….has been launched in Notts, to fight the epidemic of fly-tipping in the county.  

Both local authorities and the Environment Agency have powers to tackle fly-tipping. It is widely recognised that fly-tipping can be best combated through partnerships between local authorities, other enforcement agencies, including the Environment Agency. 

The EA and local authorities have agreed with the Local Government Association (LGA) a protocol that sets out the types of fly-tipping that local authorities and Environment Agency respond to.The Environment Agency investigate the larger scale incidents of fly-tipping, involving hazardous waste and incidents involving organised gangs of fly-tippers. Local authorities tackle clear-up of fly-tipping on publicly owned land, including roads and lay-bys. EA contact number: 0800 807060.   

The Nottinghamshire Local Area Agreement (consisting of, Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council), Nottingham City Council and the Environment Agency have funded the purchase of covert surveillance equipment which will be used to tackle fly-tipping throughout Nottinghamshire.The project will run for 2 years and commenced on the 1 April 2008.  If you want more information about Operation Maid Marian please contact Peter Rutherford, Environment Crime Team Leader on 0115 846 3723.Of course, if you witness fly-tipping you can anonymously alert the Police (420999) or call Grimebusters at MDC (463463)

………Area Assembly took place last night and our meeting was displaced by the slimming club. We had to meet in the small hall at Turner Memorial Hall and the Slimming Club took the larger hall. Now, whether this is a sign of falling numbers attending Area Assemblies or increasing numbers attending the Slimming Club, I can’t say. If it is a fact that people are trying harder to adopt a healthier lifestyle, I say ‘Well Done’ - I think I should sign up myself! But please, do come to the Area Assembly meetings - there we discuss things that matter to Leeming, Priory, Robin Hood and Sherwood Wards.

Last night we had a presentation by the Notts Primary Care Trust about the government’s plans to provide ‘Poly Clinics‘ which will be rather similar to Byron House at Kings Mill Hospital, with a variety of health needs being catered for  and where patients can either register  on the clinic’s patient list (panel) or use the service on an ad hoc basis and just walk in and be seen by a GP, nurse, physiotherapist, dentist or other medical expert.

There were mixed feelings about the possibility of Mansfield / Ashfield acquiring this type of service (the decision as to the location has not yet been made)and bearing in mind the mix-up over confidential data of late and its attendant worry for those concerned, I am not altogether convinced about this whole project. To have yet another agency privvy to everyone’s medical history is a little more of the Big Brother syndrome .Indeed, this story illustrates my point:

Commenting on the announcement that Fujitsu has been sacked from the NHS IT contract, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb said: “This is yet another example of a hopelessly flawed, centrally imposed project that has not been properly thought through from the start and was never subjected to a proper cost benefit analysis.”
http://www.libdems.org.uk/news/story.html?id=14367

…..not a good idea;  this is something that has to be considered by Planning Committe members. However, according to a news story today, the Labour Government are not taking flood risk seriously.

Commenting on today’s land use statistics that reveal that 10% of new dwellings were built within areas of high flood risk, Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Lembit Öpik said: “With 10% of new homes still being built in flood risk areas, the Government is clearly failing to take flooding seriously.”  For more on this story, follow this link
http://www.libdems.org.uk/community/story.html?id=14366

………final! The toilets on St John Street will not be kept open and the original decision, taken in February by the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, will stand. I can’t say I disagree with her. 

The scrutiny of the decision following the Call-in was carried out diligently by Select Commission 1 members, regardless of their personal opinions on the matter. We had to be totally unbiased in our public consultation and as a result of all the research a veritable mine of information has been gathered which may be invaluable in future, should MDC decide to look to alternatives for the provision of Public Conveniences for Mansfield.

….magazine; is this one of the few magazines that increase their prices solely in line with inflation? This magazine is well worth its price and is the one magazine I buy, aside from Radio Times.

The Big Issue is an international entity that works with homeless people all over the world, from the United Kingdom to Africa, Asia and Australia. At the centre of their work is The Big Issue magazine, an award- winning entertainment and current affairs magazine, that is produced by professional journalists and sold on the streets by homeless people. In the UK, they buy the magazine for 70 pence and sell it on for £1.50, keeping 80 pence for themselves.

Not only does beginning to sell the magazine provide an opportunity to access the services of The Big Issue Foundation, but also the act of having to organise themselves and their money, as well as committing to a sales pitch, teaches new skills and self reliance, which in turn builds self confidence and can be the key to moving on. The Big Issue offers social as well as financial inclusion.

Editorially The Big Issue magazine is committed to giving homeless people a voice in the media and raising difficult issues that are overlooked in the mainstream press. The Big Issue Company also aims to promote itself as a model of how a social business, as opposed to a charity, can be a solution to homelessness and social exclusion.

I remember buying from a particular seller in Lincoln. It was a bitterly cold day and he was dressed in Tee-shirt & jeans. His jacket was covering his dog, sitting on a doorstep beside him. That was why I bought my Big Issue from him. These young people are often living rough due to a change of circumstances or perhaps due to ill-treatment at home, so next time you see a seller, please stop and buy. He or she is working to effect a change in their life and deserve our help.

……..Supermarkets are falling behind local high street retailers and markets in reducing packaging waste, a survey has found.

Up to 38% of food packaging in a typical supermarket shopping basket cannot be recycled, according to a report by the Local Government Association. Its second investigation into the problem discovered only a 2% improvement from last year.

Analysis by the British Market Research Bureau into six leading supermarkets, a local retailer, and a market, concluded that retailers still had “a lot further to go” if Britain is to meet its recycling targets and avoid landfill tax.

Marks & Spencer and Lidl were the worst offenders in terms of the proportion of packaging that could be recycled. Only 62% of a range of items bought from their stores could be recycled, compared with 76% from high street retailers and 74% from markets.

M&S also used the second-highest total amount of packaging at 807g for a basket, while Sainsbury’s used the third-highest amount by weight at 746g. Asda’s packaging weighed the least among the supermarkets at 646g, 69% of which was recyclable.

Items found to have “excessive and unnecessary” layers of packaging ranged from pizza to biscuits. Fresh pizzas were found to contain several layers, including a plastic or polystyrene base and shrink-wrap, contained within a box. Biscuits were packed in plastic tubes in seven out of eight retailers, while some also had trays, adding to the waste.

However, the report stressed there had been some improvement from last year, for instance, broccoli was sold without shrink wrap in some stores. I have noticed that ASDA now sell it free of wrapping and if Ii buy things such as peppers or buternut squash I never use a plastic bag because I always wash my fruit & veg, or as in the case of squash, I peel it. However, celeriac is still shrink-wrapped…why?

……A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

 Winston may have been a Tory, but  we can still benefit from his quotations.

Join the Liberal Democrats and become an Optimist.  Links to the LD website are on the left of this column.

………hammer home a clear message. After the 10p tax rebellion, the local elections, and the Crewe by-election, no one can doubt the mood of the country any more. There is insurrection in the air. The British people are ready for change and they don’t believe Labour can deliver it.

So the next big question is: what kind of change do people want? And which opposition party can make it happen?

The Conservatives have painted an image of a brave new world, where the sun shines and David Cameron charms the birds out of the trees. The Cameroons have started to believe their own hype: insisting on their right to enter Number 10 without working out what they’d do once the door closed behind them.

Their strategy is simple enough: why bother choosing policies when the Government is shooting itself in the foot? Cameron’s speech on tax last week was a case in point: he made a virtue of the fact that he will make no further specific commitments on public spending or tax. They are elevating policy evasion to an art form.

Cameron cries crocodile tears for the poor families affected by the doubling of the 10p tax rate, but his one and only tax policy is to cut inheritance tax for the richest six per cent of people. He has supported calls for “food security” - code for protectionism - but also lectured the World Trade Organisation on the importance of free trade.

He tells us to “go green”, but won’t commit to specific policies to help us. He has preached about personal privacy, but wants to abolish Data Protection laws. Like Labour, he promises to decentralise, but steers clear of explaining how or when.Tory policy makes about as much sense as a Turner prize entry.

Currently, this incoherence is the Tory party’s greatest strength: they can’t be pinned to anything people don’t like. But it’s no serious programme for government. It offers nothing to people concerned about knife crime, or worried about higher fuel bills. The public has been promised the moon on a stick by Mr Cameron. Soon they will start to ask how he’ll get it for them - and a gleaming smile won’t be enough.

Politics is about choices between competing ideas, not just agreeing with everyone. It’s because we understand this that the Liberal Democrats speak in detail about how we would deliver a more liberal Britain. We are the only party committed to cutting taxes for low and middle income families at the next election. We’re committed to fair pensions for women, and the immediate restoration of the earnings link - while the other parties just talk about doing something for pensioners, possibly, some day.

We’ll change the school funding system so children who need the most help, get the most help, and we’ll put together a financial plan to pay for every penny. Everyone, no matter their background, will have a patient guarantee, so if the NHS can’t treat them in time, the government will pay for them to be treated elsewhere.

We don’t just talk about protecting the environment. We’ll make polluters pay, so we can cut taxes for ordinary families, charge a toll for lorry road journeys so we can invest in a high-speed rail network, put fair charges on air travel, and support local recycling and green energy.

Policy details are seldom much interest to voters. But people deserve to know what a party will do if it wins. Without detail the public has no sense of the values of a politician, still less any evidence that they’ll stand by them.

The Conservative Party has convinced itself that it deserves power but that it’s safer not to tell us what it would do with it. But as the election closes in, people will see that they have been promised nothing dressed up as everything.

With the Brown Government circling the drain there is the chance for a genuine new direction for the country. Not just a change of prime minister, but a real change of direction. That calls for a party that doesn’t just talk about the idea of change: it makes change happen.

….at the Civic Centre yesterday, when I arrived for my first meeting as Leader of the Liberal Democrat group at MDC.  The welcoming committee was not there to greet me, though; they were protesting about the prospect of development of rear gardens at Clipstone Road West, Forest Town.

I avoided them ‘like the plague’ because being on the Planning Committee that was meeting to consider the applications for permission to build on these gardens, if I had spoken to the protesters I would not have been able to cast my vote on these two items.

As it was, having read the planning applications  over the previous couple of weeks I had already come to the conclusion that a site visit was called for. Even with the help of Google maps it is hard to picture exactly what these two sites look like, so I proposed  that Committee members visit the two sites and at the vote this was unamimously backed by the rest of the  Planning Committee. Once these visits have taken place we will return to deliberate and debate the applications.

………for Peafield Park has been confirmed as 5th June, at 10 o’clock. Don’t forget, if you see any litter that needs clearing call me, please.

Alternatively, call Grimebusters on  463463 to report litter or graffiti.

……….St John Street public conveniences.

Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Councillor Kate Allsop,  will decide whether to uphold her original ruling to close the toilets.

I am convinced that Kate, as an experienced Councillor with lots of ‘nous’ will make the judgment in the best interests of all concerned, whether this means that the decision is to be upheld or reversed. 

This review of the  Portfolio’s original ruling followed the call-in of that decision by 6 members of MDCouncil. A public consultation was conducted by Select Commission 1  and results of this and other findings have been passed in a  report to Councillor Allsop.

………………….We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

We Liberal Democrats may have been beaten in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election  on Thursday, but we were not defeated. It takes more than that to keep a good team down!

If you would like to join this good team, just look left (not politically!) of screen and click on ‘Join The Liberal Democrat Party’ or give me a call. 

……..a heady combination. I have passed the starling chick I have been raising to the owners of the Cedar Bird Rescue Centre at Kirkby-in-Ashfield. I felt a pang of sadness as he left my hands to fly up to the top of the branches in the aviary. Funny how after only 10 days he had found a place in my heart, but I was so happy that he would not have to live his life in a cage.

He was ready for flight; in fact he had his maiden flight, purely by accident, in my bedroom and he was a sight to behold.  Whilst I was feeding him he got out of his cage and flew around the room. It was obvious that my term of care had come to an end and he needed more than I was able to give. He needed to socialise with other birds and have the chance of life in the wild, which was always my hope for him. I was very impressed by the setup at Cedar. Wendy and Phil are committed to releasing birds and I have every confidence that ‘Joey’ will leave the aviary when he is equipped with the social and survival skills he needs.

Cedar Bird Rescue Centre are having an open day on Sunday, 8th June and I shall go back to visit and see how much he has grown. It took a couple of days to adjust to not having to feed him every 45 minutes, but it is good not to have to get up at dawn for the first feed of the day!  

…..has been moderated and approved. It reads as follows:

The removal of the 10p tax rate has, as we are all aware,
     brought much distress to those who are most in need of tax
     fairness. There has been an attempt by HM Government to redress
     the balance, but surely a change to the income limits for
     meeting the criteria of the Tax Credit Scheme would be a far
     more appropriate way of compensating those people who at the
     moment fall outside these required limits. Please sign up to
     this petition to bring a change to the Tax Credit Scheme.

To sign up to this petition, click on this link - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/TaxCreditScheme/

Your support is much appreciated. Thank you.

….in view of my support for the Gurkhas. Click or Copy and Paste this link to read all about Nick Clegg’s ideas about Parliament and  its links with Alice in Wonderland. It’s a long article, but worth a read!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nick-clegg-democracy-what-a-great-idea-830986.html

We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

We Liberal Democrats truly care about the Earth; if you want to share in that care, come and join us. The link is on left of this site, or call me. My contact details are above - right of site.

…….currently working in the park, clearing the ‘wetland patch’ ready for planting wildflowers. The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers are worth their weight in gold; they laid the pathway from the rear of Peafield School through to the Whinney Hill Woods, including steps down and up  (or up and down, from the opposite direction!) through the small dip alongside the Flood Dykes fencing.They are a very committed group who give their time and efforts freely and are always pleased to have extra helpers, so why not go and have alook at what they’re doing and maybe give a hand. When I went today they were busy clearing all the existing plants, consisting mainly of nettles and docks!

Unfortunately I couldn’t stay, because I am rearing a starling chick which fell from my loft into the cavity wall in my bedroom.  it was lucky to survive as there were 5 dead birds in there. I have to feed it every 45 minutes at the moment, but thankfully only during daylight hours. It has survived now for 9 days in my care - thank Heavens for the internet; I have been able to garner lots of infromation about rearing and releasing into the wild. That’s the little chap (or chapess) at the head of this post. Wish me luck!

…….but that hasn’t stopped someone hacking at the shrubbery on the flood dykes over the fence at the bottom of Peafield park. The trees have been massacred, chopped, just mutilated. Not only does this look unsightly but it has opened up potential access to motorbikes, which are already a problem on the park.

I have emailed Notts County Council, who own this tract of land and I await a response. I shall follow up this post when I have news. NCC environment & conservation spokesman knew nothing about this and was unable to help. He advised a call to the Police, which was made by my colleague. Police visited the scene, but the men had already left.

I am happy to inform you that I have got the work stopped after a number of calls to various agencies, so the birds and shrubbery are safe. In future, projects such as these will have to be given the OK by the Parks Development Officer (conservation) at MDC. I call that a ‘result’! .

…….to transport brussels. I am a vegetarian and love my fruit and veg, especially brussels. What a boon then to be able to buy them all year round. I bought some at the weekend and I was shocked to see that they had come all the way from Australia.

So what? you may think, but with all this talk of carbon footprints, don’t you agree that it’s beyond the realms of reason to carry brussels halfway around the world? I remember my father saying that brussels didn’t taste right until they had been touched by frost and he was right.

I am going to make a real effort to eat veg that is either in season in UK or comes at least from western Europe. I shall not miss Californian oranges, lemons or other citrus fruits, but I shall miss eating brussels in summer!

The Liberal Democrats have petitions relevant to Global Warming and Green Taxes; by clicking on the link to the left of this column, you can access these petitions and sign up to them.

……..is coming up fast and today we Friends of Peafield Park, together with MDC Parks staff, are preparing our promotional boards for our display.

If you use the park and find litter or dog mess, will you please report it to me and I shall ensure it is cleaned up. We are pushing hard for the status that a Green Flag award brings and any support you can give us would be appreciated. I’ll keep you informed; as soon as we know the judging day, I shall post it here.

….with my site, will have ’sussed’ that I am a person who looks on life with a positive attitude - my glass is half-full and like Eric Idle I always look on the bright side of life!

Our local newspaper regularly publishes letters from ‘Irate of Mansfield’ and ‘Disappointed of Mansfield’ bemoaning the demise of Mansfield market and laying the blame at the door of MDC, but if the following experience is not an isolated incident then perhaps the blame should be laid at the feet of traders……….. 

On Saturday, having answered the call to support our local traders in their fight to survive in the face of competition from ‘out of town stores’ and supermarkets, I was  sold less than perfect goods by a market trader.  His produce was beautifully displayed and  mouth-watering but from one pound of cherries, 5 oz were inedible (I weighed them!) and had to be thrown away.

Maybe because I wasn’t a regular customer he saw an opportunity to offload his less than wholesome stock; this is hardly a strategy that will encourage me to return to his stall. If instead, he had sold me delicious, good quality cherries, like those on display, I would have returned and in time, may have become a regular customer.

 So, I say to traders………Sort your stall out!

A relatively quiet week so far as meetings are concerned……

Monday, Friends of Peafield Park, mainly discussing plans for Green Flag judging, which is expected to take place in July.

Tuesday, a.m  Activity at Peafield School - helped with a class of 30 children on a nature walk in the park and in Whinney Hill Woods, taking photos of plants and flowers and trees, for the children to produce artwork for the Mansfield in Bloom Painting Competition.

Tuesday, p.m Group meeting at Civic Centre and afterward popped in to see the ladies at Navi Saheli.

Wednesday & Thursday, I spent reading the amendments to the Constitution, which are to be discussed and voted upon at the next meeting of Council.

Friday, I took a day off, but worked at home.

………….We do not own the world and it’s riches are not ours to dispose of at will.

Liberal Democrats are very much in tune with Mother Earth and have a campaign to Stop Global Warming, which you can check out by following this link http://www.libdems.org.uk/news/lib-dem-ppb.html (Although our leadership has changed the message remains the same).

If you want to join the Lib Dems, there are links on this page and the Liberal Democrat webpage, or you can just contact me; I will happily help you to join up.

…to meet your Local Councillor. We were out in force outside ASDA store, a cross-party team, but there was a mere trickle of people with complaints…it was very gratifying to feel that we may be getting it right! Quite a few stopped to say hello and confess that they had nothing to moan about. Of course, I realise this contentment may not last and the next time we venture out to meet the residents of Mansfield and District, there may be more issues to address, but we will be ready - we are constantly receiving training and updating on the laws relating to local issues. There is a vast store of knowledge held by the MDC Officers and all are keen to help elected Councillors to perform well for their ward. I shall let you know the date and venue of the next Meet Your Local Councillor session.

….when it comes to distributing Poop Scoop Bags. I have a network of dog-owners who rely on me to provide the MDC Poop bags. The MDC Dog Warden, Mark, delivers 2,500 bags to my home on a regular basis , which I then put out to a number of areas -  Litton News, Greyhound Public House, Community Centres and individual dog owners in Leeming Ward. I sometimes feel that I am swimming against the tide; there is still so much dogs’ mess about the ward - and tell me, what’s  worse than trampling dog mess into your home? I am aware that the vast majority of owners do  pick up after their dogs, but there appears to be a hard-core of owners who refuse to do so - I’m not sure if it is something to do with people feeling ‘too proud to pick up’. What they ought to feel is:

                                                                       ’PROUD TO PICK UP’

If you would like to be added to my ’round’ please get in touch. Details are at the top right of this site.

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.

…..THE TIME HAS COME: PULL BRITISH TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ

Find out whether your MP voted for war and how to hold them to account at

www.holdthemtoaccount.com

…a Commodity?

I was horrified to learn today , from The Guardian newspaper, that as many as 400 children have disappeared from care. These are foreign children who were in care around major British ports  and who are thought to have become victims of child trafficking. They are vulnerable to exploitation in prostitution, the drugs trade and domestic servitude.

The Government has rebuffed calls for a system of professional guardians to look after every suspected victim of child trafficking - a crime the United Nations has described as ‘a modern-day slave trade’

Keith Vaz, Labour Chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, which is investigating human trafficking, said he was shocked by these  figures and that a system of guardianship for every child now looked ‘very attractive’

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, called on the government to drop its opposition and fund a system in which every suspected victim of child trafficking is provided with a guardian who ’specifically looks out for them and ideally speaks their language’

I am definitely in favour of the setting up of this type of system, but let us also ensure that each of our children whether in care or living within a family unit, can enjoy a life free from harm. It seems that we are always hearing about some poor child losing his or her life at the hands of a thug or by the lack of care by agencies responsible for the welfare of children at risk. Things need ‘tightening up’, wouldn’t you agree?

If you can give your child only one thing - let it be enthusiasm.

We Liberal Democrats have loads of enthusiasm and if you want a piece of the action, come and join us. Details are in the column on the left.

 ……….to my previous post, I am just back from my walk, during which I found that some thoughtless, inconsiderate resident has dumped all the packaging from a barbecue, including lots of plastic bags and cardboard. Also old discarded plastic picnic plates all strewn around the parkland next to Peafield School. I gathered up all the plastic bags; children play on that park and apart from that potential danger, animals are quite easily killed by suffocation in  bags as they are attracted to them and curiously look inside them. There really is no excuse for this type of littering. We are all provided with a blue bin for recyclables  and cardboard is the easiest of items to dispose of in the bin. Stomp on it, squash it, or tear it up……no problem. It probably took more energy to carry the load to the park than it would have taken to BIN IT! I despair!

On my return home I reported it to Grimebusters and hopefully, a team will be out to collect it very soon. Of course, every fly-tipping incident which needs attention and each piece of graffiti  that calls for specialist cleansing equipment,  add  to Council Tax Charges which have to be budgeted to include these cleansing operations.

….have awarded a grant to Friends of Peafield Park, for the installation of metal knee rails to be placed on the boundary of Whinney Hill Woods and the Flood Dykes. Well done to Sue Wills, the treasurer of FOPP, who put in the hard work involved in making the application for funding.

In the past two or three years there has been a constant tide of vandalism concentrated on the wooden fencing at the boundary, which has been ripped apart and burned. The installation of metal knee rails will deter this vandalsim and also may be a positive step towards keeping motorbikes out of the woods.

The woods are looking particularly lovely at the moment with a mass of bluebells and the odd celandine making an appearance. The smell of spring is almost over-powering to the senses; the hawthorns are breaking into flower and the cow parsley and wild carrots are giving off the sweet honey aroma that is so attractive to the bees and insects. Walking in the woods, followed by a meander along the Maun Valley Trail is such a wonderful way to reach out and touch nature. Why not take a stroll and introduce some peace and tranquility into your life - it’s the perfect weather for it and you may glimpse the kingfishers alongside the river.

‘An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.’

This is exactly why we Liberal Democrats put our efforts into doing rather than just talking about it.  

 If you have a problem, contact one of the team and we will do our best to sort it out.

Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith says police forces should give persistent offenders ‘a taste of their own medicine’. Photograph: Carl Court/PA

Police should be harassing badly behaved youths by openly filming them and hounding them at home to make their lives as uncomfortable as possible, the home secretary will say today.

The crime initiative is part of a government strategy to win back voters by proposing more radical approaches to tackling deep seated problems.

In a speech in London the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, will acknowledge that the number of antisocial behaviour orders being issued is falling, but will argue that there has been a shift to the use of parental orders instead.

As part of the crackdown on bad behaviour, she will urge police forces across the country to follow the example of Essex police, who have mounted four-day “frame and shame” operations by filming and repeatedly stopping identified persistent offenders on problem estates.

…since the election that brought me to my current position as Councillor for Leeming Ward and the Mansfield portion of the Ashfield & Mansfield Liberal Democrats met to discuss our roles for the coming year. We all chose to remain on our present committees, roughly speaking, with the odd small change to accommodate changes in personal circumstances.

I am still on Planning Committee, Health & Safety Committee and Select Commission 1. I am also taking the role of Leader of our LD group for the next year, so that will be a few more meetings to attend.  I hope to retain my seat on the board of Greenwood Community Forest, when the vote is taken next week. During this past year I have attended working groups and training sessions which in number were far beyond what I expected when I was elected, but the whole experience has so far been one that I feel very fortunate to have had. I look forward to the next 3 years.

We at the Liberal Democrats are always looking for people to join the party and if you feel the need to be a part of local politics and have your voice heard, then look to the left of this column to find out how you can join us.

…..to Mansfield District Council. Earlier this year I had to attend a funeral; my nephew’s baby died at only 4weeks old. It was a heart-rending occasion when the weather was cold and wild, echoing the feelings in the hearts of those who went to the cemetery.

Shortly afterwards, at a meeting of full Council, where the proposed budget for the year was to be voted upon, I thanked the Finance Team for keeping the charges for burial of children at the cost price. Don’t you agree that it would be totally unprincipled to make profit from such a sadness?

I came across a story in the Daily Mail which tells of a different ethos. I will share it with you.

‘A report for ******Council has called for a rise in  burial and cremation fees at the start of next January to”maximise the peak demand period“. January usually records the highest average death rate of the year, largely because of the greater number of elderly people who succumb to the colder weather.’

Perhaps I am naive, but there is something distasteful about profiteering from death, even if it is the death of someone who has lived a long life. Why not try to help keep them warm, instead?

…neglected and are crying out for some attention, so I must away and give them some of my time, before God makes a special appearance and uses the dust on my shelves to create an even more perfect Adam!

I must say that being a Councillor is so enjoyable and rewarding that dusting has taken a back seat in my life…….but my house is ‘clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be a home’. Whoever coined that phrase has my blessing!

are everywhere, aren’t they? I always do a walk around my home estate on Sunday mornings armed with a carrier bag, picking up Saturday night’s litter and regardless of the fact that the nearest MacDonalds takeaway is in Mansfield, there is always, without exception, discarded plastic bags containing paper serviettes, empty drinks cartons (with lid & straw making their own contribution to the mess) and paper bags with polystyrene packs in them. Not to be left out, there are also KFC wrappers, pizza boxes, half-empty beer cans and crisp bags. My pet hate is the plastic 4can holder, which is a potential death trap for wildlife. Why can’t people take this litter home? We all are blessed  with 3 bins for the disposal of all types of litter. It is so frustrating that someone is too lazy and uncaring of the environment to TAKE THEIR LITTER HOME.

“Life is like a trumpet - if you don’t put anything into it, you don’t get anything out of it.”

…..the Holocaust from history lessons for fear of offending Muslim pupils, a Government study has revealed. Also to be dropped is teaching about the 11th century Crusades  where Christinas fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem.   

There is a growing fear, particularly in northern schools that Muslims may start expressing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel reactions in class. In addition, teachers may lack subject knowledge resulting in history being taught in a ’shallow way leading to routine and superficial learning’.

 President Eisenhower, when the victims of the death camps were found, said words to this effect:   ‘Get it all on record now, the films, the photos, the names, because somewhere down the track of history someone will get up and say that this never happened’ …. it’s beginning to look as though he was not far from the truth.

It is now more than 60 years since the Second World War ended in Europe and 6million Jews, 20million Russians, 10million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests suffered humiliation, rape, starvation and massacre.

As Edmund Burke (1729-1797) said ‘All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing’…..it is as true today as when he said it!

I am saying: Tolerance is a gift that is available free of charge to anyone who wants it.  The door must swing both ways;  we tolerate the tenets of other peoples and they are expected to tolerate ours. We should not have to re-write our history to accommodate another’s needs or beliefs; equally they are entitled to their history. Acceptance of our different pasts and tolerance of them is the only way forward.

 We Liberal Democrats are well-named and we do what it says on the can!! If you feel the urge to join us, look to the left of screen to find how to do it.

….Litton Road has been graced by colourful planted beds, which will give a good  visual impression to visitors and residents alike.

These four beds have been planned since 2005, but PCA had to save up grant funding, until finally enough money was ‘in the pot’ to bring the project to life. It may take a year or two for the plants to become established, but I am sure you will agree that it is an improvement to the estate. I do hope they are  not targeted by vandals and that they are allowed to become a special feature of Peafields Estate.

Please do your bit and if you see any vandalism, please report it….to me (01623 660918) or the Neighbourhood Wardens (01623 463463) or the Police (01623 420999).  Thank you.

 …is failing;  fining parents has failed to reduce truancy, new research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.  Over 35,000 parents have been fined for condoning their children’s absence in the last three years, whilst truancy has increased by the equivalent of over 2 million school days since 2005.

Commenting on the nationwide truancy problem, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said:

“The Government’s strategy to tackle truancy is failing. Despite prosecuting more parents, the truancy rate in our schools is continuing to rise.

“These figures further highlight how bizarre it is for a Government that can’t even get a decent attendance level for 15-16 year olds to be expecting all young people up to the age of 18 to be in compulsory education.

“Parents need to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour and they have an obligation to ensure they attend school.

“However, a community-wide approach involving parents, police and local welfare officers would be much more effective than the current top-down measures pursued by ministers.”

 I am happy to tell you that the rate of truancy at The Manor School has dropped and attendance figures have improved slightly. The installation of a new system, Truancy Call, has been most useful in helping to combat truancy and alerting school, parents and carers to the absence of pupils. 

 …….opened across Britain.

About 150 hostels run by a private company under a government contract will open over the next month, despite there having been little or no consultation with local people. The hostels, in major cities and market towns, will house offenders released before the end of their sentences and suspects awaiting trial. The hostels will be run by Clearsprings, a property management firm based in Rayleigh, Essex.

Sites for hostels include Bath, Rochester, Dudley, Durham and Stafford. Ertan Hurer, a councillor in Enfield, north London, said he was furious that his council had not been consulted about the 13 hostels being set up in the area. Residents would feel “absolute horror” about the plans, he said.

I have contacted Clearsprings to ask if there are to be any of these facilities set up in the Mansfield area and as soon as I get a response I shall let you know the answer.

……everywhere is touched by immigration. A report has shown that at least a million Eastern Europeans have arrived in the UK since the government opened up the job market.

Commenting on the report, Damian Green, the Shadow Immigration Minister, said “real strain has been put on our housing and public service infrastructure, with council tax payers up and down the country footing the bill. 

The research has also indicated a downwards trend in numbers of people arriving into the UK.

My husband works with a huge concentration of Polish immigrants and I must say he feels good about them and says they are all hard-working and polite and have integrated well with the workforce.