Dr Helen Winter and her disgrace to clinical psychology

It is sad to see a national news item about the shortcomings of a psychologist, a profession I hold close to heart. In this instance it may well of been a quiet news days to the papers had to fill column widths however they most certainly got a kick out of delivering the news. Dr Helen Winter took a recreational drug (MDMA) on 24.01.2014 at a club in Vaxhaul.  She also offered it to patients who were under her care. This woman had been working at the now closed down charity called Kids Company. Which is a charity I also very nearly donated money, but didn't.  A charity which had done great good while it was open for the people of East London and especially for under privileged children.

Becoming a clinical psychologist is a long and hard road to take, the opportunities are rare and fearsomely fort over.  Places are exceptionally low and unless you are dedicated to the highest level of giving up everything else in your life it will not happen.  It often would mean living on loans and low wages for many years, before gaining qualification. Dr Helen Winter has in this respect disgraced the profession of psychology and she has exceptionally let herself down. I can't express adequately how this woman is living the dream of any budding clinical psychologist and how esteemed a role her vocational choice has been. Since Kids Company closed her skills were used by East London Foundation NHS Trust as she works with teenage children. So perhaps it is also pertinent to ask given her fondness for drugs as a leisure pursuit should she still be allowed to work with kids?

Perhaps this article which has been elaborated more in such news papers as the Daily Mail, Sun and the Mirror is about being human and making a mistake. Unfortunately many would be clinical psychologists who never got the opportunities Dr Winter had would never have the chance to make such a mistake and possible not be so stupid as to make it.  She is at fault and she should receive a punishment suitable to her err.

The big G sucking taxes to Bermuda

The biggest search engine in the world is Google, and it is this company who are sucking the lifeblood out of the UK. They do this by taking business from here and not paying their tax. In a wonderful sweetheart deal with HMRC they only pay £130 million in backdated tax.  This company should not be allowed to do business in the UK. It should be fined to the hilt for tax avoidance. By this I mean the real understanding of why tax is in place. It is clear from the financial instruments in place they are able to move money around and classify it as something else. So why is the UK government also lobbying to protect Google's tax haven in Bermuda.

In watching an interview on the Andrew Marr Show, 31.01.2016. Marr interviews Peter Barron and asked him some questions about the tax the G had paid. When watching this man be interviewed there were two things which came to mind. Firstly Marr is a crap interviewer and is afraid of asking difficult questions and pursuing them like a pit-ball. The politicians must love him because it is a chance to self publicise. Secondly there was no way this man could answer any questions and he was not the CEO who should of been fielding questions about dodgy tax deals. It was clearly very early this interview would be a white wash of excuses and so it was. Peter Barron by being interviewed was putting his head on the block, for if he did come out of this interview poorly he would be sacked from a lucrative job. He came out of it, but with only a few scratches and not a savaging which he should of had. He could not say how much profit google had made, he avoided such questions by diverting his answers to how the UK tax system works. As if we need an explanation for this. What we needed was an explanation about google. Why don't google pay their fair taxes on the actual profit they make? Why do they use financial instruments in order to dodge paying taxes? Why are they building at enormous expense 3 buildings in London. The pictures of one such building were advertised in the Telegraph.  See here the luxury green velour room where employees can sit and think. A room which was obviously funded from profits, but for such profits to be spent in this way on this building certainly does mean google is avoiding paying their fair tax.

There has to be no doubt in anyone's mind this sweetheart deal google has made is costing the tax payer money. For unpaid tax means less spent on education, the NHS and the emergency services to say the least. Not even considering how tax is also distributed to local authorities so they can provide the services real people use every day in the boroughs they live in. The UK government should be utterly ashamed of how it has conducted itself, it is Tory led ministers who have pushed and accepted this deal from the HMRC, it is George Osborne who is responsible for accepting it and his fellow cabinet members who have failed to stand up for the country who voted them into power in the first place.

Shame on google and shame on this Tory government.

Google is it a conniving, nasty, self-important, tax dodging company?

Conniving most certainly and a lot of people are bound to say Yes.  For there cannot be a single fair tax paying person in the UK who is now spitting feathers knowing how Google has fleeced the country of paying a fair tax on it's profits. The tax paid has been estimated at a mere 3 percent. This is a company which is multinational and makes billions in GBP each year. By not paying a fair tax it is depriving this country of money which would of been paid towards, hospitals, nurses, doctors, GPs, roads, fire engines, lighting, education, welfare services, welfare funding and hundreds if not thousands of other such items tax helps to support and pay for. Google by not paying an appropriate and fair tax are shafting the British people and then doing it again and again every single year.

It was HMRC who investigated Google and it was on authority of George Osborne the deal was accepted. This company has a direct line to the law makers of this country and this is inappropriate on many levels. The G made £4.6 billion of sales which went through Ireland over the last year, in consideration this is a company which deals mostly in intellectual property as a business and advertising the amount of actual profit on this is likely to be a large proportion.  Lets say at least £2 Billion. The HMRC however has asked them to pay up a mere £130 million. Now although the press say G has paid 3 percent, it seems likely even a this figure is high in estimation. The G and many other tech companies will say they pay the tax they owe. This is because they use financial witchcraft such as the double Irish and the Dutch sandwich, real money is now not real it is electronic and highly mobile, so it is transferred in an instance anywhere around the world. The notion of fairness has no play in the world of tax.  Yet it is the normal indigenous populations of countries who pay fair taxes, the workers and the small to medium size businesses. But the supersize buinesses don't, they have no moral compass or compassion. They live off the money they get from those who use their services then throw that money around in a smokescreen so it never gets returned back to the original purchasers through tax. It has been suckered out of the economy like a parasite withdraws blood and never gives back to the host. This is what high tech companies like G have become.

The answer then is not to use their businesses, their services or anything to do with them. To find an alternative because out there in the world there are alternatives. When their business models begin to fail then they may start to ask why. Technology can be moved around and there is always another company who can do the same thing. Personally I am now making a point of changing my default search engine. If G is going to screw my country I am not going to participate in helping them.

The state of the UK 2015

There is a feeling I can't shake off, it is the UK going to pot. It all began with the recession which was generated by Labour governments and incredibly bad decisions.  Tony Blair instigated PFI in order to build schools and hospitals, at the time everyone thought it was ludicrous that a hospital should be paid for ten times over through this initiative but it didn't stop him pushing it forward. Just as Gordon Brown decided it was better for the country to hold court with the bankers, keep them sweet and give them as much as he possibly could. In doing so he wilfully decided not to help the manufacturing sectors of the economy. What the use is it to have one banker in work and several thousand ordinary people on the dole? It's ludicrous. Yet to top it all off the inevitable labour loss cropped up and then we find a Tory government who only wants to privatise as much as possible. It is all put under the guise of trying to reduce the economic deficit.  It is like they have a get out of jail free card. Every time someone says there policies are not working they pull out a stock phrase such as services can not be strong unless we have a strong economy to pay for them. Unfortunately still the deficit persists and Osborne's promises of balancing recede further into the distance. He has lost the plot, but really no more so than the politicians before him.  In the meantime with so many elderly people needing support and care the costs to keep the worst 2 percent of needy people take up 50 percent of local authority budgets.  A third of all hospital beds are being blocked by people who have nowhere to go. Operations are now stacking up higher than the tallest buildings in Canary Wharf. 

In addition the welfare budget goes up and up and living standards go down. Some people have been on welfare benefits most of their life. They expect everything to be given to them. Yes they may live in poverty but they see no way out because the opportunities, education and motivation is not there for them. The working population and their direct taxes declines while large businesses such as Amazon, Google and Next pay no tax at all. Their profits go up but the tax they should be paying which would go towards education, NHS and local services is not there.  It has evaporated into that lovely creamy layer at the top of a pint of Guinness which is supped slowly by politicians, bankers and accountants.  A time will come where we are unable to afford free health care, so it will then be costed. It is actually costed now but the general public doesn't usually foot a bill.  It will not be far away in the future where if you can not afford insurance then you can not go to a hospital. Paupers funerals are increasing, the working poor now start to use food banks as well, education is being taken over by faith schools who have narrow curriculum and enjoy the poison of religion with charitable status.  In the meantime the mentally ill become severely ill and go on rampages killing innocent people just because they have nobody who will listen to them or a welfare system which is now designed to weed them out of the benefits system so they will starve to death. 

Britain has become a magnet for ethnic minority groupings and in a short decade the population rate has increased about a million for each year. It is no wonder we have a welfare and care systems under strain for those who are now added into the mix have never contributed taxes to the very system they take out of.  Not to mention of there being a housing shortage.  People take out but don't put back in, just as the long term unemployed who have no intention to work and continue to free-load. These may seem stereotypical views but they are echoes of what people think. It is not fair and the system is breaking under the strain. It is top heavy, there has to be a new way forward, it takes a little lateral thinking. Something the bankers, accountants and politicians don't have. 

We think things are bad now but in five years time continuing under this government they are going to be a lot worse.

The disgusting and vile Health Minster Alistair Burt

The minister for Health Alistair Burt, has of all people prevented what could of been a Bill from going to government which could of saved lives and prevented pain and illness for millions of people. He did this by filibustering a new law which would of allowed the purchase of cheaper drugs from companies when their patent ran out.  This was the Off-Patients drug Bill, Mr Burt talked for an additional 27 minutes in order the hearing would run out of time and he succeeded.


I can not understand how an individual can stand in the way of something which would of been of so much use to so many people. Here is an instance of the Tory machine screwing the entire population of the UK. Or certainly anyone who doesn't have money and every single health authority.  I wonder if the constituents of North East Bedfordshire hold the same opinion of Mr (not at all honourable) Burt, especially those who may well need specialised drugs and find the Health trust just doesn't have the money to give them those drugs even when the patent had ran out.  If karma were real this is one incident when you would want it to come back and bite the individual in the arse.  Mr Burt's actions were completely intentional, he announced them before he started talking. Voters of North East Bedfordshire ask yourself are you really happy this man speaks for you, because the only conscience he seems to have is his own.

The importance of an off-patient drug is one where it is found the drug which was made for one purpose is found to help a patient for a different condition. The nature of medicine has serendipitously found many drugs which have different uses. In this way they add another tool to a doctor's ability to help cure the sick. Mr Burk seems to not really care about this at all. But it is an oxymoron and very moronic a health minister employed to look after the nation's health should do such a thing. Indeed why have enemies when you can have friends like Mr Burt.  I sure hope his constituents feel as upset and annoyed Burk has done this as should every person living in the UK. This bill could of allowed cancer patients to of received drugs for as little as 5 pence a dose. At one point in the debate Burt accused those opposing him of "shroud waving" this was picked up by an MP who said it was an inappropriate term to use. Burt apologise but still continued to filibuster the bill. His actions are despicable, disgusting and perverse to say the least, this man should not be allowed to sit in parliament, he should not be allowed in any position of authority and should be taken down by his constituents.  His actions cannot be forgiven.

Interruptions at work in the open planned hell hole

Getting work done at work is an oxymoron.  Which may be related to working in an open plan office which when you look at it is more like a car park with carpet and tables. Tables by the way which are merged single units with little space on them. For the hot both a hot desking and clear desk policy is also in use. The nature of my work is highly knowledge based, but there is also a need to talk to people, except I would prefer not to talk to people if I could help it. There are days when I sit down and am so motivated and geared up to work it is unbelievable.  There's a pile to be dealt with and this pile is higher than mount Everest, but bit by bit the distractions kick in. Across the other side of the office a section of people chat away about their weekend, they laugh and joke. They have no idea how their silly noise is such an irritant while I'm trying my best to clear my head and concentrate on the problem in front of me. I know I can deal with it but I need to focus, I need to concentrate. With a little quiet and a little thought I can deal with it in twenty minutes. Make the correct decision and get an email confirmation off to someone who is waiting for the reply and has been badgering me incessantly the last 5 weeks.  Five hours later I return to the same problem, barely having written a single sentence and find my day has been dictated by everyone else around me. Stuff which is not as important has just been constantly interrupting me. Then it's mid afternoon and all the motivation and will power I had earlier in the day has been sapped away. I can hear a high pitched scream in my ears, it's tinnitus kicking in, now concentration can only be fragmented to a few seconds. I'm at my workstation sitting there doing no more than just wait for the next interruption. All I am is a machine to be interrupted.  Then tomorrow morning I'll be accosted by the boss who will ask why I still haven't done this one piece of work, it will be in an accusatory tone as if I been sitting there making cakes all day and not bothering to earn my wages.

The ringer on my phone is turned to mute, so it doesn't worry me like a crying baby, I can see a flashing red light on top of it and then can make the decision whether to answer it. To this extent I've now learnt how to own my phone. The number of the caller will flash up, I can then ring them back at my own choosing. If only I could do this with people. I know my job inside out, I can work it well and I don't need to really ask anyone any questions. I am capable enough to find my own answers, pick up guidance notes, read manuals, find the right regulations.  Even in ambiguous situations I am able to weight my choice and make a decision. This is the name of the game at times.  Decision making, doing it as quickly as possible and then moving on to the next item. However, some people just vacillate and never get to the decision point. They can't seem to make a decision and then ask questions, but they don't know how to phrase the question so it is asked in the most inefficient way. The question is asked in a way which takes up more time than necessary. Because what I have to do is assure them and put them at ease. Their inabilities makes my job harder. Everyone has done their job for decades but yet they still ask stupid questions, they still don't get it. They are paid to do this and they should just get on with it. Their inabilities are down to personality, not training or knowledge, they rather interrupt someone else than think through the problem. In many respects here it doesn't matter whether the decision is right or wrong. And in all sense if you're not too sure then you'd just err to the most cautious choice, one which isn't going to be expensive to the organization.  This way the customer can query and come back again if they are unhappy.  But while they ask questions they stop another employee from getting on with their job. Usually its me, and it's not like I'm the fount of all knowledge, especially when I hear myself saying repeatedly "I don't know."

Some days it gets so bad I just go to the toilet so I can sit down with my naked arse over the pan. I put my head in my hands and there is very little noise around me. It's sad, even going there when someone has had a full stinky crap can still be a relief. I just hold my nose and breath through my mouth. I know other people use the toilets to sit and look at their smart phones.  It's a place of contemplation or just a place of escape.  There are not custom made silent rooms where individuals can sit and be alone so they can get on with complicated work, where they can concentrate. These are things the employer just doesn't get. It's an employees' mental health and their productivity which is severely affected by hell hole open planned offices. 

Remote workers can be a pain as well, those who are permanently based at their homes. They don't know what is going on and lose touch with the workplace. When a finger on the pulse is necessary they just don't have it.  Keeping in touch with them time consuming and trying to talk them through how to work a computer program without being able to show them feels like the blind leading the blind. It is remarkable how many people are not computer literate or rather computer competent on the simplest of things. When a little knowledge can be so easily learnt by physically showing by example it doesn't work this way with home workers.  A normal two minute demonstration can become a twenty minute discussion on the phone. Time wasted, time lost and that important bit of work I wanted to do again is left on the back burner.

There are three moments when work can be actually achieved, the first is in a place, but that place may well not be the office, it could be at home or on the toilet seat. The seat where a few minutes can give you time to think on how you are going to phrase an email which needs some diplomatic response. The second is a time.  Some people get into work early while others get into work late and work late. When there are fewer employees around there are fewer interruptions. The third is while moving. I used to do a lot of study while riding a bus, I knew by direction and the feel of each turn on the bus exactly where I was and at the same time put in extra study time. 

Open plan offices are hell holes, if you don't want employees to do work, make their office as open as possible before long the business will go downhill, and if it doesn't you can bet your bottom dollar they will be supremely inefficient.

McLeod Russel's estates and tea workers at the Behora Tea estate

In a short documentary film for the BBC aired on 15.09.15. reporter Justin Rowlatt described in detail what is happening with the tea industry in India and the conditions of tea workers. In the region of West Bengal, in Doomur Dullung tea is grown by a company called McLeod Russel, this company supplies tea to PG Tips, Typhoo, Fornum and Masons to name a few. it is a big company and has been providing tea for many years.  Tea is indeed big business and certainly in the UK has been a national drink for centuries. However, after watching this documentary I am now in the process of weaning myself off tea because I refused to buy a product  from a company who's workers are essentially in life servitude to a company which does not look after them. Alas the last bags of my PG Tips have been used, while I search for an alternative. I found PG Tips is owned by the multinational company called Unilever who are ultimately responsible.


Tea workers in this area of Assam should be protected in law, they have rights and conditions set in law but in India law and rights can't mean much at all. The tea companies provide housing for their staff, but this housing is atrocious. Rowlatt showed one worker who lived in a hovel like hut, it had only two rooms and six adults lived there.  The floor was mud. The outside toilet had long decayed and was of no use.  If they needed to piss or shit they now go into the tea fields and do it. I guess human excrement must also add to the flavour in some way.  A worker receives about £1 per day for their time, but they are expected to do long full days.  They have no facilities to wash and the water supply is a shared outside source in an area which is mosquito ridden. 

At the Behora Tea estate where Justin Rowlatt went he was accosted by the plantation manager. A pot bellied man who hostilely told Justin he should not of been interviewing workers or filming at the workers living areas. stating they were private areas. Even though Justine read out to him the right he had under the Indian Tea Act.  It was with arrogance the manager imposed himself. For here was one of the rich men, someone who did not have to piss or shit in his own back garden. The manager had a dozen men around him and invited Justin to his office. This was an error as they found themselves illegal held there and were not allowed out when asked. Eventually they were able to leave, but the arrogance of the McLeod Russel operative showed a company who bullied and ruled over their employees with a rod. 

Employees who had to spray plantations were not wearing protective clothing, yet the chemicals they used could be be fatal with long term use. In plantations even children were working. The utter poverty of India comes out in this instance. People do what the have to in order to get from one day to the next. When the children of these employees are taken to hospital the first thing the hospital must do is treat them for malnutrition because they just do not have enough food to eat. In a losing battle after initial treatment they go back home to the same poverty ran tea estate they slave away for. 

As for us the consumers, well, we read labels on boxes, things which indicate the tea companies are ethical, or rainforest compliant and words such as sustainable growth are used, but we never know and understand the full story behind what has been purchased. The green credential we get to read and see are there to make our conscience feel better and to hoodwink us into believing we are not just buying a wonderful product we are being good to the environment. Oh how marketing plays so much on our own ignorance and as it does so the marketing wins out. 

As I've said here, my tea consumption will now be radically changed, I am not going to add to the profits of companies who see their employees as slave labour and have no regard for their rights.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-34173532