Jessica is showing George how far it is to London, just in case they might want to walk there.

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Apart from the obvious concern that the message will convince some people that, if they have two days without drinking, then they could have five days where they could drink all they liked, it seems to assume that we’re all having a ‘glass or two’ every night.

Now I’ve tweeted about the need for a glass of wine, the enjoyment of a glass of wine and the regret at not having another bottle of wine to hand, quite a bit, well alright quite a lot, over the last couple of years. But I don’t know about you, this was mainly at the weekends, and almost certainly a Friday or Saturday evening. Like a lot of people, given the chance, I would quite probably open a bottle every night but, in my case at least, for two things.

Firstly, I have three children. This leaves me little enough time at the weekends to drink, let alone every night of the week. And those of you with small children especially, will know that what with the numerous ‘wake up’ calls throughout the night, the ever present threat of someone tripping over their feet and breaking something and the need to remember who goes where and when, the thought of being half cut at the same time is a non starter.

Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, the cost of buying alcohol in these austere times that we find ourselves in today, would seem to preclude me from any chance of the so called ‘binge-drinking’ habits so loved of certain sections of our popular press!

So whilst I understand that they have our best interests at heart and, as I have witnessed first hand with my late Father in law, the effects of alcohol abuse are very real and effect more than just the person struggling from this addiction, I can’t help but feel that this message will be just as misunderstood as the last.

We know we probably drink too much at times, we know that we shouldn’t and yet we all know, we probably still will.

Related articles

• MPs call for two alcohol-free days each week and clearer guidelines on drinking (guardian.co.uk)
• New binge-drinking daily limit advice as drinkers are told to have at least … – Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk)
• Is Red Wine Really Good for You? (everydayhealth.com)

And Matthew has proved harder to stop than most children, no amount of “No!” will deter him, sitting him on the ‘naughty step’ achieves very little. Locking him in a cage in the garden would more than likely be frowned upon, so he’ll have to learn by his mistakes, which could take him a while.

I think he must get his stubbornness from his Mother.

But as might be expected, having a cast on isn’t stopping him from trying to climb and find a way to break his other arm…..or a leg….or both….

With the energy companies putting their prices up, some of them up to £100 since this summer at least, the charge of unfair profiteering is being levelled at them. They should be providing a service to us, not creaming off the all the money for themselves. It’s become so bad that the prime minister has invited them to downing street to discuss the question of ‘fairer prices’.

I bet they can’t wait.

But, but, but.

I can’t help thinking that this may be a case of ‘what goes around, comes around’. Back in the late 1980′s when the government of the day agreed to the privatisation of the energy sector, many people rushed to snap up shares in these companies and, in some cases, make a tidy profit. Others held on to their shares and waited for the money to come in over the subsequent years.

Whilst one could argue that to begin with prices came down as more choice became available, the cost of gas and electric has risen steadily ever since.

And we have to realise that these prices will always reflect the need for these companies to make a profit, they’re run as a business, that’s what they do. If you or I started a company we wouldn’t think of “giving it away”, we’d want a fair return for our time and energy. Where this model falls down is when a firm, or group of firms in this case, know that they’ve pretty much got the market covered. And it would seem that this group of companies has decided to “mirror” each other far to often when it comes to price rises.

You need gas and electric, you’ll need to pay the price. Any easy answers? Take the utilities back under public ownership? Set a cap on profits? Tax the profits at a heavier rate? Bring in a tiered system of pricing based on abilty to pay?

There’s never going to be a simple answer, especially when the energy companies are going to fight to protect their profit margin, regardless of what the government or energy watchdogs are going to propose.

The whole energy market needs reforming, prices need to be fairer, people need to be able to pick and choose who supplies them and at what price.

But will these companies listen, and what do we do if they won’t?

Related articles

• Energy companies fuel customer confusion (moneyexpert.com)
• Why has Ofgem taken so long to act against energy companies? | Terry Macalister (guardian.co.uk)

Be careful though….

Now most of the furore over the comments of Ken Clarke and indeed the discussions that always follow talking about rape, always seem to focus on what the woman must have done to be raped, in effect why she “deserved” it. To be fair a lot of the debate has now recognised, begrudgingly in some cases, that there can never be a reason for rape but still, some sections of the media and society in general seek to pin the blame on the victim first.

Personally I’ve never believed the way a woman dresses, speaks, or acts whilst in public should be seen as a reason for any form of abuse. And, if in a one on one situation she says “no”, then that should be respected without recourse to force.

But then maybe I’m just one of your typical Guardian reading, wishy-washy lefties who believes in all people being created equal, regardless of race or gender.

And, as if to highlight my point, the article by Tanya Gold below is revealing not so much for its content, though it is a strong piece, but rather the many comments in the thread below that range widely from “it’s my body” to ” dress like a slut, get treated like a slut”.

Which takes me back to my original point, the discussion on Radio 4 highlighted the simple reason why so many feel we struggle to have a serious debate about rape , focusing as it did on how a woman is somehow responsable for everything that happens regardless of situation or the people involved. The need to get away from the tired old arguments will forever be wishful thinking whilst we still hold the view that in some way she “deserved it”, especially when these views are held by other women.

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• Marching with the SlutWalkers (guardian.co.uk)

It’s not often that I’ll extol you to give money to a “good cause”, even rarer to pledge any of my own!

But this is one of those occasions.

Let me tell you about a little girl called Amelia.

She’s just been through an operation to close a hole in her heart at Great Ormond Street Hospital and, though only just over a year old, she has kept a smile on her face throughout all the tests and challenges that her condition has thrown up. As you can see from the picture above though, Amelia takes most of it in her stride.

Now why am I telling you this?

Well Amelia’s mummy, Tina, has decided to give a little something back to this outstanding children’s hospital, to say thank you for all the care and expertise that the doctors, nurses and support staff offer on a daily basis to the many, many children that they care for.

She’s taking part in the Adidas Women’s 5km Challenge in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, and if you’re so inclined you could donate a little to her here. And just to make sure she’s keeping to her training schedule, and more importantly, finishes the race, you can keep an eye on her progress here.

Or if you’d prefer you can donate to Great Ormond Street directly here.

I know that money is scarce these days, and every charity can make a good argument as to why you should give them your money. But this is just my little suggestion for one or two of those hard earned pounds in your pocket. But even if you can’t afford anything at least Amelia will know that you’ve read her story and you wish her well in her recovery.

Thank you.