The hazards of shopping

I had to look twice when I read the news tonight, and reckoned that being a creature of the night might have its advantages, otherwise I might easily have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I always seem to end up heading for the shops after dark, and if I’m heading to the nearest shops, then I head along Shettleston Road and Culross Street. So far, the biggest hazard is folk offering to share small brown rolled up packets with me, but today brought news of a new hazard in the shape of a shooting in Shettleston Road, and the escape of the shooters along Culross Street, according to the BBC News – Shettleston flat targeted by gunmen.

Two masked gunmen fired shots into the flat, where there were reported to be five occupants, then made good their escape. All this happened at around 2 pm today (Monday).

All of a sudden I’m glad I’ve been heading out of Shettleston to do my shopping at cheaper venues for some months now, and that if I was still taking the easy option, I’d be doing it in the evening anyway. There’s only one place I really like to be when there are guns around, and that’s holding them, preferably on a range.

I often note the various spots where various murders and killings have taken place over the years, and even managed to arrive at one scene just after one widely reported event had taken place, but before the police had arrived. The only good thing about that night was the behaviour of everyone nearby, this just smelt completely of “not right”, and was enough of an alert to let me make a wide detour, and only find out what had transpired a few hours later, on the breakfast news. That one was just too close.

I think I’ll carry on giving the local shops a wide berth for a little while longer, and carry on enjoying the lower prices I get in exchange for making the longer trip. They look like a positive bargain at the moment!

The National Park – benefit or bureaucracy?

Despite the question in the title, I’m not going to attempt any sort of serious answer.

Rather, I’d like to stimulate some thought amongst those who may, and those who may not, be aware of Scotland’s first National Park, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, and possibly have them wonder what it’s for, and who, or what, are the winners and losers created by its existence.

I’m not going to restate the various items the park lists in its “What We Do” page, anyone can go there and read those for themselves.

Instead, I’m suggesting reflecting on the thoughts that people like Tom Weir and his friends (one being Bob Grieves – former Chief Technical Planner for Scotland, Chairman of the Highlands and Islands Development Board, and then President of The Friends of Loch Lomond) had many years ago, as they sat around a fire on the loch side, and considered the future of the area. They spoke then of development near Gartocharn, bungalows at four to the acre (not approved. Oddly enough, one of things these old hands highlighted was the fact that they were having a drum-up around a fire made from fallen wood gathered nearby, and that this could be done safely and responsibly without rules. The problem was not the fire, but the people making the fire, and whether or not they were responsible.

Weir’s Way – Water, Wind and Fire, Part 1

Weir’s Way – Water, Wind and Fire, Part 2

Weir’s Way – Water, Wind and Fire, Part 3

Weir’s Way – Water, Wind and Fire, Part 4

That programme (one of my personal favourites from the Weir’s Way series) was made back in the late 1970s (or early 1980s – unfortunately stv.tv chopped the copyright date from the end credits), and even then, those who took part and were close to the issue of the area’s future were far from decided.

Coincidentally, after all those years, the “lads” seen in that very episode could be in trouble if they were caught doing something similar in future, under new proposals for Camping Byelaws to Protect Bonny Banks by the bosses of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

The Chief Executive for the National Park waffles about things like, “Most of the issues we face are related to informal camping and we have to look at taking action before the environment so many people enjoy is destroyed forever” and “the remains of tents, burnt down trees, abandoned campfires and countless bags of rubbish. The huge popularity and sheer numbers of people are slowly degrading Loch Lomondside”, and “incidents on the east side of the Loch that include drunkenness, vandalism and criminal damage”.

While I said I wasn’t going to attempt a serious answer, that doesn’t preclude any comments or observation, and I have a nasty suspicion that the National Park will slowly introduce more and more little bylaws which will eventually all join up to give it an unbreakable stranglehold over the area, eventually giving it powers the original backers of the national park never imagined it was have, or need.

Using the camping byelaw as an example, the impression I get is one of the park authorities writing words that allow their commercial camping activities to continue largely unaffected, and to formalise what they refer to as Restricted Zone, where informal camping can be carried out. Camp informally anywhere else, or even sleep overnight in a vehicle, and you may be asked to leave (with the option of a fine if you refuse, thereby committing an offence).

To me, the arrival and imposition of the National Park and its rules and regulations on the area of Loch Lomondside is something that the three wise men referred to above, who sat and discussed the options and aftermath around their camp fire some thirty or forty years ago, would have found deeply disturbing. I wonder if they would even have wanted to visit much of the area now, with all the organisation, rules, and regulation brought by the park. I think the three of them really would have “headed for the hills”, in order to get away from it all.

Click here to view the proposed Camping Byelaw

The consultation is open from February 8, 2010, to May 3, 2010. To have your say click here.

This is really nothing to do with the vandalism, dumping, anti-social  behaviour, trespass or the like which is being used to justify the proposal of this byelaw, all of which are subjects which could and should be dealt with existing legislation. Rather, it is a “back door” route to growing the power of the park authority, giving it control it would not be granted if sought for in one big bite.

The “ROAD CLOSED” sign might come out for more than just the odd freak accident:

Climbers and walkers wrong priorities

While I actively supported and promoted the campaign which saw the Scottish Outdoor Access Code finally become a reality a few years ago, I do still worry about the extremists that still try and make issues out of the access most of us can now enjoy without launching some sort of crusade if it doesn’t quite suit us.

We still have the odd landowner that wants to dig up paths and access routes, others who have a little more cash to spare that don’t want the riff-raff walking anywhere near their country piles in case they taint them in some way, and the those who I still think of as The Rambler’s Association, who will never be satisfied unless they can walk anywhere, anytime, without restriction.

I thought the latter might have dried up in England (and Scotland) as both countries were granted the right-to roam, and their rights were forever recorded in their respective country’s Outdoor Access Codes – documents which it is always worth remembering grant not only rights, but also responsibilities for walkers, and also imposes similar rights and responsibilities on landowners too.

The Alladale Estate, at Ardgay in Sutherland has just had its licence to keep 17 wild boar and two European elk renewed – the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross licensing committee approved the application unanimously. The Estate has played a leading role in reintroducing wild animals such as beavers and elk to “controlled areas” in Scotland, and has to plans include four European wolf and eight wildcats, with a long-term ambition to release two wolf packs in a secure area.

General manager Hugh Fullerton-Smith said the proposal involved existing enclosures on 520 acres out of a 23,000 acre estate, and that the project would help support its full-time staff of 18, and contribute toward the creation of a reserve containing species once native to the UK.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) consulted its membership with respect to objecting on land access grounds, and has said the committee’s decision was disappointing.

What is more disappointing is the attitude of a body that should be more in tune with outdoor environment, and instead of carping about having to walk a bit further, should be supporting ventures such as that at Allandale.

After all, the animals were there first, and were driven out by people such as the MCofS’s members (not solely, but they must bear some of the responsibility) and if it is possible to return these native species to at least a small part of the country they once called their own, while those who ousted them suffer a little inconvenience, then so be it.

Perhaps rather than objecting, they should be asking how they may work with the estate and help, and maybe even be granted special access as a result, or is that too simple, and too much like a bit of co-operation and common sense?

Photographers protest against police harassment

Spotted the following, which is a handy opportunity for those of us who can’t afford to jaunt down to London to add our support to the ongoing threat of over-zealous policing to our right to take photographs in public places:

January 23, 2010. Photographers protest in Trafalgar Square London © Andy F

Regular contributors to Geograph.org.uk were among over two thousand photographers who took part in a ‘Mass Photo Gathering’ in Trafalgar Square, London, on Saturday 23 January 2010.

The amateur and professional photographers were protesting against increasing harassment and over-zealous policing which, they claim, is obstructing their lawful right to take photos in public places.

The protest was organised by the pressure group ‘Photographer Not a Terrorist.org’ and many attendees carried placards bearing the group slogan. Protesters and onlookers were handed ’stop and search’ information cards outlining their rights when taking photographs in public places. The event was publicised through word-of-mouth, through Twitter and Facebook, and on photography websites.

The protesters gathered from 11.30am outside the National Gallery but later moved down into Trafalgar Square itself. By 12.30pm there were between 1,500 and 2,000 people present. The event was very good-natured and illuminated by the almost constant flicker of flashes. The Metropolitan Police wisely kept a low profile with very few officers in evidence.

As it was a gathering rather than a demonstration there were no formal speeches and very little chanting. The spoof ‘Vigilance Committee’ (one of whom was on stilts) handed out literature and made mock ‘arrests’ and the Socialist Worker newspaper erected a sales stall. Many newspapers were represented by staff and freelance photographers and several radio and television crews recorded the event.

The protest came after a year of rising tension between photographers and police. Both amateur and professional photographers have been routinely harassed and intimidated by heavy-handed police treatment. The most frequent flashpoint has been misuse of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. According to protesters, Section 44 is being used used widely and indiscriminately against anyone with a camera. It is claimed that victims are often left angry and frightened by police officers. This is despite a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights which declared that Section 44 is illegal.

For more information see The Guardian website Link and the BBC website Link.

See other images of Mass photo protest, Trafalgar Square, 23 Jan 2010

Our thanks to to Geograph.org.uk for providing the above under Creative Commons, and to Andy F for the words which described the event.

Ayrshire driver fined after blowing his nose

I really try not to highlight anything that might be construed as anti-police (after being given a trumped-up breath test – thanks goodness I can’t drink), but it’s hard not to.

From the victimisation of photographers for no good reason with: worrying decision by an Edinburgh Sheriff, to abuse of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Section 44 as Police continue to abuse people with cameras, there’s plenty to choose from, although the good news for Scots is that most of this is down to the English, and the Met, allegedly.

Were it not for the shock and outrage that sets in afterwards, these stories might be almost amusing, but speaking from personal experience, there is an aftermath if you are a normally law-abiding individual that generally ignores a police presence nearby. In my own case, it was only after some hours that I realised the pair that had made up a reason to stop me, and then suggest they had believed I had been drinking (not off my breath) and required me to provide a sample of breath, had roared off in their white BMW without giving me a chance to make any notes. Something that won’t happen if the scenario is ever repeated.

The lack of goodwill the sort of incidents referred to above must be obvious to anyone with half a brain, but it still seems that someone somewhere is sending police officers on courses at the “School of Stupid”.

The latest story to be featured by the media is that of an Ayrshire driver who was issued with a fix penalty fine of £60, after he was spotted by four police officers while blowing his nose. At the time, the driver has stated that his van was stationary, stopped in a queue of traffic, and that the handbrake had been applied.

The police officer who waved him down told him that he was being issued with the penalty because he was not in control of the vehicle.

The driver’s solicitor wrote to the Procurator Fiscal saying:

“It should have been obvious to the officers what was going on and it beggars belief a ticket was issued”.

And:

“I also wrote – ‘We cannot see, given the circumstances of this case, that it is in the public interest”.

The Fiscal responded by stating that if the fine was not paid the case would go to court.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said, “A 39-year-old man is the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal in connection with an alleged traffic offence.”

Nobody can be benefiting from this silliness, certainly not Scotland’s image around the world, as various overseas media have picked up on a silly story to fill some space and publish for laugh at our expense:

Driver Fined in Britain for Blowing His Nose in Stopped Van

Motorist Michael Mancini Fined And Given Penalty Notice For Blowing His Nose At Wheel | UK News | Sky News

No doubt a search would find many more cases of the story being repeated.

Hopefully this will not be forgotten by the local press, and we will see the final outcome, and hope that court has not been on the some course at the “School of Stupid”.

However, that still won’t make up for the cost and loss of real police time in all the paperwork that this will have generated.

If they’re really so stuck for motorist to issue tickets to, then I suggest they stand the same four observant officers at the Barrachnie traffic lights, at the junction of Barrachnie Road and Glasgow Road, where I happened to be waiting for about half an hour this evening. At almost every change of the lights, there would be the opportunity to issue penalty notice to at least one, if not two drivers, who completely ignore the change to red, on occasion passing the crossing traffic by the time its lights have changed to green. This included cars, taxis, vans, lorries, and even buses.

At least picking off these “soft-targets” would be hitting drivers who are actually in the act of carrying out a dangerous act, which is down to good luck, rather than good judgement, that it does not result in a crash at any given time. Although I don’t know the circumstances, it’s notable that a wall next to the bus stop just past the lights was smashed a few weeks ago, and is still unrepaired and coned off.

I’ve never stood and watched this set of lights before, I usually spend more time in Shettleston and Tollcross, and the red light jumping there is not on a par with what I saw this evening. I, for one, will be pausing for a second in future, if I happen to the first car to move when these lights change from red to green.

US ready to relax ban on haggis imports

As we head towards Burns Night (January 25), it looks as if the haggis, Scotland’s iconic dish, which has been given a pretty hard time by the American, may be ready to return to tables across the Atlantic.

Imports of haggis were banned by the US back around 1989 because it contains offal ingredients such as sheep lungs, and widespread concerns about the safety of British meat during the BSE scare. However, on the eve of Burns night, the US Department of Agriculture indicated that new regulations were being drafted, in line with international standards.

There have been numerous calls for the ban to be lifted in recent years, as other countries have recognised the changes introduced since the disastrous incidence of BSE, and the measures taken to eliminate those animal parts that could be transmitting the disease.

There are those who believe that haggis is something created in the butcher’s shop, while there are those who believe, with equal conviction, that wild haggis roam the hills of Scotland, are a rare sight, and can only be hunted during the open season.

I hate to spoil a good story, so have shown below one of the few displays featuring examples of both wild and captive haggis as seen in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Both are, of course stuffed, as no-one has ever succeeded in keeping a live haggis in captivity.

Haggis on display at Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

I have to confess that it’s some time since I bought and tasted a decent haggis from a supermarket.

Over the years, I’ve tried all the stuff on their shelves that claims to be haggis, and this includes well-known names, and some rather strange names that the supermarket’s marketing teams have dug up, and I wouldn’t give any of them plate space. They may look like traditional haggis, but are usually trapped inside plastic sleeving instead of something a bit more authentic. Without picking any particular one, I find they are generally disappointing, and appear to be filled with some sort of sandy brown mud, instead of the usual ingredients, which I like to be able to see and identify. The taste is just about as inspiring as the appearance.

I didn’t have any great expectations, and wasn’t disappointed, but I even tried the sliced frying haggis, usually packed along with sliced sausage and sliced fruit dumpling.

Surprisingly, because the first time I came across it was when we having a laugh at haggis humour, the only one that has stayed on my list is tinned haggis – maybe because it’s relatively unprocessed since all they have to do is top and tail the freshly caught haggis, cut of the legs and slide it into the tin ready for cooking.

But, seriously, Grant’s tinned haggis is the only one I buy now. It looks the part on the plate, it’s the right colour, I can see the bits and identify them, and it doesn’t look or smell like something that come out of a baby. It also looks and tastes the same as what I was served in the days when I was dragged along to Burns suppers, so I think I’ll be staying with it, and not wasting any more money on trying to find an alternative. I’d rather be laughed at for eating and enjoying tinned haggis, than bothering about what anyone that sees me with it thinks.

Better still, you can buy it online, so you don’t even have to depend on your local emporium being embarrassed by the idea of having tinned haggis on it shelves.

BBC Scotland article: Manuel ’should not have hanged’

It’s not often you spot a serious report that catches your eye because it has some sort of major significance, but whenever the name of Peter Manuel appears, even though is somewhat “before my time”, I do pay attention.

In this particular case, the relevance is that the country area he haunted and carried out his killing in included an area favoured by my family, and my mother in particular.

This was long, long before I was born though, and it’s no longer country either, but that’s yet another story.

However, it is one of the stories I always remember with no difficulty. Whenever Manuel was mentioned, it always reminded my mother of the evening he joined her as she made her way along the road to visit a friend (no, I’m not saying where – this isn’t a Facebook personal info free for all – the stories tell of his various haunts around Glasgow), and walked along with her for a while, making polite conversation. At the time, she had no idea who he was walking along the road beside, and later described him as a polite and well-spoken young man, who then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

It was only after his capture, identification, and the publication of his photograph in the papers that she realised who had been walking along the road with, and what may have been a lucky escape, as others nearby were not so fortunate at roughly the same time.

Whilst Manuel confessed to killing eighteen people following his arrest, he was only tried for eight murder charges, with another being attributed to him by an official inquiry some time following his trial. Peter Manuel hanged in HM Barlinnie for his crimes on July 11, 1958, and was the second last prisoner to do so.

In 2009, a BBC programme Inside the Mind of a Psychopath argued that the authorities colluded to ensure Manuel was hanged, despite the fact that he was a known psychopath. This issue was raised earlier, BBC News Website (April 2008) Call to examine 50s killer case.

Forum server error

Around 23:30 on Thursday night, January 21, 2009, the host began reporting internal server errors when attempting to access the Forum.

Nothing was being changed, so the host has been informed, and we await their advice.

Update: Unfortunately, although it seemed the rest of the domain was unaffected, further prodding has shown that the problem affects all areas, so we’re effectively offline until something is done at source.

Update: Just an overnight server hiccup, and sorted at start of business – so I really didn’t break it

Simplexity

Simplexity is a word coined by Seymour the Fractal Cat, and arose from a combination of simplicity and complexity, and it means just what it says.

It came to mind a few days ago while I was crossing the road at the Junction of Duke Street, Bellgrove Street and Westercraigs. It’s a while since I’ve been there, and things seemed unfamiliar and complex, compared to past visits, when things seems much simpler.

After taking some pics to compare to the past, I realised I wasn’t imagining things, and the traffic light gnomes had been hard at work.

I seem to recall a government announcement in recent times that the current plethora of street signs and the like which have exploded on to our roads was to be addressed and avoided, but this message seems have bypassed Glasgow’s planners. Having converted Westercraigs into a one way street, which was probably not a bad idea and simplified things, they went and wasted it all by adding a new traffic island at the junction and planting four new sets of lights on it.

I can’t find enough detailed pics to count the lights that were there in the past, but after walking around the current manifestation, found that what is effectively a traffic light controlled crossroads (of only two roads, one of which is one way) has 9 sets of pedestrian crossing lights, and 14 sets of traffic lights, making 23 sets of lights altogether.

The pic below shows the scene presented to the one way line of traffic coming down Westercraigs, 6 sets of traffic lights facing one line of traffic.

If someone is supposed to be looking at road signage with a view to reducing clutter and confusion, they might want to start here. As well as the sheer number of lights, spot the turning prohibitions mounted at bottom of the central pair of lights, where one has a No Left Turn sign, and the other a No right Turn sign

Simplexity?

As seen approaching Duke Street from Westercraigs one way street

After the snow

While I’m not suggesting the snow is over, or not, I was relatively surprised to see it disappear within the course of something like six hours from around our area, having survived virtually unchanged for almost two days, even though the temperature was above freezing. I think the real clincher was the arrival of some light but steady rain, which washed it away, as it was sitting just below the temperature needed to convince it to actually melt.

One of the things that I found a little disappointing over the recent days while my particular part of the east end of Glasgow was decorated with snow was the lack of photogenic subjects. While there were things to take pictures of, when I reviewed then afterwards, they were less than impressive, and not worth the effort of uploading and sharing.

I wondered why, so started to look around the various albums of snowy pic that have appeared over the past few weeks, and it soon became clear that I don’t live in the right sort of place to get decent snow scenes. While I have individual subjects that might make interesting studies, I don’t have any scenery, and that seems to be a fundamental need for a snow shot that is going to be anything more than boring. I don’t have any scenes with trees or water, and the view of anything distant is just that, and if I can see past the houses, then the hills are miles away, with nothing inbetween.

The other option would have been interesting features, but since no-one provided something like an accident, flood, or burst pipe to produce a frozen waterfall, that option was a non-starter.

Just about the only pic I didn’t think earned a swift press of the Delete key (apart from some views of the River Clyde) was a large bottle of our other national drink, found at the roadside, full, unopened, and frozen solid. At a guess, somebody left it in their car during the freeze, and ditched it before thinking of just defrosting it. If I didn’t have such a suspicious nature, I might have taken it home, but I know some funny people, and don’t trust what might have been in the bottle – the colour of Irn-Bru can hide a multitude of “other” things.