'Coastline Cops'

I did particularly enjoy the bit where they made a real dogs dinner of arresting the stroppy drunk, and repeatedly sprayed each other with pepper spray.
CJ
 
Twister_Ken said:
Now now gents, that's no way to talk about the "finest police force in the world".
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Shame on you TK. There is no FORCE any more only SERVICE. Well there is no service either, but there is supposed to be, because it says so on their mission statement.

Reminds me of the firemen who came out to us in the USA after the aircon filled the apartment with smoke. I think they are still laughing 'cos I referred to them as the Fire 'Brigade'!
 
Ceejay said:
I did particularly enjoy the bit where they made a real dogs dinner of arresting the stroppy drunk, and repeatedly sprayed each other with pepper spray.
CJ
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Pure comedy gold. It was like the keystone cops all over again.



Is it just me that finds it all a bit sinister to suddenly have a one hour programme repeatedly talking about drunken yachtsmen on the back of the implementation of a pleasure boating alcohol limit ?
 
Truly a cr4p programme, but I expected little else. I was drawn in by the synopsis that suggested that it would focus on Tobermory. In fact, there were a total of about 8 minutes about the Strathclyde activity and most of that was about the marine unit jaunt to Loch Lomond to deal with suspicious smoke from campers. However at least they were marine cops, the rest were your usual land-based plods.

I did feel a wee bit sorry for the editors and producers of the programme. (OK I lied there :)) They send a camera crew all the way to Mull and virtually nothing happens! So they had to scratch in the footage to find something vaguely interesting to show. I remember when the BBC filmed the CCC Tobermory race (circa 1966) and had stationed camera crews on three of the boats. They were trying to build a story about a close race between two of them, but unfortunately one ran aground. Twice. They glossed over the first incident with clever editing and it was never mentioned in the film or in the commentary by Magnus Magnusson. Then when the yacht hit the Black Rock off Crinan at the start of the second leg, the voice of the other skipper was heard saying "Oh dear, ********'s on a rock again!"

Gazza's comments about the pleasure boating alcohol limit make me wonder if some of the Tobermory footage will be used in future by news editors to beef up stories about implementation of the regulations. Some of the risks taken do not present a good picture of responsible drinking. I thought the Scuttlebut Clyde musters were just an excuse for a booze-up, (wee plug for the next one on, or about, 23 April next year) but there was nobody in the state that some of those in Tobermory had reached.
 
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The Beeb's minions were covering the Scottish Islands Peaks this year and did manage to produce most of a programme about it. They were focusing on Calypso and her runners attempt on the all time record but she just sort of faded from the commentary - no mention of her retiral after Jura. Then there was the lovely Desirée whose commentary was mostly on feeling unwell, though she didn't appear to notice her boat going aground in Oban Bay. Dougie Vipond (allegedly and probably only hearsay) was none too weel in the rib they sent to take pictures of boats going round the M of K. Their covering of the running bit was more comprehensive.

And to cap it all, they had pissed off home before we got to Troon (and won Class 3) and we didn't even get a mention in the list of winners!
 
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