TC1474

About a fortnight is the norm. If no reply received by lets say the 14th of April, then call them and explain that you are awaiting a response, you have not heard anything and you are looking at going on holiday were you will need your licence and time is becoming "of the escence" or something along those lines. It may be a little white porky, but who is to say that you are not going away and that you don't need your licence and as a lay person, you don't know how these things work, so it will give them a gee up.

Now I really do sympathise with you. Goes to prove that whatever might ail us, there is always someone worse off. My real big grip is bruising This is what happens when I fall or slip down 2 steps. This was June last year (It actually quadrupled in size) and I still have a lump and a bit of bruising. It has been checked I hasten to add and the bandage was because the brising blistered and burst. Made a right mess of the bed sheet first night they burst. I also have a bruise on my thigh which was a slight brush with a wall 4 months ago. (I hasten to add, I don't usually go flashing my butt off, but my dignity went out of the window when I was in Hospital, and it is easier to show a problem than try to explain it)

Looks nice I have had 3 and loved every one. 50,000 miles is nothing mileage and you wil find that on a run through Europe you should be well over 200 miles to a tankfull. Major change I made to mine was fitting an Ohlins rear suspension unit. It transformed the bike.

This is the first I have had in 3 months, and I can go another 3 months without a problem or it could start again tonight, tomorrow or whenever. There is no warning. As far as the Warfarin is concerned, doseage is set until my next blood test in June as my INR is steady at 2.7 and the target figures are 2.5 - 3. If my INR alters significantly then my doseage changes.

Over the past 57 years I have never been one to suffer nose bleeds other than through misfurtune or self induced through doing something stupid. But being on Warfarin, it has exploited the fact that I must have a weak snot box as without warning or reason I can suddenly start pouring blood. Last time was New Years day. Today, went to the bathroom, blew my nose, turned on the tap and was washing my hands and the water started turning very red. Drip, drip, drip................... 10 minutes later it is under control and stopped, but it really p1sses me off. I know it is a side affect and the medical people have said that it is nothing to worry about because it is always the same side and only my nose, but WTF? Sorry just had to get it off my chest. It is so bloody annoying that I can go for weeks without a problem and then boom......

The MRTA accrediation is the one that counts (Motorcycle Rider Training Association) but its not imperative as they (The MCIA and MRTA have no real teeth) I was an original founder member and committee member of the MRTA. I am out of touch with London based schools, but I can recommend a very good school based in Abingdon near Oxford, or if you want a mini holiday as well as getting your licence I can recommend a very good school on the Isle of Wight.

Is that a WP you have? I loved mine which I had from new and was run in by 100,000 miles. I have just thrown out my seat hump for my WP. I am sure you don't need me to teach you to suck eggs but watch the oil level sight glass. It clouds up very easily and it can appear to have oil in but ends up being dry which = a big repair bill. I still miss mine which was stolen at 140,000 miles from a Hotel car park whilst I was running a diploma course in Birmingham.

Shame I no longer work for that firm though Another reason I am not happy about it being repeated for the umpteenth time.

Oh rest assured I have not and did not take it to heart. I have done and I do too many interviews to get upset when they only use a fraction of the material. What annoys is the fact that they edit out key points relating to safety and so they put out a fake message themselves and therefore are sending out the wrong message. This was filmed in 2014

It is the programme that has been shown many times before. I can't remember where they were brought from, but the BBC's argument was that they were fake because they had "Yamaha" on them. They were not fake, they were cheap and they (the BBC) did not like it when I tried to make the point that leathers only had to do the job once, and that even cheap leather would offer better protection than a pair of jeans and a T shirt or some branded items of kit that were sold on the back of a name than quality. It took 9 hours to film and 99% of the footage wasn't used which is people saw it would realise that any comment I make has been taken out of context.

January 2014 I filmed an article for BBC Fake Britain regarding "Fake" bike kit. (It is not fake just cheap but BBC don't like that idea ) It first aired around June 2014. Since then it has been shown about 6 times on BBC 1 Guess what? At 11.45 this morning it is being shown yet again Had I known it was going to be shown so often I would have negotiated some repeat fees Erm, is that possible when I did not get paid in the first place? Anyway, if you are near a TV and want a laugh ...................................... I still refuse to watch it.

Going back to the original subject. One bit of good news is that whilst the IPCC are investigating the circumstances, no Police officer is currently under investigation, although I suspect that this may change when they start looking at who left the gates open and access to Parliament was unprotected for a while as everyone went to investigate what was going on https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/statement-following-westminster-terrorism-attack

That sounds perfectly reasonable Just explain exactly what happened and send photocopies of any correspondence or paperwork you have (Don't send originals) and see what they say You still have the options as mentioned previously.

Can't prove I sent licence off though ! DVLA will/should/may be able to provide the proof It is worth speaking to them and they can check the database. This could be expensive which I can ill afford! Do you have legal expenses insurance on one of your policies? I don't normally recommend an LEI appointed solicitor, but this is one of those exceptions where it could be quite useful. The other alternative is to speak to the duty Solicitor at the court and they will represent you free of charge (it is part of the service they have to provide, but obviously they cannot do the investigation work or preperation that you would get with your own appointed solicitor) Remember, you only have to put reasonable doubt into the mind of the Magistrates. You do not have to convince a jury of 12, just 3 lay people (or 1 stipend depending on the area) and it is for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you are guilty of an offence. The fact that you are prepared to plead guilty on what is by and large a reasonably minor offence, starts to create an aura of doubt.

Contest it. You have the documentary evidence to prove that you admitted the offence, paid the fine and submitted your licence for endorsment. Central ticket office has screwed up. So write back and tell them that you intend to contest the offence and why you intend to contest it, that should in reality put an end to it. However, sometimes they do string things out. Once they realise that they have got it wrong (which won't be the first time) they are usually quite eager to drop further proceedings because they know that they could become liable for an award of costs against Police which can be expensive and embarrasing. If they fail to discontinue the action, then get professional legal assistance. I can put you in touch with someone if you have nobody available yourself.

I see that you have previous experience of these things

probably be accused of using excessive force or something ridiculous Your observation is not far off the mark. Now that the IPCC are involved, the poor sod who pulled the trigger and did his job properly and professionaly will be made to feel like he was the terrorist instead of the scumbag he took down, and he will be made to feel that he should have politely asked the terrorist to put the knife down and would he mind if said officer arrested said b@stard. Then he will be continually asked why he put 3 rounds into said scumbag when one might have sufficed? Investigation is normal, it is the way they conduct the investigation, which is why I said I feel sorry for the poor sod.

Don't bet on it.... The IPCC are involved

Here you go, IPCC investigation has now begun https://www.policeoracle.com/news/terrorism_and_allied_matters/2017/Mar/24/IPCC-open-investigation-into-fatal-police-shooting-in-Westminster_94466.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter I sympathise with the poor bugger who pulled the trigger being investigated by this lot PS. You may not be able to open the link as you need to register, but it I hope gives you a source and an idea of what the poor sods on the front line have to put up with.

I hear what you are saying, which is why I said, I don't know the answer. At Westminster and other places of high risk, the Police are armed routinely. Buck House, Windsor, Chequers, Heathrow, Gatwick to name but a few, but more and more Police are carrying firearms as routine, but once you start making it an armed Police service, you increase the risk of firearms offences rising substantially. Maybe the younger generation or those just starting out might not have an issue with carrying a weapon, whereas I come from a different generation, but in the same vein, every individual who joins the Police service realise that they may be injured or killed in the line of duty. You accept the risk when you join, and in fact I can remember several occasions when a report of an armed robbery occuring would come in, and you would be in the car and gone heading towards the danger without giving it a second thought. This was born out one time when when I was at a function at the Barracks at Windsor and I was talking to a Sgt Major and he was saying that he could not do my job. When I asked why, he said that they trained for weeks, were mentally prepared to go to war and it was a case of kill or be killed, wheras we could go into work at say 2 and be dead by 3. I never thought of it that way, but then it went back to me thinking about the armed robbery scenario. Shortly before I retired there was an armed robbery just outside Reading at a local Post office. Long story short, I was on the bike and saw the vehicle as it stopped outside another Post Office. I radio'd in my location and as the passenger went inside, I parked up behind vehicle, and the driver came out through the drivers door window (which was down fortunately). I handcuffed him and as a Panda car pulled up, I grabbed another set of handcuffs and nicked the passenger as he came out of the Post Office. Search of the vehicle revealed 2 guns..... To me they looked real. They turned out to be fakes, but very good fakes, but as someone said, what if they had been real? That was the risk we took and it was not until we had these to toe rags trapped up that I took stock of what had happened and could have happened. I think that the majority of coppers still have the same attitude today. But, what if I had been armed and maybe a bit trigger happy? It is one thing running someone over or kicking the crap out of them, but shooting them because of a sensitive trigger finger? Not so sure. I personally think we have the balance between armed and unarmed about right, Martin may have a different view as he is still serving.

Many years ago, a national poll was held internally to find out what the general concensus was with regards to arming us full time. I am going back to the late 80's early 90's I grant you, but I was one of the 80% + who said that if were were made to carry guns as part of our uniform and on a daily basis we would resign. Back then, our attitude was that we Policed by consent and had been taught to talk our way out of trouble in the main. In my area and in my department in particular, we were also still very raw and suffering as it was shortly after Hungerford (1987) when we lost our friend and colleague Roger (Gobby) Brereton. We also worked on the basis that arming the Police full time would breed further violence and an increase in gun use. We also had an attitude that you get cowboys in Police cars with the "Look at me I am cool" type attitude. Give the same cowboy a gun and the potential for disaster does not bear thinking about. And then you have the issue of the consequences if you draw your weapon which increase expedentially if you discharge your weapon and injure or worse still kill someone, and of course the officer has to live to with that for the rest of their days. Not a problem if it is a scumbag such as the one killed yesterday, but in the normal course of policing. Even now, compared with many other countries, we are by and large pretty furtunate in that we do not have a recognised gun culture and so firearms incidents are kept fairly low. Anyway, the point I was making badly and getting to is, I wonder what the concensus and opinion would be now if serving bods were asked the same question again today? If they agreed to carry guns routinely, would that put paid to the tradition of a citizen locally appointed and policing by consent withthe consent of his/her community? Does the UK Police service then become more of a para military organisation? This was something that was guggested when we on traffic were issued with NATO pullovers back in the early 80's. I don't know the answer...

Mr Brightside might contradict me as he is still serving, but officers are not forced to wear them, some feel uncomfortable or restricted in them. I never wore mine when I wasn't on the bike. It sat in my locker and was never used. I know that they have changed over the years, but trying to drive with the ones we were issued with was so dmmed uncomfortable.

It looks like it may have been a loner. Initially it was thought that there may be more than one, but looks like it was just one scumbag (at then moment)

My thoughts go out to those killed and injured and my ex colleagues in the Police service and the other emergency services caught up in events in Westminster today. Lets hope this incident is brought to a speedy conclusion without any further loss

If anyone is a member of the Aylesbury IAM group, then come and say Hi tonight as I am the guest speaker.