Highly commendable?

I couldn't make it to London today for the protest march and join some 22,000 colleagues marching on Westminster. However I support my colleagues 100% in getting the government to honour the independent pay award we are due. That's the 2.5% award we should have had in October, when it was due, 12 months after the previous pay award. Not the resulting 1.9% after three months drawn-out negotiation by the government.

I couldn't make it because I wouldn't have been able to get back for an award ceremony this evening which I had been invited to attend by the divisional command team. Unfortunately this had been planned months back, before the pay dispute flared up, but hey-ho.

Tonight I received a Divisional Commander's Commendation Certificate in relation to a serious assault last year, that I responded to with a team of officers. Suffice as to say enquiries resulted in arrests and justice was served.

A comment from a colleague stuck in my head from tonight

"The amount of times the job screws you over y'know, it's nice to get something back."

True.

I've had Newsnight on the TV in the background and they just did the paper-review of the first editions.

"20,000 police officers protesting on the streets" screamed the headline of the Daily Express "where are they when you need them?"

Everywhere.