A few months ago the whole of England experienced an earthquake  - be it only a minor one which didnt cause any more damage than a couple of chimney pots falling off here and there. For most of us it was a fascinating experience of the furniture in our rooms shaking for a couple of seconds.

But i have to say that the tornado you guys over the pond in midwest  suffered yesterday freaked me out. I was on the phone to Sophia trying to analyse which would be the best place for her to be in her new appartment, telling her to close the blinds and curtains of her windows and then steer clear of them . And then i heard it , the storm approaching and that noise. Jeez i could hear something hitting the building, and the sound of  that tornado, bit like a jet flying low . I kept telling Sophia to stay in that closet and to keep calm, half expecting to hear the sound of breaking glass. I know for sure that i was just as relieved as she was once it all died down.

The news bulletins say that a 2 year old boy died during the storms. Im hoping that you guys are all ok, and didnt suffer any damage to your buildings/ cars etc.

Afternoon from this sunny island across the pond. Having spent the afternoon cleaning the block paved front yard of my house I now sit here with my Trade Union hat on (even though its my day off)

Its interesting to compare the rights of workers and what trade unions do in other parts of this planet but my focus for now is between these two great countries either side of the Atlantic.  A few years ago a friend of mine from Florida was telling me she was thinking of moving jobs but the thought of having little or no paid holidays for the first year or two was a concern, as was also the issue that she and her boyfriend were thinking of starting a family. I now read a blog from Angel who got turned down for a job on the basis of her being a single mother.

Jeez, is it that bad over there?  That sort of thing over here would mean a bumper compensation package for the single mum who gets turned down for a job - in other words the company would get their butts sued, and quite rightly so!

As someone who has been involved in the trade union movement over the last 10 years as a rep, branch secretary, and teacher, i am madly passionate about this ESPECIALLY over the equal opportunities part of it and firmly believe that companies should not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, creed, religion, age, sex, or if someone is lesbian, gay, transexual etc. Thankfully there are many laws now in place , a lot of them due to the trade union influence over the last few years, that ensure fairness is practised.

The sad fact is we still have cases where some companies feel they are being clever and will discriminate, often based on the candidates lack of the employment law.

Three new laws that have been pased in the UK over the last year or so have been

1. Discriminating against someone on the basis of their age  - meaning that they cant describe the job as being suitable for a young person or between ages x and y. It also means they cant turn someone down because they think that person would not be "mature enough".

2.  Annual paid holidays - This is now 28 days minimum, and from the day you start. The 28 days include the 8 public holidays a year (we call them bank holidays here, similar to your memorial day, presidents day, etc)

3.  Rights for agency workers.  Some companies were exploiting long term temp workers cos they had no rights. this will now change as this week law was passed to ensure agency workers will now have the same rights after being with the company 12 weeks.

As regards other forms of discrimination its unlawful to even ask a candidate at the interview about things like their sexual preference, and in the case of a woman , asking her if she is planning to start a family.

If such discrimination does exist big time over that side of the pond then maybe the powers that be (i.e. Messrs Bush, Obama, McCain and Ms Clinton) need to stop and think for a moment when they talk about "equal rights for women" in other countries and take a peek in their own backyards?

Id be very interested to know what laws exist for workers in "Uncle Sam" 

Answers on a postcard please  :)

1.  Bumping into somone who was knee-high the last time you saw them and now theyre taller than you

2.  When people stop pointing out  "Oh you're going grey" , almost as if they expect you to now have greying locks on your head!

3.  Seeing someone on TV now who you had a crush on when you were a kid but who now looks like your old headmaster/mistress

4.  Being told by your nephews that you're "too old" to be included in their fantasy soccer team!

5.  Being called a DILF (or MILF) !

6. Finding that your kids/nephews/nieces know more about the latest cellphones and how they work despite your best efforts to figure them out!

7. Being told "you look  good for your age" rather than "hey youre good looking" !

8.  Not being embarrassed anymore that you use womens moisturising creme for your skin.

9.  Being embarrassed to admit that you once thought WWE wrestling was all for real

10.  Being asked  "who the hell are Roxy Music" ? 

It seems foreign call centres are as unpopular over you side of the pond too (I never realised it was the rage there too for greedy companies who resort to such cost cutting without caring about good customer service)

Heres a couple of the not so hellish tales and funny experiences Ive come across.

(1)  I was at a trade union gathering and got introduced to someone who was some big shot director of some company. The company itself was making cutbacks and relocating their call centres abroad. This director chap tried to sell us the idea why it was so wonderful and made "good business sense"  , yeah the usual corporate waffle.

I questioned him on this and he came up with the expected reply with the expected bull**** , "efficiency", "increased profits" , (you know the rest).

I then asked him a simple question ..

"If its all about cutbacks, efficiency, and increased profits then im sure the company could also relocate YOUR role to India too, Im sure they could find a successful director who the company could also pay less than your salary and he'd do an equally impressive job?"

Oh dear, he went all red, and rather speechless (plus i hasten to add he was met with a fair few smirky grins around the room) - friggin' hypocrite!  :)

(2) Brother-in-law wanted to sign up to some Bollywood film channel and as English isnt his first language , big sis was talking to the cable company on the phone at their UK call centre (yes, a UK based one - surprise surprise!). The agent on the other end of the line quoted a price which sis relayed back to bro-in-law.  Now , bearing in mind sis has been married to bro-in-law for 30 years she is pretty much used to his constant use of the urdu equivalent of the "f-word" , especially when he hears a price he dosent like, so it came as no surprise to her when he said

"How much? That f--ker (sorry cant type the urdu word for that) said it was a special offer when we spoke to him the other day" .

 Before my sis had time to say "foul mouth" the agent on the other end of the line told her to

"Tell that person in the background i heard what he said and i fully understood it too!"

Naturally big sis was rather embarrassed, bro-in-law muttered something about "how did he know it would be an indian person in a UK centre" , and as for me ? Well I nearly fell off my chair laughing - sorry but it was so hilarious  :)

We've treated them to a mini-break in Paris btw , a pressie from the rest of us for their 30th wedding anniversary!

'fraid to say we're paying through the nose again - its now over £5.00 (approx $10.00) for a gallon - and you guys think youre paying too much ?  :)