Veronica Goddard

    …and the damage to fencing is apparent from my photograph, taken this morning. The tenants tell me that the  6 vandals were all of school age, approximately 15years old, hooded as usual to hide their identity and repeatedly kicked the fence until it was broken.

The Police were on the scene within 15 minutes of the resident’s 999 call, but were unfortunately unable to find the culprits.

This morning the grass verges of Litton Road were littered with empty beer bottles and cans. I picked up and brought home the bottles, to avoid the possiblity of the added problem of broken glass; smashing bottles - another mindless activity enjoyed by the vandals.

…..Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has pledged to clean up politics in the wake of the MP expenses scandal and concern over party donations.

He told the Scottish Lib Dem conference the Westminster parliament was looked on with “disgust”, rather than pride.

Mr Clegg also set out his vision for a “fairer” society, through tax reform and a better start for children

……was due to be decided upon by the Portfolioholder for Resources at MDC on 24th February, but has been postponed for 8weeks to allow for consultation with user groups.

I objected strongly to the proposed withdrawal of the facility, on the grounds that there had been no consultation other than with MDC departments. MDC stated that most people would be happy to pay by direct debit; this is an assumption that requires strong backing by results from a consultation, so I am happy to learn that the decision has been put off for 2 months.

I thank the Portfolioholder for listening to and addressing my concerns.

…………will exercise their Freedom to March through Mansfield on 17th March., having recently returned from Afghanistan. The march will start from the bottom of Church Street at 2.30pm and the Executive Mayor will take the salute at the bottom of Regent Street, shortly after 2.30.

Do try to get into town for this momentous occasion and show our boys your support.

…What anyone else thinks of you is none of your business.

Quite a profound saying; when it was said to me by a relative, it gave me pause to think - it’s true that you have no control over what someone thinks of you. Try as you may to do the right thing, there will always be someone who is dissatisfied with your words or deeds.

In truth, so long as you can go through life being true to yourself, without intentionally hurting another being, then that’s all you can do. Whatever anyone else thinks of me, I don’t let it upset me - they are entitled to their opinion; that’s democracy.

We Liberal Democrats are true to ourselves and our ethos. Want to join us? Click on the link or call me.

… and I just counted 93 flying over to their roosts at the woodland half a mile away, on Warsop Estate plantation.  I don’t know where they spend their day, but it could be in fields 3 miles away in Sutton-in-Ashfield; I’ve seen huge flocks there picking up a meal.

Birds are a joy to watch, although the day a hawk came down in my garden to catch a blackbird is not high on my list of moments to savour!

….for Peafields Estate was the subject of a meeting today between local councillors, Jill  Usher and Veronica Goddard and the chairman of PCA, Sonia Bower. The Police Liaison Officer gave us the ‘gen’ on setting up Watch schemes on streets on Peafields and we shall be looking for residents to help co-ordinate the scheme.

Whenever we receive information from Police or MDC wardens, about dodgy dealings or scams, we will pass the information out to a network of residents to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of the issue.

If you want to be involved please get in touch. My contact details are to the right of this column.

…….Residents of a Belgian town are to be offered chickens as part of a campaign to reduce household waste.

The town of Mouscron has 50 pairs of chickens that it will distribute to families with sufficient space to keep the birds in their gardens.

Those who take part in the scheme must agree not to eat the chickens for at least two years, or to give them away. As a committed veggis, mine would die of old age! Local officials are stressing that applicants could gain a supply of free, fresh eggs. The aim of the project is to publicise alternative methods of waste management.

Residents included in the project will be given basic instruction on chicken-keeping.

This is the type of project that really grabs my attention; give me some chickens!

Royal Bank of Scotland are having a laugh! At our expense.

Commenting on the announcement of RBS’ losses and bonus pool, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable said:

“It’s hard to understand why £1.3bn is being paid out in bonuses when RBS continues to make losses.

“RBS rewarding individual bankers is like a football team paying their striker for scoring when they’ve just been relegated.  

“While it is good news that RBS is meeting its mortgage lending target, its lending to business has fallen.

“The Government has to get a grip and explain how it will exercise its 84% shareholding in RBS to benefit the taxpayer. At present we are seeing very little. Part nationalised banks are for lending, not bonuses.

“Stephen Hester seems to think that his only goal is to push up the share price. But RBS has made a commitment to support recovery by ensuring that viable businesses are not starved of capital.  If RBS doesn’t lend to businesses they will go bust and people will lose their jobs.

“The lending agreements for 2011 need to be more concrete, long term and better policed.”

….was the best yet. Residents turned out to meet their local beat team, local and county councillors. The mobile police station was a draw for residents of all ages.

Overall the residents were happy with their services, with few complaints or issues raised, but as usual, the issues of dog-fouling and speeding on New Mill Lane were concerns talked about.  The Policing Pledge addresses these concerns and with the close liaison between Neighbourhood Wardens, the Police and myself and my fellow councillors we are hopeful of a successful resolution to the problems.