Still Alert, Slightly More Alarmed....

I'm not sure quite why, but I was stopped again by the British Transport Police on Friday night. This time at Marylebone Station, and because I was 'carrying too many backpacks' (I was carrying a backpack with my new work laptop in it, in addition to my gym backpack).
I attempted to use what little charm I still possessed after being stopped to get out of another tedious search (it was Friday night and I wanted to get to gym, get home and get out!), but the two officers were quite insistent.

Policeman Plod # 1 even said to me 'You have a funny accent'. That remark didn't go down particularly well and so I replied that I didn't have 'a funny accent, I had an Australian accent'. The middle-aged, paunched officers went through both bags, established I was 5' 12" - (truly - I said 5' 11" + 3/4 inch - he said "that will be 5' 12" then"!!), filled out the search form, then I was free to go on my way.
Given that I only travel two stops on the underground in the morning, and three stops in the afternoon, what are the chances of me being stopped twice in once week? I am hoping that this doesn't become a regular occurrence, it will impinge on my career as a semtex mule. (Note to transport police - that was a joke).

Alert, but not Alarmed

• I was stopped and seached by the British Transport Police last night at Paddington. I'm still not sure whether I'm outraged by it or not. I was more than co-operative, I even made a couple of jokes (but not bomb-jokes, I'm not that stupid), because everyone know that terrorists don't crack jokes. I even felt a bit sorry for the copper, he was obviously just going through the motions (and had already partially filled out the required search record, btw I was classed as ethnic classification W9), but I still feel the powers are open to abuse. I'm sure I was only stopped and searched in order to meet a quota of ethnic classifcation W*. In principal I'm opposed to being stopped and searched, but as the officer kindly pointed out to me (and is obliged to), under section 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act of 2000, an officer 'does not have to have reasonable grounds to suspect the individual stopped or searched.....'. The alternative would be my refusing the search, then being carted off to the nearest police station as, 'police officers can use reasonable force to detain and search you...if you have been given the chance to co-operate,....,but have refused'. And there was no way I was going to miss my workout because of political protest. Who says gay men aren't superficial? #1

• We're off to drinks with the pony's work's Gay and Lesbian "Network" tonight (but not one lesbian ever attends these drinks). We probably won't stay too long, as it's full of MBA students who on the whole aren't interested in chatting to anyone who: 1) They can't shag 2) Can't get them a job in banking. Stuie came along to an event once and proceeded to tell everyone he met he was a cleaner. From the way people treated him he might as well have told everyone he had an STD. Who says gay men aren't superficial? #2