It's a long way to the top....

...if you want to rock and roll

I'm all for starting at the bottom and working one's way to the top - gives one so much more time in the afternoon to get on with running things.

Ridin' down the highway
Goin' to a show
Stop in all the byways
Playin' rock 'n' roll
Gettin' robbed
Gettin' stoned
Gettin' beat up
Broken boned
Gettin' had
Gettin' took
I tell you folks
It's harder than it looks

2nd verse gets close to the truth, too:
.....
Gettin' old
Gettin' grey
Gettin' ripped off
Under-paid
Gettin' sold
Second hand
That's how it goes
........................................summed up my 30 years quite well.

Why I ride

A better summation I have yet to find

Time the police took a lower profile

 I was in `the smoke` last weekend, paying a visit to Ronnie Scott's. As we made our way back to our hotel through the night people of Soho, a Met police car stopped outside a restaurant to sort out a dispute. They were in a bloody Hyundai hatchback, all coloured up like a Haribo chewy sweet. I was dumbstruck. Still, I suppose if your going to dent something, it might as well be cheap.

I am old enough to have gone on patrol in the last of the 3.8 S-type Jags in the Met Police, circa 1970. Two versions: mean jet black for your standard `area car` and lily white for traffic division. No fancy day-glow striping, no logo's, no puke-inducing corporate mantra-message stencilled on the side, just a single blue light and a small `po-leece` sign on the rear, no-see-us-coming-till too late....oh take me back to reminiscence central...


 One fun-filled memory of an early outing in a well worn Jag 3.8S springs to mind. 
On an emergency call in Lewisham, south London, to a fatal RTA. Shifting from 2nd to 3rd passing through 60+mph and climbing, the driver suddenly handed me the gear lever that had come out of its housing and said, "Find me 4th will you"?
 Cool guys those Class 1 advanced, Hendon trained, drivers.

Liberty, Liberties, Libertines

 I was always a bit wary of the NCCL. I was always wary of the Daily Mail. I still am. Who do I turn to?

No Place for Chickens

  Best get out of Dodge. Vlad's boys are coming... 

`Kill TV`coming!!

The prevalent, `it's not my fault`, attitude strikes yet again, but I fail to see how this will change all that. Still, it will make a nice change from home videos from the front line of Afghanistan when our troops finally escape from that hell hole.

Cameras in police custody centres were initially viewed with suspicion but soon earned the trust and respect of officers. Having a camera strapped to my body armour during my time at the very sharp end would have been highly questionable,  as I did not want any more kit strapped to my already sagging back than I absolutely needed to do the job. But hey, they're much smaller these days. Good luck guys.

Sad for any family when one of their flock chooses a life where violent death features high on the list of possible outcomes. One day, just maybe, we'll hear some dead blagger's grieving auntie sobbing, "this would never have happened if only he'd got a job with Tesco".

Annoying `Middle Englanders` part deux

Two posts below tells the tale of my last encounter with a middle England blue-rinser.

The below clip, drawn to my attention by an American buddy (who's just discovered the delights of Ms Tate) actually does a great job in identifying this phenomena. He told me that there is a very clearly identifiable American equivalent. I was sorry to hear that. Seems escaping from religious persecution, a revolution, a civil war and a re-write of democracy still can't compete with human nature!