Musings of the day

On Northern Ireland of late.

So we, the good old taxpayer have been paying over a million quid for special advisors to ministers when there are no ministers. Not a bad number if you can get it. Problem is you have to be in the know so to speak.
No open competition for these roles, no fair employment legislation or monitoring forms to fill in so it makes you wonder how you get a foot through the door.

More to the point who does a special advisor advise if there are no ministers to advise? All the same must be fairly boring, all that hanging around, with that briefcase overflowing with tons of knowledge and the latest up to the date statistics and no one to feed the information to.

Given the state of our local politics you do also have to question how special has their advice been in the past. I mean, the guys in the UUP and SDLP seem to have been out advised by the DUP and Sinn Fein guys but that poor performance does not seem to have dented their salaries. And not for these lads the way of the samurai and bushido who when they lost their master committed sepuku as they felt dishonored and shamed.

No, these guys just keep taking the money. I suppose you could look at it a bit like being on the dole, they want to work; there’s just no work for them to do. Not their fault really and lets be honest, how many of us in their shoes would do otherwise?


We also had a historic meeting of Sinn Fein and the PSNI with Hugh and Gerry smiling for the cameras. Who would have forecast that one ten years ago. Given the hurt and mistrust on both sides it really is a sign that our peace process continues and that we all have bitter pills to swallow if we are to leave the next generation with something more than a conflict.


Are they building a new theatre as part of the Maze regeneration project?
Maybe Michael Stone can perform his new piece Revolving Doors there. I heard he is after Gwyneth Paltrow to play the role of Sue Porter the security officer. Sliding Doors and Revolving Doors are all the same to Michael and if the judge plays his cards right Michael’s “work of art” could run longer than the Mousetrap. Apparently HMP Maghaberry is all set for their new artist in residence.

Elsewhere in the world
M Blair is out and about in the Middle East helping them sort out their differences. Given his track record in Northern Ireland and Iraq it won’t be long before Hamas are sitting in the Knesset or the whole area is in chaos. Guess a man’s got to leave his mark somehow.

What about Lembit Opik who has proven he supports an immigration policy. His recent relationship with one of the Cheeky Girls has thrust him into the spotlight for a short time. Well done Lembit in supporting a multicultural Britain. Even the girls’ mother likes him but watch out for the storm cloud gathering from weathergirl Sian Lloyd, she may not turn the other cheek.

Well that’s enough of my rambling.

Consultantinahat.