Shabby Treatment

I have now become an infrequent blogger. Pressures of work is my excuse. I am not a regular reader of the Mail but decided this week that I will buy it, mainly because of the DVD's. I love the stiff upper lip war films with John Mills, Noel Coward et al in them. Today's Mail(Sunday) had the front page covered with the story about the treatment of the returning fallen servicemen and contrasting how differently they are treated here and in Canada. It seems that "ceremonial" matters are not a Force priority for Thames Valley Police, it should be! They cannot be bothered to provide and escort for the coffins from the border with Wiltshire (who incidentally not only do so, but also pause at the War Memorial in Wootton Basset where the locals gather to pay respects)to the Coroner's Office in Oxford. What kind of mad society do we live in! Why haven't our elected representatives stood up in Parliament and demanded that these fallen be afforded full respect. Why doesn't the Chief Constable of Thames Valley afford them the respect of one uniformed service to another. Our Courts have this week allowed Abu Quatada to stay here at our expense and yet we cannot spare a couple of cars and motorcycle outriders to ensure that our heroic dead are treated with proper respect. In life they may not have been heroes or carried out heroic deeds but their sacrifice demands that we treat them like returning heroes. If I was living in Thames Valley I would be demanding of my local councillors an answer to this question and a refund of the Police Precept from my council community charge. The Chief Constable isn't serving me in the way I wish her to.

Milestones

A few months ago we passed a momentous annual milestone! What is the milestone you may ask? Tax Freedom day, this is the day when each citizen finally finishes paying tax and starts earning money for themselves. This day has gradually crept up under Chancellor, now Prime Minister Brown by about 6 days. Sadly we haven't seen any commensurate improvement in the services that we expect to be funded from these taxes. Our health service hasn't improved, the staff certainly haven't been either looked after or paid better. Our roads and infrastructure have worsened in spite of not only these taxes but also the considerable revenue from the "safety cameras", there are fewer Police actually on the street dealing with crime, we have Community Safety Officers who laudable that they are do not have the powers or training of the police. We have an education system that is not only failing the youth but also failing to provide for the needs of the country today and certainly will not service our needs in the future. Universities are having to re-screen students and retrain them in basic English and mathematics. Is this a rant against the Labour Party and Government, in part yes but mainly it is a rant against the nature of our politicians. They are committed to lining their own nests at the expense of the ordinary citizen, the worst of these are the MEP's in Europe. This is typified by the ex member of the UKIP who was recently found guilty of fraud, sentenced to 9 months in gaol and can still keep his seat and more importantly his £60000pa salary. He can also apparently claim most of the allowances and employ members of his own family as secretarial support etc. Poor lamb, he won't be able to claim his attendance allowance or travel costs because he is topping up his striped sun tan. The question is Why? How many politicians currently sitting in Parliament have ever held a proper job? I don't mean as a barrister, union representative or any other non-job, how many have actually grafted away and earned a wage and had to live on that wage? I venture to suggest that there won't be many.