Welcome home to the Coldstream Guards

Spent an enjoyable morning at Windsor, with a welcome home parade for the Coldstream Guards. Some of the soldiers had only got back last night. The reception was tremendous, a great crowd cheering and clapping – fabulous.

Afterwards, we were able to chat with some of them back in the Guildhall chamber – here is a photo of the Mayor, myself and some of the (more than 400) troops ….

 

 

Bits and pieces

Very busy this week, full Council on Tuesday, Cabinet yesterday. All good fun as ever, sparring with the opposition.

Belated Happy St George’s Day. I was pleased that the Town Hall flew the white and red flag!

Windsor welcome home to the troops tomorrow, gotta get robed up with the white bow tie and hat…

We announced the nominations for Mayor and Deputy Mayor yesterday for the next year – Mayor to be Cllr Dorothy Kemp and Deputy Mayor Cllr Catherine Bursnall .

Two photos of me in New York

This is an unexpectedly half-decent photo that I took with my (very cheap digital) camera on remote timer, putting it on the steps at the New York Public Library.

The second is a dark-affected flash-not-too-hot photo of the 3 Imperial College guys (20 years on), taken at Battery Gardens restaurant, down at the tip of Manhatten.

Finishing up over here in NY NY

I was going to post pictures because this internet cafe has a camera card reading device but it doesn’t work and there’s no-one around here on a Sunday to fix it. It can wait until I get back!

Had a great wedding, James and Erica off to the Bahamas and although the location was ideal (at the end of Manhatten in Battery Park overlooking the Status of Liberty) the fog was all around and only later on in the evening we could pick out the outline in the distance … good company, good food and happy times.

The guys at RecycleBank were great, not only do they have an interesting waste diversion model that we’re definitely doing to be looking at further, they are full of ideas and enthusiasm. And they gave me freebies.

EDIT : one of the freebies, a fantastic pencil 🙂

I have a special document for Andre Walker.

New York

I’m writing this from New York, specifically from the café in Borders bookshop in Madison Sq Garden, right opposite my hotel. One of my friends is getting married tomorrow in Battery Park, overlooking the Statue of Liberty. Jams cams to my wedding in 1999, so returning the favour was an enjoyable decision. Another of my college friends is here in the city as well.

Also trying to hook up with RecycleBank who are coming to visit the Royal Borough later this month; their operation in NY is based on an incentive scheme which interestingly lines right up with our manifesto commitment to increase recycling – by use of incentive schemes and otherwise!

No Gentlemen

I went to see an excellent concert at the Wycombe Swan on Sunday evening with some friends – the band playing was The Orchestra, which are the last remaining “bits” of the former ELO. It was very good indeed.

It reminded me of the sad decline of any ‘good’ thing, a story I recollect was of the first cricket club, at Hambledon in Hampshire. Apparently in the minutes book, the club, which was founded in 1750, slowly declined with dwindling members and support, until the last meeting entry, by an unknown hand, read simply “No Gentlemen”.

However, as we know, all was not lost for the game of cricket !

Why am I not surprised?

Assuming this is all as it appears to be, deliver us from this state quango bureaucracy madness! Credit : The Policeman’s Blog

I was chatting at the nick the other day with an enraged colleague who I’ll call PC ‘S’.
He’d just received a file back from the CPS which he had sent to them for a charging decision.
It is alleged the following happened that led to the suspect’s arrest:
A member of the public, ‘Bob’, is walking down the street one night when he sees a car drive past and crash into a lamp-post. The car contains one occupant, the male driver ‘Gordon’.
Being a caring citizen, Bob runs over to the car to see if Gordon is OK. As he gets there, Gordon opens the driver’s door and tries to run away.
Suspecting Gordon may have stolen the car, and also being able to smell alcohol on Gordon, Bob grabs hold of him and makes a citizen’s arrest.
Gordon is angered by this attempt at detention and hits Bob, causing injury, but Bob manages to keep hold of him until another member of the public, ‘Geoff’, comes to his aid (Geoff having also witnessed the car crash and what is happening between Bob and Gordon.)
The police are called. Whilst waiting for them to arrive Gordon punches Bob a few more times. When they get there, the officers arrest Gordon for drink driving and assault on Bob.
Gordon provides two evidential samples of breath at the police station, which show him to have been over the limit.
He is also interviewed in regard to the assault on Bob, which he denies.
He also denies being the driver of the car, despite both Bob and Geoff saying he was the only occupant of the vehicle when it collided with the lamp-post. (Further enquiries having shown that the vehicle was not stolen.)
A file is prepared for the CPS and a charging decision is sought.
Everybody at the nick thinks Bob has done the honourable thing. He’s managed to detain a drink-driver and possible car thief before we get there. It’s clear to us that Gordon should be punished for assaulting him.
The CPS – aka The Criminal Protection Service – takes a different view.
PC S explains that the CPS say that the original arrest of Gordon by Bob was unlawful because no indictable offence had been committed. (The car was not stolen and drink driving is a summary offence.) Therefore, Gordon was perfectly within his rights to use reasonable force to escape from this unlawful arrest/false imprisonment.
The legislation concerning Any Person Powers of Arrest are contained within Section 24A Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 but a summary of the powers can be found here.
It says, quite clearly (while giving the writer plenty of room for manoeuvre):
Any person can arrest a person who is in the act of committing an indictable offence or anyone whom he reasonably suspects to be committing such an offence, if it is not reasonably practicable for a constable to make the arrest instead and it is necessary to arrest the person to prevent him making off before a constable can assume responsibility for him.
What kind of message does this send out to Bob who was acting in good faith and is obviously a very public spirited citizen? As far as he is concerned the Police have let him down and why should he help them again?
PC S stressed to Bob, of course, that the decision not to prosecute for the assault was not a police decision, but that of the CPS. S appealed the CPS decision twice, through a Detective Inspector and the CPS management, but had no joy.
Our useless laws and justice system protect the criminals, and not the victims.

‘PC Bobby Dazzler’

EDIT : http://pcbobbydazzler.blogspot.com is the blog of PC Bobby Dazzler

More stories about the Clock Tower!

The Advertiser has a scoop today.

I like it, but there are a few too many jokes in it for my liking …. I think we could have got at least £8 million but the dollar is so weak at the moment. So what?!

[that’s an Ed Balls joke]

Welcome to April.