The Daily Mail reports that Forest of Dean District Council has been forced to issue an apology for squandering taxpayers’
money. It accepted a motion criticising it for “scandalous waste” over the past eight years after Labour members forced through the vote, demanding an ‘unqualified apology’, when the ruling Conservatives were left short of numbers at a meeting this week.
Which just goes to show that eternal vigilance is the price of enjoying yourself whenever the right opportunity presents itself.
I am quite envious that I have never been in a position to pull off such a coup – although I do sometimes count up my friends at meetings just to see if any mischief might be supported.
Did I mention that my great grandfather was born in the Forest of Dean (and as such had the right to mine coal) – obviously the descendants of his malcontent friends carry on the practice of getting their kicks in whenever they can. But if you are in Ruardean don’t mention the Bears (see The Forest of Dean by Humphrey Phelps).
Author: Brian Riley
Paint Recycling
Some time ago I enquired of my Facebook friends if anyone knew of a paint recycling facility whereby partly filled (or partly emptied) paint tins were recycled back into the community either directly to a charity or through a third party who would accept and distribute the paint according to availability and needs.
So it was with some joy that I discovered that paint received at the Witchford, March, Milton, St Neots, Thriplow and Wisbech (all in Cambridgeshire) Recycling Centres is collected for use by local charities, community groups, housing associations and individuals in social need.
This is so much more socially responsible that in Suffolk where only water based paint that has been dried out using dry sand/ soil/ cat litter will be accepted on site in the landfill bin. This drying method is only recommended for paint tins no more than quarter full. No oil based paint can be accepted on Suffolk’s sites.
For larger quantities of paint or paint that cannot be accepted on Suffolk sites, residents should contact their local borough/ district council who will collect these for a charge.
As for me, I’ll take advantage of my journeys up North to use the Cambridgeshire recycling facilities for my unused paint.
Relic of the True Cross
Earlier this month I was in New York and one of my delights was to stroll along to the JP Morgan Library on 36th Street. You can pay for the tour of the galleries and the library (very worthwhile) or you can take a gentle lunch or coffee in the cafeteria. One of the more interesting items on display in the general area is the Stavelot Triptych, It is a Reliquary of the True Cross, comprising three triptychs. The main triptych dates from 1156-1158. Inside the triptych are two smaller ones which are Byzantine and date from the late 11th or early 12th century . The central panel – contains two Byzantine triptychs. The upper triptych depicts the Annunciation and the Crucifixion. The lower triptych depicts the four Evangelists, four Byzantine military saints, and Constantine and Helena flanking the relics of the True Cross. Wings – contain six enamel medallions (three in each wing) telling the legend of the True Cross. The upper Byzantine triptych depicts the Annunciation (outer wings) and Mary and John beside the Crucifixion (centre panel). The lower Byzantine triptych depicts the four Evangelists (outer wings), four Byzantine military saints (inner wings): George and Procopius on the left, Theodore and Demetrius on the right. In the centre, beneath busts of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael, and flanking the True Cross composed of the relic itself, are Emperor Constantine and his mother, Empress Helena. The triptychs were possibly made for Abbot Wibald, who headed the Benedictine Abbey of Stavelot (in present-day Belgium) from 1130 to 1158. The triptych was in the possession of the abbey’s last prince-abbot when he fled during the French Revolution in 1792. It was purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1910 and bequeathed to the Library. Altogether a quite uplifting experience.
East Ipswich Waste Transfer Station
On Thursday I attended a meeting of Suffolk County Council’s Development Committee where the main item on the agenda was consideration and approval (or otherwise) of the proposed Waste Transfer Station in East Ipswich. An existing landfill site a few miles up the road is scheduled to be full (and therefore closed) in 2021. The Waste Transfer Station will be one of three within the County that will receive waste from the kerbside collections and Household Waste Recycling Centres and transfer the waste onto larger lorries for onward transportation to a Materials Recycling Facility, In-vessel Composting facility or the Great Blakenham Energy from Waste facility. There were a number of objection letters from local residents, adjacent businesses, and the developer of Ransomes Europark. Concerns raised included the potential for increased traffic congestion on the highway and compatibility with other businesses. The Officers advised that the proposed development complied with national and local planning policies. It was considered to be appropriately located and would not give rise to unacceptable impacts upon commercial and residential amenity. The development would not detract from the special characteristics of the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths Area of Outstanding Beauty, and would protect and enhance habitats for biodiversity including Protected and Priority species.
So there we are Ipswich will get a new Waste Transfer Station. I visited the site earlier in the month and saw little to complain about. Among the objectors was Ransomes still produce a variety of grass cutting equipment. From professional high quality turf machines to more industrial gang mowers for use on wider areas such as public parks etc. Their complaint was that the Waste Transfer Station could cause an increase of vermin on their site (more than 100 yards away). Upon questioning they indicated that they categorised seagulls as vermin! The chutzpah prize goes to the neighbouring Nacton parish council who thought that a location to the west of Ipswich would be preferable (definitely contestants for the NIMBY Council of the year).
Eating for England
Last week I was taken to lunch at Katz’s Delicatessen, also known as Katz’s of New York City. It is a kosher style (not kosher) delicatessen restaurant located at 205 Houston Street, on the southwest corner of Houston and Ludlow Streets on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City. Since its founding in 1888, it has become popular among locals and tourists alike for its pastrami sandwiches and hot dogs, both of which are widely considered among New York’s best. I went for the pastrami sandwich and as can be seen it looked as though I was eating for England. Was it worthwhile – you betcha! And I also took half a portion of chips and some dill pickles but I eschewed the lettuce as overly green things tend to be harmful.
As well as being a world famous delicatessen it was the feature restaurant in Where Harry met Sally and there is a sign in the restaurant indicating the exact location of that famous scene. More information can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katz%27s_Delicatessen
Treasury Management and Pies in the Sky
On Monday I attended a meeting of the Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils’ Joint Audit and Standards Committee where the main item on the agenda was the Joint Treasury Management Strategy for 2015/2016. Having established the criteria for choosing counter parties at the last meeting I thought that this strategy paper would be a gentle formality. But as always when you think it’s all under control the land mines and elephant traps start appearing. Page 3 of the strategy paper advises that included in the future borrowing requirements is £25 million relating to delivery plan projects. Any use of this borrowing will be subject to a business case and will achieve a return on that investment and produce additional income to help towards the council’s medium term funding gap.
So much for fine words but further on page 33 indicates that borrowing costs as a percentage of General Fund (income) will rise to 32.74% in 2016/2017 and to 35.07% in 2017/18. When asked why we looked as though we were committing over a third of our income to debt servicing costs – we were told that projects has not yet been identified and that the inclusion of the costs were merely being prudential. Except that we were being asked to approve this situation and as any fule noes such a level of debt servicing can only mean a reduction in services or a culling of staff or both. We declined to approved the strategy without serious amendment and reservations.
I went to bed asking myself what sort of project would it be that would have a long initial period of no income. And then I woke with the answer – a very nice new headquarters could quite easily soak up £25 million with the borrowing being repaid from the proceeds of sale of the existing and consequently redundant buildings.
Not that the District has a happy history of business cases coming to fruition in the manner first proposed and we certainly do not have a good reputation for managing our real estate portfolio.
What’s my next step – let’s see if I can get an unequivocal statement that none of the £25 million is intended for a new headquarters.
Prayers for the Armed Forces
Last week I was at Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina. A cathedral can always be counted on for a decent choir which can more than offset the sermon!
What I found really interesting was the inclusion in the parish newsletter of a request for prayers for the men and women of the parish serving in the Armed Forces. A very valuable lesson in civic responsibility – you may not like the war(s) but once your Commander in Chief has decided to get involved – then you are in it to win it and the whole community is involved.
Such civic collectivity was uplifting to say the least.
Stress Management
I was tidying up my email archive and came across the following :
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water? Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.” “If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. “In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.” “As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.” “So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.” “Relax; pick them up later after you’ve rested. Life is short. Enjoy it! And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never buy a car you can’t push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Happy New Year – may 2015 be kind to you.
Snow Clearing
On 23rd December the Health and Safety Minister Lord Freud urged a common sense approach to clearing snow from footpaths and pavements. As we brace ourselves for the first arctic blast of the season, Health and Safety Minister Lord Freud is urging a common sense approach to clearing snow from footpaths and pavements. There are no health and safety regulations that prevent people from clearing snow at their home, their business or at their neighbours’ homes, despite newspaper stories in previous winters to the contrary. Now ministers want to pre-empt the usual health and safety myths ahead of the first snowfall that could prevent people from doing a good deed to help stop others falling and injuring themselves on a path or pavement. Minister for Health and Safety Lord Freud said: “People need to be aware that they will not be reprimanded for doing a good deed by clearing ice and snow. The truth is very simple: you can clear ice and snow from footpaths and pavements but always be careful that you don’t put yourself in danger. “Countless lives have been saved and injuries prevented because of robust health and safety practices. But bogus excuses give real safety laws a bad name and stop people from taking action.”
The Chair of the Health and Safety Executive Judith Hackitt said: “Anyone can clear ice and snow from public spaces, so don’t be put off because you’re afraid someone will get injured. Remember, people walking on snow and ice have a responsibility to themselves to be careful. “Health and safety legislation is designed to protect people where there is a genuine danger that someone could be killed or seriously injured, not to stop people from getting on with their lives and certainly not to stop people from reducing the risk for themselves and others by clearing snow and ice.”
More information can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/news/snow-clearing-health-and-safety-myth-shattered
Photo source: http://bahnbilder.ch/picture/7697
Winning isn’t Everything
Garrison Keillor once wrote that there are some prizes which are not worth winning. He cited a pie eating contest as an example. But perhaps there are times when even the taking part may not be as worthwhile as intended. Recently World Pie Eating Championships held in Harry’s Bar in Wigan were declared invalid after suppliers sent the wrong pies to the event. The large Adlington pies were destined to go to a Divorce Party. They were twice the size of the pies specified for the contest and the organisers decided to go ahead with the contest by cutting the pies in half. A competing fitness instructor/warehouse supervisor, set the best time of 42.6 seconds for eating half a pie, but the umpires declared the results null and void because of safety concerns. They said eating the 24cm (10in) pies could result in a dangerous “swallow stall”. The pie specifications are quite detailed and include the rule that there should be no gravy due to worries that competitors would mix in cough syrup to speed-up consumption. Competitors practise pie eating to get ready for the competition but not all took the mix up in their stride. Julie Welsh hoped to be the first woman to lift the trophy but walked out before the start because of the last minute pie change. She said: “I’m sick with disappointment but there are some principles you can’t compromise. I’ll be back next year, if they see sense.” Local pie-eating athlete, Andy Driscoll, said: “My mate and I have been practicing for weeks on small, soft Wigan pies, and at the last minute, they’ve substituted these monsters.” And amid the tumult the accusations fly – the pies weren’t even from the north (of England). Vince Bowen, the pies’ maker, was slated for originating from Southern England and including steam holes that could allow the pies to be contaminated. Bowen retorted to the criticism “I may be from down south but I know what makes a good pie.”
And if all this trivia was not enough The people of Wigan are called ‘Pie-eaters’ because during the general Strike of 1926 workers from Wigan were the first to go back to work and break the strike. From then on they were called ‘Humble Pie Eaters’, now just ‘Pie eaters’.
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