Katzenjammer

Yup we are essentially back to where we were. What concerns me and should concern all of us is the cost of this publicity stunt pulled by Packham. The cost to individuals, companies, organisations and the Public Purse! It will have cost millions if costed out and for what at the end of the day? You can be done for wasting police time so surely you can be done for a gross waste of public money? And this is what should happen surely and the bill laid at Packham's door? To this end perhaps we should all now spare some time to write to Gove as head of DEFRA and copy in to the Treasury, National Audit office and any other relevant person or organisation such as local MP's, the papers that supported our cause etc, asking them to consider prosecution and public condemnation of Packham and his pals. In hindsight Defra and NE should have done what Scotland is doing, let the licences stand for this year and immediately review and revise them to make them watertight. Have saved and printed off and read the new licences I think one licence could have been issued because much of the blurb is essentially the same. There could have been separate sub sections covering each area of activity and the relevant species with indicators to look in the footnotes if there was anything particularly relevant to a species or sub section.

I've been out today. Fired a few off randomly into the air, sat on an old trailer but no helicopter appeared even though I waited 30 mins or so. Lovely sunny day until the squalls blew in.

The other thing to remember is regarding Durham Police is that they have some ground to make up over the Horden shooting case and the fact that previous firearms officers were fired following the discovery that they had been privately selling seized guns. So a successful arrest of illegal shooting in breach of the GL's would be a Brownie point? Remember that even the new GL's already issued allow non lethal shooting to scare corvids etc. That is what we have done in the past and will do currently to maintain our right.

No coincidence I would say. Given Durham have received accolades for the best performing force in UK this past week? The Saturday after this debacle broke we were in the farmyard talking to our farmers where we shoot and the helicopter came over - hmmm? Given that there is only one helicopter now for Northumbria, Tyne and Wear, Durham and Cleveland they are going to be flying around like blue based flies are they not if every gunshot is reported? We have had them hovering over us in the past as we are fairly near a reservoir where birdwatchers etc go but we are legit and carry our written permissions with us. They soon buzzed off. I think we will get the clay trap out soon, fire a few clays off and see what the reaction is............

Just sent my email to Defra and included at the end points about 1. the waste of public money following this revocation 2. asking for an investigation to see if the NE officers have acted within the civil service code as regards integrity, honesty, objectivity, impartiality, without fear or favour, if friendships or relationships exist between public and private parties etc, have officers put aside backgrounds and agendas etc.

They are all hypocrites. Emma Thompson flying in from the USA a week or so back to take part in the Extinction protests. I know anti frackers in North Yorkshire who claim to be true environmentalists but jet off all over, use modern technology by the wagon load, get dropped off at anti fracking protests by a car belching out diesel fuels.

I am amazed that the phrase "without fear or favour" has not been evoked in this situation regarding NE and its officers. This is how civil or public servants or those authorised to act on behalf of Government are expected to act. They must put aside their own beliefs and act in the interests of all by taking an impartial stance. It is a very difficult stance to take sometimes as I know from my own career but take it they must. Particularly if they are friends or acquaintances of the parties involved or ones previous career background demonstrates certain mindsets or beliefs. Those officers who feel they cannot put aside such feelings etc should resign or hand the task to someone else who has no axe to grind. This may be why Juniper and his merry men have lost the responsibility for GL's.

The enforcers will be aware. I come from a licensing background. I worked on import licences for textiles etc for a short period. Any minor change such as inclusions or exclusions of certain commodities were known about by us very quickly and by our importers within a day or so by a Notice to Importers. I imagine a similar process operates in other circumstances such as this. Then we very quickly issued a change to the law by Statutory Instrument I think it was called. These actions we did and this action under discussion here is NOT a major rewrite of a law - just an amendment.

Well this has set the cat amongst the pigeons! Way back farmers used to employ young kids as bird scarers. Had them walking around with sling shots and stones or football rattles etc. Much of the activity was just to unnerve the birds and stop them from landing which is essentially what a non-lethal gas gun does by blasting off periodically. I know our farmer had one until it broke but he had us as well. So what is to stop us walking around and firing off in a non lethal way to scare birds off? Not ideal but a stop gap until our special individual licence comes from out of the huge backlog of applications. NE will not be geared up manpowerwise for the deluge of applications.

They probably are using their position and clout to try to get things moving. We don't know that they aren't? But if you are reasonably fit and able perhaps you could nip down and offer help as an ordinary person and quite clearly empathising with the plight of these people? Stevenage is within easy striking distance. Straight into Kings Cross and then by tube to Ladbroke Grove or Latimer Road. A nice show of solidarity from the Home Counties? I hope the Queen will visit soon, after all she visited Manchester victims fairly quickly. She takes her example from her parents and their wartime visits to blitzed areas. May was remiss in not seeing some victims or survivors yesterday. Either she is frightened of reactions or badly advised (again). OK Corbyn could be said to be making political mileage from it but isn't that what politicians do? At least he went and spoke to ordinary people.

As mares tail has a waxy surface the liquid weedkiller will slide off. The trick is to use another agent such as wallpaper paste or cornflour to fix the weedkiller on the fronds. So mix the weedkiller with that to make a stiffish paste. Wear gloves when applying. Then place a board behind each frond and apply the mixture with a 1 inch paintbrush. Labour intensive I know if you have a lot but that way you are ensured of coverage without overspray and the guaranteed fixing of the solution to the weed. This is particularly necessary if in a vegetable plot. It may reappear as it is a tough weed from the dawn of time but eventually you will crack it.

It's all because someone said to Trump that you can't have a Commie heading up the FBI! The President has a precedent - Clinton was the first and ONLY other President to sack a head of the FBI.

I would imagine a municipal owned cemetery will keep records of their sites. The older ones as paper records perhaps which may have been transferred to a computer based record. I imagine any modern records are now computerised. Look on your local council site for a link to their crematoria/cemeteries and ring them up and ask. As for churches or similar with a graveyard I would have thought that the church parish records will record all this. Contact the vicar or sexton of the church or parish? There may be an obligation to inform the local authority as well of who is buried where?

I read this in the magazine the other day. Cleveland, my area, didn't reply or take part for whatever reason. However I must put on record that in my experience they have dealt with everything efficiently and in a timely manner. My coterminous renewals were back within a week and as I recall my first application x years ago only took a fortnight from start to finish. I have heard other praise for Cleveland in the clubs I go to and the RFD outlets I have visited and from fellow shooters. Sure there are bound to be some who have a less easy ride but they are the exception rather than the rule in my experience. In my view this is a function that should be centralised in the main in a government dept with field agents to do the visits etc at local level. This could still be the police at local level. I have expounded this view before on here and on other forums. I worked in a licensing operation for a time with the DTI (or whatever they are now). A centralised operation ensured we all sang from the same hymn sheet, had quick and easy access to the policy guys and others for rulings on areas of doubt. This office also dealt with Import Licences for firearm imports as well as other dangerous stuff by the way. A Home office function but handled and manned by the DTI. It still exists of course even though much of the ordinary textile licensing etc has disappeared.

As above. Easy to do and it's all laid out as to what years are full years of contributions and what aren't. Options to top up the shortfall years etc. Mine isn't going to be quite the full £155 but I'm not prepared to lash out the large amounts to obtain this given my age etc.