Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Britain: How Bad is It? "BRITISH PENSIONERS ARE SO HARD UP THEY GET HANDOUTS FROM ICELAND"

From the Daily Express:

THE third-world status of Britain’s pensioners was revealed yesterday when it emerged that Iceland is sending clothes to help them keep warm.

The plight of those who cannot afford to heat their homes as temperatures plunge has so touched the hearts of Icelanders that they responded in their thousands to a plea for help.

A 20ft container filled with woollen jumpers, socks and blankets will arrive at Grimsby on Monday following an appeal on an Icelandic radio show.

The appeal was started by the show’s presenters, Heimir Karlsson and Kolbrun Bjornsdottir.

They featured a Daily Express story warning that up to one in 12 UK pensioners could die this winter because of the cold weather.

Neil Duncan-Jordan, of the National Pensioners Convention, said yesterday: “This is a fantastic and generous act of compassion from the people of Iceland, particularly at a time when their own economic situation is extremely difficult.

“But it is also a shocking indictment of the UK Government’s complete inability to tackle properly the problem of winter deaths amongst older people.”>>>MORE