Fareast Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 In the Spectator, Charles Moore, an eminently respectable geezer, whether you agree with his views or not, has just reported a curious incident. He and his wife were asked by a charity if the charity could use the Moore household to give a tea-party for lonely old people. Having agreed, the Moores were then issued with a 14 page document or form, which they had to read and/ or fill in, covering every aspect of the planned party.He gives the details but I'm sure S.F. posters will be familiar with the sort of thing it said. What put the 'bin lid' on it for Mr. Moore, though, was the news that anyone helping out, serving the guests.......etc......would have to have 2 referees and be subject to a CRB check.The Moores are not sure now if they will go ahead or not.Even if they do, it's easy to see why they might be reluctant to do anything similar in the future ! No wonder, under this bureaucratic nightmare of a government and the atmosphere it has created, that people are reluctant to do volunteer work.Apparently, the Tory idea, if they get elected, is to have more local volunteering and less centralised control over our lives. They must begin by first making a huge bonfire of most of the nonsense that both they, and especially New Labour, have brought in over the years. Once our country can start to breathe again, it may start to get a bit of its confidence and self-respect back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 What a refreshing bit of common sense. To be fair though its not just Labour and the Tories who have brought it in. Theres always the EU... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyboy Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I believe that since a few months ago all new volunteers for the CAB undergo a CRB check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagardriley Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 In the Spectator, Charles Moore, an eminently respectable geezer, whether you agree with his views or not, has just reported a curious incident. He and his wife were asked by a charity if the charity could use the Moore household to give a tea-party for lonely old people. Having agreed, the Moores were then issued with a 14 page document or form, which they had to read and/ or fill in, covering every aspect of the planned party.He gives the details but I'm sure S.F. posters will be familiar with the sort of thing it said. What put the 'bin lid' on it for Mr. Moore, though, was the news that anyone helping out, serving the guests.......etc......would have to have 2 referees and be subject to a CRB check.The Moores are not sure now if they will go ahead or not.Even if they do, it's easy to see why they might be reluctant to do anything similar in the future ! No wonder, under this bureaucratic nightmare of a government and the atmosphere it has created, that people are reluctant to do volunteer work.Apparently, the Tory idea, if they get elected, is to have more local volunteering and less centralised control over our lives. They must begin by first making a huge bonfire of most of the nonsense that both they, and especially New Labour, have brought in over the years. Once our country can start to breathe again, it may start to get a bit of its confidence and self-respect back again. 110% spot on Fareast, I couldn't agree with you more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted November 25, 2006 Author Share Posted November 25, 2006 Yes, the E.U. is also responsible, of course, for much of the avalanche which has engulfed us. I really am puzzled, even astounded, though, how we have come to get into this position. It's almost been like a slow poisoning, taking over the body or a gas leak that is barely discernible but deadly, never-the-less.What's even more astonishing, is that we were once a country that prided itself on its robust freedoms, vis-a-vis other less fortunate places. It's got to the stage now, I think, where many people have got so used to being checked, ruled, watched, recorded and spied upon, that they simply accept it as the norm.Others, the Control Freaks, positively love being told what to do and, in turn, love telling others what to do. I'm sure part of the cause of all this [and there are certainly other reasons !], is that the authorities are reluctant to stamp down hard on the real law-breakers in our society and instead pass 'blanket' laws which affect everybody. e.g. certain teenagers cause problems late at night so ALL teenagers are subject to curfews or treated with suspicioun by the police. I'm sure there are other, similar, examples.Other laws are passed to grab headlines. The original offence was a 'one-off ' type of thing but the law remains in place...........etc........ Why are so many of our rulers and the ruled like sheep ? Maybe, during the Cold WAr, the Russians DID slip something in our water supply ? It makes as much sense as anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathom Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 To be fair, I think a lot of this has come in to protect public bodies from a litigation-happy public. Your kid trips over his shoelaces at school and gets a bloody nose? Sue the school! Your grandmother is served a cup of tea by someone who used to be an arsonist? Oh My God! He could have set her on fire! Sue the care home! Who is *really* to blame for all of this is the media with its shouting headlines whipping us all up into a frenzy of fear that our nearest and dearest could be subject to the minutest risk, and the greedy beggars who think there's always someone to blame, which equals some free money to put towards a new plasma telly. Public bodies are naturally trying to protect themselves. Say your kid did indeed trip over his shoelaces and get a bloody nose and the school was found at fault? The family might get a hundred quid out of it, but the school would stand to lose literally thousands in costs; no new books next year, one less teacher, the playing field would finally get sold....So yes, while this might all seem like unnecessary red tape, they're only protecting themselves in the long run. Sadly that's what its all come to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ousetunes Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Mathom makes a moot point. It's like we're all in detention for the indiscretions of one person. 'Right, the whole class will have detention!' Look how this sue you attitude (surely from America) has affected our lifestyle. Public events are cancelled due to the fact that getting the event insured is put out of reach to basically voluntary organisations. No public bonfires, no Donkey Derbies and thence onto no school trips for your kids. And simply because of the fear that should something happen the body responsible (school, council etc) would be sued, even if it was a trivial incident (Little Toby fell in the river whilst in a canoe. In fact, it seems the more trivial the better the chance of pay-out). Thus we're all affected as the red tape and sheer threat of litigation simply makes us all think: Why bother? A sad state of affairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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