Although it’s
been a couple of months since I last wrote anything, it’s not through lack of
motivation, but more through lack of time and the inability to stay awake long
enough to not only write something, but to do so in a manner that can be read.
Even now,
I'm concerned that I may revert to gibberish as, since 23rd September, I've had
just one day where I haven't worked. Clearly bad planning on my part, but
necessary, and a combination of both civilian and military work.
The
military side of it was that I have been lucky enough to attend the
Intermediate Command and Staff Course
at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Shrivenham. I felt very privileged
to have been able to attend, particularly with the history. However, having
said that, the premises at Shrivenham are relatively new, as the original Army
Staff College was located in Camberley, Surrey, in the grounds of the Royal
Military Academy at Sandhurst. Having completed this course now means that I
will have an added edge when applying for Staff Officer posts.
The
course was hard word, lectures every day from 0830 - 1730, and homework most
evenings, but the social aspect was also very enjoyable, there being a formal
course dinner night, syndicate nights out and beer at only £1.10 a pint!
As I
said, though, I had had to do my civilian job for the five days prior to
attending the fourteen day course (no days off), I then had to attend the
Squadron the day after I got back, having a day off on the Sunday, prior to
working two full weeks with a European Paediatric Life Support course that I
was teaching on during last weekend. It was therefore quite a relief to be
making my way home yesterday knowing that I had a whole two days off!
And then
next week I have a shortened week as its half term and my daughter is
staying. Pity, though, that No.1 son won't be staying for a while as he
has now started his history degree at The University of Hull. He was a busy
boy before he left, though, not only passing his driving test, but also buying
himself a car. It's very strange seeing one of your children driving, believe
me!
Also,
just before I went on the Staff course I received notification that I had been
awarded the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal, which meant that I had to rush
about getting a miniature and having it mounted prior to the dinner night. As
for the full-size one, it was being engraved prior to dispatch and still hasn't
arrived from the Medal Office, so although I will have the ribbon on my service
dress in time for Remembrance, it is unlikely that I will have the medal.
This will
be my last Remembrance with the Squadron. In the eleven years that I have been
with them, I have only missed two, in 2003 when I was making my way to Preston
to deploy to Iraq with 5 Medical Regiment and in 2008, when I had been ill and
attended the Remembrance parade at my old school. Next year, I plan to be back
at my old school again.
One of
the strange things about being away on these courses and living in the
insulated environment of a military unit is that you are often not completely
aware of what is happening "outside the wire". Although
there were newspapers available every day, I found that I only really had
time to flick through them, and although there was access to television, I
didn't actually watch any. My connection to the outside world was Radio 4 via my clock radio. So, although I was aware of the whole Jimmy Savile thing, I wasn't fully aware of just
how serious it was, or just how far it had spread!
I was a
child of the 70's, and I can remember watching Jim'll Fix It on a Saturday evening, which was when
I first became aware of this person. The concept of the show was
that children wrote in and asked him to arrange for them to meet a
celebrity or do something daft. I never wrote in, but m'Julie apparently wrote
in loads, although she was never chosen (perhaps a lucky escape!) Although I
always thought that he was a bit odd, the revelations that have been made about
him are a shock.
However,
what is a bigger shock to me is that, now that about 300 people have come
forward claiming to have been abused by Jimmy Savile, there seem to be numerous
people also coming forward who either worked with or knew him claiming that
they knew what was going on. The question that I have is "Why
did they allow it to continue if they knew?" I was particularly shocked by the
"revelations" that the nurses at Stoke Mandeville Hospital knew what
he was up to, apparently telling the patients to "pretend to be
asleep" when he was around. Yet they didn't report it, therefore
breaching the NMC (or
UKCC as it then was) Code of Professional conduct.
Sadly, we
will probably never get to the bottom of the whole thing and will also probably
never know the whole truth as Savile died last year. There have been various
"co-conspirators" named by several of Savile's alleged victims, but
not surprisingly, they have denied everything.
Earlier
this week, there was an article in one of the newspapers which suggested that
much of what was happening here was linked to a paedophile ring that was being
run by civil servants at the very heart of the British Government, in Downing
street itself. So with that in mind, I wonder how long it will be before this
whole issue disappears from public consciousness, replaced by some even juicier
scandal?
