We missed the Blog’s 1st birthday, which should have been in late June. For a Blog produced on the kitchen table in a rural English county, we haven’t done badly in the first 12 months.
Ruralshire’s finest on a visit to London. The “open neck shirt” look would never be allowed in Ruraltown in case a member of the public became upset. The guns would be acceptable.
Highlights of the first year for me in no particular order:
1. The PC Daniel Coffill publicity.
2. The Comments on the Llama post.
3. Nearly getting busted for doing this Blog.
4. Writing “The Rich Girls Are Weeping”.
5. Meeting PC David Copperfield for a few beers in London.
Thanks go out from the Gadget household to readers and friends from Scotland, the South West, London, caravan parks, dark satanic mills, my youngest sister who is easily as insane as me, my cousin (who I know reads this, but NOT at work), retired colleagues, American law enforcement officers, county mounties, prague tories, Bloggers who link and feed (sounds painful) Paramedics, Ulstermen and all those who comment, without whom this Blog would be 1/2 what it is.
As one of my favourite music Blogs says, “I am fuel, you are friends”.
happy first blog birthday guv, if you keep writing we’ll keep reading, and good luck with the job change if it goes ahead
Dear Inspector
I’m not sure how to go about it, so thought perhaps the guys involved might read your blog. My daughter had her handbag stolen from under her chair in Brown’s restaurant in Covent Garden in London Thursday last week. It was captured on the CCTV. The police were called and I would like to thank them for everything, including trying to make her laugh and making sure she and her two friends could get back to Cambridge (they could – I made them take a photocopy each of the National Express e-ticket). And the follow-up phone calls were business-like, sympathetic and at least gave us the vague idea that perhaps the two women thieves might get caught, some day. Thanks guys (I know they were guys because according to my daughter’s friends, they were “fit” which I understand means good-looking!
Happy Birthday Inspector Gadget! Long may your postings continue even if that is in a more of a plain clothes capacity.
Belated birthday wishes. Keep it up, it feels like you’re the only inspector left with common sense who knows the difference between leading and managing!
Happy Birthday, Gadget-sama
You forgot to mention your Kiwi readers in France – there are HORDES of us!
Congratulations on your first year of fascinating and though-provoking writing, which is often poetic and humorous too.
Happy Birthday IG the finest blogg in the known world.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Inspector Gadget’s Blog,
Happy Birthday to you!
You, Copperfield and Bloggs boss, NEVER SURRENDER! Even when you get yer nice whistle and start polishing a chair later in the year!
Boss, you forgot the Midlands!! I am officially in a grump.
Keep up the good work. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
Happy birthday Blog.
Just read your fav’s boss. Hadn’t realised your PSD knew it was you doing this. I take it they couldn’t pin anything on you in the end and probably left it with the old “just remember, we’re watching you” line.
Keep it up next year. In the words of Buzz Lightyear, “TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!”
Inspector,
Happy first birthday, keep on blogging with the best police blog.
Nil illegitimo carborundum!
Happy birthday. Sorry to offend you recently I didn’t mean to offend you with my comments . It was too much of my lateral thinking (that’s my excuse) .
My favourite latin motto is that used by the Roman playwrite Lucius Annaeus Seneca”Oderint dum metuant” – Let them hate provided that they fear.
personally I would rather see this emblazoned on our vehicles than the meaningless drivel that has been fixed of late such “……. working in partnership” and “working for a safer …………” no one except the authors believe it anyway and the underclass certainly don’t respect it.
By the way Happy Birthday ….
Happy Birthday Insp G !
Keep up the good work, love the blogs. You’re a real cop, nae like the numpties in PSD and HR.
Look forward to the next year.
Has anyone seen the new Transformers movie? The Decepticon Police vehicle had the following motto plastered on the side, “To Punish and Enslave”… hmmn… my overactive brain had me thinking that someone involved in that film had an axe to grind against the police but then I thought that such a motto would not be inappropriate if used on the vehicles of our senior officers.
OK OK Happy Birthday boss. Have you sheen the latest Shrek movie by the way?
Happy Birthday!! Keep up the blog- it’s great reading.
And i suggest that you have a beer or two to celebrate, all this writing must be thirsty work.
Happy Birthday Gadget – er sorry, D.I. Gadget!
I am a regular reader of PCSW’s blog, I get around (Although that really isn’t as it sounds!!!) & yes, horse’s arse is on Amazon but it’s cheaper on Play.com. Apparently I should get my copy in the next 3 days
PS. Penny Lane was a really good post, I just couldn’t find the words to comment.
Oh & HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Remember to have a birthday drink 
Keep up the good work Guvnor.
Just remember we work for the good people, we don’t get to meet them too often but they are out there!!
By the way the “open-neck shirt” look has been standard in Metland for years, sadly the 9mm accessories are getting quite common too. It’s a sign of the times I suppose.
Hicky Birfday to you!
Hope you have the opportunity for *one or two* to mark the occasion!
Happy Blogging Anniversary!
eh emmm…..I can assure you that is my good self down fae Toy Town at Buck hoose helping Liz find her missing handbag and not some hick Defective Gadget! As maam said to me, “I am delighted to have my handbag back, I do like happy endings.”
Despite said devilish deception, I send my regards and lang may yer lum reek.
ps Noddy says he’s wondering what the sheep think.
Happy Birthday.
Such judiciousness and wisdom from one so young!
The open neck shirt V guns; I don’t think you could have chosen better words to illustrate the lunacy of it all.
Impressive accomplishment to become such a popular blog in such a short time. Well done. Keep going and don’t let the buggers grind you down.
Happy Birthday. I’ve sent people to “The rich girls are weeping”, as probably the best piece of writing I’ve seen on a blog this year. “Kids that can’t read good” is another great bit of writing. And “May the force be with you” was so funny it taxed my bladder control.
You’re doing a great job helping members of the public – like me – understand what happens in the police – good, bad, or ridiculous.
Many happy returns IG.
Keep up the good work.
Good job!
Congrats old bean!
You have been wished with the following thing(s):
Happy Birthday (Blog/Diary/Other )
Enclosed are copies of statements from witnesses wishing you the above thing(s).
If you wish to accept these wishes they will be wished in your absence. If you want the witnesses to read out their wishes in court, then please complete and return the slip at the bottom of the form.
Thankyou IG from the bottom of my hardened heart
Gosh, I’ve been reading this blog for over a year?
“Rich girls” is my favourite. Set a standard of writing it’s tough to beat.
Congrats on a fruitful year (and a bit)
Regards.
Delurking!
As someone who has generally held a very low opinion of the police for over 20 years (and originally came here from the guardian), you’ve substantially modified my opinion of at least the foot soldiers in your service. It’s difficult to explain concisely but basically my attitude towards the police has changed from thinking of you as “Maggies brown-shirts” to actually having sympathy for your situation a fair amount of the time.
As someone who regards Nu-labour as the unacceptable face of the far-right, I can’t think of you as right-wing, (an extreme insult – even if you describe yourself that way), but I would choose some old fashioned words – decent and conscientious.
For those of us who have little contact with the world you describe, you provide a window that allows a more rounded view than politicians or the mainstream media. You also make me reflect on how we have built the society we have.
Happy Birthday, Congratulations, and please keep it up!
It’s a special day. So like we do in brief, I’ve brought the doughnuts.
Pass them round. Enjoy.
IG
Happy Birthday, (belated of course, but still), and so may there be many more!
EHU Front Line
Happy birthday Gadget.
Keep it going as long can. You are on my regular group of half a dozen or so blogs (police and non – police) I check daily look forward to new posts.
I can’t remember if it was yourself or Copperfield who recommended “Horses Arse”. Either way an excellent read. A work of fiction? My arse. As someone who worked at a station not unlike that in 1979 -1980 before moving somewhere more “normal” it has the ring of truth to me. Albeit events which maybe happened months or years apart being compressed into a few days for dramatic purposes.
Boss, thanks for a year of telling it like it is, as an Inspectors blog your words carry an authority that the Pcs offerings, no matter how pithy, never can. Thanks for the A Few Good Men post in July of last year, it’s travelled far and wide in the department and brought you to an audience who really feel you know what it’s like to take up that responsibility. Lastly thanks for giving us a voice and leading from the front, for telling people like Valleylad that we really don’t want to let him down
Happy Birthday; Enjoy your blog immensely as it helps me to stay and work where I do in West Africa. I should be back in the UK with my feet up in front of the fire, however, much of what you record that gets up your nose, got up mine so much I felt that I just had to go away for a while……………… before I murdered someone!
Thanks for the reminders of what it is really like “back home.”
Keep trying governor!
Did someone say doughnuts?
I’ll have one of them doughnut
Best birthday wishes from Mid-Ulster
keep up the good work boss
Killer Transformers
Transformers info