Cricket taken in context with murder

I’m one of those sports nuts for whom most other things have to fit around. This weekend I’m attending both Belgian Jupiler and Dutch Eredivisie games, though sadly not Feyenoord’s trip to Utrecht. However I have to disagree with Jonathan Agnew’s recent comments with regards to whether this horrendous situation in Mumbai should see the return of the England cricket team and the abandonment of the imminent Test series.

Aggers seems concerned that withdrawing now could leave next year’s 20/20 tournament vulnerable to similar withdrawals should there be a similar terrorist threat at that time. Of course nations should never allow terrorists to dictate issues, but this is a very real matter of life and death, and nothing in sport is more important that life itself. All media reports are indicating British and American citizens were specifically targeted. The possibility of an attack on the players in the future should not be underestimated. It is not a sleight upon the Indian nation or its people to bring our citizens, which includes our cricketers, home until the situation is resolved and the country is once again a safe environment to be in.


nick

A not very cheery Christmas Postal Scam

I'm alerted that Trading Standards Officers are making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). This is a mail scam originating from Belize.
If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.


nick

Well it is the Home Office, what else can we expect!

With amazing timing, the complete nonsense that is the CRB check was highlighted once again in our house this morning.

Postie brought me 3 letters today. One contained my copy of a recent Enhanced CRB check I was asked to provide for an organisation. In one of the other envelopes was a CRB form to be completed by me in respect of a charity for which I volunteer as a Trustee. Of course the rules have it that if I have a check carried out by one organisation, it can’t be used by another. So there’s another £36+ taken away from being delivered to the very people who need it, in order for me to be deemed ‘safe’ to sit around a table and discuss governance!

Now here’s what I see as the really daft point to CRB checks, apart from telling people what the applicant hasn’t simply been caught doing. When you get elected as a County Councillor and presumably the same applies for an MP, AM, MEP, MSP etc, no one carries out a check on your suitability. So I would regularly be invited into the homes of complete strangers, often with vulnerable adults or children residing within because they were seeking help, yet there had been absolutely NO check whatsoever carried out on me. The Local Authority would afford me access to confidential information on citizens, again having carried out no CRB check. I was positively encouraged to attend schools and organised events involving young people with no information having been obtained and now when volunteering and simply talking about events for children and not meeting them, I must have another enhanced check. And there must be plenty of other scenarios where a check is not required, but to any layperson would appear to be the desirable pre-requisite.

The system is a mess. It needs urgent reviewing to ensure the public can have confidence in it being fit for purpose and most importantly, that it is not simply a cynical means to generate income.


nick

Crossroads Wales Forum in Cardiff

I'm pictured here with Neath AM Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Social Services. She and Ruth Marks, Commissioner for Older People were our guest speakers at an excellent Crossroads Wales Forum for Trustees & Staff, held in Cardiff yesterday and today. I'm sure we all gained much from the event as we collectively strive to ensure Crossroads Wales maintains its highly deserved reputation for providing Care & Support for Carers.


nick

If you think Charles should be King of the Jungle, dial 0800729....

Apart from feeling absolutely dreadful, the modern day curse of being ill has to be daytime television! A quick trawl through the listings simply compounds the effects of the foul virus I’m struggling to fight off. Having optimistically relied on the England cricket team to entertain me, their dismal efforts soon had me searching for alternative fayre.

So it was that I stumbled across ITV’s daytime torture, ‘This Morning’. There’s 10 minutes of my life wasted. Now here’s a company with a less than ideal track record of honesty when it comes to phone in votes, but fair play they don’t allow that to hinder the opportunity to make money as they celebrate (?) the 60th birthday of Charles Windsor. They are running a phone vote to determine whether or not he should be King! I thought that being the first-born son of the current monarch meant that the gig was his upon her death, end of story. Was there a meeting I missed when it was decided that we’d organise it like the ‘X Factor’ or ‘I’m a Z list celebrity, get me out of here’? Perhaps someone could let Debrett’s know that from now on, a phone in vote on ‘This Morning’ will determine the line of succession. The lucky recipient will of course be notified of the result in a phone call from Brand & Ross, telling them where to go and oh... of course with standard network charges applying.

Clearly my illness has a side effect of morphing me into the grumpy old man I always feared I would become with extreme old age. Anyone got a jigsaw I could borrow?


nick

England v New Zealand and a Wrexham connection

My eldest chip off the old block took this photo in Sydney last Saturday as she went along to Newcastle outside Sydney and watched England lose 24 - 36 in the Rugby League World Cup.

Now that's a long way from Bryn Estyn where I dragged her many years ago to her first game of rugby, albeit the other code!


nick

Saluting Obama's foot soldiers

16 months ago we met two elderly ladies in Monterey, California. It was the Tuesday evening street market and they had their little Barack Obama street stall set up in a little corner. It was a delight to speak to them and I bought some pins and assorted stuff to help their cause.

Then in June this year on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, I had the pleasure to meet a young African American woman selling Obama tee shirts from a street stall and doing her bit to raise the funds for the long campaign.


I am delighted that they and all their colleagues across the US who have worked tirelessly for so long have finally seen the result they deserved.



nick

No spending cuts should threaten public safety!!

There can be NO justification for Powys County Council's deplorable decision to switch off street lighting in an attempt to save some £225,000.

Those that made the decision may indeed see it as a prudent step, however I shudder at the thought of a witness at some future Inquest telling the Coroner that they simply didn't see the pedestrian in the dark!

A local Councillor has made an admirable offer to keep the lights on in his ward. I trust common sense will soon win through and all the lighting is restored. We all could identify other areas within the Council's budget where the same amount of money could be saved without the risk to public safety!


nick

Defending Sarah Palin.....in part!

As much as I’m desperate for her never to win the Vice Presidency, I have to defend Sarah Palin for her lack of awareness when it came to her failure to recognise the name Johnny Hallyday during her prank phone call. Despite massive fame and fortune in the French speaking world, the simple truth is he’s totally failed to make an impact in any English speaking country. Why would he? French language covers of stateside hits like Long Tall Sally and Roll Over Beethoven are obviously popular in France, but English speaking people simply listen to the originals!

As for the rest of the call, well it beggars belief that she couldn’t tell it was a wind up.


nick