Dog Day Afternoon

Ashford, Middlesex had its own armed bank robbery Monday afternoon. The siege lasted barely a quarter as long as events in the film Dog Day Afternoon, though it was almost as hot.
The police did not acquit themselves well, cordoning off the entire area without explanation. I had to waste my time rescuing a teenage overseas visitor left stranded at the railway station.

Instead of sending people to traffic school for minor motoring infringements police officers should attend charm school themselves, and they might get the cooperation from the public they say they crave. Instead, most crimes go unreported, and our elders live as prisoners in their own homes.
With the Ashford bank robber caught red-handed surely he can go straight to prison, with no reason ever to release him. He made his choice.

Delivering to Flats

People are always telling me about flats [US: apartments] where they can’t deliver election leaflets.
Yes, more and more people are living in seclusion, and things are set to get worse under a Liberal Democrat administration, when only the most serious criminals will go to prison, because they will abolish sentences of less than six months.
However I have yet to find a building with more than five flats that I couldn’t get into, though admittedly there are hazards.
I have sheltered accommodation on my patch where the warden was always very defensive. After she faced a tirade of abuse from a senior Liberal Democrat local councillor 18 months ago she is even more protective. I have contacts who let me in, and I then have to whiz round the building undetected. Today I exited under her nose, as she sat at her desk.

Today’s LibDem lie: As Member of the European Parliament Nick Clegg used to fly to Brussels in economy class, but always claimed expenses for first class travel and pocketed the difference.

BUPA Healthcare

BUPA is a major employer in Staines, Egham and Ashford, and their need to cut back on staff is a double-whammy.
The staff deserves sympathy, over 100 of whom face redundancy.
But more worrying is the decline in healthcare expenditure in the UK.
The Conservatives’ commitment to ring-fence state spending via the NHS is good, but that is not enough.
We spend far too little overall on healthcare in Britain, barely half what they spend in America for example.
I’ve been doing my bit recently. I thought I’d save £100 with a special offer on a BUPA healthscreen. After all the further screening tests the doctor recommended -- based on lifestyle and family medical history -- I’ve spent £3,300.

Ashford Hospital

Today I attended the official re-opening of four of the wards at my local Ashford Hospital, following their complete refurbishment.
A total of £850,000 has been spent upgrading the Chaucer, Dickens, Fielding and Wordsworth wards. The principal benefit has been the elimination of mixed sex accommodation -- and each bay can be alternated from all-male to all-female “overnight” if need be.
All rooms now have en suite facilities and meet all the very latest infection control guidelines. Also there is now adequate provision for bariatric patients (those over 18 stone).
In summary these improvements guarantee Ashford Hospital’s future in our community for some considerable time.

Regeneration

A great thing going on in Ashford and Stanwell at the moment is the major regeneration of tired and outdated housing estates.
However I do take exception to the term “decanting” when referring to the temporary relocation of residents (both tenants and owner-occupiers), whilst their houses are being rebuilt.
You decant wine from a bottle to leave the dregs behind. I accept that overuse by officialdom has allowed dictionaries to include the decanting of people in this context, but I think it treats them like commodities.
So just stick to the term temporarily rehouse.