Evenin' All

​+A quote in Saturday’s paper: ‘We are not an arm of the state’ (in the context of policing the lockdown). This from Martin Hewitt,  chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council. This is a body which I have not heard of before—I assumed the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) was sufficient. But not to worry, there’s probably a bit of slack in the dosh we hand over in our police precept payments to pay for any number of duplications. But the concept that the police are not ‘an arm of the state’ has me baffled. The police are one of the most important arms of the state. Perhaps Mr Hewitt was only two years old when the miners’ strike took place, which would have made him six when the poll tax was ‘policed.’ I realise we have a concept in this country called ‘policing by consent,’ with unarmed (sic) police and all that, but why not stop the pretence? The police perform many valuable functions on behalf of the state, they convey the authority of the state. Constitutionally, that’s supposed to be all of us. That means that apart from any criticisms I might have, I would be very relieved if caught up in some terrorist attack the first people on the scene were heavily armed police marksmen saving my life. But we still—or some like Mr Hewitt—seem to think Dixon of Dock Green is still the model. So in the current crisis I expect the police to perform their function, and if that means telling idiots to stop ignoring government instructions on self-isolating I’m all for the police being the ‘arm of the state.’ Whether we like what the ‘state’ does is quite a separate issue, and that requires an intense debate. But whatever your vision of what the state should be, it will always have an arm called the ‘police.’
 
+The Great (or not so great) International Beer Challenge has moved onto its second beer, this being a .033l bottle of Trappistes Rochefort 10, brewed by monks in a Belgian monastery. It is one of those strong beers that Belgians sip, being 11.3% ABV. This bottle has a best before date on it of July, 2008, and it is with a sense of foreboding that the significance of that will carry through all of the old beers comprising this challenge. It is unmistakably strong, and retains a flavoursome malty, chocolatey taste, but it’s pretty much flat and has that slight whiff mildly reminiscent of a corked wine. Damn. Down the sink. Sorry monks! I still retain a hope that one of my old bottles will contain a still lively and fresh brew.




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