Send in the army ..

So, let me get this straight..

The task in hand is pretty important but, to save money, you sack the professional and get a part-timer in, someone who does the work as a hobby at the weekends. Right? Well that sounds a recipe for disaster if ever I heard one! And what if they get killed? It doesn't bear..

Oh, sorry! No, I'm not talking about Wedding Photographers here (As if I'd complain about people booking cheap amateur 'photographers' - ie: camera-owners - to cover their Weddings! As if...) No, I'm talking about the Army, which is to lay off 20,000 troops and replace them with part-time TA soldiers. I mean, I've got nothing against the TA - I'm sure they strive hard to achieve the standards of the regulars - but there goes another layer of professionalism down the pan as we yet again we hear the cry of "That'll do!"

Actually, "that'll do" should be printed on the mast-head of the Manchester Evening News. It was bad enough when it layed off the last of its staff photographers (Hi Mark!) but now it's decided it's not even going to employ freelance photographers, and will make do with shots supplied by its coterie of weekly newspaper shooters and erm .. the public! Recently there was a fire in South Manchester and the MEN tweeted "Anyone got any photographs of it?" "Why.." I replied "don't you send in a photographer?"