A personal post from Graham Ellis
Lisa and Graham live in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
Lisa writes - on the referendum vote today

Posting on my blog for Lisa, and in her words and in my full support of them

I cast my vote this morning. I was so nervous that I read the choices twice. Answered, then double-checked my decision twice to make sure I put my "X" in the correct box. Not because I was undecided. It was because my vote, my opinion mattered so much to me that I dare not make a mistake.

It's because I'm afraid. Afraid that all the political promises and feverish newspaper headlines might overshadow what this decision is going to mean for Britain.

No crystal ball here; just common sense. And I hope the British voters choose their common sense as well. Too often we have seen elections won by candidates who triggered emotions. Instead, we need to vote wisely and not as a "protest vote".

I voted to remain in the EU.

How you vote is up to you. I just want you to think deep and hard, and look beyond the rhetoric. My decisions about important matters start with a question, "Who is to gain from the outcome?"

When I look to the politicians, I see a group gathering behind David Cameron's back led by Boris Johnson. If we are no longer part of the EU, I envision him taking over the reigns of the office of Prime Minister, and Michael Gove becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. Chris Grayling, who'd fallen from grace a few years back and lost his ministerial position, to then take a prominent role for his "devotion" --Home Secretary perhaps. This is not a government I'd like to see in place. (Nothing wrong with Boris Johnson, but London voters didn't want him back as Mayor which sent me a red flag, and I've met Chris Grayling who is a very charismatic and likeable man [very tall], but I lost faith in him over time. Michael Gove, well, look at his former duty for Education; enough said.)

Nigel Farage, very down-to-earth and I can see how he can connect with people. What concerns me about his waving of the European Passport and demanding it say "British" -- has he even thought about how complicated and expensive it's going to be to reissue 42.5 million passports* (and using Biometric)? I just renewed mine! How long will this take? Will it stop us from travelling until it's sorted? I just booked a November flight! * 2011 figures from Lightwater (from a very quick Internet search for an answer)

Immigration.

I can talk about this through personal experience. I am an Immigrant. I'm not a terrorist, and I did not take your job away from you. In fact, I helped to create jobs by a company started as independent consultation by my husband in 1995 and expanded to a full-blown company when I joined. You could say the addition of one Immigrant created an additional five pay cheques; which means an additional five sets of taxes (NI and PAYE) going to the government pot. Not to mention the business paying corporate taxes and next month starting to participate in the national Employee Pension Scheme.

But our business has also profited the town. We actually bring business in to town, whereas it had been lost before. We have a hotel, and have been told by several of our guests that even though they needed to be in Melksham, they usually stayed outside the town because the accommodation offerings were limited. And because they stay here, they eat in local restaurants and use local shops. Some, after coming on business, liked Melksham so much, they brought their family for holiday; they'd not really known how much Wiltshire had to offer leisure guests.

Employment.

People argue that Europeans coming over will take their jobs. Of those out of work -- would you happen to be the ones who email our company (using "info@") and ask "Hey, ya got any jobs going?" because if you are, I have no intention of hiring anyone who shows a lack of interest in what we do or who we are. Jobs ARE there, but you have to actually work. And not looking for a job is not excused by the headlines saying that Europeans are taking our jobs. If it's far too easy for you to say you get more by not working, then you cannot complain that "foreigners" are taking your job. There are jobs for everyone. They may not pay what you demand and they may lower your personal dignity. But if you take a lower-than-wanted position, and you do it well, you won't be in that position for long. You will either get an advancement, or you will meet people who know other people who can get you a better position. It's not rocket science. You want a dream job? Do your homework, knock on the door and offer to do *anything* there for free if necessary. It's better than sitting at home and reading the trash the newspapers will have you believe. I promise you, Immigrants are NOT taking your jobs. They are only taking the necessary jobs you don't want. And they are paying the taxes that support your stay-at-home lifestyle. Because they know that if you want a foot in the door to a better job/life, you have to start at the bottom.

You want a system like the Australians have? Fine -- they allowed more people in last year than Great Britain did. Great! The more people we have working here, the more they will pay in taxes.

Get it out of your head that Muslims are terrorists. Muslims are followers of Islam. Islam is a religion. The word translates to the word "surrender" with the same root word being "peace". When we greet each other in English, we say "Hello". When someone greets someone else in Arabic, they say "Salaam" -- which means "peace". Islam, being the second most followed religion of the world, has over a billion followers. Trust me, there are nowhere near a billion terrorists. Let's look at this in a logical way. If a store is robbed in Melksham, would you then say the entire town was filled with robbers? Would you let no one in your shop because they all could potentially rob from you? You'd lose a lot of business, right?

Yes, and that's my point exactly about Immigration in general. If you keep out people who are willing to do the work, you are losing tax revenue that could go toward funding schools, transportation, emergency services, healthcare...

We don't know if the EU will "punish" Britain for a "Leave" decision. We don't know if businesses will now take what remains of manufacturing out of our towns because of renegotiated trading deals. We don't even know if Boris, Michael, Chris, and many others, will take over the Ministerialships.

As for the current government; shame on you for letting it get this far. People are angry. Cameron was so confident the British voters would back him that his little arrogant game of chess with Belgium may have backfired. If people are upset about Immigration, fix what's wrong. It's NOT that people are coming here, but rather that they are automatically getting benefits. I say the system is opposite of what it needs to be. Allow people to work and therefore gain from the taxes they have to pay. Don't allow for publicly funded benefits, or restrict them in some way. (Before I became a naturalised British citizen, I was not allowed to work for two years upon arrival to this country, yet my NHS was free because they didn't have a system in place to cover Immigrants in the NHS system. How backwards is that?)

To my way of thinking, in a worst-case scenario if we leave the EU, there are 101 things that could spell disaster economically. If we stayed, the worst thing that could happen is that we stay as we are, steady ship.
(written 2016-06-23)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z950 - Purely Personal
  [1014] Christmas Season Piccies - (2006-12-30)
  [1051] Too busy to blog it - but it's great (mostly) - (2007-01-24)
  [2195] A two day gap - first time in five years? - (2009-05-24)
  [2547] The great thing about snow .... - (2009-12-23)
  [2698] Ruth Davis, 1916 - 2010 - (2010-03-28)
  [2886] Congratulations, Kimberly - (2010-07-25)
  [2982] Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026 - (2010-10-03)
  [3034] Birth Notice - Aeryn Cassandra Ellis - (2010-11-07)
  [3037] Looking back and forward personally - 6 years each way - (2010-11-08)
  [3055] Zyliana Kyrei Cox - (2010-11-16)
  [3108] My First Christmas - (2010-12-26)
  [3224] Melksham Campus - a win / win opportunity, but a severely lacking decision process - (2011-03-31)
  [3240] Melksham Town Council - vacancy in the Spa Ward - (2011-04-10)
  [3283] The juggler - (2011-05-08)
  [3298] Quiet Monday in - (2011-05-23)
  [3413] If its Sunday, must it be Weymouth? - (2011-08-30)
  [3450] A threat in the post? Poor marketing practise from Smiletrain? - (2011-09-19)
  [3511] Melksham has a heart - have your picture taken and support the defibrillator appeal - (2011-11-06)
  [3556] Aeryn at 1 - (2011-12-19)
  [3566] Initial thoughts - response to GW Rail Franchise Consultation for Wiltshire - (2011-12-31)
  [3602] Emerging proposals for land to the east of Spa Road, Melksham - (2012-02-03)
  [3711] Kiss - (2012-04-28)
  [3905] How should we choose our Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner? - (2012-10-27)
  [4111] Zigzag bus - forward for the future, or decaying service? - (2013-06-09)
  [4157] Wedding Photos - Kim Ellis to Kyle Londors, 22nd August 2013 - (2013-08-23)
  [4165] Improving travel advise information in Wiltshire - (2013-09-06)
  [4187] Not treading water, but not risking the ship for a 0.5th of tar either - (2013-10-06)
  [4201] Looking to the future at Melksham Station - (2013-10-26)
  [4221] Celebration of the fruits of LSTF, and of the people who have helped and are helping - (2013-12-15)
  [4235] Sharing my personal best of 2013 - (2013-12-31)
  [4275] Eurpoean Elections, and other elections ahead. Some thoughts on campaigns and policies - (2014-05-08)
  [4281] A different vision for the future - (2014-07-09)
  [4286] Reaction in Radstock to new First bus prices - (2014-07-12)
  [4308] What can you and I learn from online quizzes? - (2014-09-27)
  [4476] Upcoming election - Chippenham Constituency - the major candidates compared - (2015-04-29)
  [4485] Misusing statistics? - the seedy side of election campaigning - (2015-05-04)
  [4489] Election results - what if we had a party list system? - (2015-05-08)
  [4600] A big change in August - (2015-12-25)
  [4625] Where does Wiltshire bus subsidy money come from? - (2016-01-19)
  [4657] Rumours of bus changes by First in Wiltshire - what we know and suspect - (2016-03-01)
  [4658] The end of competition on a bus route - the effects from then end of the 234 - (2016-03-02)
  [4669] Buses - how did we get into the situation we are in? - (2016-04-02)
  [4714] The technical article feed continues - personal updates more proactive on Facebook now! - (2016-10-30)
  [4728] Visiting Los Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - (2016-11-23)
  [4734] Thoughts on the new Blackmore Ward of Melksham Without Parish - (2017-02-22)
  [4735] Revisiting - should I stand for Melksham Without Parish Council in May? - (2017-02-24)
  [4737] Why you should vote for Lisa in Melksham Central - (2017-05-01)
  [4739] A year of changes for Lisa and Graham Ellis, and Well House - (2017-05-27)
  [4756] Learning how to be a more effective community partner - (2017-07-15)
  [4759] Sale of effects and furniture - 12th and 13th August 2017 - (2017-07-25)
  [4761] Looking forward to the autumn. - (2017-08-19)
  [4767] Some thoughts on 2017, and looking forward to 2018 - (2017-12-31)


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Month, Day, Year number to day of week and month names in Python - English and Swedish
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Horse's mouth home
Forward to
Melksham Rail Development Group - a celebration of 20 years
Some other Articles
Up and down TransWilts - some pictures off the rails!
Pretty at the station too
Obfurscated code - it might work, but is it maintainable?
Melksham Rail Development Group - a celebration of 20 years
Lisa writes - on the referendum vote today
Month, Day, Year number to day of week and month names in Python - English and Swedish
Programming with random numbers - yet re-using the same values for testing
Melksham Rail Development Group becoming Melksham Rail Users Group
Supported Bus Services in Wiltshire - analysis of written-in comments
Wiltshire supported bus service consultation, early 2016 - interim results published
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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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