How not to make a first impression

London Blogger Meet Up



One of the (unsung) advantages of blogging is we guys and gals are at the cutting edge, riding the wave, capturing the zeitgeist, innit? Well “sponsors” seem to think so which is why we Bloggers get so many commercial approaches. Now in over 3 years I’ve avoided that temptation, Blog categorisation (which tends to be driven by advertising) and other inducements which stop your blog being personal. However one jolly non-compromising outlet for sponsor’s largesse are the regular Blogger Meet Ups, for which this piece is an unashamed plug. London bloggers can be a solitary bunch, hunched over their laptops, leaving comments all over the place but not actually meeting and greeting much. All that changes when we have our London Bloggers Meet Ups.



It’s a good chance for a post-work drink and chat with fellow bloggers, and a rare opportunity to put faces to names for those with really long link lists. They are also a chance to learn more about any aspect of blogging, whether it’s technical help for getting the look that you want, tricky questions about advertising and money, how to write better posts or what you can do with video clips. This monthly meet up is our chance to have all our questions answered over a drink in central London, normally paid for by friendly sponsors who indulge us with food, drink and freebies, not necessarily in that order. A recent Meet Up was sponsored by the computer giant Dell to kick off their Trade Secrets campaign which you can check out on Facebook soon. Of course the very generous bar tab helped us ease back into the year, but possibly the biggest crowd puller was the Dell Vostro laptop competition which was the prize going for a song or more specifically a piece on how to make a “Good First Impression.”







Well there was no way I could compete with my savvy, young fellow Bloggers – Hell, half of them seem to work in advertising or some such sexy media stuff! So I decided to play to my weaknesses and help the kids by letting them learn from my mistakes on how NOT to make a good impression. As a 20 year old I twice discovered how NOT to make a good impression and in the spirit of this competition I shared this with my fellow Bloggers so they can make a good impression by doing the opposite of what I did!





Lieutenant General Carl O’Sullivan - Call him General!





The first time I gloriously made a BAD first impression was when I was escorting the Chief of Staff of the Irish Army, Lieutenant General Carl O’Sullivan around a radio display with his ADC (Aide de Camp). In my nervousness I addressed him as Lieutenant O’Sullivan. Almost instantaneously I received a sharp dig in the ribs and a whisper in my ear “For F#@ks sake call him General!” Afterwards the ADC had a more considered discussion that the military etiquette is always to address an officer of composite rank by their higher rank, never by their lower rank.



It got worse, later the same year at a reception at a European Scout and Guide Conference I ended up talking to a very attractive blonde girl who spoke English with a slight American accent. She told me she was the Chief Commissioner for Lichtenstein and noticing her name badge said Nora Lichtenstein I said this must lead to lots of joking. She smiled sweetly and moved on. One of her party then told me I had been speaking to Nora Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein, or Princess Nora von Lichtenstein to us common folk.



A typical blonde female Lichtenstein Scout - note the large Lichtenstein badge which can so confuse the unwary



So who was this Nora who had such a lucky escape? She worked for the World Bank and the International Institute for Environment and Development, among others. She speaks French, English, German and Spanish. On June 11, 1988, she married Don Vicente Sartorius y Cabeza de Vaca (November 30, 1931-July 22, 2002), Marquess de Mariño, and she has a daughter, Maria Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein (born 1992). She has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1987. She was president of Liechtenstein's National Olympic Committee from 1982 to 1992 and she has been president of Special Olympics Liechtenstein since 2002. Hey, I know I messed up and blew my chances of living in an Alpine Castle with summers on the Riviera!



HRH Nora Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein



Furstun Vaduz - one of the family gaffs



Needless to say these incidents at such a young age had a crippling effect on my self confidence and since then I have never tried to chat up a princess. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression! However you can pick up tips on Blogging (do as I say, not as I do) from Andy Bargery’s 10 Lessons and Tips on Blogging on the London Bloggers Meet Up site as well as read my fellow London Bloggers tips on making a Good First Impression on the comments to the Blog;



http://www.londonbloggers.net/





Bloggers get free cocktails



In solidarity with my Good Buddy and fellow Blogger MuMu http://mumugb.blogspot.com/ who is leaving paid, pensionable employment to concentrate on channelling Les Monstres and running her own business every Wednesday, I will co-host a We All Make Mistakes Blog Hop.



The rules are very simple:



1. Follow me on GFC and Twitter if you have an account - I will follow back;

2. Share a mistake you have made in the comments. Please do it for the rest of us!

3. Visit as many other blogs as you can!

4. Have fun!



So please, what is your mistake today?



If you want to co-host this Blog Hope copy this into your post;



">

How not to make a first impression

London Blogger Meet Up



One of the (unsung) advantages of blogging is we guys and gals are at the cutting edge, riding the wave, capturing the zeitgeist, innit? Well “sponsors” seem to think so which is why we Bloggers get so many commercial approaches. Now in over 3 years I’ve avoided that temptation, Blog categorisation (which tends to be driven by advertising) and other inducements which stop your blog being personal. However one jolly non-compromising outlet for sponsor’s largesse are the regular Blogger Meet Ups, for which this piece is an unashamed plug. London bloggers can be a solitary bunch, hunched over their laptops, leaving comments all over the place but not actually meeting and greeting much. All that changes when we have our London Bloggers Meet Ups.



It’s a good chance for a post-work drink and chat with fellow bloggers, and a rare opportunity to put faces to names for those with really long link lists. They are also a chance to learn more about any aspect of blogging, whether it’s technical help for getting the look that you want, tricky questions about advertising and money, how to write better posts or what you can do with video clips. This monthly meet up is our chance to have all our questions answered over a drink in central London, normally paid for by friendly sponsors who indulge us with food, drink and freebies, not necessarily in that order. A recent Meet Up was sponsored by the computer giant Dell to kick off their Trade Secrets campaign which you can check out on Facebook soon. Of course the very generous bar tab helped us ease back into the year, but possibly the biggest crowd puller was the Dell Vostro laptop competition which was the prize going for a song or more specifically a piece on how to make a “Good First Impression.”







Well there was no way I could compete with my savvy, young fellow Bloggers – Hell, half of them seem to work in advertising or some such sexy media stuff! So I decided to play to my weaknesses and help the kids by letting them learn from my mistakes on how NOT to make a good impression. As a 20 year old I twice discovered how NOT to make a good impression and in the spirit of this competition I shared this with my fellow Bloggers so they can make a good impression by doing the opposite of what I did!





Lieutenant General Carl O’Sullivan - Call him General!





The first time I gloriously made a BAD first impression was when I was escorting the Chief of Staff of the Irish Army, Lieutenant General Carl O’Sullivan around a radio display with his ADC (Aide de Camp). In my nervousness I addressed him as Lieutenant O’Sullivan. Almost instantaneously I received a sharp dig in the ribs and a whisper in my ear “For F#@ks sake call him General!” Afterwards the ADC had a more considered discussion that the military etiquette is always to address an officer of composite rank by their higher rank, never by their lower rank.



It got worse, later the same year at a reception at a European Scout and Guide Conference I ended up talking to a very attractive blonde girl who spoke English with a slight American accent. She told me she was the Chief Commissioner for Lichtenstein and noticing her name badge said Nora Lichtenstein I said this must lead to lots of joking. She smiled sweetly and moved on. One of her party then told me I had been speaking to Nora Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein, or Princess Nora von Lichtenstein to us common folk.



A typical blonde female Lichtenstein Scout - note the large Lichtenstein badge which can so confuse the unwary



So who was this Nora who had such a lucky escape? She worked for the World Bank and the International Institute for Environment and Development, among others. She speaks French, English, German and Spanish. On June 11, 1988, she married Don Vicente Sartorius y Cabeza de Vaca (November 30, 1931-July 22, 2002), Marquess de Mariño, and she has a daughter, Maria Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein (born 1992). She has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1987. She was president of Liechtenstein's National Olympic Committee from 1982 to 1992 and she has been president of Special Olympics Liechtenstein since 2002. Hey, I know I messed up and blew my chances of living in an Alpine Castle with summers on the Riviera!



HRH Nora Prinzessin von und zu Liechtenstein



Furstun Vaduz - one of the family gaffs



Needless to say these incidents at such a young age had a crippling effect on my self confidence and since then I have never tried to chat up a princess. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression! However you can pick up tips on Blogging (do as I say, not as I do) from Andy Bargery’s 10 Lessons and Tips on Blogging on the London Bloggers Meet Up site as well as read my fellow London Bloggers tips on making a Good First Impression on the comments to the Blog;



http://www.londonbloggers.net/





Bloggers get free cocktails



In solidarity with my Good Buddy and fellow Blogger MuMu http://mumugb.blogspot.com/ who is leaving paid, pensionable employment to concentrate on channelling Les Monstres and running her own business every Wednesday, I will co-host a We All Make Mistakes Blog Hop.



The rules are very simple:



1. Follow me on GFC and Twitter if you have an account - I will follow back;

2. Share a mistake you have made in the comments. Please do it for the rest of us!

3. Visit as many other blogs as you can!

4. Have fun!



So please, what is your mistake today?



If you want to co-host this Blog Hope copy this into your post;



">

London Bloggers Meetup

We had another great London Bloggers Meetup last week with our guest speakers Leo Babauta from Zen Habits and Arvind Devalia from Make it Happen. I thoroughly enjoyed both of their talks, not only interesting and informative, but very inspirational too.

Rather than me tell you all about it, why not watch some short clips from the night below.



http://zenhabits.net



http://www.arvinddevalia.com/blog



www.daithaic.blogspot.com

http://www.londonbloggers.net

London Bloggers Meetup

We had another great London Bloggers Meetup last week with our guest speakers Leo Babauta from Zen Habits and Arvind Devalia from Make it Happen. I thoroughly enjoyed both of their talks, not only interesting and informative, but very inspirational too.

Rather than me tell you all about it, why not watch some short clips from the night below.



http://zenhabits.net



http://www.arvinddevalia.com/blog



www.daithaic.blogspot.com

http://www.londonbloggers.net

It is a Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the
exact same list appears on each blog.

Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list.
The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.

Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog
to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

It is a Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the
exact same list appears on each blog.

Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list.
The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.

Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog
to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

My Blog Awards

DaithaiC in all too typical pose

Blogging is often seen as a lonely furrow but I don’t know how. Through the excellent London Blogger’s Meetup I have met many of my contemporaries at the edge of Citizen Journalism and not met a lonely soul amongst them. People often ask how do you find the time. Why? Nobody asks people how they find time to go to the hairdresser, play golf, go to happy clappy churches, pubs, concerts, Rugby clubs, or work late at the office destroying human lives. Why pick on Bloggers? In fact Bloggers are altruistic, edgy, interesting people with something to share. They also represent Freedom from the Press – an important concept as our media gets taken over by malevolent vested interests with far from hidden agenda.



Sure there are the strange ones in this unfiltered land. I don’t do rants or attempt character assassination as life is short and we owe it to ourselves and others to behave with decency. But Internet land is full of Blobs of Bile who are like demented alcoholics transferring their own self loathing onto others. Then there are dark obsessive’s out there. There is the sad sex stuff largely generated by the second biggest industry in the US. I did a short Blog in support of Brooke Magnanti better known as by her blogging nom de plume “Belle de Jour” and sure enough in piled the prurient. Then there are the wacko conspiracy theorists that seem to always end up in the cul-de-sac of anti Semitism. So for the short piece I did on Gerry Rafferty when he died (Catholic, Irish father, Scottish mother) in piled the searches *Gerry Rafferty Jewish?*. Until the Saddo Firewall is invented leave them to it I say.

So before presenting my Blog Awards this is time to reflect on the success of the Daithai C Blog. First what would I do differently? Well not have a stupid name for a start which means nothing to readers – my name in Gaelic but spelt slightly wrongly so as to make it easy to register on bookmarking and repeater sites! Seemed clever at the time! Also Blogs tend to be specialist to align with readers and advertisers but this one at its kindest must be described as non-specialist! It covers my first love Architecture but also Travel, Transport, Politics and Irish affairs, and then some! It started off in 2007 because I was curious and ignorant about blogging and was fed up being in conversations which I didn’t quite understand.



So I took some travel guides I had done and slapped then on to see what would happen, the first one being the Ibis Moussafir in Marrakech in August 2007. Now over 550 contributions later it has been something of a phenomenon. Over this weekend alone over 2,000 people will have read something from the Blog. It is followed on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg, Multiply and much more. It is referenced, blogrolled, backlinked and quoted on many other sites. And as I believe in the concept of an open Internet there are no copyright or ownership claims on the site, all the material is freely available to link and quote. It has reached not just the mainstream but places at the very end of the known world such as Ulan Bator and Wolverhampton.



So in the principle of caring and sharing and inspired by my Blog Buddy MuMu Daithai C now makes his very first Blog Awards on to Blogs which I like, reference and which keep me going. Thanks again for all your encouragement, comments, feedback and kind words of support over the years.

Here are the lucky winners of the DC’s inaugural Lovely Blog award.




1. http://www.missus-emm.com/index.html: Missus Emm; A South African with a passion living in London and being a citizen of the world.

2. http://www.thegirlinthecafe.com Ingrid is Dutch, an old bloggy buddy was living in London, is obsessed with Bill Nighy and captures the zeitgeist of Cafe Society in her always stylish blog with her own wonderful photography. She has now relocated back to Holland but we look forward to The Girl still being part of our life.

3. http://www.photopol.com Póló is an inhabitant of my home town of Dear Dirty Dublin and a genuine authority on much of interest. Photopol started off as a photo blog but now you will find history, politics, a religious (sic) blog and even a Gaelic language blog, An Cnagaire! (The Knocker)

Now each winner can pass it on to 3 other blogs…Enjoy!



And for the versatile blog award:

1. http://quiz.eblana.eu/ A Parisian phenomenon! My buddy Páraic Maguire is Mr Quiz in Paris and runs the best little Pub Quiz in Paris at The Green Linnet, 8 avenue Victoria, 75004 Paris (metro Hôtel de Ville or Châtelet) every Wednesday, 9.30 pm. It is a phenomenon in a land where such things are unknown and the Quiz like the site is in both English and French.

2. http://london-underground.blogspot.com/ Annie Mole’s single minded obsession with what is going on under London.

3. http://torytroll.blogspot.com/ Adam Bienkov’s on the money London political Blog which has broken many major stories.

4. http://mumugb.blogspot.com/ MuMu’s perspective on being a French Yummy Mummy who loves living in London but finds the natives strange!

5. http://secondaryadventures.blogspot.com/ The iPad Polyanna of Pimlico is the daughter of MuMu the aforementioned Yummy Mummy and both writes and perceives beyond her tender years.

6. http://www.smileforlondon.com A stylish site by creative people who are bringing art, the web and media together in new and exciting ways.

7. http://whatnottodoinloveandbusiness.com/ Sherrod’s beautiful site and stories. Great look and feel and does what it says on the label.



Now you guys need to pass the award to 7 other blogs and say 7 things about you that we don't know about you yet!

So in the spirit of this enterprise here are seven things you may not know about DaithaiC although the clues are in the Blogs!





1. I have Adolph Hitler to thank for being Irish
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/moonlight-sonata_14.html

2. James Joyce was a neighbour
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/james-joyce-and-me.html

3. I made basic mistakes in trying to chat up a Princess
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-not-to-make-first-impression.html

4. I organised the Boomtown Rats first concert
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/bob-geldof-and-me.html

5. I shovelled concrete with a descendant of the last Crusader King of Jerusalem
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-miranda.html

6. I have a Great Uncle buried in the Ainse on the Hindenburg line
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/towards-somme-personal-journey.html

7. I lived in Baggotonia around the corner from Raglan Road
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-raglan-roag.html

My Blog Awards

DaithaiC in all too typical pose

Blogging is often seen as a lonely furrow but I don’t know how. Through the excellent London Blogger’s Meetup I have met many of my contemporaries at the edge of Citizen Journalism and not met a lonely soul amongst them. People often ask how do you find the time. Why? Nobody asks people how they find time to go to the hairdresser, play golf, go to happy clappy churches, pubs, concerts, Rugby clubs, or work late at the office destroying human lives. Why pick on Bloggers? In fact Bloggers are altruistic, edgy, interesting people with something to share. They also represent Freedom from the Press – an important concept as our media gets taken over by malevolent vested interests with far from hidden agenda.



Sure there are the strange ones in this unfiltered land. I don’t do rants or attempt character assassination as life is short and we owe it to ourselves and others to behave with decency. But Internet land is full of Blobs of Bile who are like demented alcoholics transferring their own self loathing onto others. Then there are dark obsessive’s out there. There is the sad sex stuff largely generated by the second biggest industry in the US. I did a short Blog in support of Brooke Magnanti better known as by her blogging nom de plume “Belle de Jour” and sure enough in piled the prurient. Then there are the wacko conspiracy theorists that seem to always end up in the cul-de-sac of anti Semitism. So for the short piece I did on Gerry Rafferty when he died (Catholic, Irish father, Scottish mother) in piled the searches *Gerry Rafferty Jewish?*. Until the Saddo Firewall is invented leave them to it I say.

So before presenting my Blog Awards this is time to reflect on the success of the Daithai C Blog. First what would I do differently? Well not have a stupid name for a start which means nothing to readers – my name in Gaelic but spelt slightly wrongly so as to make it easy to register on bookmarking and repeater sites! Seemed clever at the time! Also Blogs tend to be specialist to align with readers and advertisers but this one at its kindest must be described as non-specialist! It covers my first love Architecture but also Travel, Transport, Politics and Irish affairs, and then some! It started off in 2007 because I was curious and ignorant about blogging and was fed up being in conversations which I didn’t quite understand.



So I took some travel guides I had done and slapped then on to see what would happen, the first one being the Ibis Moussafir in Marrakech in August 2007. Now over 550 contributions later it has been something of a phenomenon. Over this weekend alone over 2,000 people will have read something from the Blog. It is followed on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg, Multiply and much more. It is referenced, blogrolled, backlinked and quoted on many other sites. And as I believe in the concept of an open Internet there are no copyright or ownership claims on the site, all the material is freely available to link and quote. It has reached not just the mainstream but places at the very end of the known world such as Ulan Bator and Wolverhampton.



So in the principle of caring and sharing and inspired by my Blog Buddy MuMu Daithai C now makes his very first Blog Awards on to Blogs which I like, reference and which keep me going. Thanks again for all your encouragement, comments, feedback and kind words of support over the years.

Here are the lucky winners of the DC’s inaugural Lovely Blog award.




1. http://www.missus-emm.com/index.html: Missus Emm; A South African with a passion living in London and being a citizen of the world.

2. http://www.thegirlinthecafe.com Ingrid is Dutch, an old bloggy buddy was living in London, is obsessed with Bill Nighy and captures the zeitgeist of Cafe Society in her always stylish blog with her own wonderful photography. She has now relocated back to Holland but we look forward to The Girl still being part of our life.

3. http://www.photopol.com Póló is an inhabitant of my home town of Dear Dirty Dublin and a genuine authority on much of interest. Photopol started off as a photo blog but now you will find history, politics, a religious (sic) blog and even a Gaelic language blog, An Cnagaire! (The Knocker)

Now each winner can pass it on to 3 other blogs…Enjoy!



And for the versatile blog award:

1. http://quiz.eblana.eu/ A Parisian phenomenon! My buddy Páraic Maguire is Mr Quiz in Paris and runs the best little Pub Quiz in Paris at The Green Linnet, 8 avenue Victoria, 75004 Paris (metro Hôtel de Ville or Châtelet) every Wednesday, 9.30 pm. It is a phenomenon in a land where such things are unknown and the Quiz like the site is in both English and French.

2. http://london-underground.blogspot.com/ Annie Mole’s single minded obsession with what is going on under London.

3. http://torytroll.blogspot.com/ Adam Bienkov’s on the money London political Blog which has broken many major stories.

4. http://mumugb.blogspot.com/ MuMu’s perspective on being a French Yummy Mummy who loves living in London but finds the natives strange!

5. http://secondaryadventures.blogspot.com/ The iPad Polyanna of Pimlico is the daughter of MuMu the aforementioned Yummy Mummy and both writes and perceives beyond her tender years.

6. http://www.smileforlondon.com A stylish site by creative people who are bringing art, the web and media together in new and exciting ways.

7. http://whatnottodoinloveandbusiness.com/ Sherrod’s beautiful site and stories. Great look and feel and does what it says on the label.



Now you guys need to pass the award to 7 other blogs and say 7 things about you that we don't know about you yet!

So in the spirit of this enterprise here are seven things you may not know about DaithaiC although the clues are in the Blogs!





1. I have Adolph Hitler to thank for being Irish
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/moonlight-sonata_14.html

2. James Joyce was a neighbour
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/james-joyce-and-me.html

3. I made basic mistakes in trying to chat up a Princess
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-not-to-make-first-impression.html

4. I organised the Boomtown Rats first concert
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/bob-geldof-and-me.html

5. I shovelled concrete with a descendant of the last Crusader King of Jerusalem
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/01/lady-miranda.html

6. I have a Great Uncle buried in the Ainse on the Hindenburg line
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/towards-somme-personal-journey.html

7. I lived in Baggotonia around the corner from Raglan Road
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-raglan-roag.html

A Survival Guide for Decent Folk

An anonymous policeman blogger who has targeted the force and Government ministers was unmasked today after the High Court ruled against keeping his identity secret. Refusing a temporary injunction to prevent a newspaper from identifying the serving detective constable - who goes by the name of Night Jack - Justice Eady said that "blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity".

For over a year, police detective 'Jack Night' chronicled his working life in an unnamed UK town on his remarkably frank blog Night Jack. His scathing and revealing posts on the reality of policing in Britain have won him an Orwell Prize. Now his ID has been exposed and he has received a written warning from his Force.



Today, the blogger was named as Richard Horton, 45, who serves with Lancashire Constabulary. Mr. Justice Eady also ruled that any right of privacy on the part of the blogger would be likely to be outweighed by a countervailing public interest in revealing that a particular police officer had been making such contributions. Mr Horton's counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC, submitted that there was a public interest in preserving the anonymity of bloggers.


Richard Horton

The Judge ruled that the mere fact that Night Jack wished to remain anonymous did not mean either that he had a reasonable expectation of doing so. He added: "Those who wish to hold forth to the public by this means often take steps to disguise their authorship, but it is in my judgment a significantly further step to argue, if others are able to deduce their identity, that they should be restrained by law from revealing it." He said that Night Jack's blog mostly dealt with his police work and his opinions on a number of social and political issues relating to the police and the administration of justice.

Well I found his Blog compelling and every time Police complain of their hands being tied by “Bureaucracy” I remind myself that no too long ago their word was law when given in evidence in Court. So much so that a former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Denning, said it was better that Irish defendants should go to jail than he should concede their Appeal on evidence otherwise he would open up “an appalling vista” of Police corruption. Well due to the good work of West Midlands Police and Surrey Constabulary in the Birmingham 6 and Guilford 4 cases this appalling vista was well and truly opened up and the Police threw away public trust.



Indeed the recent comments by Suffolk’s Chief Constable that he would hold public order defendants in cells for 24 hours even though they had no intention of charging them shows the Police willingness to go to the edge of legality and beyond and use detention in Police cells to pressurise and intimidate defendants. I know of a complainant who was pressurised to pursue a complaint she wanted to withdraw by an ambitious newly promoted Police Sergeant and told that they would deliberately arrest and keep the other party in Police Cells over a weekend to ensure they would “crack.”



So I think Night Jack has done a public service with his Blog and in the interest of Blogging Freedom (Freedom FROM the Press) I reprint in full his Blog on A Survival Guide for decent folk, which uncannily echoes the Police Federation’s own advice to Police Officers facing internal investigation “Do not co-operate, say nothing, ring the Federation’s Solicitor, complain.”

Night Jack’s Blog has now been taken down on Wordpress.

www.nightjack.wordpress.com

A survival guide for decent folk.

In these days of us increasingly having to deal with law abiding folk who have fallen foul of the “entitled poor” and those who have learned how to use us to score points and exact revenge, I thought it would be a good idea to give out a bit of general guidance for those law abiding types who find themselves under suspicion or under arrest. It works for the bad guys so make it work for you.

Complain First

Always get your complaint in first, even if it is you who started it and you who were in the wrong. If things have gone awry and you suspect the cops are going to be called, get your retaliation in first. Ring the cops and allege for all you are worth. If you can work a racist or homophobic slant into it so much the better.



Make a counter allegation

Regardless of the facts, never let the other side be blameless. If they beat you to the phone, ring anyway and make a counter allegation against them. Again racism or homophobia are your friends. If you are not from a visible minority ethnic culture, may I suggest that that the phrase “You gay bastard” or similar is always useful. In extremis allege sexual assault. It gives us something to bargain with when getting the other person to drop their complaint on a quid-pro-quo basis.

Never explain to the Police

If the Police arrive to lock you up, say nothing. You are a decent person and you may think that reasoning with the Police will help. “If I can only explain, they will realise it is all a horrible mistake and go away”. Wrong. We do want to talk to you on tape in an interview room but that comes later. All you are doing by trying to explain is digging yourself further in. We call that stuff a significant statement and we love it. Decent folk can’t help themselves.

Admit Nothing

To do anything more than lock you up for a few hours we need to prove a case. The easiest route to that is your admission. Without it, our case may be a lot weaker, maybe not enough to charge you with. In any case, it is always worth finding out exactly how damning the evidence is before you fall on your sword. So don’t do the decent and honourable thing and admit what you have done. Don’t even deny it or try to give your side of the story. Just say nothing.



Keep your mouth shut

Say as little as possible to us. At the custody office desk a Sergeant will ask you some questions. It is safe to answer these. For the rest, say nothing.

Claim Suicidal Thoughts

A debatable one this. Claiming to be thinking about topping yourself has several benefits. If you can keep it up, it might just bump up any compensation payable later. On the other hand you may find yourself in a paper suit with someone watching your every move.

Always, always, always have a solicitor

Duh. No brainer this one. Unless you know 100% for sure that your mate the solicitor does criminal law and is good at it, ask for the Duty Solicitor. They do criminal law and they are good at it. Then listen to what the solicitor says and do it. Their job is to get you off without the Cops laying a glove on you if at all possible. It is what they get paid for. They are free to you. There is no down side. Now decent folks think it makes them look like they have something to hide if they ask for a solicitor. Irrelevant. Going into an interview without a solicitor is like taking a walk in Tottenham with a Rolex. Bad things are very likely to happen to you.



Actively complain about every officer and everything they do

Did they cuff you when they brought you in? Were they rude to you? Did they racially or homophobically abuse you? Didn’t get fed? Cell too cold? You are decent folk who don’t want to make a fuss but trust me, it pays to whinge and no matter how trivial and / or poorly founded your complaint there are people who will uncritically listen to you and try and prove the complaint on your behalf. Some of them are even police officers.

Show no respect to the legal system or anybody working in it

You think that if you are a difficult, unpleasant, sneering, unco-operative and rude things will go badly for you and you will be in more trouble. No sirree Bob. It seems that in fact the worse you are, the easier things will go for you if, horror of horrors, you do end up convicted. Remember to fake a drink problem if you haven’t developed one as a result of dealing with us already. Magistrates and Judges do seem to like the idea that you are basically good but the naughty alcohol made you do it. They treat you better. Crazy I know but true.

So there you go, basically anything you try and do because you are decent and straightforward hurts you badly. Act like an habitual, professional, lifestyle criminal and chances are you will walk away relatively unscathed. Copy the bad guys; it’s what they do for a living.

A Survival Guide for Decent Folk

An anonymous policeman blogger who has targeted the force and Government ministers was unmasked today after the High Court ruled against keeping his identity secret. Refusing a temporary injunction to prevent a newspaper from identifying the serving detective constable - who goes by the name of Night Jack - Justice Eady said that "blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity".

For over a year, police detective 'Jack Night' chronicled his working life in an unnamed UK town on his remarkably frank blog Night Jack. His scathing and revealing posts on the reality of policing in Britain have won him an Orwell Prize. Now his ID has been exposed and he has received a written warning from his Force.



Today, the blogger was named as Richard Horton, 45, who serves with Lancashire Constabulary. Mr. Justice Eady also ruled that any right of privacy on the part of the blogger would be likely to be outweighed by a countervailing public interest in revealing that a particular police officer had been making such contributions. Mr Horton's counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC, submitted that there was a public interest in preserving the anonymity of bloggers.


Richard Horton

The Judge ruled that the mere fact that Night Jack wished to remain anonymous did not mean either that he had a reasonable expectation of doing so. He added: "Those who wish to hold forth to the public by this means often take steps to disguise their authorship, but it is in my judgment a significantly further step to argue, if others are able to deduce their identity, that they should be restrained by law from revealing it." He said that Night Jack's blog mostly dealt with his police work and his opinions on a number of social and political issues relating to the police and the administration of justice.

Well I found his Blog compelling and every time Police complain of their hands being tied by “Bureaucracy” I remind myself that no too long ago their word was law when given in evidence in Court. So much so that a former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Denning, said it was better that Irish defendants should go to jail than he should concede their Appeal on evidence otherwise he would open up “an appalling vista” of Police corruption. Well due to the good work of West Midlands Police and Surrey Constabulary in the Birmingham 6 and Guilford 4 cases this appalling vista was well and truly opened up and the Police threw away public trust.



Indeed the recent comments by Suffolk’s Chief Constable that he would hold public order defendants in cells for 24 hours even though they had no intention of charging them shows the Police willingness to go to the edge of legality and beyond and use detention in Police cells to pressurise and intimidate defendants. I know of a complainant who was pressurised to pursue a complaint she wanted to withdraw by an ambitious newly promoted Police Sergeant and told that they would deliberately arrest and keep the other party in Police Cells over a weekend to ensure they would “crack.”



So I think Night Jack has done a public service with his Blog and in the interest of Blogging Freedom (Freedom FROM the Press) I reprint in full his Blog on A Survival Guide for decent folk, which uncannily echoes the Police Federation’s own advice to Police Officers facing internal investigation “Do not co-operate, say nothing, ring the Federation’s Solicitor, complain.”

Night Jack’s Blog has now been taken down on Wordpress.

www.nightjack.wordpress.com

A survival guide for decent folk.

In these days of us increasingly having to deal with law abiding folk who have fallen foul of the “entitled poor” and those who have learned how to use us to score points and exact revenge, I thought it would be a good idea to give out a bit of general guidance for those law abiding types who find themselves under suspicion or under arrest. It works for the bad guys so make it work for you.

Complain First

Always get your complaint in first, even if it is you who started it and you who were in the wrong. If things have gone awry and you suspect the cops are going to be called, get your retaliation in first. Ring the cops and allege for all you are worth. If you can work a racist or homophobic slant into it so much the better.



Make a counter allegation

Regardless of the facts, never let the other side be blameless. If they beat you to the phone, ring anyway and make a counter allegation against them. Again racism or homophobia are your friends. If you are not from a visible minority ethnic culture, may I suggest that that the phrase “You gay bastard” or similar is always useful. In extremis allege sexual assault. It gives us something to bargain with when getting the other person to drop their complaint on a quid-pro-quo basis.

Never explain to the Police

If the Police arrive to lock you up, say nothing. You are a decent person and you may think that reasoning with the Police will help. “If I can only explain, they will realise it is all a horrible mistake and go away”. Wrong. We do want to talk to you on tape in an interview room but that comes later. All you are doing by trying to explain is digging yourself further in. We call that stuff a significant statement and we love it. Decent folk can’t help themselves.

Admit Nothing

To do anything more than lock you up for a few hours we need to prove a case. The easiest route to that is your admission. Without it, our case may be a lot weaker, maybe not enough to charge you with. In any case, it is always worth finding out exactly how damning the evidence is before you fall on your sword. So don’t do the decent and honourable thing and admit what you have done. Don’t even deny it or try to give your side of the story. Just say nothing.



Keep your mouth shut

Say as little as possible to us. At the custody office desk a Sergeant will ask you some questions. It is safe to answer these. For the rest, say nothing.

Claim Suicidal Thoughts

A debatable one this. Claiming to be thinking about topping yourself has several benefits. If you can keep it up, it might just bump up any compensation payable later. On the other hand you may find yourself in a paper suit with someone watching your every move.

Always, always, always have a solicitor

Duh. No brainer this one. Unless you know 100% for sure that your mate the solicitor does criminal law and is good at it, ask for the Duty Solicitor. They do criminal law and they are good at it. Then listen to what the solicitor says and do it. Their job is to get you off without the Cops laying a glove on you if at all possible. It is what they get paid for. They are free to you. There is no down side. Now decent folks think it makes them look like they have something to hide if they ask for a solicitor. Irrelevant. Going into an interview without a solicitor is like taking a walk in Tottenham with a Rolex. Bad things are very likely to happen to you.



Actively complain about every officer and everything they do

Did they cuff you when they brought you in? Were they rude to you? Did they racially or homophobically abuse you? Didn’t get fed? Cell too cold? You are decent folk who don’t want to make a fuss but trust me, it pays to whinge and no matter how trivial and / or poorly founded your complaint there are people who will uncritically listen to you and try and prove the complaint on your behalf. Some of them are even police officers.

Show no respect to the legal system or anybody working in it

You think that if you are a difficult, unpleasant, sneering, unco-operative and rude things will go badly for you and you will be in more trouble. No sirree Bob. It seems that in fact the worse you are, the easier things will go for you if, horror of horrors, you do end up convicted. Remember to fake a drink problem if you haven’t developed one as a result of dealing with us already. Magistrates and Judges do seem to like the idea that you are basically good but the naughty alcohol made you do it. They treat you better. Crazy I know but true.

So there you go, basically anything you try and do because you are decent and straightforward hurts you badly. Act like an habitual, professional, lifestyle criminal and chances are you will walk away relatively unscathed. Copy the bad guys; it’s what they do for a living.