I definitely should be writing a country and western song right now. Last week my mum died, my sister fell and cracked her coccyx, my wife had an operation, my car broke down, I got caught in a security check and missed my plane and I also witnessed a bad traffic accident. You might be thinking, “Yes, but there´s no dog in the story!” Well, fear not. My cat decided to pack up eating and go awol. When I had worried sufficiently to ask my neighbour he laughed and told me he´d been feeding the little tinker. Tinker by name and tinker by nature and apologies to any little tinkers reading my blog.

The weather has been rather nice today although I have not been outside all day. Let´s see what lies ahead.

Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
22° C | 14° C	27° C | 16° C	26° C | 15° C	25° C | 14° C	24° C | 14° C
Clear	Clear

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You know I am not in favour of taking pills and I feel the rebel doctor might agree with me. Read what he has to say…….

Children suffering from drug reactions

More than a million kids suffering from bad drug reactions every year. But these children aren’t being victimized by smack or crack or any other street drug.

They’re suffering from legal, prescription meds — many of which never should have been given to them in the first place.

Close to 600,000 kids are hit with side effects like rashes, stomachaches and diarrhea after a visit to their local pusher… er, pediatrician — and tens of thousands of them end up in the hospital because of those reactions, according to a study in Pediatrics.

Even worse, 43 percent of these kids are under 5 years old, when any medical complication can quickly turn into a crisis — or at least send their parents into a panic. Some of the most common reactions happen when these little victims are put on antibiotics, which most of them don’t need and shouldn’t get anyway.

Another 540,000 kids suffer from bad drug reactions in hospitals every year, according to government numbers — and their problems go far beyond those side effects. Some of these kids are accidentally given the wrong medications, or the wrong amounts, resulting in accidental overdoses in the very place where that should NEVER happen!

I know hospitals are busy and chaotic — but these kinds of mistakes are inexcusable at any age. When they happen to children, it’s criminal.

It’s time parents start to stand up to these legal drug pushers and demand real treatments when their kids get sick — not an endless series of prescription meds, side effects and hospital visits.

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Quite often I have to drive family and friends to the airport. This might be of interest

Illegal pirates make one in five taxi journeys between Alicante’s busy El Altet Airport and the Costa Blanca as money is siphoned into the black economy, it was claimed this week.

Expats and tourists moving between the airport, homes and holiday accommodation were said to be targeted by the pirate cabs – and the numbers of illegal taxis are soaring.
And, according to Valencia’s Confederation of Taxi Drivers – responsible for producing the shocking figures – the problem is getting worse with legitimate drivers feeling the pinch in the recession.
There are around 1,300 legal taxis registered in Alicante alone, and the organisation warned that over longer distances the pirates could actually charge more.
Taxi drivers are again calling for action – but Round Town News readers will despair of another heavy-handed clampdown at the airport by the Guardia Civil this summer.

FINES
Police used number plate recognition to monitor “multiple trips” to the airport. However, it resulted in chaos as innocent drivers were stopped and risked hefty fines for picking up and dropping off friends and relations.
This week, president of the Valencia taxi driver’s confederation, Juan Antonio Guardeno said between 15 and 20 percent of services provided to foreign nationals moving between the Costa Blanca and the airport “are made by these so-called pirate taxis”.
He maintained the illegal taxis “are often the more expensive” as they ferried passengers further along the coast.
And he stated that a vast majority of the pirates would only accept none Spanish fares –fearing native Spaniards would report the cab driver to the police.
“If they receive a ‘phone call from someone who does not sound English or another language, they will ignore it,” claimed Mr Guardeno. “They even claim the caller has the wrong number because they fear they may be betrayed to the police.”

ZERO
He said the number of fares into some areas of Torrevieja, traditionally a popular destination by taxi, had plummeted from around 50 a week “to almost zero with the emergence of this illicit activity.”
Tensions were said to be rising at the airport itself as the drivers of distinctive white cabs confront the pirates. According to reports in the Spanish press, a legitimate taxi driver suffered minor injuries after a pirate drove off suddenly.
The taxi drivers say the pirates appear in private cars, hire cars, estate agents’ vehicles – and even minibuses.
They describe the situation as a “scourge” and are committed to denouncing the illegal competition to the authorities.
One added: “It is getting so bad we can even recognise the faces of the regular pirates. We pay our taxes and licences – we are suffering real economic loss.”

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The Man Rules
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Finally , the guys’ side of the story.
( I must admit, it’s pretty good.)
We always hear ” the rules”
From the female side….

Now here are the rules from the male side.

These are our rules!
Please note.. these are all numbered “1 ”
ON PURPOSE!

1.   Men are NOT mind readers.
( FIRST & FOREMOST RULE)

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports, It’s like the full moon
or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are.
Don’t ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the   other one

1. You can either ask us to do something
Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both.
If you already know best how to do it , just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.
We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing,” We will act like nothing’s wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle..

1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, Expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine… Really .

1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football
or Hockey.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape.   Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don’t mind that? It’s like camping.

Catch my show on Cool FM at the weekend 9 until midday Saturday and Sunday