So called medical experts are trying to single out the people of Queensland as being deficient in vitamin D, and that it’s caused by most of us working in offices all day, and that we need to spend more time in the Sun.

Give me a break what about all the other major towns and cities around the world most would have the same proportion of workers spending the same amount of hours in a poorly lit office and they are not mentioned as being at risk.

On the one hand we are told that we must not go out in to the sun, and next we are told that we must go out in the Sun. We are even told to wrap our children up, and to not let them leave home without a hat, and suntan lotion. What was it SLIP, SLAP, SLOP!!!!!!!

Make your twisted minds up, it’s one or the other.

Or is it like musical chairs, all change every ten years.

I’m sure their left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing

 Terry Aspinall

 20.05.08

I’ve been very lucky to have been around during the birth of hang gliding in the United Kingdom and even more lucky when I met up with David Cook, who helped teach me to fly one of the very early gliders. Even though David lived in the next village to myself and worked at the same factory, we had never met before. What a chance meeting that turned out to be, and a time I will always remember, because I’ve always admired David as a flyer and of what he has achieved in the aviation world.

Whereas I was flying what became known as a weight hang shift glider, David had built what was known as rigid wing. The difference being that David’s machine was controlled by a joy stick and when he wanted to dive he pushed the stick forward. While mine was known as a flexwing hang glider and flown by using my body weight and the use of an A frame control bar to change direction of flight. When I wanted to dive, I pulled the A frame bar towards me, it being the total opposite direction to David’s which could and did catch a few of the early pioneers out.  Especially during those early days while some pilots were trying to change over from one style of glider to the other. Which David found out to his own cost, ending up with a broken arm.

It was always my aim to repay David for all the help and time he devoted to getting me into the air, which was considerable, because of the area we lived in. Unlucky for us we only had very small sand cliffs to launch our selves from, the highest being around 30 feet. However we made very good use of what we had.

In the middle 80’s I moved my family to New Zealand and at that time believed that we would never see each other again, after all to some people I was going to the ends of the world.

How wrong I was, within a couple of years the whole world seem to go crazy jetting around from country to country. No where seemed too small or too far away to visit. To prove the point David turned up on my door step in New Zealand a couple of years later allowing us to renew our friendship.

Later in life and after I had moved to Australia, and became a web site builder, I suddenly found a way of repaying him, and set about building a web site for him and to what he had achieved. It’s turned out to be very successfully and helped countless numbers of visitors to learn more about an extraordinary aviation pioneer, aircraft designer, test pilot and writer.

 If you would like to learn more about David Cook and his exploits just go to http://www.davidcookaviator.com 

Terry Aspinall

18.05.08

Its common knowledge that in New South Wales, 35% of the cost of building a new home is used to pay taxes, levies and duty’s to State and Federal governments. No wonder people are being forced out of the market to build a new house. This is a far greater proportion to what is charged in the USA and the UK.

Once again the government is making profit from people’s misery.

More houses being built, more people in work to supply materials and labour, and other council charges that follow the moving into a new home.

Why do these people have to be so greedy?

 Have you also noticed that every time a new government  or council etc etc, is elected in to power the very first thing they do is increase their own wages by a substantial amount, while  refusing the general working labour force anything more than just a few paltry dollars. 

Terry Aspinall

17.05.08

With the banks here in Australia ripping us off like they are, while laughing at us at the same time. I can’t help wonder why the Government doesn’t set up its own bank, to help us.

Just think if the major banks are making $4 billion clear profit each year and incidentally while everybody else is struggling all around them. Why can’t the new Government Bank then drop its fees and charges by 50%. Just think that’s still $2 billion that can go to the Government to help run the country. We as customers will be paying 50% less fees, and the other banks would have to follow suit, otherwise nobody would use them. It’s a win win situation.

Ohpsssss sorry its already been done, and they called it the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and our then favourite treasurer Mr Paul Keating, the man who said it was “the recession we had to have”, went and sold if from under us.

Oh well I guess I can go back to dreaming.

Terry Aspinall

 17.05.08

Just been watching a newscaster, telling us that the major banks in Australia have greedily extorted almost $10 billion from us, via fees and charges. You don’t have to ask us how hard we are all struggling in this country, especially when you add into the equation interest and inflation rises that affects most of us with our mortgages and costs of living. 

However, what else could we expect from a bank, they have their share holders to keep happy. I’m reliably informed that most of the shares are off shore, so they couldn’t care less what’s happening to the average Australian. If you don’t believe me try and purchase a few Commonwealth Bank shares, there like gold dust and why wouldn’t they be, after all last year the bank made over $4 billion clear profit. It’s looking like they will certainly top that this year. During a time when high inflation is taking its toll on most households, they have gone ahead and raised its charges, even higher than the official bank rate.And where is the Government, while all this is going on, well don’t hold your breath, after promising to govern us better than the outgoing Government, it’s actually getting worse. Most of us said we would give them a fair go, and we have, but it’s looking like we are in for another dose of MORE. 

I remember a few years ago when the outgoing government de-regulated the Banks a long with a few other industries. We were promised it would all be good for us. It would introduce competition and that we would be the winners. WRONG we have all been the losers. Where is the competition I hear you say, well there isn’t any because all the Banks play around with extra fees and charges in different ways, saying we have a choice of where we bank, but in the end it all comes out the same. How can I prove it, well last year the National Australia Bank also made just over $4 billion. Therefore it does not matter where we bank, in the end we are all slugged the same. 

The deposit of our wages into a bank account was forced upon us by our employers leaving us with no say in the matter. However, it’s the lower end of the workforce that’s feeling the pinch the hardest. After their $300 is placed in to their account on a Thursday and its then drawn out on a Friday to pay the bills. It also means the account is empty, and so once again, yes you guest it, they slug the account with extra fees because it’s empty. But the bank could not careless they just offer the poor sole a brand new credit card at XXXX amount interest, and so they slide deeper into debt. Ever thought that we are the real losers, after all it’s our money that has to try and save these poor souls. 

If the government was fair dinkum and really wanted to do something, why don’t they start by re-regulation the Banks, and while you are doing it why not include the Petrol companies as well, that was another dud herring you sold us, competition my A - - -. 

We are even taxed twice on petrol. They changed the wording of tax to levy, then they include the government levy in with the cost of a litre of petrol and finally charge us GST on the total, double dipping I call it. 

Kevin Rudd in my book you only get one chance especially while times are as hard as they are, and this is yours. 

Remember one thing, Howard found out the hard way, thought he was invincible and untouchable, much like Maggie Thatcher, but he paid the price in the end. If you want to leave your mark on Australia politics this is the time and your chance. USE IT 

Terry Aspinall16.05.08

Have you noticed that every time the subject of reincarnation is brought up, all those who think they can remember a past life, have always been famous people? For some reason not too many believe that they came from the lower end of the society ladder, like slaves, surfs or labourers.

It’s also strange how a large proportion of them also believe that they were on board the Titanic.

As a friend point out to me that’s probably why it sank.

Terry Aspinall

08.05.08

Here we go again, the Labor party finally gets its chance to show the country what it can do after an absence of 12 years, and the first thing they are planning is to slap a new tax on us all. For some reason they want to take $6 dollars from everybody in the country, to give it to parents as a top up payment to assist in the bringing up of their children.

Surly, it’s time that people were made accountable for their own actions. After all they had the pleasure of making the child in the first place, surly they should have the pleasure of looking after it at their own expense. Maybe when they plan to have their next child, they should also plan how they will be able to finance its upbringing until it leaves school.

Terry Aspinall

06.05.08

Here we go again, the so called weather experts are coming out of the wood work like cockroaches, all trying to forecast our weather. Maybe, instead of being called forecasting it should be known as guessing. These guys are just getting ahead of themselves trying to impress us. Now they are trying to forecast not just a few days in advance, but a couple of years into the future.  I’ve just watched one on television telling us here in Brisbane that later in the year we will receive a further 800mm of rain. He went on to add that we will also receive another 800mm of rain next year. This is the same guy who looks out of the studio window and still gets it wrong.

Terry Aspinall

06.05.08

Just been reading a newspaper story about a high profile television star who was found unconscious in a park. When the police arrived he was still unconscious and taken to hospital. Police also found a small amount of drugs in his pocket and charged him. When he was able to answer questions he claimed that his drink was spiked while visiting a night club and that the drugs had been placed into his pocket.

Terry Aspinall
29.04.08

I was talking to a young couple the other day, and they were telling me how much it had cost them to get married in their local church. Especially of what it cost them for the church ceremony. I was absolutely amazed at what they were charged. I told them that in my day you usually dropped a few coppers in the donation box as you left the church. That’s after having shaken hands with the vicar, as he asked you if he could have the few flowers you had scattered around in the church. They probably ended up on his side board or mantelpiece, or low and behold they could have been sold back to the shop.

Terry Aspinall
27.04.08