The Gray Monk will be in England for the next eight days, posting will depend on available time and access to the internet.
In the event of not being able to post anything, he'd like to wish anyone who happens by, a great Easter festival, with all the blessings promised in the Resurrection of Our Lord.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Fruhling ...
It's Spring alright. Weather as changeable as all get out, chill still in the air, and the grass growing like fury ... also all the dandelions attempting a takeover despite threats of frost and chills at night.
It's fun to watch the forests around us gradually change their stark appearance and bloom again into the greens and shades of green. The garden too, is stirring, lots of plants have survived the freeze and are now stirring. It takes a lot of effort to reshape it as we want it, but I reckon that by June we'll have it mostly under control.
Hopefully ...
It's fun to watch the forests around us gradually change their stark appearance and bloom again into the greens and shades of green. The garden too, is stirring, lots of plants have survived the freeze and are now stirring. It takes a lot of effort to reshape it as we want it, but I reckon that by June we'll have it mostly under control.
Hopefully ...
Friday, 15 April 2011
A whisper of truth in Whitehall?
I picked up an interesting bit of news from the UK yesterday, the speech by the current Prime Minister to the effect that the flood of immigrants, 2.2 million, into Britain in the period covered by the Liebour Government of Blair/Brown, has placed a great strain on the fabric of British Society. This is treading on dangerous ground, I'm sure it is mere millimetres away from being branded 'racist' by the Liebour spin doctors and possibly even from being classed in the same league as the frequently misquoted and misrepresented speech by Enoch Powel in the 1960s.
The fact is that the PM is right, but hasn't actually addressed all the issues related to it. He is right to point out that the UK has not seen an influx of immigrants on this scale since the Saxon and Angle invasions in the 500 - 600 AD period, but what has exacerbated it is the Politically Correct drive to marginalise the "native" inhabitants and promote the rights of minorities and the superiority of Islam over the native Christian Culture. That is what has strained the very fabric of UK Society more than anything else.
One hopes he'll raise that issue in the appropriate forum and fire all the Civil Servants monitoring 'progress' in that direction. That should solve quite a large part of the National Debt when we no longer have to pay all the parasites 'working' in those sections.
The fact is that the PM is right, but hasn't actually addressed all the issues related to it. He is right to point out that the UK has not seen an influx of immigrants on this scale since the Saxon and Angle invasions in the 500 - 600 AD period, but what has exacerbated it is the Politically Correct drive to marginalise the "native" inhabitants and promote the rights of minorities and the superiority of Islam over the native Christian Culture. That is what has strained the very fabric of UK Society more than anything else.
One hopes he'll raise that issue in the appropriate forum and fire all the Civil Servants monitoring 'progress' in that direction. That should solve quite a large part of the National Debt when we no longer have to pay all the parasites 'working' in those sections.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
A 'Risk Averse' Rescue Service?
I've just seen the first signs of light in the tunnel in, of all places, the SHP Journal! (Safety and Health Professional - I are one, but I still think its a complete oxymoron!)
The Chief Fire Officer of the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service has gone on record saying that the culture of fear generated by the Corporate Manslaughter legislation and the HSE in its campaign against FRS managers almost certainly contributed to the death of a woman who fell down a mineshaft. According to evidence before the inquest, she suffered a heart attack after a prolonged wait for the Mountain Rescue Organisations team to arrive while Firefighters at the scene stood idle - with equipment they could have used but were advised not to. Apparently the HandS man onsite decided they didn't have the right training and the OiC wasn't prepared to risk landing in court if he attempted the rescue in the face of that advice.
We have arrived at a situation, as CFO says, where the operational decisions are not made on the basis of operational need, but on whether or not the person in charge could get prosecuted for it at some later stage. To me this is a disgraceful state of affairs, one which is exploited to the fullest extent by the Union which uses any excuse to attempt to undermine the command structure.
I note the HSE claims their Inspectors of FRS operations are all 'trained' to properly assess operational activity. That is NOT my experience at all.
The Chief Fire Officer of the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service has gone on record saying that the culture of fear generated by the Corporate Manslaughter legislation and the HSE in its campaign against FRS managers almost certainly contributed to the death of a woman who fell down a mineshaft. According to evidence before the inquest, she suffered a heart attack after a prolonged wait for the Mountain Rescue Organisations team to arrive while Firefighters at the scene stood idle - with equipment they could have used but were advised not to. Apparently the HandS man onsite decided they didn't have the right training and the OiC wasn't prepared to risk landing in court if he attempted the rescue in the face of that advice.
We have arrived at a situation, as CFO says, where the operational decisions are not made on the basis of operational need, but on whether or not the person in charge could get prosecuted for it at some later stage. To me this is a disgraceful state of affairs, one which is exploited to the fullest extent by the Union which uses any excuse to attempt to undermine the command structure.
I note the HSE claims their Inspectors of FRS operations are all 'trained' to properly assess operational activity. That is NOT my experience at all.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Getting the Text Book finished ...
At long last I can say I'm all but finished with the writing, researching, editing and drawing ...
It is taking a lot longer than I thought it would, but it is now almost there. Next week I will hand over a Memory Stick with the MS, the pictures and everything else on it. Then we wait for the publication and the issue of the ISBN.
It will be published by the Institution of Fire Engineers under the title "The IFE Guide to Fire Investigation" and I certainly hope that those who buy it will find it useful and helpful in their careers.
It is taking a lot longer than I thought it would, but it is now almost there. Next week I will hand over a Memory Stick with the MS, the pictures and everything else on it. Then we wait for the publication and the issue of the ISBN.
It will be published by the Institution of Fire Engineers under the title "The IFE Guide to Fire Investigation" and I certainly hope that those who buy it will find it useful and helpful in their careers.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Dust storm
Some readers of this blog may have read of the appalling accident yesterday on the autobahn near Rostock. It involved over forty vehicles, including some large trucks and one tanker carrying fuel ... At present, 24 hours later, the section of the Autobahn is being rebuilt - or at least resurfaced - and the there are eight confirmed dead, 130 injured and two remain in a critcal condition in hospital. The photographs from the scene are a fire fighter's worst nightmare. A short news video clip can be found on Euronews. It is in German, but the pictures give an idea of the problems
The accident was apparently caused by a huge cloud of dust, whipped up by a strong wind, which suddenly blew across the carriageway blinding motorists. Some of the clip shows dust still blowing as rescue workers try to put out the fires and check for injured and survivors.
One can only hope that the lessons from this are learned.
The accident was apparently caused by a huge cloud of dust, whipped up by a strong wind, which suddenly blew across the carriageway blinding motorists. Some of the clip shows dust still blowing as rescue workers try to put out the fires and check for injured and survivors.
One can only hope that the lessons from this are learned.
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