NOT ENOUGH SECURITY

We are exhorted in endless ways to be security conscious, are we not? ...YES WE ARE.

Don't do this, don't answer that, we won't  phone you, we shall never ask you anything personal etc. etc.

I received a phone call. The guy asked for me by my surname, introduced himself with a first name and told me he was phoning about an issue I had raised about [nameless] bank. So that we could discuss the matter he would first need to go through security with me; so saying, he launched into the first (and last) personal question .

Giving me a first name was not sufficient for me, though he evidently thought it was.

No, he couldn't tell me anything more without going through security with me. And, if I was refusing to clear security with him then he could not give me any information.

One sided security here, ringing all the alarm bells. If  the call was being recorded, I wanted it to be recorded that this call was unsatisfactory. Like a good girl, I was keeping to the security rules and keeping mine safe. Surely, for his part to confirm his status to me, information could be given about when the issue was raised at least and perhaps who may have dealt with any call relating to it. (Those were my questions).

The answer: you've probably guessed it - not without me going through the [ bank's] security, with which, given the nature of the call, I was not going to oblige. Obviously tetchy, he said, in that case he would have to write to me.

I offered to phone him. Yes, I could have a number to call him on but, (there's always a but isn't there) " I am between two floors and you might not get me."
  
I await a letter.

WAFTING INTO 2014 AND FAREWELL TO THE TANK

What have I done so far since the last weeks of 2013 wafted away and  2014 blasted in. 

I have felt weary, tired, but definitely not fed up; I am not affected by the long dark days at this time of year.  What I am affected by, I believe, is the relentlessness of the festive expectations that are manipulated by commercial interests.

 For heaven's sake, Christmas trees hanging from store ceilings in September, all dressed up with their tinsel and faux parcels! I was pleased our town's street lights were not switched on until the 7th November 2013. That's weeks behind the lighting up in major cities. The lights are pretty, a gentle tradition to brighten up the darkness.

Then there's the need to get packages and well-wishing correspondence sent by mid October if you want it to definitely arrive in time for mid December in the Antipodes and the Americas, we're told, notwithstanding the blatant profiteering of the mail system; the costs of posting anything have soared.  There are leaflets telling you what can and cannot be sent and where whatever it is, can and cannot be sent. Added to that, there's a memory test, you are interrogated by the teller as to what is in the parcels and packages.  It is almost like airport security. My gift package of two mini Xmas puddings was checked against an explosives list!!!! 

We travelled on Christmas Day, 25th December.  It's rare to share the road with many cars on this day.  This year was an exception. People had taken note of the severe weather warnings and delayed their journeys.  One of the few businesses open, a Brewers Fare restaurant, was quiet when we arrived before the lunch rush. We were looking for restrooms and a hot drink.  The staff were so accommodating, finding a space for us to sit and have cups of coffee, then giving us takeaway drinks for the journey. 

On lower ground it poured with rain. Up high, there was some snow; the snow ploughs and gritters were busy at work, we passed four. 

At The Portrait Gallery Edinburgh

When we returned home, it felt so good slipping back into my own bed for the first time in 2014 and drifting off to a relatively restful sleep.

This week, we have waved cheerio to our  liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tank, a garden feature for far too many years. I got to connect the lifting chains.

The hydraulic lifting mechanism was a fine bit of engineering.  It took quite some time to complete the manoeuvrings both sides of the fence. Once on the lorry in the right position, our tank had to be strapped securely into place.  Regulations prohibited the vehicle to be driven off till the remaining LPG was drained out of the tank into the fixed white one on the trailer. 

A morning and two mugs of tea later, (for the driver) a signature on a receipt for the tank's removal, the job was completed and the driver was off to pick up the next tank.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Restoration seems complete.  I have my accounts up and running again, though not without changing some of my security details.  How on earth are you expected to remember them all! There's security passwords, security questions, security names, security numbers...if I've forgotten anything it's because I'm on overload. 

My picture of graffiti in Granada, Spain, says it all.

OLYMPIC GAMES PRIVATE SECURITY DEBACLE- WIN WIN!

The security of the Olympic venues should have been totally managed from the centre, by that, I mean by the Government. What a cavalier attitude this Government has demonstrated to State Security. Lop it off, sub-contract it,abnegate the responsibility for it, by selling it at the cheapest price. There is a convenient whipping boy now, G4S, whose main error was accepting and signing an impossible contract. Their corporate vanity has been their undoing.

The silver lining for the State, is that they can now be seen to be rescuing the security of the Olympic Games at a series of major events, in a number of spread out venues. The Government avoids a public slating for using the Armed Forces, by letting a private company create a wholesale security cock up. The Armed Forces and civilian police, many of whom are working towards unemployment, are to be thanked, we are to be grateful to them for stepping in to the breach, (not for being used). These people, who have appropriate experience and expertise, will be paid proper salaries. They will either have homes travelling distance from the venues, or temporary housing will be provided. None of them will be sheltering under bridges. 

Conscripts have to turn up for work, and they are provided for. People who are trained on a Just In Time basis, who are unpaid and held on standby till they start a job have no incentive to be loyal to a company; they can go elsewhere, take part time jobs,start earning, nearer where they live. The pool of retired ex-service and police personnel will also walk away. They can find jobs through other agencies who will not leave them in employment limbo 

And last, but by no means least, there is a further big bonus for the Government. GS4's penalty clauses mean the company will pay the Government and, presumably the police, for the security work undertaken. It's win, win for the Government.