There's a one-way street about 400 yards long in Kensal Rise which I often use as an alternative to doing an awkward U turn when I have visited my daughter's house. The street has cars parked closely along both sides, with room for a single line of traffic between them and a couple of not very serious speed bumps.
Last night drove 300 yards up it but stopped behind a dirty marked police Vauxhall with the reds flashing on its roof. Nest to it in a parking bay was an ambulance. On the other side of it was another police car, facing the wrong way. Police officers and residents were moving about restlessly behind the ambulance and going in and out of two or three houses. They took no notice of us. Almost immediately two other cars stopped behind us.
After five minutes the rearmost car reversed back down the road, 300 yards, but the car behind us stayed where it was. The driver, an educated African guy in a suit, said he lived in that street and 'knew the people' in those three houses. That made me wish I hadn't just said: 'I hope it's a murder at least, to justify this endless delay', but he didn't take it amiss. Eventually he did the slightly fraught 300-yard reverse and so did we.
I hope it was a murder at least.
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How very inconvenient for you. You'll never get those few minutes back!
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No I won't mlc... and the countdown to zero is far advanced.
:o}
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I'm just wondering what the emergency services were supposed to do?
Maybe there was even a good case for not allowing transit past the 'scene' of the incident. I always remind myself to be grateful in those type of circumstances, that neither me or my family are the focus of activity.
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Woodbines I agree with you to a degree, but when there's only a few people milling about can they not stop being self-important and tell people what's going on, even if it's a "Sorry we can't move but we will in X minutes". I often think the police in particular like keeping "civilians" in the dark.
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I too hope that it was at least a murder, after all who likes being kept waiting for any length of time; poor Lud, how he must have suffered!
Even if it was a murder, the police could have been more considerate, after all the victim would have been dead and Lud was being held up! Now come on!
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Lud - God forbid that you are unfortunate enough to suffer, say, a heart attack, would you prefer the emergency services to park some way away and not cause an obstruction?
And shouldn't the title be: 'Obstruction by BiB and Ambulance?'. Why single out the officers? Are you assuming the ambulance had more right to be there? You can't possibly know. Plenty of Police cars with defibrillators on board now; you might actually be be grateful for a little inconsiderate parking one day.
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Harrumph. I see that a little heartless frivolity has been slightly misinterpreted. I suppose that I should admit I hoped it would be.
The B (and at least one G) iB were clearly very busy inside one of the houses. I imagine that if they stayed there for a very long time they would have taped off the end of the road, or moved their vehicles. The fact that one of their cars had come the wrong way down the street would indicate a certain urgency in the original shout.
It is only natural for ordinary citizens to feel curiosity when they come on such an incident. A rather vacant sort of curiosity. However for anyone in doubt: I don't and didn't really hope there had been a murder. Murders are often heartrendingly unkind and nasty. I don't favour them as a rule.
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"Murders are often heartrendingly unkind and nasty. I don't favour them as a rule."
Perceptive of you to allow for the fact that the occasional one must be thoroughly deserved!
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Lud,
People can take things literally in here - you know that !
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its the police camera vans parking so pedestrians cannot get past that bug me most, or parking so badly that anyone else would get done within the hour
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Spent 15 years in Kilburn and another 12 in Kentish Town, escaped oop North in 2005.
The term bandit country springs to mind......
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Yes I think some persons in blue do inconvenience the public unnecessarily, or even intentionally, sometimes. Related experience was when I lived in a very rural location surrounded by country lanes. On two occasions after dark on the lanes I was intentionally blocked for some minutes by BiB while presumably they did a vehicle check. Not the end of the world, but pretty annoying
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some persons in blue do inconvenience the public unnecessarily, or even intentionally, sometimes.
Yes, they do. But unless you know what's happened you don't know whether they have time to move their vehicles out of the way or not.
I often give them the benefit of the doubt, in the hope that they may do the same for me one day.
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...The term bandit country springs to mind....
Fairly robust area, Kensal Rise.
Lud was a sitting target and should be thankful he wasn't car-jacked.
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He'd be alright, he's got a bad boy motor innit?
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should be thankful he wasn't car-jacked.
Right in front of the fuzz you mean, with a 300-yard reverse for the initial getaway?
That would be more than robust even for Kensal Rise.
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Lud - How else should we take the written word, other than literally? I note that you perhaps intended frivolity, but having re-read it I think the frivolity is well hidden!
Easy perhaps to claim frivolity after the criticism. And may I quote you?
''The driver, an educated African guy in a suit...''
Plenty of people would see bigotry in this sentence, and few frivolity.
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educated African guy in a suit
Description, nothing to do with frivolity. It's a very mixed area socially.
'Plenty of people' would be pains in the fundament, as indeed they are.
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Let's all calm down and if nothing more to be said, maybe no more comments needed in this thread?
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Let's all calm down and if nothing more to be said, maybe no more comments needed in this thread?>
move along please , nothing to see here
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 16/01/2010 at 01:22
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I know how you feel Lud, Ones feels "cheated" if its not something major.
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good job you dont live in midsomer, you wouldnt get going....period
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Let us hope that Lud one day is the cause of such a hold-up of traffic. Let us hope that he is the person in the house that the BiB are having to deal with. It will be most interesting for him (or his relatives) to come on here and give us the full story.
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When that happens Spossers, you can jump up and down with snivelling glee. I won't give a damn.
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At least have the decency to haunt him!
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Murmuring sweet cod-racist nothings into his grubby ear you mean?
Oh all right AE. Just for you.
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Have you all been on the vino?
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They probably nipped in the pub while they waited for you to move your car out of the way Westpig.
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Sorry for making gender assumptions Spospe. I might have been less acerbic if I had thought you were a lady too. Am I sexist I wonder?
Very funny bt by the way...
Edited by Lud on 16/01/2010 at 16:25
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>> educated African guy in a suit >> >>
Description, nothing to do with frivolity. It's a very mixed area socially. >>
as opposed to an uneducated African guy in a Zulu skirt on an elephant.
Edited by jbif on 16/01/2010 at 16:57
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Honestly jbif... I thought everyone would realise that the opposed categories might include (for example) parking enforcement blokes and Somali hoodies. But I suppose London must seem very exotic to those outside it.
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I am intrigued to know how you knew he was educated and African (the suit bit can be taken as read)....
Lud: "I hope there's been a murder in there"
Educated African: "In my experience, when I was Attorney General for Namibia, these things take time"
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BiB can be bolshy/inconsiderate gits bytimes though.
Just from personal experience
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If you're finding that all the Police you come across are 'bolshy/inconsiderate gits', you might want to look at the common denominator!
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London? white shirts? attitude?
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dd said they 'can be' bolshy/inconsiderate 'by times' (nice to see some genuine local dialect). All three of those who have suggested the BiB can be less than perfect in this way (including me) have stressed that it is an occasional thing.
Perhaps the thread title was too provocative. Remember though that I was once a hack (although not tabloid). Need a hook to make people read the lies and propaganda!
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