View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Thursday 13 November 2008

Evening notes

My remarks regarding Facebook relate to the consequences on my private life of being on there, rather than the experience itself. That was not unique to Facebook, it is something that has plagued me throughout my stint on AOL (since April 2004).

On the subject of child abuse, the Austrian man (Josef Pritzl) who made his own daughter pregnant 7 times over will stand trial. Part of the indictment is the allegation that he killed one of the babies fathered by him. Pritzl kept his daughter incarcerated in a cellar at home for 24 years.

Yesterday, news emerged that the Jersey prosecuting authorities have decided that there is no case to answer regarding the children's home Haute de la Garenne. Earlier this year, this former home made world headlines after bones were found in sealed off sections of its cellars. It has been decided that those finds do not constitute murder. Investigations into alleged abuse are on-going.

Thursday 13 November

Pouring with rain out here, not very nice at all.

I was horrified to hear of the death of a baby of 17 months in north London. Once again, social services appear to have failed dismally in their duty of care, not picking up on danger signs. Whether it is a system failure of social services generally, or the fact that the odd failure is of such a horrific nature is not a conclusion for me to draw. Over the past few years, I have encountered several people who were reluctant to tell me that their job was with social services.

I am contemplating my continued membership of Facebook. Although I joined in December 2007, I only became more active on it following the demise of AOL Journals. I cannot say it was a wholly positive experience, so do not be surprised if any of you who are on my friends list on there are notified of my departure.