Soltalk March 2018 | Page 28

Jottings

News from the UK and around the World compiled by Dave Jamieson
... the wild , the wacky , the wonderful , the weird and the downright infuriating
Boys in Blue
Greater Manchester Police abandoned action on 28 per cent of the speeding tickets issued in 12 months . Nationwide , the figure was over 241,000 cases dropped from the total of 2.2 million speeding fines issued . Reasons included successful challenges by motorists and technical problems with cameras including speed measurement inaccuracies and unclear images , as well as errors made by officers . The number of tickets issued ( and cancelled ) is expected to rocket if Britain ’ s road policing chief Andy Bangham gets away with his plan to penalise drivers who stray just one mph over the limit . Anybody worked out the cost in wasted manpower ?
Bruce Grubb , a farmer in Aberdeenshire , was on high alert when he reported to police that he had spotted a tiger in his cowshed last month . Several police vehicles , including an armed unit , converged on the site near Peterhead , although the first officer on the scene refused to get out , and nearby wildlife parks were called in case a fugitive was on the run .
Slowly , they surrounded the building , waiting for the animal to show itself while Mr Grubb feared for the safety of his pregnant cows . After 45 minutes with no action , however , the boys in blue began to be concerned and sent in one of their bravest in a well-protected vehicle to investigate .
He drove cautiously to where Mr Grubb had reported the tiger had been seen , and sure enough , there it was : a large cuddly toy with no ill bovine intentions . The police , who kept the tiger as a mascot , said they have to consider every option in such an operation , while Mr Grubb said he felt , “ a bit silly , but felt it was a real emergency .” He immediately launched his own hunt – to find out who left the toy in the cowshed .
Yellow Perils
It seems a breakdown in communication led to two NHS blood donation vans receiving parking tickets while staff were inside a Kent leisure centre . The warden who issue the tickets was criticised when a photo appeared on social media with
2 6
Jottings News from the UK and around the World compiled by Dave Jamieson . . . the wild, the wacky, the wonderful, the weird and the downright infuriating Boys in Blue Greater Manchester Police abandoned action on 28 per cent of the speeding tickets issued in 12 months. Nationwide, the figure was over 241,000 cases dropped from the total of 2.2 million speeding fines issued. Reasons included successful challenges by motorists and technical problems with cameras including speed measurement inaccuracies and unclear images, as well as errors made by officers. The number of tickets issued (and cancelled) is expected to rocket if Britain’s road policing chief Andy Bangham gets away with his plan to penalise drivers who stray just one mph over the limit. Anybody worked out the cost in wasted manpower? Bruce Grubb, a farmer in Aberdeenshire, was on high alert when he reported to police that he had spotted a tiger in his cowshed last month. Several police vehicles, including an armed unit, converged on the site near Peterhead, although the first officer on the scene refused to get out, and nearby wildlife parks were called in case a fugitive was on the run. He drove cautiously to where Mr Grubb had reported the tiger had been seen, and sure enough, there it was: a large cuddly toy with no ill bovine intentions. The police, who kept the tiger as a mascot, said they have to consider every option in such an operation, while Mr Grubb said he felt, “a bit silly, but felt it was a real emergency.” He immediately launched his own hunt – to find out who left the toy in the cowshed. Slowly, they surrounded the building, waiting for the animal to show itself while Mr Grubb feared for the safety of his pregnant cows. After 45 minutes with no action, however, the boys in blue began to be concerned and sent in one of their bravest in a well-protected vehicle to investigate. Yellow Perils 26 It seems a breakdown in communication ����Ѽ��ݼ�9!L�����������ѥ���م��)ɕ���٥�����ɭ����ѥ����́ݡ�����х���ݕɔ)��ͥ�����-��Ё�����ɔ�����ɔ��Q���݅ɑ��)ݡ�����Ք�ѡ��ѥ����́݅́�ɥѥ��͕��ݡ��)�����Ѽ������ɕ�����ͽ�����������ݥѠ