I have just that the most incredible Christmas with the most incredible people, great gifts, great food cooked by my UBER talented brother who made an amazing meal for 10 of us, all went to plan, was hot and tasty.
We played games, laughed, joked, and ate far too much.
Boxing day took us to see out good friends who live close by, and we continued the festive spirit, laughing, joking, no tv, just pure conversation.
Best Ever!!!!
Thursday 27 December 2012
Tuesday 4 December 2012
THIS SEEMS TO RING BELLS TO ME!!
Miners' strike: 'All I want is for someone to say: I'm sorry.'
The tumult of the 1984 dispute may be retreating in the memory, but for those arrested and charged, the events of that angry summer have been life-changing. Now a campaign seeks a review of what it claims is wide-scale malfeasance by the police
The tumult of the 1984 dispute may be retreating in the memory, but for those arrested and charged, the events of that angry summer have been life-changing. Now a campaign seeks a review of what it claims is wide-scale malfeasance by the police
Saturday 1 December 2012 21.39 GMT
Miners' strike: 'All I want is for someone to say: I'm sorry.'
The tumult of the 1984 dispute may be retreating in the memory, but for those arrested and charged, the events of that angry summer have been life-changing. Now a campaign seeks a review of what it claims is wide-scale malfeasance by the police
The miners' strike, Easington colliery, 28 August 1984. In the background, a police officer can be seen with his truncheon raised against a striker. Witnesses say the man was subsequently beaten repeatedly. Click on the image to see it at a larger size. Photograph: Keith Pattison
Mark Townsend, home affairs editor
A truncheon is clearly visible in the picture, poised above a figure wedged against a wall. Witnesses say police struck the miner repeatedly before he was dragged from the perimeter of Easington colliery in Durham and arrested for a "picket-line offence".
Dozens of corroborating statements described the beating, but Durham constabulary denied any use of violence. Then they received the photograph. Days later, all charges were dropped.
The picture was taken on 28 August 1984, at the height of the miners' strike. Britain was mired in one of the bitterest chapters of industrial unrest in its recent history. And the gloves were off.
Miners were striking in their tens of thousands against planned colliery closures. In Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, they met an implacable foe, prepared to go to extreme lengths to see off the challenge to its authority.
Following the defeat of the Argentinian forces that invaded the Falkland Islands two years earlier, Thatcher was now determined to face down internal forces of resistance, which she described to Conservative MPs as "the enemy within ... much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty". The summer of 1984 was to provide a backdrop to one of postwar Britain's most divisive, angry and violent struggles.
As the Observer today reveals, for many of those behind the picket lines, one legacy of the strife that scarred the Midlands and the north was the damage done by hundreds of criminal records handed out on the basis of frequent frequent mass arrests. The arrests, strikers have always claimed, were followed by bogus charges. Nearly 30 years on, they want their names cleared and a true account of that summer recorded for posterity.
Former miner Paul Winter was convicted of obstruction 28 years ago after police allegedly falsified evidence following his attempt to drive from the north-east into Nottinghamshire to bolster picket lines, at a time when secondary picketing was still legal. He says the consequent criminal record compounded his difficulties in seeking an alternative job. In his own case and in others like it, the reputation of characters with no history of criminality has been tarnished.
"All I want is for somebody to say: 'I'm sorry, you have not got a criminal record any more, you were fitted up'," he said. "I don't want compensation or anything else, just somebody to say sorry."
Fresh testimony from miners speaking for the first time claims that fabricated statements were presented in court against them. It is alleged that false accounts were given by officers who were not at the scene of arrests, that miners' statements were routinely invented, and that union activists and their families were systematically targeted and intimidated.
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck in Northumberland and a former National Union of Mineworkers president, believes there has been a "massive miscarriage of justice" that requires investigating and correcting. Last week he put down a Commons early day motion calling for a comprehensive inquiry into police activities during the miners' strike throughout the UK.
As of this year, there is a precedent. The momentum for an inquiry into the policing of the dispute has been building since the Hillsborough Independent Panel unveiled its report into the 1989 stadium disaster, and revealed how South Yorkshire police covered up its failures through the systematic fabrication of evidence.
Five years earlier, the chief constable that presided over Hillsborough, Peter Wright, was in charge during the defining, brutal clash at Orgreave, when 8,000 picketing miners and 4,500 police fought at a British Steel coking plant. South Yorkshire police later paid out £500,000 in compensation to 39 miners who were arrested in what became known as the Battle of Orgreave. But no officer has ever been disciplined in relation to the events.
Last month, in the wake of a BBC documentary and mounting pressure for a thorough account of events in the summer of 1984, the South Yorkshire force referred itself to the policing watchdog over Orgreave. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed it is looking at allegations of assault, perjury, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office.
A new group, the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, has begun orchestrating support for a public inquiry into the policing of the bloody confrontation on 28 June 1984. Last Tuesday, at the Unite union offices in Sheffield – three miles from Orgreave – plans were put in place to begin contacting fresh witnesses.
The campaign's organiser, Barbara Jackson, who went on strike from her job at the National Coal Board for the whole year of the dispute in support, said: "The police have never been held to account for their actions, yet so many of those who were there remain traumatised, defined by the violence of that day."
The official police version of events remains that the miners at Orgreave rioted and that officers caught beating miners were acting in self-defence – despite the subsequent collapse of attempted prosecutions for riot against 95 miners due to doubts about the veracity of police evidence. Many now want a much wider investigation to take place.
Provisional estimates by the NUM suggest that 60% of the charges brought over picket line offences were "bogus or exaggerated". More than 11,000 miners were arrested during the dispute.
The NUM is working with Michael Mansfield QC to evaluate material that might lead to the prosecution of police officers. The union wants the director of public prosecutions (DPP) – now investigating police misconduct over Hillsborough – to follow suit in relation to the strike. Yesterday law firm Leigh Day appealed for miners to come forward, "given the pattern of police abuse and misfeasance which is emerging". Sapna Malik, a partner at the firm, said: "It is now time for accountability for these past wrongs."
Chris Kitchen, the NUM leader, said it was important also to look beyond Hillsborough and Orgreave. "Cases from other picket lines were very similar: lads getting lifted, dragged into court on trumped up charges and then offered a deal to plead guilty."
For the miners themselves, there is a sense that a tipping point has been reached. David Hopper, general secretary of the Durham Miners Association, says that only now has the perception that the police were untouchable begun to recede. He said: "We weren't aware at the time how to get after the police, they were a law unto themselves."
Mansfield, who currently also acts for the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: "Nobody was even disciplined, never mind prosecuted. That fact raises huge questions, it requires a review to find out which cases are worth pursuing. There is material that can be acted upon. " Such material includes footage of miners like Russell Broomhead, now 53, being repeatedly struck by a truncheon in front of police lines at Orgreave.
Myriad incidents in the pit villages of the north-east need investigating, says Hopper. One such incident occurred just three days after Orgreave, at Stainforth in south Yorkshire. The then Police Complaints Authority found officers guilty of disproportionate force, but could not identify them; some had removed their numbers from their uniforms. The authority stated: "During a very violent day some police officers did overreact and a few officers did assault prisoners after arrest, others were abusive and uncivil." The file, several hundred pages long, was sent to the DPP. No action was taken.
Winter, who was 20 in March 1984, is among those who claim they were framed as part of a blanket policy of arresting pickets and bailing them with conditions prohibiting them from playing any further part in the strike.
During March 1984, Winter was travelling south on the A1 to act as a flying picket at mines in Nottinghamshire, which were effectively ringfenced by police to thwart pickets. He was intercepted near Blyth, Northumberland, and ordered to turn around. Winter refused and was arrested, appearing before Mansfield magistrates later that day, where he was advised to plead guilty to obstruction.
He said: "In court it was read out what I was supposed to have said to the arresting officer. His exact words were that I had said: 'You don't want us to be effective', which implied I was a picket. I was 20, I'd never have thought of saying that."
Winter was fined and given bail conditions that prevented him from travelling near collieries. Then, he says, he was assaulted. "I was in custody," he said, "eating food from a metal tray. A sergeant saw me and shouted 'Who fed him?', then grabbed the tray and rammed it into my face. It bust my nose, blood went all over my food."
Gary Kirby, 53, from Hemsworth, west Yorkshire, was arrested at Orgreave after complaining that officers were pushing him as he walked slowly in front of a police line. Apprehended by officers from Greater Manchester Police, he says his statement was signed by an officer from another force. "When I got my statement, weeks later, the arresting officer was from South Yorkshire. I'd never seen South Yorks police when I'd been there. It said that I ran at him with my arms and legs flailing. He said he'd never been so frightened in his 20 years as a police officer – that was his statement. It was totally made up."
Intimidation of strikers within their own communities was reportedly routine. Hopper's 14-year-old son was arrested seven times during the strike, but never prosecuted.
"It was simple intimidation," said Hopper. "Police vans would stop outside my door for hours on end. The local police told me I was wanted for insurrection. Our solicitors said, don't go out on your own. Always have a witness."
Three decades years after Orgreave, the call is out for old witnesses to come forward. The true story of the miners' strike is just beginning to be told.
Related content
Saturday 1 Dec 2012
Arrogant Met officers soured long friendships during 1984 miners' strike
Roy Hattersley: Claims of police malpractices during the miners' strike in 1984 were undoubtedly justified - the only issue in doubt is who was to blame
Saturday 1 Dec 2012
Miners' strike: 'All I want is for someone to say: I'm sorry.'
The tumult of the 1984 dispute may be retreating in the memory, but for those arrested and charged, the events of that angry summer have been life-changing. Now a campaign seeks a review of what it claims is wide-scale malfeasance by the police
The miners' strike, Easington colliery, 28 August 1984. In the background, a police officer can be seen with his truncheon raised against a striker. Witnesses say the man was subsequently beaten repeatedly. Click on the image to see it at a larger size. Photograph: Keith Pattison
Mark Townsend, home affairs editor
A truncheon is clearly visible in the picture, poised above a figure wedged against a wall. Witnesses say police struck the miner repeatedly before he was dragged from the perimeter of Easington colliery in Durham and arrested for a "picket-line offence".
Dozens of corroborating statements described the beating, but Durham constabulary denied any use of violence. Then they received the photograph. Days later, all charges were dropped.
The picture was taken on 28 August 1984, at the height of the miners' strike. Britain was mired in one of the bitterest chapters of industrial unrest in its recent history. And the gloves were off.
Miners were striking in their tens of thousands against planned colliery closures. In Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, they met an implacable foe, prepared to go to extreme lengths to see off the challenge to its authority.
Following the defeat of the Argentinian forces that invaded the Falkland Islands two years earlier, Thatcher was now determined to face down internal forces of resistance, which she described to Conservative MPs as "the enemy within ... much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty". The summer of 1984 was to provide a backdrop to one of postwar Britain's most divisive, angry and violent struggles.
As the Observer today reveals, for many of those behind the picket lines, one legacy of the strife that scarred the Midlands and the north was the damage done by hundreds of criminal records handed out on the basis of frequent frequent mass arrests. The arrests, strikers have always claimed, were followed by bogus charges. Nearly 30 years on, they want their names cleared and a true account of that summer recorded for posterity.
Former miner Paul Winter was convicted of obstruction 28 years ago after police allegedly falsified evidence following his attempt to drive from the north-east into Nottinghamshire to bolster picket lines, at a time when secondary picketing was still legal. He says the consequent criminal record compounded his difficulties in seeking an alternative job. In his own case and in others like it, the reputation of characters with no history of criminality has been tarnished.
"All I want is for somebody to say: 'I'm sorry, you have not got a criminal record any more, you were fitted up'," he said. "I don't want compensation or anything else, just somebody to say sorry."
Fresh testimony from miners speaking for the first time claims that fabricated statements were presented in court against them. It is alleged that false accounts were given by officers who were not at the scene of arrests, that miners' statements were routinely invented, and that union activists and their families were systematically targeted and intimidated.
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck in Northumberland and a former National Union of Mineworkers president, believes there has been a "massive miscarriage of justice" that requires investigating and correcting. Last week he put down a Commons early day motion calling for a comprehensive inquiry into police activities during the miners' strike throughout the UK.
As of this year, there is a precedent. The momentum for an inquiry into the policing of the dispute has been building since the Hillsborough Independent Panel unveiled its report into the 1989 stadium disaster, and revealed how South Yorkshire police covered up its failures through the systematic fabrication of evidence.
Five years earlier, the chief constable that presided over Hillsborough, Peter Wright, was in charge during the defining, brutal clash at Orgreave, when 8,000 picketing miners and 4,500 police fought at a British Steel coking plant. South Yorkshire police later paid out £500,000 in compensation to 39 miners who were arrested in what became known as the Battle of Orgreave. But no officer has ever been disciplined in relation to the events.
Last month, in the wake of a BBC documentary and mounting pressure for a thorough account of events in the summer of 1984, the South Yorkshire force referred itself to the policing watchdog over Orgreave. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed it is looking at allegations of assault, perjury, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office.
A new group, the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, has begun orchestrating support for a public inquiry into the policing of the bloody confrontation on 28 June 1984. Last Tuesday, at the Unite union offices in Sheffield – three miles from Orgreave – plans were put in place to begin contacting fresh witnesses.
The campaign's organiser, Barbara Jackson, who went on strike from her job at the National Coal Board for the whole year of the dispute in support, said: "The police have never been held to account for their actions, yet so many of those who were there remain traumatised, defined by the violence of that day."
The official police version of events remains that the miners at Orgreave rioted and that officers caught beating miners were acting in self-defence – despite the subsequent collapse of attempted prosecutions for riot against 95 miners due to doubts about the veracity of police evidence. Many now want a much wider investigation to take place.
Provisional estimates by the NUM suggest that 60% of the charges brought over picket line offences were "bogus or exaggerated". More than 11,000 miners were arrested during the dispute.
The NUM is working with Michael Mansfield QC to evaluate material that might lead to the prosecution of police officers. The union wants the director of public prosecutions (DPP) – now investigating police misconduct over Hillsborough – to follow suit in relation to the strike. Yesterday law firm Leigh Day appealed for miners to come forward, "given the pattern of police abuse and misfeasance which is emerging". Sapna Malik, a partner at the firm, said: "It is now time for accountability for these past wrongs."
Chris Kitchen, the NUM leader, said it was important also to look beyond Hillsborough and Orgreave. "Cases from other picket lines were very similar: lads getting lifted, dragged into court on trumped up charges and then offered a deal to plead guilty."
For the miners themselves, there is a sense that a tipping point has been reached. David Hopper, general secretary of the Durham Miners Association, says that only now has the perception that the police were untouchable begun to recede. He said: "We weren't aware at the time how to get after the police, they were a law unto themselves."
Mansfield, who currently also acts for the Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: "Nobody was even disciplined, never mind prosecuted. That fact raises huge questions, it requires a review to find out which cases are worth pursuing. There is material that can be acted upon. " Such material includes footage of miners like Russell Broomhead, now 53, being repeatedly struck by a truncheon in front of police lines at Orgreave.
Myriad incidents in the pit villages of the north-east need investigating, says Hopper. One such incident occurred just three days after Orgreave, at Stainforth in south Yorkshire. The then Police Complaints Authority found officers guilty of disproportionate force, but could not identify them; some had removed their numbers from their uniforms. The authority stated: "During a very violent day some police officers did overreact and a few officers did assault prisoners after arrest, others were abusive and uncivil." The file, several hundred pages long, was sent to the DPP. No action was taken.
Winter, who was 20 in March 1984, is among those who claim they were framed as part of a blanket policy of arresting pickets and bailing them with conditions prohibiting them from playing any further part in the strike.
During March 1984, Winter was travelling south on the A1 to act as a flying picket at mines in Nottinghamshire, which were effectively ringfenced by police to thwart pickets. He was intercepted near Blyth, Northumberland, and ordered to turn around. Winter refused and was arrested, appearing before Mansfield magistrates later that day, where he was advised to plead guilty to obstruction.
He said: "In court it was read out what I was supposed to have said to the arresting officer. His exact words were that I had said: 'You don't want us to be effective', which implied I was a picket. I was 20, I'd never have thought of saying that."
Winter was fined and given bail conditions that prevented him from travelling near collieries. Then, he says, he was assaulted. "I was in custody," he said, "eating food from a metal tray. A sergeant saw me and shouted 'Who fed him?', then grabbed the tray and rammed it into my face. It bust my nose, blood went all over my food."
Gary Kirby, 53, from Hemsworth, west Yorkshire, was arrested at Orgreave after complaining that officers were pushing him as he walked slowly in front of a police line. Apprehended by officers from Greater Manchester Police, he says his statement was signed by an officer from another force. "When I got my statement, weeks later, the arresting officer was from South Yorkshire. I'd never seen South Yorks police when I'd been there. It said that I ran at him with my arms and legs flailing. He said he'd never been so frightened in his 20 years as a police officer – that was his statement. It was totally made up."
Intimidation of strikers within their own communities was reportedly routine. Hopper's 14-year-old son was arrested seven times during the strike, but never prosecuted.
"It was simple intimidation," said Hopper. "Police vans would stop outside my door for hours on end. The local police told me I was wanted for insurrection. Our solicitors said, don't go out on your own. Always have a witness."
Three decades years after Orgreave, the call is out for old witnesses to come forward. The true story of the miners' strike is just beginning to be told.
Related content
Saturday 1 Dec 2012
Arrogant Met officers soured long friendships during 1984 miners' strike
Roy Hattersley: Claims of police malpractices during the miners' strike in 1984 were undoubtedly justified - the only issue in doubt is who was to blame
Saturday 1 Dec 2012
Monday 8 October 2012
A weird few weeks
Watching the Tv show about Battersea Dogs home with Paul O'Grady made me want to jump into the car and go and pick up lovely white boxer Carmine, i can understand why Paul fell in love with his, typical boxer traits and full of fun.
The horse and jockey in copper i bought Ged for his birthday was another weird sign, i did not notice the number of the jockey when i bought it and my grandad loved a gamble on the horses and the number 8 was his birthday!
I changed onto this flight so i could meet ex Bluecoats Jeannie and David Crowhurst, however i did not get to speak to them for long as we had a lady who became severely ill and took most of my time dealing with her, even assisting in the emptying of her colostomy bag. Very demanding day!
I was called from standby to position and empty aircraft to Toulouse then word Toulouse-Madrid-Toulouse then position the aircraft back to Luton then taxi home. Enroute to Toulouse we received a message to say my hours were illegal and i was to get off in Toulouse, wait 5 hours then position home. Weird long day and never saw a passenger !
My lovely friend from Caledonian who lost her boxer a year after we lost Megan has a new Boxer puppy called Dylan, isn't he just the most gorgeous thing ever. I must make an effort to go see him for the day even just for that great welcome i know i will get.
I went into the New York pet store some years ago and told them straight that keeping dogs in shop windows was cruel and would never be allowed here in the UK, the fact it was a boxer pup just angered me more and i used to spend lots of money in their on Megan but refused after this, mind you, saw worse in Hong Kong!!
Lovely Megan and mum and dads in 2002/2003 approximately, miss her so much!
The new kitchen worktops are being fitted by 2 syrian men tomorrow and if i am called out on standby while they are here, well, it will be a drama!!!
Friday 14 September 2012
The early flying years!
When i first started flying we did mostly there and back holiday flights, then in 1989 Caledonian leased a 747-236 to operate the LAX and MCO flights, we were positioned out to Winnipeg on Northwest Airlines early May 1989, we flew Gatwick to the twin cities of Minneapolis/St Paul and then connected onto a rusty Northwest Boeing 727 on to Winnipeg.
Our Caledonian 747 would leave Gatwick 3 days later and arrive in Winnipeg to refuel, the crew would get off and we would all get on for the first time with 462 passengers awaiting us for the onward flight to LA, daunting but it had to be done, we then got a week in LA as we only had one 747 and it had to fly back to Gatwick, operate an Orlando then back out to Winnipeg where the previous crew would be waiting, then they would bring it to LA and we could bring it home, all in all it took 11 days, amazing that crew have 24 hours in LA now and we had a week.
Our Caledonian 747 would leave Gatwick 3 days later and arrive in Winnipeg to refuel, the crew would get off and we would all get on for the first time with 462 passengers awaiting us for the onward flight to LA, daunting but it had to be done, we then got a week in LA as we only had one 747 and it had to fly back to Gatwick, operate an Orlando then back out to Winnipeg where the previous crew would be waiting, then they would bring it to LA and we could bring it home, all in all it took 11 days, amazing that crew have 24 hours in LA now and we had a week.
The Grenada trip on the DC10 was also a 7 day layover at the Renaissance hotel on the beach, great times, great trip, great people, well, some of them.....there are some people on my pics that broke the BA strike in 2010 and will not be named or talked about.
Ged loved coming on my trips and had some great holidays all inclusive and on staff flights....just not the same now!
Thursday 16 August 2012
The Future
We all have aspirations and desires, i have been blessed with a great family closeness and stability, the opportunity to fly all over the world meeting many different people from a variety of cultures, i have seen poverty and how people in these countries still know how to smile.
This is when i know my life is good, i have direction, i know how to engage with different people from looking after VIP's, Royalty, Celebrities, they all have different needs and wants but we learn to adapt.
There is nothing better than leaving your place of work "knowing" you have done a good job, or to the best of your ability, and if you did not then you will run things round in your head as to how you will do things differently next time and making sure this information is fed back.
I believe in communication on all levels, we all need to communicate, it may be to tell someone how they could do things differently next time or to praise someone for a job well done.
Feedback should be like a sandwich.....Motivation ( bread) Developmental (filling) Motivation ( bread) so the areas people can improve on do not have a lasting impression but based around "what they did well" also!!
Your team is only as good as the expectations you require of them, knowledge of their job, and the ability to make mistakes, admit they were wrong and learn from it and move on comfortable with the feedback delivered.
Passengers, customers, guests are all different, they all have different needs and wants and we learn to adapt to these through experience, younger members of the team may feel uncomfortable around certain situations and allow their managers (me) to take over and deal with it but i like them to stick around to learn from it and incorporate it in their daily routine and know how to manage it themselves in the future with adequate support and encouragement.
I am proud to have had the opportunity to take and Aircraft out in charge for many years, i see passengers every day with various requirements and sometimes we can not accommodate their requests which can come across as a failure, but if it is explained professionally and the customer is aware and has witnessed you going out of your way to try and meet their demands they really do not mind if it cannot be met, however i look at ways that this could be corrected in the future.
It is not about the daily duties you complete but how you step out of your role to do something special that will become a lasting memory to them, this is what people remember and makes them return.
I could write a book on the role of cabin crew after so many years but i will just have the occasional smile to myself over some of the requests and lasting memories i have of this incredible job.
This is when i know my life is good, i have direction, i know how to engage with different people from looking after VIP's, Royalty, Celebrities, they all have different needs and wants but we learn to adapt.
There is nothing better than leaving your place of work "knowing" you have done a good job, or to the best of your ability, and if you did not then you will run things round in your head as to how you will do things differently next time and making sure this information is fed back.
I believe in communication on all levels, we all need to communicate, it may be to tell someone how they could do things differently next time or to praise someone for a job well done.
Feedback should be like a sandwich.....Motivation ( bread) Developmental (filling) Motivation ( bread) so the areas people can improve on do not have a lasting impression but based around "what they did well" also!!
Your team is only as good as the expectations you require of them, knowledge of their job, and the ability to make mistakes, admit they were wrong and learn from it and move on comfortable with the feedback delivered.
Passengers, customers, guests are all different, they all have different needs and wants and we learn to adapt to these through experience, younger members of the team may feel uncomfortable around certain situations and allow their managers (me) to take over and deal with it but i like them to stick around to learn from it and incorporate it in their daily routine and know how to manage it themselves in the future with adequate support and encouragement.
I am proud to have had the opportunity to take and Aircraft out in charge for many years, i see passengers every day with various requirements and sometimes we can not accommodate their requests which can come across as a failure, but if it is explained professionally and the customer is aware and has witnessed you going out of your way to try and meet their demands they really do not mind if it cannot be met, however i look at ways that this could be corrected in the future.
It is not about the daily duties you complete but how you step out of your role to do something special that will become a lasting memory to them, this is what people remember and makes them return.
I could write a book on the role of cabin crew after so many years but i will just have the occasional smile to myself over some of the requests and lasting memories i have of this incredible job.
Saturday 11 August 2012
When i decide to come home it is like all my christmasses coming at once, i usually leave the house at 0400 in the morning missing all the traffic and getting to County Durham around 0800-0830.
Here is mum and dad at a family wedding that i could not attend as had to get back for work, i helped her chose her outfit from jacques vert in Hexham
An evening out with my cousins, Carole, he husband Jon, Brenda and Jill
Jacky and i are about the same age and always been close from being kids and growing up together.
After leaving the north east i drove for a night with my brother and his new partner in their Worcester home, i was driving down country lanes no wider than the car, no idea what i would have done if something had been coming the other way.
The cottage is beautiful, they were not home as i was early so took some photographs of the house and garden and went for a wander around the village fo Hartlebury, a stroll in the graveyard too and passed the local pub.
This was the first time i had met Kim and she is a lovely lovely person, we get on like a house on fire and hope this continues for many years to come.
The opening of the Olympics was impressive and now we are almost at the end of the two week games we currently have 26 Gold medals which has surpassed any total from previous games, so well done Team GB
Not sure that Lycra is very flattering for guys though lol!!!
Thursday 26 July 2012
When 37-year-old Samantha Sabatino and family jetted off on the trip of a lifetime to Florida they had no idea that their dream holiday would quickly turn into a nightmare.
Halfway through the flight Sam’s six-year-old daughter complained of a funny smell in the cabin and was violently sick. ‘I noticed that several other passengers were also being sick and there was a long queue for the loo’ explains Sam.
By the time the plane touched down the Sabatino family had ‘cabin fever’ – they were feeling sick, drowsy and all of them had headaches. What Sam did not know was that all 40 passengers on board the airliner had been affected by contaminated air on that trip.
Most people believe when they get on a plane the air they breathe has been purified-yet nothing could be further from the truth.
On an aircraft air is drawn out of the compression section of the engine and then cooled. That air then enters the cabin where it is mixed with recirculated air that has been passed through filters designed to remove only bacteria and viruses.
The problem is that these filters do not remove the fumes or vapours which may be emitted from the engine if there is fault. As a result toxic chemicals such as deadly organophosphates may then contaminate the cabin air supply causing a condition known as aerotoxic syndrome.
Experts believe that these chemicals affect the body in the same way as nerve gas does. Clinical trials on farm workers who have been exposed to organophosphates have shown that they disrupt the neurotransmitters involved in muscle function.
High level exposure affects the heart and lungs and can cause tremor in the limbs. They can also cause cognitive impairment, disorientation and poor memory.
Pilots and cabin crew have known about these fume events for over thirty years but many feared they would lose their jobs if they spoke up. However, recently twenty pilots paid for blood tests and were found to have higher than average levels of chemicals associated with jet engine oil in their blood and fat.
Dr Sarah Mackenzie Ross has published several papers describing health effects seen in different occupational groups exposed to organophosphates. ‘We measured the pilots’ cognitive function and their mood state and we saw real evidence of impairment’ she says.
Dee Passon worked as a cabin service director for more than 20 years but her health deteriorated so badly that she became too ill to work. ‘My mental ability has been severely affected so that now I can’t remember things and get exhausted if I have to speak for any length of time’ she explains. Today Dee still suffers from severe nervous system damage which her doctor says is consistent with long term chemical exposure.
Dee believes her symptoms were caused by organophosphates leaking into the cabin. ‘When I first saw my GP, right from the word go he put ‘investigations into aerotoxic syndrome’ on my medical records but the airline would not believe me’ she says.
She decided to discover how many other cabin crew were affected and set up a website to gather more information about the condition. ‘It included an online health survey where cabin crew staff could register in confidence their exact symptoms and if they were related to fume events’ she says.
‘I got more than 900 responses reporting a wide range of health problems including brain haemorrhages, cancer and heart problems. The real worry is that it is not just pilots and cabin crew who are affected but the travelling public too-particularly children’ she says.
Dr Jenny Goodman from the Biolab Medical Unit which specialises in nutritional and environmental medicine believes passengers are at risk. ‘I know of many frequent flyers who have come to me with symptoms such as Chronic Fatigue and when tested their blood is often high in organophosphates.
‘Children are even more at risk because their livers and nervous systems are not properly developed and so they are more sensitive to toxins than adults’ she says.
It would seem that one way to sort out the problem would be to devise a foolproof blood test which would prove that an individual had been exposed to chemicals.
Experts at the University of Washington have been doing just that – working on producing a biomarker in the blood which will show precisely whether or not someone has been exposed to toxic chemicals within the past three weeks.
‘We have found the enzyme in the liver which binds to the toxin so we can now track it in the blood’ says Professor Clem Furlong who is leading the research.
The Department of Transport still maintains there is no problem because they believe fume events occur in only one in 2000 flights. ‘Concerns have been raised in the media about the possibility of air crew and passengers being exposed to fumes in cabin air.
‘We take any risk to pilots and cabin crew very seriously and continue to work closely with the Aviation Health Working Group on research in this area’ said their spokesperson.
Dee Passon however has no confidence in the authorities. ‘Our research shows it would only add around 10p extra per ticket to cover the cost of fitting proper filtration systems. I think most passengers would be more than happy to pay that to safeguard their health. At the very least they deserve to know the truth’ she says.
Samantha Sabatino is still unwell. ‘I had never even heard of aerotoxic syndrome until we came back to the UK and my GP diagnosed it. You take it for granted when you get on a plane you are breathing air which has been filtered properly-not contaminated by the engines.
If I had known about the risks I could have made an informed decision whether or not to fly. Somebody has to take responsibility for the health and safety of the travelling public’.
How can you tell if there is a fume event?
Smells indicating a fume event can vary from being similar to dirty socks, wet dog, chemicals, oils or even vomit
Short term symptoms of exposure can include blurred or tunnel vision, disorientation, shaking and tremors, loss of balance or vertigo, seizures, loss of consciousness.
Some people report a cough or nausea others have increased heart rate. Long term symptoms include numbness in fingertips, memory impairment, headaches, dizziness, depression and chronic fatigue.
For information go to www.aerotoxic.org or www.toxicfreeairlines.com
HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED BY TOXIC AIR ON A FLIGHT?
Halfway through the flight Sam’s six-year-old daughter complained of a funny smell in the cabin and was violently sick. ‘I noticed that several other passengers were also being sick and there was a long queue for the loo’ explains Sam.
By the time the plane touched down the Sabatino family had ‘cabin fever’ – they were feeling sick, drowsy and all of them had headaches. What Sam did not know was that all 40 passengers on board the airliner had been affected by contaminated air on that trip.
Most people believe when they get on a plane the air they breathe has been purified-yet nothing could be further from the truth.
On an aircraft air is drawn out of the compression section of the engine and then cooled. That air then enters the cabin where it is mixed with recirculated air that has been passed through filters designed to remove only bacteria and viruses.
The problem is that these filters do not remove the fumes or vapours which may be emitted from the engine if there is fault. As a result toxic chemicals such as deadly organophosphates may then contaminate the cabin air supply causing a condition known as aerotoxic syndrome.
Experts believe that these chemicals affect the body in the same way as nerve gas does. Clinical trials on farm workers who have been exposed to organophosphates have shown that they disrupt the neurotransmitters involved in muscle function.
High level exposure affects the heart and lungs and can cause tremor in the limbs. They can also cause cognitive impairment, disorientation and poor memory.
Pilots and cabin crew have known about these fume events for over thirty years but many feared they would lose their jobs if they spoke up. However, recently twenty pilots paid for blood tests and were found to have higher than average levels of chemicals associated with jet engine oil in their blood and fat.
Dr Sarah Mackenzie Ross has published several papers describing health effects seen in different occupational groups exposed to organophosphates. ‘We measured the pilots’ cognitive function and their mood state and we saw real evidence of impairment’ she says.
Dee Passon worked as a cabin service director for more than 20 years but her health deteriorated so badly that she became too ill to work. ‘My mental ability has been severely affected so that now I can’t remember things and get exhausted if I have to speak for any length of time’ she explains. Today Dee still suffers from severe nervous system damage which her doctor says is consistent with long term chemical exposure.
Dee believes her symptoms were caused by organophosphates leaking into the cabin. ‘When I first saw my GP, right from the word go he put ‘investigations into aerotoxic syndrome’ on my medical records but the airline would not believe me’ she says.
She decided to discover how many other cabin crew were affected and set up a website to gather more information about the condition. ‘It included an online health survey where cabin crew staff could register in confidence their exact symptoms and if they were related to fume events’ she says.
‘I got more than 900 responses reporting a wide range of health problems including brain haemorrhages, cancer and heart problems. The real worry is that it is not just pilots and cabin crew who are affected but the travelling public too-particularly children’ she says.
Dr Jenny Goodman from the Biolab Medical Unit which specialises in nutritional and environmental medicine believes passengers are at risk. ‘I know of many frequent flyers who have come to me with symptoms such as Chronic Fatigue and when tested their blood is often high in organophosphates.
‘Children are even more at risk because their livers and nervous systems are not properly developed and so they are more sensitive to toxins than adults’ she says.
It would seem that one way to sort out the problem would be to devise a foolproof blood test which would prove that an individual had been exposed to chemicals.
Experts at the University of Washington have been doing just that – working on producing a biomarker in the blood which will show precisely whether or not someone has been exposed to toxic chemicals within the past three weeks.
‘We have found the enzyme in the liver which binds to the toxin so we can now track it in the blood’ says Professor Clem Furlong who is leading the research.
The Department of Transport still maintains there is no problem because they believe fume events occur in only one in 2000 flights. ‘Concerns have been raised in the media about the possibility of air crew and passengers being exposed to fumes in cabin air.
‘We take any risk to pilots and cabin crew very seriously and continue to work closely with the Aviation Health Working Group on research in this area’ said their spokesperson.
Dee Passon however has no confidence in the authorities. ‘Our research shows it would only add around 10p extra per ticket to cover the cost of fitting proper filtration systems. I think most passengers would be more than happy to pay that to safeguard their health. At the very least they deserve to know the truth’ she says.
Samantha Sabatino is still unwell. ‘I had never even heard of aerotoxic syndrome until we came back to the UK and my GP diagnosed it. You take it for granted when you get on a plane you are breathing air which has been filtered properly-not contaminated by the engines.
If I had known about the risks I could have made an informed decision whether or not to fly. Somebody has to take responsibility for the health and safety of the travelling public’.
How can you tell if there is a fume event?
Smells indicating a fume event can vary from being similar to dirty socks, wet dog, chemicals, oils or even vomit
Short term symptoms of exposure can include blurred or tunnel vision, disorientation, shaking and tremors, loss of balance or vertigo, seizures, loss of consciousness.
Some people report a cough or nausea others have increased heart rate. Long term symptoms include numbness in fingertips, memory impairment, headaches, dizziness, depression and chronic fatigue.
For information go to www.aerotoxic.org or www.toxicfreeairlines.com
HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED BY TOXIC AIR ON A FLIGHT?
Thursday 19 July 2012
Crew deaths
Since 2006 79 BA crew have died, some natural causes some suicide, that averages 1 a month, ages range from 24yrs old upwards averaging out around 40yrs old. Something is wrong somewhere, radiation? Toxins? Flying at high altitudes ? Who knows, but this will come to light as some have their teeth deep into this conundrum and will seek answers!!
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Garden 2012
My plants bought as very small bedding plants in the north east of uk never let me down!! 
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Jubilee 05/06/12 part two
Buckingham Place with the guards marching in front
The Queen, Charles and Camilla head back in the horse drawn carriage.
The procession goes through Whitehall.
Admiralty arch from the air.
The order of who went in what carriage changed last minute as Prince Philip was absent as in hospital. Kate, Wills and Harry share one.
The Queen, Camilla and Charles in one coach.
1.5 million people were on the mall waving flags.
The Queen arrives home.
Mayhem on the Mall.
Some people would not get the greatest view of the balcony as the stage used in last nights concert blocked the view.
The doors crack open and cheers are heard for miles.
The Queen as she steps onto her balcony.
Joined by Kate, Harry and William.
Camilla and Charles were also present.
The view from the crowd.
Our future King.
Hopefully NOT our future King and Queen as i think the country are behind William and Kate to take over.
Fly passed from the Spitfire.
Lancaster Bomber
And the red arrows.
The rain started so brollies went up but it does not deter the huge crowd of 1.5 million.
The entire future monarchy on the balcony.
and our lovely Queen who must be exhausted after three days of festivities.
Three cheers from the cavalry!
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