As you know, I am no fan of the local Blue Rinsers. Or, indeed, that bum-faced old Etonian who heads up the Tories at a national level.
So two causes for celebration this week. First, the 'news', as brought to you by the Blue Rinse candidate for Thanet South, that 'the life saving air sea rescue service based at Manston is set to be relocated to the Midlands at the end of this month.' Er, 'what air sea rescue service based at Manston?', you may ask. Clearly, however, that was not a question the intrepid reporter at yourfannitinnit could be bothered with.
And this afternoon came the news that Sir Roger Wind, Tory MP for North Thanet since 1876, is appealing against being told to hand back £2,100 in expenses claimed against mobile phone bills, plus another £400 in rent. Sir Rodge says they were 'entirely proper'. As ever, he entirely misses the point. Which is not that he could claim them, but whether it is 'entirely proper' that he should.
While the gruesome Tory twosome have been busy shooting themselves in the feet, the caff-crushing, car-crushing Mayor of Ramsgate, Councillor Green of the Red Party, has announced he is perfectly happy to have his allowance slashed by a third and set an example in these tough financial times. Good on yer, Dave!
Click here to see how in touch Laura Sandys is with her 'constituency'
Click here to read about Roger's Gale's piles
Click here to read about the Mayor of Ramsgate taking a slash
21 comments:
Afraid Laura should have consulted her mentor, Roger, on this one because he fought against their move some while ago? Why does she go in both feet first everytime?
This is the coastguard spotter plane, an Islander, red and white, flies low along the sea...
Foot, mouth, mouth, foot.
Considering she's practically joined at the hip to Roger Wind turning up at countless events in N. Thanet looking decorative but saying nothing, you'd think she'd have the nous to check with him first before putting out the press release. I've heard that whenever old Roge gets an invite she trots along as well. She's even turned up and sat on the platform at N. Thanet events 'cos she's his guest. Guess Suzy's too busy running his office for £40k per annum to accompany him.
Anyone know why Ms. Sandys turned up at the TDC Planning Committee last evening? To watch the Tories at play? To form closer links with what she refers to as the voters in 'my constituency'
Mind you, the intrepid journo at YourThanet should have had the sense to check his story. Lazy journalism yet again.
Your Fannit a bit apologetic today at Wednesdays paper! Ed away on hols and intrepid Betts away, so those covering not quite the normal team. Your Fannit will resume agin in Jan!
Should you want a little more accurate information on the duties of the coastguard aircraft, I've explained it on www.ThanetLife.com
Isn't this the same Tory candidate who had large billboards erected in several fields exhorting people to tell her what matters to them. Well, how about getting out some leaflets/press releases that are accurate, up-to-date/of any use/ aren't paid for by a non-dom? She even had one up in what will still be N. Thanet even after the election. Oh, yes, she didn't know she needed planning permission and would apply immediately. Can't say I've seen any since promoting 'Tell Laura'.
Almost forgot to say she even had leaflets in N. Thanet recently in what will still be N. Thanet. How can anyone have confidence in someone who can't even find the boundaries for what she calls her 'constituency'.
Well although the Islander Coastguard spotter has a rubber dinghy on board, you could hardly call it 'Air Sea Rescue', could you? Air Sea Rescue to most people's minds is those big yellow Wessex choppers with brave chaps jumping out on lines, fishing stricken sailors out of the choppy seas!
I think they must mean the big dusty old yellow chopper (defunct) in the hangar in the Manston museum!
Air - Sea rescue Richard. From air to sea with a rubber dinghy large enough to accommodate and shelter survivors and keep them safe until the helicopter or lifeboat arrives.
I'm sure the people who have been rescued in this way wouldn't share your opinion and in future, those bobbing around in the sea at some date in the near future, might be rather glad of a Manston-based aircraft minutes away rather than wait for the nearest helicopter to appear from Belgium or Suffolk.
The Chief Coastguard (Rod Johnson) has personally informed me that;
"The service will be continued by faster, larger maritime patrol aircraft operating from a dedicated base at a location north of London."
No problem then.
Yes it will but in a pure surveillance role only is my understanding and given that Coventry is now closed, the aircraft will probably have to come from East Midlands or thereabouts, which is rather more than five minutes away!
Isn't Coventry in the East Midlands or at least it was last time I went there?
Why would they be relocating to Coventry Airport, which went into administration this week?
Surely it would be better to stick with Manston? Or do they know something about the future of Manston that we don't? Is Coventry, even in administration, a better bet????
East Midlands Airport is actually at Derby so even further north but surely it depends on the performance capability of whatever is being used?
Are there are reports of lives lost since the Manston helicopter moved a decade or more away?
Laura Sandys is normally very quick to reply to e-mails but I haven't had a reply to mine where I politely suggested she check her facts before putting out press releases.
Wonder why? All she needed to say was she got it wrong, after all. Mind you, shouln't Julian Brazier have known better than to attach his name to it as well?
Reconnaissance Ventures(RV) operates from Coventry. You may recall the tragedy last year when one of their aircraft coming in to land was hit by another private aircraft that strayed across the approach path.
With the closure of Coventry - I did my CPL studies there with Atlantic Flight Training, part of the same company group - there's a rather limited choice of places to go. E.Midlands is also a DHL hub I believe and gets rather busy.
In any case, getting out of East Midlands or thereabouts and crossing through the Luton and London control airspace to the coast here is still going to take some time even at 200 knots.
Either way we lose the surveillance facility here at Manston and the limited but useful rescue support capability of the Islander aircraft.
I see over on Thanet Life Dr. Moores reckons he could successfully drop a life raft from his light-aircraft. At least he doesn't claim he could save lives in a storm force 10 when his aircraft would be grounded but I have to ask him to clarify when he flew the coastguard aircraft as, as far as I know, he's never told us he worked for the Maritime Agency.
Now there's a thought for this wintry night. The brave pilot in his little light plane battling the high seas and gale force winds to rescue the crew of a sinking tanker and dropping life rafts for them. Um, wouldn't most vessels other than yachts and little dinghies have life rafts anyway but i do like the thought of the press awaiting our brave pilot back on terra firma.
They could go back to Lydd.
I see Laura Sandys now says she meant the Islander aircraft but that isn't a rescue aircraft. How could it be as it's a fixed wing plane and can't hover, let down a winch, land on the sea or pick someone out of the water.
The only rescue vehicles are helicopters and lifeboats plus any shipping that is in the area.
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