Marmora Man

Claire-T Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I live on Scutari Road and have 2 children. I > know humps are unpopular, but they work: it is as > simple as that. A clear illustration of this was > when the humps were completely removed during the > resurfacing. - cars were hammering up there at > 40, perhaps even 50mph. The ones that were there > before were negotiable, whereas the new ones are > more effective in actually slowing the traffic > down. > > If I had my way, I would like to see the road > being blocked at Mundania to stop the road being > used as a rat run at all. I would support this proposal - th' rather than an absolute block it could be a "chicane" with emergency access for Ambulance / Fire Engines. The rat run is annoying and affects children's safety as Marmora Road now has a lot more children under the age of 10 than was h case 10 years ago.

Shock story - Guardian columnist follows a left wing, politically correct semi veggie PETA style bandwagon. It will be a pity if F&M stop selling Foie Gras - where will I obtain my supplies from in future?

All seems somewhat illogical. The perpetrator, if that is what he was, is dead. He's beyond punishment, a police investigation cannot end with a prosecution. The stories may be totally true, partially true or completely false but to me it's a non story.

CM said: "No doubt because you've worked in the health service you can perform brain surgery after a two week correspondence course as well". No - neurosurgery is beyond me, but I've managed teams of neurosurgeons and negotiated contracts for delivering neurosurgery to the NHS so a I'm pretty rounded sort of chap. Full CV available on request.

A question for spc & herrick. You both bemoan the quality of your management. You both aver that greater efficiencies can be delivered if only management stopped coming up with crazy ideas such as changing shift patterns. So - where do these dysfunctional Fire Brigade managers come from? To the best of my knowledge the majority come from the ranks of the fire brigade. If that is the case what happens to them on promotion to cause them to lose touch, or is it that they can see a bigger picture from their elevated position?

Chippy Minton Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If this ever happens to me, I would like the Fire > Service, not the Ambulance Service, to come and > get me out ASAP. > > http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/63237000/jpg > /_63237628_bin_man.jpg > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-o > rkney-shetland-19790191 I reckon I could cut that man free with a decent Swiss Army knife in about 5 minutes. Specialist tools to free an idiot from a plastic bin.

Beulah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Isn't it a criminal offence? > > "Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act > 1990 makes it an offence to throw down, drop or > otherwise deposit and then leave, litter in any > place in the open air. > > Section 27 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and > Environment Act 2005 amends the offence to include > within the definition of litter the discarded ends > of cigarettes, cigars and the discarded remains of > other products designed for chewing." Beulah, Laws don't change things unles they are enforced and, it appears, Southwark doesn't have th resource to enforce.

Personally, anyone who chooses to use the term "breeder" forfeits any right to have their views taken seriously.

spc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MM said: Not good - trapped fingers are not what I > pay highly trained firefighters to be on standby > for. > > Tell me if your child gets their fingers trapped > in a bike chain, a plug hole (which I have had) a > washer etc what do you think should happen to > them? leave them there until the finger falls off? > cut the finger off? Or call the fire brigade who > have the equipment, the training and the skills to > free them in time to prevent permenant damage. If the problem is a serious as you suggest then a paramedic is far better qualified and experienced to attend the emergency, not a firefighter. However,

And for a wider comparison: ?21,000 annual salary would put you in the top 3.5% of world earners. ?45,000 annual salary would put you in the top 0.77% of world earners. Anything over ?100,000 means you earn more than 99.9% of the world.

Jessie said "no one can predict emergencies!!" But you can make a very good assessment of the likelihood of an emergency and can do a lot to prevent an emergency happening by sensible precautions. For example - ambulances used to standby in either their base station or a hospital. Statistically these were places where there were very few events requiring the ambulance service. The West Mids Ambulance Service, back in the 1990s, pioneered the statistical analysis of where accidents / events occurred requiring a Paramedic response. Result - ambulances based at motorway junctions and other "hotspots". This had a threefold positive effect: 1. Response times reduced. 2. More lives were saved because of 1. above 3. Assets were used more effectively and costs were reduced. For the Fire Brigade the good work carried out to educate the public and business in sensible fire prevention actions has reduced the number of emergency call outs dramatically over the last 10 years. This means less fire engines and less staff are now required to provide the same level of emergency cover that pertained in the 1990s. More eduation yet might also mean that the public doesn't immediately dial 999 for the fire brigade to rescue cats, get children's fingers out of bike chains or heads out of saucepans - further reducing the demand. Such actions will mean that when a real emergency occurs the Fire Brigade is still there and properly trained with the right experience to help you.

herrick, There's a balance to be struck between cost of public services and the cover the public requires of its services. You seem to suggest that because we pay our taxes we must have a 5* service. I'd happily settle for a more cost effective service based on a decent risk assessment. You say: 1. Fires in your area are low mostly due to the socio economic spread. Good - therefore the risk is low and the area doesn't need 24/7 immediate response vehicle(s). The risk can be lowered still further by appropriate training and education, something the new shift patterns are meant to make easier to deliver. 2. You pay your taxes and should expect a "rescue " response, from your childs fingers trapped in his bike chain to a deliberate release of a chemical bomb. Not good - trapped fingers are not what I pay highly trained firefighters to be on standby for. 3. Deliberate release of a chemical bomb: While the impact of such an event is very high, the probability is very low, so the risk is correspondingly low also. So, again, I don't need a highly trained team immediately around the corner "just in case". 4. Pop into any local station to ask questions but be advised firefighters are fearful of being discciplined on speaking out. This is not good - if your management is so awful that you are truly afeared of them your much celebrated union is not doing its job. I suspect what it is doing is painting the Fire Brigade management (the majority of whom appear to be, as in the police, "from the ranks") as some kind of bogey man monster to sustain a fiction that the union is defending its members and the public. If however, I'm wrong - then what is the Union and its members doing about this? In Britain today the kind of management practices you imply are rare if not quite non existent.

You watch what happens to Hollande - Or better still see what has already happened to Hollande, his approval ratings are the pits, lower even than Sarkozy

UNICEF = un iced if it weren't for auto text!

Good damson gin or sloe gin is close to high alcohol port - drink neat and UNICEF would be my recommendation.

Ridgley, Westminster School has far better manners than Rugby - that's why.

Damson Gin (or brandy / rum / vodka, but NOT whisky) - lasts longer than a crumble (takes longer too) but delicious. Fill a wide mouth jar (Kilner good) two-thirds full with good clean & ripe damsons (some people "prick" them to break the skin. Fill to the top of the jar with granulated sugar. Add spirit to the top of the bottle ? roughly 250 ml (one-third of a bottle). Seal and give it a good shake. Place in a dark cupboard. Turn and shake the bottle once a day until the sugar has dissolved, Leave for as long as you can (three months minimum but longer would be better).

spc said "In theory they are working the new shift, but with changes, which takes a lot of effort. Once again unless you understand how it works you won?t understand why they no longer go sick or are late." Why can't I understand the shift pattern? Explain it to me. I've worked shifts myself, I've managed people working shifts, my son works shifts with the West Mids Ambulance Service, I'm reasonably intelligent. I cannot believe the Fire Service has come up with a system so Byzantine that EDF readers are unable to fathom it out.

CM said "Well I guess I'll put more trust in the reports from The Standard and BBC which are based LFB documents and that clearly state they are considering an option that would see a quarter of stations close, rather than your analysis of the "real financial data." My old history master used to drum into us that we must never rely on secondary sources when researching - DJKQ has gone to the primary source (and provided links to the primary sourcec) yet you refuse to consider this, preferring instead to rely on information processed and interpreted by The Evening Standard and the BBC - strange, except that their interpretation supports your world view.

Chippy, are you suggesting that the Fire Service should be exempt from making any savings? Hardly realistic at a time when government spending is above 50% of GDP and 25% above government income. An option list doesn't mean that all or even any of the options listed will be implemented. It's usually the basis for discussion from which some form of compromise will occur. As DJKQ has pointed out - the sevrice underspent by 5% (?21m) last year, so it doesn't appear that the service is stretched financially at present. As was argued in the previous thread if Fire Services put even more emphasis on fire prevention rather than in standing by to respond to emergencies then costs and lives can be saved as has been demonstrated very clearly in Liverpool.

38 Degrees is a left leaning political activist group - nothing wrong in that but they do have form in distorting facts, using emotional rather than rational arguments and generally opposing change proposed by this coalition government. This petition is not got together by a disinterested group - much of it reflects Unison & Unite rhetoric about "privatising" of the NHS. Something that is patently untrue - and, in any case, irrelevant. What counts is the quality of service received by individual patients. While the NHS can be magnificent it can also be truly awful. Any campaign to improve the quality of patient care has my support, but vague and insubstantial appeals to "protect our NHS" is a waste of time.

Deja Vu all over again - http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?20,551221,page=1 The last Fire Fighters thread ran to 21 pages with no definite conclusion. Can this one do better?

I used to do this from Marmora Road to Tavistck Sq. Agree with above comments - and would add that cycling around / across Elephant & Castle was agreat way to sharpen up mind and responses early in the morning - setting me up for the day ahead.

Unfortunately the contractors are already there - woken this morning as they set up shop. My main concern about Scutari is not any degree of speeding - where I agree with BT about lack of need and waste of money on speed humps, but the tendency for people to use it as a rat run from Peckham Rye, via Homestall, Scutari and Marmora into Forest Hill Road - missing out various traffic lights. As Scutari and Marmora are also plagued by appalling parking, the Scutari / Marmora junction is usually a very dangerous junction for pedestrians and car users alike.

A good architect might be able to help you with a design to include a "privacy" element that ensures it's difficult to overlook too many neighbouring properties.