Jill and I have in the past asked for a speed reduction on Peafield Lane, but were told that a reduction from the 60-MPH en route from Edwinstowe to a 30MPH was not feasible and that drivers needed to change from 60, through 40, to 30MPH.

I can see the point in the need for a gradual change from 60 to 30, but feel that it’s  a matter of education and adapting and that if the speed limit fell from 60 to 30MPH, drivers would soon become used to the change.

The whole idea of having a slop bucket is a step back to the dark ages and not to be entertained; the breeding of germs  is acceptable at the bottom of the garden in a bin store, but not in close proximity to the home.

Some politicians obviously have too little to occupy their time, when the best they can come up with is crackpot ideas.

Commenting on Gordon Brown’s announcement that he is writing to the Iraq Inquiry to clarify evidence he gave on defence cuts, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

“Gordon Brown should do more than simply clarify the matter with the Iraq Inquiry.

“He should apologise for the fact that under his watch our troops have not had the equipment they need to do the job.

“They have struggled without sufficient helicopters for too long.

“It is a scandal that it has taken so long to get the Snatch Land Rover out of service in Afghanistan.”

Lots of these young soldiers were young enough to be my grandchildren; they are so very young and all a credit to their parents and their regiment. Executive Mayor, Tony Egginton gave out medals for bravery. I got to hug one or two of them and the picture is of a soldier 6′9″ tall and me taken by James Taylor, MDC’s press officer.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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!

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.”

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.

The Conservatives at County Hall lay all the blame on the cuts at the door of the previous Labour administration. It is hard to believe that these swingeing cuts are necessary; it’s a little like visiting a new hair stylist who asks ‘who has been cutting your hair?’……always playing the blame game. 

No further meetings until after 18th January - Bereavement leave

Tuesday, 19th January - Community Watch meeting

     “                  -Navi Saheli Luncheon Club

     “                  - Area Partnership Steering Group

Wednesday, 20th January - Area Partnership - Marketing sub-group

Saturday, 23rd January - Councillor Street Surgery

Monday, 25th january - Friends of Peafield Park meeting

Tuesday, 26th January - Member Development Champions - Bassetlaw DC (Retford)

Wednesday, 27th January - Planning delegated decisions

Thursday, 28th January - CVS Awards for All ( Big Lottery)

      “                               - Council Meeting (Budget)

      “                                - Area Partnership Event, Turner Hall

Friday,29th January - Navi Saheli Open and Committee meetings

Wednesday, 2nd December - Funding Conference

      “                                  -Peafield Community Association meeting

Thursday, 3rd December - M/W Police Station Policing Priority setting

Tuesday, 8th December - Greenwood Community Forest Board meeting

Wednesday, 9th December - Mansfield CVS

Thursday,10th December - Area Partnership Promotion meeting

Monday, 14th December - Area Partnership Steering Group

Tuesday, 15th December - Navi Saheli Christmas diner

Friday, 18th December - Police surgery, Ley lane, M/W

Remainder of December - bereavement leave

Tuesday, November 3rd - Navi Saheli / All Saints School photographic class

      “               - Full Council Meeting

Wednesday, 4th - Peafield Community Assoaciation meeting

Friday, 6th November - Meet your local councillo

Saturday, November 7th - Diwali Celebration

    “                     - Participatory Budgeting Eveny, Turner Hall

Sunday, November 8th - Wreath-laying at Remembrance Sunday Service, M/W

Monday, 9th November - Planning Committee

Thursday, 12th November - Estate walkabout - Peafields

Saturday, 15th November, - Councillor surgery

Monday,16th November - Planning Committee

Tuesday, 17th November - Budgeting, Council

Thursday, 19th November - Christmas Lights switch-on, M/W

Friday, 20th November - Lindhurst Master Plan Presentation, Civic Centre

Saturday, 21st November - Police Surgery, Bryony Way, M/W

Tuesday, 24th November - Select Commission 1

    “                         -Member Development Group Training

Wednesday, 25th November - Area Partnership Steering Group

Monday 30th November - Friends of Peafield Park meeting

Friday, 2nd October - Meet your local councillor, Mansfield

Tuesday, 6th October - Greenwood Community Forest Board Meeting - Rufford Mill

     “                         - Select Commission 1 meeting

     “                         - Full Council Meeting

Wednesday, 7th October - Navi Saheli Funding meeting - Mansfield CVS

      “                       - Area Partnership Steering Group - M/W Resource Centre

      “                       - Peafield Community Association meeting

Thursday, 8th October - Sisters with Victoria, Australia, Town Hall

Monday, 12th October - Planning Committee

Tuesday, 13th October - Navi Saheli Luncheon Club

Thursday, 15th October - Manor Residents’ Meeting - Manor School

Monday,19th October - Local Development Framework briefing - Civic Centre

Tuesday, 20th October - Diwali Dinner - Navi Saheli

     “                     - Committee meeting - Navi Sahlei

     “                     - Full Council Meeting

Thursday,22nd October - Area Partnership event - Turner Hall

Monday, 26th October - Planning training on Highways

Tuesday, 27th October - Area Partnership Steering Group meeting

    “                   - Area Partnership evaluation

Wednesday, 28th October - Councillor Tom Appleby’s  Funeral

I do genuinely understand the need to keep major roads open, but if residents have had to battle against the odds to get off estate roads, what is the point of offering a sop by gritting now, when roads are being cleared by Mother Nature?

Is it just so NCC can say that ‘all roads, including minor ones, have been gritted’?

Under current legislation, householders and companies open themselves up to legal action if they try to clear a public pavement. Councils, who have responsibility for public highways, say they have no legal obligation to clear pavements.

Councils may have NO statutory obligation to clear pavements, but surely they have an ethical duty to do so. We all must have seen the perilous journeys on foot that end in some poor soul taking a fall, so I think that it would be a humanitarian move for councils to clear pavements.

I have struggled to find words to expand on this quote; I will let it speak for itself. Just take a moment to think of all those people in the world who are struggling under oppressive regimes.

The AA said some roads “may no longer be safe” after the government asked councils to conserve salt. Local authorities have agreed to cut salt use by 25% in an attempt to preserve dwindling supplies.

Waste collections due in my area to be collected on Wednesday have been made today; the job of the waste collection operatives is extremely difficult, so I ask you to have patience. Dragging one bin through the snow is perilous enough, so to have to do it for a whole shift must be a treacherous task.

“If other countries can cope with sub-zero temperatures then why is it that the British transport system comes near to collapse at the first sign of a snowflake?

“I have travelled by train from Stockholm to the Arctic Circle and arrived 10 minutes early.

“We need a transport system that passengers can rely on and works all year round, whatever the weather.”

Mr Chadburn said: “We’ve got to assess what salt we’re going to get delivered from our supplier and how much salt we would need to maintain the main road network.

“Judging that at the moment, we can’t allocate excess or spare salt stocks to fill grit bins.”

So if people can’t get their cars off their driveways and consequently can’t get to work, the UK’s already ‘limping’ economy will take even longer to recover. Chicken, egg?

Side roads are receiving little, or no treatment at all - Notts County Council admits that only a third of roads in Notts are salted whenever there is a risk of ice or cleared of snow in severe weather. As a result, journeys between Mansfield Woodhouse and Sutton-in-Ashfield are currently taking over two hours and this will get worse if we have an overnight frost.

Time for us all to heed the Weather Centre’s advice - don’t travel unless it is absolutely essential.

I hope you will have a peaceful, healthy and happy 2010.

A bingo caller has been told to cut out the words, ‘two fat ladies’ and ‘legs 11′ for fear of offending his audience. The 75 year old caller runs charity games in Suffolk and has never received any complaints. However, a clerk from the local council has told him he must stop using the traditional calling style.

“The concern was that if there might be two large ladies in the audience when I said ‘two fat ladies 88′ or someone might think I was looking at their legs when I said ‘legs 11′,” he said.

“I was advised that someone might take offence and we could end up being taken to court.”

He added: “No-one had ever complained about being offended. But they moan now; they say it’s boring. And I think just saying the numbers is boring too.”

Aren’t we all just a little sick of this thing called Political Correctness? The powers that be are removing all humour and tradition from our lives.

from the Mansfield Liberal Democrat Group…….

Jill x Veronica x Phil x Peter x

* Members of the Mansfield Liberal Democrat Group have made donations to the following charities: Jigsaw, Salvation Army, C of E Children’s Society and Mansfield Night Shelter……. so please accept this card in the true
Spirit of Christmas 

Speed limits should be cut to 20mph near schools, shops and parks across the country, according to a government proposal announced today.

The Department for Transport is expected to encourage local authorities to bring in low-speed zones more widely without the current need for expensive traffic calming measures such as speed humps.

The proposal follows a report published last week detailing a 40 per cent cut in road injuries in parts of London where 20mph zones have been introduced. and a city-wide trial in Portsmouth has convinced the Government that 20mph limits can be rolled out in areas popular with pedestrians without compulsory traffic calming measures.

At Meet your Local Councillor and at my surgery events a number of local people complain about speeding in residential areas. This support from DoT is long overdue.

Anti-social behaviour figured high in all wards, speeding and dog-fouling coming in second and third.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/warning-neighbours-bail-hostels/article-596571-detail/article.html

Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in the UK and is sometimes found in unpasteurised milk, raw meat and poultry, as well as eggs and products containing raw egg.

The FSA said there was “a very low incidence” of salmonella in UK eggs. As I drive around the local area there are free range chickens in fields and added to this there are farms producing barn eggs, so surely we could avoid the need to import eggs.

I buy locally-laid free range eggs and although a little more expensive, they are all that an egg should be; tasty, fresh and I even get the occasional ‘double-yolker’ which is an added bonus!

The party’s new tax plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth over £2m.

Nick Clegg said:

“If you want to know how committed a government is to fairness then look at its tax system.

“Gordon Brown has created a tax regime that forces some of the lowest earners in society to pay hundreds of pounds in tax they can’t afford, while polluters and rich tax dodgers avoid paying their fair share.  

“Meanwhile the Conservatives want tax cuts for millionaires, but say there might be tax rises for everyone else.

“Under our plans people won’t pay a penny on the first ten thousand pounds they earn. That would put £700 back in the pockets of the vast majority of taxpayers, and take millions of people on low pay out of paying income tax altogether.

“Our plans represent the most radical, far-reaching tax reform

 in a generation.

“They embody everything the Liberal Democrats stand for: fairness, protecting the environment, rewarding hard work.

“It is right to ask those with the broadest shoulders to bear a little more of the burden so that millions of people on normal earnings get the break they desperately need.”

Take care when selling your gold.

Critics have condemned the practice of using a private firm to run bail hostels after it was revealed that the company’s contract may be terminated.

It comes after failings were identified at a hostel on Teesside where a young man was murdered by another resident.  The National Association of Probation Officers said the contract had been “a nightmare” and it was vital to have hostels with proper supervision.

ClearSprings, which runs 204 centres in England and Wales, declined to comment. The company has been served with a “rectification notice” by the Ministry of Justice.

The ministry, which awarded the national contract to ClearSprings in 2007, said the firm had 15 days to respond to the notice with “remedial measures”. The notice period, I believe,  expires next Saturday.

It said that if the company failed to comply, one option was termination of the three-year contract.

I and my fellow Lib Dem Councillor, Jill Usher, sat with Leeming’s Beat Manager and supporting PCSOs in the mobile station between 4 and 6pm last night, ready to welcome residents and help with any queries. The lack of response was a little disappointing, but the refreshments went down a treat.

The next Mobile surgery will be held on Saturday, 19th December on Ley Lane, again between 4-6pm. If you have any problems about crime in your area, do please try to come along.

Commenting, Jenny Willott said:

“This decision is a major blow to many small charities who had been promised the money and made plans based on those promises.

“What is so appalling is the manner in which this has been done, with no warning or consultation. How does the Government expect to convince other public bodies to abide by the Compact when they treat charities in this way?  

“The charity sector warned the Government that the Hardship Fund was too small when it was first set up. But to increase funding for one set of charities, by such a small amount, at the expense of so many other charities is shameful.

“The Government should reinstate these funds immediately.”

“This shameful incident shows the disdain with which some companies treat sensitive personal data. Stiffer penalties for those involved in serious data breaches, whether in the public or private sector, cannot be introduced soon enough. This sorry episode questions the Government’s wisdom in getting communications providers to hoard increasing amounts of information about us.”

As if we don’t already get enough unsolicited telephone calls - Upvc windows installations, debt counselling, car/home insurance, etc.

Commenting on Government  figures showing that local authorities have more than doubled the amount of money raised from Council tax in the past decade, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:

“Millions of families have struggled with Council Tax bills that have soared while Labour has tinkered at the edges. Both the Tories and Labour offer no serious alternative to a tax that has skyrocketed this decade. The Liberal Democrats would move to a fair system of local taxation based on people’s ability to pay.”

The soldiers fighting in Afghanistan are daily dying at the hands of the enemy; this is a tragic waste of life, but each one has made the ultimate sacrifice because he believes in what he is doing. We are asked by the charity Support our Soldiers to send gifts to show our support for the difficult job they are doing. Whether or not you support the ethos of the War in Afghanistan, please try to send a gift.

Thank you.

When I learned that a teenager who abducted and raped a 5-year old boy, only to be told he must serve THREE years before being eligible for parole, it struck a chill in my heart.

Such a heinous crime against a child should surely be punished by an equally brutal sentence.

The 16-year-old pleaded guilty to charges including rape and child abduction against the boy.  Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard the attack happened after he was given a community order for the rape of a seven-year-old boy in Tameside. Ye Gods, when will we ever learn? Make the punishment fit the crime.

The Highways Department painted a yellow box at the junction of Peafield Lane with Leeming Lane North, with the intention of alleviating the traffic snarl-up at that point.

If ever a yellow box were needed it’s at this junction, when drivers travelling from the direction of Warsop drive nose-to-tail across the junction in such a selfish manner that those waiting to join the traffic from Peafield Lane are ‘closed out’ and have to wait through several changes of traffic lights to get a chance to move forward.

Please, drivers, do adhere to the ruling of the Yellow Box; ‘If your exit road is not clear, do NOT enter the box, unless turning right’. As there is a ‘no right turn’ sign at the junction, the 2nd part of the rule doesn’t apply.

Please, let’s have some consideration.

Notts County Council have announced their proposal to make cuts of £31M in their budget. These cuts will hit communities and the most vulnerable and in need.

I have already written to NCC Leader, Kay Cutts, expressing my disappointment and dismay, particularly with regards to the cuts in the Community Development Department, whose workers  put in such a tremendous amount of essential work for the community.

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Chancellor for the early warning of this statement.

Can he confirm that the taxpayer will be putting an extra £40bn into the banks? £7bn for Lloyds; £8bn for Northern Rock and £26bn for RBS, not including tax credits for bank losses; and is also taking on 90% of £270bn in toxic debt exposure via the Asset Protection Scheme for RBS?

In addition to this can he confirm that by changing the agreement over whether RBS can offset its losses against future profits for the purpose of corporation tax, the Treasury stands to lose between £9bn and £11bn in tax revenues?

Why are banks continuing to receive taxpayers’ money and being allowed to pay bonuses when they are continuing to restrict credit on reasonable terms to numerous, solvent, small and medium sized businesses?

I was appalled to hear that Lloyds are not only being given more money but are seeking to extricate themselves from their lending agreement.

What exactly is the current status of lending agreements - and agreements on bonuses – with banks in receipt of Government money?

Why are they not being enforced?

The European Commission is forcing the banks to sell off bits, mainly of their retail operations, in the interests of competition.

That is surely right to protect personal and business customers from being ripped off. But the key issue here is timing.

Can we have confirmation that there is no urgency in adding the banks to the Government’s car boot sale of assets and that the process can take four years, until market conditions are much improved?

And while it is good to have competition in the High Street, what is being done to curb the fat fees and associated bonuses in investment banking. Couldn’t the Competition Commission be looking at that market?

Is it not also the case that this proposed exercise in splitting the banks doesn’t deal with the central issue: which is the one highlighted by the Governor of the Bank of England in respect of banks that are too big to fail being too big.

If the Government want to split them up and is opting for regulatory reform, why aren’t the banks which benefit, in the private sector, paying a fee for their taxpayer guarantee?

It is far more far reaching than deposit protection and enables them to operate large scale speculative trading – the casino operations – on the back of a taxpayer commitment to stand behind them.

Perhaps the sale of the bank branches should offer a betting shop as well, since the betting has become the banks’ core business?

Tens of thousands of listed buildings and large swathes of countryside could be destroyed after two key planks of the planning system were disbanded. The Government is to downgrade protection on old buildings and those in conservation areas in order to “benefit developers” and “reduce the number of applications for planning permission rejected on heritage grounds”.

Yet another example of a desperate government.

This week’s quote is in tribute to Tom Appleby, because he asked the most probing of questions as an elected member of Mansfield District Council and by that questioning he arrived at the truth.

Norman was a gentle man, who was a great help to me when we were both elected by our fellow Councillors to sit on the Steering Group of the Mansfield Woodhouse & Mansfield North Area Partnership.

He had a strong sense of duty towards his constituents and the wider District of Mansfield. The whole of the district will miss him enormously. He was a past Chairman of MDC and did a great job as Chairman of the Area Assembly.

Rest in Peace, Norman.