Saturday Snippet/s

Don’t know how long I will last so this might be a short post.

I see that Alan Johnson has come up with an election persuader, he has decided in his wisdom after 12 odd years of Labour Government that “Police should visit every victim of crime in England and Wales no matter how minor the offence.”

Slight snag there Alan; I have resided in the Angus castle now for eleven years, and in that time I have never seen a police “person” on patrol around the moat, there was apparently a beat officer who shoved a letter through my letter box about three years ago regarding a problem with car vandalising some two hundred yards away in a place I could not see.

And now, after extensive research I have discovered that the said police person has been replaced with two female semi coppers on patrol, whom/who I have also never seen.

I did try once to report some anti-social behaviour many years ago and had to ring four numbers to find a police station open at night, the nearest apparently is in Basingstoke some 17 miles away and was interrogated over the phone by a non police person who wanted my name address, date of birth and other assorted non essential information, only to tell me after twenty minutes (that I was paying for) that their were no "Proper" police persons available and anyway by the time that they got there the perpetrators will have gone.

So I took my life in my hands and told the little sods to bugger off, which they did, problem solved for me and the Police who didn’t have to get out of their nice warm Volvos and actually do some work.

And don’t start on about how much paper work the poor crim nickers have to do, and how they are dealing with “serious” crime, absolute bollocks, the Police are there to serve the public, they are there to keep us safe and prevent crime no matter how trivial it is to them, to us any crime is serious and should be dealt with appropriately.

Sadly as in every thing else in this country the police force is too PC, they don’t do water, they don’t do noise, but Alan Johnson thinks “Among the pledge's contents is a commitment to make it easier to contact neighbourhood police teams who, in turn, are committed to spending 80% of their time on duty in their community. (See above)

The document also promises that someone reporting a non-emergency crime can get an appointment with an officer within two days.”

Last month, a report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, the national policing watchdog, said that 35 out of 43 forces had fallen short of the standards set out in their pledges.

It called on senior officers to do more to keep victims up to date on the progress of investigations and support dissatisfied members of the public.

So come on Alan, get the police back on the beat, and let the public see them, give them Blackberries so that they can send the relevant information back to the nick and have a non police person deal with the paperwork.

We need to see coppers walking around our streets, the crims need to see them walking around our streets, undo all the changes you have made, let traffic take care of traffic offenders, let CID take care of theft and burglaries and let beat bobbies take care of us.


Knackered again, maybe another post later.


Angus

AnglishLit

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

Angus Dei politico

iPanic; Sign of the crimes; Noonamah jumpers; Gym slip; and Technophobe Santa’s

BF 9 last thingy, weather cold, news is even worse.

Dave C is about to try to worm his way out of his promise of a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, but the goodish news is that we can leave Europe if we want-let’s do that then.

And: It seems that it will cost £4,350 per “family” in taxes to procure the latest bank bailout, thanks Ali and Gord.



First up:

Let the iPhone take the strain

People scared of flying can now press a button on their iPhone to help them deal with their panic.

Long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic Airways has launched an application, or app, for its Flying Without Fear course which boasts a success rate of over 98 percent. Apps are a source of information, games and other novelty ideas for users of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

The airline said in a statement that this app was designed to help people overcome fear, be it of the unfamiliar aircraft, the strange noises a plane makes, or of losing control.

"The app will put many travellers at ease and enable them to prepare for their first Virgin Atlantic flight."
The airline developed the app with Mental Workout, a company developing software to help people resolve issues and increase mental performance. A spokesman from Mental Workout said an estimated one in every three adults were scared of flying.

The Flying Without Fear app has an introduction by Branson, a video-based in-flight explanation of a flight, frequently asked questions, relaxation exercises and a fear attack button for emergencies with breathing exercises.

And what about those that don’t have an iPhone?

If you can’t hold the sign don’t do the crime

From over the pond:- BEDFORD, Pa. — In exchange for jail time, a woman and her adult daughter have agreed to stand outside a courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday.

Fifty-six-year-old Evelyn Border and 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor stood outside the court for 4 1/2 hours Tuesday. They held signs that read: “I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you!”

Because the women agreed to hold the signs, Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins says he’ll ask for probation instead of jail when they plead guilty to the theft.

Higgins says they swiped a gift card that the girl set on a shelf while a Wal-Mart employee helped her.

The girl’s mother planned to drive by the courthouse to teach her daughter the importance of obeying the law

Sign of the times?

Over the jumps

From underneath: While most people were watching the race that stops the nation, locals at a Northern Territory hotel gathered for a very different kind of race.

The annual frog race at the Noonamah Tavern, 45 kilometres south of Darwin, attracted a crowd of about 300 people.

Twenty-four green tree frogs were pitted against each other as trainers used spray bottles filled with water to prod them into action.

The frogs have a much shorter distance to hop than their thoroughbred counterparts in the Melbourne Cup, but some took a while to get moving.

The frogs were auctioned off before the race, with one fetching more than $2,000.

The winning frog, which was called XXXX Summer, will earn almost $12,000 dollars for its owner, while $9000 has gone to charity.

Time to hop it.

Knicker wearer nicked

A man who wore women's clothing to use his dead wife's gym membership has appeared in a Hong Kong court.

Lau Siu-wah, 51, was charged after he allegedly used his wife's identification card to exercise in the female-only section of the gym at the city's Sheraton hotel, The Standard daily reported on Tuesday (local time).

But the man's looks aroused suspicion and police were called, the report said, adding that Lau was quickly arrested.

The paper said Lau admitted to police that he used the card to impersonate his wife, who died in 2007.

Lau, who appeared in court Monday in women's clothes and wearing red nail polish, was granted bail on a charge that he used an identity card relating to another person, the paper said.

The case was adjourned until later this month.

What worries me is that no one who works at the gym noticed until he got to the women’s’ section.




And finally:

Santa school for old farts

Baffled Santa’s are being sent on a crash course in hi-tech toys to help them keep up with today's gadget-obsessed kids.

The training scheme was launched after ageing Santa’s complained they couldn't understand what children were asking for in their Christmas lists.

An online helpline has also been set up so Santa’s can call experts and ask for technical advice on computer games, consoles, cameras, and MP3 players.

Jeremy Fennell from PC World told The Sun: "There are more than 40,000 different gadgets and technologies on sale right now, a great many of which are going to be on children's Christmas lists.

"The Santa’s we are training are going to be faced with a very technically literate and technology savvy generation of youngsters over the next two months and we want them to be able to show that they understand what these kids are asking for.

"Nothing could be more depressing than being asked by Santa what you want for Christmas and finding he doesn't have a clue what you're talking about."

Santa’s from across the UK will be attending the training before heading to grottos across Britain.

A recent study found that only one in five Father Christmases had heard of the Nintendo DSi white while less than one in 10 knew about the must-have Sony reader.

One Santa, from Leicester, said: "There are so many new gadgets around now that I don't have the time to keep up with all the latest ones.

"It was much easier when all kids wanted was Connect 4 or a Scalextric but now they're asking for things like a Flip Mini Chrome Camcorder which, before my training, meant nothing to me."

And still means nothing to me.


Angus

AnglishLit

Angus Dei-NHS-THE OTHER SIDE

Angus Dei politico