Tuesday 16 March 2010

WEYMOUTH MATTERS with Harry Walton





Olympic security is no laughing matter

SECURITY for the Olympic sailing events coming to Portland will clearly be a major issue.

The area has so far got a lot more mileage from Second World War ordnance such as unexploded bombs and parachute mines trawled up in nets or uncovered on football pitches than it has from suicide bombers, exploding shoes, rocket attacks, ambushes and car bombs.

The latter are terrible incidents which happen in other parts of the world but not in sleepy Weymouth and Portland and long may it continue.

The question of security is clearly on the authorities’ agenda but it is also on the public conversation agenda as well.

A group of 30-something men were chatting about that very thing over coffee and their conversation was more than enough to send a chill down my spine and a stark warning to Olympic planners about complacency.

They all seemed to work at various Dorset sites where car entry was security controlled and the subject of their chat was how easy it was to get through using some bizarre objects.

One claimed his security guards would wave him through when he showed his pass but often didn’t check thoroughly, another with a pass claimed guards often only got half way from their hut to his car before waving him through and a third claimed he had got through not with a pass but by flashing a Dorset County Library card! It seemed that something which looked like a pass was all it took.

The fourth member of the group raised a laugh when he said that he had got into his work place by showing his pass which was accepted so quickly that the guard didn’t even get out of his hut but just waved him through.

And what kind of pass got such cursory scrutiny? Well the man said it was… a Guinness beer mat! Let’s hope that Olympic security is a little more thorough.


If it sounds too good to be true ... it always is

EVERYONE is full of the joys of spring and so are the criminals.

One Weymouth man was sat at home when he received a call from a woman with an Indian accent.

She claimed to be from a travel company offering two exchangeable vouchers entitling two people to a holiday for about £70 each, well under market price.

As I’ve said before, Dorset Trading Standards always advise that if something looks too good to be true then it probably is.

The man in question was intrigued enough to take a number given by the woman and ring it, the call allegedly being designed to show that she was calling from the company she said she was and that everything was legitimate.

Her boss duly came on the line and talked to the man, confirming that the vouchers did exist and could be given to other family members if he wanted to.

So what was the catch? Nothing much except they needed to complete the transaction by credit card and could they have his card number and details.

The man replied that he didn’t have a credit card which clearly disconcerted them but they conferred and agreed to call the man back.

He’s still waiting….You’ve been warned.


Not so express

IF you follow millions of pounds worth of advertising ploughed in to extolling the bank, HSBC, then you must be aware that it is “the world’s local bank”.

What you may not be aware of is a slight customer flow problem at their Weymouth branch which really did amuse me.

I walked in to use the account print-out machine and had to queue behind a woman who herself was waiting to use the same facility which was already being operated by a second woman.

I say operate because it was difficult to tell if she was frozen in time or had just lost the will to live.

After nearly ten minutes of glaring at her back I broached waiting frustrations with the woman who was ahead of me in the queue only to be told that she had been waiting for some time before I even arrived.

Eventually the slow customer in front of us pocketed a few sheets of paper and left, presumably because they were in danger of rigor mortis setting in.

The humour arose because above this machine in giant letters was a notice saying it was an “express” point!


You might need a mortgage to pay for it

ONLY a few months to go to the Prom season when bright young things strut their stuff to celebrate goodbye to GCSEs… and there is still time for a bit of humour.

One dress shop offered not just every drape a girl could want but every business card from every subsidiary business as well.

There were contacts for florists, chauffeurs, hairdressers and even a mobile bar but there was one card there which had to be an absolute must for every parent.

It was a card offering mortgage advice. After all, everything has to be paid for and it doesn’t come cheap!

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

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