A Failure Of Training? Or Just 'Wales'?

Not to tread on Longrider's turf here, but this story caught my eye in the week...

A fatal train crash could have been avoided if a driver had used an emergency system designed to reduce speed, an investigation has found.

They stated it had “not occurred to them” to use their train’s manually operated sander, according to a report into a head-on collision between two trains in mid Wales on October 21 2024.

Eh? 

It happened near Talerddig in Powys on a rural section of the Cambrian line, which is predominantly single track with loops to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other.Despite braking, a westbound Transport for Wales (TfW) train failed to stop as intended inside a loop and rejoined the single line too soon, crashing into an oncoming train run by the same operator.

Slippery leaves on the line was the main cause, but not the only one. 

The RAIB revealed in an interim report in April last year that the westbound train’s automatic system did not work in the moments before the crash because of several failures, including blocked hoses, electrical faults and incorrectly installed plates measuring the flow rate of sand.

Oh dear... 

The RAIB said a rule book for TfW drivers states they should deploy the emergency sander “when a train is unable to stop in the usual distance” and its use may avoid a collision.

But the driver – who was not identified in the report – did not recall “any training” on the system and had not previously used it, according to the report.

I tend to think that at the moment you realise a crash is inevitable, you'd be pressing/pulling anything you felt might help! 

An RAIB survey of other TfW drivers after the accident “revealed a lack of clarity” about the circumstances requiring the system to be used, investigators said.

And this is the country that demands people take training courses before buying a pet rabbit. 

Abomination!

A few years ago, my family and I went on holiday to Denmark. In between Legoland and the airport, we stopped at roadside services for lunch. As we ate our chicken and chips, I spotted a man eating what appeared to be an enormous burger covered in gravy – using a knife and fork, as to do otherwise would have been logistically challenging.

I find a lot of the so-called 'gourmet' burgers to require a knife and fork or careful dismantling to eat, especially if they come with a little stake through the middle to hold them together. Covering them in gravy is a new form of diner inconvenience though... 

I had always thought that gravy was a uniquely British invention and holidays to France, Spain and Italy had done nothing to change that view. However, after some quick Googling, I discovered that the man was eating a bøfsandwich, colloquially known as a “gravy burger”.

I didn't have to google, there's a picture of this gatronomic disaster in the article, and as someone who loathes gravy, I cannot understand it's popularity at all. 

This creation is local to Jutland, although is now spreading around Denmark and probably dates back to the 1950s.

It's a firm 'no' from me. 

You Actually Think You're 'Saving Democracy'?

The Guardian puzzles over US politics again...

Try as we might, we could not close the deal at every door. I still think regularly about a Bucks County man I met in the fall of 2024 who told me that he could not imagine his state supporting Donald Trump, but he refused to cast a vote for Kamala Harris. I wish I had done more to convince him to hold strong for democracy.

He was 'holding strong for democracy', though - he just wasn't prepared to listen to some stranger who wanted him to change his vote. 

Does the door-to-door approach still work when Republicans are successfully using digital strategies that seem to bypass the doorbell entirely? Free votes is a cornerstone of democracy.

It's a credit to the political situation that you are allowed to canvass, but it's pointless crying 'foul!' when people use technology to avoid you... 

Those questions feel valid, particularly in a country where so many have fallen prey to the lures of Trumpian authoritarianism.

Of course, they’ve been ‘lured’, it can’t possibly be because they weighed up the alternative and found it wanting… 

For those of us who have been feeling unmoored by the state of the country and the future of US democracy, those doors are where our ideals meet unforgiving reality. If we want to build a better future, we will have to do it right here, surrounded by unfriendly dogs and intrusive Ring doorbell cameras.

The only legitimate  reason to own a pitbull, to keep people like this away!

Headline Of The Year!

 

Pet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare.

Sensible use of resources, give them a medal! 

The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire following a surge in rat numbers in prison offices and grounds.

According to a union complaint seen by the Guardian, the decision resulted in a boy who looks after ferrets witnessing an “inappropriate and potentially distressing” savaging of a screaming rat.Another complaint suggests the gored (!) rodent was then “stomped to death” by a senior staff member in front of prison officers. 

I wonder what the witness had done to be incarcerated, probably something a lot worse, so I am not convinced he’s a shrinking violet around violent acts. 

The incident once again highlights the vermin-ridden conditions in which children and adults are detained within the prison estate across England and Wales.

Permission to use ferrets to hunt rats was given by a named member of the senior management team, the HSE complaint said.

Prison Service sources blamed the influx of rats at Wetherby on building work disturbing a rats’ nest. A Youth Custody Service spokesperson said: “This was an isolated incident relating to maintenance works. HMYOI Wetherby has since strengthened its pest control procedures to keep vermin out.”

So long as it similarly strengthens its security to keep vermin IN too, I could care less. 

This Is Not Justice!

Zoe Graham, 38, broke down in court as she told a judge she was sorry after smashing her Range Rover into mum-of-three Samantha Keen on August 9, 2023. Graham said she was late to pick up her own kids from school when she overtook a line of cars, illegally crossing a double white line.

The video of the crash is horrific and the perpetrator’s description as ‘the wife of a singer’ set my teeth on edge, I knew straight away, before I googled, we wouldn’t be talking about opera, here. 

Mrs Keen was turning right, crossing the carriageway in front of Graham, who crashed into her at at least 50mph near Ringmer.

After the crash, summer plans were cancelled and the family had to move in with Mrs Keen’s mother.

It's only through modern car design for safety that she isn’t dead, along with her children! 

I have permanent physical and mental difficulties," she said. She suffers from anxiety caused by 'ugly scars on my face' and will need medication for the foreseeable future. Mrs Keen also had to give up kickboxing and experiences increased anxiety in cars.

But this isn’t a court of law, apparently, it’s a circus of competing victim statuses. You’d imagine there’s only one victim here, but no…

Crying in the dock, she said: "I’m so sorry. "My children and I went through nine years of domestic violence."My ex used to make me really late or wouldn’t let me pick them up which made them really anxious. 

"I have an autistic child. 

"When I saw the double white lines. 

"I thought there was a break in the lines. 

"I was a little bit late to pick my boys up. 

"They suffer with anxiety and I felt the need to get there.

I would have thought their ‘anxiety’ would only be heightened by being in a car with someone who drives like this.  But, Reader, it worked:

Lewes Crown Court in Hove heard Graham was originally charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The Crown accepted her guilty plea to the lesser charge of causing serious injury by careless driving

.Once again, the lazy bastards in the CPS dropped the ball!

His Honour Judge David Rennie told Graham: "The pre-sentence report has given me a wealth of information about you, your family and your background. 

"I’ve read references from people who know you very well and they speak very highly of you. 

"I’ve read and considered the report from the consultant psychiatrist. 

"I regard what you did on this occasion as wholly out of character. 

"I have no doubt you are deeply, deeply sorry for what you did to - as you say - another mum."

She was spared jail after admitting causing serious injury by careless driving.

Graham was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months and banned from driving for a year.

Not even banned for life! So much for keeping death off the roads!

Yes, I Think It Will Be Necessary...

 The travellers who the police described as 'generally good, if left alone' have moved on.

"They were instructed to clear up any mess and were provided with bin liners.A clean-up of the site will be scheduled if necessary."

Travellers clean up? It is to laugh...

A new padlock and chain have been fastened to the gate at Maise's Meadow.

Won't take them long to break it.  

H/T: Dave Ward via email

Is It OK If They Aren't Fresh Off A Dinghy, Then?

Seven Afghan refugees are to stand trial next year accused of 32 offences of raping two girls in Norwich, after appearing in court amid heightened security and tense scenes.

The defendants - who appeared in the dock and spoke through interpreters - all denied 38 offences against the girls, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said to have taken place between August 2023 and May 2025.

That thing they tell us never happens appears to have happened again! 

Judge Katharine Moore (Ed: oh )said the trial, due to start on January 11, would be in front of a High Court Judge.

Hopefully not a female member drawn from the lanyard classes! 

The court heard from prosecutor Felicia Davy KC that an eighth suspect is currently in the Republic of Ireland awaiting extradition to the UK when it is likely he will also be charged with related offences.

Appearing in court on Friday were: 

Jamil Khalil, 20, of High Street, Dumbarton, Scotland, represented by Will Carter, charged with seven counts of rape and one count of human trafficking. He is also jointly charged with one offence of conspiracy to rape. 

Ahmadin Ahmadzai, 21, of Pottergate, Norwich, represented by Andrew Oliver, charged with nine counts of rape, one count of human trafficking, two counts of conspiracy to rape, and one count of doing an act to pervert the course of justice. 

Qais Kaker, 20, of Black Horse Opening, Norwich, represented by Ed Renvoize, charged with four counts of rape, one count of conspiracy to rape and one count of human trafficking. 

Fazal Auryakhel, 20, of Eleanor Road, Norwich, represented by John Morgans, charged with one count of rape. 

Mohammed Farooq Sinwary, 20, of St Benedicts Street, Norwich, represented by Stephen Spence, charged with two counts of rape. 

Ali Ahamad, 21, of Barnards Yard, Norwich, represented by Oliver Haswell, charged with one count of rape and three counts of human trafficking. 

Sayed Wahid Daviodzai, 20, of St Benedicts Street, Norwich, represented by Ian James, charged with four counts of rape and one count of conspiracy to rape.

 That’s a lot of men with no English who’ve spent a long time in this country. Why?

The press bench in Court One was also packed with two journalists from the BBC's Pashto service, Al Hussaini and Nadeem Ashraf, joining local BBC colleagues as well as ITV reporters.

 Of course we should expect it…

Norfolk Constabulary has confirmed that none of the suspects had lived in asylum hotels in the county and that none of the alleged offences took place at those locations.They have been in the country for between three and six years and the alleged offences are said to have occurred between August 2023 and May 2025.

And that makes it better does it? 

H/T: Dave Ward via email

Sounds About Right For Essex Police…

The incident has been reported to Essex Police, who are investigating the attack. Mr Ahmed said: "I think the group was from another city - they don't have expensive things like computers and phone so they try to steal.

"Dealing with underage people is especially hard for us because the police told us they could not punish them as they are still minors.

There’s a picture of the miscreants at the news report trying to batter their way into the shop, and if you had an image of cheeky schoolboys in short trousers, catapult sticking out of a back pocket, thanks to the description of ‘minors’ it will soon disabuse you, and might in fact have you humming ' Men of Harlech' instead.

Tweet Of The Month

 

Post Title Of The Month

 The inimitable David Thompson, on how every silver lining holds a cloud for someone....