough councils: £183,833
H Rissmann; Chief Executive of EICC: £178,191
A Buchan; Chief Executive of Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands councils: £176,919
Colin Mackenzie; Chief Executive of Aberdeenshire council: £174,409
G Tee; Director of Children and Families at City of Edinburgh council: £170,640
Valerie Watts; Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council: £170,628
A Alexander; Headteacher in Devon County Council: £165,266
T Aitchison; former Chief Executive of City of Edinburgh council: £164,717
Sir William Atkinson; Headteacher at Phoenix School, London: £160,640
Michael Cogher; Director of Legal Services at two central London borough councils: £159,412
Paul Dick; Executive Headteacher at Trinity and Kennet school: £153,829
Jeffrey Risbridger; Headteacher at Saint Cecilia's: £152,646
Kelvin Simmonds; Headteacher at Danum School, Doncaster: £152,536
D Anderson; Director of City Development at City of Edinburgh council: £150,412
J Inch; former Director of Corporate Services at City of Edinburgh council: £148,971
D McGougan; former Director of Finance at City of Edinburgh council: £148,971
M Turley; Director of Services for Communities at City of Edinburgh council: £148,971
R Stiff; Chief Executive of Angus council: £144,191
Sally Loudon; Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute council: £142,574
Brian Horsburgh; MD of Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre: £141,764
Paul Nurse; Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK: £140,000
Trefor Thomas Morgan; Chief Executive of Cardiff City Council: £139,575
David Clarke; Chief Executive of West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland councils: £132,022
Christine Gore; Director of Corporate Services at Aberdeenshire council: £131,399
Ritchie Johnson; Director of Housing and Social Work at Aberdeenshire council: £131,024
Ian Gabriel; Director of Infrastructure at Aberdeenshire council: £130,914
Sue Bruce; Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council: £129,698
R Peat; Director of Social Work and Health at Angus council: £128,083
Stewart Carruth; Director of Corporate Governance at Aberdeen City Council: £127,828
Pete Leonard; Director of Housing and Environment at Aberdeen City Council: £127,828
Fred McBride; Director of Social Care and Wellbeing at Aberdeen City Council: £127,828
Gordon McIntosh; Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure at Aberdeen City Council: £127,828
R Ashton; Director of Neighbourhood Services at Angus council: £125,409
Tim Black; Chief Executive of Marie Stopes International: £125,230
Jeremy Oppenheim; Chief Executive of Jewish Care: £125,000
N Logue; Director of Education at Angus council: £123,967
E Lowson; Director of Infrastructure Services at Angus council: £122,858
E Adair; Operations and Finance Director of the EDI Group: £121,135
M Miller; Chief Social Work Officer at City of Edinburgh council: £117,122
Annette Bruton; Director of Education, Culture and Sport at Aberdeen City Council: £116,725
Deryk Mead; Chief Executive of NCH Action for Children: £116,384
Leslie Busk; Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation: £115,000
Fiona Reynolds; Chief Executive of the National Trust: £115,000
Cleland Sneddon; Executive Director of Community Services at Argyll and Bute council: £114,905
Douglas Hendry; Executive Director of Customer Services at Argyll and Bute council: £110,947
H Robertson; Assistant Chief Executive at Angus council: £110,767
Alexander MacTaggart; Executive Director of Development at Angus council: £110,562
C McMahon; Director of Corporate Services at Angus council: £108,850
S Hunter; Head of Law and Administration at Angus council: £107,738
Roger Singleton; Chief Executive of Barnardos: £105,027
Andrew Freemantle; Chief Executive of the RNLI: £105,000
Mary Marsh; Chief Executive of the NSPCC: £105,000
Nicholas Payne; Chief Executive of English National Opera: £105,000
I Lorimer; Head of Finance at Angus council: £103,657
Belinda Greer; Joint Head of Education at Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils: £102,855
David Barrie; Chief Executive of the National Art Collections Fund: £100,000
Peter Cardy; Chief Executive of MacMillan Cancer Relief: £100,000
Source:
society.guardian.co.uk/salarysurvey/table/0,12406,1042677,00.html

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain
Here are another one hundred greedy villains who have been the recipients of excessive generosity from an unwitting public. It is remarkable how many money-grabbers have been knighted or officially recognised for their apparent greatness. Not only do the selfish swine receive a criminal volume of money but they are even applauded by the Establishment. Ultimately, the biggest crime of our time is the cavalier and irresponsible use of rates and taxes by our elected officials who award monstrous remuneration packages. I guess that the names below refuse to look a foolish gift horse in the mouth. All ratespayers should refuse to pay their rates.
*****SEE ALSO aftu.webgarden.com
Katherine Kerswell; Group Managing Director of Kent Council: £589,165
L.Hardie; Deputy Chief Executive of South Lanarkshire Council: £543,538
Thomas McDonald; Assistant Director of Development and Regeneration Sevices, Glasgow Council: £520,590
William Docherty; Managing Director, City Building [Glasgow]: £485,698
Steven Kelly; Director of Corporate Services, City Building [Glasgow]: £481,166
Anna Wright; Director of Education & Children's Services at Reading Council: £392,878
Sean Nolan; Director of Corporate Services at East Sussex Council: £389,880
Robert Booth; Executive Director of Land & Environment Services at Glasgow Council: £382,789
Kenenth Harkness; Head of Service Development at Glasgow Council: £371,610
Joyce Redfearn; Chief Executive of Wigan Council: £343,400
Mark Davies; Chief Executive of Imperial Healthcare Trust: £340,000
Elaine Grieve; Assistant Chief Executive of Orkney Islands Council: £339,610
Patricia McIlquham; Deputy Chief Executive of Dundee City Council: £335,468
Michael Coughlin; Chief Executive of Reading Council: £334,578
A.Kerr; Chief Executive of Reading Council: £328,150
R.Heaton; Executive Director of Resources at Newham Council: £317,137
John Sharkey; Chief Executive, SEC Limited, Glasgow Council: £314,553
Gerald Jones; Chief Executive of Wandsworth Borough Council: £299,925
John Fingleton; Chief Executive of Office of Fair Trading: £275,000
S Robinson; Chief Executive of Cheshire West and Chester Council: £266,000
Ruth Carnall; Chief Executive of NHS London: £265,000
Andrew Stafford; Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Mint: £264,510
Stephen Hughes; Chief Executive of Birmingham Council: £260,360
Chris Williams; Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Council: £259,438
Geoff Bellingan; Medical Director of University College London Hospital: £255,000
D.P.Martin; Chief Executive and Director of Administration of Wandsworth Council: £254,880
N. Walkley; Chief Executive of Barnet Council: £250,818
C. Tapster; Chief Executive of Hertfordshire Council: £250,351
Andrew Haines; Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority: £250,000
George Black; Chief Executive of Glasgow Council: £248,004
Erika Wenzel; Chief Executive of Cheshire East Council: £247,762
Peter Gilroy; Chief Executive of Kent Council: £243,388
Mark Goldman; Chief Executive of the Heart of England trust: £242,500
K.Crompton; Chief Executive of Haringey Council: £241,657
Joe Duckworth; Chief Executive of Newham Borough Council: £241,483
Dave Smith; Chief Executive of Sunderland Council: £240,445
I.Craig; Managing Director of Lothian Buses: £238,954
C.J.Buss; Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive of Wandsworth Council: £238,787
P.Halsall; Chief Executive of Lancashire Council: £238,774
D.White; Chief Executive of Norfolk Council: £238,100
Nick Bell; Chief Executive of Staffordshire Council: £237,737
Will Tuckley; Chief Executive of Bexley Council: £237,336
Derrick Anderson; Chief Executive of Lambeth Borough Council: £235,650
Sir Neil McKay; Chief Executive of East of England SHA: £232,500
Colin Hilton; Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council: £229,555
Sir Leonard Fenwick; Chief Executive of Newcastle NHS Trust: £227,500
David White; Chief Executive of Norfolk County Council: £224,900
Mark Hammond; Chief Executive Officer of West Sussex County Council: £223,451
Paul Bentley; Acting Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter's trust: £223,000
Dr Barbara Hakin; Chief Executive of East Midlands SHA: £222,400
David Dalton; Chief Executive of Salford Royal trust: £222,215
Mark Farrar; Chief Executive Officer of the Construction Industry Trading Board: £220,000
Stephen Geraghty; Commissioner of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: £210,000
Sir Michael Cahn; Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment: £205,000
Roger Bright; Chief Executive of the Crown Estate: £200,000
Richard Paniguian; Head of UK Trade and Investment, Defence and Security Organisation: £195,000
Dr Harry Bush; Member of the Civil Aviation Authority: £185,000
Philip Ridal; Finance Director of British Waterways: £185,000
Andy Mckeon; Managing Director of the Audit Commission: £180,000
Eugene Sullivan; Managing Director of the Audit Commission: £180,000
Peter Wilkinson; Managing Director of the Audit Commission: £180,000
Paul Clark; Director of Investment and Asset Management of the Crown Estate: £175,000
Gareth Davies; Managing Director of the Audit Commission: £175,000
Neil MacGregor; Director of the British Museum: £175,000
Martin Evans; Managing Director of the Audit Commission: £170,000
Sir Alisdair Fraser; Director of Public Prosecutions, Northern Ireland: £170,000
Peter Freeman; Chairman of the Competition Commission: £170,000
Tony Redmond; Chairman of CLAE: £170,000
Richard Alderman; Director of the Serious Fraud Office: £165,000
Martin Davidson; Chief Executive of the British Council: £165,000
Nigel Johnson; Corporate Services Director of British Waterways: £165,000
Fiona Adshead; Director General on secondment to the World Health Organisation: £160,000
Sir John Elvidge; Permanent Secretary for the Scottish government: £160,000
Chris Jesnick; Member of the Civil Aviation Authority: £160,000
Stephen Leonard; former director of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: £160,000
Dr Kevin Woods; Chief Executive of NHS Scotland: £160,000
Dame Lynne Brindley; Chief Executive of the British Library: £155,000
Anthony Douglas; Chief Executive Officer of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission: £155,000
Mark Grimshaw; Managing Director of the CSA: £155,000
Richard Jackson; Member of the Civil Aviation Authority: £155,000
Paul Jenkins Q.C.; Permanent Secretary for the Treasury Solicitors Department: £155,000
Terry Moran; Chief Executive of Pension, Disability & Carers Service: £155,000
Vince Moran; Operations Director of British Waterways: £155,000
Jim Stirling; Technical Director of British Waterways: £155,000
Richard Thompson; Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary: £155,000
Tim Brown; Chief Executive of Postcomm: £150,000
Alan Davey; Chief Executive of the Arts Council: £150,000
Roy Irwin of the Audit Commission: £150,000
Stella Manzie; Director General, Justice and Communities in Scotland: £150,000
Stuart Mills; Property Director of British Waterways: £150,000
Sir Michael Scholar; Chair of UK Statistics Authority: £150,000
Mark Swann; Member of the Civil Aviation Authority: £150,000
Brian Willmor; Regional Director of the Audit Commission: £150,000
M Williams; Chief Executive of East Devon and South Somerset Councils: £146,828
Colette Paul; Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Constabulary: £133,068
Dame Deirdre Hutton; Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority: £130,000
Professor Douglas Kell; Chief Executive Officer of the Biological Sciences Research Council: £130,000
B Richardson; Parliamentary Counsel at the Cabinet Office: £120,000
Dame Suzi Leather; Chair of the Charity Commission for England and Wales: £100,000
Richard Foster CBE; Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission: £100,000

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain
*****SEE ALSO aftu.webgarden.com
The following 100 over-paid folk are from the civil service as quoted by the BBC in 2010. It's really strange but if you attended a meal with others and you helped yourself to a huge volume of food which stacked up on your plate, you would be castigated as being "greedy", yet in our perverse society, it seems perfectly acceptable for an elite group to accumulate enormous salaries while those poor buggers on benefits are expected to live on about eight or nine thousand pounds per year. The selfish swine below may be talented and even hard-working, but their greatest talent is to load their bank account with copious amounts of money from the taxpayer. Is this fair?
Joe Harley; Chief Information Officer of the DWP: £245,000
Sir Jock Stirrup; Chief of the Defence Staff: £240,000
Jeremy Beeton; former Director General of the Government Olympic Executive: £225,000
Clare Chapman; Director General of the Department of Health: £220,000
Paul Hemsley; Director of Finance at the Ordnance Survey: £220,000
David Green of the Crown Prosecution Service: £210,000
Patrick Crawford; Chief Executive at the Export Credits Guarantee Department: £205,000
Lin Homer; Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency: £205,000
Helen Kilpatrick; Director General at the Home Office: £205,000
Steve Lamey; Director General at HM Revenues & Customs: £205,000
DA Shields; Programme Director at OGC: £205,000
Dr Mike Mitchell; Head of National Networks Group: £200,000
D Pitchford; Director at OGC: £200,000
Andrew Tyler; Chief Operating Officer at the Ministry of Defence: £200,000
Christine Gilbert; Her Majesty's Chief Inspector at OFSTED: £195,000
James Hall; Chief Executive, Identity and Passport Service: £195,000
Andrew Manley; Director General at the Ministry of Defence: £195,000
Sir David Normington; Permanent Secretary at the Home Office: £195,000
Keir Starmer; Director of the Crown Prosecution Service: £195,000
Vanessa Lawrence; Chief Executive Officer of the Ordnance Survey: £190,000
Trevor Llanwarne; Government Actuary: £190,000
Andy Nelson; Chief Information Officer at the Ministry of Justice: £190,000
Jane Platt; Chief Executive of National Savings & Investments: £190,000
Nemat Shafiq; Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Development: £190,000
Tim Smith; Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency: £190,000
Kevin White; Director General, Human Resources at the Home Office: £190,000
Professor Kent Woods; Chief Executive of the MHRA: £190,000
Simon Bowles; Chief Finance Officer at HM Revenue & Customs: £185,000
David Goldstone, formerly of the Government Olympic Executive: £185,000
Sir Leigh Lewis; Permanent Seretary at the DWP: £185,000
Darra Singh; Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus: £185,000
N Smith; Chief Executive at OGC: £185,000
David Behan; Director General of Social Care: £180,000
David Bell; Permanent Secretary at the Department of Education: £180,000
Suma Chakrabarti; Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice: £180,000
Chris Last; HR Director General at the DWP: £180,000
Phil Pavitt; Chief Information Officer at HM Revenue & Customs: £180,000
Duncan Selbie; Chief Executive of the Department of Health: £180,000
Philip Collins; Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading: £175,000
Mike Falvey; Chief People Officer at HM Revenue & Customs: £175,000
Jim Gallagher; Director General - Devolution at the Ministry of Justice: £175,000
Mel Groves; former Project Director at the DWP: £175,000
Sir Bill Jeffrey; Permanent Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence: £175,000
Sir Nicholas Macpherson; Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury: £175,000
Sir Kevin O'Donoghue; Chief of Defence Materiel: £175,000
Peter Ricketts; Head of the Diplomatic Service: £175,000
Air Marshal Peter Ruddock of the Ministry of Defence: £175,000
Nigel Shienwald; HM Ambassador to the United States of America: £175,000
Sir Mark Stanhope; First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff: £175,000
Jon Thompson; Director General at the Ministry of Defence: £175,000
Kim Darroch; UK Permanent Representative to the European Union: £170,000
John Hirst; Chief Executive at the Met Office: £170,000
Marco Pierleoni; Chief Land Registrar: £170,000
Geoffrey Podger; Chief Executive of the Health & Safety Executive: £170,000
Mike Robinson; Chief Executive of the UK Hydrographic Office: £170,000
Lesley Strathie; Chief Executive Officer at HM Revenue & Customs: £170,000
Sir Stephen Dalton; Chief of the Air Staff; £165,000
Lindsey Davies; Interim Regional Director of Public Health: £165,000
Carolyn Downs; Director General at the Ministry of Justice: £165,000
Sir Nicholas Houghton; Vice Chief of the Defence Staff: £165,000
Lorraine Langham; Director of Corporate Services at OFSTED: £165,000
Sir John McColl; Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe: £165,000
Les Mosco; Director at the Ministry of Defence: £165,000
Hunada Nouss; Finance Director General of the DWP: £165,000
Sir David Richards; Chief of the General Staff: £165,000
R Shostak; Head of Prime Minister's Delivery Unit: £165,000
Moira Wallace; Permanent Secretary of the DECC: £165,000
Martin Bellamy; ICT Director of the Department of Health: £160,000
Robert Devereux; Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport: £160,000
Helen Edwards; Director General - Justice Policy Group: £160,000
William Emery; Chairman of the Office of Rail Regulation: £160,000
Dave Hartnett; Permanent Secretary for Tax at HM Revenues & Customs: £160,000
Stephen Holt; Director of Change Management at the DWP: £160,000
Melanie Hunt; Director at OFSTED: £160,000
Peter Makeham; Director General at the Home Office: £160,000
Susanna Mason; Director at the Ministry of Defence: £160,000
Sir Jonathan Phillips; former Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office: £160,000
Nick Ramsay; Director at the Ministry of Justice: £160,000
Sir Trevor Soar; Navy Commander-in-Chief: £160,000
JMG Taylor; Financial Services and Stability Director at HM Treasury: £160,000
Sir Peter Wall; Army Commander-in-Chief: £160,000
Phil Wheatley of the National Offender Management Service: £160,000
Ursula Brennan; Second Permanent Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence: £155,000
Bill Gunnyeon; Chief Medical Adviser and Chief Scientist at the DWP: £155,000
Archie Hughes; Chief Executive of the Defence Support Group: £155,000
Stephen Love; Chief Constable of Ministry of Defence police: £155,000
Jonathan Stephens; Permanent Secretary of the DCMS: £155,000
Paul Wiles; former Chief Scientific Adviser at the Home Office: £155,000
Mike Clasper; Chair of HM Revenue & Customs: £150,000
Peter Collis; former Chief Land Registrar: £150,000
John Goldup; Director at OFSTED: £150,000
Neil Hayward; Group HR Director at the Ministry of Justice: £150,000
Bruce Houlder QC; Director of Service Prosecutions: £150,000
Nirmal Kotecha of the Department for Transport, Highways Agency: £150,000
Patrick Leeson; Director at OFSTED: £150,000
TW Scholar; second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury: £150,000
Beverley Shears of the National Offender Management Service: £150,000
Dame Helen Ghosh; Permanent Secretary of Defra: £140,000
Professor Robert Watson; Chief Scientific Adviser of Defra: £135,000
Philip Fletcher; Chairman of Ofwat: £105,000
SOURCE:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/10202596

Greedy Bastards of Great Britain: 100 crooks?
Here are one hundred more rogues who are creaming the public purse. I found it very illuminating when pouring over the annual trade union rich list furnished by the Taxpayers Alliance which reveals a lot of hypocrites who speak of socialism whilst enjoying lavish salaries. Even more galling is the fact that Trevor Phillips, head honcho of the 'Equality Commission' receives a salary in excess of 100k per annum. Well, it's a bit rich (if you excuse the pun) for clever Trevor to champion 'equality' when he is so handsomely rewarded. I guess that Michael Corleone was correct when he stated to the senator in The Godfather Part II that "we are both part of the same hypocrisy."
Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association: £856,007
Peter Henderson; director of asset management of Network Rail: £672,000
Tony Fountain; chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £520,000
Cynthia Bower; chief executive of the Care Quality Commission: £440,000
Denis Hone; former chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority: £401,000
Howard Shiplee; former director of construction of the Olympic Delivery Authority: £320,000
John Armitt; formerly of the Olympic Delivery Authority: £250,000
Tim Jones; chief executive of the Personal Accounts Delivery: £235,000
Gus O'Donnell; Cabinet Secretary: £235,000
Robin Evans; chief executive of British Waterways: £230,000
Stephen Laws; First Parliamentary Counsel: £230,000
Douglas Erskine-Crum; chief executive of the Horserace Betting Levy Board: £220,000
Lord Mogg; chairman of Ofgem: £210,000
Robert Parker; Parliamentary Counsel: £210,000
John Suffolk; Chief Information Officer for HM Government: £205,000
Michael Bradley MBE, former head of the General Federation of Trade Unions: £203,416 in 2011
Philip Davies; Parliamentary Counsel: £195,000
Godric Smith; former director of communications of the Olympic Delivery Authority: £195,000
Catherine Johnston; Parliamentary Counsel: £190,000
Derek Simpson; former general secretary of Unite, the Union: £186,626
Peter Housden; Permanent Secretary of Communities and Local Government: £185,000
Stephen Lovegrove; Chief Executive of BIS: £185,000
Gill Rider; Head of Civil Service Capability Group: £180,000
Philip Rutnam; Director General of BIS: £180,000
David Cook; Parliamentary Counsel: £175,000
Richard McCarthy; Director General of Housing and Planning: £175,000
Vicky Pryce; Director General of BIS: £175,000
Elizabeth Gardiner; Parliamentary Counsel: £170,000
Adrian Hogarth; Parliamentary Counsel: £170,000
Leonie McLaughlin; Parliamentary Counsel: £170,000
Keith Norman; former head of ASLEF: £167,566 in 2011
Jens Bech; Chief Risk Officer of the Asset Protection Agency: £165,000
Professor John Beddington; Permanent Secretary of BIS: £165,000
Ion Dagtoglou; Chief Investment Officer of the Asset Protection Agency: £165,000
Sir Ken Knight; Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser: £165,000
Sir John Sawers; chief of the Intelligence Sevice, MI6: £165,000
Alex Allan; Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee: £160,000
Simon Fraser; Permanent Secretary of BIS: £160,000
Peter Lewis; Chief Executive of the Crown Prosecution Service: £160,000
Howard Orme; Director General of BIS: £160,000
Philip Rycroft; Director General of BIS: £160,000
Professor Adrian Smith; Director General of BIS: £160,000
Edward Stell; Parliamentary Counsel: £160,000
Matt Tee; Permanent Secretary for Government Communications: £160,000
Peter Ward; chief executive of the British Dental Association: £159,506
Jonathan Cunliffe; Prime Minister's Adviser on International Economic Affairs and Europe: £155,000
Jonathan Evans; director general of the security service, MI5: £155,000
Hayley Rogers; Parliamentary Counsel: £155,000
Mark Russell; Deputy Chief Executive of BIS: £155,000
Alison Littley; Chief Executive of Buying Solutions: £150,000
John McCready; Managing Director of BIS: £150,000
Marc Middleton; Managing Director of BIS: £150,000
Joe Montgomery; Director General of Regions and Communities: £150,000
David Sprackling; Parliamentary Counsel: £150,000
Stephan Wilcke; Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Protection Agency: £150,000
Christine Blower of the National Union of Teachers: £142,363
Russell Hobby of the National Association of Head Teachers: £141,408
Jim McAuslan of the British Air Line Pilots Association: £139,791
Brendan Barber of the Trades Union Congress: £139,634
Professor Cathy Warwick CBE of the Royal College of Midwives: £138,099
Dr Mary Bousted of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers: £137,316
Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom: £137,267
Sean Morris of the Professional Cricketers Association: £135,639
Douglas Ramsay; Parliamentary Counsel: £135,000
Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College leaders: £134,639
Geoff Lucas of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference: £133,657
Alan Wood of the UFS: £133,216
Brian Scammell; Chief Credit Officer of the Asset Protection Agency: £130,000
Chris Keates of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers: £129,571
Mark Le Fanu former head of the Society of Authors: £129,240
Mick Brookes of the National Association of Head Teachers: £129,070
Tim Poil of the Nationwide Group Staff Union: £127,898
Jonathan Baume of the FDA: £127,739
Paul Noon of Prospect: £126,987
David Cockroft of the International Transport Workers Federation: £126,815
Mark V.Brown of Affinity: £125,624
Brian Caton of the Prison Officers' Association: £125,157
Ian Partridge of Lloyds TSB Group Union: £124,735
Ged Nichols of Accord: £123,053
Len McCluskey Joint General Secretary of Unite, the Union: £122,434
Tony Woodley Joint General Secretary of Unite, the Union: £122,108
Bob Crow of the RMT: £121,687
Ronald A Smith of the Educational Institute of Scotland: £121,237
Paul Kenny of the GMB: £121,000
Mick Stevens of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, Nottingham Section: £120,563
Janet Paraskeva; First Civil Service Commissioner: £120,000
Billy Hayes of the Communication Workers Union: £119,790
John Hannett of the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers: £118,895
Phil Gray of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy: £118,714
John Dunford; former head of the Association of School and College Leaders: £118,540
Mark Serwotka General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union: £116,429
Michael Leahy of Community: £115,995
Matthew Wrack of the Fire Brigades Union: £115,724
Sally Hunt of the University and College Union: £115,375
Dr Hamish Meldrum of the British Medical Association: £115,188
John Smith of the Musicians Union: £115,175
Neil Buist of the National Association of Co-operatives Officials: £112,786
Trevor Phillips; chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission: £110,000
Dave Prentis General Secretary of Unison: £108,516
Dean Sheehan of the Welsh Rugby Players Association: £103,000
Sources:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/10202596
*****SEE ALSO aftu.webgarden.com

Greedy Bastards of Great Britain; Part three
*****See also http;//aftu.webgarden.com
The large majority of the following statistics date from February 2010, so it is a fairly safe bet that many of the listed annual salaries have increased since then. Some of the named staff may have been re-shuffled to another department or left the BBC, but again we can assume that none of them have fallen into a low-paid position.
Well folks, this is the same organisation that gladly reports the expenses scandals and the fat cats revelations and the bonus culture headlines. It looks like the BBC is awash with extreme hypocrisy. I do not pay a BBC licence fee. There are one hundred reasons below as to why I don't. The listed people are exploiting the licence feepayers!
Chris Moyles; BBC Radio One disc jockey: £630,000
Fiona Bruce; BBC television presenter: £500,000
Ross Kemp; BBC actor: £380,000
John Humphrys; BBC Radio Four presenter: £375,000
Caroline Thomson; BBC chief operating officer: £333,000
Zarin Patel; BBC director: £329,000
Tim Davie; BBC director: £325,000
Lucy Adams; BBC director: £320,000
Helen Boaden; director of BBC news: £320,000
Sharon Baylay; BBC director: £310,000
Pat Loughrey; BBC director: £300,000
Richard Sambrook; BBC director: £299,880
Bal Samra; BBC director: £280,500
Jay Hunt; controller of BBC one: £265,000
Dominic Coles; Chief Operating Officer at the BBC: £257,500
Roly Keating; director of archive content at the BBC: £250,000
Roger Mosey; BBC director of London 2012: £241,230
John Linwood; Chief Technology Officer at the BBC: £240,000
John Yorke of BBC Vision: £238,119
Edward Williams; BBC director: £225,940
Danny Cohen; controller of BBC Three: £225,000
Richard Deverell; Chief Operating Officer: £225,000
Janice Hadlow; controller of BBC Two: £225,000
Erik Huggers; BBC director: £223,000
Nicholas Eldred of BBC operations group: £219,751
Emma Swain of BBC Vision: £217,505
Roger Wright; controller of BBC Radio Three: £215,322
Chris Day of BBC finance: £211,500
Andy Parfitt; controller of Radio One: £211,000
Anne Morrison; director of training and development at the BBC: £210,069
Mark Damazer; controller of BBC Radio Four and Radio Seven: £210,000
Chris Kane; Head of Corporate Real Estate at the BBC: £206,992
Andy Griffee; editorial director at the BBC: £205,000
Bob Shennan; controller of BBC Radio Two and Radio Six: £205,000
Nicolas Brown; director of drama production at the BBC: £200,000
Graham Ellis of BBC audio & music: £200,000
Peter Horrocks; director of global news at the BBC: £200,000
James Naughtie; BBC Radio Four presenter: £200,000
Richard Klein; controller of BBC Radio Four: £195,000
Stephen Mitchell; Head of Programmes: £195,000
Tom Archer of BBC Vision: £193,600
Liam Keelan; controller of BBC daytime: £190,550
Dorothy Prior; controller of production resource: £190,500
Peter White; chief executive officer at BBC finance: £190,550
Michael Gooddie; a director at the BBC: £190,000
John Vickerman; head of HR at the BBC: £190,000
George Entwistle of BBC Vision: £189,625
Frances Allcock of BBC People: £188,100
Ken MacQuarrie; director of BBC Scotland: £185,000
Menna Richards; director of BBC Wales: £185,000
Adrian Van Klaveren; controller of Radio Five Live: £185,000
Robert Johnston; Reward Director at the BBC: £183,750
Barbara Slater; director of BBC sport: £180,000
John Tate; director of Policy & Strategy at the BBC: £180,000
Keith Beal; programme director at the BBC: £179,725
Sally Debonnaire of BBC Vision: £178,500
Mark Kortekaas of Future Media & Technology at the BBC: £175,000
Mark Linsey of BBC Vision: £175,000
Kerstin Mogull of Future Media & Technology at the BBC: £175,000
Simon Nelson of BBC Vision: £170,000
Beverley Tew of BBC Finance: £170,000
Alan Yentob; BBC director: £168,300
Jacqueline Brandreth-Potter; head of brand & planning at the BBC: £167,145
David Jordan of Executive Support & Projects at the BBC: £167,000
James Lancaster of BBC Vision: £166,464
Seetha Kumar; controller of BBC online: £165,000
Francesca Unsworth; head of newsgathering at the BBC: £165,000
Liz Rylatt of BBC finance: £164,646
John Turner; finance director at the BBC: £160,000
Helen Normoyle; head of audiences at the BBC: £159,600
Nicholas Newman of Future Media & Technology at the BBC: £155,250
David Holdsworth of BBC journalism group: £155,000
Rachel Currie; HR director at the BBC: £153,983
Rahul Chakkara of Future Media & Technology at the BBC: £153,750
Clare Dyer; HR director at the BBC: £150,000
Mark Gottlieb; Director of Marketing, Communications & Audiences at the BBC: £150,000
Sarah Montague; BBC Radio Four presenter: £150,000
Matthew Postgate of Future Media & Technology at the BBC: £150,000
Mark Friend of Audio & Music at the BBC: £148,512
Ben Stephenson; controller of drama commissioning at the BBC: £145,000
Peter Clifton; head of editorial development at the BBC: £144,200
Mary Hockaday; head of BBC newsroom: £140,000
Lesley Swarbrick; HR director at the BBC: £138,600
Derek O'Gara; finance director at the BBC: £138,000
Vin Ray; Director of BBC College of Journalists: £135,188
Peter Johnston; director of BBC Northern Ireland: £135,000
Jo Woods; radio finance director at the BBC: £134,003
Rachel Stock; Resourcing Director at the BBC: £128,000
Alec McGivan; Head of BBC Outreach: £125,557
Sue Inglish; head of political programmes: £125,000
Jessica Cecil; head of BBC director-general's office: £122,500
Alix Pryde; Controller of Distribution at the BBC: £122,500
Anna Mallett of Business Strategy at the BBC: £120,000
William Greswell; Controller of BBC Vision: £115,000
Paul Greeves; Head of Safety at the BBC: £114,400
Caroline Gover; Head of Business Continuity at the BBC: £112,425
Alice Webb; programme director at the BBC: £112,000
Paul Smith; Head of Editorial Standards at the BBC: £110,000
Will Jackson: Head of Strategy at the BBC: £108,000
Richard Addy of the BBC Journalism Group: £104,000
SOURCES:
1. www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8374102/Lord-Patten-BB...
2. www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8335783/Today-presente...
3. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7231623/Top-300-BBC-salaries.html

GREEDY BASTARDS of Great Britain; part two
Here are 100 of Nietzsche's Ubermenschen whose destiny it was to come into this world, shuffle paper, demand disproportionate salaries off the hard-pressed but gullible populace whilst blackmailing us with the bull**** that to downgrade their obscene salaries would result in a mythical 'talent drain'. The only thing being drained is the taxpayers and ratepayers hard-earned money whilst these corporate rogues laugh all the way to the bank. Given the fact that the foolish serfs in the UK regard the royal family as a deity, worthy of worship, then it naturally follows that a whole welter of fat cats and selfish swine can amass vast wealth and get away with this legalised robbery.
Mark Thompson; former director-general of the BBC earned £664,000
Andrew Marr; BBC presenter: £580,000
Jana Bennett; director of BBC Vision: £412,000
Peter Salmon; BBC North director: £375,000
David Nicholson; Chief Executive of the NHS: £255,000
Sir Liam Donaldson earned at least £205,000 as Chief Medical Officer
Christine Connelly; Chief Information Officer for the department of health: £200,000
Heather Lawrence OBE; chief executive of the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust: £200,000
Gabriel Scally; regional director of public health: £200,000
Jonathan Michael; chief executive of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS trust (London): £178,000
David Salisbury; director of immunisation: £175,000
Dr Mike Anderson; medical director of the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust: £170,000
Paul White; chief executive of Barts and the London NHS trust: £164,500
Michael Barton; Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary: £160,000
Ann Lloyd; Chief Executive of NHS Wales: £160,000
Dame Gillian Morgan; Welsh Permanent Secretary: £160,000
Derek Smith; chief executive of Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust (London): £158,508
Robert Naylor; chief executive of University College London hospitals NHS trust: £156,000
David Edwards; chief executive of Cardiff and Vale NHS trust: £155,000
Dr Tony Jewell; Welsh chief medical officer: £155,000
Sir Hugh Taylor: Permanent Secretary of the department of health: £155,000
Peter Reading; chief executive of University hospitals of Leicester NHS trust: £152,500
Mark Britnell; chief executive of University hospital Birmingham NHS trust: £148,500
Neil McKay; chief executive of Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust: £147,000
David Highton; chief executive of Oxford Radcliffe hospitals NHS trust: £142,500
Malcolm Stamp; chief executive of Addenbrooke's NHS trust (Cambridge University teaching hospitals trust): £142,260
Andrew Cash; chief executive of Sheffield teaching Hospitals NHS trust: £137,500
Mike Deegan; chief executive of Central Manchester and Manchester children's University NHS trust: £137,500
Stuart Welling; chief executive of Brighton and Sussex hospitals NHS trust: £135,109
Mark Goldman; chief executive of Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull (teaching) NHS trust: £135,000
Gareth Hall of the Welsh department of the economy and transport: £135,000
Dr Gwyn Thomas; director of Informing Healthcare: £135,000
Simon Ash; Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary: £133,068
Martin Baker; Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary: £133,068
Jacqui Cheer; Chief Constable of Cleveland Constabulary: £133,068
Tim Madgwick; acting Chief Constable of North Yorkshire constabulary: £133,068
Simon Parr; Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary: £133,068
Mark Polin; Chief Constable of North Wales Constabulary: £133,068
Jeff Farrar; temporary Chief Constable of Gwent Constabulary: £133,068
Patrick Geenty; Chief Constable of Wiltshire Constabulary: £133,068
Alfred Hitchcock; Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Constabulary: £133,068
Adrian Lee; Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Constabulary: £133,068
Carwyn Jones; First Minister of Wales: £132,862
David Roberts; chief executive of University hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust: £132,857
Bernard Lawson; acting Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary: £130,044
Michael Matthews; acting Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary: £130,044
Andy Parker; Chief Constable of Warwickshire Constabulary: £130,044
Neil Rhodes; Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Constabulary: £130,044
Jackie Roberts; Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Constabulary: £130,044
Lorraine Bewes; director of finance of the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust: £130,000
Maggie Boyle; chief executive of Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen hospitals NHS trust: £130,000
Jeff Buggle of the Welsh department of health and social services: £130,000
Gareth Goodier; chief executive of Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS trust (London): £127,500
Barry Johns; chief executive of West Midlands metropolitan ambulance service NHS trust: £127,500
David Jackson; chief executive of Bradford hospitals NHS trust: £127,360
David Moss; chief executive of Southampton University hospitals NHS trust: £126,500
Stephen Day; chief executive of Norfolk and Norwich University hospital NHS trust: £124,000
Jane Perrin; chief executive of Swansea NHS trust: £124,000
Julie Acred; chief executive of Southern Derbyshire acute hospitals NHS trust: £122,500
John de Braux; chief executive of Epsom and St Hellier NHS trust: £122,500
Jane Collins; chief executive of Great Ormond Street hospital for children NHS trust (London): £122,500
Ian Hamilton; chief executive of St George's healthcare NHS trust (London): £122,500
Cally Palmer; chief executive of Royal Marsden NHS trust (London): £122,500
Stephen Greep; chief executive of Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals NHS trust: £122,400
Julian Nettel; chief executive of St Marys NHS trust: £121,566
David Astley; chief executive of East Kent hospitals NHS trust: £121,417
Sheila Foley; chief executive of East London and the City mental health trust: £120,000
Mark Hackett; chief executive of Royal Wolverhampton hospitals NHS trust: £120,000
Bob Hudson of the Welsh department of health and social services: £120,000
Amanda Pritchard; deputy chief executive of the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust: £120,000
Peter Bradley; chief executive of London ambulance service trust: £118,000
Moira Britton; chief executive of Tees and north-east Yorkshire NHS trust: £117,500
Cornelius Egan; chief executive of Bradford community health NHS trust : £117,500
Sally Gorham; chief executive of Waltham, Leyton & Leytonstone (London): £117,500
Mike Atkin; chief executive of Leeds community and mental health services teaching NHS trust: £117,000
Christine Daws; finance director of the Welsh government: £115,000
Simon Dean of the Welsh health and social services department: £115,000
Nigel Fisher; chief executive of South-west London and St George's mental health NHS trust: £112,500
John MacDonald; chief executive of Queen's medical centre, Nottingham University hospital NHS trust: £112,500
Graham Nix; chief executive of United Bristol healthcare NHS trust: £112,000
Peter Morris; chief executive of South Manchester University hospitals NHS trust: £111,000
Therese Davis; chief nurse of the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust: £110,000
Bernard Galton; HR director of the Welsh government: £110,000
Derek Griffin; chief executive of Cafcass Cymru: £110,000
Martin Sykes; chief executive of Value Wales: £110,000
Angela Peddar; chief executive of Royal Devon and Exeter healthcare NHS trust: £109,500
Peter Coles; chief executive of Whipps Cross University hospital NHS trust (London): £107,500
Erville Millar; chief executive of Camden & Islington mental health and social care trust: £107,500
Richard Davies of the Welsh department of public services and performance: £105,000
Mike Hopkins of the Welsh lifelong learning and providers decision: £105,000
Roy Male; chief executive of Blackpool Victoria hospital NHS trust: £105,000
Sue Ross; chief executive of Selby and York primary care trust: £105,000
Nick Temple; chief executive of Tavistock and Portman NHS trust (London): £105,000
Dr Jane Wilkinson; Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Wales: £105,000
Malcolm Lowe-Lauri; chief executive of Kings College hospital NHS trust (London): £104,000
Liam Hayes; chief executive of Doncaster and south Humber NHS trust: £103,161
Sue Assar; chief executive of Central Manchester primary care trust: £102,500
Stuart Bell; chief executive of South London and Maudsley NHS trust: £102,500
Brian Milstead; chief executive of Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS trust: £102,500
Christine Willis; chief executive of North Tees primary care trust: £100,000
***SEE ALSO http:// aftu.webgarden.com

The Greedy Bastards of Great Britain
If there are numerous underdogs in our society, it logically follows that there is a multitude of overdogs too. This after all appears to be the very essence and inherent flaw in unregulated, free market economies in that they produce winners and losers in a horrible zero-sum game. Here below lurking in the hall of shame are some of those money-grabbers whose very existence is motivated by a love of wealth. Their riches perversely buys them influence and frequently a lenience from the law, rarely afforded to or affordable by the hoi polloi of the inner cities. Hang your heads in shame, you irresponsible, selfish "thieves" in your slick suits.
Motormouth Kelvin MacKenzie once stated that the anarchic youth who engage in looting and rioting are "scum". That may be so, but I would venture to suggest that there is an elite of white collar, suburban "scum" whose activities and attitudes have completely discredited capitalism and which places them on a par with the so-called feral underclass. Underneath are the names of some such individuals. They represent but the tip of a huge, exploitative iceberg that is taking the piss while the large majority must cope with cuts, pay freezes, and much worse. This list is in its infant stages and the amounts are the reported annual income.
Although David Cameron was absolutely correct when he once diagnosed "broken Britain", little did this hypocrite realise that he and the Westminster/Whitehall elite are part of the problem. Why would any young people look up to and respect their political superiors when the personnel of the Establishment are each pocketing disproportionate salaries that are way beyond logic and good sense. Britain is indeed broken and it needs repaired from the top down to the bottom. The human body cannot function if the head is damaged. By the same token, Britain's sickness cannot be cured if the head of the nation (the political class of legislators and mandarins) is malfunctioning.
Admittedly, the list below is a bit random but it ought to illustrate quite clearly how the Establishment are legally stealing from the public purse with the kind of thievery that would have made the Artful Dodger blush with shame. When I consider the overwhelming number of leaders and 'responsible' people earning disgusting amounts of money, I am frankly staggered that the British people allow this injustice to persist. How the foolish populace of the UK have so deferentially accepted this sickening state of affairs beggars belief. Many revolutions have been fought for less. I am livid that Britain prefers to damn Guy Fawkes while the real criminals in the Establishment and business community can continue to take the fucking piss. Maybe the silly people of the UK and their grossly-overpaid masters actually deserve each other!
The trouble with the British masses is if they assembled at a demonstration, they would all quickly disperse if they were each offered a free pint. Yes folks, the Brits are easily bought, and gone are the days when this nation had backbone and good principles. Now it's every man for himself and to Hell with the consequences. That is the great legacy of Mrs Thatcher. She can take credit for having broken the spirit of the population. Everybody is seeking fame and fortune nowadays. The UK is a nation of wannabees. Instead of wishing to change a corrupt, decaying system, many of the dispossessed aspire to become part of the monster that is devouring them! Rather than protest against the fat cats, Joe Public harbours the hope of also becoming a fat cat one day. Most people are corruptible nowadays. In other words, offer anyone wealth or power or fame and fortune and they would abandon anything and everyone to attain such apparent 'prizes'.
Not that Labour can crow about the legacy of Mrs Thatcher. Mr Blair and Mr Brown presided over lavish pay increases for their cronies in the public sector as a means of currying favour with the opinion-formers and movers and shakers. So-called new Labour was zealous in its attempts to out-flank the Conservatives by allowing monstrous pay rises for the bourgeois elite. Austere Britain is still having to grin and bear the adverse impact of the bonus culture, the expenses scandals, and the pay-offs, pensions, and perks of the uber-rich. Keir Hardie must be spinning in his grave.
What really ought to concern the named individuals here and other fortunates who have been fortunate to be omitted thus far is the legacy that they are leaving for future generations. Their own offspring will grow up in the warped, mistaken belief that success is conditioned by how much wealth one has amassed and that a huge bank account and property portfolio are essential ingredients for a happy, fulfilled existence. The most influential members of the chattering classes will have a lot to account for as others see the bad example that they are setting and seek to follow in their flawed footsteps.
Some of the following figures are now probably out-of-date and inaccurate in so far as they err on the low side. If any of the named human parasites are now earning less than £100,000 per annum, I will gladly remove them.
Why is it that the major politicos now make noises about the disparity of wealth but then don't appear to practise what they preach? There are two likely explanations as to why the greedy won't relinquish their excess wealth. Either they have very demanding spouses who expect nothing less than to be maintained in regal luxury, or else the selfish swines realise that money purchases importance and influence. One gets to sit at the top table, so to speak. In other words, the pathetic pursuit of riches is essentially a desire to acquire a lofty status. A pox on all their mansions.
Ultimately the names and statistics derive from various media intenet sites, so if I am wrong, then so are they. I suppose that we all could pay thanks to the newspapers for originally sourcing such information about various obscene salaries. Of course, the viewspapers claim that their collective whistle-blowing is in the public interest. The real truth is that viewspapers are businesses that need to turn a profit. Consequently, as they are operating in a competitive market-place, they must produce attention-grabbing revelations and scandals in order to earn revenue. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to state that most journalists would knock their grandmother in her zimmer frame over if she was standing in the way of a juicy news story. The media have about as many scruples as Genghis Khan, and therefore their nonsense about the 'public interest' can be more aptly translated as self-interest.
The wealth-worshippers are as follows:
Ana Botin of Santander: £4 million
Mark Byford: £949,000 pay-off from the BBC
Mark Carney; Governor of the Bank of England: £874,000
David Mobbs of Nuffield Health: £850,000 in 2011
Tim O'Toole of First Group: £846,000
David Abraham; Chief Executive of Channel Four: £744,000
Sir Antonio Pappano of the Royal Opera House: £741,403 in 2011
Lord Burns of Santander: £600,000
Sir David Higgins of Network Rail: £560,000
Dean Finch of National Express: £550,000
Jay Hunt; Chief Creative Officer of Channel Four: £542,000
David Brown of Go-Ahead: £510,000
Lord Hall; Director General of the BBC: £450,000
Jez Maiden of National Express: £420,000
Patrick Butcher of Network Rail: £382,000
Andrew Wolstenholme of Crossrail: £380,000
Robin Gisby of Network Rail: £360,000
Simon Kirby of Network Rail: £360,000
Sidney Barrie earned £349,000 when previously employed by First Group
Darren Cattell formerly of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust: £340,000 in 2012
Stephen Montgomery of ScotRail: £333,000
Keith Down of Go-Ahead: £326,000
Peter Vicary-Smith of the Consumers' Association: £300,000 in 2012
James Purnell of the BBC: £295,000
Jan Filochowski of West Hertfordshire Hospitals trust: £282,500
Jeff Carr earned £280,000 when previously employed by First Group
Sir Robert Naylor of University College London Hospitals: £262,500
Bernard Hogan-Howe; Chief Constable of the London Metropolitan Police: £260,088
Sir Ron Kerr of Guy's and St Thomas' Foundation trust: £254,000
Professor Stephen Smith of Imperial Healthcare: £250,250
Peter Morris of Barts and the London trust: £247,500
Lord Igor Judge; the Lord Chief Justice: £240,000
Geoff Alltimes of Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council: £225,785
John Devaney of National Express: £225,000
John Foster of Islington Borough Council: £223,385
David McNulty of Surrey County Council:£222,053
John Cooper of CrossCountry: £222,000 in 2011 according to the Daily Telegraph
Derek Myers of Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council £220,936
Roger Kelly of Gateshead Council: £219,521
Joanna Killian of Essex County Council: £210,000
Sir Bob Kerslake; Head of the Civil Service: £200,000
Peter Lewis of Haringey Borough Council: £200,000
Stuart Smith; formerly of Liverpool City Council received £198,568 plus £147,000 redundancy
Lord Justice Leveson: £196,707
Sir Jeremy Heywood; Cabinet Secretary: £195,000
Stephen Kavanagh: Chief Constable of Essex Police: £192,163
Alastair Hamilton; Chief Executive of Invest NI: £190,000
Mark Lloyd of Cambridgeshire County Council: £186,167
Sir Nicholas Young of The Red Cross: £184,000
Anabel Hoult of Save The Children: £181,930
Sir Peter Fahy; Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police: £181,455
Chris Sims; Chief Constable of West Midlands Police: £181,455
All High Court judges receive £174,481
Sir Mark Gilmore; Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police: £169,359
Justin Forsyth of Save The Children: £163,000
Karen Boswell of East Coast: £161,000 according to the Daily Telegraph
Sara Thornton; Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police: £160,290
Jon Murphy; Chief Constable of Merseyside Police: £157,260
Sue Sim; Chief Constable of Northumbria Police: £157,260
Michael Holden of Directly Operated Railways: £156,100
Alex Marshall; Chief Constable of Hampshire Police: £154,233
Steve Finnigan; Chief Constable of Lancashire Police: £151,215
Ian Learmonth; Chief Constable of Kent Police: £151,215
Shaun Sawyer; Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police: £151,215
David Crompton; Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police: £148,194
Colin Port; Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Police: £148,194
Martin Richards; Chief Constable of Sussex Police: £148,194
Peter Vaughan; Chief Constable of South Wales: £148,194
Boris Johnson; Mayor of London: £143,911
David Cameron MP; Prime Minister: £142,500
Chris Eyre; Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police: £142,143
John Bercow MP; Speaker of the House of Commons: £142,000
Andy Coulson; former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party earned £275,000 in that role and 'only' £140,000 as the Prime Minister's Director of Communications
Alex Salmond; First Minister of Scotland: £140,000
Ed Miliband MP; Leader of the Opposition: £139,355
Andy Bliss; Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Police: £139,119
Simon Cole; Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police: £139,119
Mick Creedon; Chief Constable of Derbyshire Police: £139,119
Mike Cunningham; Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police: £139,119
Tim Hollis; Chief Constable of Humberside: £139,119
David Shaw; Chief Constable of West Mercia Police: £139,119
David Whatton; Chief Constable of Cheshire Police: £139,119
Phil Gormley; Chief Constable of Norfolk Police: £136,092
Lynne Owens; Chief Constable of Surrey Police: £136,092
Nick Clegg MP; Deputy Prime Minister: £134,565
George Osborne MP; Chancellor of the Exchequer: £134,565
All British cabinet ministers receive £134,565
Loretta Minghella of Christian Aid: £126,072
Ed Llewellyn; Prime Minister's Chief of Staff: £125,000
Martin McGuinness; Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland: £120,000
Peter Robinson; First Minister of Northern Ireland: £120,000
Mark Goldring of Oxfam: £119,560
Dame Barbara Stocking of Oxfam: £119,560
Daniel Moylan earned £112,599 when previously employed by Transport for London
Carolyn Miller, formerly of Merlin, is rumoured to have earned £110,000 in 2011 (according to the Daily Telegraph, 5th August 2013)
Chris Patten of the BBC: £110,000
Nicola Sturgeon; Deputy First Minister of Scotland: £100,748
Geoffrey Dennis of Care International: £100,000
Kate Fall; Prime Minister's Deputy Chief of Staff: £100,000
Peter Murrell; SNP Chief Executive: £100,000
***SEE ALSO aftu.webgarden.com

Charles Walker MP; see aftumwebgarden.com
On the eleventh of July 2013 it was revealed that the House of Commons MPs could look forward to a lovely pay rise, conveniently beyond the next general election. Imagine the difficulty that they might encounter on the proverbial doorsteps if they campaigned at the 2015 national beauty contest shortly after a pay increase had been implemented!
Anyhow, while the salary increase has been cleverly deferred until just beyond the next national poll, some MPs were expressing their unease at the pending pay award. However, not every parliamentarian was cringing with embarrassment.
One Charles Walker stepped forth to be interviewed for Radio Bore's 'The World Tonight' later that same day. Mr Walker proceeded to pour scorn upon Michael Gove's commendable attitude that "they" could "shove" his imminent pay rise. Well, an exorcised Mr Walker denounced Mr Gove and others who had expressed similar sentiments as "crass".
Mr Walker then went on to brazenly state that not only would he gladly accept his pay rise but that he had already planned to spend it upon his children. If you are a docile, glass half full creature, you might want to applaud Mr Walker for lovingly revealing that he is a devoted father. However, if you are a glass half empty specimen like yours truly, then you have to believe that with a generous salary of circa 65k per annum, Mr Walker's offspring already want for nothing from Daddy. Quite why Mr Walker feels that his children need to bear the fruits of his future windfall is beyond the reaches of my pretty little head.
However, here is the grim reality of Mr Walker's circumstances. I recently performed a study to ascertain what are the safest seats in the UK, and guess whose constituency just happened to be numbered amongst the 25 safest parliamentary seats? Yep, Mr Walker is the custodian of the Broxbourne seat, which is such a stronghold that clearly he can make bold pronouncements on the airwaves and be immune from any possible electoral repercussions.
Well, I exhort the hard-pressed citizens of leafy Broxbourne to mobilise a candidate who challenges Mr Walker whose smug complacency manifested itself in a shameless acceptance of his future pay award. Surely there might be several thousand folk in Broxbourne whose indignation just might be sufficiently aroused, or are you too comatose to confront the arrogant Mr Walker? Personally, I found his defiant stance all too reminiscent of a certain Mr Alan B'stard, MP.