The British Bobby Helmet

I was strolling through a small Ontario town last weekend. About half way down the street I tapped my wife on the shoulder and said: "hold on a minute, I just want to pop into one of these stores and pick up an authentic South Shields Police helmet".

I am sure it must be the sort of thing that most people do on a sunny spring holiday afternoon in Canada.

So I turned around and walked into a nearby store and, sure enough, they still had just one South Shields Police helmet left on their shelves. I pulled out my wallet, paid the shopkeeper and took home my prize.

"Lucky me" I thought. If had wanted a North Shields Police helmet I would have been out of luck today.

For anybody who is not familiar with the geography of north-east England, I should point out that North Shields and South Shields lie on opposite shores at the mouth of the River Tyne.

My choice was South Shields because one of my favourite customers is a lady from that town who now lives in Orangeville, Ontario. After many long years living in Canada she still speaks with a strong Geordie accent. She was absolutely thrilled when I showed her the police helmet from her home town.

So You Think You Know British Bobby Helmets?
I thought I could recognize a British police helmet without any trouble. It has a distinctive shape, a shiny badge at the front and, you know, a "thing" on top. I did some quick research on my acquisition and found out that there is a lot more to the British police helmet than I had thought.

If you would like to know more there is an excellent, highly informative FAQ on the subject on the constabulary.com website. Visiting that site I learned that there are at least three main styles of British police helmet. The principal distinguishing feature seems to be what type of "thing" adorns the top of the helmet.

My helmet is a home office standard type and will be on display at the store from tomorrow. No, you can't try it on.

Big Brother Britain is Watching You

Will you be visiting Britain this summer? Leave your camera at home in Canada - it could land you in jail for a very long time. A new proposal before the UK parliament will make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in jail, to take a picture of a policeman, reports Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

No really, this is not an April Fool's joke; we are still in the chilly depths of February. Big Brother Britain also wants to install CCTV cameras inside pubs and is considering banning the wearing of hats in pubs so the cameras get a better view of the pub's patrons.

CCTV cameras already follow the British people everywhere they go. Licence plate recognition cameras identify and track people as they drive. Speed cameras snap your plate if you so much as venture a hair's breadth above the limit. A national DNA database can link you to a crime scene if your DNA is found at place where an offence is later committed.

Why is all this happening? Because Britain is constantly under a perceived threat of terrorism. It all sounds very draconian and unreal, but similar laws have been used in recent years to detain train-spotters.

Whatever happened to the friendly British bobby who would gladly pose for tourists' photographs? Whatever happened to freedom?