Catch Up

Its been a while since I last wrote.

In the USA the Presidential fight is hotting up. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton appear neck and neck, so the next week or two will be interesting. John Mccain seems to have it for the Republicans. It seems our media in the UK are giving more coverage to the USA elections than to our own elections when they come about.

The Bank of England has cut the UK base rate by .25%. That should help the markets slightly. Savers wont be happy though.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, HMI of Constabulary has said there is too much paper work in the Police. Yes he is right, its only what people have been saying for years. When I joined the police in 1976 I would go out on patrol with just a pocket book, a pad of HO/RT/1s (traffic document producers), a pad of fixed penalty tickets, some accident books, and some summons books, all in my pocket. A simple file for drunk, or shoplifting, etc would be about 5 sheets of paper plus statements, and could be completed quite quickly. Now, or when I retired, there were forms for everything to carry, so I had to be issued with a bag to attach to my belt to take all these. Then back in the station what used to be a simple file takes hours, with about 20 forms, plus statements,plus trips to the CPS lawyer, fingerprints, photos, DNA, etc etc. I'm so glad I retired from it all, and so are most of my ex colleagues who have left. The Home Office really ought to get a grip of this paperwork, and they will find they have enough Police Officers to patrol the streets, and be able to get rid of alot of the PCSO's, thereby saving money. End of gripe.

England won at fottball on Wednesday night. A good result of Fabio Capello. There were some good displays by Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Jermaine Jenas, and others. It justified leaving out Beckham, Micheal Owen and some others. Beckham should not be picked, as Capello is building for the next tournament. If a player is not match fit, then he should not play, regardless of whether he is on 99 caps or 9. The team should be picked on merit, not sentimentality.