English Motorway Gantries Get New, More Secure Design
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Guardian.
This is the sub-heading.
National Highways hopes design will prove more resilient to trespassers after last year’s Just Stop Oil protests
These two paragraphs outline the design.
National Highways has unveiled a new design for motorway gantries that it hopes will prove harder for protesters to mount and use to cause disruption.
The renovated structures, which are expected to become the standard design in England from 2025, will have their maintenance steps hidden inside their pillars and will be more difficult to gain access to without authorisation.
As a scientifically-correct non-driver, I wouldn’t support Just Stop Oil.
But I do remember a tale from a few years back, when a friend, who was travelling up the M1, towing two horses in a trailer behind his pick-up. A guy was on a motorway gantry, threatening to commit suicide and traffic was stopped for several hours.
At the time he was informed by the police, that increasingly, they were seeing suicide attempts from motorway gantries.
If these new gantries can stop a proportion of suicides, that must be a good thing all round.
TfL’s First Brand New £8million DLR Train Trashed And Covered In Graffiti At London Depot
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on MyLondon.
This is the sub-heading.
Not a single passenger has even been able to ride the new train yet, but it has already been entirely tagged with graffiti
This is so sickening.
Transport for London, must have known the train was a target after what happened to Merseyrail’s first Class 777 train whilst it was parked up in Tonbridge on the way to Liverpool, according to this article in the Liverpool Echo.
It should be noted that Liverpool’s trains, don’t suffer from these morons in the city and even their forty-year-old Class 508 trains are untouched.
Conclusion
Where were the Police?
A French Banker’s View Of The French Police
After the violence at the weekend in Paris, I am reminded of a meeting with a French banker.
Many years ago, I used to do business with a French banker; Andre, who lived and worked in Geneva.
Whether, there had been an excess of violence by French police at the time, I can’t remember, but in a restaurant in Geneva we got talking about the different between French police and other forces in Europe. Andre stated that if you join the French police, you immediately lose all your friends, as no-one wants a policeman as a friend, such is the distrust of the police.
Andre had worked all over Europe, and felt that only in France, is there this attitude to the police.
Does this closed society of the French police lead to them going over the top, as they regularly seem to do?
I’d love to know what the French police think of refugees! I wonder, if they see them as a supreme nuisance and feel the sooner, they have left French soil the better.
Only In Norfolk
I have a Google Alert for “Norfolk Vanguard wind farm” that picked up this story, which is entitled Norfolk Constabulary Issues Inclusive Language List Of 37 Sexual Identities And Genders.
Only in Norfolk!
Manchester Arena Attack: Families ‘Disgusted’ By Memorial Trespassing
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs,
Families of people killed in the Manchester Arena attack have said they were “disgusted” after a memorial site for the 22 victims was trespassed on.
The Glade of Light memorial in the city centre remains a building site and does not officially open until the new year.
Two bereaved families said they were appalled to find the security fences pulled down on Sunday.
The article also said this.
Ms Curry said she found hundreds of people were walking through the area, which is supposed to be closed to the public.
She said one man stood on a memorial stone and was abusive when challenged, another woman vomited all over the area, and groups of youths were openly smoking drugs.
I can’t understand what led to this aggressive trespass.
When, I am in certain cities, there does seem to be more low life on the streets than you habitually see in London.
I do wonder, if it is partly because of London’s transport regulations and actions as laid down by the Mayor and Transport for London.
London has an extensive CCTV network and after the London bombings of July the seventh and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, I’m sure it was improved.
Did the improved CCTV and the police action in the shooting the unfortunate Brazilian, deter a lot of low life from going to the centre?
Ken Livingstone or was it Boris, introduced a policy of banning alcohol on London’s transport system.
The precise details are given in this recent article on the Sun.
I have a feeling it had a positive effect, but did it mean that less drunks found their way to the centre?
In 2011, I sat next to a guy on a Manchester bus going from Piccadilly Gardens to Bury. I noticed that about a dozen youths were harassing the driver, trying to get his fare money and remarked on this to my companion.
My companion on hearing my London accent, said you don’t get that in London because of the contactless ticketing, as there is no fare money on the bus.
I was surprised at his reply and asked him to explain. It turned out he was a Trade Union Official, who looked after bus workers in Manchester. He told me his Union wanted a London-style contactless ticketing system, as it had drastically cut the number of attacks on staff in London.
Having worked with the Metropolitan Police on the analysis of data, they have also found that contactless ticketing helps in the tracing of people through London’s transport network and has solved several serious crimes.
Conclusion
I feel that terrorism and London’s reaction to it, banning of alcohol on public transport, contactless ticketing and other measures have helped keep drunks and those up to no good out of the centre.
How Do We Protect Ourselves From Covidiots Like These?
I had to laugh when I heard this story on the BBC!
They gave a summary on Radio 5 of this story from Reuters, which is entitled London Police Irritated By Makeshift Nightclub In Barbershop Basement.
But I do suspect, that the Soho police were a lot more than irritated.
I certainly am furious at such irresponsible behaviour!
London Church Investigated Over ‘Protection’ Oil
The title of this post, is the same as that as this story on the BBC.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A faith healer who sold £91 “plague protection kits” claiming they could shield people from Covid-19 is being investigated by the charity watchdog.
Bishop Climate Wiseman of the Kingdom Church in Camberwell, London, claimed a bottle of oil and some red yarn would protect his followers from the virus.
Surely, he should be being investigated by the Metropolitan Police!
As far as I can see, the purpose of some religion is to let a few men, live a good life, at the expense of others.
Nothing Changes
The Americans never change, when it comes to the crimes and misdemeanours of their diplomats, forces personnel and their families in the United Kingdom.
Over the last few days, the case of the death of Harry Dunn, by a stupid driver reportedly on the wrong side of the road, has come to attention on the news.
Perhaps, twenty-five years ago, C and myself were at a dinner party given by a Chinese friend and we got talking to a retired Chief Constable from East Anglia, who C knew through various legal connections.
At the time, there had just been a fatal road crash involving a United States serviceman, near one of the many bases and there was a row going on, as the suspect had been whisked back home.
I remember the retired Policeman saying that it was always happening and justice was rarely seen to be done.
Lessons From Extinction Rebellion
I only came across Extinction Rebellion once and I took these pictures.
Oxford Circus was totally blocked.
So what have we learned?
A Relatively Small Largely Peaceful Group Can Bring A British City To A Halt
By not using any violence or threats of violence, the good nature of the Metropolitan Police meant that the protest was able to continue, despite the large number of arrests.
It also seemed that many after arrest, went back to the protest.
The Great British Public Didn’t Seem To Be Too Annoyed
Although, one or two celebrities, white van and black cab black drivers seemed to be annoyed, when they were interviewed, the Great British Public seemed to take it on the chin.
Crime Didn’t Seem To Rise In Areas Unaffected By The Protests
I’m not sure of this, but do-called newspapers like the Express, Mail and Sun didn’t seem to have any screaming headlines on the subject.
At The Right Time These Protests Can Be Cleared Without Heavy Police Force
In the end, the Oxford Street and Waterloo Bridge protests, were cleared by strength of numbers and no use of pepper spray, baton rounds or water cannon.
The Future Of Protest
I think we will see more protests of this type against or for such issues as Brexit, Remain and onald Trump.
Would the Met be able to cope with simultaneous protests for the first two groups?
Thinking About Climate Change
Will the Extinction Rebellion protests make us think more about climate change?
Investing In Renewable Energy
One trend I have noted over the past few years, is companies like Aviva, are investing large amounts of our pension funds in large renewable energy projects.
I wrote about one project in World’s Largest Wind Farm Attracts Huge Backing From Insurance Giant.
The Extinction Rebellion protests, must make it easier for Aviva and their like, to justify their investment decisions.
I feel that if the Government sets the right guidelines and tax rules, that companies like Ariva with their billions of pounds of funds, have more power than the Government to change the future.
Politicians
politicians in the UK are like a load of peasants on bicycles trying to put on a synchronised cycling display in a heavy thunderstorm.
They are morons led by mules!
I regularly use this phrase.
Engineering is the science of the possible, whereas politics is dreams of the impossible.
You can substitute lots of other professions for engineering.
But what we need is politician, who think in scientifically-correct pathways.
After all, you can’t disobey the laws of maths, physics, chemistry, biology and human nature.
But politicians believe you can otherwise racism, Marxism and Fascism wouldn’t exist.
Mondeo Man And Woman Living In A Comfortable House
Are these the real problem, as they drive around in their diesel car, live in very eco-unfriendly houses and fly to their holidays in America and the Far East?
How many of the vast majority of the UK population, even accept that climate change exists?
If they do, they always point to places like China and the United States, who carry on as normal!
Conclusion
There will be more and bigger protests, until politicians manage the art of synchronised bicycle riding!
A Police Car With 330,000 Miles On The Clock
At the commemoration for Prederick Parslowe the police brought along a couple of old police cars.
The Morris Minor was immaculate and had a genuine 330,000 miles on the clock. Apparently they own half-a-dozen, which get brought out for public relations purposes. One officer told me, that they’ve also got a couple of preserved Velocette LE‘s.
The Anonymous Widower 