Sunday, March 31, 2013

Total chutzpah

I wondered if somewhere within the Houses of Parliament (or Fight Club as it has become known locally) Eric Joyce and Andrew  Mitchell met up for a swift couple of taxpayer subsidised ' liveners' before disappearing off for the Easter break.

Andrew 'Thrasher' Mitchell and Eric 'Are you looking at me?' Joyce have taken umbrage for various reasons at the Mets involvement in their professional and hence public  lives.

Great quote, if true, from  MP David Davis ( regarding the alleged 'leaking' of sections of the Mets CPS internal investigation into Plebgate) 'It is not for members of the Metropolitan  police to decide on their own case and it certainly not for them to attempt to spin themselves out of trouble'

Damn straight David!! If we wanted to take that line we would go cap in hand to the masters of it 'in da House'.

Not sure what Eric is trying to suggest by the bored  'doorman mentality' of officers who protect them.

If he wants G4S, or whoever wants the contract, to take over and deal with security its fine by me.

But when the massed ranks of disaffected citizens roll up outside looking for payback,  as ever the bored knuckle dragging door staff will step up and put themselves on offer to save said elected 'elite'

Witnessed some great hands on work by my colleagues over the Easter break.

We all know they hate us at HP but they could not function without us.

Happy Easter and stay safe.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Last one out...turn off the lights.

You know, its not the big stuff which tends to really grate.... its the small stuff ...the bye the bye, the minutiae that filters down from those above .

In its smallness it really explains what this organisation ,the MET, has become.

Someone out there feeds this stuff in and seem to think those reading it will think nothing of it.

I expect and I get,  the nonsense and outpourings from the politicians and the SLT. We all know were we sit. We are shafted and we are trying to make the most of it.

What I don't want to see and expect is, in the face of  20% cutbacks ,fundamental changes to our structure and working patterns and  station closures is  that we still have time for Earth Hour.

Someone, has decided we are signed up to Earth Hour,

We are expected, if there is anyone on duty or not dealing with the usual nonsense over the weekend we will try and turn off the lights for an hour.... its all part of the MPS Corporate Social responsibility program.

Recent figures suggest as much as 30% of the Met estate will be closed and sold off. All approved by the Mayors office responsible for policing.

We cant keep police stations open and yet we have someone called Head of Carbon Management paid by the MET .

Nonsense.

Where does this  end?

Are we to be pared down to offices within stations that are left, communicating by tapping on radiator's or pipes or perhaps using a shared carrier pigeon if we need to communicate with another station

The politicians in the Mayors office on policing seem to be doing enough.

The planned closures mean there will be big chunks of the Met estate who's lights will be turned off permanently.

Job done  Earth Hour....!

Hugs and decaffeinated all around !









Tuesday, March 12, 2013

An Inspector calls......time.

Read the post... followed the comments and the links...checked my diary to make sure the 1st April hadn't caught up with me... Looks like Mr G has called it time.

It was one of those blogs....no...it was the blog to check out when you came in off shift. If you saw something on TV or  in the rags such as the Wail you could either guarantee there would be a post..or at least the latest post would have a thread where whatever had happened would be commented on, chewed over and digested over the next 24.

Seems a little lonelier out there already...

Monday, March 11, 2013

Total nonsense

The MET apparently have (still) an MPS Environment and Sustainability Team


They also give a big shout out to the Waste and Resources Programme (WRAP)

Apparently if we all stopped throwing food away that should have been eaten it would have the same carbon impact as taking 1 in 5 cars off the road.

There is a Top Tips training slot. The workshops are at New Scotland Yard (NSY)... of course

No chance of the facilities there being capped or time limited.

There are an ever increasing number of stations whose access to food beyond a restricted time frame is nonexistent. It means struggling for change and buying (and over paying) for basic snacks in machines.

God help you if you have an office toaster tucked away somewhere. You have been told!

We are in the middle of the biggest fundamental change to Met structure in decades.

Large swathes of civilian staff (back office) are on their way out. We are closing large portions of the Met Estate. Nothing is sacred. Sir Bernard’s One London model is creating some eye wincing shift patterns.

However as long as there is someone out there banging the drum for the METS Corporate Social Responsibility program (CSR strategy) all is well

According to the splurge the average UK worker spends £1200 on lunches each year.

Frankly, like most of my colleagues, I am not your average worker.

I invariably eat at my desk. I bring sandwiches into work or something quick I can quick heat in the industrial sized microwave off the canteen.

I can’t recall the last time I sat away from a terminal for a refreshment break...and don’t start me on my culinary practices when I do get home

My shifts and finish times are such that I am too tired and spend most of my time throwing something frozen into the microwave when I do get home. Considering the recent scandals I have probably eaten the equivalent of the race card of the 1.30 at Cheltenham.

I am sure the people behind the Environment and Sustainability Team are earnest people but as I keep getting told by SLT we have to cut our cloth etc...

By the way if you have a soft cucumber to sort out check out the classes on the 13th....