h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Biggles is at it again

I was getting ready to set off for the office this morning, when we were visited by Biggles and his big blue and yellow helicopter. There he was circling all around my local area at a height of about 100 feet or less with his cameras and lights going full tilt. And creating one hell of a racket -- fortunately it wasn't the night time, which is his usual time for showing off.

Even so as I left the house I gave him my usual cheery one fingered wave.

Then on the drive into the office I came across what ever it was that he'd been chasing / filming. At a junction about 400 yards from my house I discovered a beat up old Ford Escort smashed into the back of a Renault 5. The accident happened as the Escort had rounded the corner and gone straight into the parked car. There were about 4 police cars of both the panda and the chase variety hanging around looking self important. Plus a whole heap of onlookers gawping at the mess.

Now I can't think that they would have called all that lot out for just a shunt - well at least I hope they didn't! I don't object paying for the local Police services, but I do object to paying for all the self important running around in high tech toys that get up to.

I think 'self-important' and 'police' go together naturally, and can't really be untwined.

It's like 'arrogant' and 'BBC', or 'incompetent' and 'New Labour'

B

How do you know he's called Biggles? I didn't know that many local policemen personally but none of them were Biggles. I'll have to check the phone book for that area.

I say Biggles because, "Plod rides again" sounds silly

So if a PC Plod plods, one presumably needs new terms for all the others - such as a Zoom for the chase cars. I'd put in a vote for the simple "copper chopper".

Sounds like a porn film

B

Oh and of course that makes the person a "chopper copper", in case you hadn't worked that out for yourself.

Which bit sounds like a porn film? Being unfamiliar with the genre I don't know the sort of titles they choose. I'd probably make the same sort of mistake as Ford Prefect if trying to fit in. I would have thought the chopper ones might be more a horror serial-killer type film title.

"Being unfamiliar with the genre"

Yeah. Women always say that...

B

http://www.improvisation.ws/mb/tpcs.html

spelugx -- quietly lurking

Be thankful GD- our local police copter was buzzing around about midnight last night- the mutt was not impressed. I imagine yet another of the local open nick's 'inmates' wandered off. They always make for our twon to try and jump the freight trains as they come in the junction *sigh*

"Yeah. Women always say that"

Do they? - even the ones in the industry?

Also are you sure that doesn't apply equally to men. I know of one who used to sneak films into the building using an official government document wallet (cunning disguise eh!). So I would say he was trying to pretend to be unfamiliar with the genre. I never got to see the films though - merely heard someone else say what was going on.

In my case I'm unfamiliar with almost everything except Disney (and similar) and sci-fi. Some sci-fi is too violent for me though. I was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang again the other day and Thunderbirds is one of my all time favourite things. So I'm probably a bit too PG for porn and nasty police movies.

I think calling the chopper pilot Biggles is cool as in the books he was a pilot and worked for the Police in the later books as part of the air police.

Support your local police force..........

Beat your self up.

sorry bad experiance of Police in Brussels once.

Adib

FYI this is how it was reported in the local paper - http://www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk/brighton__hove/archive/2003/07/22/NEWS58ZM.html

"Nobody was hurt in the chase, but police are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident. "

There you go Desk, you could make yourself a few bob, there.

B

Hmm... if I'd been out of the house 5 minutes earlier, it could have been my car that they'd have crashed into

Even better - a few false claims on the insurance, and you could have had a better car a few weeks later.

B

I was thinking more in terms of GD using it as an excuse for being late for meetings: "I deliberately set off late so that the next criminal who might have crashed into me would hit someone else instead".

Ah - that's the way forward. I've never used clairvoyance as an excuse for being late.

B

I wasn't late. A 10am start is my usual time to arrive in the office.