Big Brother is watching you!

 

I recently visited the US. To enter the country, you have to have your picture and fingerprints taken at the border. If you visit somewhere that requires an entry card, you also have to have you fingerprint scanned to make sure you are the same person using the card for whom it was purchased for (ie, you can't hand your unused tickets on to someone else.

I thought that was bad enough but I looked out of my bedroom window this morning to see a DVLA van, Loaded with cameras, cruising my street. I presume it was looking for cars parked on the street with no tax and any parked on driveways with no tax or SORN. If the authorities can apply this method of control over the car tax you pay, how come they can't even tell if the person teaching your kids is safe to do so?

I think it's about the will to do so. The government thinks more about getting in the revenue which is why they spend more money linking systems to chase you for money, then they do linking systems to protect individuals.

Big Brother IS watching you - George Orwell was right!

Disneyworld USA adventure!

We just got back after a gruelling 9 hour flight from Orlando. We've had   10 days of all sorts of excitement at Disneyworld in Florida. |Apart from the obvious theme parks and restaurants, we also experienced a near miss with a Tornado and freezing cold temperatures similar to that which we left behind in London. You would not think that Florida could experience such cold temperatures. The variation from on day to the next can be phenomenal. 0 degrees to 25+ in the space of a day.

Anyway. We rode all the big rides with one or two exceptions. If you go, two you must try are Tower of Terror at the Hollywood studios park. I'm so glad I fastened the seat belt properly! It's very scary. Also, "Soarin'" at Epcot. It's a calm ride but very innovative and one of the best rides I've ever experienced.

We where lucky enough to get a disabled pass so we managed to skip many of the cues. Had we not had that, we would not have seen as much as we did. We also ate way to much much! Another highlight for me was the Cirque Du Soleil - La Nouba show. Very very spectacular and worth the 80 dollar ticket price (Especially at today's exchange rate).

The Americans know how to look after the old and disabled. We had first hand experience and I can't fault them for that. In the UK, Both are seen as a burden by most people. In the states, everyone seems to respect those in both categories. In that area, we have a lot to learn from them.