Solution Simple! Make Her Live With The Judge…

For more than a year Basildon Council has been battling to evict Sara Penlington from her flat in Clay Hill Road.

But the process was put in jeopardy after a judge delayed a crucial court hearing last week.

I suppose he had a good reason for this, though?

The order banning anyone from entering the flat was granted by Basildon Magistrates’ Court while the council’s legal team prepared an eviction case – which was due to be heard at Southend County Court last Wednesday.

But the judge delayed the hearing until August at the last minute, with no reason being given to furious housing bosses.

Oh.

Phil Turner, deputy leader and councillor responsible for housing, said: “… some law courts take a more lenient view and we have to continually fight an uphill battle legally with such cases to win back our residents’ rights to enjoy quality of life.”

Why should the judge care about that? He can indulge his bleeding heart conscience knowing full well she doesn't live near him, after all...

The Usual Suspects, The Usual Demands…

Soaring numbers of harassment cases are never making it to court, The Independent has learnt.

The rise is resulting in victims of domestic abuse being systematically let down by police and the Crown Prosecution Service…

Oh, really? Says who..?

… campaigners have said.

*yawns*

Tune Time: "And I thought my prayers were answered, when a car drew up outside..."

It's a shame I'm doing these in order of release, because - in March - I doubt there's any snow around to set the scene! Quite an appropriate choice, I suppose, after last month - it's Tony Christie, and 'Drive Safely Darling':



It's a song I often think of while driving in bad weather, though I avoid driving in snow wherever possible. And that's rather apt.

You see, I've got one of his albums on CD, and though I can't lay my hands on it at the moment, I'm sure the sleeve notes said that this cheerful little ditty was actually used in a Texas 'safer driving' campaign. I can't track this down on the web though.

The Columbian Police Force Could Not Be Reached For Comment…

…probably because they were all too far busy … being corrupt.

His father Thomas Bermudez, 42, who used to be a police officer in his native country of Columbia, said: "The police are unprofessional.

"Any country in the world this is a very bad situation.

"He is only 15-years-old. The procedure is not good."

I’m sure recalcitrant 15 year olds who resist arrest in Colombia are dealt with merely by way of a wagged finger and a reproachful look…

Well, Let Me Ask You, Melissa…

…do the police feel a need to act over other forms of ‘music’? Are they going to swoop on Glyndebourne or the Royal Opera House, or a country & western event?

If not, perhaps you should ask yourself why.

When Michael Hann from the Guardian contacted the Barbican, he was referred to the City of London police; in turn the police stated, "The Barbican is the venue … it's down to them."

On its website, the Barbican has announced that all other events taking place as part of the Barbican Weekender will take place as planned. Given this sequence of events, how are grime fans supposed to believe that the police are not scapegoating them?

It’s not just the police, though, is it?

And when a broad spectrum of people all agree, what does that tell you?

… the police cannot keep holding everybody connected to the grime scene to ransom because of its past, especially when so many hardworking, ambitious people have shown how positive grime can be.

I note you don't give an example...

This situation is an example of the tensions in which the more aggressive side of grime music is wrought: the tensions are not just fantasy, they are real. Any references to crime and underground cultures should be understood as part of a coded power dynamic between sound-system culture and the authorities…

Well, then, they should be happy that The Man is clamping down on them, since it gives them something to write tuneless little ditties about…

Save Our ...Errr, Jobs!

"In the last six months, the gang situation was almost quiet," the SOS Project's Chris Douglas said.

"Then it all exploded in January and we're all trying to find out the motivation behind it. It's still very difficult to say."

He was talking about the spate of violence last month where six young people were stabbed in five separate incidents.

Antonia Ejoh, his colleague, said: "You can feel the tension again between gangs. This is the first big blow up for a long time and I think the environment is changing."

 It's certainly changing for you two...

The SOS Project in Croydon is currently facing closure after a contract with the High Street Fund ran out in November. They need individual donations and corporate sponsorship to survive in Croydon.

Yeah, I think I'd rather give my money to the Foundation for Three Legged Bandicoots too...

Oh, Look, Yet Another Dangerous Dog Attack The Police Could Have Averted…

…if only they’d taken it seriously the first time. It’s amazing how many of these there are, isn’t it?

Patricia Saunders pleaded guilty two counts of failing to control her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Bruce, when it savaged a 14-year-old boy and a woman near her home in January this year.

Defending Saunders, Mike Cahill told the court that she accepted there were a number of ‘aggravating factors’ - including the fact that her family had been spoken to by police last year about the dog over another unprovoked attack on a neighbour.

Gosh. So unexpected. You’d have thought they’d learnt their lesson in Stratford, wouldn’t you? I mean, it could be them facing a vicious dog, and not an innocent bystander…

Now a tearful Saunders, 58, has been told by magistrates that her case could be sent to a crown court for sentencing - meaning she could receive a more serious penalty.

The maximum sentence for letting your dog become out of control and injure someone is two years in prison.

Anyone betting that she will? Well, fear not – she had an almost-guaranteed get out of jail free card!

Chair of the bench Richard Daniels ordered a pre-sentence report on Saunders - who has physical and mental health problems.

Yes, but still able to keep a large, expensive animal. Those savage benefit cuts, eh?

“And Stay Out!”

Police have raided a building that was occupied by squatters in protest at the sell-off of public housing.

A man and a woman were arrested and taken away in a riot van. Another man was bundled to the pavement but later released without charge.

A sergeant at the scene said the pair were held on suspicion of breaking the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which criminalises squatting in a residential building.

Hurrah! About time!

The parasites are OUTRAGED!! that their host is shrugging them off, of course...

The released man, who gave his name as Harris Fletcher, 23, said: "We’re here to protest about the sell-off of council housing. We came to support the people inside after hearing the police were illegally threatening to break in."

Ummm, no. Your parasitical pals were the ones acting illegally.

Theo Blackwell, Camden’s cabinet member for finance, said: "I’ve sympathy with any protester who says no to selling off council homes, but they’ve got the wrong end of the stick. These buildings were never council flats. They were coming to the end of their leases. We’re using the money to build council homes down the road."

Utter cretins.

Tell Me Again How The NHS Is 'The Wonder Of The World'?

...the nurse then put a swab in her mum's mouth to clean her and shouted at Mrs Ware to stop biting. She said the nurse even tried to get a new heart monitor for the patient because she did not think she was dead.

/facepalm

"It was a disgrace. When they realised they were all rushing about trying to work out what the time of death was.

Because the most important thing's the paperwork...

"I knew straight away she had died and I could feel how cold she was and she had black nails. I don't know how the nurse didn't."

Mrs Stutter says she has been through all the official complaints procedures but has been frustrated by a lack of cooperation from the hospital.

There's a shocker, I'm sure you'll agree...

David Lammy – Never Shying Away From The Tough Issues…

Labour’s David Lammy undertook research which found 27 out of the 73 constituencies in London had no cinema.

The MP for Tottenham said many of the areas affected were among the least affluent, adding: “It’s as if poor people have been written out of the script when it comes to cinema in London.

“It’s unacceptable that there are still so many constituencies across the capital where people are expected to travel into the centre to access cinema.”

Oh, the humanity!

Constituencies in Ealing, Brent, Tottenham, Wathamstow (sic), Dagenham, Lewisham, Tooting and Mitcham were among those with no cinema.

Dagenham..? Dagenham has no cinema? Well, what on earth is this then?

I really hope you don’t pick ‘London cinemas’ as your next ‘Mastermind’ subject, David…