Thankyou

A week ago this very new blogger had no readers, well if you don't count a few friends and family who felt obliged to have a look just to be polite. But then something amazing happened. Bystander of Magistrates Blog fame very kindly gave me a plug and suddenly I have readers all over the place - 2,000 page hits in a week and some very welcome comments. 

I'm particularly pleased that so many magistrates have found my observations to be of interest because of course the two fields of endeavour, that of probation and the magistracy, have enjoyed a long and close association. Our profession grew out of the Police Court Missionaries and until as recently as the 1980's magistrates sat on interview panels when appointing new probation officers. I was selected in this way by five members of my local Bench and thereafter have enjoyed a very positive working relationship, both with them and their colleagues.  

To a certain extent the probation service and how it operates still remains a mystery to many and as we head into a very uncertain era of public spending cuts, it remains my aim to shed further light on what I feel is an absolutely vital public service. Your interest has confirmed that a blog on the subject is worthwhile - so lets see how long I can keep it up.

 Again, thankyou for reading.