Ah Liam Fox I remember him well after the Tories Blackpool conference where I listened to the shadow defence secretary as he chaired a meeting on defence matters in a hall at the Winter Gardens that was decorated in the Italian style at the end of which I was in the surrender mode. He was very proud of his honorary lieutenant colonels rank in the Royal Army Medical Corps he said and the Tories would once re-elected re=form the three infantry battalions that labour had cut, no mention of regiments just the bare figures at which point I knew that he was only a politician, a button counter, with no understanding of the military ethos. And did he reform this brigades worth of troops on election no the exact opposite, disbanding many more units,
As for his boss Cameron what are his priorities ? has Gay welfare overtaken his love of Asia ,Africa and its people’s showering them with aid an ironic situation as the military is reduced, the NHS cannot find the money to fund the health needs of its citizens all presided over by a man who will never don a uniform or have any heath worries being well able to go private.
An immigration officer, Benjamin Orororo, accepted £50,000 to let 19 asylum seekers stay in Britain and he has, been jailed surely for recruiters the key was in his name.
Whilst on my “hols” I went out to Greenwich setting out from Hyde Park for a quiet Sunday drive through London, oh big mistake after the Blackwall Tunnel, free unlike the Mersey Tunnels, and landmarks like the Poplar Mosque.
Poplar Mosque
I was sent round and round by detours at Greenwich because of a mass run “for life” going through the town.After going through Sainsburys car park three times I refueled and snapped some of the runners going past on an extremely hot noon.
Runners from the petrol station.
On the Monday I visited the barracks at Woolwich that has the 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales Regiment in residence and is situated behind the grand facade of the military academy that is covered in scaffolding a place I only ever visited once, in mess kit going to a boxing tournament ,and then it was on to the South coast.
Last October there was a devastating fire on Hastings Victorian Pier,an occurance not unknown in my home resort of New Brighton where fires over the years have claimed a number of landmarks.
HASTINGS PIER before the fire.
After a vigorous campaign to save the pier lottery cash along with other funding should save, at least part of the structure that was about twice as long as the old New Brighton “unsafe ” structure that had to be dynamited to clear .
..........The partly cleared pier.
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From the White Rock Theatre
This resort will survive this disaster I certainly want my local patch to do the same after years of disastrous neglect.The owner of the Palace amusements who is threatening to shut up shop could sell at any time he choses because he knows that the council have always wanted that piece of land,by gum they could build 4oo apartments on the site (10% for social housing of course ) .
The complaint that the “Lido” will change usage from an outdoor heated swimming pool for the public and an indoor sports centre for paying customers to a kiddie friendly hub and affect the Palace business may have some merit, but this is not the first problem that part of the site has experienced. Neptune once requested that they be allowed to drop that part of the plan however the council insisted that the original plan be adhered to.It now looks like a business plan that doesnt fit these grim economic times.
