Tomorrow (Saturday) 
FIND (Families in Need) is holding a fund raiser at St. Mary’s Church Hadleigh from 10 until 2. With the current changes in the economy FIND is having to provide basic necessities like food to families in need. This is a local charity which deserves our support. If you’re free and in Hadleigh on Saturday, drop in to the church and see what’s happening. Short term (three hours) car parking in Hadleigh is free until noon on Saturdays. Thereafter parking is free for all of Saturday afternoon and evening. If you are visiting Hadleigh be careful of using the long term car parks which although they are also free for the first three hours will require a parking ticket up to 5 p.m. FIND is a Christian based charity that was founded in 1990 to provide emergency assistance to families or individuals affected by poverty or dispossession. FIND is also able to offer ongoing friendship and support to those in need. WHAT DOES FIND OFFER? The charity provides, free of charge: food; cooking utensils; clothing, toiletries; baby equipment & nappies; bedding; survival sleeping bags; curtains & furniture; white goods; Christmas hampers & gifts, etc. FIND also befriends people without judging them, offers advice when required and gives support for as long as it is needed. WHO DOES FIND HELP? Anyone living within 25 miles radius of Ipswich who is deprived of a minimum standard of living, be they single, families, lone parents, children, elderly, sick or disabled. Referrals may come from: Social Services; General and Psychiatric Hospitals; The Homeless Family Unit; Victim Support; Salvation Army; Asylum & Refugee Support Agencies; Women’s Aid; The Probation Service; YMCA & YWCA; Ipswich Community Resource Centre; Family Centres; Health Centres; other charities.
Local Colour
My Part of the River
I hav
e just finished reading My Part of the River (1974) by Grace Foakes which deals with much of her childhood and early adulthood in Wapping (East London). Grace Foakes was born the year Queen Victoria died (1901) and would thus have been ten years younger than my grandmother (Alice Luck) – so much of what Grace writes has family resonances. One quotation which sticks out is: “They were happy days in that close-knit community. The feeling of belonging outclassed everything else. There was poverty, disease, dirt and ignorance, and yet to feel one belonged outweighed all else.”
Hadleigh to the fore
I spend a lot of my time supporting constituents in their dealings with Babergh. So it is only right that I report Babergh’s willing responsiveness to correct matters which I think are out of order. Earlier this week I had an email from the Tourism & Arts Manager informing me (and others) of the web site http://www.thesuffolkguide.co.uk which complements Babergh’s official tourism website www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk. When I clicked on the suffolkguide link I was horrified to see that Hadleigh was left off of the map. I was not backward in coming forward and pointed out the deficiencies to Babergh for onward continuation to Mark Scott the web site owner. I’m pleased to say that the home page map has been changed and Hadleigh is now visible at first sight. Alas all is still not well in the garden. The towns’ and villages’ section lists the features of each. Regrettably Hadleigh get 105 words parading its charms, Lavenham has 200 words despite having fewer listed buildings than ourselves and Polstead (a village with a total population of about 820) gets 157 words. So in terms of puff we are definitely poor relations. I have contacted Babergh so that I can be put in touch with Mark Scott and in the meantime I’ll ask the Town Council to suggest appropriate wording so that we are not short-changed and Internet-abused.
O Tempera O Mores
This afternoon Alice (described on the invitation as my consort) & I went to St. Mary’s, Hadleigh for a service of celebration to mark the Queen’s accession to the throne some sixty years ago.
And very nice it was. The ushers weren’t sure whether we qualified for the second row from the front but in the end decided that we were. (The lady with the list not being “on seat” at the required time ”.
It was a well thought out service with something to appeal to everyone. Traditionalists got an articulation of the Privy Council’s accession declaration and the modernists got “You are My Sunshine” by a group of schoolchildren. We sang two verses of the National Anthem. Usually we only sing the first verse. The thought occurred to me that even with two verses Her Maj was being short changed and that we were being prevented from wishing a dissing on the Scots and other foreigners whose knavish tricks required confounding. But only two verses are shown on the web site http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/NationalAnthem.aspx
Further research (http://ingeb.org/songs/godsaveo.htm) shows that there were six verses and two of the more interesting and sadly now ignored ones are as follows:
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!
Lord grant that Marshal Wade*
May by thy mighty aid Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King!
*Wade was involved in the suppression of the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745.
Bye-Bye Increased Short Term Parking Charges
At this morning’s (26th Jan 2012) Council meeting, Babergh decided to:
Retain free parking for up to three hours in Sudbury and Hadleigh but there being an increase in the long-stay charge from £1.50 to £2 per day.
Increase Council Tax by 9 pence per week per Band D property being the equivalent of 3.5% on the District Council’s levy.
Keep Community Grants (about £290,000) as they are pending a full strategic review in 2012/13.
Review charges and arrangements for brown bin collection, public toilets etc.
All of which is a bland way of reflecting the pulling together of a group of like minded councillors and ensuring that their views prevailed.
However a triumph is a triumph – hard sought, hard fought and well won.
Bye-Bye Increased Short Term Parking Charges
Today’s (13th Jan 2012) EADT reports that Babergh District Council’s strategy committee yesterday decided to take increased short-stay parking charges off the agenda – the move had been put forward as a way of helping the council to balance their books.
While the plans for increased short-stay car parking charges were scrapped, members agreed to increase council tax by 3.5% and charge an additional 50p per day in the long-stay car parks – taking the cost to £2. The increased Council Tax equates to 9p per week per household. This should produce an extra £80,000 in the Council’s tax base and let us protect services and front line staff.
All of which is a bland way of reflecting the pulling together of a group of like minded councillors and ensuring that their views prevailed. A number of people are quite happy with the result. I suspect that others are less than appreciative of Councillors sticking up for the tax payers and for their towns. The full article can be found on http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics/babergh_community_leaders_are_thrilled_at_short_stay_car_parking_charges_turnaround_1_1176255
One People, One Nation, One Leader
Bury St. Edmunds and Forest District Councils are seeking a joint executive at a price range between £105,000 and £115,000. The advertisement in the MJ (formerly the Municipal Journal) concludes with “We need someone whose time has come to help create a shared vision for West Suffolk – and then deliver it”. The bells started ringing and then suddenly the penny dropped. It sounds like an up to date version of: “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” — “One People, One Nation, One Leader”. With attributes like these at such a low cost you can see why Woolworth’s went bust. Meanwhile with two district councils and one Chief executive I see at least three contenders for the post of Generalissimo or Duce.
Fuller details are available on http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/live/ChiefExecutive.cfm
The Anchor, Woodbridge
We were in Woodbridge today and found ourselves in the ridiculous position of being surrounded by restaurants and not fancying anything on the various showcased menus. So we strolled down Quay Street but the Moorish Lounge was closed and at the back of my mind I recalled seeing a recent advert for the Anchor. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186387-d1888346-r80287310-The_Anchor-Woodbridge_Ipswich_Suffolk_East_Anglia_England.html) Madam had the root vegetable soup (very thick and definitely not for sharing) and I had the Cajun Seared Salmon. They cheerfully accepted our requirements of no bread, potatoes or rice and acknowledged that side salads would be acceptable. The food was good and the service was cheerful and efficient. The atmosphere and the log fire were just what we needed on a coolish day with the wind off the water. Definitely on the list for revisiting. Photo courtesy of http://www.suffolkcamra.co.uk/pubs/images/thumbnails/pub/1025.jpeg
Car Parking & Other Matters
The MJ (management journal for local authority business) contained the following item, on its back page:
Somehow it all makes sense.
Car Parking & Other Matters
On Tuesday 13th (December) I took part in Babergh’s Joint Overview & Scrutiny (Community Services) and (Stewardship) meeting. I appointed myself as initial chairman of the meeting so that we could elect a chairman (not me!). The chief purpose of this meeting was to recommend to the Strategic Financial Planning Task Group the key options for the draft budget. The Council faces a substantial reduction in Government funding. After some considerable debate the Committee overwhelmingly opted for the following recommendations:
- · Council Tax to rise by 3.5%. This will increase our tax base, give us additional revenue of £45,000 and will ameliorate future shortfalls. After the increase we will still have the second lowest Band D in Suffolk. The additional cost will be less than £5 per year per Band D property.
- · To leave the present car parking regime unchanged.(The Portas review was published this morning). (see http://www.bis.gov.uk/highstreet).
- · To use up to £3000,000 (s.t.c.) of the £924,000 received from the Government as a New Homes Bonus (based upon past performance) to balance budgets – or to put it another way to invest and support the social investments represented by our car parks.
The recommendations were all against the Executive’s recommendations (which would have been cleared beforehand with members of more senior committees) and have yet to make their way through the various decision channels before coming to the full council in February.
So it remains to be seen how far democratic principles will prevail and the New Year promises to be interesting.
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