…………that’s what I would do!

Some councils (not ours) have spent an inordinate amount ot taxpayers’ money on researching a new salt cellar, with a view to cutting salt intake. Whilst I consider it admirable that councils are so concerned about their residents’ health and well-being, I think this initiative is a touch over the top .

 At least six councils have ordered five-hole shakers – at taxpayers’ expense – and begun giving them away to chip shops and takeaways in their areas.

Leading the way has been Gateshead Council, which spent 15 days researching the subject of salty takeaways before declaring the new five-hole cellars to be the Holy Grail of salt shakers!

Officers collected information from businesses, obtained samples of fish and chips, measured salt content and ‘carried out experiments to determine how the problem of excessive salt being dispensed could be overcome by design’.

They decided that the five-hole pots would reduce the amount of salt being used by more than 60 per cent yet still give a ‘visually acceptable sprinkling’ that would satisfy the customer.

I don’t shake salt for a ‘visually acceptable’ result - I do it for taste improvement purposes. Whatever next? The mind boggles.

…….The darkest places in Hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality during times of moral crisis.

I recently had a  moral crisis, when against my better judgment I ‘went with the flow’, but I have now ’seen the light’ with the help of Dante’s Divina Commedia. In future I shall always go with my conscience.

One of the reasons that I joined the Lib Dems was because I am allowed more opportunity to use my own judgment in decision-making. If you want to make a difference, join the LD Party. Details are left of screen.

………….that following a review of crime figures for all the wards in the Mansfield District, the levels of crime in Leeming Ward are among the lowest in the whole district. Isn’t that wonderful?

As a result of the lowest reported crime figures we do not warrant having our own dedicated Neighbourhood Warden.

Your Liberal Democrat Councillors and the Leeming Beat Manager, P.C Mick Colley, have been encouraging members of the public who have experienced crime (in whatever capacity and no matter how trivial) to report it. Only by reporting incidents do the crimes add up on the record sheets. I do hope that the figures are a true indication of the crime rate and not just a reflection of residents’ reluctance to report crime.

Leeming Ward will continue to be served by the Mobile Neighbourhood Warden Service which operates 7 days a week up to midnight. A 24-hour contact number has been established to enable communities to report matters of concern. This number is 01623 460 144.

In the company of MDC’s Corporate Director for Customer Services, Community Safety and Regulatory Services, I met with two representatives of Clearsprings, the property management firm tasked by the Government to provide homes for those offenders  who have been released early from prison or persons who are awaiting trial.

The meeting certainly allayed fears I had about an influx of large numbers of ne’er do wells in the district. The people to be housed are perpetrators of what are considered to be low-level crimes. There will be no-one in these homes who has been convicted of arson, sexual assault, violence or paedophilia. The type of crimes that will have been committed by people who need accommodation are petty car crime, shop lifting and the like.

Any who have a drug or alcohol addiction,  have to make a commitment to supported rehabilitation schemes and in addition will be tagged under the Home Detention Curfew scheme.

There are currently no sites in Mansfield identified for use by Clearsprings, contrary to reports.

……..say in what happens locally?

Commenting on the latest results of the Government’s Citizenship Survey, which found that fewer people feel they can influence decisions locally and nationally than in 2001, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:

“Thanks to this Government’s obsession with centralisation, people are feeling even less empowered. Despite their efforts to talk the talk on community empowerment, today’s results show that they are failing to walk the walk.

“Communities must be given real powers to make decisions that affect their area. How can we expect people to engage with democratic structures if they don’t believe it will make any difference?”

You have a better chance of having your voice heard locally if you attend the Area Assembly for your ward. Details are in Chad or on Mansfield District Council’s Website.

…a scheme run by Mansfield District Council;   officers give illustrated talks to other officers and elected members. I attended the session yesterday which was given by Mark Wilkinson, the council’s Conservation Officer. He told us about Mansfield’s past and showed wonderful pictures of the old Mansfield- the number of lovely old buildings of character that had been obliterated by savage demolition to make way for fashionable faceless concrete monstrosities in the sixties and seventies was staggering. These buildings that were so under-valued when they were standing are only now receiving well-deserved praise. There is a picture of ‘Lost Mansfield’  (c1823) available at the Museum and other historical pictures are held by The Old Mansfield Society.

It’s very true that we ‘don’t know what we’ve got till it’s gone’

…….You are never given a wish without being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.

The current state of the country is worrying; the Government appears to be lurching from one crisis to another. The powers that be are in disarray. If you wish to see a change, why not join the Libdems?

……..of this beautiful planet? Is it a sign of global warming that in my garden there are no longer sparrows with five or six fledglings, no large family groups of blackbirds or starlings? This lack of fledgling birds is quite a worrying trend and not one confined to my garden. The only bird that appears to be  ’holding its own’ in numbers is the goldfinch, of which I have a family of seven visiting on a regular basis. This may be due to the fact that there is an abundant supply of sunflower hearts in the garden!

To encourage ground feeders I have taken to putting out mealworms and the blackbirds are slowly coming back, but they are so territorial that they generally come one at a time, or a fight ensues! It is, though, a positive age since I saw a thrush in my garden. I have seen and heard them in Whinney Hill Woodland along with other varieties of bird. It’s well worth a walk in the woods; there is so much birdlife down there.

If you are concerned about the effects of global warming, you can sign up to the petition, by clicking on the link button at right of screen.

…Wednesday I had a letter printed in Chad, our local newspaper, bemoaning the thuggery which was partly to blame for the demolition of Bath Mill, because vandals had turned an already ‘at risk’ building into one which had become so unsafe the only option was to demolish it.

Then, on Thursday at the Greenwood Awards Ceremony, I met the inspirational youngsters who were at one with nature, helping with various projects as members of Friends Groups, to protect and improve the open spaces in our area. They were no less boisterous than your average teenager, but thanks to the encouragement from older volunteers their enthusiasm for life was channelled into making a difference to our parks, riverbanks and local nature reserves.

Being able to present awards to the winners, who were aged from 9 years old to 80 years old was a genuine honour. Winners came from the length and breadth of Nottinghamshire to meet at Rufford Park and I hope to have some photos of the occasion, which I shall post later.

….took place yesterday and in the company of  Jayne Parsley, M/W Housing Officer, Pete Healey of Street Cleansing, Councillor Jill Usher and resident, Bill Hurt, I took a walk about the estate. I am happy to report that the estate looks reasonably clean and tidy. There were a few ‘grot spots’ which we made note of and the odd bit of fly-tipping but over-all the general opinion was that there is an improvement in the condition of the place we call home.

The approval for the fencing works around Charlesworth Court has been given the go-ahead, so work should be starting soon. This will give a degree of privacy to the residents in the flats and hopefully will go some way to reducing the incidence of anti-social behaviour against residents.

…microchips on waste bins…whatever next?

Some UK local authorities are piloting a scheme whereby microchips are placed in waste bins to weigh the amount of rubbish thrown away. This is so that householders can be charged for the amount of rubbish they throw away. Now we learn that there are glitches in the workings of the ‘chips’ resulting in householders paying over the odds for the removal of their rubbish. This is in addition to the Council Tax, which I thought was supposed to include the cost of waste disposal.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I only throw away in my green household waste bin anything that I can’t recycle, such as cat litter, fire ashes, non-recyclable plastics, food waste which I can’t compost and newspapers that I have used to wrap cat litter. I have a box in my outhouse with glass bottles in it, another with old clothes.

Where will it end? Don’t you just occasionally wish for a return to the days when our bin men carried a metal dustbin on his shoulder, right from the backyard to the wagon on the street? We now have larger bins which we still manage to fill; green, blue and brown ones. Upon whose shoulders do we place the blame for all this waste?  Is it the consumer? The manufacturer? The shop? What do you say when asked ‘do you need a bag for that?’

Try saying ‘No thanks, I have brought a bag with me’. See the look of shock on their faces!! It’s worth it!

  ……I have just been to Calver Street Community Centre and came upon some local residents rolling (or should that be scrolling?)around on laptops! Quite made me envious, sitting here with my desktop PC.

They are learning computer skills, using the latest in Laptops - all courtesy of WEA, the Workers’ Educational Association, which is among the oldest charities in the UK, having been set up in 1901. Funding is via the Learner Support Fund and if you match the required criteria you can receive free or assisted sessions.

To find out more, telephone 01623 810400 and speak to Julie Brooks or Janet Sankey. Alternatively, you can speak to Richard Jones, the tutor, on 07971 098 339. If you are already somewhat experienced in IT you can go online and checkout the WEA website at www.wea.org.uk

….a nuclear waste site next door? Mmmmm, thought not!

According to a story in the Telegraph, councils are to be offered jobs and other “bribes” to accept nuclear waste.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, urged councils and other groups to provide an “essential service to the nation” by offering sites to bury a share of Britain’s stockpile of radioactive material. Mr Benn said communities could expect jobs and “other benefits” in return for taking on a burial site. ‘Essential service to the nation’? I don’t think so!

So far as I’m concerned, there is NOTHING on God’s Earth that I need so desperately that it would encourage me to accept a nuclear landfill site in my backyard - I trust that the Independents at MDC will be of a similar mind!

The Liberal Democrats site has a really good (and Free!) screensaver telling the whole truth about the disposal of nuclear waste. Check it out, by clicking on the Liberal Democrat site, then click on Environment….you will be able to download the screensaver from there.

    Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.

With this quote in mind, the closing date for entry into the Mansfield in Bloom competition is on Friday, 27th June. If you think your garden is worthy of the Best Kept Garden Award, then collect an entry form. They are available at www.mansfield.gov.uk or by email from kpoxon@mansfield.gov.uk (Parks Development Officer) or by telephone on 01623 463 118

Good Luck!

….was the phrase on everyone’s lips last night and the red, white and blue bunting was flying at the event to wish our Olympians good luck for the summer games.

There was a wonderful display of gymnastics by the young girls from the Mansfield Olympic Gymnastics Club and three of our Olympic hopefuls were there to receive our good wishes. I got autographs from two of the three swimmers, Sam Hynd and Becky  Adlington, but unfortunately, I missed out on Charlotte Henshaw. Our fourth hopeful, table tennis competitor Arnie Chan was unfortunately unable to attend.

This function is exactly the kind of motivational, inspiring event that makes a difference to people’s lives and it was a joy to be able to attend, along with sporting representatives and businesses who give their support to this worthwhile cause - there was a presentation by ex-Councillor Stuart Rickersey of The Armchair Club, during which he took on the mantle of Michael Parkinson and interviewed the swimmers.  This was followed by a talk from a past Olympic medallist, cyclist Bryan Steel.

A wonderful evening!

……….to be asked to help in presenting the awards at The Greenwood Awards Ceremony to be held at Rufford Abbey on 19th June. This annual ceremony acknowledges the hard work put in, during all weathers, by the Friends of Greenwood Groups.

These groups toil to keep Nottinghamshire’s parks and nature reserves in tip top condition and plant wildflowers, hawthorns and an unending variety of other plants. They also have regular litter picks and endeavour to involve local schools in park life and are always hoping for new recruits.

Nesting boxes, works of art, paths, seating and willow sculptures have all been built by the various groups, without whom a lot of our beautiful open spaces would disappear. I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of the sites and they are all a credit to the dedication of the Friends.

I am glad I only have to present the awards; to decide on the recipients would be a hard task indeed.

….will be expressed at a presentation by the Executive Mayor, Tony Egginton, at the Civic Centre this evening.

There will be a contingent of Mansfield’s sons and daughters travelling to the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics this summer and tonight’s function will give us a chance to show our pride in these young people who have  worked so hard to get into the elite group travelling to the Games, to represent Great Britain.  It will also give us the opportunity to give them our good wishes for a successful tournament.

…………TWO FINGER RULE ON BIN COLLECTIONS
West Wiltshire District Council has come under fire after its waste contractor told its bin emptying staff that they should only collect bins if they could pull the wheelie bin with two fingers. How discrimating is that to anyone who has ‘heavy rubbish’?

I have heavy fire ashes and  cat litter, in addition to everyday household waste. If the refuse collector tried to move my bin with two fingers, he would probably break them! How mad is this world becoming? Take the mascot off your wagon -that’s another idea. Where’s the harm?
 

regrettably, Bath Mill is no more. The vandals have won the day and isn’t that sickening? Bath Mill was a listed building in desperate need of conservation. Any number of reasons can be cited for its demise, including age and  neglect, but the main reason is the mindless thuggery that is prevalent in our society today.

OK, so the old mill wasn’t in tip-top form (in truth it was on its last legs) but it could have lasted a while longer and with care and restoration, hopefully the plans of the owner to convert the building to apartments would have come to fruition and Bath Mill could have taken its rightful place as a landmark in Mansfield.

All this is now lost to future generations; such a waste. We need to protect our old buildings and ensure that they stand as a proud monument to Mansfield rather than become its face of shame.

Follow this link to see more of Mansfield’s old buildings.     http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/bar-mansfield.pdf

I can’t say how many of these buildings are still in situ, but it would be good to know, wouldn’t it? I shall endevaour to find out which, if any, are still standing.

…..It may be surprising to those of us campaigning against the ID scheme but large numbers of the public are still not aware that there is an ID scheme at all. Even those that are aware may be confused after various false alarms in the media that have led them to believe that the scheme has been dropped. We need to raise awareness and ensure that people know that this illiberal scheme is very much going ahead.

There are lots of things you can do to tell others about the ID scheme and fight the introduction of this insidious infringement of our civil liberties and the first is to sign the pledge, accessed by clicking on the ‘button’ at the right of screen.

There is also a scheme by www.no2id.net, which will supply you with stickers and other literature.

……… which I and my fellow Leeming Councillors are funding from our allowances. We requested the signs at the end of March, but they apparently take a long time to manufacture. Pity it’s not like car registration plates, which are available ‘While you Wait’.

Since we put in our order for the signs, there have been further signs which have deteriorated badly - looks as though our allowance is pretty much accounted for in this financial year, but if you have any ideas for the betterment of Leeming Ward, for next years’s allowance, please let me know. (Contact details at right of the site) We must plan ahead otherwise delays will be unavoidable.

……….Aim at perfection in everything, although in most things it is unattainable. However, those who aim at it and persevere will come much closer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable.

We Liberal Democrats have not been the ruling party since  Lloyd George    was Prime Minister between 1916-1922, but are we despondent?  No, nor are we lazy. We still have the ambition to lead the country and our passion and perseverence just has to be admired!

If you feel inspired to join us, the full details of how to do it are on the left of this column.

…….folks would be out tidying the frontage of their properties, whether home owners or living in rented accomodation. Nowadays, there are a good many  tenants (and to be fair, homeowners too) who seem to think that pride in their surroundings ends at the boundary to their property. The weeds are knee high and Peafields estate looks neglected and is overgrown with weeds. I have asked the relevant manager at MDC when these weeds are likely to be sprayed, but he was unable to give a definite answer.

I guess it’s up to each of us to get out and clear those persistent weeds. The weather’s perfect for such a job.

….what does it mean to you? Probably exactly what it meant to me, up until a few days ago. It was pretty much a closed book to me - didn’t really know why it exists, what agencies make up the partnership, what are its functions or what its plans are.  Since the leaders’ meeting, when MASP was discussed, I have been more aware of the workings of the partnership.

I gleaned even more information last night when I attended a presentation by the Executive Mayor, Tony Egginton, who explained all about MASP. If you would like to know what MASP is all about you can find out by following this link to the MASP  website. It covers a wide range of subjects and is a very informative site.

http://www.masp.info/_2007/community-strategy/moving-forward.php

………..to look at Peafield Park and after deliberations, we shall be given feedback with regard to things we are getting right and areas where we need improvement. We shall learn the result towards the end of July…….here’s hoping for a positive judgment.

Pictured are Councillor Jill Usher (2nd R)and MDC Parks Development Officer Kathryn Poxon (L), with the Judges.

……Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.

Ain’t that the truth? The youngsters who are running amok about our streets and parks, were, perhaps, not given the advantage of  learning good habits at a young age. I’m not saying that all bad kids come from bad homes, sometimes quite the opposite, but if we are to generalise, then yes, the lack of good parenting is considered to be the root of the current problems. It is so sad that by sparing the rod, we are spoiling the child. I do not advocate brutality against children, but we have to find a middle ground  - a punishment that will be a deterrent.

…………..but at last the work to underpin the garages at the bottom of Peafield Estate has begun, regrettably during the week of the Green Flag judging. The park and woodland path have been churned up by heavy plant equipment; however, I am informed by parks staff that this will be seen by the judges as ‘work in progress’ and will be no detriment to the aspirations for Green Flag status.

The workmen have dug out a deep trench in order to remove the roots of self-set trees which have been forcing the wall into a dangerous bulging overhang. This work really couldn’t wait any longer; it had become imperative for this wall to be given some long overdue maintenance, for health and safety reasons.   

I have put up detour signs to show those parents who use this woodland path, the alternative route to school.

 ……for letting their child try alcohol at home under proposals being considered by ministers. Currently children as young as five can drink at home with parental supervision but a Government review is looking at raising that limit. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan, which aims to curb binge-drinking among teenagers, could also lead to a 9pm watershed for alcohol advertising.

How insane is it to give children as young as five the taste for alcohol? No wonder there is such a monstrous problem with under-age drinking!! These problems start in the home, the place where children should be at their safest. Some parents are creating a store of trouble for their children. Time to educate the parents?

…..like it is and very sad reading it makes, too!

Over 30,000 children excluded for drink and drugs - Clegg 

New Liberal Democrat analysis shows that Britain’s binge drinking culture is leaving young people excluded from education and suffering more mental and behavioural disorders.

The figures, which come on the eve of the Government’s Youth Alcohol Strategy, provide further evidence that ministers have failed to tackle spiralling binge drinking among young people:

• In the last three years, over 1,500 pupils were permanently excluded and nearly 32,000 pupils were temporarily excluded for drug/alcohol reasons.
• Over a quarter more under 14’s were admitted to hospital with mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol in the last eight years.
• Over 23,000 children under the age of 14 have been admitted to hospital due to alcohol in the last eight years.

……….follow this link, to see the Government’s plans for trying to curb under-age drinking.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080602/tuk-crackdown-on-underage-drinking-6323e80.html

………..are moving on apace and we have a veritable cornucopia of stalls and activities booked for the entertainment of children and adults. We are all ‘mucking in’ with the loan of tents, gazebos, tables and chairs. We have people making jams and cakes, others making dressing up clothes for the children, Ludborough Centre  Sewing Circle are making bunting  and one member’s loft above her garage is positively groaning under the strain of all the goodies for the tombola stall! I hope it holds up under the strain until August 23rd, the date of the Carnival. Full details of the Carnival will be in the Woodhouse Warbler andChad.

I am also going to be helping at the Warsop Carnival, in July where Navi Saheli Luncheon Club are having a promotional stall - as a member of the Asian Women’s Group, I shall be giving out flyers and offering food tasters. I am very lucky to be the first non-Asian member of this group; all the ladies are very warm and welcoming and I am learning a littl Hindi as I go along - all the meetings are conducted in English and ‘Mother tongue’. I firmly believe in keeping their language alive, pretty much in the same way that ex-pats in Spain keep the English language alive.

    The Druids held  trees  as very sacred..………………

……………and so should we all. If they are allowed to grow they will outlive us all.

If you see anyone damaging the trees or other fixtures on Peafield park, please call the Police.

If the crime is ‘live’ and in progress, it’s 999 you must call.

………….down in the mouth. I despair for the future of this beautiful planet, when four newly ‘in leaf’ trees in our park are ripped down or torn apart by brainless, moronic youths in the early hours of this morning, when they should have been at home. Where are the parents during all this illegal activity? I am not just picking on the kids - there were witnesses to their foul deed.

Kids are taught at school that trees are the life-blood of the planet and still they take pleasure in tearing down young trees that , apart from being things of beauty to gladden any eye, but would go some way towards giving oxygen to the world in years to come.

I guess we can’t hold out much hope for youngsters when so-called adults cause the drink-fuelled fracas that occurred on London Underground, on the last day of permitted drinking of alcohol on trains. Kids go on to the park with bottles and cans of booze and we all know that when alcohol hits the brain of a youngster, all sense goes out of their ears!!!!

There, I feel better for that! I just hope that some of them were caught. Watch this space; I shall let you know..