General Discussion
Is anyone else entertained by the heroic capture of the doggers in Sidmouth but less entertained by the scrambling of the police helicopter from Exeter (cost to you and me = £1600 per hour) to catch the one (allegedly wearing handcuffs) that got away - without success ??
What is the country coming to. I'm appalled at this disgusting, depraved behaviour. -it's time we put a stop to it. Watching peaceful couples indulging in a little external hank-panky from the bird's eye view of a police helicopter - and probably filming them too. Whatever next? Maybe this is the start of a new police series - the police porn channel perhaps - "Copulation Cops" could be a good title.
You'd never have caught Thunderbirds indulging in such surreptitious surveillance. Despite the unfounded rumours of Scott and Virgil's proclivities, they'd know their priorities - saving millions of people in major earthquakes etc.
But did you say £1600 an hour? Hmmm. There could be a business here. Just like those helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon, perhaps the police could raise some money with titillating tours of Torquay.
Just a thought.
i think i shall suggest that in my letter to the chief contstable which asks if they can think of any other ways to waste public money! thanks @neilh
PS I thought the rumours were about Alan and the one who nobody can remember the name of (Gordon ??)
Was this connected to the police helicopter which flew over Dawlish earlier? Who would have thought this sort of thing would go on in genteel old Georgian Sidmouth. Was this in the vicinity of Jacob's Ladder or did he not have anything to do with it?
Who knew that Sidmouth could be so down with the kids? The Chair of the Town Council has been quoted as saying that they have a lot of problems in the Interpretative Centre with 'this kind of behaviour' - the mind boggles!
@Sniper - do you mean safe from attack by doggers ..... or safe from criminals, terrorists ..... or safe from the financial misdemeanours which have taken us into the current economic crisis ..... or safe from wasting public money ..... or safe from something else?
@Sniper - if by "grow up" you mean "don't question", "don't challenge", "don't see the the funny side of things", "don't look at things in different ways" then I'm afraid I'll never grow up.
By the way, you didn't answer my question!! So I'll re-phrase it. Do you think it's better to spend £1600 of public money on chasing doggers in a helicopter, or investing in more 999 emergency services (which is where it's claimed cut-backs have had to be made?) 
lighten up @Sniper - i'm suggesting that a police helicopter, at a cost of several thousand pounds to us, in order to pursue, and then not even apprehend, a dogger for goodness sake is the equivelent of a sledge hammer to crack a nut and a complete waste of public money. the police are answerable to us and i'd like an explaination about the reason for this overkill because i suspect its a case of the boys using (or abusing) their toys and i don't want my contributing money to be spent on such frivalities.
I'm reliably informed that the engagement between the dastardly doggers of Sidmouth and the porno police has hit the news in Finland. It's going global .......
My source within the constabulary, an Inspector Calls, informs me that a helicopter has been deployed to Teignmouth to apprehend a small child suspected of stealing a Kit Kat from the Coop.
The child is described as, "about two years old and in a push chair accompanied by a woman, possibly on benefits."
(Grow up, Don - editor.)
Sorry, ed. You have to give me some licence. I'm only 62.
Was the mum a single parent by any chance? And did she get herself pregnant? (like, as in, no-one else was involved).
(By the way Don you're more grown up than me as I'm four years younger than you! Do we grow up when we reach state retirement age do you think? Hope not.)
The good news is that they have now been arrested. The child was initially charged with theft and possession of an offensive weapon ( a brick, LEGO, but the law is the law.) The mother was charged with conpiracy to be a nuisance and the pair were served with a Dispersal Order. All the charges have been dropped now that it has emerged that they are a fine upstanding family and pay tax at the highest rate.
Don
trying be be a grumpy old man
Must be hard to survive having to pay all that tax. I do feel for them so. No wonder they sometimes go out thieving, Still, I'm sure things will no doubt improve for them once their new tax rate sets in. After all they do need every penny they can get. Poor things. I feel for them. I really do.
Lynne
hopefully succeeding in being a grumpy old woman
(PS. and having paid taxes and NI all my working life I feel I am perfectly entitled to my full whack of grumpiness. So there!).
Becoming a grumpy old person, easy though it may be for people who have always been miserable, does take some practice. Try these exercises:
Moan about young people having no respect or discipline.
Avoid listening to what other people actually say and respond to what you know people like that normally say.
Try to include "immature" or "right-thinking people" whenever someone disagrees with you.
Generalise as much as possible, as in, "Everyone on benefits is a scrounger and should be shot."
Read the "Daily Mail" and "Daily Express." Soon, you will be able to resist the temptation to set fire to them and, some time after that, even come to think of them as newspapers.
Distrust hard information and facts in favour of prejudice and political dogma
Disclaimer from Donald
I have been asked to point out that no inference should be drawn as to any views held by Don and that no animals were harmed while he wrote the advice above.
Surely the governement are missing a prime opportunity here. What we need is a 'Dogging Tax'. It is after all (according to the bbc at least), one of the fasted growing past times amongst adults aged 35-60. Judging by a quick search on the Interweb on popular dogging locations and dogging communities, Devon (Dawlish in particular) would fare well from this tax.
Good lateral thinking. If you are thinking of a variable tax rate according to location then you can do no worse than starting with Jake Thackray's famous song "Isabel makes love upon national monuments". Sites as far apart as Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall are featured in this iconic expose of life in the raw, thus catering for the north/south divide as well.
There could be new road signs - "Dawlish Welcomes Careful Doggers" and the Town Council could issue dogging licences.
Just wondering if the helecopter is for filming doggers, what are the 50 grand + BMWs for. Could they be for rapid response to Ann Summers Parties.
@ Don- Dont think our present council could manage such a difficult task, Their so called leader cant even answer a simple e-mailed question.
Sorry just remembered I promised not to post on here any more
Take a look at this link. Note that on 2nd March the helicopter was out at Exeter Airport due to a "positioning" incident.
http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/AboutUs/SpecialistOperations/Helicopter/Pages/Whereflown.aspx
The Police helicopter has a budget of around 900 flying hours per year. That's the contracted rate that they can't get out of. At this time of year ie the end of the financial year, if they still have hours not used the they will lose them as the clock is re-set in April. This effectively means they are more Likely to deploy to any task so as not to waste hours that have already been paid for. The aircraft could fly up to 1600 hrs a year if the funds were available, but with the restricted hours that this aircraft operates- a choice made by the chief constable- they have struck a balance between use and cost. The helicopter is extremely effective in searches often saving many man hours on the ground. So now you know!
But facts are so boring! :-) Just like the fact that the roadworks on the Strand would take no more than a fortnight!! A fact initially derided by the usual suspects on that there social network site as being unachievable, but who have noticeably failed to comment when proven wrong yet again. So, well done to all concerned for delivering on their commitment. PS type in 'dawlish dogging' into Google - the results are quite enlightening lol!!
according to postings on Eyes of Dawlish the Police helicopter was hovering around the Newlands/Elm Grove Area yesterday!!!
I know that the Strand is now open but I have been told that there is more work to be done as they found that more pipework needs to be replaced as it's in such a bad state. Apparently they have a choice - schedule it for later in the year, September I think has been mentioned. Alternatively, they are talking about carrying on over the Easter period until such time as it's finished or another date at the beginning of June has also been mentioned. Maybe someone who knows more can enlighten us.
Thanks for the info Cassandra. If additional work is required, then the timing of it would presumably depend upon the urgency of the need for replacement. One can only hope that the urgency is not that great, and that seasonal trade is therefore not unduly affected. Still, it's never bad is it that the planned work was completed as per schedule?