The quiet rundown of Liverpool airport?

When I fly, my preferred departure airport is Liverpool, provided I can get a flight that meets my schedule.
My last two foreign holidays have been to Turkey and Malta. The two before were also to Turkey and Malta, in 2006 and 2007.
What was the difference? In 2006 and 2007, I was able to fly from Liverpool, in 2008 and 2009 I was not, due to the lack of flights.
The flight I got to Turkey from Manchester last week had the same flight number and timeslot as the one from Liverpool three years previously. Why move from Liverpool?
I also note that easyjet are now speedily expanding Manchester airport slots, flying to the more popular holiday destinations from Manchester, but have not added any significant new routes or investment in Liverpool. I further note that my favourite person (not!!)Michael O'Leary of Ryanair has been very quiet about Liverpool airport lately. Very unusual for him!! It should also be noted that Ryanair have cut routes and an aircraft that was based in Liverpool.
Is this a start of a very quiet rundown of services from Liverpool, to be replaced by routes from Manchester instead? There certainly appears to be far less charter flights than in recent years. Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age!!

trip to turkey

I'm just back from a week long all inclusive trip to Icmeler in Turkey.
I stayed at the Fortuna Beach Hotel, you can see a good reflection of the hotel with this link:
http://www.fortunabeachhotel.com.tr/index.htm

The hotel is very well located and has stunning sea views. The only negative I could say about it was the little choice in food. I got by on their excellent salads when there was nothing else I fancied, but if you expect bacon and eggs for breakfast, then forget it! I also went to the bamboo pub next door a couple of times and had Turkish mezes and a beer for about £5.
People need to remember they are in a different culture, both culinary and lifestyle, in Turkey.
The holiday I booked was last minute, and I got a bargain price, like most people in the hotel, so I do not see how they can complain about the food given the price they had paid. I have attached some photos of the view from my room, the hotel from the beach, and the beautiful bay of Icmeler.

I will definitely go back to this hotel. and have no hesitation about recommending it to others.

support the gurkhas

While I think the actress Joanna Lumley is being naive in the extreme in her dealings with politicians regading the gurkha's, I think she is making a very valid point.
These extremely brave people have fought and defended our country, and many have paid the ultimate price with their lives. My dad fought alongside these brave people, and he was always very warm in his praise for them.
My view is if they are good enough to lay down their lives for us, they are good enough to settle here.
I think successive governments, both Labour and Tory, have treated the Gurkha's very shoddily, and I hope Joanna Lumley and the Gurkha's very soon get their not unrealistic demands granted .

The Gurghas

The government were defeated in parliament last week over the issue of gurgha resettlement, and rightly so.
These brave people,who many of their forefathers laid down their lives defending our country, should most certainly be allowed to settle here.
My father fought alongside them, and spoke glowingly about them.
I feel they have been treated very shoddily, and i hope the wrongs are righted very soon.

Toby has a haircut

David took Toby along to the dog groomers yesterday for his annual haircut. To make it as comfortable as possible for him, we try to judge when the cold spell has finished, and the weather is starting to improve. When he gets his coat cut, he looks totally different, as these before and after pictures show.