Liz Parker aka not1fish

TODAY WE REMEMBER POLICE SERGEANT JOHN RICHARD SPEED Today marks 42 years since Police Sergeant John Speed of West Yorkshire Police was murdered in the line of duty while going to the assistance of a wounded colleague. He was just 39 years old. On 31st October 1984, officers were investigating two men acting suspiciously outside Leeds Parish Church, now Leeds Minster, on Kirkgate. During the incident, a police officer was shot and seriously wounded. Sergeant Speed went to help his colleague and confronted one of the armed men. He was shot and fatally wounded. He had gone to help a fellow officer. He never returned home. For his extraordinary courage, Sergeant Speed was posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. His funeral was held at Leeds Parish Church, only yards from where he had lost his life. John left behind his wife, a ten-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son. Two young children who would grow up without their dad, and a wife whose life was changed forever. His sacrifice is commemorated by a memorial on Kirkgate in Leeds, unveiled in 1986, close to the place where he fell. Today, we remember not only the police officer who demonstrated such courage, but also the husband, father and colleague whose life was so cruelly taken. We remember his family, his fellow officers and all those who continue to carry his memory. Policing can involve extraordinary risks, often encountered during what begin as routine duties. Sergeant Speed answered a call to help. His courage cost him his life. POLICE SERGEANT JOHN RICHARD SPEED West Yorkshire Police Aged 39 End of Watch: 31 October 1984 Thank you for your service, your courage and your sacrifice. We Will Remember You.

Okay...... I know it has been too long. So here we go, one of my favourite British things... 😍Post box Toppers! Sharing some of the amazing Autumn/ Halloween 2026 ones, with thanks to all the amazing crafters, crocheters and knitters who take the time to create these to make us all smile!

KNOCK, KNOCK! Who's there? NATIONAL KNOCK-KNOCK JOKE DAY! 😂 Yes, believe it or not, 31st October isn't JUST Halloween. It's also National Knock-Knock Joke Day! I can't think of a better day to celebrate jokes that are so spectacularly terrible they somehow become brilliant! Knock-knock jokes became a huge craze during the 1930s, particularly in 1936, when people were telling them in homes, newspapers and even on the radio. But the idea of someone knocking and asking who's there goes back much further. Shakespeare even included a famous knocking scene in Macbeth, although it wasn't quite the same as the jokes we know today! And now, in honour of this magnificent occasion, I have some absolute classics for you... KNOCK, KNOCK! Who's there? Boo. Boo who? Don't cry, it's only a joke! 👻😂 KNOCK, KNOCK! Who's there? Noble. Noble who? No bell, that's why I knocked! 🔔🤣 KNOCK, KNOCK! Who's there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce in, it's freezing out here! 🥶😂 Come on, let's fill the replies with some gloriously dreadful British humour. And remember... IF YOUR JOKE IS SO BAD IT MAKES EVERYONE GROAN, YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT! 😂

In London specifically, the Mayor and Met previously stated there was “no indication” of Rotherham- or Rochdale-style grooming gangs and emphasised other forms of exploitation such as county lines. The force is now reviewing thousands of cases from 2010 onwards (with more than 4,000 previously closed “no further action” files flagged for possible reopening under the NCA’s Operation Beaconport) because some lines of inquiry appear to have been missed or cases closed prematurely. telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06…

Good to see the underfunded Met are making the best use of their time;charging a woman for words while the grooming gang cases stay conveniently unsolved. Priorities sorted. 👏

A council failed to publicise a warning from the equalities watchdog that its policy of allowing males identifying as female to use a historic women’s bathing pond was likely to be “unlawful”, it has emerged. The City of London Corporation was also criticised for not making clear to the public that since 2019, when it introduced its transgender admissions policy, it had not considered the women’s and men’s ponds on Hampstead Heath — the 800-acre green space it manages in north London — to be single-sex. The developments have come to light days before the local authority is set to defend itself in the High Court against claims by the campaign group Sex Matters that its admissions policy breached equality laws. thetimes.com/article/hampste…

The City of London was warned by the equalities watchdog in August 2025 that its ponds policy was "likely to be unlawful". It didn't tell the public. Now it is spending public money defending that policy in the High Court. Every pound on lawyers is a pound not spent on the Heath. Who signed off on this, and how much is it costing taxpayers?

WORD OF THE DAY: FLAPDOODLER: Someone who talks or writes pompous, boastful or absolute nonsense. Quite frankly, considering some of the people I encounter online, I think this word is LONG overdue a revival! It's wonderfully descriptive, gloriously old-fashioned and considerably more polite than some of the alternatives! So, who's joining me in bringing back FLAPDOODLER? And more importantly… how many people immediately sprang to mind when you read the definition? 😂