Ground Hopping The Trilogy: Leyton Orient v Hartlepool 16th October 2012; S*nderland v Newcastle United 21st October 2012 and Leyton Orient v Colchester United 23rd October 2012

Why a trilogy you ask? Well, the real answer is that I’m being lazy, but I’m going to pretend that it is because I have written previously about going to the grounds featured in this post.

PART ONE

So, following on from my post about Non League Day on 13th October when I went to 2 games, on Tuesday 16th October, I went to  see Orient at home to Hartlepool. This was a re-arranged game. The original game was due to be played in August but was postponed after the Hartlepool team bus was stuck in traffic on the M11 after a fatal accident. Fortunately for me, I had not planned to go to the original game. Why fortunately you ask? Well the game was not postponed until about an hour AFTER the proposed kick off time. The O’s fans (and some Hartlepool fans) were left kicking their heels in the ground waiting to find out if the game was going ahead. Eventually the game was called off and re- arranged for 16th October.

This re-arranged date was a strange date for a game as it was a night when England were scheduled to play away in Poland in a World Cup Qualifying tie. The reason I say is was a strange date is that many people would choose to watch the England game on TV rather than come down to Brisbane Road. Also, Hartlepool fans would not travel in large numbers for a midweek game some 250 miles away.

SPOT THE FAN?

There was a certain irony in the fact the England game was delayed by an hour and then postponed owing to weather conditions in Warsaw – namely it rained and the Poles hadn’t bothered to close the roof so the pitch was waterlogged.

Midweek matches at Orient mean my having to leave work early and cycle as fast as I can to get home, showered and changed. When I say cycle fast, I mean plod along getting sweaty and out of breath! Once showered and changed, its time to play the usual game of hunt my car keys, camera, phone and wallet. Then set off to fight the rush hour traffic to get to Orient.

Arriving later than usual, I am fortunate to be able to find a parking space right outside the ground Lady luck was surely smiling on me! Next it was off to the ticket office, no queues at Orient, and collect the tickets issued to my friends T & L. As I’m sure I’ve said before, they get free tickets as they are disabled and so Orient also generously provide  free tickets for their helpers. So for Orient home games, I am their helper. Basically this involves me giving them a lift home which I’d be happy to do anyway and used to when I had a season ticket at Orient.

Tickets sorted, it was time to go to the Royal Cafe in Leyton High road for the usual pre match scran. I’ve been going there for 10 years now and the staff, know me and who i go with. Tonight, I think they were concerned that I need to lose weight. What other explanation could their be for the fact that the power went off in the kitchen as I walked through the door, so all I could have was a relatively healthy sandwich and no fry up!

Into the ground and after sorting my charges out, I went to chat to some of the regulars in the North Stand and sat with them for the first half. The game kicked off before a sparsely populated ground, Orient started off playing like they were going to rip Hartlepool to pieces. That lasted for all of 5 minutes, then it was back to the usual rubbish. Half time could not come soon enough.

A chance to chat with other regulars and a convert to the Spennymoor Town cause asks me how they are getting on and commenting on their 5-1 away win at the weekend.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first, except in their 5 minutes of football Orient scored the only goal of the game. The goal came at the end we were at, so we had a great view of this.

The Hartlepool goalkeeper was clearly non too happy with his side’s performance and suggested to one of the youngsters sat near me that he would get a game for Hartlepool and couldn’t do any worse than the players on the pitch.

Its a long miserable trip home for the few Hartlepool supporters that made the long trip to this game. These are the real loyal fans, not those who follow big successful clubs.

LOYAL FOOTBALL FANS?

 

PART TWO

Sunday 21st October brought the trip to the dark side. It was the Tyne Wear Derby this time at the Mackems’ Stadium of Light. I’m not going to waste my time writing a description of the ground etc. If you want to know what the ground is like, then I recommend the great website Football Ground Guide run by Duncan Adams. His write up on the SoL is here.

The day starts with a meet for drinks at 10 am in Newcastle. A quick 5 or so pints, then heading over to Central Station for the Special Trains/ Metros that were put on to transport us to the land that taste forgot. Sadly, either the police or the Metro authorities were incapable of running the trains they had advertised and as a result we were late arriving in S*nderland. The police close off St Peter’s Metro Station on the day of the game and use it to escort Newcastle fans from there to the ground. This year they had the added complication of away fans being housed at the opposite end of the ground to the Metro station. However, the police operation was well planned and we never even saw a S*nderland fan on the way to the ground. By the time we got in the ground Newcastle were 1-0 up. That brought out mixed emotions- joy at winning but gutted at missing the goal.

The behaviour of fans in the ground was interesting, from the Newcastle fan who was determined he was going to throw me out of my seat, for the crime of pointing out it was my allocated seat, through to the Muppets making threats at each other from behind lines of police.

20+ years ago, you went to a derby game, fought with the opposition fans etc. The taunting was a prelude to the violence. Now, the policing is such that you have no chance of getting near visiting fans. Don’t they realise how pathetic the threats and gestures are when there is no possibility of them being carried out?

Its laughable to think some one shouting from behind fences and lines of pitch that they are going to kill me is somehow frightening. The reality is there is no way they will get anywhere near me in the ground or outside.

Back to the football, despite Newcastle having to play for over an hour with only 10 men after Tiote was sent off (no complaints here about that) they rarely looked to be in any trouble. That is until Coloccini went off injured with 10 minutes to go. S*nderland eventually equalised, but even that was scored by a Newcastle player. This means that Newcastle’s Demba Ba is the 2nd top scorer for S*nderland this season.

Surprisingly we were not kept locked in after the game as long as expected and I was back in Newcastle by 16:40 and time for a few pints with friends before heading to the station for my train to London. Before the  train, it was time for a quick visit to the Sainsbury’s in the station for some drinks for the train. You realise you are getting old when you choose bottles of water not alcohol to drink on the train. Am I getting to old for this lark? Never!

For those who are not aware Mackems look like this

You are likely to find them in places like the luxury housing developments in Pennywell

You will not find them in places like the following

This is not just idle boasting, but has been confirmed by the Mayor of Milan

.

 

 

 

PART THREE

Tuesday was another midweek Orient home game and a repeat of last week, so I’m not going to recite what I said in part one, save to say:

1. I never got as good a parking spot
2. The power in the cafe remained on and I got chips with my scran this time
3. Colchester were better than Hartlepool
4. Orient did not play well at the start of each half.
5. Orient lost 2-0 and to be honest were lucky to get nil.

Lawyers (are) Jokes

Just to prove I can laugh at one of my professions

 

Q: What’s the difference between a female lawyer and a pitbull?
A: Lipstick.

Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 100?
A: Your Honour.
Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50
A: MP

Q: What’s the difference between an accountant and a lawyer?
A: Accountants know they’re boring.

Q: What’s the one thing that never works when it’s fixed?
A: A jury.

Q: Why did God invent lawyers?
A: So that estate agents would have someone to look down on.

Q: What’s the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a lawyer on a motorcycle?
A: The vacuum cleaner has the dirt bag on the inside.

Q: What’ the difference between a lawyer and a boxing referee?
A: A boxing referee doesn’t get paid more for a longer fight.

Q: What’s the difference between a good lawyer and a bad lawyer?
A: A bad lawyer makes your case drag on for years. A good lawyer makes it last even longer.

Q: What’s the difference between a jellyfish and a lawyer?
A: One’s a spineless, poisonous blob. The other is a form of sea life.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a trampoline?
A: You take off your shoes before you jump on a trampoline.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a leech?
A: After you die, a leech stops sucking your blood.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and God?
A: God doesn’t think he’s a lawyer.

Q: How are an apple and a lawyer alike?
A: They both look good hanging from a tree.

Q: How can a pregnant woman tell that she’s carrying a future lawyer?
A: She has an uncontrollable craving for bologna.

Q: How does an attorney sleep?
A: First he lies on one side, then he lies on the other.

Q: How many lawyer jokes are there?
A: Only three. The rest are true stories.

Q: How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Three, One to climb the ladder. One to shake it. And one to sue the ladder company.

Q: What are lawyers good for?
A: They make used car salesmen look good.

Q: What do dinosaurs and decent lawyers have in common?
A: They’re both extinct.

Q: What do you call 25 attorneys buried up to their chins in cement?
A: Not enough cement.

Q: What do you call 25 skydiving lawyers?
A: Skeet.

Q: What do you call a lawyer gone bad.
A: Senator.

Q: What do you throw to a drowning lawyer?
A: His partners.

Q: What does a lawyer get when you give him Viagra?
A: Taller

Q: What’s brown and looks really good on a lawyer?
A: A Doberman.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a liar?
A: The pronunciation.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a prostitute?
A: A prostitute will stop screwing you when you’re dead.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a vulture?
A: The lawyer gets frequent flyer miles.

Q: What’s the difference between a mosquito and a lawyer?
A: One is a blood-sucking parasite, the other is an insect.

Q: Why did God make snakes just before lawyers?
A: To practice.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a herd of buffalo?
A: The lawyer charges more.

Q: What’s the difference between a tick and a lawyer?
A: The tick falls off when you are dead.

Q: What do you get when you cross a blonde and a lawyer?
A: I don’t know. There are some things even a blonde won’t do.

Q: Know how copper wire was invented?
A: Two lawyers were fighting over a penny.

Q: Why does the law society prohibit sex between lawyers and their clients?
A: To prevent clients from being billed twice for essentially the same service.

Q: What can a goose do, a duck can’t, and a lawyer should?
A: Stick his bill up his ass.

Q: How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?
A: Their lips are moving.

Q: Why did New Jersey get all the toxic waste and California all the lawyers?
A: New Jersey got to pick first.

Q: Why don’t lawyers go to the beach?
A: Cats keep trying to bury them.

Q: What do you call 5000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A: A good start!

Q: What’s the difference between a dead skunk in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?
A: There are skid marks in front of the skunk.

Q: Why won’t sharks attack lawyers?
A: Professional courtesy.

Q: What do have when a lawyer is buried up to his neck in sand?
A: Not enough sand.

Q: How do you get a lawyer out of a tree?
A: Cut the rope.

Q: Do you know how to save a drowning lawyer?
A: Take your foot off his head.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a bucket of manure?
A: The bucket.

Q: What is the definition of a shame (as in "that’s a shame")?
A: When a busload of lawyers goes off a cliff.

Q: What is the definition of a "crying shame"?
A: There was an empty seat.

Q: What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer?
A: An offer you can’t understand

Q: Why is it that many lawyers have broken noses?
A: From chasing parked ambulances.

Q: Where can you find a good lawyer?
A: In the cemetery

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a gigolo?
A: A gigolo only screws one person at a time.

Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a vampire?
A: A vampire only sucks blood at night.

Q: Why to lawyers wear neckties?
A: To keep the foreskin from crawling up their chins.

Q: What is the difference between a lawyer and a rooster?
A: When a rooster wakes up in the morning, its primal urge is to cluck defiance.

Q: How many law professors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Hell, you need 250 just to lobby for the research grant.

Q: If you see a lawyer on a bicycle, why don’t you swerve to hit him?
A: It might be your bicycle.

Q: What do you call a smiling, sober, courteous person at a bar association convention?
A: The caterer.

Q: Why do they bury lawyers under 20 feet of dirt?
A: Because deep down, they’re really good people.

Q: Why are lawyers like nuclear weapons?
A: If one side has one, the other side has to get one. Once launched, they cannot be recalled. When they land, they screw up everything forever.

Q: What do lawyers and sperm have in common?
A: One in 3,000,000 has a chance of becoming a human being.

How to Avoid Work & Waste Money?

Imagine you are a shopkeeper. You earn your living by the shop being open & by you selling your wares.

That is one of the reasons that Asian run corner shops survive & seemingly thrive whilst traditional shops seem to close.

I live on the edge of London, many if not most people living where I do commute by train or tube to their jobs in Central London or drive round the North Circular Road to get to work. Few people work locally to where they live. By locally, I mean so they have a commute of less than 15 – 20 mins.

In the past people worked closer to home and most women did not have employment outside of the burden of child care. They would visit the local shops during the daytime.

This has a significant effect on the ability of people to visit the local shops if they only open from 9-5. The Asian shopkeepers recognise this & you will find their shops open until late so the local population can visit them & spend money after they get home from work.

Sadly too many shopkeepers have not realised this & open from 9-5 when their target customers are not around.

The shops could increase their takings without increasing their opening hours if they responded to the cultural changes by for example changing their opening hours from 9-5 to say 12-8. They still open 8hours a day but are now open when customers can visit. The big supermarkets & DIY stores have responded to these changes & open late & as a result thrive.

So, what’s this got to do with the title? Well bear with me (bare with me if you fancy) & I will try to get to the point.

Now, as we have hopefully established, as a shopkeeper you need to be open when your customers need you.

Imagine the said shopkeeper shutting for regular days/ parts of days to have team meetings or to discuss drawing up new policies on equality & diversity or to decide what appropriate behaviour is.

Every hour the shop is shut, money is being lost. I’m not suggesting these sort of issues are unimportant, but a prudent businessman would fit these sort of things around opening hours.

Now imagine if you have 2 business premises 200 miles apart, do you close both businesses for a day & pay for everyone to travel to one of the premises for a 2-3 hour meeting. Bearing in mind you will need to pay for 10-15 staff from one premises to travel by train to the other premises. You will also have to pay for their meals etc as well.

So you are unable to do any work at either premises for a day & you have to pay the travel & subsistence costs of getting the staff from one place to the other. This cost, is money you will never get back. It is a cost on top of the loss of earnings.

As I’ve said these sort of things are important. Businesses need to ensure they have appropriate policies & exchanges of information with staff & between staff. However, in the private sector, these are fitted around work, not done instead of earning money.

The civil service/ public sector which are paid for out of your taxes see things differently. Meetings are seemingly encouraged. Today, I along with all my colleagues based in London have travelled the 200 miles to our other office for a meeting.

No file examination – our day to day work- for us today. No getting on & reading the 100s of CPS files we have to read. Instead, we have had a 2-3 hour hot air session where we *:
1. Initially discussed whether we agreed the minutes of the last meeting 4 1/2 months ago. – who cares? They are 4 1/2months old & work have moved on since then;

2. Debated to death minor quibbles about what is in the minutes & whether they had been circulated via email or via the computer shared drive. Not that this matters at all;

3. Had a repeat of the training update we were given a fortnight ago & nothing has changed. Rather than just say nothing has changed, we were told again everything we were all told 2 weeks again

4. Next we had a senior member of staff spend 10 minutes telling us what the topics were that he was going to tell us about rather than just getting on with things.

5. Next was a 30 minute update on methodology updates despite telling us that most people will never use the methodology as we are almost certain not to use it again! We also learn that another member of staff is compiling a central repository for the methodology & all the linked documents we are unlikely ever to need again.

6. Next an repeated lecture on a policy we were told about at a previous meeting & which has not changed since then.

7.Next we had half an hour to talk about the future work programme which is pretty much the same as before & a discussion at length of the policy to distribute work which boils down to “you’ll do what you’re told”. This is pretty much what it was before!

Oh, I forgot that we spent the first 15minutes going round the room saying who we are & what we are working on at present. We of course all know each other already & know what everyone is working on as well all have a copy of the work programme/timetable!

Like any other group, we have some people who seem to like the sound of their own voice & have to debate or challenge everything that anyone else says. Thus dragging the meeting on & confirming to everyone else the old adage that “empty vessels make the most noise”.

What is that saying? “Better to remain silent & have people think you are a fool than to open your mouth & confirm it”

As I type this blog, I am on the train back to London having done no productive work. I am employed as a legal inspector at your expense. (Assuming you are a taxpayer). I could have been far more productively employed inspecting & file reading. That would be cost effective & is what you employ me to do.

To spend lots of my time in similar types of unproductive meetings is not unusual. It seems to be a fact of public sector life.

In these times of austerity & cut backs, it would be far better in my view to work efficiently & cut down the time spent doing non-productive non core work than to reduce the time for core work by having lots of meetings & then complain you can’t do the day job because of lack of resources!

Some of the public sector in the UK is a great example of inefficiency & avoiding work. Just google & see how many civil servants we have now compared to when the British Empire was at its peak! Now try to tell me the public sector is not inefficient!

The blame for this has to come from those at the top who allow and or encourage these inefficiencies

The public sector is an essential part of the UK & cannot all be privatised. It is more than a balance sheet entry, but it must be run more efficiently. It is not about making a profit, but making a difference & making that difference efficiently.

The answer to the title of the blog post is to have a meeting.

* some events may have been adjusted for explanatory purposes but the gist remains accurate.

Why Routinely Arming The Police Is Wrong – Its Blindingly Obvious

As the title says, in my view arming the police routinely is wrong, despite the hysteria in the media following the tragic deaths of the 2 female officers in Manchester recently. There was also the off duty PC killed in Essex tackling an armed man earlier this year.

The police do a dangerous & difficult job. I know that I can be a pain when I’ve had a few drinks, but there are people far more offensive to the police. Some people are offensive & insulting & aggressive to the police no matter whether they have had a drink or not.

In the USA, the police are routinely armed & many (if not all) of the officers I speak to when doing the bike ride say they would not feel safe doing their job without being armed. Most also say they do not carry a gun or possess a gun outside of work. Yet in the UK, the last time a survey was done of police officers, the vast majority voted against being routinely armed.

Why the difference? Well despite being armed, around 120+ US officers are killed each year, compared to <5 in UK. Now in UK its rare for gunfire to kill police officers (usually <1 per annum). In US around 50% of those deaths are by gunfire. Even allowing for the population differences, its a big discrepancy.

The police on both sides of the Atlantic see that arming the police leads to an arms race with criminals. Once race starts, it is impossible to revert back to beginning again.

Turning to another issue. When UK police officers were first issued with CS spray, we were told it would only be used in exceptional circumstances to prevent loss of life or limb. That has changed over time so that CS spray is now used to subdue un co-operative detainees irrespective of risk to life or limb. Indeed it is often now used as a weapon of first resort rather than as we were promised, a weapon of last resort.

Then we had the introduction of the Tazer, an electronic stun gun for want of a better description. This was originally only issued to firearms officers & was again to be a weapon of last resort to protect life & limb. We've had a vast expansion of the issuing of tazers & recently plans were called for to issue tazers to all police officers.

There was a case sometime ago where police tazered an unarmed man in his own home. His crime? Refusing to go to hospital for treatment as per his wife's wishes.

Then this week the perfect example of why we should not arm the police came when this story broke in the Daily Mail & was followed up in every other paper

A police officer in Chorley in Lancashire, looking for a man armed with a samurai sword managed to mistake a blind man (Colin Farmer aged 61) walking with a white stick as his suspect & shouted at blind man & then tazered him when he did not stop.

1. Samurai sword? White stick? I mean they look identical don’t they?
2. Thug waving sword as he walks looks just like a blind man tapping his way down street as he shuffles along doesn’t he?
3. As the victim says, when he heard someone shouting & yelling at him as he was peacefully shuffling along, he feared he was going to be mugged & carried on.

Even after tazering this elderly blind man, that wasn’t enough, they handcuffed him on the ground.

The use of a tazer in such circumstances cannot be justified, yet Lancashire Constabulary keen to protect their officers rather than the public have already announced that no disciplinary action will be taken against the moron in uniform that tazers blind people.

Come to think of it, perhaps the officer should have a white stick as well as he obviously has serious eyesight problems if he cannot tell a samurai sword wielding thug from a partially paralysed old man shuffling along with a stick.

Fortunately, the moron in uniform only had a tazer, imagine if he had been armed with a firearm? The outcome would have been fatal.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the scrutiny would have been different IF officer’s had used firearms. Harry Stanley was executed in 1999 by armed police officers for the crime of walking home with a table leg in a carrier bag. . No officer was prosecuted or disciplined & these were allegedly highly trained firearms officers.
What about Jean Charles De Menezes who was executed at Stockwell Tube Station in 2005 for the crime of going to work. The officer in charge was hunting an Asian male & gave orders for the shooting of a Brazilian! Rather than being disciplined, Cressida Dick the gold commander was promoted following this!

I could mention Mark Duggan’s execution which sparked the 2011 riots or numerous other incidents

So, it seems we can have little faith in the police to use weapons safely & little faith in the system holding them to account either.

Until we have a system of holding officers individually to account for their use of weapons, we should not extend the range of weapons & officers authorised to carry weapons.

PS if the spelling, grammar etc is not up to my usual low standard, then blame it on the fact I’ve typed it on my phone on a train!

Freedom & The Human Rights Illusion

There have been a number of stories recently that should make you question the existence and extent of the so called freedoms we have now. We are told by politicians that the Human Rights Act guarantees our freedoms of speech, the freedom to protest, freedom from arbitrary detention etc.

The reality I would suggest is that we have less freedoms now than we have ever had before. That is perhaps a big statement to make, but I will try to explain it.

 

FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

With the right of free speech comes the certainty that others will say things we don’t like or disagree with. That is human nature, we don’t all have the same views. You may think your views are right. However the person who disagrees with you also thinks their views are right. If you try to stop somebody expressing views you disagree with, then how can you claim there is free speech.

There is not and never has been an absolute unlimited right of free speech. No right thinking person would expect a civilised society to allow someone to espouse violence or to incite acts of violence (unless you are Tony Blair and the violence is unwinnable wars in Iraq & Afghanistan). So, I am not saying there should be the right to encourage immediate violence.

Several recent stories have caused me concerns about the limitations on freedom of speech.

1. The recent killings of the 2 unarmed female police officers in Manchester shocked most of the nation. No one deserves to die doing their job. (You will recall my plugs for and riding in the Police Unity Tour to raise funds for police officers killed in the line of duty). Well one individual in Greater Manchester chose to walk the streets that day wearing a tee shirt upon which he had scrawled the phrase “One less pig – perfect justice”

 

The tee shirt is undoubtedly in bad taste. However free speech would say he has the right to hold and express such views irrespective of how abhorrent we find them. If his views are so abhorrent or stupid. then society will expose his for the idiot he undoubtedly is.

Our judicial system not only criminalised him for wearing this tee shirt, but sent him to prison for eight months for his "morally reprehensible actions". Who decides what is morally reprehensible? I do not agree with his views or actions but do support his right to hold those views. What next? What if next Sunday, the Magistrates and police in Sunderland decide it is “morally reprehensible” to wear  Newcastle shirt at the derby match at Sunderland?

You say the sight of that tee shirt caused upset to people in Manchester, but I can tell you the Mackems get very upset at the sight of Newcastle shirts in Sunderland.

2. The case of John Hennigan is another case that causes me concern. He was jailed for 21 months for Breaching an Asbo (Anti Social Behaviour Order) which sought to prevent him denying the holocaust and making Nazi salutes. Now, I do not agree with the views of those who deny the holocaust, nor do I have any sympathy with the views of the neo-Nazis. We are jailing a man for making Nazi style salutes, yet back in 1938 our government forced the Football Association to make the England team perform a Nazi salute before a match against Germany in Berlin.

So are those players also criminals?

Another thing that John Hennigan had done was to have a swastika on his house door. Yet, during the First World War, the swastika was used as the emblem of the British National War Savings Committee. The swastika was also used as a symbol by the Boy Scouts in the Britain, and worldwide.

So just like the Nazi salute, the swastika was once supported by the British Government yet now its use is criminalized.

You may say that the use of such language and actions as described above will cause upset, but that is not a reason to prevent free speech. We need to expose the stupidity of such people, if they are indeed stupid, or is it the case that society can’t expose these things as stupid.

3. Recently Manchester United fans were slated in the media and elsewhere for a chant at a game against Wigan. The chant was aimed at their arch rivals, Liverpool (who were not there) The chant was to the effect of “you’re always the victim, you’re never to blame”. This was aimed at the Merseyside attitude that blames everyone else for whatever happens to Liverpool or people from Merseyside. The chants did come the same week as the Hillsborough Investigation Panel Report into the 1989 disaster was published. It may be bad taste, it may be a view that is contrary to the views of others, but the Manchester fans have the right to hold such views.

These are 3 situations where people are prevented from expressing views, simply because they differ from the views of the majority. Freedom of speech demands freedom of speech for everyone, not just those holding the majority view.

 

FREEDOM OF PROTEST?

On the last Friday of the month for the last 17+ years, cyclists have met in London and gone for a ride. This is called Critical Mass. It is an unorganised gathering that has no set route and is generally a noisy but good humoured display of cycling. There was a Court Case brought by the Metropolitan Police in 2005 when the House of Lords held that Critical Mass was not subject to the Public Order Act’s requirements to give notice in advance of the demonstration and of its route. The Public Order Act also gives the police power to order where or when a protest can take place.

Back to Critical Mass. The opening ceremony of the Olympics took place on the last Friday of July 2012. The police purported to prevent Critical Mass going north of the River Thames, even though the Olympics were some 6 or so miles away in Stratford and despite the House of Lords ruling on the use of the Public Order Act and Critical Mass as stated above.

Whilst the Olympic Opening Ceremony was taking place, some 182 cyclists were arrested near Stratford, purportedly to prevent them disrupting those going to the opening ceremony. Quite how they could be going to disrupt those going to an event which had started 1 hour before the arrests took place.

These 182 people were held without access to food, water, toilets or legal advice for around 12 hours. They had their bikes confiscated and were bailed with conditions that prevented them riding bikes in large parts of London. For many people those conditions prevented them getting to work or travelling in London. Immediately the Paralympics had ended the police released all but 3 of those arrested from their bail conditions and took no further action. It is clear there was no intention to prosecute any of them, mainly because they had not committed any offence. The police actions were to prevent people being able to protest.

When such arbitrary arrests and punitive bail conditions are imposed on those who peacefully protest, can we say we have a right to protest.

 

FREEDOM FROM ARBITRARY DETENTION?

Earlier this year, the European Court of Human Rights made a ruling that it is lawful for the police to detain people who have committed no crime, and have no intention of committing any crime. The court ruled in the case of Austin v The Uk that not only was it lawful to detain people in definitely, in the case of Austin it was for 9 1/2 hours. it was also lawful to hold them without access to toilet facilities, food or water.

Their crime was simply to be in Oxford Street at the wrong time. On Mayday 2001 there were a series of protests in London, some of which turned violent. The police decided to detain a large group of people in Oxford street to prevent them getting to any of the disturbances. Two of the people the police rounded up were shop workers who had popped out of the shop to get their lunch. They were held in Oxford Circus in the street for 9 1/2 hours.

Interestingly the court said this was not a deprivation of liberty! It begs the question as to what the court think a deprivation of liberty is.

If you were to treat animals this way, then you would be prosecuted for animal cruelty and we would have any number of protests from animal rights groups, but apparently treating peaceful shop assistants going to get their lunch this way is deemed to be appropriate and proportionate

 

So in this whistle stop look at a few situations, you will see, we do not have the right of free speech, nor the right to protest, nor even freedom from arbitrary detention. So what rights and freedoms do we have today? I’d say the evidence suggests we have far less rights than we ever had before.

Instead of mindless following what the politicians and papers tell you, think about the situation in the real world. Tomorrow it could be your views, your protests etc. that are deemed unacceptable.

 

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

Ground Hopping Part 2: Romford v Soham Town Rangers 13th October 2012

So as part of Non League Day I went to the Romford v Soham Town Rangers game as the second game of the day.

 

Now, Romford do not play in Romford at all. They used to play at Aveley’s ground, but not play at Ship Lane the home of Thurrock FC. This is only about 1 1/2 miles from Aveley’s ground.

 

Romford had a very successful football team in the period up to the 1970s. The history below is taken from their website

 

1. THIS IS the third Romford Football Club, both their predecessors having competed at some point in the Southern League, and each time having been defunct for fourteen years before the name was revived.
   All three versions have had their moments, although the present model has yet to emulate previous achievements on the national stage.
   The original club was founded in 1876 and reached the last six of the F A Cup in 1880-81, then in 1884-85 visited a Blackburn Rovers side on their way to completing a hat-trick of F A Cup wins. The Club joined the Southern League in 1909 but failed to complete their fixtures in their first season, and after an internal dispute which saw a breakaway club formed and a change of name to Romford Town, folded during the First World War.
   For a while there was no senior football at all in Romford, but the situation was addressed in 1929 when local figure Tom Macpherson, later to become M P for the area and subsequently Lord Macpherson, took charge of re-forming the Club after a public meeting at the Corn Exchange, which was so well attended that the crowd spilled on to the street outside, to the annoyance of the police. The meeting was advertised by a poster proclaiming a match between Romford and Aston Villa, revealed to be hypothetical in the small print. The new Club moved into the local Brooklands stadium, which was bought by the Club when it became a limited company in the mid-1930s, possibly the first Amateur club to do so. After two seasons in the London League, Romford joined the Athenian League in 1931, and between 1935 and 1938 won two championships and twice reached the semi-finals of the F A Amateur Cup.
   After the Second World War the Club, who had acquired the nickname Boro after the Borough of Romford, was created in 1937, competed in the Isthmian League and finished third in each of their first two seasons. The highlight of this era was reaching the Final of the F A Amateur Cup in 1949, losing 1-0 to Bromley in front of 95 000 spectators in the first Final to be held at Wembley. However fortunes then plummeted and after finishing in the bottom three five times in a row, Romford took the bold move of turning professional and joining the Southern League in 1959
   Promotion was achieved at the first attempt and, after a near miss in 1963-64 when Boro finished fifth after remaining unbeaten until the New Year, the enormous Championship shield came to Brooklands in 1967. Romford were perennial (and unsuccessful) applicants for membership of the Football League but, apart from third place in 1970-71, never looked like repeating their title success and eventually were relegated in 1975.
   Boro’s failure to make it into the Football League had left huge debts, but only when the ground was sold did the extent of the Clubs problems come to light. 90% of the proceeds of the sale of Brooklands were eaten up in debt repayments and tax, leaving barely £60 000 to finance a new stadium, and the 1977-78 season was spent playing home matches at borrowed grounds – indeed the last match, at home to Folkestone & Shepway, was eventually played at Folkestone with Boro only able to field ten players including the manager. Romford Football Club closed down in 1978 and the site of the unfinished stadium in Oldchurch Park became Romford Ice Rink.
   Appropriately, it was at the Ice Rink that the first meeting took place in February 1992 to gauge interest in reviving the Club. Over 150 people attended to hear the ideas of Dave Howie, and very soon the Club was formed, a ground-share arranged with Hornchurch and senior status granted from the Essex F A. To have achieved so much so soon owed much to what had gone before, and in view of the importance and significance of such a heritage to the success of the new club, it was inevitable that it would adopt the traditional blue and gold colours and Boro nickname, despite the local council having since become the London Borough of Havering.

 

So today, Romford still find themselves playing several miles out of Romford at the home of Thurrock FC. This is a modern ground as Thurrock were only formed in 1985. The ground is on the outskirts of Thurrock and is situated below the Thurrock Hotel.

 

The first think one notices on approaching the ground is the large car park which offers free parking. From the car park there are 2 sets of turnstiles, one marked away fans only, but that was not in operation today.

 

At the main turnstiles, I explained the position about the tickets and handed over the business card and was allowed admittance to the ground.

 

 

Again, I notice that there is no mention outside the ground that Romford play at this ground. It may be Thurrock’s ground, but you may have expected as part of the ground share agreement that Romford would have some form of signage outside the ground.

 

Once in, the ground itself if a modern looking affair with cover provided on all sides of the ground.

 

 

The main stand is a little unusual I thought. The stand is shown in the picture below. It straddles the halfway line, but on the rest of the side there is no terracing and only a wide walkway.

 

 

Having seen the photograph, you may say there is nothing unusual about the stand and that it is a traditional non league style stand seen at many grounds over the years. You would of course be right. The unusual thing is that Thurrock FC were only formed in 1985 so it is unusual to have a stand built so recently in such an old fashioned style.

 

It should not be taken as a criticism of the stand as it is perfectly adequate, even having facilities for the hospitality of directors and sponsors at the back.

 

There were 2 signs on the front of the stand that I am not sure how to interpret.

 

 

Now, I always understood that football is a ball game. The clue is in the name is it not? Make of this sign what you will.

 

The stand behind the far goal, and in the foreground the changing rooms.

 

Close up of the same stand. Sadly it was without spectators as was most of the ground.

 

 

 

The stand backing onto the car park.

 

 

The covered stand running the length of the pitch. This is slightly unusual in that the left hand half is terracing but the right hand half is now seated. I presume this was done to ensure Thurrock met the seating requirements to enable them to move up the football pyramid.

 

Wandering round the ground before the game, I saw the following sign adjacent to the rubbish skip. Personally I think its a little unfair on the players!

 

The game itself kicked off with Romford dominating the first half and easily moving into a 2-0 lead. They were looking good value for the 3 points. I was watching this half from the seats next to the away dug out. The Soham manager was clearly not happy at the way his side were playing. I thought he looked familiar, and eventually I twigged on who it was. It was Steve Fallon who performed miracles at Histon for many years, taking them from being a village side to real contenders to win the Conference Title and beating Leeds in the FA Cup as well.

 

The first half was played in glorious sunshine and it seemed that nothing could rain on Romford’s parade. However, that was to change literally and metaphorically.

 

As I wandered round the ground at half time, I looked up at the floodlights and noticed the ominous looking sky.

 

 

Rain was on the way it seemed. Just time to get a burger and a cup of tea before the rain came. The second half I decided would be watched from the back of the main stand, well out of the rain. I’m a fair weather fan.

 

The rain started just as Soham came out onto the pitch for the second half. There was no sign of the Romford team though. Then an announcement was made for a qualified referee in the crowd to run the line in the second half. Apparently one of the linesmen ( I know – assistant referees!) was injured and could not carry on. Eventually 10-15 minutes late the Romford team joined the by now wet Soham team on the pitch and the 2nd half kicked off.

 

The replacement linesman was a young 16 year old lad who was a qualified referee. He obviously had to borrow the kit as it was way too big for him. I tweeted about the delay and about the replacement linesman. Those tweets were picked up on by The BBC’s non league show and re tweeted- my claim to fame for the day!

 

Sadly the delay did nothing to help Romford and they folded in the rain like a soggy pack of cards and ended up losing 3-2. Definitely 3 points thrown away.

 

The Crowd for this game was given as 104, which coincidentally was the same crowd Aveley claimed for their game earlier in the day. I did not count the crowd this time, but there were more people at the Romford game than at the Aveley game.

 

The delayed kick off in the second half had me fearing I would miss the Sports Report Theme on Radio 5 Live, but fortunately their commentary game was running even later so I still got my weekly dose of the theme tune.

 

No need to worry about whether Newcastle had lost today as they were not playing. However, it was still a Saturday so Orient obviously lost. I think its compulsory for them to lose.

 

The best news of the day were the regular tweets coming from Queensgate, the home of Bridlington AFC where Spennymoor inflicted the first defeat in 11 games on their hosts in winning 5-1 away in the first round of the FA Vase. I still marvel at the technology allowing me to know what is happening to all the Ebac Northern League sides despite being 250+ miles away at a different game.

Ground Hopping: Aveley v Brentwood Town FC 13th October 2012

Today is Non League Day. This is an annual event arranged on a weekend when there is International Football and therefore no Premiership or Championship football. The aim is to showcase the non league game and to encourage those who would normally go to Premiership/ Championship games or don’t go at all to live games. Many clubs offer cheap admission (or free admission) to season ticket holders at Premiership/ Championship games.

 

Others stagger kick off times so that fans/ ground hoppers can go to more than one game in the same day. That is what Romford and Aveley did today. Aveley moved their home game with Brentwood forward to 1pm so fans could get from there to Thurrock FC’s ground a mile away where Romford play their home games. Romford were to play the exotically named Soham Town Rangers. Both these games were in the Ryman’s Division One North. This is at Step 4 of the Non League Pyramid or the 8th level of English club football. It is the level above the Ebac Northern League that Spennymoor Town play in. So, it would be logical to expect a better standard of football and bigger crowds wouldn’t it?

 

Well, I’ve never been to Aveley, let alone the football ground there. Thankfully I have a sat nav for the car. Without the Sat nav, I would have found Aveley, but the ground is hidden down a lane off Mill Road in Aveley.  There was little attempt to publicise the existence of the ground let alone the fact of Non League Day. i arrived at the ground less than 20 minutes before kick off. There was no sign of much activity in or around the ground, apart from cars in the Car Park. There were no spectators in the ground. This had me wondering if it was the Romford game first then the Aveley game. Had I got it wrong.

 

Then as I looked around the outside of the ground, i realise players were warming up on the pitch. They surely wouldn’t warm up at 12:40 for a 3pm kick off would they?

 

So satisfied I was in the right place, I had a look around the outside of the ground. The first thing I noticed was the impressively large looking stand. This  looked impressive from the outside.

 

There was car parking and significant land outside the fenced off pitch. It did strike me that there was land that could be sold off. This view was reinforced when I eventually got into the ground and saw the distance between the touchlines and the pitch surrounds. There would be sufficient space available to build numerous houses/ flats and still leave sufficient space for a new football ground built out of the proceeds of the land sale.

 

 

 

The turnstiles from the outside looked a little unwelcoming. There were 4 turnstiles of which only one was open. The sign is peeling off. There was no sign outside the ground to indicate there was a game on or what the admission price was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following picture is a panoramic view of the ground some 10 –15 minutes before the kick off. note the fact there is not a single spectator in the ground at this time.

 

 

So, I made my way to the turnstile and asked about a ticket for the 2 games. The gateman said they didn’t have them because the secretary had forgotten to bring the tickets! so they wrote a receipt on the back of a business card for the club secretary and told me they had arranged with Romford for these to be accepted as proof of the payment for both games. The price for the 2 games was £12. Admission for just the Aveley game was £8, so a 2nd game for an extra £4 seemed worth it.

 

The programmes were £2 each. now I complained in my last ground  hopping blog about the price of programmes at Chelmsford at £2.50. Well in terms of value for money, the Chelmsford programme is streets ahead of the Aveley one. At Spennymoor the programme is £1 and it contains more information and is better printed than the Aveley one.

 

The ground itself is a little odd. Going into the ground, the turnstiles take you in near the corner flag. In front of you is a wide terrace with far more steps of terracing than usually seen in a non league ground. Straddling the halfway line and set behind the terrace is the main stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, behind both goals and down one side, there is not much more width than a hard standing path. One goal has a small covered terraced stand.

 

 

 

The side opposite the main stand has a rather primitive cover on a short piece of it. The cover is basically scaffolding poles with a wooden roof over. It looks as though a breeze will blow it down. Not very impressive at all.

 

 

Now, you may note in the above picture how far from the wall the linesman is standing. The distance is similar on the other side of the pitch. This space together with the car parking and space outside the pitch boundary would enable the redevelopment of the area and allow space for a new ground as well.

 

You will by now be wondering why there are so few people shown spectating at the game in my pictures. The reason for this is that quite simply there were not many people at the game.  The photo below shows pretty much the majority of the crowd at the game.

 

 

I stood opposite the main stand in the first half and counted the crowd. I reached a figure of between 50 and 60 people. Hardly impressive is it. Interestingly on the league website www.isthmian.co.uk the crowd was shown as 104. That simply was not the crowd, unless you include the 22 players, the subs, managers and officials.

 

Half time came and I thought time to sample the delights of the refreshment kiosk. Like I say, I thought and that was as far as I got. £3.20 for a burger seemed expensive for a burger that had little  to do with a cow despite being called a beef burger. Being a skinflint I had a cup of tea instead at £1.

 

 

 

So, with so little money coming through the turnstiles, how do Aveley manage to survive? Well they do have outside the ground a small clubhouse with bar and function room that will provide a regular income. That alone would not support the club in this league.

 

The floodlights provide a clue as to their income. There are 4 floodlight pylons.

 

The observant amongst you will have noticed the telephone masts on the top of each pylon ( 2 of which are shown here). The sign shown below on one of the pylons is a clue

 

 

Although, I’m not sure the notice on the other side of the same pylon brings in any money to the club

 

 

One other thing to report is that the gents and ladies toilets in the ground were locked. I’m not sure what you are meant to do if you need the facilities. Its hardly welcoming is it?

 

The game itself was over long before half time with Aveley scoring 3 times in the first half and then cantering through the second half with Brentwood totally out played.

 

The lack of noise and passion from the few spectators in the ground was a contrast to the swearing and dissent shown by the players. It was disappointing to see refereeing so weak that players shouting abuse at the linesman from half the pitch away went unpunished. it was even more ironic that every shirt had on each sleeve the FA Respect badge. Its a shame the players don’t think about what that word means.

 

The game that started in the sun ended in a rain shower which summed u my thoughts on this trip. It was a trip I looked forward to, but ended up being a let down, with a club that seemingly is very run down and failing to attract support.

 

The idea of moving the kick off to 1pm to entice ground hoppers seems to have been an abject failure. Perhaps if Aveley did anything to let the local population know there was a ground nearby and that there was a game on today, then they may have had a chance of getting more spectators.

 

I left at full time and headed off to my 2nd game of the day which will be the subject of another blog post

What I’ve Learned This Week

Some times you learn thinks that surprise you. I have learned that this week.

 

I’ve not actually learned anything new, but have  had some truths made clear to me.

 

Am I making any sense? Probably not, but this is very cathartic.

 

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that we take other for granted and can fail to realise their true mental state. They appear to their colleagues to be happy, strong & the life and soul of the party. That however is only on the surface.

 

Tony Hancock is regarded as one of the funniest men to come from these shores, but he committed suicide aged only 44. Many  other comedians have been diagnosed with similar disorders. Woody Allen, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and David Letterman have all been diagnosed. Owen Wilson attempted to commit suicide by slitting his wrists.  None of these people seemed to appreciate how loved and respected they were by others.

 

There are many other famous people who did not realise how much their talents were appreciated by others.

 

Paul Gascoigne the footballer is a good example. He has suffered with drink problems and depression, even at the height of his career when he was one of the most popular people in England. Who can forget Italia 1990?

 

Or what about this goal on 15th June 1996?

 

Its amazing to think someone so worshipped as Gazza could suffer from a crisis of confidence.

 

I could produce lengthy lists of famous people who suffer low self esteem, including apparently Diana, Princess of Wales. Its hard to believe someone as beautiful, rich and beloved by many as her could suffer low self esteem.

 

Bearing the above in mind, can you be certain that pretty girl you know, perhaps at work or elsewhere realises she is beautiful and that you fancy her. She could, despite the bravado be feeling unhappy with her looks. Have you given told her how good she looks today? (This applies the other way as well i.e. men suffer the same low self esteem)

 

What about at work? You know the bloke you secretly wish you could be more like because of how good they are, how many sales they close or how the children he teaches respect him. He may not realise how respected he is by his peers and what a great teacher he actually is ( again, for he you can also read she). When did you last tell your work colleagues, even the apparently successful ones how well they are doing?

 

What about parents? The glamorous mother with the model children who are a credit to her? The one who spends lots of quality time with her children and who other children wish was their mother. Yes she may not think she is a good parent and may focus unduly on something she sees as a failing. Does anyone tell them how good a job they are actually doing?

 

Any of these scenarios ring true?

 

Perhaps you recognise the situation, but think that you have praised the person for their actions/ talent. Well, you may have praised them verbally, or even by some form of gesture e.g. a gift or something, but communication is more than saying words or making gestures.

 

To be effective, the form of communication must get through to the psyche of the person in question and make them realise how special they actually are.Look at how you communicate to those around and make sure your message is actually being heard effectively by your intended recipient.

 

So, today look at your work colleagues and those you come into contact with and try to put yourself in their shoes. Don’t take their exterior projection as being how they feel

 

If it is you who is feeling unloved, or a failure, then more than likely there is someone, or more than one person who thinks that you are someone very special and who wants to be more like you.

 

Rant over

That Was The Week That Was

Well, the last seven days have been interesting and eventful. I’m not sure I want to repeat them, but they are all a part of life’s rich tapestry

[Editorial note – stop spouting this crap and get on with it]

 

Last weekend I was in the North East with Michelle. A good weekend with Michelle followed as usual.

 

Saturday lunchtime we went to a great Italian restaurant near Wallsend. Sambuca is a family run restaurant chain that has at least 3 restaurants on the Fish Quay in North Shields and now one at East Howdon near Wallsend in a converted pub. Amazingly, they do a 3 course meal on a lunchtime for only £3.95. Yes, £3.95! The food is excellent. the only thing better was the company. As well as Michelle and Josh, her parents were also there with us. Although, for Christmas I think I will be buying Michelle’s dad a  Sat Nav or at least a map. He seemed to manage to drive through the Tyne Tunnel to SOUTH Shields instead of staying North of the river for East Howdon which is next to NORTH Shields. The meal out was to celebrate Josh’s 13th birthday earlier in the week. Its hard to believe at times that he is only 13 as he seems so mature and sensible – well compared to me that’s not saying much

 

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent shopping for a new TV for Michelle’s home. I think a Friday evening having to listen to me was enough to drive Michelle into getting a replacement for her broken TV. Saturday night was a night of a few drinks and a great curry made from scratch by Michelle. Let no one be under any illusions, she is a great chef. She will deny she is, but I have yet to taste anything she has made that I do not like. Even  vegetables – yes I know, me eating vegetables – its unheard of and many of you won’t believe it, but its true!

 

Sunday was a day of leisure, and boy can I do things leisurely! A read of the Non League Paper, a drive to the supermarket and a great Sunday dinner were all I managed. Thanks for cooking it Keith

 

Sadly, Sunday night and its time to make the long trip home. I got the train from Newcastle to London and expected to be home long before midnight, but the train managed to get a broken windscreen somewhere between York and Doncaster. This necessitated a delay at York whilst the train was checked. After that we had to run at a reduced speed. Now, you may be aware that train companies have to pay compensation to passengers if trains are delayed by 30 minutes or more. Now our train surprisingly managed to arrive at Kings Cross just UNDER 30 minutes later. Strange that isn’t it?

 

Anyway, I got the tube round to Liverpool Street and the train from there home. As I trudged up the street I reside in during the early hours of Monday morning with my rucksack over my shoulder, I heard a noise behind me. I turned to look and managed to stumble and twisted my ankle. I think the bag had unbalanced me. I limped home and went straight to bed. I woke up early on Monday morning, jumped out of bed to get ready to cycle to work, forgetting about the events of the night before. The pain when my weight was put on my right ankle reminded me! In fact, the pain was such that I could not walk down the stairs and certainly could not cycle to work or walk to the train station. I had to ring in sick to work. Fortunately, I did not have any meetings so it was not too much of a problem. The rest of Monday I spent laid in bed or later on the sofa. What’s different to normal? I can hear Michelle saying- and probably quite a few others as well.

 

Tuesday I did make it into work after strapping up my ankle and avoiding twisting on it. In fact, I was able to cycle in as I did not have to twist my ankle. Fortunately I clip in and out with my left foot not my right!

 

Thursday I had to attend an all day training course at work on the subject of the disclosure of Unused Material in criminal cases. Sounds thrilling doesn’t it? Well this was a course you had to volunteer for. I therefore did not put my name forward, but somehow I was mandated to attend the course even though others who did volunteer were refused places. Go figure!

 

Anyway, the course turned out to be a rather good course. It was run by lawyers from the Serious Fraud Office and the Health & Safety Executive. They ran a very informative and entertaining course. It was also a good chance to meet with lawyers from other parts of government including, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Office of Fair Trading, the Services Prosecution Authority.

 

Thursday evening I was to attend another training course, this time run by the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Associations this time on the subject of defending protestors in public order type cases. It was a very interesting and thought provoking talk.

 

Sadly, some of the recent court decisions seem to deny there is a right to protest. I’m thinking in particular of the European court Decision that the kettling of peaceful protestors for 8 hours without access to food/ water / toilet facilities is lawful. For those of you who do not know what it means, kettling is where the police surround a group of protestors and refuse to allow them to move or disperse. Strangely, if you treated animals like this you would be facing prison for animal cruelty, but its ok to do this to peaceful protestors! Strange values we have.

 

Friday was the day Michelle was coming down for the weekend, so it was time to start tidying the house before I went to work. I was delayed at work, so had to rush home and had to shower, cook my tea and finish tidying the house before heading to Kings Cross to meet Michelle.

 

After meeting Michelle, we headed back to my home for a quiet night in and a few glasses of alcohol and an early night. I did have a problem with my contact lenses after we got home – more of that later. I have to say that a double bed is far better when there are 2 people in it – and when there is a decent mattress on it.

 

Saturday was to be a relatively easy day. Michelle and I cycled up to the Redbridge Cycle circuit where Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club have its weekly meeting. As child welfare officer, I feel I should show my face every now and then! I’m sure Michelle will mind me telling you she had a clip less moment whilst riding. She managed to cut her knee, aggravate her thigh & hip and end up with a lump on her knee. Despite this she got back on her bike and carried on riding. The right reaction in my view.

 

Sadly my eye had managed to get worse over the time since Friday night. I popped to my optician who suggested I go to Whipps Cross Hospital A&E immediately and get it checked out. So Saturday night was spent there waiting for treatment.

 

We initially went to the Eye Clinic after being told when we called the hospital that it was open until 8pm. We walked into the separate building that was the eye clinic. The doors were unlocked, medical records left on the reception counter, computer and other expensive equipment including computers on display. The only thing missing was any staff. The clinic was actually closed but they had not locked it up or put records etc. away. So much for security of the building, equipment or more importantly confidential medical records!

 

Eventually we found the walk in centre where we had to queue to speak to the “medical screener” who asked what was wrong, wrote down my name and address and told me to join the next queue to be registered where after standing (literally!) in a queue for 30+ minutes, I saw the receptionist who asked my name, address, what was wrong, and told me to take a seat and wait to be seen. If the NHS want to save money, they could look at the role of the medical screener as apart from creating another queue, I am not sure what they add apart from delay and cost to the NHS operation.

 

Another wait, then it was into see the nurse who said I needed ointment for infection on my eye. She said it would be cheaper to buy it over the counter than prescribe it and wrote down the name of the ointment. Its a sad world when the prescription from the free at the point of delivery is more expensive than from the commercial chemist. NHS safe in politicians hands? Don’t make me laugh.

 

So, we left the hospital and headed home via the local Tesco which was still open to sell us eye ointment. As we walked out of the hospital, Michelle pointed out to me all the hand wash/ alcohol dispensers fixed on all the walls and in all the rooms in the hospital. These were there to deal with the risk of spread of infection in the hospital. A valid attempt to reduce the infection rate in hospitals you may think. I would agree with you except as Michelle pointed out not one of them had any hand wash / alcohol in the wall brackets.

 

So NHS, that was a good use of money wasn’t it? Paying out all that money to get the maintenance contractors to put up all those dispensers and then not use them. Perhaps there is no longer any risk of infections in hospitals and everyone who comes in and everything in the hospital is completely free of germs.

 

It couldn’t be a further wasting of taxpayers money could it?

 

I must express my gratitude publically to Michelle for forcing me to go to the hospital and then spending the evening with me. Its hardly an exciting night out for her. Thank you Michelle.

 

Sunday was a leisurely morning with me reading the Non League Paper whilst my guest Michelle prepared the most fantastic curry for lunch. This was supposed to be tea last night but we were at the hospital. Now, I have to admit that I feel rather ashamed at letting my guest cook for me. However, Michelle makes such a good housekeeper as well as much much more. Well, that’s me excuse for being lazy.

 

After lunch, we headed up into London and went for a walk in Regent’s Park. I’ve not wandered through there for at least 22 years. It is a beautiful park and I would recommend it. It is so peaceful and tranquil and yet it is only feet from the very busy Marylebone Road. A real oasis in the heart of London.

 

The only sad part of the afternoon was that it was rapidly heading to 4pm and the departure of Michelle’s train to Newcastle. I hate leaving her at the station and the driving home from Kings Cross to my empty house. However, its a price worth paying to spend time with Michelle.

 

The week ahead brings work, work and more work. Possibly an Orient match on Tuesday night or possibly not as its a 7pm kick off and I won’t have time to get from work, go home get changed and get to cafe & game.

 

Oh & another thing this week is to deal with my gas & electricity suppliers who wrote to me on Thursday to say I am in credit with my monthly payments. I started my account with them in November last year, and after 8 months comprising Winter & Spring ( the heaviest use months) I have over paid them. Sounds good so far doesn’t it.

 

They have reviewed my payments based on a forecasted usage over the next 12 months and say i will used 4 times the amount of gas in the next 12 months as I did in the winter & spring quarters combined. Hmmm no account taken of the lower usage in the summer. They have then set my monthly direct debit payments so as to collect the whole years usage over the next 4 months! Now forgive me for thinking that the monthly direct debits are supposed to cover the gas/ electricity used over the year. (Well that is what OfGem say).

 

Please explain to me why I should be paying N Power THREE times over for their calculation of the gas / electricity they have over estimated I will use. Based on an extrapolation of the gas/ electricity used over the last 8 month then they will be making me pay FOUR times over for my power supplies.

 

is it any wonder that I do not like to give these companies the power to take direct debits.

 

I rang them on Friday to discuss the matter and was told that the statements they sent were incorrect! they claim to somehow now have a new reading for my initial reading of the meter. Strange how this suddenly appears now but they didn’t use it to prepare the bills.

 

They also claim to have read the gas meter one day and the electricity meter the next day. Strange that as both meters are inside my house and not accessible from outside. I was at not off work on 2 successive days to enable meter readings to be taken.

 

Seems that one again we have power companies inventing meter readings and sending out inaccurate bills.

Virgin on the Dishonest

Well, earlier this year when I was having problems with my broadband, I was told that my broadband speed was soon to be increased at no extra cost. I was told this would happen by October 2012. This was also confirmed on their website

Well, its now October and I’ve not heard anything from Virgin Media and my broadband speed has not been increased. So tonight, I have checked upon their website and it appears the upgrade has been delayed. Now its going to be done by August 2013, only some 10 months after they claim it was going to be done.

Never mind your adverts telling us how superfast Virgin Broadband is Mr Branson. Never mind your love affair with Usain Bolt. How about actually doing what you promised and upgrading the broadband speed?

It wouldn’t be so bad if you would bother to keep your customers informed as to what was going on.

I find it incredible that a 10 month delay in providing an upgrade when you are only on an annual contract is significant is it not? Clearly not to the Bearded self publicist.

The Virgin Media website states

Do I need to do anything now?

No, there’s nothing to do right now and no need to contact us. We’ll let you know as soon as there’s any news about your upgrade.

Clearly the 10 month delay is not “any news about your upgrade”

Could it be the lack of concern for customers that caused the Rail Regulators to reject sister company Virgin Trains application to renew their franchise?