The Sun shines on the righteous

Now that spring is here, and Bridlington is seeing higher daily temperatures than many European holiday destinations (true, but unbeleivable) the picutre to accompany this blog doesn't look so unremarkable. But when you realise that is was taken in the first week of February is comes into perspective. This was the first day of our 2011 walking season, although it wasn't really as we didn't actually stop for the winter this year, walking Blakey Ridge in the thick snow in December, and in slightly less snow again in January.

The photo was taken during our lunchbreak whilst walking the Hole of Horcum, a pleasant leg stretch to start the season. Unlike our last visit, nobody was chased by a rampaging bull, and we did not get lost at all very much hardly at all even except for just a little bit. Even Mr Selby managed to avoid falling in any holes full of water or sinking above the waist in a peat bog. What makes the picture remarkable is not just the almost cloudless blue sky, or the unseasonable very early spring sunshine, but the warm temperatures. In the picture, if you look closely you will see that not only is Dave posing in sunglasses, but that his naked leg is visible under the pub table - yes it was warm enough for shorts in February! Okay once, we stopped walking and broke for lunch outside the Horseshoe Inn at Levisham the fleece jackets were defineitly needed, there was a fresh breeze, but not even the roaring log fire inside could tempt us in.

Hopefully this is the start of a wonderful year of good walking weather, with no fog to blight our excursions. The usual suspects are already penned in for the now compulsory annual challenge on the Three Yorkshire Peaks, with a couple of possible extras doing a walk on part.

Additional challenges this year should include Sca Fell Pike, and there is even talk of doing the Lyke Wake Walk.

Watch this space, it could be an interesting year.

I deserve my pay.

I try not to get political on here. But sometimes it's unavoidable. The government want's you to beleive that the polcie are overpaid, that the pension that we contribute 11% of our earnings to i sundeserved, and that various perks we get are unjustified. This is as opposed to the free pensions that they get, with expenses they are paid which have been subject of recent media attention including such things as clea ing their swimming ppols and rebuilidng their patios in the second homes they claim they need, even though with modern technology there is no need for them to have a second home in London, they could video conference from their home constituences - but I digress.
The police are overpaid they argue. i have to agree that some police officers are. I have many colleagues who work daylight hours, and 9 to 5 office jobs Monday to Friday and earn exactly the same as I do. Their wives can also work those same hours, adn still maintain some degree of normal family life. But, consider this: I work variale shifts and often don't know from one ay topt he next what I will be working next week. I work a variation oif late, early, night and haklf night shifts. Sometimes I work a late early, starng at 9 a.m. until 5 p.m or 7 p.m but I won;t know until maybe the day before. So how exactly does my wife find a job that works around those hours, and still manange to arrange childcare at such short notice? The answer is she can't, so she is effectively a stay at home mum, and my salary is the sole income for the family. So whilst on the face of it a police officer salary may seem high, it is a sole income for a family.
Now consider the restrictions such a job places on your lifestyle. This is a typical week. I have just work 9 days solid without a day off. (This contravenes European working directives, but I had no choice in it) I finished a nightshift at 7 a.m. this morning. At 11 a.m,. this morning I took a call from the duties officer requiring me to come back on duty at 5 a,m tommorow - a return to duty at last than 22 hours notice. Any normal person would have been in bed asleep, but I had done a bit of shopping at 7 am then mown the lawn and done a bit of gardening before considering going to bed. I think I have had a sandwhich to eat today. But I'm not that sure, that could have been yesterday. That is the reality of a coppers day. I am going to bed now, knowing I have to be up at 4 am tommorow, and knowing that Wednesday will be exactly the same, because of an ongoing Industrial dispute locally I am rostered to work again on my day off . This will mean I have had one day off in sixteen days working, and that one day off was after a night shift, so the bulk of it was spent in bed catching up on sleep before a 4 a.m start the next day. Even better, I have been at least half an hour late off on every shift i have worked thsi week, and due to the regualtiosn we work under the first half hour of overtime is unpaid, so I have effectivly put in 3 and a half hours unpaid overtime or in real terms half a days work for free in the last week. Would any other industry allow or permit this? I doubt it!
So I really beleive I deserve my pay, and when the government starts to attck out pay and conditions, please remember the above. A British beat bobby has a unique postition: we are not employed, we are appointed: we cannot strike, we are there 24/7/365. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, who do you turn to? And who else is expected and prepared to lay down his or her life to protect help and defend society, democracy and do the right thing? Regardless of your experiences with the police, you have to agree that we have the best in the world, policng by consent, unarmed on the whole, with some of the bravest and most proffesional officers in the world. We deserve our pay. Don't let this government tell you otherwise.