Seen in the News

[Tripps]

Just stumbled across the Daniel Meadows' photo of Peter Tatham on top of the Salford incinerator chimney with this comment below it.

Mark Fletcher
This may be the chimney where the massive cast-iron oversailer accidentally detached itself and fell, as they were dismantling it. Stanley Graham got a photo as it fell. No one was injured, fortunately. There is lots of info on 'One Guy from Barlick' website.

Small world.

PS Tried to go back to it and it had gone. Then searched and found it was in the feed for Daniel Meadows- which I've never previously looked at. Quite sinister that Google knows enough about me to know I would be interested in him, and that picture, and direct that photo to me.

[Stanley]

Salford Destructor chimney in 1976. One panel of the CI oversailer fell out but Peter Tatham (Steeplejack in charge of demolition.) had been expecting it. Daniel Meadows was on the chimney head with the jacks.

[Stanley]

See THIS for evidence that we live in a hard cruel world.
Police have launched a manhunt after a mother pushing her baby in a pram was fatally stabbed. Habibur Masum, 25, is wanted over the attack in the Westgate area of Bradford at 15:21 BST on Saturday. The 27-year-old woman, who suffered multiple stab wounds, later died in hospital. West Yorkshire Police confirmed she was with her baby at the time of the attack and told people not to approach Mr Masum. The force said he was known to the victim but have not confirmed their relationship.
What was I doing at 15:21 on Saturday? Not stabbing a woman out with her baby...... As I said above, it's a hard cruel world and it makes me sad.
Equally unfathomable is THIS. I can't even imagine the experience.
Russell Cook, the man nicknamed "Hardest Geezer", has successfully run the full length of Africa, crossing the finish line in Tunisia after 352 days. Before he set off on the mammoth challenge to run the entire length of Africa, he said he hoped to look back at his life and have no regrets. The 27-year-old from Worthing, West Sussex, said he had struggled with his mental health, gambling and drinking, and wanted to "make a difference". After running through 16 countries, he has raised in excess of £700,000 for charity and has completed his final run. As he crossed the finish line at about 16:40 BST in Ras Angela, Tunisia, Mr Cook was greeted by a shouting crowd, with many chanting "geezer". "I'm pretty tired," he told reporters and in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mr Cook told those who had been following his journey to the finish line: "Mission completed."
Read the rest of the report for an account of some of the problems he had to overcame and then ask yourself if you would even contemplate doing something similar.
I can't make up my mind whether this is an admirable achievement or evidence of mental instability. Quite possibly both.
Include me out!

[Tripps]

Daniel Meadows was on the chimney head with the jacks.

Rather him than me. . . .
That's a great photograph - thanks, very timely.

PS "What was I doing at 15:21 on Saturday? Not stabbing a woman out with her baby...."

I'm fairly sure that didn't need to be said.

[Tizer]

As the lady said (but on a different matter) `Oh no, not another one!'...
`Ferocious blaze as e-bike explodes at Sutton railway station' LINK

[Stanley]

Cheap E bikes appear to be time-bombs! I shall renew my warning to the kids when they get back from Oz.

HERE'S what got my attention this morning.
The Post Office minister has told the BBC that those responsible for the Horizon scandal "should go to jail". Kevin Hollinrake told a BBC Breakfast audience of sub-postmasters that "people should be prosecuted" when evidence is "established", and "people within the Post Office, possibly further afield, should go to jail". More than 700 people were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015. To date, just 37 have received full and final compensation settlements. Mr Hollinrake's comments follow those of Alan Bates, whose campaign and battle against the Post Office was dramatised in an ITV mini-series earlier this year. "People have got to be held accountable," the former sub-postmaster previously told the BBC. "That's got to happen. And we're going to have to carry on campaigning for that to occur."
It should be a given that appropriate penalties are imposed but looking back at things like the banks in 2008, what are the chances of this happening? Pious sentiments but where is the reality?

[Stanley]

I have been suspicious of 'vapes' ever since they arrived on the scene. Have a look at THIS BBC report. I may have been right!
People using cannabis THC vapes risk inhaling a very dangerous substance called xylazine, UK experts warn after discovering some confiscated products contained the "zombie" drug. The sedative, designed to put big animals such as cows and horses to sleep, can be lethal for humans. It is "alarming" to find it in "even a few" illicit e-cigarettes that many think are pretty harmless, experts say. It puts people, as well as those who inject or take strong drugs, at risk. The illegal global xylazine market has so far mostly seen it mixed with strong opioid drugs, such as heroin or fentanyl. There has been at least one xylazine-related UK death already - and there are fears misuse could grow, as it has in the US. Dr Caroline Copeland and colleagues from King's College London say new types of illicit xylazine products are now entering the UK market. As well as risky vapes, they found tablets being sold as codeine and diazepam, or Valium, that contained xylazine.
Smoking was dangerous but at least I didn't have to worry about poisons!

[Tizer]

I sympathise with this bloke but what struck me in the article is that `the most probable cause of the fire was an electrical fault or a component failure in a moving diesel vehicle'. The small number of electric vehicles present might have increased the danger slightly but the main problem is the lack of fire prevention and control in the car parks...
`Luton Airport: 'Car park fire turned my life upside down'' LINK

[Tripps]

`the most probable cause of the fire was an electrical fault or a component failure in a moving diesel vehicle'.

I'm not sure i would agree with that. . . .

[Stanley]

What puzzles me is that until recently I can't ever remember a fire in a multi-storey car park.
I can only think that the things that have changed are the size and proximity of cars to each other as mentioned in the article and the presence of vehicles with large battery packs. So I join with David in being sceptical about the probable cause put forward. I'm particularly puzzled by the 'component failure in a moving diesel vehicle'.

I think that THIS article fact-checking Sunaks statements on LBC is worth spending some time on.
What strikes me is that even with the minor improvements claimed the overall picture is of a country in deep trouble and the effects of Tory policies aren't acknowledged. Take just two, Brexit and Austerity and consider their baleful effect. I rest my case.

[Stanley]

Read THIS account of how carers who have accidentally topped the incomes limits are being forced to repay thousands of pounds. There is no room for sentiment or flexibility in the system evidently....
Then read THIS and think back to when I was forecasting shortages and possibly rationing.
Record-breaking rain over the past few months has left fields of crops under water and livestock's health at risk, adding to pressures on food producers. The flooding and extreme weather linked to climate change will undermine UK food production unless farmers get more help, the National Farmers Union said. The NFU is calling on the government to do more to compensate flooded farmers and support domestic food production. The government said it was looking to expand a new compensation scheme. The NFU has warned of "substantially reduced output" and "potential hits" to the quality of crops in this year's harvest thanks to weeks of rain since the autumn. NFU vice president Rachel Hallos said UK farmers were "on the front line of climate change - one of the biggest threats to UK food security". "These extremes could soon become the norm," she told the BBC. "We need a clear plan from government to prepare, adapt and recover from our changing climate in the short and long term so that we can continue to produce food and care for the countryside."
Remember that the governments plan for farming didn't even mention food production. The politicians think we can make up any shortfall with imports. They have left food strategy to the supermarkets who are always chasing the lowest price. We will eventually see where the flaws are in this plan.....

[Stanley]

See THIS for what grabbed me.
US President Joe Biden says he expects Iran to attack Israel "sooner than later", as fears grow of Iranian retaliation over an air strike that killed top commanders early this month. Israel has not admitted attacking an Iranian consulate in Syria but is widely believed to have been behind it. US officials have told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that a major attack on Israel could happen imminently. Israel says it is ready to defend itself. Mr Biden told Iran : "Don't." "We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel," Mr Biden said. "We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed."
I freely admit to not understanding what lies behind these seemingly mad flirtations with all out war in the Middle East. Israel seems to be lashing out at everyone while clutching the get out of jail free card of support from the USA to its breast. I can understand how theories like the complicity of arms manufacturers in these events can arise. They seem to be the only people who can benefit from conflict.
To me it is simply a collective madness and I repeat, I don't understand it.

[Tizer]

Both Putin and Netanhayu know that Trump will probably win the next US Presidential Election; and they also know he is dangerously unpredictable, so he might support them, abandon them or even turn against them. So they're intent on destroying Ukraine and Palestine before the election.

[PanBiker]

So, unlike Israel, Iran does not have the right to defend itself. Despite the IDF committing genocide in Gaza.

[Stanley]

It is a dangerous and complicated mess and has little do do with common sense or even respect for human life.
As I have been heard to say before, the world has gone mad.

[Stanley]

THIS got my attention.
A six-year-old girl who ran into her burning home to wake her sleeping family has been hailed a hero. Olivia Patterson, from Riccall in North Yorkshire, was playing outside with a friend when she saw flames rising from the roof of her house on 4 April. She ran inside to warn her mother, Laura Patterson, and her two younger siblings, who were all having an afternoon nap on the sofa downstairs. "She was immensely brave," said Ms Patterson.
The phrase that grabbed me was "Olivia said: "I was getting a bit upset, because it was getting badder and badder and badder."

[Stanley]

[Tripps]

Interesting local news item

A Nelson Man
Dominic D’Souza, for Hussain, said the defendant had a number of references from well-respected people in society, including five councillors – whose names were not provided – plus a lawyer and a firefighter, who all said Hussain is a respectable member of the community in Nelson.

Although Hussain’s bank account had nearly £369,000 in it at the time of his arrest, Mr D’Souza also told the court this was from the defendant’s legal earnings from carrying out MOT tests at his garage, rather than from payment for these offences, with receipts from the DVLA.
.

[Stanley]

There used to be a common saying: 'Half the world doesn't know how the other half lives.'
I think it's more than half these days!
I wonder if the bank ever questioned that level of earnings from a garage?

See THIS for a BBC report on a similar subject.
A Home Office case worker has been arrested on suspicion of trying to sell UK residency to an asylum seeker living in Northern Ireland. BBC News NI can reveal the official allegedly contacted a vulnerable man and asked for £2,000 in return for approving his refugee application. It is understood sensitive Home Office records were used as part of the attempted scam. The Home Office said the member of staff has been suspended. In a statement Lancashire Police told BBC News NI: "We can confirm we have arrested a man on suspicion of misconduct in public office, suspicion of money laundering, bribery, and computer misuse offences. "Officers from Lancashire Constabulary alongside partners from the Home Office arrested the man, in his 30s, in the Ramsgreave area of Blackburn. "An investigation remains in its early stages and enquiries are ongoing."

[Tripps]

Well spotted. Blackburn you say. . .

What is it about Nelson and MOT garages?
This gentleman has one as well Deputy Mayor of Pendle

He admitted all (and more) at the enquiry whilst legally represented, and was required to apologise. Hard to imagine the likes of David Whipp in a similar situation.

[Stanley]

What caught my eye in the news was THIS BBC report on children being used as guinea pigs in Infected Blood trials.
The true scale of the number of medical trials using infected blood products on children in the 1970s and 80s has been revealed by documents seen by BBC News. They reveal a secret world of unsafe clinical testing involving children in the UK, as doctors placed research goals ahead of patients' needs. They continued for more than 15 years, involved hundreds of people, and infected most with hepatitis C and HIV. One surviving patient told the BBC he was treated like a "guinea pig". The trials involved children with blood clotting disorders, when families had often not consented to them taking part. The majority of the children who enrolled are now dead. Documents also show that doctors in haemophilia centres across the country used blood products, even though they were widely known as likely to be contaminated. A shortage of blood products in the UK in the 1970s and 80s meant they were imported from the US. High-risk donors such as prisoners and drug addicts provided the plasma for the treatments that were infected with potentially fatal viruses including hepatitis C - which attacks the liver resulting in cirrhosis and cancer - and HIV. One blood product, known as Factor VIII, was seen to be highly effective for stopping bleeding but also widely known to be contaminated with viruses. A public inquiry is under way into the scandal. The final report is due in May.
This is all ancient history I know but good that the truth is being uncovered at last.

[Stanley]

Israel has struck back at Iran and there has been an immediate effect on world markets. In particular the price of oil has been hit.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of a very disturbing matter.
The policing minister has said he is "deeply concerned" after a Met Police officer described an antisemitism campaigner as "openly Jewish" during a pro-Palestine march. Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, was wearing a kippah skull-cap when he was stopped in the Aldwych area of London and threatened with arrest on 13 April. Mr Falter was told by police his presence was causing a "breach of peace". The Met has since apologised but Mr Falter called for the force's commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to resign or be sacked.
I can't think of anything more likely to increase friction between the police and the public than unthinking racist remarks like the ones reported here. Was this an individual officer's point of view or did it reflect the briefing he had been given before going on duty? Either way it needs to be nipped in the bud immediately, otherwise we are in danger of a repetition of Cable Street and the Fascist threat.
To go back to a comment I made earlier, was this what the victims of two world wars fought for?

[Stanley]

THIS Heads almost all the BBC news this morning.
MP Mark Menzies will stand down at the next election and has quit the Conservative Party, after it found he had shown a "pattern of behaviour" falling below the standards for MPs. The Fylde MP had been accused of using party money to pay off "bad people". The party said it "cannot conclude" whether party funds had been misused because the money came from a body that sits outside of its remit. Mr Menzies has previously strongly denied the allegations. The MP was suspended from the Conservative Party earlier this week after claims emerged in the Times that he had called a party activist in the early hours of the morning last December to ask for £5,000. He said he needed the money to pay "bad people" who had locked him in a flat, reportedly saying it was a matter of "life and death",
No more clarity simply confirmation that he is going to cut and run. I think he could have been fairly certain of losing his seat anyway so this is no great surprise.

I find THIS BBC report very disturbing.
Thousands of posts offering deadly drugs known as nitazenes have been found on X and the music platform SoundCloud by a BBC investigation. Nitazenes - more deadly then heroin - have recently been linked to nearly three deaths a week on average. After we alerted SoundCloud, it removed the posts. X, formerly Twitter, took down hundreds but many listings remain. SoundCloud said it had been "targeted by bad actors" while X did not respond to requests for comment. Nitazenes, which are illegal in the UK, are synthetic drugs produced in laboratories. They are similar to heroin and morphine, but can be several hundred times more potent. It's thought users often take them unknowingly - because they are hidden within other illegal substances by dealers looking to cut production costs. Nitazenes have been found by a publicly funded testing lab in a range of drugs, including street heroin and black market pills which dealers had wrongly claimed contained anti-anxiety drugs, such as Xanax and Valium.
I thank God that I have never fallen prey to the sort of addictions that could expose me to dangers like this.

[Tizer]

A damning report - we know the smart motorways are dangerous, here's more evidence, yet National Highways denies there is anything wrong. Think Post Office, Grenfell, water companies, Rwanda etc etc. What's gone wrong with the people who are supposed to be running our country? It's like they live on a different planet, rely on `remote data' and never see what's actually going on here on Earth!
`Claims that smart motorways tech leaves drivers at risk' LINK
The technology behind England's smart motorway network stops working on a regular basis, the BBC has discovered. Figures obtained by Panorama have revealed hundreds of incidents when crucial safety equipment was out of action. A traffic officer who works on the network told the programme he no longer considers it safe. National Highways - the agency in charge of smart motorways - denies the claims.