IS THIS REALITY?

 It`s now two weeks since I underwent major surgery.  Having had anaesthesia problems as a young man when I underwent elective surgery I was very careful and fortunate enough to be able to select not only my surgeon but also the consultant anaesthetist who worked alongside him.  Whilst the operation was successful I later learned that owing to unforeseen complications chemical anaesthesia was not possible even partially and I underwent full blown gaseous  anaesthesia.  Common sedative agents used during rapid sequence intubation include etomidate, ketamine, and propofol. Commonly used neuromuscular blocking agents are succinylcholine and rocuronium. Certain induction agents and paralytic drugs may be more beneficial than others in certain clinical situations. CW my anaesthetist was long gone when I awoke a surprisingly long time after schedule according to my surgeon. But what I do remember and committed to my diary of these events were my first words to the recovery nurse, " Is this reality?".  Indeed I repeated the same question three times.  I felt like Rip Van Winkle on magic mushrooms.  It was a further day or so into my recovery programme that it dawned on me that when I compare my first experiences of being inside our justice system in 1998 with the current situation I could also remark; "is this reality"?

Of these 26 years 14 were were overseen by Tory governments.  The coalition years will fade into the ether as rightly they should.  That first Conservative Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke proudly announcing his support for austerity commented that he was the first around the Cabinet table to implement budget cuts; in his manor 23.8%.  Oh how they drooled. Others soon followed with police numbers being reduced by 20,000, prison officer numbers being cut, the probation service being decimated and secret magistrates courts taking on a million + cases annually under the cloaking device AKA as Single Justice Procedure.  Notwithstanding that all this was in the public domain being excused by government rhetoric daily that would have had Cicero cutting his own throat years before  "together with his son, his brother, and his brother's son and all his household, his faction, and his friends" (Appian, Civil Wars, IV.19.1). Cicero was killed on December 7, 43 BC, aged sixty-three, his head and hands (having penned the Philippics) hacked off."  For even the most miserable, incompetent, arrogant Justice Secretary this nation has ever endured Chris (failing) Grayling [2016-19] who took the probation service into penury and disarray  resignation was not even a footnote in his diary.  Throughout 14 years of incompetence half the courts of England and Wales were closed and even with that process which continues the cry of "local justice" and "diversity" scream from the depths of Petty France where woke reigns supreme.  His Majesty`s Courts and Tribunal Service now has the publishing rights for several areas where local court reporting has become part of local history.  So we cannot be certain that what`s being published in local media reflects the reality of court happenings in local areas.  In the last two years magistrates courts` sentencing powers have been increased to 12 months custody from the previous 6 months and reduced again to 6 months.  Notwithstanding those decisions there is current parliamentary process in action to remove custody as an option altogether.  But here`s the rub; owing to the inaction or inability of the Metropolitan Police to curb disorder occurring in so many  so called "marches for Palestine"  in future protesters who climb on to war memorials could face up to three months in jail under new laws put forward by the government. Security minister Tom Tugendhat told MPs people who scaled national monuments could also be fined £1,000.  Apparently the irresistible force of no more jail available to the lower court will meet the immoveable object of a 3 month jail sentence for those guilty of breaching the new proposed legislation.  That means that those cases will be added to the lists of crown courts where some matters are estimated to be heard not sooner than two years from now. 

The unbelievable incompetence of those aforementioned inhabitants of Petty France added to the equally do lally knuckle dragging grunters of the Home Office has resulted in our prisons being unable to accommodate all those who should lawfully, morally and societally be there.  The scandal and it`s nothing less than a scandal, of "suspended sentences " will continue and indeed accelerate.  If there is one factor above the reducing numbers of lawyers undertaking uneconomic legal aid work in and out of the courtroom to the detriment of low income defendants it`s the release of prisoners when they have completed only a half of their supposed well rehearsed and logically deduced sentences whether or not they deserve such beneficial treatment. The list of failings and incompetence goes on but this is a blog post, not a treatise or novella. 

Perhaps my Rip Van Winkle could have met the Sleeping Princess and seen the world through her eyes without a frog in sight.  Perhaps we can elect some politicians who are of A Level quality in place of the GCSE failures who are leading us into penury and misery down almost every political avenue we have to navigate for the next decade.  Perhaps we can be under a general anaesthetic until then and upon awakening wonder in awe; "is this reality"?