Nobody's Business

Alive and Well (and Not Slacking Off Too Badly)

I've been overwhelmed with photography work. It's the first time in four and a half years that I haven't blogged [ahem] religiously, pretty much every day. Forgive the apparent slackery. I have to provide for my family and that comes first. This blog, much as I've poured my heart into it, has always been a drag on my family time and my professional life, as well as a liability. It caught up with me, I guess.

This is just a quick note to thank readers who've expressed concern, especially those who sent search parties to Guantanamo and all the way into Facebook-land. I appreciate it.

More soon.

An Englishman's Home is the Government's Castle

If it were possible to implant a good-behavior chip in human brains, I'm certain Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Children's Secretary Ed Balls would be ordering about 60 million of the devices right now. Until then, there's this:

The Children's Secretary set out £400 million plans to put 20,000 problem families under 24-hour CCTV supervision in their own homes. They will be monitored to ensure that children attend school, go to bed on time and eat proper meals.

Private security guards will also be sent round to carry out home checks, while parents will be given help to combat drug and alcohol addiction. Around 2,000 families have gone through these Family Intervention Projects so far. But ministers want to target 20,000 more in the next two years.