Save Shetland Coastguard

[groilick]

[Okay I will have to go for my break after this.

 

I doot he's awa tae hae a birl on Mustaffa Donut's peirry peirry droilter.

[kiech]

Before I go for my break, two questions for quarfie the tank commander and northerie and muppet as well

 

Did you support Tyne Tees or Oban coastguards when their station were closing?

and

 

Hypothetically in March if the management were to say, because of your campaign, Shetland will remain open as they are now. Would you lot support all the other stations in their fight against these proposals?

 

I expect you'll ignore both questions. Or surprise me.

 

I'm not sure if you seem to think I have some connection with the Coastguard, but just to clarify (as we're still waiting on you to!) I don't. So to answer your question, I am not going to sit here and state that every Coastguard station that ever was, should be retained forever. That would be foolish.

 

I felt that Pentland should not have closed and I assume Tyne Tees and Oban were closed at the same time. I can't really comment on that as I don't know enough about the situation.

 

If your hypothetical situation were to arise, then yes, I would support the majority of stations remaining open as I do right now, regardless of whether Shetland remains open or not.

 

I find it despicable that the honourable member for Runnymede has set station against station and am proud of the way that the campaign locally has not sunk to his depths and taken his bait. If you did just a little research you would find that in particular Shetland and Stornoway are jointly fighting for both to remain open 24 hours.

 

Both our MSP ( Thats Tavish Scott whose Government is is Edinburgh and not Westminster as you wrongly asserted in an earlier post) and MP are supporting this.

 

I do find it pitiful that others seem to have taken his bait and are endulging in this moomin-for-tat (you'll have to work that out for yourselves! Swear filter has kicked in) against stations.

 

Now that I've answered your question, will you look back and answer some of the questions that have been asked of you? It would be nice if you could do a little research and get a basic grasp of the facts first too. It's a bit tedious having to wade through misinformed junk and really doesn't warrant me putting too much effort into replying as you are managing perfectly well yourselves to scupper your own arguements.

 

Thank you muppet for your reply. You will see if you read my posts that i too support all stations in this fight. However some don't read the post properly and only see what they want to see. individual campaigns are fine but shouldn't detract froma concerted national campaign. Because as you allude to each station may no probably will become suspicious of others. human nature. My fear is that in the past coastguards have not been united in other campaigns. hence my provocative introduction.

 

Of course i know that Tavish Scott is in Holyrood my point being he is a member of the Lib Dem party who is in government and it is they the westminster government who are pushing through these cuts. Now if Tavish Scott does support the campaign against coastguard closures let us hear him publicily speak out about the folly of the westminster government's and their plans to close all these coastguard statoions. If, however, he is only interested in Shetland coastguard, and lets be honest here his reelection hopes..........well.

That also goes for your MP Alistair Carmichael.

Let me say this the more MPs or MSPs of the westiminter govering parties who speak up and against these closures and the government the better chance we will have of defeating them.

Unfortunately writing in forums will change nothing. I have written to my MP, MSP and other bodies on a national basis (supporting all stations), lets get everyone doing similar.

 

I now wonder who will pick the worst out of this post not seeing the positive.

[Northerly]

DOWNARD ALERT****DOWNARD ALERT*****DOWNARD ALERT*****

[shetlandpeat]

The other stations mentioned, Oban etc, were they not closed nearly 20 years ago, early 90's. If that is true, there seems to be a common denominator.

[Quarffie]

last round of cuts saw Tyne Oban & Pentland go.

 

Pentland shut just before Christmas 2000 and I think Oban was a month or 2 before that. Not sure when Tyne went.

Portland and Solent were due to co-locate but survived independantly, largely thanks to Lord Donaldson IMO

Liverpool were also on the hit list, but mounted a very good campaign and saved themselves.

 

~ Q

[shetlandpeat]

I think I may have read something wrong.

 

These sorta cuts we are experiencing too.

 

Our employer wants to cut 170,000,000 pounds

 

In Blackburn they are closing daycare centres, yet have the cash to launch an appeal against a development in Preston, for fear of them and Blackpool loosing out on shoppers.

 

All these cuts are happening so quickly that folk who are trying to make the thing work have to spend additional money adjusting their policies because of another sector hit.

 

We had the same with our standby, they cut it to 30% of what it was, and then cut the hourly rate from double to time and a third.

I have said before, doing the job I do, in the private sector I could earn more than 3 x what I get now, but, If I left and did that, my employer would need to then employ a contractor (me) to do tha same job. I enjoy my job and it involves hundreds, if not thousands having a safer journey around works. The privateers need to make profit.

Our standby was raised to 2 thirds at the cost of a min payment per call (2 hrs).

We are on a 24 hour call out system, attending some of the most serious RTAs picking up or locating bits of folk and making safe a site, we are also involved with the police investigations as witnesses.

Then we do our day work.

 

The whole thing stinks.

Folk think that privateers can run the same jobs.

 

There is an analogy,

 

Costa Coffee may be good at one single thing, making coffee,

GOV departments have to deal with all folk and be seen to be fair and have to be good at dealing with the many facets of the human bean.

 

This is why more should be invested into public services, even more so if a ferry load of folk are involved.

[Mustaffa Donut]

Shetland Peat, I am sorry but...........

 

I will give you an analogy of the coastguard service in shetland terms!

 

It is stated that the average shetlander owns 15 sheep, if some of these sheep were not performing would you keep feeding it and spending money on it? Or would you send it to be disposed off and focus on the strong ones in the flock?

 

Simples.

[tlady]

^^Sad

 

 

Am I right that our local coastguard officers have to go to Southampton for ALL their training ? even basic first aid? surely thousands could be saved by getting training closer to home.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Shetland Peat, I am sorry but...........

 

I will give you an analogy of the coastguard service in shetland terms!

 

It is stated that the average shetlander owns 15 sheep, if some of these sheep were not performing would you keep feeding it and spending money on it? Or would you send it to be disposed off and focus on the strong ones in the flock?

 

Simples.

 

Are you trying to say, in a gratuitously patronising manner,

might I add, that Shetland Coastguard are somehow failing to 'perform'?

 

Not everything can be measured in simple economic terms.

[groilick]

Shetland Peat, I am sorry but...........

 

if some of these sheep were not performing

 

Are you trying to say, in a gratuitously patronising manner,

might I add, that Shetland Coastguard are somehow failing to 'perform'?

 

Not everything can be measured in simple economic terms.

 

He’s tellin wis dat he got his knees weet on da lang girse da last time he cam across a yowe

[Muppet]

Shetland Peat, I am sorry but...........

 

I will give you an analogy of the coastguard service in shetland terms!

 

It is stated that the average shetlander owns 15 sheep, if some of these sheep were not performing would you keep feeding it and spending money on it? Or would you send it to be disposed off and focus on the strong ones in the flock?

 

Simples.

 

Actually the strong ones can be the awkward twits. Not to my taste at all. I'd lay off a few of them.

 

Another Busy day in the Southampton office is it if this is all you have to do?

 

Phillip Hammond must love you!

[Mustaffa Donut]

Groilick who is patronising now?

 

What on earth do you mean by saying 'I got my knees wet in the long grass last time i found a old sheep'

 

If this is any suggesting to my personal interests i they put it to you who is hurling insults and abuse now?

 

Have you spent to long speaking to the seagulls flying aroond your station because there is very little traffic on your phones and radios?

 

I am sorry but.......

[Northerly]

Theres more than one way to skin a cat of course. If this is all about saving money - and it is - then there are a number of things that could be done.

 

1. Sell off the land that is currently occupied by the Coastguard Training Centre at Highcliffe. This is prime beachfront property in one of the most expensive parts of the country. The MCA could make an absolute fortune. In conjunction with that, they could then regionalise the training set-up therefore spending less on travel and subsistence costs.

 

2. The MCA as an organisation is substantially "top-heavy" for its small size. A decent number of upper level management jobs could go and any administrative functions could be centralised with other Government Depts.

 

3. The MCA Press Office should be closed as it is absolutely useless and a complete waste of time and money. It does absolutely nothing to promote HM Coastguard and is frankly woeful when you compare it to, for example, the RNLI press machine, who successfully communicate to the public what it is they do. Furthermore the Press Dept. is full of numpties who can't spell and have appalling grammar, if you don't believe me, take a look here and have a read of some of this drivel:

 

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/newsandpublications/press-releases.htm

[Graeme_Storey]

On a positive note, over 2,100 people have now signed the online petition to save Shetland Coastguard, and over 3,400 people have signed up to the Facebook page.

 

Quarffie, Northerly, etc. - we are firmly behind you lads and lassies!

[millie]

Thank you Graeme_Storey