Fate of the €uro?

The Greek economy is a major cause for concern. If it collapses completely, the €uro would be torn apart - or so say the experts. It is, I note with some sadness, mainly the UK anti-European minority who want to see this happen. What, I think, they fail to recognise, is that if the €uro collapses, the British Pound will be hit as well.

Why? Quite simply put, most British Industry and Commerce is now European or other 'offshore' nation owned. Even the majority of the High Street Banks are EU owned, if not based. Much as I love the UK, I find the blinkered approach and the selfish self interest which drives the Unions, the Civil Service and the various pressure groups that bedevil the debate on anything from Defence to Integration, language or religion, tiresome and unedifying. For one thing the last thirty odd years have seen the UK become so dependent on membership of the EU that they can no longer stand alone. I suspect that this is why all the major Parties refuse to allow a Referendum - if they lost it they know the UK will become a third world basket case overnight.

My reading of history suggests that the €uro will survive and, sadly, because my pension is paid in Pounds Sterling, it will eventually become a far more attractive and stable currency than the Pound. The example from history is the US Dollar, once almost a joke, but since the dawn of the 20th Century, the biggest alternative 'investment' currency for any investor. That is changing and the Chinese, the Oil Sheiks and others are investing in the €uro. Every Yuan, Dinar or Shekel they put into the €uro makes it stronger against the Pound and a stronger €uro will mean jobs moving out of the UK and into Europe - whether the Eurosceptics like it or not.

I do not believe the Greek economy will be allowed to collapse. They falsified the books to get into the €uro and that has now caught up with them. I suspect the Greek Government will have no alternative but to bow to surrendering the control of their economy to the IMF. Failure to do so will see them expelled from the Euro, or, alternatively, the stronger economies will shift to a New €uro (Perhaps renamed as a €urodollar?).

As I see it the economic power has shifted - in fact shifted sometime in the 1970s - from London to Europe. Like it or not, the €uro in one form or another is the currency of the European States - and it is here to stay.

Fly Screens etc ...

I have spent a large part of today assembling a "fly screen" for our bedroom window and will continue this work with one for my Study tomorrow. The 'destructions' - in German of course - were far from clear even to Mausi, so it required a little FRS style ingenuity in the end. But the result is satisfactory.

The screen fits the window beautifully and will confound all the little flying insects - especially the flies and mosquitoes - that like to invade our bedroom as soon as we open the window and retire for the night.

Now to bar the flies from my study ...

Fool Britannia ...

Is the title of a book I am reading at present. It is an obvious swipe at Blair's Nu Liebor "Cool Britannia" and is a compilation of stories about the way in which "Political Correctness" is slowly but steadily imposing upon the law abiding citizens of Britain, a Soviet Style state in which officials, neighbours and Quangos have the power to enter homes, restrict speech and impose fines and penalties for beaching some of the more than 1,000 pieces of legislation Liebor imposed in the last 13 years they were in power.

Did you know that redecorating your home while expecting a new baby could get you onto a Councils Child Protection Register? Well it can. Council "Inspectors" have the right and the power of entry to check a persons home - once protected by Magna Carta from the intrusion of the State on any grounds save a criminal offence and then only with a Warrant from a Magistrate - for any one of several hundred "offences" including keeping pot plants improperly!

Blair and his PC "Luvvies" have created almost 1600 Quangos, answerable to no one but themselves and handed out powers to every petty official that intrude and impinge upon the freedom of the individual in ways that, in most countries, would have people out on the streets hanging officials and beheading politicians.

The Stasi in East Germany would have loved to have the power Blair has given Town Hall nobodies. I commend to everyone the book, "Fool Britannia," published by Pen and Sword Books. I have no doubt it will enrage, amuse and instill feelings of utter despair ...

Corpus Christi ...

Yesterday saw the Feast of Corpus Christi well and truly celebrated in Germany. Certainly in those parts where the Catholic Church influence is strong. For most of the Lande it was a Feiertag - a public holiday and many of the cathedral cities also marked it with a special Mass followed by processions through the streets.

It is nice to see a country that is still proud to celebrate the contribution of Christianity to its development despite the problems and the negative issues arising from the abuse scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church. Much is made of the various high Holy Feasts here and it is good to see the children being given a prominent part in these celebrations.

The Feast itself marks the institution of the Eucharist as the physical representation of Christ Himself in the bread and wine of the Communion we share, an institution He commanded at the Last Supper. For the Roman Church the Bread and Wine become in the Transubstantiation, the physical Body and Blood, for others the Host and the Wine are an outward symbol of a deep spiritual grace. However Christians see it, the Eucharist of Bread and Wine should be celebrated as often as we can - it is, after all, what sets our Faith apart from all others most visibly.

We meet in His Name; we share His gifts of the Body and Blood and His eternal peace and hope.

Book News

I have just signed a contract with Abbots Press to publish Harry Heron Number 4 - On The Run.

This is quite exciting as the book will also be available as an eBook and in the usual formats of Paper Back and Hard Cover. Now begins to hard work of getting it ready for print and there will, undoubtedly, be some editing and rewriting necessary to get it absolutely right. All I can say at present is, 'watch this space' and do visit my Website (See the side bar!) from time to time.

Longest Day - Shortest Night

And it's overcast and raining...

Well, it is here anyway, so I can't get the lawn mowed and will soon need to hire a couple of horses to eat it down. To think its only a week or so back that I was worrying that we hadn't had enough rain to make it grow at all.

Did I mention it's also cold? Well, for the season anyway, let's face it 15°C is pretty warm for some parts, but considering we are supposed to be experiencing 20°C plus, plus ...

Oh well, the housework beckons.

Entertainment unlimited ...

Last night we saw my brother and his partner off at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport after a great five day visit. They were delayed getting here because a volcano in Eritrea had blown its top and sent columns of ash and muck into the atmosphere, and arrived at Frankfurt International twelve hours later than planned. Still it has been busy, but huge fun.

As they are both terrific artists, we took them to Würzburg to see the "Residence," once the palace of the Prince Bishops of Würzburg and now partly a museum and partly a part of the University campus. The incredible baroque paintings on the ceilings is just one part of the places stunning features. The artist, an Italian named Tiepelo, are 3-D and utterly amazing. Equally amazing is the hand created stucco work on ceilings walls and even fireplaces - all hand created by another Italian artists.

A trip on the Rhine allowed them to see the natural wonders of this part of Germany, and, of course, the many Rhine Castles.

The trip out to Frankfurt-Hahn was quite a trek, but again, it is good to know that they arrived in Montpelier, France, safe and sound and on schedule courtesy Ryanair. For those not "in the know," Frankfurt-Hahn is nowhere near Frankfurt International or even Frankfurt am Main... In fact it's the other side of the Rhine, in the Rhineland-Pfalz and used to be a USAF Airbase, now run for Ryanair ...