Free beer and curries were perks of the job
BACK in the day Cardiff city centre was heavily policed.
We were poorly paid so perhaps that is how it could be afforded. Central and the Docks came under one inspector 24/7. He supervised four sergeants, 15 constables and there was also a matron at central cells for the female prisoners. This was in more peaceful times with drugs still far over the horizon.
All officers enjoyed a number of perks and had “calls” where comforts could be partaken, this at a time when having a pint was considered the norm. The advent of the breathalyser brought slow change, with radios just coming into use and the old blue police pillars still available.
One popular perk was a lunchtime visit to a well-known central brewery where the latest brews could be had on a “help yourself” basis. This in a comfortably furnished cellar with glassbottomed barrels arranged within easy reach along one wall. So a good time could be had prior to wandering up to Central to book off. Indian restaurants were in their infancy, with drunks regularly causing trouble, having eaten the meal and refusing to pay. Fatal mistake: pay up or get locked up, simple as. We would pop back later to get the “details” and a free curry was usually on offer. The way in which the public at large treated the staff then was appalling. So, unlike the song, a policeman’s lot was quite a happy one and I looked forwarded with pleasure to going on duty. Happy days and nights. David Prichard
Rumney, Cardiff
Wishing all pupils good luck for future
THIS year has seen another fantastic set of exam results for students across Cardiff South and Penarth. I want to congratulate students at Willows High, Eastern High, St Illtyd’s, Stanwell, St Cyres, Fitzalan and Cardiff and Vale College, many of whom have seen their best ever results. I remember from personal experience, just how stressful a time this can be.
I would also like to pay tribute to all our teachers, parents and governors, who work really hard to ensure students reach their full potential.
Of course, not everyone will have got the grades they were looking for but please remember there are options available to you. If you’re wondering what to do next then you can visit www.careerswales.com for advice and guidance.
I wish all students my very best wishes for the future. Vaughan Gething AM Cardiff South and Penarth
The council should be looking to ensure there is sufficient provision for homeless people Cllr Mike Powell RCT
Council has gone for the easy target
THERE has been much talk recently of the rise in anti-social behaviour in Pontypridd town centre with myself and fellow local councillors, the police, council officers and others meeting to try to find possible solutions.
A range of things are under discussion including moving a number of the support services that are bringing some of the culprits into town. However, RCT’s Labour coun
cil appears to be directing efforts at the wrong targets.
In the next few weeks they will be blocking up the space underneath the steps leading down into Mill Street. Why? Is it a hot bed for drug dealing and cider swilling? No. It is a spot where homeless people take shelter.
In an ideal world nobody would be homeless, nobody would be sleeping in shop doorways, begging in the streets, but this is far from an ideal world. RCT council should be looking to ensure there is sufficient provision for homeless people, not blocking up the few sheltered spots in which they can sleep.
It is not the poor souls sleeping rough under the steps in Mill Street who are causing the havoc in town. Yet it seems they are an easy target. Cllr Mike Powell
Welsh Liberal Democrat, RCT CBC
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