Whate happened to the Jobsworth caps?

17 January

Do you remember Esther Rantzen and her Jobsworth Caps? A case has come to light 2015 when two enforcement officers gave a fixed penalty to a 65 year old woman because she poured her coffee down the drain. She paid up but Ealing Council have apologised and refunded the fine. Fine; but why was the fine issued anyway? I mean, come on; cops tip booze down the drain whenever they find some kid under 18 drinking in a public place. Would they be issued with a fixed penalty ticket? I doubt it very much! No, this case was two council employees behaving like school yard bullies by picking and what they thought was an elderly lady who would pay up without question. I would hope that they are no longer employed by any council, let alone Ealing.

There are quite a few such jobs within councils where these ‘officers’ can raise fines against the public. Dog control officers are another one, but who would object to them issuing a ticket for leaving doggie doo on the pavement? Litter tickers I’ve already mentioned but the largest group are the traffic wardens of course. Where does the council get the authority for these people to fine people without the case going to court? What has happened to our right to fair trial by our peers?

Even so, can you imagine the state of our towns and cities without these people giving out those tickets? I live in Germany for around 18 months, Cyprus for 15 months, and even in Kenya for eight weeks, I don’t remember seeing any litter lying around. My three holidays in Mallorca I didn’t see all that much litter, and certainly no dog mess. So why is it that these places are so clean and yet some areas of our own country is such a mess most of the time. It could be that it’s the minority of yobs that cause it, but why are they so lax in their personal discipline? Is it that they have never heard to the word ‘No’ in a meaningful manner? I wouldn’t be surprised.

Challenge anyone over an illegal act and all you get is the mouthful of abuse. The last time it happened to me was when I saw a woman driving through town while using her phone. She turned really nasty over it. Why? It was only days after that trucker was jailed for killing those people in a car when he was messing with his iPod. Another time I challenged a guy when he drove through a no entry in town, parked up in a blue badge space. He told me to mind my own business. So I did, and called the cops. Some of these people just don’t like being told ‘no’. Tough luck on them.

Here I sat happily thinking Jan would be out until sometime this afternoon, and then the doorbell does its normal dingdong twice in quick succession. I always lock the door when I’m here on my own, but I forgot to take the key out, and Jan wasn’t happy about it … opps. She had gone up to spend some time with Sam, one of her church friends, but she isn’t too well right now, so she is due to go back to bed for a few hours before the kids come home from school. So Jan is now going to the hairdressers this afternoon from here, not after she had been to Bed’th for a few hours.

Today’s photo …

This is an old photo I got when we lived in Atherton. I sue it for the cover of my novel  Web of Hate.

Today’s funny …

Waiter, waiter, do they ever change the tablecloths in thls restaurant?
I don't know, sir. I've only been here a year.