Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

I've just had a lovely walk with my two dogs Stan, very enjoyable!

Child abuse victims blast Theresa May for “lack of transparency” and “manipulations” 5/06/2014

Survivors of institutional child abuse have written an extraordinary letter to the Home Secretary Theresa May telling her the government’s official inquiry is “not fit for purpose” and they will no longer cooperate with it.

In the unprecedented letter, child abuse survivors and professionals accuse Theresa May’s Home Office of “obfuscation“, “lack of transparency” and “manipulations“:

Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Home Secretary, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

Dear Theresa May
As survivors and associated professionals, we were very much hoping to take up the invitations to engage with your Ministerial Officers to discuss the Child Sex Abuse Inquiry but we regret to say we have to decline. We, alongside many survivors, have made numerous representations to you regarding our view that the Inquiry as it stands is not fit for purpose. Its Terms of Reference (ToR) are inadequate for delivering the original declared intentions of the inquiry, namely to investigate government and establishment cover ups of paedophiles in their ranks and aiding bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Secondly, both your appointees to Head the Inquiry Panel have had to be forced out by survivors because of obvious conflicts of interest, and you have failed to address similar issues regarding other Panel appointees.
Thirdly, that the cut-off date for the Inquiry investigations was set at 1970 is highly disturbing given that the 1969 Children’s Act transferred Home Office run youth establishments, from which thousands of abuse allegations eventually emerged. It highlights the lack of transparency regarding the Home Office’s dealings with the Inquiry, not to mention the apparent obfuscations and manipulations in the defence of the appointment of Fiona Woolf. As a result, the Home Office seems to be running the Inquiry to meet others’ needs rather than those of survivors and the public.
We therefore have little option but to end engagement with the Inquiry and call on other survivors, whistleblowers, associated professionals and agencies to follow suit until, as Home Secretary, you:
• announce the scrapping of the current panel and its replacement on a transparent basis
• declare a statutory inquiry
• announce that the TOR will focus on: 1) Organised & Institutional Abuse – hearing evidence from survivors of such abuse 2) Extending the cut-off date to 1945 and linking with Inquiries in other parts of the UK 3) Setting up a dedicated police team at the National Crime Agency to take evidence alongside the inquiry to investigate and prosecute offenders 4) Holding those that have failed in their professional duty or covered up allegations or been obstructive to account.

Yours faithfully
Andy Kershaw and Tony Martin (Survivors of Forde Park)
Bobby Martin, Gang Intervention Advisor & Islington Care Home Survivor
Luke Payne, Child Trafficking Survivor.
Nigel O’Mara, Former Survivors’ Helpline Counsellor/ Public Relations Officer
Caroline Carnot, Author & Founding Executive Care Leavers Association
Peter McKelvie, Whistleblower and former child protection worker
Dr Liz Davies, Reader in Child Protection, London Metropolitan University
Ruth Stark MBE, President International Federation of Social Workers
Ann Davis, Emeritus Professor of Social Work and Mental Health, University of Birmingham
Phil Frampton (Founding Chair, Care Leavers Association 2000-04)
Stephen Morris, Church of England Children’s Society Careleaver
Brian Douieb, Former Leaving Care Social Work Manager
Les Huckfield MP for Nuneaton 1967-83. MEP for Merseyside East 1984-89
Dr Kenneth McIntyre, CPsychol, AFBPsS
Dr Paul Redgrave, Director of Public Health, Barnsley 2004-09
Ed Nixon, Chief Executive, Family Care Associates
Anne Southworth, Senior National Education Specialist (Audit Commission) – Retired
Dr Rachel Chapple, Social Anthropologist, Founder, Real Stories Gallery Foundation
Councillor Ann Kerrigan
Ann Mallaby, Justice Campaigner
Andrea Enisuoh, Community Organiser, Hackney Unites
Miriam Day, Writer and survivor of childhood sexual abuse
Robert Chewter, Campaigner

GF

“I shall hold my hands up and admit I did record it without their knowledge because sometimes my memory gets fragmented during these ‘assessments’ – it takes me a while to comprehend what’s happened,” she explained.

just like police and other services record interviews, I can not see why the interviews by the "Welfare police" or any other group should not be recorded.

In similar situations I recorded interviews and advised others to do similar.

----=-

GF,

The problem with the controlling group in the present cabinet is their form of education with narrow socio-cultural exposure and their morality being based on their experiences in those institutions.

-=-=-

DB$,

Prefer to point out the errors of your ways and point you in the right direction.

Hope the dogs got back safely!

8-)

Jolly good DB.

By TOM PETERKIN
SHADOW Scottish secretary Margaret Curran will today claim that even First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants Labour to win the general election.


In a keynote speech, Ms Curran will argue that a vote for the SNP in May could harm ­Labour’s chances of defeating the ­Conservatives.

She will say that the SNP spent the referendum campaign urging people to vote Yes to get rid of the Tories.

With a No vote securing Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom, she will say only a Labour vote can keep David Cameron out of Downing Street.

Speaking at a summit of Scottish Labour MPs and election candidates in Perth, Ms Curran will say the key question being asked of politicians by people across Scotland is: “How are you going to make me and my family better off?”


She will say only Labour or the Conservatives will lead the next government and only Mr Cameron or Ed Miliband can become prime minister.

“That’s the choice,” she will say. “Here’s something even Nicola Sturgeon can agree with me on. The best choice for Scotland is a Labour government next year, because we’d deliver what Scotland needs and keep the Tories out of Number 10. ”

She will add: “Today, the biggest threat of continued Tory rule comes from the SNP. No matter how much Nicola Sturgeon tries to sound Labour, she can never be Labour, because she refuses to support our policies and no matter how much she says she’ll never prop up a Tory government, that’s exactly what she could end up doing next year.”

She will continue: “People across Scotland will not forgive or forget a party that gives David Cameron five more years in Downing Street. The message to people in your constituencies over the coming weeks is clear.

“If you want to secure the recovery; if you want common sense changes like an energy freeze, a 50p tax rate for the well-off and a jobs guarantee for our young people; if you want to see the back of the Tories on 7 May, vote Labour.”

An SNP spokesman said: “This is desperate stuff by Labour who – after being tied to Tories for the past two years during the referendum campaign – are now clearly panicking at polling showing they are set to lose seats to the SNP.

“The fact is that the SNP will never let the Tories into power. As Tory cuts continue to hit the poorest hardest and the gap between rich and poor widens, ­Labour need to explain why they blocked the devolution of welfare in the Smith Commission just last week.”

“Next May, Scots have the opportunity to elect a strong team of SNP MPs to make sure Scotland’s voice is heard – and to ensure Scotland gets the powers it needs to move away from failed Westminster austerity and deliver real social justice.”

Scotsman

A "jobs guarantee"?

First round of golf today for weeks, good job on winter greens and not summer. God it was cold first 10 holes, then the sun came out and I could feel my hands again. Keeps the old swing going winter golf and always guaranteed the odd come again shot. I love a pint after a round with a sarnie. Sadly thanks to the 'Nanny State' certainly not worth the risk now with the new drink driving laws which commence tomorrow in Scotland. A mug of coffee did the trick though. Clubs profits will plummet but hey if it saves lives, has to be good.

52327 - congrats! you've woken up at last

how nice that we rarely have to suffer the bore of ANY winter (temporary) greens

To be honest cynic it doesn't really matter. It just makes a nice change to play a different course (reversed) and shortened. The air is obviously a lot thinner so the ball doesn't go as far, to compensate 3/4 handicap for competitions. Plus cold to you southern softies would be a heatwave on the east coast of Scotland. At least 5 to 10 degrees difference in temperature.

You may have forgotten that my original complaint was in reference to written English.

arguably not that quite that much, but am certainly looking forward to playing the Trump with a good client/friend when i'm in aberdeen next spring ..... just hope i'm playing rather better than at present as he's a bit good

Ah well good luck with your round at Aberdeen, It's a beast in the wind :0)

I went to a shopping centre in London at lunch time. My wife was playing carols in a brass band there. While she played, I went to an adjacent restaurant for a plate of pasta as it was pretty cold. I was eating my plate of spag nap when I started to be aware of the conversations on the next table.

It was the Xmas lunch for local Labour party activists. It was such an interesting eavesdrop. I was sorry to have to leave. They were going into all their plans for the election and moaning about Theresa May. The odd thing was that they were moaning about her because most of them thought she was doing a pretty good job.

Miliband wasn't mentioned, but they were criticising Ed Balls for a lack of ideas. They were talking about a few other people, but I couldn't hear properly as it was at the other end of the table. One guy kept saying f-ing this and f-ing that about someone.

I got the impression that they were somewhat depressed about the election.

So with all your other shortcomings you are a public ease dropper as well, your poor wife.

I suppose you wouldn't listen if it was Conservatives. What they were saying was easily audible, so that makes it in the public domain.

Now why exactly would I want to here anything any "Con"servative was saying, it would either be lies, mis information or any more such nonsense.

or from the benches opposite stan!

or from the benches opposite stan!

Don't try and soften Stan's stance. He is much better as a stereotype.