My good friend Jenny Antill posted the following on her blog yesterday morning:
How is Suffolk County Council going to mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War One in 2014?
This was a question put to the Leader of the Council at Thursday’s Council Meeting. He responded that events would be planned not just for next year, but during the three that follow.
Some 10,000 men from Suffolk died in the Great War, and six men born in Suffolk were awarded the Victoria Cross. Included in their number was Skipper Thomas Crisp, pictured here, Crisp was born in Lowestoft, and he received the award posthumously for his brave defence of his small armed fishing boat against a German submarine. The full story can be read on Wikipedia.
The County Council is working with the Military Covenant Group and the Suffolk Strategic Heritage Forum to plan a range of commemorative events across the county. It is hoped that the community will be closely involved and that the events will be informed by research that is being carried out at the Suffolk Record Office. The archive of the Suffolk Regiment, held in Bury St Edmunds, is likely to be of importance. There will also be projects to raise awareness in schools and colleges, a touring exhibition, and the display of newly digitised material on the SCC website.
Incidentally, Jenny has posted 900 items on her blog since she started in 2007. See http://jennyantillsblog.blogspot.com/
Local Colour
Hands off Hadleigh
Today Tesco’s application to develop the Brett Works site in Hadleigh was defeated by seven votes to six. Bearing in mind that four votes were predictable the result was absolutely first class focusing on the economic impact of our town.
My address to the committee received a heart-warming round of applause from the Hadleigh supporters – and is enclosed).
Floreat Hadleigh
Clown Doctors
I popped into Endeavour House this afternoon to check on my in-box. It is sometimes just a repository of what seems to be junk mail. So it was with no expectation of being enthused that I opened a brown envelope and saw the Annual Report of Suffolk Artlink.
Suffolk Artlink works to improve the quality of life of people of all abilities through taking part in engaging and inspirational activities. So far so ho hum. But before looking for a bin I flipped it open at pages 18 & 19 to see this project which engages children and young people in hospitals and hospices in clowning, storytelling, music, magic, circus skills and improvisation helping to distract them from what can be a very difficult time.
If any picture can be worth a thousand words – this is it.
Please enjoy and think of the artists who do this work (Dr. Fillie Fidget (Filomena Cristallino, Dr Christobell Misschief (Chris Draude) and Dr. Hyacinth Haystack (Vicki Weitz).
Calais for Fun
We have just returned from a quick trip to Calais. This was the break we have been promising ourselves since May! It was just a quick overnight and was very relaxing. One of the highlights was to visit the open air market at Place Crevecoeur. This is a lesser-known market open on a Thursday and was a great market shopping experience.
The stallholders were very tolerant of my French.
I was reminded of the Damon Runyon character Harry the Horse. The is (I recall) short for Harry the Horse Thief. He didn’t actually steal horses but he looked as though he might. This is an illustration of how he might have ended up had he left Broadway.I didn’t have the courage to ask for the dobbin burgers nor did I try the Bar Amnesia – perhaps you can’t have one without the other.
Aberystwyth
At the week end I went to Aberystwyth to stay with my older daughter and her family. These weekends always promise to be gentle day fest. We seem to get a lot of not much done, but we enjoy ourselves and clock up a pleasant time. One of the highlights was to travel to Caersws in Powys to visit the Mid Wales Arts Centre run by Cathy Knapp. Cathy’s centre is home to a unique permanent collection of large scale enamel murals and sculptures by the late world renowned Polish born artist Stefan Knapp. Richard Brown (my son in law) collected some of his works which had been exhibited there and we transported them back to Aberystwyth where they will be displayed in the Gas Gallery on Park Avenue. The Gas Gallery was launched at the end of June and is entirely self-funded by artists from the area, with volunteers staffing it on a daily basis. It is situated in the Old Gas Showrooms on Park Avenue – a building which has been empty for some years The new venture marks a triumph for the group known as Celf Ceredigion Art, who ha
ve spent many years negotiating with Ceredigion County Council to turn some of the town’s many empty buildings into exhibition spaces. The project is a one year pilot and sees the group working in partnership with the council as they work to promote the best art the area has to offer. Full marks to the Ceredigion County Council for their initiative in recycling an otherwise empty building which was going to waste. Richard will be taking part in the Ceredigion Art Trail 2013 Richard’s web page can be found on http://ceredigionarttrail.org.uk/richard-brown-2012/
More details of the Gas Gallery can be found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/Local-artists-win-long-campaign-for-new-gallery-in-Aberystwyth
High Street Loyalty Card Powers On
Yesterday I had the pleasant task of allocating £500 from the Community Locality Budget provided by Suffolk County Council for whom I represent Hadleigh.
The focus was on the Hadleigh’s Loyalty Card shopping scheme set up by the town’s Chamber of Commerce which has been such a success that it’s been difficult keeping up with demand for the cards.
Two print runs have been exhausted and cards were in short supply. So it was a timely intervention to finance the printing of 25,000 more cards with an allocation of £500 from the Community Locality Budget.
Jane Haylock of Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce received the cheque at the Chamber’s summer party at Priory Hall in Hadleigh.
Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce President, Tony Addison, welcomed the cheque and said how pleased he was to see such a commitment to Hadleigh’s future and the recognition that market towns are worth supporting.
The Loyalty Card, which was Jane’s project, encourages people to shop locally. Shoppers collect stars on the card each time they spend money in participating shops, pubs and restaurants. When all 10 stars are collected the cards are handed in to take part in a monthly prize draw.
“We now have 1,700 handed in each month which represents 17,000 sales in Hadleigh shops,” said Jane. About 75 percent of the cards handed in come from Hadleigh residents with the rest from neighbouring villages and some from people who have stayed in the town as tourists.
The Row Chapel, Hadleigh
One of Hadleigh’s less well known treasures is the Row Chapel which holds an important place in Hadleigh’s history.
Originally the chapel was intended for those who lived in the alms houses, but now the congregation comes from all parts of Hadleigh with occasional tourists from further afield.
On the first Tuesday in the month a celebration of the Eucharist, Holy Communion, is held using the Book of Common Prayer and including a sermon and hymns sung with enthusiasm. On the other three Tuesdays the service is Matins, Morning Prayer, again from the BCP, again with sermon and hymns. The Chapel predates the reformation and witnessed the journey of Rowland Taylor’s martyrdom in 1555. He gave his last coins to the folk in the alms houses as he was led up George Street to Aldham Common.
The chapel is a spiritual resource to the people of Hadleigh in general and the residents of the almshouses (to the rear of the Chapel) in particular. It is also a focus for visiting tourists.
It’s governing committee is committed to show casing local suppliers, artisans and craftsmen. The committee hope to raise sufficient funds to re-paint the internal plasterwork, install custom made cushions and replace the old carpet.
Funds are raised from the congregation via the after service coffee and biscuits and from donations. So far over £600 has been raised.
I have committed £550 from my Community Locality Budget to assist their efforts
The ambition is to restore the 500+ year old Chapel back to its former important place in Hadleigh’s history.
Visions & Priorities
It is generally accepted that organisations which have a clear vision and values have greater chances of success than those whose vision and values are unclear and blurred.
One of Babergh’s Strategic Priorities is to shape, influence and provide the leadership to enable growth whilst protecting and enhancing our environment. One of the outcomes flowing from this priority is that Babergh is open for business and a champion of the local economy.
So it was with some surprise that when visiting the Council’s office foyer in Corks Lane I saw “Take One” boxes advertising theatre and amusements in Norfolk.
I’m always irked when I see pamphlets in Hadleigh promoting Lavenham and yet I never see any leaflets in Lavenham promoting Hadleigh despite Hadleigh Town Council offering to supply as much literature as needed.
Babergh has spent considerable time formulating its vision and priorities. If you want to bring the vision and values to life we all have to “live the brand”. It’s part of the why and how you work. You can see living the brand in any High Street bank where all staff conform to the dress code. It reinforces the values represented by the brand.
So why aren’t Babergh staff living the brand and sharing the values? Why do we promote activities outside of Babergh and even outside Suffolk? Babergh has plenty of attractions and if you are so minded go to http://hadleigh.onesuffolk.net/assets/Tourism/Town-Guide-2011.pdf for a copy of Hadleigh’s Town Guide.
Perhaps running Babergh is like running a cemetery: you’ve got a lot of people under you but nobody listens.
Quis Custodiet
Y
esterday I attended the inaugural meeting of the Babergh & Mid Suffolk Joint Audit & Standards Committee. The first substantive item of business was to approve the Committee’s Terms of Reference (TOR). The TOR is nice document, well written, reasonably unambiguous and for the most part fit for purpose. It is however written by officers and lacks sensitivity to the needs of the tax payers’ and residents.
Readers of this blog will be aware that I often feel that the information and opinions given to us at Babergh are often not as robust as I would like. I’m also conscious that some of my Councillor colleagues are reluctant to challenge and hold the executive to account.
So in a cross group collaboration I suggested that the TOR should be invigorated with the following additional duty:
To peruse, review and comment upon the non-salary expenses of the officers of the joint councils.
You would think that this was a no brainer – but no – the Chairman dithered and at one point suggested that such oversight could be unnecessary. None the less the item was put to the vote and approved (but not unanimously).
Already I can hear the Sir Humphreys in Corks Lane telling me that the new requirements will be too complicated, too expensive, and (I expect) too controversial to implement..
But the outcome will be that our employees will be fully accountable for their travel expenses etc., and we will enjoy a greater degree of transparency.
There’s nothing like the disinfectant of sunlight to force out sloppy practices.
Suffolk AONB Management Plan
Every now and then one gets a glimpse of the other planets that some people seem to inhabit. One of these astronomical events occurred when the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB) Management Plan 2013-2018 came before the Suffolk County Council Cabinet for approval and adoption. This is a well written document and was presented by Councillor David Wood, Chairman of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB Partnership. Suffolk gives £66,000 to the partnership and Babergh also makes a contribution. I raised the issue that at some point a well written document of about sixty pages was handed over to the design consultants who proceeded to add thirty pages of photographs and other illustrations. Whilst I could understand such artistic creativity if we were promoting a tourist brochure, it struck me that here was a classic extravagance bordering upon a total waste of money. Councillor Wood told us that the design was done in house and that design consultants were not used. He did not tell us the role of Spring Design & Advertising Ltd who are credited with the design and production of the plan. What he did say was that the production of the plan did not come out of the monies provided by the County. It came from Defra (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs). Management plans are all about Management. (The clue is in the title). They do not need photographs. They may need maps and graphs but we do not need money wasted on fripperies. It all comes out of the same pocket – the taxpayers. The report can be viewed and downloaded from http://www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org/about-us/aonb-management-plan/.
Be careful if you print the maps on pages eleven and twelve in greyscale. It makes the coast seem to be under water.
Did I say that Councillor Wood was Leader of the Liberal Democrat and Independent Group at County and a Babergh District Councillor? Leopards do not change their spots and these people regard spending other people’s money in extravagant ways as a God given right. Thank goodness they did not get a majority in May.
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