The scandal that is 11,000 empty MOD houses

What a scandal it is that more than 11,000 Ministry of Defence homes across the UK are sitting empty, costing the taxpayer (that’s you and me) more than £25m a year in rent and maintenance?

The MOD says it is doing its best to reduce the numbers but has to budget for thousands of service family house moves every year.

Part of the current situation appears to be the 1996 sale and leaseback deal between the MoD and Annington Property Limited of over 55,000 residential properties.

The MoD agreed to rent homes back from the property company for 200 years. Yes, that’s right, 200 years.

Now I realise the MOD needs some “spares” for when members of the forces and their families have to move in a hurry but surely not 11,000 properties.

The homelessness situation faced by some members of the general public is at crisis point and the government appears to be ignoring a way to help ease that situation.

My reader got in touch with a response to my PETA piece on December 6: “I entirely agree. Every time I put my sprouts into boiling water I ask myself ‘How can I do this to living vegetables?’ When I could be cooking meat that is long dead.”

Pulling the wool (vegan, of course) over our eyes

Animal rights activists have been mocked, correctly in my opinion, for asking the 1,000-year-old village of Wool to change its name to ‘Vegan Wool’.

The Dorset village has faced calls from PETA to change its name in an “animal friendly update” despite the fact the name of derives from the ancient word for well.

The vegan organisation wrote to Wool’s parish council asking for the change to be made.

Elisa Allen, director of PETA, said the change would “put Wool in the spotlight and promote kindness to sheep”.

She said wool “stolen from a sheep” is a “product of extreme cruelty” and if it is done incorrectly it can leave sheep with “large, bloody wounds”.

She wrote: “With a simple name change, your village can take a stand against this cruelty and remind everyone that it’s easy to stay warm and be warm-hearted to sheep by choosing vegan wool and other animal-free materials.”

What a load of absolute tosh. I have the feeling that this was purely and simply a publicity-generating exercise by PETA.

Of course the people behind this organisation, and its supporters, are perfectly entitled to their opinions.

But if they want to be taken seriously they should stick to presenting the facts behind their beliefs and not undertaking ridiculous PR campaigns.

By the way – PETA’s letter was posted by the parish council on Facebook to get feedback from residents and was widely ridiculed.

Mags Snook wrote: “I wonder whether Woolston, a suburb in Southampton has also had this hassle…or Lambeth, or Woolwich.”

In a statement, Dorset County Council said: “We would like to say that we are immensely proud of Dorset's heritage which includes many unusual place names like Shitterton, Scratchy Bottom and Knackers Hole, to name but a few!”

I bet the Parish Council in Ham, Glos. can’t wait for its letter from PETA.

How much notice do YOU take of film and TV critics?

Do you ever read critic’s reviews of films, shows and TV programmes? I do. But do you, like me, usually ignore their overall assessment and go with your gut instinct?

Let me give you a couple of examples. Firstly there was last year’s smash hit at the cinema, La La Land. All critics gave it outstanding reviews so we (well, SWMBO) thought it must be worth seeing.

SWMBO loved it – I felt that it was two hours and eight minutes of my life that I would never get back.

Then there is Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of Freddie Mercury (mainly) and Queen from the early 1970s to Live Aid in 1985 currently showing in a cinema near you. This film was given a roasting by critics but we both loved it.

And don’t get me started on the “new” BBC series of Dr Who. Every TV expert has slammed it, saying it is too PC, trying to address such issues as mental illness, gender issues, sexuality, racial equality, men giving birth (?) etc. etc.

I have watched every episode to date and hadn’t really noticed all this PC stuff the critics are talking about. I have just enjoyed brilliant writing, an excellent new Doctor (apparently it’s a woman) and a sprinkling of interesting aliens.

I should add that SWMBO is not as enamoured as I am with Dr Who but then isn’t it all a matter of opinion, a matter of choice?

Critics have their place but please don’t take too much notice of their reviews. Go with your gut instincts.

Back in October I wrote Is it influence or just pure coincidence? while having a moment about the HSBC banking app.

You will recall I got a message telling me I have to update the app but whenever I tried to I was informed that my iPad and iPhone operating systems no longer supported the new app. As my bank was not prepared to buy me a new tablet and phone I was resigned to losing this very useful tool.

It then appeared that I have some influence as the app did stop working on the pre-determined date as stated but then, rather miraculously, it started working again.

Then, earlier this month, the app stopped – it was simply a case of delay rather than influence. There. Now you know.

Mobile detection trial is Norfolk and good

Apparently Norfolk's going to be the first county in the UK to trial a new roadside mobile phone detection system.

The technology can identify what type of signal is being transmitted or received by a handset inside a vehicle and whether it is being used via the vehicle’s Bluetooth. At first glance this is a very sensible and responsible measure.

But what if you have a passenger in the back using his/her mobile? Time for a re-think, I fear.

It is very remiss of me that I haven’t kept my reader updated about my Google earnings from my witterings in IDGOM.

So, you will be pleased to know that my earnings to date (it’ll be four years in January since number 1) from your click-throughs on this site’s ads is…drum roll, please…..£9.65.

Unfortunately I won’t see a penny for some time as “your payment will be sent once your payment threshold is reached." And what is my “payment threshold? That’ll be £60.00.

So, based on my earnings to date, which work out at a mighty 21 pence a month I can look forward to a nice little bonus in around 240 months– or 20 years in new money.

Unless, of course, Google change “the payment threshold” again.

Wayne Rooney has been recalled to the England squad for a one-off cap against the USA.

Southgate and the FA have decided to include Rooney for the upcoming friendly on November 15.

The match will be called The Wayne Rooney Foundation International in support of Rooney's charitable interests, and the DC United striker is expected to win his 120th cap at Wembley.

No, no, no. This is SO wrong. By all means donate the match proceeds to Rooney’s Foundation or let his children be ball boys.

But give him a 120^th cap? Shame on you, Gareth Southgate and the FA – England caps have to be won, not given out like sweets at Trick or Treat time.

The great Bobby Moore will be turning in his grave.

Fully brief your partner on a new car’s technology

I changed my car a few months ago. It’s spanking new and as with past updates to my preferred method of transport it left me shaking my head at the technology you now get as standard.

Automatic climate control (on my first car, a Mk 1 Ford Cortina, that meant opening and closing the windows); tyre pressure warning lights (Cortina warning if a tyre was low on pressure was being unable to steer in a straight line) and rear parking sensors (you knew you’d gone too far in the Cortina when you heard the thump of an immovable object).

It was that last technological improvement that almost proved embarrassing last month.

Unfortunate juxtaposition in a newsletter we received.

SWMBO and I were in Devon for a friend’s landmark birthday celebrations. We rented a small cottage for the weekend and the parking space outside was at a jaunty angle against a wall and just Focus-length.

SWMBO, who is a wonderful, careful, considerate and safe driver (she told me) was in the driver’s seat on the day after the party when we returned to said cottage from lunch.

As she drove, carefully, up the slight slope into the space, with yours truly acting as Parking Superintendent, she edged ever closer to the wall.

I ended up having to shout quite loudly as the car almost touched the wall and only a sharp bang on the passenger window brought the car to a halt.

“That was close” I muttered as SWMBO exited the car. “You very nearly hit the wall despite my Olympic-medal winning gesturing.”

“Oh,” my dearest replied, “I thought there were parking sensors on the front.”

And the lesson is – fully brief your partner on a new car’s technology before he/ she drives it for the first time.

Is it influence or just pure coincidence?

Well, well, well. My reader might not have answered on a postcard as I requested in my last blog about my banking app but the missive attracted a few comments.

First off the mark was RB of F: “I had the same with Lloyd’s and I couldn’t erase the new smartphone app- arghhhhhhh.”

This was swiftly followed by an email from TP of M: “Totally agree with you!”

And finally TC of E weighed in: “I totally agree – b******s.”

Thank you. For the comments but mainly for bothering to read IDGOM.

While on this subject, I do have a bit of an update.

The game of electronic ping-pong, you may remember, went on for a while until a new message appeared stating that my iPad operating system no longer supported the new app. So, I was expecting the worst.

But I am pleased to tell you that I appear to have some influence after all. The app did stop working on the pre-determined date as stated but then, rather miraculously, it started working again.

Maybe it wasn’t beyond the bank’s tech team’s abilities to ensure loyal customers who do not upgrade phones and tablets every time a new version is released could take advantage of mobile banking by issuing a cut down version of the app. Or maybe just coincidence?

I am really not very Appy with my bank

My bank has disappointed me. It has refused to buy me a new iPad (other tablets are available) but I felt my request for a replacement, paid for out of its enormous profits, was perfectly reasonable.

You see, I have an iPad2 which is fairly elderly but still in good nick and suited to my needs. I use it for many tasks, including online banking. In fact I downloaded my bank’s app as soon as it was released a few years back and have been happily transferring money between accounts, paying bills etc.

Then I get a message telling me I have to update the app. No problem to a man of my technical ability. Except every time I tried to update it diverted me to the download section of the Apple App store – and “told” me that I already had the app installed.

This game of electronic ping-pong went on for a while until a new message appeared – my iPad operating system no longer supported the new app.

My options were simple – buy a new iPad with a more recent operating system or stop using the app. But why should I be forced into shelling out for a piece of kit I don’t really want?

I spoke with my bank and it was confirmed that the app would not work on my tablet. And no, I was told, the bank could not buy me a newer model.

I understand the constant drive for upgrading apps and technology but would it have been beyond the bank’s tech team’s abilities to ensure loyal customers who do not upgrade phones and tablets every time a new version is released could take advantage of mobile banking by issuing a cut down version of the app?

Answers on a postcard, please.

One man went to mow, now turning right as well

Update on mowergate. A week after my last posting, I received some good news – the parts were in and work had started. A few hours later the mower engineer called – having stripped the beast down they discovered another fault that needed a part.

Woolly's Gardening Services to the rescue

So, another three or four days to get the part. To cut a very long story short, I got the mower back exactly three weeks after it was collected. I have never been so pleased to cut the grass.

Fortunately BIL and SIL (brother-in-law and sister-in-law) are a two petrol mower family who live just a few miles from us and they were able to save the day by cutting the grass for us halfway through this debacle. Thank you!

One man went to mow - as long as he turned left

I have been having a bit of trouble with my ride-on mower, or lawn tractor as these vehicles are called in posher parts of Suffolk.

The main problem is the steering. Going left is fine – unfortunately turning right is impossible.

This is not too much of an issue when cutting the grass at IDGOM Towers but does involve a great deal of braking, adjusting the steering (such as one can) and reversing.

Needless to say, the fun soon dissipated and I had to bite the bullet and go to my garden machinery emporium. Could you collect my mower and check it over and give me a quote for any repairs needed (the steering was actually one of several niggling faults). No problem they said – my village was on the collection timetable for Mondays.

The mower was collected as arranged and all was well in the IDGOM household. A week later I still had not heard anything so I rang the emporium. Oh, said the nice young man, we have not had a chance to look at it yet.

My riposte was witty and swift – “When, then?” He replied: “We should be able to look at it next week”.

Glancing out of the window at the natural heathland that had previously been our front lawn (we have finally had a lot of rain after the very hottio scorchio weather) I explained I really needed it back soon or else visitors would not be able to see our house through the grass.

Six days later the emporium called and gave me the bad news – quite a bit of work needed to be done but, hey ho, I needed the mower back.

I gave the go-ahead for the work to be done and asked when the mower would be ready.

Well, he said, we will order the parts today and they usually take three to four days to arrive.

He couldn’t say when they would actually have the work completed.

Marvellous. The moral of the story is two-fold. One, remember to ask when making initial contact in situations like this what timescale people work to. Two, never, ever, book your mower in for any sort of work in the summer.

Dispelling the myth of Brits being unfriendly

In some far-flung parts of the world there is a view that Brits are unfriendly. Based on our experiences last Friday I can categorically say this is not the case.

My evidence for this rather bold statement came in many forms as we travelled from deepest East Anglia to Hampton Court in Londonium.

It started at around 9am while SWMBO and I were waiting for our train to the capital. We were sitting on a bench at our local mainline station when a Greater Anglia employee, complete with flag, wandered over and wished us a good morning.

Good luck later, England, against Croatia.

Nothing exceptional, you may think, but over the next ten minutes he chatted away – finally wishing us a safe journey as our train approached.

Next was the guard on the GA train – a cheerful chap who kept us informed and amused during the 90 minute journey into the capital. Incredibly, it seemed that he really enjoyed his job.

It was a repeat performance on our South Western train out from south Londonium to Hampton Court.

Another railway worker with wit, friendliness and an obvious love of his job. Ditto on our journey back many hours later. Faith fully restored.

The only blip on British friendliness was the group of young men who boarded at Wimbledon on our way back. A bunch of drunk, foul-mouthed and loud louts who had obviously enjoyed a little too much Pimms at the tennis.

I’m not adverse to the odd Anglo Saxon expletive myself but, hopefully, never on a full train.

There’s an old adage that you get what you pay for. This was brought home to us a while back when the man who cut our hedges every autumn retired.

I looked through our parish magazine for likely replacements (we always try to shop locally) and asked the three companies/ individuals listed to give me quotes. All responded swiftly, but with wildly varying costs.

And then, as we were contemplating who to choose, the doorbell went. It was a young guy, with business-monogrammed polo shirt, distributing business cards for…… hedge cutting. I asked him to quote there and then.

As he was almost than £100 cheaper than the lowest of our three alternative quotes, I booked him.

All started well when he and a workmate turned up a few days later to carry out the task.

And then I saw their technique – monogrammed polo shirt man drove a pickup truck slowly along the hedge while his mate stood in the back, cutting the top of the hedge with a petrol-powered hedge cutter. There was not a single item of safety gear in sight. Unbelievable.

I paid them when they had finished and promptly went back to our original shortlist.

No broccoli and an England win – back of the net

Wow. A double delight this week. Firstly I read that the current balmy weather and lack of rain means there might be a shortage of broccoli this summer.

Bring it on. That must be true – it was in the Daily Mail.

Secondly, England denied fans our regular crying-into-our-beer festival by winning a penalty shootout.

In case we need penalties again Sweden.....

Initially I was very upset. How dare the England football team deny me this ritual by actually winning a shootout.

Then the fog lifted and I realised exactly what the team had just done – won the World Cup.

Well, almost.

What is the most satisfying is the fact that the hand of God was on our side for once.

In my last post I mentioned that I wanted a sworn enemy a la Captain Poldark.

I said every man should have one and that ain’t right.

I am pleased to say I was flooded with applications – and here it is.

“May I apply for the position of sworn enemy please? Apart from the fact you an Arse fan I now learn that you are cruel to wildlife too. I feel I am well qualified for this position as I have had plenty of practice both commercially and more recently with relations.

Incidentally, I had three squirrels out on the patio and one of them briefly came into the kitchen............twice! I have no problem with them on the roof and in the front garden but not on the patio. I'm thinking of putting a sign up rather than the rather drastic measures you appear to be employing.”

How do we know our donations help people in need?

The total amount given to charity by generous Brits in 2017 was estimated to be £10.3 billion, according to the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), up slightly on the previous year.

The CAF says fewer people gave more last year as the number of people who gave to charity either via donations or sponsoring someone decreased from 2016.

SWMBO and I try to do our bit to help various good causes – monthly donations to a few causes dear to our heart; one-off events such as the Walk for Life and the Alzheimer’s Society Memory Walk and volunteering our time. Nothing unusual in any of that.

But SWMBO, who volunteers one morning a week in a local Cancer Research UK (CRUK) shop, got quite a shock recently when a TV programme revealed that only 20p from each £1 raised by CRUK actually goes to the people and organisations the charity is trying to help.

Apparently the money actually doing any real good when you donate to Age UK is just 5p from every £1 raised.

Now we all can understand that these charities have overheads – staff to pay, rent to find etc.

But just 5% or 20% of people’s hard-earned donations actually doing any good is mind-boggling.

All charities have their paid staff, usually in impressive multi-storeyed HQs on good salaries, and all rely heavily on volunteers, be it to man shops, shake collecting tins outside supermarkets or be on the ground helping needy people.

I bet most of these volunteers would recoil in horror if they knew how little of what they help to raise actually ends up helping people.

One woman who popped into the local CRUK shop this week to pay in her sponsorship money for the Race for Life said, quite innocently and perhaps even frustratingly, that she had heard that a very large percentage of people undertaking sponsored activities for charity never pay their money in. Is it just me or isn’t this absolutely outrageous?

Mind you, that snippet of information probably explains why most charities constantly remind people to pay their sponsorship money in.

Which of course means they are spending even more money on staff, phone calls, stationery and postage – all money that should be helping people.

I'm ready for you, Mr Squirrel.

Yep. It's war (right). My battle with a squirrel who keeps attacking our bird feeders has seen me unarmed. But no longer. Eat water. Much more fun than SIL's (sister-in-law's) suggestion of getting a squirrel-proof feeder.

You can’t help but have noticed there is a new series of it ain’t right, and it ain’t proper, sorry, Poldark, starting this weekend.

Numerous TV shows over the past week have featured cast members plugging the fourth series of the life and times of ordinary, and some extraordinary, folk in Cornwall in olden days.

I admire that there Capt. Ross for one simple reason – he has a sworn enemy in George Warleggan.

Which, in a roundabout way, leads me back to the subject covered in my last missive – the bucket list.

I want a sworn enemy. Every man should have one. But I am suffering sworn-enemy-less-ness.

Now that ain’t right. Applications on a postcard, please.

Waking up, at last, to our overuse of plastics

Britain is finally waking up to the consequences of our over-use of plastic.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed late March that ministers would introduce a deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers such as plastic and glass bottles and aluminium cans in England - subject to consultation.

It is estimated that the cost would be somewhere between 10 and 30 pence per bottle, depending on the size of the container, and could be refunded to the holder if the container is returned to a collection point.

Germany introduced this scheme in 2002, with varying deposit amounts depending on the container type, use and size.

The ever efficient Germany even introduced automatic collection points to automatically scan containers and issue a receipt for the deposit.

The scheme successfully saw German PET bottle return and recycling rise to 98.5% - the highest in the world.

The UK currently recycles just 37.9% of its plastic waste, according to government statistics.

So, let us all hope the consultation period is short and sweet so we can start repairing what we’ve broken. What are we waiting for? Get on with it.

One question about plastics, however. How comes my 5p supermarket carrier bag will hang around for hundreds of years but my plastic oil tank only lasted 15 years? Just asking.

Choosing our next holiday destination - easy

I thought it was time to join the 21^st century and write a bucket list. No “climb a mountain” or “bungee jump” for me – just a list of countries to visit.

They are Latvia, Croatia, Montenegro and Israel. An odd selection, I hear you ask, but there is a sound reason for my choice.

These countries all gave votes to our very own SuRie at last month’s Eurovision Song Contest. France and Italy also gave the UK a few points but we have been there, seen it, done it. I’m off to the travel agents now.

I received an email from my water supply company, Anglian Water, on May 24. Yeah, I know, I should get out more.

It informed me that my message about my water bill, account number 00000000 (which was correct), on May 9 “was deleted without being read on 24 May 2018 11:41:08.” Now you know I am easily confused but I didn’t send them an email on May 9.

Then I looked a little closer and saw the following line: “Sent: 09 May 2017 16:56:20 (UTC) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London.” Yep, that’s right. Last year.

Thanks, Anglian Water, for your swift response. Here’s hoping you don’t take as long to repair your leaking pipes.

Among the deluge of GDPR emails this week was one from your and my favourite airline, Ryanair. Included in the body of the email was a link to Ryanair’s new Privacy Policy.

“If you'd like to find out more, take a look at our Privacy Policy” said Ryanair Customer Service. So, I checked the link (which is always a sensible thing to do, boys and girls) and merrily clicked away.

I was met by a virtually blank window saying …. I was forbidden from seeing the Privacy Policy as I did not have permission to access it (see screen shot right).

Another example of the “you couldn’t make it up” customer service from Ryanair.

What is happening to our local social care?

I know I have mentioned this before but once a week I venture into our brave new world to meet up with my friend Sidney.

Sidney, not his real name, suffers from a mental health issue and I have been “linked” with him for more than three years through a befriending charity.

A while back I mentioned the fact that he was worried as his community mental health worker (CMHW) was not visiting him as often as he used to.

Now he has been assigned a new CMHW, who I shall call Simon. Well, I say now but it was actually in the autumn of last year.

Both Sidney and I were hopeful that Simon would be a little more reliable with regular visits.

Wrong. He’s been to see Sidney once in nearly six months.

What is going on in our local social services? Answers on a postcard, please.

Did you miss it? Summer? It was on Monday.

It is satisfying to know that someone read my last IDGOM offering, “Where food shopping is an Olympic sport”. You know who you are (hopefully) so thank you – the cheque’s in the post.

Her, for it was a she, take on my ramblings was: "Line the trolley with a giant blue IKEA bag, approach and hurl it all in at the checkout...at least saves the final, post-checkout repack!”

You have been told.

PS – I liked my “Olympic sport” post so much that I used it twice.

It first surfaced in December 2017 and then again last month. I must stop repeating myself. I must stop repeating myself.

Where food shopping is an Olympic sport

I love the value offered by the German discount supermarkets. Shopping in Aldi or Lidl can save you a packet compared with Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and, in particular, Waitrose.

But boy, oh boy do you need the patience of Job when it comes to checkout in these Germanic outlets.

It’s like an Olympic sport, with both supermarkets wanting customers to handle their purchases four times –putting the shopping in the trolley, then emptying the trolley onto the conveyor belt, putting it all back at break-neck speed into the trolley before retiring to the front of store to pack purchases into your bags.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told not to pack my bags at the checkout.

And of the number of times I have ignored them and carried on.

My reader may be wondering why, if I don’t like the system, I continue to use Aldi and Lidl.

Because they are the Ryanair of food shopping – you have to suffer poor customer service if you want value for money and low prices.

Why you have to keep an eye on web links

I received the following text recently: “We have identified an unusual login attempt on your online banking. Log in via the secure link to avoid account suspension – www.iamaspammer.com”

Oh no – someone’s got into my account.

Yeah, right. But had I followed the (secure?) link to the website given, I would undoubtedly have found someone HAD accessed my online banking.

This sort of text makes me equally sad and mad.

Mad because there are increasing numbers of low-lifers out there trying to tempt the unwary to give away, unwittingly, their personal details.

And sad because there is no doubt that a few of the squillions of people sent this text would have followed the link.

Not because they are plain stupid but because the link started with the name of my bank. The rest of the url was clearly not genuine.

So, another timely reminder to my reader to take care with texts or emails. If in any doubt, ignore the message and call your bank on a number that you trust and that you know is right.

It will cost £110 to kit yourself out in the new England football strip in readiness for the World Cup in Russia, which starts in June. That works at a fraction over £35 a match. Bargain.

Corrie and Madeleine - time to stop searching?

Suffolk police are closing their missing persons search for airman Corrie Mcleague.

Mr Mckeague, who was 23 and serving at RAF Honington, disappeared after a night out in Bury St Edmunds on September 24, 2016.

Yesterday police said it had "no realistic lines of inquiry left" and that it was handing over the investigation to the cold case team.

The force said an assessment of the evidence "still points to Corrie being transported from the 'horseshoe' area in a bin lorry and ultimately taken to the Milton landfill site".

But his mother, Nicola Urquhart, has claimed that evidence in the inquiry “was manipulated”.

She says she believes there was "inconsistency" over raw data on the weight of a bin load taken to landfill in the hours after he disappeared.

The search has cost police £2.4 million.

Meanwhile police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have been granted more money to continue the search – almost 11 years after the then three-year old went missing in the Algarve.

More than £11 million has been spent on the Metropolitan Police inquiry, known as Operation Grange, but funding was due to run out at the end of the month.

Detectives investigating the disappearance said last year that a "critical line of inquiry" was still being pursued.

On the 10th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance in May last year, police said some 40,000 documents had been reviewed and more than 600 individuals had been investigated.

I know the cases are completely different but part of me admires Nicola Urquhart’s tenacity and Gerry and Kate McCann’s unrelenting faith.

Who among us wouldn’t hold onto hope were we in a similar position.

But the other part of me says – let it go. Sure, the police, in both the UK and Portugal, are not perfect but I have faith that they would have tried all within their power to come up with answers.

Now for a tale of two security people.

A police officer who swapped places with a female hostage during an attack by an ISIS supporter on a supermarket in southern France died of his wounds after being shot.

Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, 45, was shot in the neck after offering to take the place of a woman during a gunman's assault on the Super U supermarket in Trèbes.

Compare this with what happened in Florida last month.

Deputy Scot Peterson, who was the school resource officer, was on campus at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school when a gunman massacred 17 people.

He stood outside the building as it occurred and did not go in to engage the shooter. He resigned from the department after being told he would be suspended.

Good on you, Arnaud,. Shame on you, Scot.

Equal pay conundrum solution “dead easy”

My thoughts on the equal pay for equal work row embroiling the BBC (how DO you compare chalk with cheese?) last month elicited an interesting and comprehensive response.

My reader said the solution was “dead easy. You have job evaluation.”

He continued: “What is of higher value; requires more education, knowledge or experience; financial impact; and people management skills required. Are their skills extremely rare?”

He added that each evaluation system has to be 'folded' to any specifics of the industry e.g. it may not work for footballers nor Rap stars.

And he knows what he’s talking about having done this for more than 100,000 people in the multinational company he was an HR high-flyer with for 35 years.

“And it works” he says, “be they engineers, lawyers, finance, doctors, pilots, HR, marketers, ship captains, teachers, plant operators, Chief Executives etc.”

But how would he rank the BBC Person for China, USA and the Middle East?

“All three are important areas. China is big but just one country. The US is important AND has global influence.

“The Middle East is many countries almost impossible to understand and always a likely trouble spot if you lob in Israel and Iran. So ME grade 1, US grade 2, China grade 3.”

Simples, really. So what on earth are the top wallahs at the BBC doing?

So, just how DO you compare chalk with cheese?

The equal pay for equal work row currently embroiling the BBC is very, very intriguing as it raises an interesting, and very important, issue – how DO you compare chalk with cheese?

I don’t mean to be flippant as people doing the same job deserve the same rewards. And this is relatively straightforward with straightforward jobs.

For example, when I started out in journalism as a junior reporter, we all earned the same weekly wage.

After two or three years training, upon reaching the heady heights of senior reporter, you all went onto the same pay - whatever your gender.

Thereafter the playing field was not quite so level as jobs basically the same paid different salaries depending on location, size of publication, what you could negotiate etc. etc.

But, in general, pay in the same organisation was equal when it was easily measurable.

The equal pay for equal work row has been simmering at the BBC for some time but only really hit the headlines when China editor Carrie Gracie resigned after discovering she received considerably less than male BBC editors in other countries.

But how do you compare the role of editor in China with editor in the USA? What measurements are being used? And which is chalk and which is cheese?

Is the male counterpart being paid too much or the female not enough?

My view is that the top salaries paid at the BBC are way too high and there should be a cap.

Discuss.

Flew with Jet2 for the first time this month on a quick visit to see some friends who now live in Cyprus.

What a pleasurable experience compared with another airline I may have mentioned in previous rants. In particular the customer service.

On arrival to check in both in the UK and Cyprus there were excellent Jet2 customer service reps on hand.

When we last flew Ryanair, to Berlin in September, check-in for the return journey was chaos.

Just one desk open, with no indication of which flight was being checked in, several hundred passengers for three or four flights queuing, passengers being sent to the back of the queue when reaching the desk as their flight was NOT being checked in.

It comes to something when a passenger (yes, it was me) has to act as Ryanair customer services by finding out which flight the one desk WAS checking in and then relaying this to the massed crowd to avoid people having to go to the back of the queue.

You couldn’t make it up.