Therapeutic Models

Because I've been a bit under the weather, I haven't had the time to think and write as much as I would like, so this Sunday's offering is a piece by Annie Parmeter, written when she was studying counselling.

The fundamental idea that crops up in her thinking, which is one taken from co-counselling, is that of "patterns". Harvey Jackins, the founder of co-counselling, saw "patterns" as fixed reactions to hurt and pain, that were almost recorded like tape recordings, and would be replayed at other times of hurt and pain. It can be seen that this comes from a very old idea of memory, that memories themselves are like tape recordings. The notion that they can be replayed under hypnosis with "regression" also comes into this.

But we now know that human memory is not like that of a tape recorder or a computer, but is much more fluid and complex. Past lives, and alien abductions, are not examples of events recorded on an organic  tape recorder but how the human mind behaves when charged with creating events that did not exist. The work of Elizabeth Loftus shows that memories can be strong, but wholly false, and can even be implanted either by accident or by design.

And I think the same is true of "patterns" - just because we have reacted in similar situations, doesn't mean that we will simply react in the same way in future situations, like a robot programmed to react that way, because it must. The tape recorder idea of the psyche is not true either.

Yet it is true that unless we follow the Socratic ideal, and seek to "know thyself", we are also likely to be prone to follow set patterns of behaviour. This is not because they are like a tape recording which must play back exactly, or a robot programmed to react, but because they have become automatic responses. Just as when driving a car, we may take a wrong turning because we are not concentrating on where we are going, or have been distracted, and so follow the turning we usually take, so too, I suspect that our behaviour can follow learned patterns where we are not sufficiently critical and introspective. This is where therapy can be helpful, to provide a means to enable us to see our own behaviour more objectively, especially if we are not naturally introspective - and this is the subject of this piece by Annie:

Therapeutic Models
by Annie Parmeter

This week we have been asked to make an exploration of our preferred therapeutic model.

I cannot honestly say that I have any one favourite, firstly as a trainee counsellor I am still learning about a variety of different models and until I gain more experience in the practice of them I would like to keep an open mind; secondly, my experience so far has been as client and the effectiveness of a therapeutic model (if that is the criteria by which we should judge it favourite) may therefore only be indicative of my own individual needs and modes of learning, for example I value the trust, sense of safety and unconditional positive regard engendered by a humanistic style of counselling, but the more logic-based practical style of the cognitive approach appeals to the pragmatist in me and my rational need for beauty and order.

These may not be the needs or preferred learning styles of other clients and as counsellor it behoves me to remember this and act accordingly. For the purposes of this exercise I will focus on the humanistic person centred and cognitive approaches as I have found from my own experience that they can complement each other very well.

How we come to experience suffering;

Cognitive therapies (including those of Beck and Ellis) support the belief that human beings are prone to learning erroneous and self-defeating thoughts and that these thoughts are the cause of our subsequent feelings of distress, but the cognitive message is one of hope as it is believed that we can challenge these negative thoughts and relearn a more positive/rational (although we must beware of assuming that there is a universal definition of 'rational') view of the world and come to enjoy more upbeat feelings as a result. The cognitive approach recognises the degree to which negative thinking has the power to set a client on the road to self-destruction.

The person-centred approach of Rogers is constructed around the idea that human beings are motivated by the drive to 'self-actualise' and that at a very young age we begin to develop a concept of our 'self' as an individual. We also find within us a deep need for positive regard of this 'self', tailoring our behaviour in order to receive approval, we learn about the effects of our behaviour and how acceptance can be conditional upon it, if we internalise this the result can be feelings of alienation as we come to feel bad about ourselves as if we were the cause of others' perception of us.

The aim of therapy;

The cognitive approach has a present time focus and suggests that the painful 'symptoms' (the result of faulty learning) with which the client presents are the real issue to be tackled, the goal therefore is to help the client change their behaviour by unlearning destructive patterns of thinking (and ensuing behaviour) and replace it with life-enhancing skills, the therapist is seen very much as a teacher of effective behaviour.

Change-goals are set up to be limited, specific and measurable in order that client and therapist can both easily evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.

The aim of Rogers' person-centred approach is to create for the client an environment conducive to personal growth, that is to say one of congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding. Rogers believed it was from this nurturing position that clients could feel safe to examine those patterns that may be inhibiting their growth thus enabling them to change their self-concept.

How does therapeutic change come about?

The cognitive approach brings about change when the client is confronted by the therapist about their irrational notions and begins the practice of unlearning destructive or counter-productive patterns of thinking and takes on board more useful and effective ways of thinking about their life and their difficulties. This process usually involves homework.

The Rogerian humanistic counsellor/client relationship is an egalitarian one where the counsellor declining the role of 'expert' proceeds from the assumption that the best person to find the most effective way forward is the client. In a therapeutic environment that is free from blame, criticism and judgement the client can feel safe to explore the full potential of their path to self-actualisation, the resolution or working through of difficulties is deemed to be something that will occur quite naturally along the way. There is a way of looking at this type of process that we may borrow from gestalt therapy, 'The curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am, then I change'. Rogers also played down the usefulness of intellectualising about problems in favour of a more intuitive/emotional slant that he felt was more conducive to 'whole-person learning'.

Where it became useful for me to run these therapies side by side, was when I could discharge on and clarify ideas within the safety of the humanistic 'talking therapy' then check in with a more cognitive approach in order to more swiftly and effectively set up goals for change.

There can be valuable lessons to be learned from a more confrontational approach, sometimes, additional information or an outside viewpoint can help to open up new angles on a given problem. I do however value the space afforded by a humanistic approach to explore the origins of some of my distress recordings, often this process of unravelling, recognition and understanding of the patterns currently running can be sufficient motivation to alter my thinking and behaviour, without which the cognitive restructuring approach can seem slightly like brainwashing and more definitely like trying to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Weather Working

With unsettled global climatic conditions, a poem on the ancient art of weather magic...

Weather Working
 
Circle round, and weave the spell
The need is great, the land so torn
The rain pours down, a sodden hell
And crops are failing, drown stillborn
 
Circle round, and weave the spell
The need is great, the land so dry
The soil is dust, a windswept hell
And not a cloud is there in sky
 
Circle round, and weave the spell
The balance broken, winds and rain
On us the anger of the gods so fell
For so much hunger, loss and pain
 
Circle round, and weave the spell
The need is great, restore, make well

An Olympic Streak

On 10 July 2012, the BBC ran this story:

Olympic torch: Man charged after 'Free Tibet' streak A man has been charged with indecent exposure after a streaker ran naked across the front of the torch convoy as it travelled through Henley. The streaker had "Free Tibet" written on his back and ran a short distance past crowds waiting to see the torch relay beside the River Thames. Daniel Leer, 27, from Henley-on-Thames has been released on bail to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court on 25 July.Officers tackled him and covered him up, said the BBC's Priya Patel.

Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, overseeing the torch relay policing operation, said: "This was an isolated incident that was quickly dealt with by police officers and thankfully did not disrupt the torch relay as it passed through Henley. "The torch relay events of yesterday and today have been attended by thousands of people who lined the routes through towns and villages, and seemed to have really enjoyed this once in a lifetime experience, and we have every confidence that this will continue." The incident took place shortly before five-times gold medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave rowed with the torch on the Thames.(1)


Of course, it is ironic, given that the original Olympic games was run naked in Athens.  This seems to have happened by chance, in the fifteenth Olympiad when Orsippos of Megara lost his loincloth, persevered, and ran to victory. The Greek writer Pausanias notes:

"Near Koroibos is buried Orsippos who won the stadion at the Olympic Games by running naked when, at the time, athletes wore loincloths at the contests according to ancient custom. They also say that Orsippos, while a general, appropriated territory belonging to his neighbors. I believe that even at Olympia the loincloth was slipped off on purpose, since he realized that it is easier for a naked man to run than one wearing a loincloth."

How much of this story is true, and how much invented to give a rationale for a custom is not known, but custom it was. By the classical period of the 5th to 4th centuries BC, athletic nudity was widespread among Greeks and universally shocking to foreigners. To be naked was a sign that one needed no props, a fact confirmed in Xenophon where he notes of captured foreigners:  "When Agesilaos' soldiers saw them white because they never stripped and fat and lazy from always being in wagons, they believed that the war would not be any different from fighting with women".

And this practice persisted. The Roman epic poet Statius (45-96 AD) mentions it when runners enter the course to race: "When the bar fell and left a fair entrance for all, they lightly seized the course, and their naked company glistened across the plain "

But the modern sense of the world - as widespread, dates from around 1973. Before that, the verb "to streak" - in English since 1768, meant ""to go quickly, to rush, to run at full", it was a variant of "streek", and came from the same root as "stretch"

The term "streaking" was popularized by a reporter for a local Washington,  D.C. news station as he watched a "mass nude run" take place at the  University of Maryland in 1973. That nude run had 533 participants. As the  collected mass of nude students exited Bel Air dorm, the reporter, whose  voice was broadcast live over the station via a pay phone connection  exclaimed... "they are streaking past me right now. It's an incredible  sight!" The next day it was out on the Associated Press wire as "streaking"  and had nationwide coverage. (2)


Ruth Barcan, in her study of nudity as a cultural phenomena notes that unlike the "flasher", who exposes their genitals suddenly to shock or distress, that streaking is much more of a comic phenomena:

It is the specific focus on the penis that helps give flashing some of its power to shock or distress. By contrast, the exposure of the entire male body in public is much more prone to have comic effects. Although streaking is technically a minor offence under the same section of the Summary Offences Act hat governs flashing (in Australia), it functions differently culturally. Nowadays, it is quite likely to be considered a joke, or at least a form of insolence rather than mastery. Streaking is a very public act, mostly performed in front of crowds. It is usually carried out by young men, sometimes in groups. It involves the exposure of the entire body and not just the penis, and that body is, literally, on the run. The streaker usually aims to shock, surprise or entertain (and occasionally to self-publicize for commercial reasons). Many streakers are intoxicated, or accepting a dare. Nowadays, sociologists, police, psychologists and a fair proportion of the public are likely to consider streaking and other practices such as mooning as neither particularly perverse nor dangerous and only marginally criminal. Instead, these acts are mostly understood as a joke, a fad or perhaps a nuisance. Streaking at large events has to some extent been curtailed by large fines at major sporting venues and by the agreement of television crews to turn their cameras away from the streaker. (2)


It was very much part of 1970s culture, and I remember a fellow student at Exeter University wound up in the local papers (not literally, a policeman's helmet was used for covering up rude parts!) for streaking in a football match. It's also, as Lucy Rollin notes, very much a part of teen culture. You don't get old men streaking. For one thing, they wouldn't probably have the speed - just imagine some old bese, bald, pot-bellied individual wheezing as they tried to run across a football pitch:

In popular culture, the Seventies are often considered a joke decade, defined by shag carpet, pet rocks, streaking, polyester leisure suits, and the thumpthump of Beethoven to a disco beat. The silliest fad of the Seventies was streaking--running nude through a crowded public place. College boys did it on a dare, dashing through football stadiums at halftime trying to outrun the guards and police. (3)


Streaking is a recent dramatic example of the thumb-to-nose hurray-for-me-and to-hell-with-everybody-else syndrome in modern society. It is the latest attempt to erode and destroy convention, decency, and decorum and is primarily an act of teenage and young adult defiance rather than an isolated, innocuous student prank. Its precursors are long unkempt hair, dirty jeans, dirty feet, hippyism, "ups," "downs," LSD, heroin, and so-called total female liberation. (Elkins 1974: 157) (3)


It was very popular in the 1970s, and then died away as quickly as it came. In the 1980s, Elizabeth Loftus remarked on how strange fads like this were:

Some social scientists have suggested that a fad must seem to be novel and must be broadly consistent with the times and particularly with modern values. Fads are generally accelerated by widespread publicity, often in the form of advertising. A decade ago, for example, the curious fad of "streaking" (running in the nude in public places) suddenly came into being. In those days streakers ran across television screens and basketball courts. Male streakers streaked through female dormitories and females streaked back. Streakers sprung up in the most unlikely places, and then almost as quickly as the fad began, it was over. Why did this fad occur? One possibility is that 1974, when the fad erupted, was a socially and politically difficult time in the United States: Richard Nixon had resigned and we were just experiencing the deep shock of the first oil crisis. The rebelliousness of streaking provided some contrast and relief.(4)


But the modern roots of streaking may go back to an earlier age of unrest. Between 1800 and 1815, at Washington College, USA, there was a real time of student unrest. John J. Crittenden, who later became a U.S. senator, was expelled for attacking an official with a knife. Another student was expelled for impersonating the devil. But George William Crump seems to have started the practice of streaking, long before it gained popularity as a quick fad. It's interesting that, like in the 1970s, it was an act of rebellion against authority.

Perhaps the most infamous of the school's students was George William Crump, who is credited with the invention of "streaking," Mr. Sanders said. "He frolicked in the nude in the town fountain," he said. Mr. Crump,  suspended from the school in August 1804, went on to become a congressman and U.S. ambassador to Chile. The streaking tradition has carried on for centuries, and is now part of student life at the University of Virginia (UVa.) in Charlottesville. "Officially, it's illegal, but everyone does it," said UVa. senior Chris  Ray, 21, a financial math and financial economics major. Mr. Ray described the tradition of streaking across the school's lawn from  Thomas Jefferson's rotunda to a statue of Homer yards away. When students reach it, they must kiss the statue's backside. (5)


Streaking seems to have been well-established on some college campuses by the mid-1960s, possibly taking its cue from this origin, but it was the reporter in 1973 in Maryland, who lit the touch paper with his report, and after that, the practice exploded across the USA and England. It is perhaps ironic that the Olympic Games has seen a modern instance of the practice.

Links
(1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18782634?print=true
(2) Nudity: A Cultural Anatomy by Ruth Barcan (2004)
(3) Twentieth-Century Teen Culture by the Decades: A Reference Guide, Lucy Rollin, 1999
(4) Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games. Geoffrey R. Loftus, Elizabeth F. Loftus - , 1983
(5) A Present Built on the Past; in Virginia, History Is Warmly Embraced. The Washington Times. July 3, 2005.

The Chief Minister's Timetable and Memory Lane

On of the most extraordinary questions to emerge in Hansard was the following:

4.2 The Connétable of St. John:

Could the Minister give details of his calendar engagements for the rest of this week, please?

Senator I.J. Gorst:
I think I am going to have to refrain from answering that, because I have only got 15 minutes and it would take considerably longer?

4.2.1 The Connétable of St. John:
Could he give the calendar events for one day of this week, please?

Senator I.J. Gorst:

Yes, today, I have had a meeting prior to this States sitting. I am hoping, Sir, and I am relying on your good judgment that we might finish by lunchtime. I have 2 meetings in my diary to take place during the lunch interval. I have 4 other subsequent meetings this afternoon. Then I have an evening meeting starting at 6.00 p.m. which I expect to finish around 9.30 p.m. I was pleased to be able to read in my papers overnight that there might be light refreshments provided at that meeting, which means that I do not then need to rush home and eat my cold dinner.

Quite why Philip Rondel wanted to know that, I have no idea. But it provides an interesting snapshot into the day of our Chief Minister. It seems a very busy schedule, finishing late. Of course, we have no idea what the meetings are about, they are just "meetings". But we have some idea, for posterity, of one day in the life of the Chief Minister, and the sad spectacle of his cold dinner, waiting for him when he finally gets home.

Sir Humphrey: There's always some questions unanswered.
Jim: Such as?
Sir Humphrey: Well the ones that weren't asked.
(Yes Minister)

The Constable of St John, Phil Rondel, obviously has a liking for history, because he later took a trip down memory lane, with respect to an altercation with Derek Carter. This was a debate about how question time worked, and if it could be improved.

In the days before Hansard, minutes were short resumes of the salient points of debates, with votes, and the anecdote which follows is seeing light of day for the first time. It's nice to have these gems, that brighten up what are otherwise rather dull debates:

5.1.8 The Connétable of St. John:

Having worked on the both systems, coming in the House back in 1994, the system that was under the committee system for questions and answers was far more robust than it  is today. Far more robust. If you will bear with me a moment or 2 I will repeat one in particular. When the new marina was being built, the Elizabeth Marina, I can recall putting questions  to the President of the day, Deputy Carter or Senator Carter - I am not sure which position he was holding at that time, Senator I think - about a boat that was being used. He got so frustrated with the questioner that he threatened to knock his teeth down the questioner's throat if he would walk out into the Royal Square with him and he marched out of the Chamber.

The Bailiff of the day,  the late Sir Peter Crill looked at me and said: "There is nobody to answer your question, Deputy", so I sat down, in fact I sat down and then I immediately left the Chamber only to be drinking a cup of coffee with the President in the Members room outside where he was so exasperated. Half the  Chamber had followed me out expecting to see us both in the Royal Square having  fisticuffs. But the fisticuffs should be happening on the floor of this House, the verbal fisticuffs, not  out there. I would like to see under the current system, the person who puts the oral question given  far more bites at the cherry to get the information out of the Minister, not just be given the  original question plus a supplementary and then come back in at the end with a second supplementary.
 
Today that means absolutely nothing. Unless you can get the information out  of the Minister the person who puts the question should be given sufficient time to have  sufficient supplementaries to hold that person to account. That does not happen any longer and it is  definitely not working. I believe we do need changes, contrary to the previous speaker who is a former  president of P.P.C., but for somebody who spent a lot of his time on his feet putting questions,  this new system, as far as I am concerned, is totally flawed. I am talking about this particular part of Government. The question time is flawed and does need a proper review so question time  becomes really meaningful.

Deputy G.C.L. Baudains took a different point of view, and again gave us a nice anecdote about Len Norman's style of answering questions:

In contrast to the previous speaker, which you will no doubt consider to be unusual, I believe that the system of questioning under the old committee system was not ideal. I  happen to believe that the present system we have is probably as good as we are going to get it. I do agree with Senator Bailhache which may surprise him. I mean, I have been asking questions in this Chamber for 10 years or more and it is probably only half a dozen occasions in all those questions where I have not had a satisfactory response, and it is an art form.

I recall the situation when Senator Norman was president of Harbours and Airport and if you asked him if something had or had not happened he would stand up and say yes and then sit down. [Laughter] If you then stood  up and said: "I would like a supplementary on that" the Chair would rule: "What is it you do not  understand about 'Yes'?" So you learned to put your question and at the end of it say: "If  the answer is yes would the president give his reasons why". So it is the way that you word the question that is important. I am not convinced that what I consider to be the blurring between written and oral questions is going to be of assistance, I think it could be a disadvantage. I would urge Members to concentrate on getting the question in such a way that the Minister cannot avoid producing the  answer which you require.

Should that still fail there are other remedies. You could, in the last  resort, bring a proposition to force the answer.

Which not unnaturally prompted Len Norman to come in with a comment on questions - know the answer before you ask it!:
 
I just wanted to say briefly, similar to Deputy Baudains, I think the problem, if there is a problem, is in equal measure with the quality of the questions as well as with the quality of the answers. I think one or 2 Members have forgotten one of the basic rules of  asking questions, you do not ask a question unless you already are absolutely sure of the answer. 

It very much reminds me of "Yes Minister":

Jim: Opposition's about asking awkward questions.
Sir Humphrey: And government is about not answering them.
(Yes Minister)

Hansard is a good cure for insomnia, but these wonderful vignettes about proposed punch-ups, and questions being answered in days gone by, make it much more lively. However, it emerged that Senator Ian Le Marquand is probably not the best person to drift down memory lane, as he displays problems with his memory...
 
Particularly I find it difficult to give a good answer to a multi-part question which also contains factual information that is  incorrect. Now, those of you who have observed my methodology on this over a period of time will know  what will happen to such a question. My first priority will be to seek to correct the factual error. My second priority will be to answer the part of the question which I can recall. My third priority will be to ask the Chair to remind me what the rest of the question is. That is what happens almost every time and that is because bad questions are being asked and I cannot give a good answer to a bad question. It is also because my memory is not as good as it once was of course.

Let's hope he's not asked whether the introduction of Tasers is laying the foundations of a police state:

Bob: Minister are you laying the foundations for a police state?
Jim: You know, I'm glad you asked that question.
Bob: Well Minister could we have the answer?
Jim: Well yes, of course, I was just about to give it to you, if I may. Yes as I said I'm glad you asked me that question because it's a question that a lot of people are asking, and quite so, because a lot of people want to know the answer to it. And let's be quite clear about this without beating about the bush the plain fact of the matter is that it is a very important question indeed and people have a right to know.
Bob: Minister, we haven't yet had the answer.
Jim: I'm sorry, what was the question?
(Yes Minister)

Odds and Ends

A Fare Price?

It seems so simple. Under the new bus contract coming into effect in January 2013, the States receive a fixed sum from the bus company, and the bus company's profits are tied into the income they generate. Hence, if you have more passengers, the income will increase. This is seen as at incentive for the bus company to get more people to travel by bus.

But it is not quite as simple as that: the incentive is to increase profits, but what if those profits could be increased - in part at least - in other ways, such as raising bus fares. There is a "captive core" of bus users, commuters who need to get into St Helier every day, and who have no other means of transport. Then there are the casual users, and the visitors. I suspect that the bulk of the income generated comes from the "captive core", and that one alternative way of increasing profits would be to raise the fare, because the captive market will simply have to grit their teeth and bear that burden. I wonder what safeguards there are to limit fare rises?

That's the problem with incentives - they drive people towards targets - in this case increased profits - which need not be directly related to the intention of the person creating the incentive. I wonder what John Seddon - the arch critic of incentives and targets - would have to say about that.

Business Downwards Tendency

The Business Tendency survey, which is just out, shows builders facing problems, and high street retailers seeing falling trade as people cut back on non-essential goods.

Cuts can come it all kinds of ways - a few years back, we decided in our family that while we'd keep birthdays, and give presents to children at Christmas, it was a pointless and costly exercise to give presents to each other, as mostly it was goods we didn't really need. It meant we could reduce the Christmas debt considerably.

Nowadays, often the birthday present wanted is an Amazon gift voucher, allowing the recipient the freedom to choose what they want to spend it on. There's something about a gift voucher that makes it different from simply cash, and perhaps local retailers and traders need to get more in on that act. After all, a gift voucher to be offset against a meal out would be both pleasant and an incentive to eat at that restaurant. Some stores do gift vouchers, but it doesn't, in general, seem as well promoted as it should. It shouldn't be a case of asking "do you supply gift vouchers?" - they should be top of the promotions, highly visible.

David Warr seems to think the States is not doing enough for the High Street, and he wants the GST receipts for the last quarter (January to March) to be released. He believes that raising the goods and services tax (GST) in Jersey from 3% to 5% has caused people to spend less money, Jersey's Chamber of Commerce has said. I'm sure he's right.

There's a core component - heating, water, transport, food - that everyone has to pay, but with anything extra, there is now more of an incentive to mend and make do. With the Island rate set to rise at the cost of living, and electricity prices promised to rise, it seems that less will be spent on goods and services that are not strictly needed. And that means less revenue for the States, and if we are not careful, a GST rate that will spiral upwards to meet falling GST revenue.

Senator Philip Ozouf has an eye on the Business Tendency Survey - here are his Tweets:

"Business Tendency Survey is just out. Shows a continuing picture of economic weakness of last year following the onset of the eurocrisis"

"As explained at last weeks's Chamber lunch we have the capacity to do more. We cannot change the global conditions but can act locally."

"At such a critical time it is vital that the States plays its part in helping new &existing local businesses to weather these global effects"

"Next Friday we will also be announcing the Medium Term Financial Plan which will set out some further fiscal expansion to assist."

It doesn't really say a lot. Let's hope the Medium Term Plan helps. It will be interesting to see exactly how the States decide to "act locally".

Last time, a lot of the fiscal stimulus funding was directed towards building works, but not a lot towards the high street. Perhaps - as lending from banks can be a problem - the States should look into the issue of microloans.

These have been very successful elsewhere in stimulating economies, and they have the advantage that there's a whole apparatus of schemes with procedures and documentation already to hand from other countries. The government of other countries has often been proactive in introducing microfinance, but surprisingly, private schemes have often built on that success and provided extra sources of income.

Deadlines and Slippage

Presented to the States on 5th February 2008, the Draft Discrimination Law still has no date for States debate.

The Energy from Waste Plant is operational, but "It is anticipated the contract will be complete by the end of June 2014"!

Anne Pryke, Minister for Health notes that: "Regarding a new hospital, it has been well recognised that we do need a new hospital and feasibility study has got under way in the last couple of weeks and a report will come out towards the end of August/September time". If it is towards the end of August / September, wouldn't that be - just September? It's curious how deadlines are given to create the appearance of something happening early.

The matter of a redacted copy of Graham Power's submission to the Wiltshire inquiry seems to have been lost. This was a  62,000 word submission to Wiltshire police, putting Mr Power's side of the story. A small part of it has leaked out on blogs. Isn't it about time the whole report was put online, as Senator Le Marquand promised back in 2011? Slippage again.

Senator Philip Ozouf says that it may take up to two years to solve the problem of lost revenue through the zero-ten scheme on trading companies although he does tell Deputy Labey that he can brief him on "what our thinking is" - but the public will have to wait with bated breath:

"I am absolutely content to brief the Deputy in confidence of what our thinking is and will welcome her in the department to brief her confidentially on what our thinking is, and indeed any other Member."

Meanwhile, Senator Gorst has promised to bring something to the States in September 2012 on Vulture Funds. Mark the date.

There are often no deadlines, or very vague deadlines, and a lot of hope and promise, with matters in the States. And outside, in the Town Park, the pavement is still being laid down on the outside road, almost nine months after the official opening!

Eye on the States

The chief danger to our philosophy, apart from laziness and woolliness, is scholasticism, .. which is treating what is vague as if it were precise. -F. P. Ramsey

I've been looking at the Hansard record for 12 June 2012. Some interesting bits and pieces, with a growing use of vague phrases by the Chief Minister.

Deputy Montfort Tadier asked Ian Gorst, Chief Minister about when the 'Vulture Fund' legislation would be introduced:

Will the Chief Minister explain if there has been a delay in introducing "Vulture Fund" legislation and inform Members when the promised changes are likely to be implemented?

Senator I.J. Gorst (The Chief Minister): There has been no delay in consulting on or commencing drafting of
legislation to limit practices that could undermine international debt relief. To date, the U.K. (United Kingdom) is the only country in the world to have enacted a law of this kind. Alongside Guernsey and the Isle of Man,
we are proposing to join the U.K. as leaders in this field and to do so expeditiously on a timescale in line with that of the other 2 Islands.

Which is a good way of saying absolutely nothing in terms of time scale! It's a really dreadful answer, worthy of Yes Minister's Jim Hacker. Here is a translation of the weasel words:

proposing to join - like an engagement is an intention to marry, this is an intention, not a plan
expeditiously - we'll do nothing until we have spoken to the other Islands

The tone of the reply - the UK "is the only country to have enacted a law of this kind", suggests that the Chief Minister is not wholly in favour of anything like that in Jersey. Jersey is not going alone, unless Guernsey and the Isle of Man join in. This is the morality of the market place. If it's right, we should do it. The UK had the guts to take a moral stand, without waiting for other countries to follow suit. It's about time we did so.

Fortunately Trevor Pitman, like a Pit-bull Terrier (doesn't the image go well!) wouldn't let this stand:

2.2.1 Deputy T.M. Pitman of St. Helier: I believe the Council of Ministers discussed this back on, I think, the 15th of December, so could the Chief Minister just assist us perhaps and encourage us by giving us a little bit of indication when this might finally come forward? As I think most Members would agree, it is something that is a bit of a stain on everywhere who fails to act on it.

Senator I.J. Gorst: As I said, the U.K. is currently the only jurisdiction/country in the world that has such legislation. We are proposing to be at the forefront as well of such legislation. Earlier this year in late January,I instructed the drafting of such legislation and I hope that I will be in a position to lodge during September.

But should it take a supplementary question to get a more exact time table? Why couldn't he have replied with that information in the first place? There seems to be a culture of vagueness. People complain about the time taken up with questions, but if they were answered succinctly and accurately, this would not be necessary.

Now we come to the strange case of Verita, where having paid a professional and independent body to do some work, that is apparently scrapped and another party brought in to deal with the matter. Verita was brought in to provide terms of reference for the forthcoming inquiry into historic child abuse at Haut de La Garenne and elsewhere. But they were sidelined, and their proposed terms of reference put on one side, and Andrew Williamson was brought in to do the job they had already done.

2.4 Deputy T.M. Pitman of the Chief Minister regarding the terms of reference for the historic abuse enquiry as proposed by Verita: Will the Chief Minister clarify precisely what the perceived problems are with the terms of reference for the Historic Abuse Inquiry as proposed by Verita? Would he  state whether Mr. Andrew Williamson has been engaged to review the terms of reference and, if  so, what the cost of his engagement is?

Senator I.J. Gorst (The Chief Minister): There is no question in my mind that a Committee of Inquiry is needed to provide help with closure of this difficult and long-running period. The Verita terms of reference were open-ended as a strategy. I have therefore asked Mr. Andrew Williamson, an experienced Social Services Director from the United Kingdom, who also has much experience of working in Jersey, to review the original terms of reference to see whether they could be set in such a way  as to ensure that unanswered questions are investigated and answers are provided without the requirement to reopen individual cases. The cost of Mr. Williamson's work has amounted to £2,000  to date and I expect that the total cost of his work in relation to reviewing the terms of  reference will not exceed £10,000.

Does he mean that Verita were asked to provide open-ended terms of reference, or that they were considered open ended? It's not at all clear, and what precisely does he mean by "open-ended", another vague term that is virtually meaningless. Is the sentence - "The Verita terms of reference were open-ended as a strategy" - in any shape or form meaningful English? It reminds me of what Orwell wrote:

"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink."

So once again, a supplementary question is needed:

2.4.1 Deputy T.M. Pitman: Perhaps the Chief Minister could enlarge for me and perhaps a few others what he means by "open ended". More specifically, can he ensure that having decided we did not need independence to do the Electoral Commission, for instance, can he give assurances that we will come up with a format that will ensure closure for those people who were victims and, just as  importantly, that those who are ultimately found to be responsible will be held to account?

Senator I.J. Gorst: As I said in answer to questions on this subject before, I will be in a position where I can lodge the terms of reference for the Committee of Inquiry to this Assembly for Members rightly to decide. At the same time, I will be appending any other work which has been undertaken to get to those terms of reference. Equally I, of course, would like to think that closure could be brought but these are very difficult long-running issues and I think that what we can hope for is that people are able to move on with their lives. I am not certain that for lots of people closure will be found by a Committee of Inquiry but I hope that it will help with the healing process and it will allow some answers to be given. With regard to the open-ended nature, that of course is very difficult because we have a responsibility to ensure that a Committee of Inquiry reaches its findings in an appropriate timescale and within a suitable budget. What I have been concerned about is that every person appearing before the inquiry might feel that if it is too adversarial, they  need to instruct legal counsel and that, of course, will change the budget and the cost  requirements entirely.

Notice how the term open ended has now moved - previously it was attached to Verita's terms of reference, and now it's to do with the nature of the inquiry, not the terms of reference. But they were tasked with finding something that was clearly not open-ended.

The Council of Ministers asked us to seek the views of interested parties about the purpose, manner and conduct of a Commission; to propose terms of reference; to forecast likely costs; to set out the practical implications of a decision to Commission such an inquiry; and to make a written report with recommendations

And in fact Verita dealt with costs of the inquiry. The managing partner of Verita and an associate carried out the work for their report, while Verita's finance team calculated the likely costs of any inquiry. So the only conclusion one can draw is that wasn't acceptable, or considered too high. It certainly wasn't "open-ended"!

Montfort Tadier now comes in with some questions about why the terms of reference written up by Verita in their report were not good enough.

2.4.4 Deputy M. Tadier: Would the Chief Minister agree that the terms of reference set by Verita were not faulty? Rather, they were politically unacceptable to certain Members of the Council of Ministers? If they were faulty, would the Chief Minister explain how it came about that it was the Council of Ministers who commissioned Verita and why did they not set their own terms of reference and their own criteria to make sure that what Verita reported back was acceptable and in line with the terms of reference that the States Assembly agreed only recently before that?

Senator I.J. Gorst: That is quite a multi-faceted question. I would not wish to use the word "faulty" for the terms of reference but more as I did with regard to open-ended and wanting to limit the need for those appearing before the Committee of Inquiry to have to instruct legal support at that point. I can reassure Members that they will be able to judge for themselves when the terms of reference are before them. That is absolutely right and proper, and not that it is just simply the domain of either me as the Chief Minister or the Council of Ministers.

In other words, the terms of reference provided by Verita were not acceptable to the Council of Ministers, probably because they involved the possibility of extra cost because of legal representation. That's reading between the lines, but when the lines are so wavy and blurred, one has to do that!

What won't come out is the comparison between the old and new terms of reference - those revised ones provided by Williamson and those provided by Verita. But what is fundamentally clear is that Verita's own report gave very clear terms of reference, and in no way did they consider what they were doing was either "open ended" or just the preliminary basis - as Ian Gorst suggests.

They stated in their report that:

The Council of Ministers should commission a Committee of Inquiry into historical child abuse: We suggest that the attached terms of reference form the basis of the committee's work. We advise that these are proposed to the States Assembly.

Are those terms of reference to be superseded and buried? It looks increasingly likely. The Council of Ministers seems to have a bad habit of disregarding professional independent reports if it suits them, or publishing them if they like what they hear. The strategy seems to be to use a report where it is suitable to legitimise a course of action, or to bury the report if it tells them something they don't want to hear.

It's the opposite of scientific method, where the results prove or refute the theory. If science was done on these lines, it would be more like the suspect methods employed by "Doakes Toothpaste" in Darrell Huff's How to Lie with Statistics, where you throw away the results you don't want:

But let's get back to how easy it is for Doakes to get a headline without a falsehood in it and everything certified at that. Let any small group of persons keep count of cavities for six months, then switch to Doakes'. One of three things is bound to happen: distinctly more cavities, distinctly fewer, or about the same number. If the first or last of these possibilities occurs, Doakes & Company files the figures (well out of sight somewhere) and tries again. Sooner or later, by the operation of chance, a test group is going to show a big improvement worthy of a headline and perhaps a whole advertising campaign.

When Andrew Williams has completed what is, in fact, a second set of terms of reference, expect the Doakes Toothpaste strategy to come into play, and the first set by Verita to be filed well out of sight!

States Members and their Salaries

Place your duties before reward .
(Confucius)

Appointing good people to government and paying them well is an ancient Confucianist concept .
Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore,
National Day Rally Speech, 20 August 2000

The quotations above illustrate how easy it is to misquote an individual thinker, especially when the misquotation supports your own point of view, and thereby legitimises it.

I've selected those quotations because they sum up the divide between those who think that States membership is to some degree, even if paid, a public duty, and those who argue that you have to increase the pay of States members to what they are really worth.

It might be thought that most people, in these times of economic austerity, regards States members pay as very good indeed. It is not perhaps as much as some members might gain from private employment, but that is their choice. After all, there was a time, not so long ago, when States members had no salary at all, and anyone who entered the States had to be self-sufficient, or financed by the goodwill of others.

But there are those - and these are people making submissions to the Electoral Commission - who think that States members should be paid more - to attract the "right kind of person"! Even though unemployment is high, the minimum wage rise is small, and there is talk of a pay freeze for the public sector, these people think that States members pay - at over £40,000 a year - should be more still!

Here are a few of those submissions - I've left the names out, but browsing the online submissions will reveal who they are:

I am in favour of fewer, high quality States Members receiving a higher salary to reflect the responsibilities of the position.

At present the salary is far too low and so attracts those who are unable to earn this amount in the workplace or those who are retired or have personal means to bring up their salaries. I am aware that some are sponsored by business, but this is not consistent or offer equality of opportunity.  By reducing the numbers of members the salaries could be increased at little cost to the tax payer.

With Ministers and Deputies being paid a good salary and conforming to minimum requirement qualification to ensure good calibre of States member. I would suggest £100k maximum for working full time in the role of States Members with no other Directorships or involvement with business to ensure ethical representation. Working full time would give a better cover and ensure the roles were busy enough to employ them full time.

Reducing the number of states members to 31 would allow for a significantly higher salary to be paid, which would encourage a wider range of candidates with a broader experience of business and general life experience than the current salary band allows.

Members also need a more realistic remuneration package, allowing them an opportunity to focus full time or at least 40 hours per week on the job of an elected professional politician. We need full time members not part time and this can only be achieved by paying an appropriate salary and the provision of the necessary administrative support.

In 1962, Roland Young set out the basic argument why MPs in the UK should not have such high salaries:

Although the salaries of Members are small compared with those of the higher branches of the Civil Service and of the staff of Parliament, there would be considerable opposition to increasing the salaries of Members to any very large sum. The opposition to increased salaries is based, primarily, on the theory that parliamentary work is a public service and not to be measured by ordinary standards of income. (1)

There is of course a major difference between politicians on a small Island - there is not the travel between constituencies that can be hundreds of miles away. Nor are there late night sessions of the States, as in the UK Government; if business goes on too long one day, it is adjourned to the next.

Another argument against excessive pay is that it divorces the politician from those people they should represent. In 2007, the UK MPs wanted an increase over their 60,000 a year salaries, although their pay was more than double that of the average worker of the time.

Martin Bell, former independent MP and anti- sleaze campaigner, said: 'I find it extraordinary. It is a huge privilege to be a Member of Parliament. MPs are paid far above the average salary of the people they represent. (2)

Martin Bell also noted how Parliament worked - and that it is actually in session for less than half the year.

None of this is related to performance. The rules are so drawn - by the MPs themselves, of course - that sheer bone idleness cannot be grounds for complaint against a Member of Parliament.

Those who press for self-enrichment, including senior backbenchers on both sides of the House, believe that they should be paid like CEOs or captains of industry, with rich rewards to match their responsibilities. This is their case: pay peanuts and you'll get monkeys.

The answer to this is simple.

Nearly [pounds sterling]60,000 is not peanuts to most people, but far higher than the average income in even the wealthiest constituency. MPs should be without ambition to play in the fat cats' league.

Rather the reverse. They are public servants. They have a duty to set an example of admirable conduct and honest politics. Most MPs, but by no means all, do set an example - too often quite unnoticed by the people who know a gravy train when they see one.

If the proposed pay increases go through, they will send a signal, actually, a false one, that most MPs are in politics for what they can get out of it. NOT only that, but once elected they will be increasingly reluctant, in later years, to retire from positions of such lucrative obscurity.

Hence the difficulty the Conservatives had to ease out the so-called 'bed-blockers', - elderly Members who had already served in a Parliament for a term too many - and replace them with new blood. All parties have bed-blockers, and they will soon have an extra incentive to stay on the payroll. (3)

The principles behind paying politicians is that no one should be unable to stand because of lack of means; that being part of the States of Jersey should be open to all.

It was clearly unfair, as happened in the first instance, that members should be means tested, so that those who had other sources of income were harder up than other members. People with other means, perhaps from investments, should not be penalised either. That was the real equality of opportunity.

Between those two principles, politicians should be paid - but not excessively.

If they are paid excessively, as these submissions suggest, expect deposits for elections to rear their head again to ensure that the poorer people are excluded.  And also, as the Daily Record noted in 2007, more Type B politicians:

So what makes someone suddenly decide they would like to become an honourable member? I give you two choices:

a) A selfless desire to devote your life to helping others and making your country a fairer, better place to live.

b) A huge ego, a lust for power, local and perhaps national celebrity, a great salary, brilliant pension, endless perks . . . and more days off than Santa.

Now, think about you own MP and decide which box he ticks off.


Links
(1) The British Parliament.  Roland Young, 1962
(2) Pittance! Twice the Average Salary but MPs Think They're Underpaid. Newspaper Title: The Daily Mail. April 7, 2007
(3) Boot out the Boot-Fillers - as MPs Demand a 22% Pay Rise, MARTIN BELL Argues That They Are Destroying Trust in Public Life. The Mail on Sunday. December 4, 2005.
(4) Lazy MPs Get More Days off Than Santa.  Daily Record.July 31, 2007.

Singing in the Rain

There's an optimism that seems to go with adversity, whether it is a band playing "Singing in the Rain" in the middle of a wet, rain drenched field at Jersey's West Show, or the "Dunkirk" spirit, when the little boats left England to pick up stranded soldiers from Dunkirk, or the Blitz, when people stayed in London and "soldiered on".

It's the same kind of optimism that ordinary people have about the meaning of life. Atheism is a very cold, bloodless creed. It says that when you die, your body is buried, and the worms eat your remains, and that's the end of it. But who lives as if that is the case - eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow we die. Very few people. They take other values to live their lives by - not necessarily firm and clear religious values, of the kind one would get in Islam or Christianity - but values that seem at odds, and contradictory, to the values of a world in which existence is just a blip, which we invest with a meaning that dies with us.

That's not a new observation. Thomas Reid, the Scottish philosopher, and one of the key thinkers with what was called the "Commonsense School" of philosophy, stated this. He pointed out the contradictions between the thinkers who said that there was no free will, that human beings were puppets, and how they lived their lives. Clearly, as he observed, they did not live their lives as if they had no motivations, no will, no ability to act, and make choices, despite their philosophy saying that human beings were automatons. That of course, is a problem with reductionist approaches to value - you end with a position that no one acts as if they believe. Albert Schweitzer described it thus:

“The question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hope are optimistic.”

The world of today often seems a bleak place, with natural disasters out of our control; a reminder that we are not the masters of our destiny that we would at times fancy that we are, and an economic system which seems unpredictable, in which chaos theory seems to apply.

But we are not pessimists, and nor do many ordinary people have a creed that can be clearly articulated. They don't feel able to sign up to the exact formulations of creeds and catechisms, of fervent adherence to the pillars of religious practice.

Yet I believe there is a religious element there, although because of the baggage accrued by the term, most people today prefer the term "spiritual". How is this articulated? I think one of the best proponents of this way of thinking was Albert Schweitzer (1875 – 1965), whose personal philosophy was described as " Reverence for Life (in German, "Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben"), and whose thinking is profoundly modern, even though he was born in the Victorian era. Here are a few quotations, which illustrate his thinking:

“By respect for life we become religious in a way that is elementary, profound and alive. Impart as much as you can of your spiritual being to those who are on the road with you, and accept as something precious what comes back to you from them."


“You must give time to your fellow men -- even if it's a little thing, do something for others -- something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”



“The thinking (person) must oppose all cruel customs, no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another.”

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

“The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.”

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. ”

“No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world of goodness, truth and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it--to remain children of light.” 


“As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins."

Against the pessimism of reductionist views, Schweitzer says that there is more to life, even if we don't know precisely what that is; that values of compassion and kindness are at the heart of what makes us human beings, and that at the heart of our being is not perhaps a fixed creed, either of religion or atheism, but  something unfathomably mysterious. In that mystery, lies our hope. 


It may be raining, but it is a sign of our spirits, that we can still be found singing in the rain.

Rain Dance

Written earlier in the week, one evening, when feeling mellow...

Rain Dance
 
Now falling steadily, droplets cascade down
Clouds darkening sky, and rivulets on roads
Here is a shimmering,  raindrops fall like gown
And by the hedgerow, call of breeding toads
 
A soil rain soaked, with streams and muddy path
A rain god's dark face, clouds in menace frown
And faster comes the rain, as if in angry wrath
As if the earth would come again to drown
 
Beating fast and hard, comes the lashing rain
And outside, the dancer, fleeting silhouette
Glimpsed only once, through a window pane
A spirit of the waters, exulting in the wet
 
Now is the rain dance, to the rain's drumbeat
Splashing in the puddles, leaping, nimble feet
 

An Untold German Occupation Tale

Last week I described how actor Jon Pertwee - best known as "Doctor Who" and "Worzel Gummidge" - had been to Jersey in 1937 as a fledgling actor as part of J. Baxter-Somerville's Repertory Players, taking place at the Springfield Theatre in Jersey. This position that was short-lived due to Jon playing practical jokes on the company's leading man which caused his dismissal.

This is described in "Moon Boots and Dinner Suits".

But there is a codicil. During the war, Jon had joined the Navy. He narrowly escaped death from the sinking of H.M.S. Hood, his ship, which was hit by the Bismarck; he had just been sent on an officer training course.  As he notes in his autobiography, "Of the 1415 men on board only three men survived, plus the sixteen of us that were taken off before that final action. It was a terrible, shocking thing, and I have never really got over it. To have had so many good friends die in the time it takes to snap your fingers."

During his time in the Navy, with his acting skills, he found his way into Naval Broadcasting, as a Lieutenant and Number Two in the section, where "our job was to produce and record programmes of every kind for the pleasure and edification of men and women in all three services. These programmes were recorded on acetate and distributed to ships and service radio stations all over the world. "

It was as a member of Naval Broadcasting that Jon came back to Jersey, and discovered what the Occupation had been like, and what had happened to the props for the 1937 show at Springfield.

It's an untold tale of the German Occupation, certainly one that I've never come across before, and it is also described in "Moon Boots and Dinner Suits":

---

Jersey After the War
An extract from Jon Pertwee's Moon Boots and Dinner Suits.

I had never expected to speak to J. B. Somerville again, nor he to me, but some years later, after the D-Day landings, I was sent by my then section of Naval Broadcasting to Jersey, to interview the locals on what their life had been like during the German occupation.

It was sad to see this normally sparkling isle so colourless, empty and depressed. The Jersey people were desperately hungry and short of everything. Having virtually no postage stamps, they cut two-Penny ones in half and used them as pennies, and so on up. I bought a number of these stamps and later made quite a killing.

One evening I took a stroll up to the Springfield to have a look at the theatre where I had started my career. The park itself was jammed with German vehicles. Mercedes 540K open-tourers, superb Horchs and BMWs. Big BMW motorcycles with and without sidecars and a plethora of Volkswagens of every description, but there was one remarkable thing that all these vehicles had in common. There wasn't a car or motorbike with a full set of tyres on it.

Unable to ship or fly any in during the last year of the war, the occupying German troops had resorted to binding strips of rubber cut from the walls of worn-out tyres around the rims, sometimes, in the case of the bikes and Volkswagens, even wiring on sacking. It was most undignifying for the Classic Royalty among them, to be so commonly shod. What a fortune lay there for a man of enterprise. Sad to say we will never see the like of such motor vehicles again.

Shedding a bitter tear, I walked into the large area under the auditorium of the theatre, to find that since the occupation, it had been used as a storage shed for the sacks of flour and grain employed in the making of bread for the occupying forces. No wonder the German troops looked hungry, for there was only one ten foot high wall of sacks left, and they'd obviously been eking them out. In a flash of memory I remembered that behind that wall was the scenery store, where all J. Baxter-Somerville's sets and props had been kept. So summoning an Army Sergeant I asked him to get some of the POWs to clear the wall of sacks from the door as I wanted to go in.

In twenty minutes the big scene door was clear and I entered the bay, the first man to do so in several years. It was Aladdin's cave. The Store was exactly the same as when the company had left it in 1939, full to the brim with the 'old oak set' and all the other repertory theatre scenery clichés. There were skips filled with props and roll-cloths depicting hideously garish gardens and landscapes and many hundred-weight of timber for the construction of further horrors.

During the occupation, for want of fuel, the Germans had burned every sliver of wood that they could lay their hands on, including hundreds of beautiful mature trees. If they had known what was hidden away behind their grain sacks they would have burned the lot. So in order to protect my long-suffering old boss's property, I had the 'Soldaten' build up the grainsack wall again.

When I got back to England some three weeks later, I contacted J. B. Somerville and gave him the good news.
'Is that Mr Somerville?'

'It is.'

'This is your erstwhile enfant terrible, Jon Pertwee here.'

'Oh yes!' His voice took on a colder tone. 'And what can I do for you?'

'Its more a question of what I can do for you. Would you believe that I could metaphorically put hundreds of pounds back in your pocket, with just one simple sentence?'

'No, but tell me just the same.'

I told him and he was beside himself

'What can I do to repay the bringer of such glad tidings?' he asked.

'Just give me another chance in one of your Rep Companies after the war, sir. I've grown up at last and wouldn't let you down again, I promise,' I replied.

'Then a position awaits you, Pertwee, you have my word on it,' said J.B.

But the way things went for me professionally, after the war, I was unable to take him up on this offer, and sad to say, we never met again.

Gas Fire 1982

Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mallett, 1982 (later became Chief Officer)

On 12.40 on the 19th March 1982, there was an explosion at the Gas Company in Tunnell Street. BBC Radio Jersey had just started broadcasting, and new BBC Jersey reporter Mike Vibert received word that there was an exposition at the Gas Company in Tunnell Street. In those days there were no radio cars, so it was on with the bicycle clips, and off on his bicycle to cover the explosion.

The Deputy Fire Chief was Brian Mallett, and he who led the team which heroically tackled the gas explosion, suffering burns to his face and hands when there was a fireball explosion at the site. Despite the burns to his hands, which affected the nerve endings, giving him ongoing problems, he always played his role in the incident down by saying that others caught up in it had suffered far worse injuries than him

After the incident, questions were asked about the Kosangas site at St. John, about safety issues, as planning permission for housing was being refused because of safety risks. Because of the potentially catastrophic results of a fire involving liquefied petroleum gas, after the Tunnell Street incident, the Island Development Committee were particularly sensitive to issues of public safety. They were advised specifically that, within 300 metres of the liquid petroleum gas storage plant, a category of development that included housing should not be granted planning permission.

A Health and Safety Executive's report for the Kosangas site, stated that: "The Health and Safety Executive consider that the risks to the public from the site are low, however we would advise the States of Jersey that it would be prudent not to increase the number of people exposed to this low risk ". 

This was kept low key, and permission was just turned down, because the Planning Committee chose not to give widespread publicity to the risk assessment because of the sensitivity of the matter in the wake of the Tunnell Street fire. It did not wish to create panic or undue concern for they considered to be "low risk".

Clearly a different policy applied when housing was developed in recent years in Tunnell Street, close to the gas holder there, which would also be assessed at low risk.!

As a result of the assessments, States policy became to ensure that all gas was relocated to Gas holders to La Collette. But in 2007, Deputy Kevin Lewis raised concerns about risks there. He also mentioned the Buncefield fire, a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions on 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, an oil storage facility located near the M1 motorway by Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England.

He asked: Following the Buncefield oil depot disaster and the gas explosion in Tunnell Street in 1982, what steps, if any, is the Minister taking to ensure the safety of the La Collette area in light of the proposal to locate the new Energy from Waste plant adjacent to the gas holding tanks, the fuel farm, the L.P.G. (liquefied petroleum gas) station, the power station and the composting site?

Deputy G.W.J. de Faye of St. Helier (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services): I realise that some Members consider oral questions to be a bit of a knockabout session but I think States Members should take the questions they put with seriousness and a degree of responsibility. I am disappointed that Deputy Lewis, in dealing with this serious subject, has not seen fit to discuss the matter prior to today with either myself or, as far as I am aware, any senior member of my department. We are, therefore, at a loss to understand why the Deputy conflates the matters that occurred at the gas emplacement in Tunnell Street in 1982 with the La Collette site.

The public are concerned about these matters and conflating these issues is, I think, a serious error. To look on the bright side, it may be that the Deputy has been watching too many of his disaster movies but I think the Deputy should be aware that when the public are aware of these types of questions they can create alarm. I wish to assure the House that in general response to the Deputy's question I have taken all appropriate steps with the appropriate authorities and experts to ensure safety at La Collette. The current planning application is subject to guidelines that were brought forward in the 1999 report by the Major Hazards Unit of the U.K. Health and Safety Executive. I am fully confident that everybody involved who takes responsibility for safety in relation to La Collette, the L.P.G. station, the power station, the composting site, and who will do in terms of the E.f.W. (Energy from Waste) plant, take their jobs extremely seriously and that safety is not a major issue.

2.5.1 Deputy K.C. Lewis: I am saddened that the Minister is disappointed but I consider it my job to ensure that public safety is ensured. Accidents do happen. We cannot eliminate accidents; we can just minimise them. Will the Minister ensure that there are sufficiently high buffering mounds between the various facilities to provide maximum safety?

Deputy G.W.J. de Faye: If I am advised that buffering mounds are what is required I will certainly ensure that buffering mounds are in place. I repeat once again, I am disappointed with the way the Deputy has put this question. There is absolutely no linkage whatsoever between the gas explosion in Tunnell Street in 1982 -over 20 years ago -and the types of risk assessment and safety procedures that are in hand now. I regret to say that this is a piece of political opportunism that amounts to scare-mongering.

2.5.2 Deputy G.C.L. Baudains of St. Clement: I am disappointed with the Minister's answers and his cavalier attitude. Is the Minister familiar with the phrase of having all one's eggs in one basket?

Deputy G.W.J. de Faye: Yes, I am familiar with that phrase, Sir.

Deputy G.C.L. Baudains: In that case, what is he going to do about it?

Deputy G.W.J. de Faye: I am afraid I do not have any eggs in stock at the moment, Sir.

2.5.3 Deputy C.H. Egré of St. Peter: If I could add confirmation through the Minister. Could the Minister confirm that there is ongoing risk assessment for that area and we are moving forward, other than what happened in 1999?

Deputy G.W.J. de Faye: Yes, I can confirm that in conjunction with the Planning Department, Fire and Rescue Services and the Health and Safety Inspectorate, the Transport and Technical Services Department is currently considering all aspects of the long-term plans for development of the La Collette 2 site, which includes the potential for hazard by the location of the L.P.G. plant and the fuel depot.

I was once told by someone who knew about these things (Buncefield 'veteran') that if La Collette went up, it would "take the top off St Thomas's Church". So, we built an incinerator right next door. Is it any wonder that certain folks would like to see the 'Fuel Farm' (what an odd expression) relocated to Les Minquiers?"

A Facebook friend told me:

I was once told by someone who knew about these things (Buncefield 'veteran') that if La Collette went up, it would "take the top off St Thomas's Church". So, we built an incinerator right next door. Is it any wonder that certain folks would like to see the 'Fuel Farm' (what an odd expression) relocated to Les Minquiers?"

Perhaps it is time to publicise what risk assessment has been produced for La Collette?

Fire at Gas Place

Something very out of the ordinary today, when the Gas Cylinder behind our offices caught on fire.

At first I thought this was a drill, once outside, we moved from the main muster point further down the Town Park, then the whole park was evacuated, and we were told to go home. It was scary watching the flames, although the cylinder is not in use, there is obviously residual gas inside it. This footage above was taken by me from the muster point at the far end of the park shortly after the fire had begun. 

The last time there was a major incident, back in the 1980s, several firemen were injured, and the Gas Cylinder was fully in use. A fireman living next to us (George Le Vesconte) said that if it had gone off, it would have taken out a sizable part of St Helier. Fortunately this cylinder was largely empty. The latest report is that the fire is under control, and a controlled burning off the LPG gas is taking place.

The main gas storage facilities are now at La Collette - not too far from the JEC Power station. It makes you wonder what kind of risk assessment has been done to ensure their safety; if they went up, the entire Island's power supplies could be seriously disrupted. No electricity, no gas, no coal, and no incinerator.

Spare a thought for those poor people who live in the area, who have been evacuated. The latest report suggests that they won't be allowed back home tonight. We were just moved out of the area, and there didn't seem to be anyone telling those people where to get news on the incident, and where they might need to go tonight if the exclusion zone remained. I gather that's being done now, but it really should have been done earlier.

Technical TV Glitch

There's a potential electrical storm on the horizon. The 800MHz spectrum band (around 791 to 862 MHz in practice) is the frequency which is being auctioned off for 4G use by industry regulator.

4G - fourth generation - is a system designed to provide mobile high speed broadband Internet access, to such equipment as laptops with USB wireless modems, smartphones, and other mobile devices. It's being auctioned off by Ofcom in the UK, and Jersey Telecoms over here is also trialling 4G systems.

But the 4G spectrum band is close to the 700MHz spectrum used to transmit Freeview signals and there has been growing concern in the UK that many households are likely to need to move to cable or satellite services as a result. According to the Daily Mirror, there could be between 2.3 and 3 million homes affected.

The interference can be offset, but only with special filters which may cost around £212 to install, considerably more than a £25 Freeview box. Without this there will be major problems. You will get significant pixellation and the picture will break up and you won't be able to carry on watching," says Freeview chief Ilse Howling. The cost may be greater, as if homes with a good signal use portable aerials for children's rooms, those will need their own filters.

According to the BBC, for some houses, fitting the filter will be relatively easy and can be done by the householder. But for the majority - 83% - an aerial installer will need to complete the installation.

The reason is the kind of aerial. The Ofcom reports notes that:

"Existing DDT receivers (that's digital TV receivers) ... and aerials were designed to receive signals across the UHF band 470 to 862 megahertz. That included the whole of the 800 megahertz band. That means, in addition to receiving the wanted digital TV signal, they will also receive the unwanted signal from new mobile phone base stations, resulting in interference and degradation to DTT reception."

Frequency Cast explains this as follows:

"If you've got a standard TV aerial up on the roof and a Freeview box, and you happen to be in range of one of these new 4G base stations when they come out, the signal from the 4G base station is effectively going to leak into your Freeview box. If that signal is particularly loud, it's going to upset your Freeview box, and it won't be able to receive the Freeview channels." (3)

The key is range. The interference won't effect homes outside a certain distance, but everyone living within 1.2 miles (around 2 km)of a 4G transmitter will face serious interference to the Freeview digital signal.

A BBC Director has called on the mobile companies to pay for the costs of filters to stop 4G services interfering with Freeview:

"John Tate, Director of Policy and Strategy for the BBC, told The Independent that operators should be forced to pay the costs of signal filter equipment under the 'polluter pays' principle, especially as the launch of 4G services will be highly lucrative for the mobile industry."(2)

In the Channel Islands, the 4G roll-out has started. On 23 May 2012, JT, reported that its new 4G network, on offer in St Helier and St Peter Port, boasts the fastest mobile connections in the islands.

It is not yet known if this is causing any significant impact on Freeview signals, despite the fact that virtually a quarter of the island will be close to a circle of radius 1.2 miles. This may depend on the power of the transmitter, and as other phone networks also come online, the frequency range may be more likely to cause interference.

It also depends on how it is done. In the UK, for example, Everywhere, which operates the Orange and T-Mobile brands, is hoping to roll out 4G services ahead of the 4G auction, using its existing 3G network. 4G delivered in this way will not cause interference. Telecoms may be using this means of providing 4G.

If you've suffered any problems with Freeview in the St Helier area, why not post a comment.

References
(1) http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/personal-finance/three-million-freeview-viewers-face-1095074
(2) http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/07/02/bbc-says-mnos-must-pay-for-freeview-filters/
(3) http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/4ginterference.html

Government Behind Closed Doors

I remember watching a superb TV series which starred Robert Vaughn and Jason Robards which was called "Washington Behind Closed Doors". It centred on all the backroom deals, and sometimes corrupt practices that were going on behind the scenes at Capitol Hill. Being very clearly based on the Nixon administration, there were a lot of dirty tricks, and the TV show gave an inside view of the participants.

There is, however, another kind of "behind close doors" form of government that is very popular in Jersey. It is the secret or "in camera" debate. The rationale behind it is as follows:

One of the fundamental principles of parliamentary privilege is that members are able to speak freely in the Assembly without inhibition. During an in camera debate members may wish to mention very serious confidential matters, and need the assurance when the Assembly is sitting in camera that their remarks will not subsequently be reported outside. If members believe that anything that they say in camera could subsequently be leaked by another member, they may feel constrained in their ability to speak freely and this is therefore the fundamental breach of privilege caused by the actions earlier this year. Members need a guarantee that their remarks made in camera will remain confidential and if it became common practice for the content of in camera debate to be disclosed by members, members could be prevented from exercising their privileges.

And yet while this seems to be necessary in Jersey, it is somehow not needed in other jurisdictions, such as Westminster, often referred to as "the mother of Parliaments". The PPC report into the breach of privacy in revealing the "in camera" proceedings noted most other jurisdictions simply didn't see the need for this:

It can be noted that other parliaments virtually never sit in camera and had therefore to seek parallels with other matters, the most common being the premature leak of committee reports or the disclosure of confidential committee proceedings.

Australia noted that "the Australian Senate has never met in private session", and the clerk replied to the Greffier that:

The basic premise of all our meetings is that the Parliament conducts its meetings, with the rarest exceptions, in public. There have been secret sessions, during war times, when Hansard reporters were excluded. However, the clerks and Members remained in the secret sessions.

Canada noted that : "Thank you for your email of February 13 in relation to a possible breach of privilege in the States. As you note, in modern practice, the Senate no longer meets in camera, although in theory it remains possible."

The United Kingdom, except in War Time, has never met "in camera".

Now select committees of these Parliaments have met "in camera", but that is an entirely different matter - it's like Scrutiny having private meetings, or Privileges and Procedures having private sessions. While it is perhaps the closest to the States meeting "in camera", there is one very clear difference - the select committee does not have a vote that is binding on Parliament; in other words, they may report, they may reprimand, but they cannot act by voting in such a way that their decisions are binding in any way on the government itself. That is a fundamental difference.

The States of Jersey meeting "in camera" can vote on matters and give them a binding force; a select committee cannot - it can make recommendations, which may be voted on, but in a public forum, with public debate. This is only right and proper. The ability to hide away proceedings becomes a continuous temptation, a packet of aspirins always at one's elbow to avoid the headache of being transparent, and perhaps upsetting anyone.

And of course, because no one can report on what occurs in a closed session, anything can be stated with impunity, whether true or false - no one can pick up on the false statement, because to do so would be to breach the privilege. It's rather like the confessional, where the priest has to keep something hidden, even if the confession involves a crime, because the seal of the confessional is considered inviolate.

In fact, in April this year, the Irish Independent reported that "Catholic priests will defy a new law that requires them to report sexual abuse disclosed to them in the confession box -- despite the threat of 10-year jail sentence". As Father William Saunders says: "the standard of secrecy protecting a confession outweighs any form of professional confidentiality or secrecy.". That is so that the individual can unburden themselves of their sins; if they believe that anything that they say in the confessional could subsequently be revealed by a priest, they may feel constrained in their ability to speak freely

So we are, after all, in the sleazy area of "Washington Behind Closed Doors", because the lack of transparency doesn't protect communication as privileged, it also protects people who may be "economical with the truth". Or as Sir Humphrey notes in "Yes Minister" about official secrets -  "The Official Secrets Act is not to protect secrets, it is to protect officials."

That brings us to the question whether, in an "in camera" session of the States, Deputy Lewis was being "economical with the truth". Certainly what he appears to have said contradicts what he later told Brian Napier. It relates to the "Interim Met. Report" which was in the possession of David Warcup:

The Napier Report states that:

As previously has been noted, neither Mr [Andrew] Lewis nor Mr Ogley saw the Interim Report. Neither did they seek to see it. The reason given was the nature of the information that was contained therein. It was, said Mr Ogley, a police document and it was inappropriate that he (or anyone else) should have access to it.

But the "in camera" minutes, as leaked, have him saying say this:

"As far as the accusation you raise about the Metropolitan Police, when I saw the preliminary report I was astounded. So much so that my actions, I believe, are fully justified. If the preliminary report is that damning, Lord knows what the main report will reveal. So my successor will have an interesting time. The report that I was shown gave me no doubt at all."

" Members will be aware that an investigation has been carried out by the Metropolitan Police and I was presented with a preliminary report on the basis of that investigation. So as far as I'm concerned that is the preliminary investigation. I acted on the information that was contained in that and in order to pursue a disciplinary investigation it was necessary to suspend the police officer."

Anyone can see that there is a clear contradiction between the import of those statements, which suggest he actually saw the report, rather than just being told about it. This is certainly the reason for Deputy Higgin's proposition, as it is here that Deputy Lewis gave what Higgins believes is a misleading statement relating to Power's suspension.

Back in 2009, when there was also a leak from PPC, and it appeared in the Jersey Evening Post, the Privileges and Procedures Committee noted that while members had clearly broken privilege, there was nothing to prevent a third party from publishing that information:

PPC has considered whether any action could be taken against the Jersey Evening Post for publishing the material it did. The Committee has concluded that realistically there is no action that can be taken by the Assembly against the media and would stress that the real "culprits" in this matter are the unnamed members who spoke to that newspaper.

While PPC set out its arguments in favour of "in camera" debates, it did not consider the arguments against "in camera"; it simply saw to justify existing practice, not debate it.

In "I'm Sorry, this Meeting is Closed to the Public", a paper produced by Tom Mitchinson, Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, he notes that:

The principle of open government is a linchpin of democracy because it allows citizens to scrutinize the activities of elected officials and public servants to ensure that they are acting in the public interest. One pillar that supports open government is freedom of information legislation, which gives people the right to access government-held information. A second pillar is open meetings legislation, which ensures that public bodies conduct their meetings in public, not in secret.

Comprehensive open meetings laws are essential in a mature democracy. They facilitate citizen participation in the policy and decision-making process of government and enhance the ability of the public to evaluate the performance of the individuals whom it has elected to represent its interests. Such laws may also serve to build public confidence in government by assuring the public that elected and appointed officials are serious about keeping corruption and favouritism out of the decision-making process.

It also notes - significantly - that:

Although many U.S. states have had open meetings legislation in place for decades, such laws were significantly strengthened and enhanced after the Watergate scandal of the 1970s.

We are back with "Washington behind Closed Doors".

The alternative may allow free debate, but it may also allow injustice to flourish, as when Pierre Horsfall was ousted after a debate in 2006, held "in camera" because of concerns about potential embarrassment to the individuals concerned. There may have been justification for this, but because it was conducted in secret, no one knows whether the States decision was right, and Pierre Horsfall had no way of telling if what had been said about him was accurate or not.

"In Camera" debates, like the Confessional, may seem like a good idea, and have can supportive arguments. Yet the ethics of such debates involved are really not discussed at length; it is taken as pragmatic to so do. But I wonder if, at the end of the day, to quote Kady O'Malley, we end up with "Yes, Minister as re-imagined by the ghost of Franz Kafka." 

Links
http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/openneed_1.pdf

RIP Sister Peter

The above photo shows Sister Peter, Jean Anderson, Pat Lucas, myself, and my late partner, Annie Parmeter. Annie supported her order's work in the Congo, and they had met through their joint interest in fighting for tax justice.After Annie's death, we kept in touch, and she was very supportive of me in my grief.

News from Jean Anderson

Sad news is always hard to give but we knew that you would want to hear from us straight away that Sister Peter died at 1o'clock this afternoon, Saturday.  Her family were around her and we now know that she is out of her pain after a very difficult two weeks following her massive stroke.  So many of you phoned asking about her and she was so touched to receive your kind wishes.

Details of her death - and later her funeral will be in the JEP next week.

It is impossible to say how much Sister Peter has meant to so many people during the course of her life especially to those in greatest need.  Meetings will never be the same again without her!


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Emails from Sister Peter


I know that Sister Marie-Françoise will be grateful for your contribution which will enable her to provide food and medication for those in greatest need.
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What a beautiful funeral you arranged for Annie.  What a good idea to scan the "Programme" so that we all get a chance to keep it and to be able to look back especiall at Annie's photos of her life.

Annie's not gone Tony.  Her body isn't here any more but Annie herself is alive.  Perhaps more alive than she was before. 

Lots of love

Sister Peter


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Tony has kindly sent me this scan of Annie's Funeral Service.  As I know you remember Annie from when we went to her beautiful home I'm sure you'll want to see this "Celebration of Annie's Life"  She was, while in this world, a very kind and thoughtful lady always ready to help.  This is why she was so generous when we asked for funds for the poor people our Sisters are trying to help in the Congo.

Please remember Tony in your prayers.  Naturally, he misses her lovely company and her smile.  He loves her very much.

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You know Tony in these days of Celebrations our loved ones take over in our hearts,for they are so close to us,and helping us,

Our Rev Mother Soeur Marie Froiçoise phoned me last evening,and thanked all the kind and generous people who are helping her in Jersey, along with her Good Wishes for one and all. you are in her daily prayers.

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When will we see Justice,!!! until then how many people crying out for help, I do hope our prayers will be heard. Let us place all our cares in God, He cares for us all

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Thank you for this very interesting account of the Pesher that you went to at the Communicaire Centre.  True isn't it that it is in taking up what is left of the Matzo bread and the cup of Elijah that Eucharist comes into being.  It is in the sharing and the giving away of the little we have which is the sign of God's love in our world and of our response of thanksgiving - Eucharist.

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We've been looking at your Anne Thology which your Mum kindly gave us with a lovely box of chocolates.  Unfortunately, someone was here at the time she came so I'm sorry that I could do little more than thank her and give her a hug.  Please tell her we love the beautiful book and have spent time enjoying it.  Needless to say the chocolates will go down extremely well at Easter.

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Sister Marie-Françoise is in the Congo at the moment and will come back eventually with lots of news.  When she next comes to Jersey I'll show her your book and I know she'll be pleased to have had a mention.  Thank you for that.

Happy Easter from Sister Phyllis and me

Lots of love

Sister Peter

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Thank you dear Tony for your inspiring poem, and loving Memory of Annie, I hope you are keeping well, as the weather is helping us to enjoy the Autume season, with all it's beauty and colour.even the rain is beautiful......d'ont you think?

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This is not the end as you know,but a new begining with our God our Createur, Lover,etc,

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Thank you Tony, On the french Television there are some very good films with our famous Don Camillo.

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I enjoyed this Poem, It is very kind of you to think of me now and again, I do hope you are keeping well.
  we are all waiting for Spring time,as this Winter is long and cold,,,,,,,
 Je vous dis   Bonsoir, et Merci,