Dave Mycroft

Still on the subject of why we don't have any trust in the symbols of modern society:

 

So if we can't trust the politicians or the Police, what about that last bastion of justice - the judiciary? Well, sure enough, every now and then they come down on the side of the public as opposed to the Government but let's look a little closer.

 

In 2006 this government introduced new rules as a knee jerk reaction to much hyped cases where millionaires got Legal Aid. The result is that nowthe only hope of getting fair and adequate legal representation is to be rich. In an example from last summer one defendent had a solicitor who openly told a court that if the case were to be heard there and then he would have to walk out leaving the defendent unrepresented. The reason? - months of delay getting approval for Legal Aid while they tried to bring in a new syatem.

 

Even if you do succeed in getting Legal Aid, this is minimal and has a limited amount both in termsd of finance and time. Of course your solicitor won't be getting paid anywhere near the £175 per hour he'll get for private work so you can't expect anywhere near the same level of work. If there's doubt over the legality of evidence? - sorry Legal Aid won't cover that given the maximum amount permissable. I fyou need to get a court order for return of property from the Police? - Sorry you'll have to stand up in court and ask yourself. Want to change your Barister because you're not happy with the lack of representation? - tough luck you'll get who your Legal Aid solicitor has a nice arrangement with.

 

Then we come to the Judiciary itself.

Imagine you're in possession of a court order giving someone 28 days to return a large, framed and mounted, professional studio photo. Now imagine that after 35 days you eventually receive the picture - ripped from its frame and mount, tearing it in the process, and foldd in three. You'd think that a court order would mean the picture being returned in good condition, as it was at the application? Well apparently not! It seems that if you're female, the judge is female (and you have a cosy chat beforehand) all you have to say is "It was OK when I sent it" - and the only liability you have is to tell the person with the court order where the photo was produced and they then have to buy a replacement photo, frame and mount. It's decisions like this that make you feel the law is no longer the servant of the people and the judiciary are out of touch with reality.

 

 

 

I used to have faith in our legal system, but from cutbacks in Legal Aid to moves for longer detention without charege and talk of doing away with Juries there's little left to have faith in. And who is it who elects these magistrates and judges to deliberate matter fairly? Is it the public? Of course not, it's the goverment of course!. Faith in a system with no accountability is as sensible as having faith in a reconciliation while the other party is dropping their knickers in Florence for a "family friend". 

 

Radio 5 Live has been running a series of interesting phone in debates lately that seem to be focusing on why society no longer seems to respect the Police, Politicians or Business. The truth seems to be quite simple: Respect has to be earned, and rather than earn it our Politicains, Police and Business show no respect for us, the people, and act as laws unto themselves.

 

If you talk to pretty much anyone these days for any length of time you'll here the same gripes time after time. People are fed up of businesses doing what the hell they like, then sending you round and round in circles when you try and complain. Take Virgin Media as an example - when someone decided last night to rip the cable feed from the outside wall of the house, disconnecting phone, tv and broadband all I wanted to do was get it fixed. Well simple as it m,ay sound it took 7 minutes on a mobile before even getting to talk to a human being - and even then it was someone in India who was about as easy to understand as talking in machine code to C3PO. One missed, promised, call back later and another 7 minutes before clearing the automated system again. It took nearly an hour of calls at mobile rates before I could get someone to come and look at it today. When they did arrive they slammed the way the installation had been made in the first place, with loose cable running over the garden then a non-sensical diversion to the outside wall where anyone could get at it. Surprise, surprise, now a Virgin engineer has said it needs ripping out and reinstalling we're getting some action, even though months of complaining at thye time got no response. Why don't we trust business anymore? - because they no longer treat us as though our custom matters in the slightest!

 

 

 

 

Well where do you start? Over the last 10 years our government has slowly but surely stolen our rights away. They sent us into a war the majority of people never wanted, justified by lies and exaggerations. Parties make promises at elections, then once they have our votes they do a 90 degree turn and back down on their promises. In any other walk of life this would be obtaining property or services by deception - or at very least breach of contract.

 

We have had the  choice to drink outside on a warm summer day taken away from us, while opening hours are extended to 24 hours a day. The choice to smoke has been removed. We, the public, can have our conversations recorded by the Police and Security Services - but if you're an MP you're above the law.  You used to be able to remain silent under Police questioning, and there are many reasons wh you may want or need to at the time, but not anymore. Just in case you want to remain silent they're now trying to bring in thje right to detain you for over 3 months without charge.

 

Policicians should be the most accountable of all public servants, yet who is it who decides how much they get paid?  Who investigates when MPs are reported for breaking the rules? IN reality an MP can promise whatever he wants, and knows that no matter what he's in a nice cushy job for at least the next 4 years without even the slightest possibility of any accountability. Why don't we trust politicians anymore? - simple, it's because they only care about the people once every 4 years and in between do what they like with impunity!

 

This has been one of the bigest areas of debate lately, with the Police demanding the right to strike. Even Poilce Officers have admitted that they no longer have the respect of the public. Well it's no surprise really. The only times you're likely to see a Police Officer these days is if you're young and don't want to stay indoors all day, or more likely when they decide it's time to cllect more money off us for the Government's coffers. Report a crime and if you're lucky you'll get a crime nmber over the phone in case you need it for the insurance. Over 4 months ago I personally reported a crime of Perjury and Perverting the Course of Justice, with documentary evidence to support it - the reaction so far has been.....absolutely nothing!

 

When you do finally get to see a Police Officer, they act as if they are immune from the law themselves. Their word is accepted, purely on the basis of them being Police Officers, even where evidence is available to show them to be in the wrong. How can they get away with it? Quite simple when the people to investigate any complaint against the Police are their own work colleagues from the same force. Even if the complaint progresses to the supposedly "Independant" Police Commission you can't have that much faith. Last month 100 solicitors working for the IPCC all resigned en-masse on the grounds that the IPCC is institutionally biased towards the Police.

 

From personal experience I know of at least three officers from Cheshire Police alone, DS Paul Fitton, PC Carrie Burke and DS Chris Marlham, who have what would appear to be absolutely no regard for the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, European Convention on Human Rights or honesty. DS Fitton an PC Burke have been reported for numerous offences from falsifying evidence to achieve a conviction to criminal damage, from leaking priviliged (*and inaccurate) information to a 3rd party to criminal damage. And who should investigate this? - well of course it's their own mates in Cheshire Police. Chris Markham, supposedly independant as a member of the Professional Standards Dept, has been reported for everything from refusing to investigate evidence to interfering with an investigation.

 

 

 

Even when the Police admit to wrongdoing - take, for example, the admission that they routinely broke the law by recording solicitors conversations with prisoners - they remain unaccountable. When they shoot an innocent foreign visitor what happens? - no-one to blame of course. When PC Carrie Burke admits in her own statements to breaking PACE her fellow officers report states "innsufficient independant evidence". When you offer evidence to DS Markham, he reports bak as "I have not seen any evidence" - neglecting to state it was offered but he faileto take up the offer. Why don't we trust the Police any more? - simple, they seem to think they are the masters not the servants of the public. When corrupt officers can break the law with impunity, and act as little more than money collectors with no accountability they will never deserve our trust. They are overpaid, jobs for life, boys whose only interest in justice is meeting targets not in finding out the truth.

 

 

Its funny how time seems to fly away with some things and drag with others. Strangely it generally seems to be almost predictable in that when you need time it flys by and when you want something doing it takes for ever - especially if it's dealing with large organisations or teenagers.

 

 

Well Matt's supposed to have had the new site ready a month or more ago and I'm still waiting! Iain's site has taken priority with a complete facelift, and just as that was almost complete he had a comletre hard drive failure so had to start again. In the meantime my site waits - he could walk into a job at Magicalia using this sort of timescale lol.

 

The recent spell of unseasonal weather has brought benefits and disadvantages. On the bright side it's been stunning weather for driving round with the roof down and getting piles of stock photos. On the downside it's only a week till the Winter Skills and that means we need snow! This year's going to be a bt different with just the one lodge and only 12 on the course. The extra spaces are being taken up by Stu and Jules with Max and Cherrie, plus me and Matt. To ease the kitchen situation Matt and I are going to be on breakfast duty, preparing a full cooked breakfast for everyone. It's Matt's first visit to Scotland and will be his first time on snow covered mountains - well at least in the UK.  Personally I'll just be glad when the long drive home's over and it's all finished. If I didn't have to be there as the organiser I wouldn't be going myself this year, but I won't let people down who've been looking forward to this for months.

 

Gear testing's going well. The SatMap 10 is still doing it's thiong on the long term test, and still outperforming the Garmin Vista HCX. Two pairs of approach shoes have been put through the mill, one from Merrell and one from Salomon. Not surprisingly the Merrells have been outstanding and the Salomons a little narrow. It's the same issue with the mid boots from Salomon and it just reinforces the goldenrule of finding what's comfortable first and looking at the name on them second. In the pipeline we've got some Aku Spiders, which hopefully will get a trial over the winter skills weekend.

 The AKU Spder a great looking lightweight winter boot.

 

Also on the horizon, but not too distant is  some serious tent testing in combination with the illustrious Cruxter. Now I reckon I know more than most when it comes to outdoor kit, and there's something about Scandinavian kit that always grabs my attention. Given a free choice I love my Haglofs softshell and rucksack and my Hilleberg tent, so when I heard there was another Norwegian company making tents of the same or even higher standard than Hilleberg my ears started twitching. It didn't take long before emails were winging there way between Norway and home and sure enough I've got two stunning looking tents on their way.

 

This looks likeit could be a Vortex and Crux beater! For the last few years the F10 Vortex has had an honoured position as the finest mountain tent in my collection and the one to go for when you're expecting the worst mountains and weather can throw at you. The Trollspiret looks equally, and possibly more, capable but at a lot less weight. At only 3.4 kilos for a two man it's impressive. The plan is to test it in April in Arran for starters.

 

 

It's 2.2 kilos and a full 3 man 3 season tent - that's less than three quarters of a kilo per person! With a build quality and design similar to the Hilleberg range this looks like a sure fire winner once it realy hits the UK market. At present there's only a single UK distributor but that could well change. Cruxter wil be happy to know it's available in the same bright colours as the Trollspiret above....or more conservative green.

 

 

After Arran there's a planned return to Ireland in the hope of some better weather for the Reeks, and in late summer it's looking like a return to the Caucasus.

 

Well so much for a new year and a new start!

 

The car's moving along bit by bit, and this week saw its first prolonged run of decent weather with the roof down. The next few moths should see it with new alloys and roll bars ready for the summer if we have one. Of course the Laguna had to decide after years of faultless use to have the EPROM chip in the stereo fail. At least a new stereo means I can transfer the one from the Eunos to the Laguna and get something black to replace it with, rather than the incongruous silver which looks so out of place.

 

At last, after months of waiting Cheshire Police's investigation into their own officers has thrown up the expected whitewash and now it's gone on to the IPCC for independent assessment. It seems that even when you're caught out all you have to do is say" I wasn't responsible for that and thought someone else was doing it" and it's ok - no seeking out which one WAS actually responsible. Well let's hope the IPCC can show them a thing or two about how to carry out a professional investigation without the bias of "He has nothing to lose by admitting it and as a Police officer he should be believed"! Complaining against the Police is one of those things that drags on and on when you just want it over and sorted. I think the time issue is almost certainly deliberate in the hope people will eventually get so tired banging their heads against a brick wall and getting nowhere they'll just drop it. What they've failed to realise is that it's what's keeping me going so I won't be dropping it no matter what.

  

Chris birthday is fast approaching, and despte all the nagging he's not bothered getting round to sorting out anything about who he wants to come to a party - so that looks like a non starter now given the time limitations. Matt came close to getting shown the door again after a drunken night with friends ending in him smashing a picture rather than hitting someone. He tried to hit his brother, but I don't think he'll be doing that again in a while after the smack he took.

 

 

It's December the 24th, and there's no Christmas lights or decorations. There's a couple of presents wrapped up in a carrier bag for the kid's grandparents but that's the only sign of Christmas. Christmas is or families and young children, and we made a decision over ayear ago that we wouldn't bother with it. When the kids were still youg, and we were a family there was a point but they're now both nearly adults and since "she" has decided she doesn't now have children that does away with the family bit.

 

Tomorrow will see us set off about 7.30 am for the long drive to Harlech, where the boys will stop till Boxing Day, while I return home in the evening. It's going to be a strange day and the first Christmas spent with Tracy and her parents in nearly 20 years, and harder still for the boys. OK Matt and Tracy have got to know each other fairly well over the last few years but to Chris she's still an unknown quantity. Not surprisingly neither of the kids have had even a christmas card from the person who promised always to be there for them, and while it hurts to see them abandoned like this it's no surprise.

 

It's been a hard year, with a lot of changes pretty much friom the off. January commenced with the ill-founded and illegal search by the police instigated by a ststement now being investigated for perjury. The initial results were potentially catastrophic with seizure of every PC, mobile and PDA leaving work in chaos. It took 5 months and a court order to get the equipment returned, and that was just the start! Now a report lies on the Deputy Chief Constable's desk listing a catalogue of breaches of UK and European law, and a hefty compensation claim underway.

 

Next casualty was the TGO Challenge. After months of preparation and planning a last minute decision to insist on exchanging Finacial Settlement documents by the other side meant pulling out. Of course they knew all about the TGO Challenge and how important it was to complete, and had made assurances that early exchange would be easy.....

 

Mid summer broght a conclusion, of sorts, to the divorce. Eventually personal possessions started finding their way back......though not without pushing deadlines to the limit and beyond! The day it was sorted out came the strangest occurence of the year, as the other side's solicitor told me how I had "been a saviour" in the early days and how they were "not bitter but sad it had come to this" followed by a "you never know in a couple of years" when I said I would have done anything to avoid this. Yeah, just what I needed at the time!!

 

The end of year has been all about the Independant Poice Complaints Commission and their reports into the events of January. With luck I'll get the response before the end of the year, though no doubt it will carry over into next year at least for ensuing court cases. Matt, Chris and I have already had to give statements that we will be prepared to give evidence,

 

New project of the year is the Eunos, and even with a few months to summer work has already commenced. A new "cubby box" under the new stereo, an ashtray to fit the seat divider and new double-power headrest speakers are all fitted and plenty of new additions lined up. The orihginal alloys are a dirty grey, by design not neglect, and are due for a change, so a nice new set of 15" shiny 5 spoke alloys is due in the spring. Tonneau cover and roll bars are the next biggies, along with a trip to cambridge to have the seats properly restored. Throw £450 in for a hardtop and there's plenty to keep me going. For now I've still got the Laguna if I need the space, but 2008 will see this go to be replaced by a camper van.

 

 

It's been a good year for renewing old aquaintances, first meeting up with Cathy after about 12 years. I first met Cathy about 19 years ago, just before Matt was born, when we both lived in Crewe. I was with Tracy and she was with someone, and though we kept in touch for the next 5 years on and off we eventually drifted apart through moving house, marriages and kids. She's still a lovely lady, and though we did give it a go in the early summer I think the damage was too raw and being able to trust was too much too soon. Then there was Lisa! Lisa and I lived together when the boys were very young, and has always been "the one that got away". If there were one woman who could restore my ability to trust it would probably be her. She never did anything wrong, but unfortuanetly her kids and mine just didnt like each other so we went our own ways. For the next few years my ex sister in law would tell me how Lisa was, whilst telling Lisa how I was and we knew how the other was without ever being in touch. So after almost a year of talking on MSN and email we finally met up. She's with someone, of course, and I've certainly no intention of rocking the boat as I'm just happy she's happy, ...... but there's something still there.

 

 

The home front started with the infamous Trina and the sga of the 400 year old bench, pole dancing and ..........well some things hould remain private lol. Though distance to Devon put paid to taht it didn't get any easier when Maria came on the scene.If Devon's a long way then Russia's really keeping it at arm's length. Meeting up in London was more convenient than the foothills of the Caucausus Mountains, but both have their plus points. Cathy came onto the scerne like a breath of fresh air, but demanded more than I could give at the time. There's someone who's starting to become important again, and maybe 2008 will be the year I can start again, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Work's been as up and down as the rest of the year, with the massive setback of January still having effects as late as Octber. Lost contacts, lost work and lost stock features and pictures all took their toll in haltingthe increasing commissions and it meant reverting to the old faithfulls. Outdoors Magic work increased steadily throughout the year, and there are assurances that next year will finally see the introduction of the new Routes System. PDA Essentials has been another good regular over 2007, with more reviews and features to add to the helpdesk. Whilst the Everest work dried up this year thanks to every contact being unavailable thanks to January, luckily work increased with TGO. The new computer proved essential as the old one came back broken. By December things had finally got back to a similar position to a year ago.....losing all the advantages of the Everest expedition work from 2006. It hasn't helped that over half my stock photos are now useless. For legal reasons I'm not allowed to write about a partner in many walks and scrambles, or publish any image containing them. A bit ironic really after I warned them about insecure email accounts and they did nothing. Now it means either re-walking routes, sourcing "related" pics from commecial and freeware libraries, relying more on OM Gallery for the weekly routes and even turning to P2P at times. It's amazing just how many pictures of the outdoors there are, but there's a big difference between having a photo of the actual route and one of "in the area", and of course there's copyright issues. The OM Gallery is just about worked out now for the weekly routes, and libraries are only OK for generalised shots of ranges or mountains at best. Google Images is a great source of pics for some of the popular areas, and usually has information on the copyright holder, whereas P2P is best suited to those "unidentifiable" shots like birds and plants. You do have to be pretty specific though, as dawn from snowdon may not bring you the expected results....and dont make the mistake i made of mixing up places and putting warrington when i was looking for a photo of the purple screes as heather from wasdale!

 

So tomorrow's Tuesday in this house, when I get back from Wales it's accounts day. With Chris turning 18 in less than 3 months it's all change on the financial front too. It's looking like the new routes section for OM will kick in just about the right time and take over from the payments I lose as he turns into an adult (allegedly). The idea at the moment is for us to hire a room in a pub or club somewhere in town for the evening for his 18th, with all his family and friends invited. Personally I'm amazed the pair of them have made it this far given the issues along the road. It can't be easy feeling abandoned by one mother, but when it's two it must start to make you wonder what you've done wrong. Luckily they've both grown up to realise that it's not their fault at all, and it'll be great to have their real family around to mark a special day. Before then there's Matt turnin 19!

 

Over the next week I'll take a look at next year, and the start of plans for 2011 and the "Big birthday". Plans at the moment range from crossing America on Harleys with the kids to trekking in the Himalaya. Even if I can't forget the past, or forgive certain things, there's a lot to look forward to and a lot I can still do alone.