Why is Fair Trade so expensive?
11/07/2008
I appreciate that sometimes the "little man" at the source of our supply chain is often inadequately paid and therefore I am basically in agreement with the idea of goods being "Fairly Traded". However, I think that it is important that the transaction is fair to me as well.
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Councils and their pound of flesh
On Monday 14th July at 9.30am, Mr Philip McGrevey will be attending the Newton Abbot Magistrates' Court, trying to get recognition of the plight of pensioners struggling to pay ouncil Tax. We would ask for Mature Times readers’ support since we do not want a repetition of what happened in Somerset where a pensioner was driven to take his own life because of the pressures he was under.
New Labour? Baah!
This government promised us a fair pension and the end of means-tested benefits. They lied.
Gurkha treatment is a bloody disgrace
Treating the Gurkhas with such contempt is a bloody disgrace and I do not apologise for the rhetoric. The lunatics are definitely running the asylum.
Hi-de-hi? Great fun!
I refer to Jim Tilley's email about the old Butlin's style holidays (see link below). I went on four Holiday Camp holidays during the years 61-67 with my mate Andy and his Mum & Dad; I was 17 in 1961, and I remember those holidays as some of the best ever.
Let's do away with postcode lottery healthcare
All residents in the United Kingdom should have equal access to life saving drugs, where ever they live in the United Kingdom, and what ever there income.
A petition has now been started on the Prime Ministers web site at the link below for anyone to view and sign.
"Cross-border" fiasco on the buses
As a 'Free Welsh Bus Pass' holder I recently watched with interest what I can only describe as a fiasco on a recent trip from Chepstow to Newport.
You're right: pensioners face mountain of debt
The National Pensioners' Convention interpretation of the Scottish Widows survey that "one in three can't afford to save for retirement" will surely become more apparent as the credit crunch continues. Your article elsewhere about those "closer to retirement" being deeper in mortgage debt is also alarming.
Excise duty changes will penalise automatic drivers
I would like to bring to the attention of your readers some of the implications of the changes in Vehicle Excise Duty proposed for next year relating to cars from 2001 onwards with automatic transmissions.
You're right - hospital parking charges are a disgrace
Hospital parking is indeed a mess as suggested by your readers, and steeped in bureaucracy and hypocrisy.
Outlook black - and getting blacker
When this Government first gave us the Winter Fuel Allowance it covered almost all of my energy bill. Now, even with the extra £50.00 announced for this year it will pay barely a quarter of it.
Can this really be true?
Is it true? Can it really be correctly reported that the striking petrol tanker drivers are paid twice as much as our soldiers serving in hazardous conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Hi de hi? Not on your nelly!
Our family - mum, dad and three kids - when I was young 60 years ago holidayed in Butlins' 'hey day' immediately post war. The experience means I would never contemplate taking a holiday at Butlins (or its ilk) ever again - not even if petrol was treble the price it is now.
Are you dancing? Yes, we're dancing!
Following on from the editor's plea for places for older poeple to go for a bop, my wife and I have found rock n' roll! We go out nearly every weekend travelling up to 50 miles each way to have fun and meet lovely people of all ages. There is a venue in most towns across the country one night each week and at least 84 weekend dancing holidays a year?
NHS at 60: ask the patients - but will they be heard?
As the NHS prepares to celebrate its 60th birthday on July 5th, we are asking readers to tell us what YOU feel about the service: its achievements over six decades, your experiences of treatment - and what you would like to see for the future.
