RAF 90th Anniversary Parade
It may have rained on their parade, but that didn't stop the Royal Air Force from marching through Uxbridge yesterday.
More that 70 personnel from RAF Uxbridge, which is to close in 2009, participated in the display.
Christmas shoppers lined up to watch the procession, which went without a hitch, depsite the dismal weather. Echoing throughout the high street were the melodious tones of the RAF central Band as they and the Queen's Colour Squadron paraded to the culminating salute, taken by Wing Commander Lindsay and the Mayor of Hillingdon, Councillor Catherine Dann.
The heel-clickingly precise parade occurs not annually, but when the mayor invites the force to exercise the Freedom of the Boro. This year it also had the added ceremonial bonus of commemorating the 90th anniversary of RAF Uxbridge, established in 1917 as an armament school.
The Freedom of the Boro, granted in 1960, is decreed in the Freedom Scroll, carried yesterday by Flight Lieutenant Andi Reid. He said: "The parade went well. It's always nice to take part in ceremonial occasions, especially if it's for the public".
The last march took place in 2001. Prior to that, the parades occured in 1985 and 1980 to commemorate the 25th and 20th anniversary of the Freedom, respectively.
Cllr Dann said: "I was very pleased to participate in this ceremonial occasion when RAF Uxbridge exercised its right to march through the town centre".
The Queen's Colour Squadron recently returned from a tour of duty in Basra on Operation Telic, which lasted from November 2006 to April 2007.
The march through Uxbridge.
Apologies for the wonkiness.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Friday, 23 November 2007
It has taken a couple of weeks worth of newswriting classes to get into the swing of writing in the style of the two posts below. It would be easy to assume that something is easy to do because it's only 80 - 100 words or so, but nope! Being concise and also interesting is actually one of the most difficult things. Give me a comment piece any day! Though I quite enjoy writing them because they're a bit of a challenge - how much can you fit in, how immediate can you make it sound for the reader, etc. More to follow shortly!
DOUBLE TROUBLE
A gun-toting father and son duo have been sentenced to 33 years in prison for attempting an “audacious” daylight raid on a security bank.
Mark Roberts, 23, and Andrew Roberts, 42, were sentenced at the Central Criminal Court today for attempting to rob a security guard outside the Allied Irish Bank in Finchley Road, north London, last year. The pair will be imprisoned for a number of serious offences, including robbery, possession of a firearm with intent to commit robbery, and resisting arrest.
Innocent civilians were put in danger as Mark Roberts fled, shooting into the street and resisting arrest.
DS Neil Williamson of Finchley Flying Squad said: “The sentence today should send a stark message to those engaged in this type of criminality.”
Written 16/11/07
A gun-toting father and son duo have been sentenced to 33 years in prison for attempting an “audacious” daylight raid on a security bank.
Mark Roberts, 23, and Andrew Roberts, 42, were sentenced at the Central Criminal Court today for attempting to rob a security guard outside the Allied Irish Bank in Finchley Road, north London, last year. The pair will be imprisoned for a number of serious offences, including robbery, possession of a firearm with intent to commit robbery, and resisting arrest.
Innocent civilians were put in danger as Mark Roberts fled, shooting into the street and resisting arrest.
DS Neil Williamson of Finchley Flying Squad said: “The sentence today should send a stark message to those engaged in this type of criminality.”
Written 16/11/07
Hayes Blaze (5 of 7)
HAYES BLAZE
A child is suffering from shock, and a woman burns to the hand, after a nasty wake-up call in Hayes yesterday morning.
Ten firefighters and two fire engines from Hillingdon were called to the blazing living room of their Tudor Road home at around 6.30am on Thursday, to a fire started by an unattended candle left on a plastic stereo.
Luckily the fire caused only a small amount of damage to the living room, but the picture could have been dramatically different as there was no working smoke alarm installed.
A Firebrigade Spokesperson said: “It shows the need for people to have smoke alarms in their homes. We’re doing a lot of fire safety education – it’s an important part of a fire-fighter’s working life now. The main goals are obviously still to attend fires and put them out, but the prevention side is very important to us as well.”
The London Fire Brigade carries out home fire safety checks and will fit a free smoke alarm where needed. For more information call freephone 0800 028 44 28.
A child is suffering from shock, and a woman burns to the hand, after a nasty wake-up call in Hayes yesterday morning.
Ten firefighters and two fire engines from Hillingdon were called to the blazing living room of their Tudor Road home at around 6.30am on Thursday, to a fire started by an unattended candle left on a plastic stereo.
Luckily the fire caused only a small amount of damage to the living room, but the picture could have been dramatically different as there was no working smoke alarm installed.
A Firebrigade Spokesperson said: “It shows the need for people to have smoke alarms in their homes. We’re doing a lot of fire safety education – it’s an important part of a fire-fighter’s working life now. The main goals are obviously still to attend fires and put them out, but the prevention side is very important to us as well.”
The London Fire Brigade carries out home fire safety checks and will fit a free smoke alarm where needed. For more information call freephone 0800 028 44 28.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
The First Interview... (6 of 7)
With the class studying central government at the minute, specifically right now the role of MPs within said machine, our lecturer and guide Sarah Niblock gave us the challenge of finding and interviewing an MP. For this I decided to go back to my northern roots and contacted Colin Burgon, MP for the Elmet constituency.
*****
For over 20 years Colin Burgon, Labour MP for Elmet, has lived and worked in his constituency. So...what does an MP's week consist of? Is it one big Westminster Party? In between the challenges of Tv aerials and Venezuelan ambassadors, and having kindly invited me to share a cup of tea, Colin Burgon spared the time to give me the low-down on his day-to-day work...
So, Mr Burgon...What would you say a typical day is like in your constituency?
In the constituency there’s no such thing as a typical day really, because the work is so varied. It ranges from meeting individuals with particular issues, to attending group residents meetings, such as the pensioners groups. There’s also more technical meetings – usually people with planning matters – and visits to workplaces or schools. It changes from day to day.
Do you visit the schools often?
I go as often as I possibly can. There’s around forty plus schools in the constituency and I’ve been to the overwhleming majority of them!
What then, is a typical day in Westminster?
It’s usually a lot more structured. I have to be there to vote after all. You can’t leave when there’s a three-line whip vote...it’s not like you can wander off through London and go shopping or anything, you just have to be there, full stop. It’s also more structured because there’s a program to follow in the chamber; plus a whole series of meetings on top of that, and people coming in to lobby you, and you lobbying for your interests. People are coming to see you day in, day out and whether you’re at home or Parliament you still have to work through the letters from constituents.
Are you lobbying anything in particular at the moment?
I’m currently involved, of all things, in Latin American issues. I met the Venezuelan ambassador yesterday, and will be meeting the Bolivian ambassador tomorrow, so it goes to show what a wide range of issues you deal with as an MP.
What’s your favourite part of being an MP?
Being involved with the people. If you don’t like people, or being around them, or get on with them particularly well you shouldn’t do the job really. Though the downside is that some people can be quite obnoxious with you.
What’s the most bizarre request you’ve had from a constituent?
Someone once complained about their TV reception. I was so bemused, I thought, well what do you want me to do, climb onto the roof and hold the aerial for you?! There’s been a number of things...some really daft issues. Though luckily you’re able to sort most of them out for people.
Actually, a thing I’m working on in Methley at the minute (that’s the constituency I grew up in – LT) is to do with the railway bridge...they’re building new houses there and the contractors ripped up some trees that were giving shelter to the houses already there, so I’m in a bit of a fight with them to try and get some new trees planted and fences put up so they’ve got that shelter and privacy back. So you can see how one day you can be dealing with the real nuts-and-bolts issues such as that, to meeting with international ambassadors! It’s a real range of work.
Thank you Colin Burgon for your time and insight!
Friday, 12 October 2007
A bit of a comment.... (7 of 7)
Here's a piece I had to write recently for the government module of our course. It was written just before Gordon Brown firmly came out with an answer about the speculated-upon snap election (hence the ending). I'm not sure whether I'm entirely pleased with it myself, mainly because of the amount I had to leave out due to the word limit. There was so much more I wanted to put in, mainly on the spin side about flash Gordon and his Saatchi & Saatchi tagline...not to mention the fact that his speech was mainly written by Bob Shrum, who was previously an advisor on Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign...but I chose an angle and ran with it, and consequently feel that I didn't really write about anything at all. So...here it is.
A government "of all the talents", an invigoration of a slightly tired party, a step away from the showmanship of the Blair Years...Not flash, just Gordon. Yet what kind of PM is Brown shaping up to be? Which is the more accurate portrayal - Bottler Brown, too scared of going up against a Conservative Party apparently gaining some long-lost momentum in the polls? Or is it the all-smiling, Frostrup-flirting, surprisingly amiable Gordon of the first 100 days?
His is a tenure already marked by a mulititude of premiership threatening occurrences: floods, terrorism, and a potentially devastating foot-and-mouth reprise. Not to mention the Saffon Revolution, Zimbabwe and Iraq in the International Affairs periphery. With his first challenges coming far out of the realm of prevention, was the new Prime Minister going to sink or swim? An answer seemed to come rather quickly. Brown appeared solid and dependable. He emanated an air of almost stoic calm. A car bomb in London? A cow has tested positive to an industry-crippling disease? Not to worry; we're British. We simply get on with things. And that, it seems, has been Brown's message throughout his early days in power. No frills, no flash, he's simply getting on with the job.
He may not have Blair's way with words; he may not have Blair's charisma, but somehow, that helpfully contributed to the Brown Bounce. The electorate is, quite frankly, tired of all that jazz and they'd like a bit of sensibility back, if you please.
So far, so wonderful for the PM without a mandate.
Yet a week is, unfortunately, a long time in politics. And Gordon Brown's had several of those. Inevitable then, you might say, that he was going to hit a rocky patch sooner or later. It's a wonderful thing that Brown can respond promptly and confidently to unexpected crises...they make for such wonderful soundbites at party conferences too. But what about the things he should have seen coming? Ten years as a primary influence on domestic policy ought to be enough time to lower those crime figures, wouldn't you say? Why is it then that an innocent 11 year old was shot in broad daylight, walking home from football practice? Northern Rock: preventable? Perhaps, perhaps not. But surely a PM whose prior job was Chancellor of the Exchequer ought ot be able to guide his new appointee in the right direction.
Oh go on Gordon. Call an election. If you won't give us a vote on the European Constitution, at least let us make our minds up about you.
Brown's Big Tent: A Bit of a Circus?
A government "of all the talents", an invigoration of a slightly tired party, a step away from the showmanship of the Blair Years...Not flash, just Gordon. Yet what kind of PM is Brown shaping up to be? Which is the more accurate portrayal - Bottler Brown, too scared of going up against a Conservative Party apparently gaining some long-lost momentum in the polls? Or is it the all-smiling, Frostrup-flirting, surprisingly amiable Gordon of the first 100 days?
His is a tenure already marked by a mulititude of premiership threatening occurrences: floods, terrorism, and a potentially devastating foot-and-mouth reprise. Not to mention the Saffon Revolution, Zimbabwe and Iraq in the International Affairs periphery. With his first challenges coming far out of the realm of prevention, was the new Prime Minister going to sink or swim? An answer seemed to come rather quickly. Brown appeared solid and dependable. He emanated an air of almost stoic calm. A car bomb in London? A cow has tested positive to an industry-crippling disease? Not to worry; we're British. We simply get on with things. And that, it seems, has been Brown's message throughout his early days in power. No frills, no flash, he's simply getting on with the job.
He may not have Blair's way with words; he may not have Blair's charisma, but somehow, that helpfully contributed to the Brown Bounce. The electorate is, quite frankly, tired of all that jazz and they'd like a bit of sensibility back, if you please.
So far, so wonderful for the PM without a mandate.
Yet a week is, unfortunately, a long time in politics. And Gordon Brown's had several of those. Inevitable then, you might say, that he was going to hit a rocky patch sooner or later. It's a wonderful thing that Brown can respond promptly and confidently to unexpected crises...they make for such wonderful soundbites at party conferences too. But what about the things he should have seen coming? Ten years as a primary influence on domestic policy ought to be enough time to lower those crime figures, wouldn't you say? Why is it then that an innocent 11 year old was shot in broad daylight, walking home from football practice? Northern Rock: preventable? Perhaps, perhaps not. But surely a PM whose prior job was Chancellor of the Exchequer ought ot be able to guide his new appointee in the right direction.
Oh go on Gordon. Call an election. If you won't give us a vote on the European Constitution, at least let us make our minds up about you.
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Proactive? Isn't that a yoghurt?
All things Short and Squiggly
Things have been a little quiet on this western front recently...I'd quite happily blame shorthand drilling and fresher's week, but if we're going to be honest (and unfortunately, I am), then one shall just have to say one has been...erm, well, lazy.
But, no more! Oh no, no, no, no! This particular hack-in-training has been attempting to immerse herself in all news, blogs, radio shows, phone-ins, webpages; getting all manner of ink on her hands in the process. Soon a real (local) piece will be posted. Soon, contacts will be amassed. Soon, oh so soon, there will be real substance, and a body of work to peruse. It's an exciting thought...
Musings
Nothing like a good set of party conferences, with an election on the horizon, to bring out newspaper bias is there? It had always been something I took rather for granted, but recently the true colours have been bared. "Quit stalling and call and Election! Says Cameron", cried one paper..."Tories in Trouble" claimed another...which is it folks? Bias ususally amuses me more than anything - opinion is obviously an integral a part of journalism - though occasionally it can drive you to that extra bar of chocolate, as you wonder despairingly whether the world's going to hell in a handbasket or not. Obviously, as much fun as bias makes the whole game, every now and then I do crave an objective view of things.
How many trainee journalists does it take to read a map?
Apparently, following an interesting walk around the streets of London on Monday night, not one of us has a head for directions. Even though our shorthand teacher had distributed full maps with written descriptions we couldn't manage to simply head straight to the appointed place. That's what you get with former English students. Not one ounce of geographical ability between them...
Things have been a little quiet on this western front recently...I'd quite happily blame shorthand drilling and fresher's week, but if we're going to be honest (and unfortunately, I am), then one shall just have to say one has been...erm, well, lazy.
But, no more! Oh no, no, no, no! This particular hack-in-training has been attempting to immerse herself in all news, blogs, radio shows, phone-ins, webpages; getting all manner of ink on her hands in the process. Soon a real (local) piece will be posted. Soon, contacts will be amassed. Soon, oh so soon, there will be real substance, and a body of work to peruse. It's an exciting thought...
Musings
Nothing like a good set of party conferences, with an election on the horizon, to bring out newspaper bias is there? It had always been something I took rather for granted, but recently the true colours have been bared. "Quit stalling and call and Election! Says Cameron", cried one paper..."Tories in Trouble" claimed another...which is it folks? Bias ususally amuses me more than anything - opinion is obviously an integral a part of journalism - though occasionally it can drive you to that extra bar of chocolate, as you wonder despairingly whether the world's going to hell in a handbasket or not. Obviously, as much fun as bias makes the whole game, every now and then I do crave an objective view of things.
How many trainee journalists does it take to read a map?
Apparently, following an interesting walk around the streets of London on Monday night, not one of us has a head for directions. Even though our shorthand teacher had distributed full maps with written descriptions we couldn't manage to simply head straight to the appointed place. That's what you get with former English students. Not one ounce of geographical ability between them...
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