Frustrated's Blog

End of an Era

2010-06-15T23:58:00.000+01:00

Sadly once again a blog has had to be closed. And one that had far better information than I could ever provide. However this makes it more important than ever that we all continue to be aware of just what is going on in Blackpool's (and Fylde's) politics. The cabinet system appears to be leading to a secret little club whereby commercial sensitivity is being used to hide the full details of what is happening to taxpayer cash from those that provide the funds. This cannot be tolerated in the public interest. Politicians and council employees must be accountable to the electorate that votes for them and pays their wages.

This is why there are now "traffic calming" islands along the promenade

2010-03-24T14:54:00.000Z

An accident where a car crashed near the White Church at Fairhaven (the Spanish style apartment block by Kensington "Seville Court" that fits in so well with everything about it that's victorian english) and residents called for traffic calming to prevent it happening again.
So councillors got together and had islands put in the road near the Fairhaven Lake attraction - not really all that near to the crash site but with the happy side-effect that it proved easier for day-trippers to cross the road if they parked on the other side so that more people from East Lancs can come for a free day out walking around the lake and on the beach.
Now there's finally one being built near the crash site - but given the reason for the crash, are these roadworks appropriate and will they really stop it happening again if it was ever going to?

Excellent court report below as per usual from the Lytham St. Annes Express - a guaranteed good read every week at only 58p.

Driver jailed after 100mph car chase

A COUPLE out walking in St Annes were lucky not to be killed when a banned driver just missed them as he careered into a wall at the end of a car chase.

A court heard Mohamed Gani, 30, had earlier reached speeds of up to a 100mph, went through red lights and twice evaded a police road block before losing control of his car close to Fairhaven Lake.

He was jailed for nearly two-and-a-half years by a judge who described the case as "dreadful".

Gani pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, disqualified driving and not having insurance.

He was sentenced to 29 months behind bars and banned from driving for five years.
Preston Crown Court heard he was already on a suspended jail term for identical crimes at the time of the offences in May last year.
Hilary Banks, prosecuting, told how Gani attracted a police officer's attention May 24, as two cars were driving at high speed along Clifton Drive North, St Annes. The defendant, who was driving his friend's Ford Mondeo car, did not stop when requested and later on, reached about 100mph as he passed King Edward VII and Queen Mary School, which is a 30mph area.
The officer twice tried to block Gani's path with his vehicle, but the defendant drove around.
As he approached a bend near Fairhaven Lake, travelling too fast, he braked heavily and the car mounted the pavement, narrowly missing a couple out walking.
The car hit a three-foot high boundary wall of residential properties and rolled on to its roof.
Gani, from Beeston, Leeds, and two passengers were injured.
The owner remembered nothing about the accident until he woke up in hospital with serious abdominal injuries.
Gani told police it had seemed he was the most sober of the three and he had made a mistake in driving.
He admitted to officers: "I could have died myself and I had two people with me."
Richard Hunt, defending, told the court Gani was "desperately sorry".
He said: "He presents as a changed man. He now realises how foolish he has been. He wants to sort his life out."
Passing sentence, Judge Heather Lloyd told Gani: "It seems to me you simply have a complete disregard for the order of the court and the law and for the safety of others and indeed yourself.
"It is fortunate the two pedestrians on the pavement were not killed or seriously hurt.
"It is amazing there was no fatality to you, your passengers or other road users."

Another day, another mauling

2010-03-24T11:13:00.000Z

Not a politics post! Today it is reported that another 2 year old has had her face mauled by a family dog and the usual lunatics are up in arms about people having dogs at all.

Now I've had dogs for over 40 years and can't remember living without them and there are some fundamental principles of dog ownership that are being ignored:

If you have a child they will tend to suddenly pull at a dog. My sister used to pull our dogs ears tirelessly - luckily for her the dogs we had were small and patience and sat there looking thoroughly fed up with her but didn't take any action of their own.
Children also don't react quickly enough to warning signs and tend to make "jabbing" rather than fluid movements which makes most dogs think they are under attack. So if you have a small child don't leave it alone with a dog. And certainly don't buy one of the biggest dogs around with a very powerful jaw.

Many people with dogs and children think the dog can be ignored for days and weeks with the only attention they get being fed disgusting slop out of a tin or dry food. Do they expect a good social bond to be formed by the dog with humans?

Dogs get over-excited when bitches are on heat. This is an enormous promise to the dog that humping is likely to be an option. Anything it sees as getting in its way is likely to make it bad tempered. Don't mix dogs and bitches in heat. Keep one or the other and pay stud fees. And certainly don't walk bitches in heat in public places.

If you have a council house you should not be allowed to keep large dogs. The council has allocated that house on the needs of the humans in the family - it is highly unlikely that there is enough space for one large dog, let alone 3. - especially when the size of dog you are talking about is around 10 stone.

If your dog bites someone and the vet won't put it down as he says the dog can be retrained you have two options:
1) Keep the dog, retrain it and keep the kids well away at all times
2) Rehome the dog immediately.
You do not have an option to keep the dog and not retrain it and let the kids mix with it. That should get your kids taken into care immediately.

You should never be allowed to keep dogs again if after an attack you 'chased the dog out into the garden and was punching and kicking it and that's where he stabbed it with a knife'. A good father separates dog from child, makes sure dog can't get near anyone and goes back to look after child. If you can brutally beat up a dog and stab it with a knife you are a savage who is not fit to look after children or animals. It is not the dog's fault it attacked - it is the owner that let it happen knowing full well that there was a problem developing. And the fact that the dog became vicious looks very much like it was a result of being badly treated by this man in the first place. Dogs generally attack humans because they are frightened or trained to specifically do so.

Leonard Dews Raided Again - Home Security

2010-02-25T11:47:00.000Z

The police and government have constantly decided that the following rules apply to all of society:
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING STOLEN IT'S YOUR FAULT, YOU DIDN'T LOOK AFTER IT CAREFULLY ENOUGH

This has of course extended into other areas of crime but the principle is always the same.

So we get situations like Leonard Dews - the jewellery business of Michael Hyman.

For the forth time that I'm aware of (the second at his Lytham store) he's had an armed raid. And always during the day because presumably he looks after his goods very well at night when he doesn't have to let his customers see them to sell them. So is all this extra security a good thing? The goods are still being stolen but now staff are being petrified as well.

The Blackpool store thefts (where guns and ice picks were used) in September and October 2006 were perpetrated by an Estonian gang - one of whom was caught and sentenced to 10 years. But the Lytham gang thefts have never yet been caught to my knowledge from the October 2007 raid.

Presumably the Leonard Dews thefts are more frequent than other jewellers in the area because of their expensive and exclusive stock of diamond and gold jewellery as well as exceedingly expensive watches.

So is it Leonard Dews' own fault for stocking exceedingly nice things or are the police going to actually take this seriously? Only time will tell if they actually catch anyone for this. They certainly have cctv.

Migrant workers - the BBC programme last night

2010-02-25T10:51:00.000Z

To prove we couldn't manage without migrants the BBC took four sectors and gave English dolers two days to prove they couldn't do the job as well as migrants already in place in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

We have the restaurant sector where only one of the dolers turned up to try and no doubt discouraged that he was the only one to turn up on day two for the actual work gave up because he didn't have a clue what dish was what in his local curry house. If this were a proper job, wouldn't learning the dishes be part of the training anyway and extra support given in identifying things for the first few shifts? Also it must have been very discouraging now being the only novice with an experience crew working around him - and if the camera team had encouraged him more I thought he did have some potential.

The second was in a potato packing factory for Tesco. Only two men turned up so it was only a partial English team as three were needed to pack. They did a pretty good job, definitely had a proper work ethic but after day two they did apply for jobs but none were available.

The third were carpenters / plasterers who proved they could do the job just as well and cheaply and were allowed to continue for two weeks to complete the job they were on.

The last was picking asparagus on a farm. Now there's only a six week picking season and the price is determined by the supermarkets so margins were tight and inexperience was a big disadvantage. One was just plain lazy and should have had his benefits taken off him. The other two picked only around half of the experienced migrants but their work rate was increasing as the two day period progressed.

However these farm workers were victims of minimum wage. In this period of two days they had to have their wages topped up to minimum wage though they hadn't picked enough to justify that on what the farmer could get back. So the minimum wage stopped them being able to carry on for long enough to actually get up to that rate and accept lower than minimum wage during the training period. I've long been against setting a minimum wage nationally. Many people advocate it as essential to stop bosses taking advantage of workers by paying them less than living costs require. But in the day and age of tax credits, surely it would be better to top up workers wages to minimum wage rates with taxpayers money than pay them the whole lot on the dole whilst they sit on their backsides becoming permanently unemployable with migrants taking all these jobs.

Another interesting thing to see was just how lazy the younger dolers seemed to be than the older ones in general. They seemed to be of the opinion that the world owed them a living wage whether they worked or not and they didn't even have to turn up when they'd accepted a job. And most of the younger ones smoked - taking every opportunity to nip out for a fag break.

It begs the question as to whether we should be paying people to sit on their backsides all day - particularly the young. What I noticed most was how lazy SOME were (some were clearly not) and didn't care. I'd advocate making everyone work for their benefits, restricting migrant labour, and freeing the labour market up to pay people what they are worth. Too many think employers owe them the minimum wage rather than them having to earn it - and some people working hard are making up for these wastes of space and not getting financially compensated as a result of these drains on businesses.

Boo-hiss. Was there ever a more hateful figure than a self-obsessed estate agent?

2009-11-25T17:23:00.001Z

Again the Queensway inquiry. Speaking for the creation of 1,150 houses on wet peat bog adjoining a flood plane, our most favourite estate agent, Mr John Ardern, pleaded for the application to go ahead. He had a wife and two children who depended on that estate agency and combined with the construction workers needing work this development must go ahead.

Well I'll be honest too. Mr Ardern's estate agency gazumped me - but I hold no grudges as I shortly found a better house on better land. Not sure the seller would feel the same as the gazumper changed their mind and she then struggled to sell but that's her problem for using such a man to sell her house. So I don't rate his skills as an estate agent if his purpose is just to sell houses. The fact that the 5 flats of "Orchard Gardens" near King Edward have been being sold by him for the past 6 years approximately as "newly built" just shows me that perhaps another estate agent might be a good idea.

But this is the toe-rag who was again pleading for the Disney-fied Lytham Quays mark one where an entire marina and various European sub villages were to be included. Kensington themselves ended up withdrawing the application but not before British Aerospace objected to such high density development so close to their landing path and runway, especially as they test aircraft in development and they realised such a scheme didn't have a hope in hell of being passed.

But what really galled me was that he argued that Lytham following the Lytham Hall Park Estate Development and Cypress Point had prospered in its town centre whilst St Annes had gone to seed with lots of charity shops. This simply isn't true. There are far more empty units in the heart of Lytham than St Annes.
Lytham doesn't have charity shops according to Mr Adern- Barnados (with the ugliest, most incongruent lime green canopy in the conservation zone), Oxfam, Cancer Research, British Heart Foundation (4) are apparently a figment of our imaginations. The St Annes shops of Help the Aged, Sue Ryder Care, British Heart Foundation, YMCA and Leukemia Research (5) aren't figments though - these are signs of decay in a town with more than double the population of Lytham.

So why lie? This man is an estate agent. He knows full well that this is untrue but he'll say it anyway because he always gets to sell Kensington's houses. Of course he doesn't always manage to sell them at all. The sale-rate at Cypress Point was so sluggish that "for sale" signs are forbidden to be displayed there. And now at Lytham Quays a lot of people are being housed that previously owned houses at Cypress Point. These are Kensington devotees who would never have dreamed of moving from these lovely homes at Cypress Point had the new opportunities not come along. Of course not. The houses at Cypress Point are NOT subsiding. The rumours are untrue. There are certainly no deals to upgrade for unhappy home owners with gagging orders as part of the process. Cypress Point is great. It will never flood or cause flooding to neighbouring areas like the cemetery. It will never subside. And apparently they are exceedingly reasonably priced should anyone want one.

The most promised road in the land?

2009-11-25T13:26:00.000Z

I went to the Queensway inquiry meeting yesterday and interesting stuff it was (once the barristers had finally agreed which of the many drawings and plans were the final versions etc and a whole morning was wasted).
The barrister for Kensington opened with his 10 minute speech. He'll never get any work for after-dinner speaking - Peter Ustinov he aint - but he did manage to stretch his ill-prepared opening comments to a full 40 minutes in a bid to bore some opposition supporters away and have a chance to re-iterate the promise for £16 million for a new road off the M55 to St Annes (the Moss link road).
This is the road that was promised with Cypress Point (by, oh yes Kensington) - they are still waiting as the road wasn't part of the planning application and involved other peoples' land anyway (some of it being Owen Oysten who is highly unlikely to sell this terribly boggy land cheaply now it is worth so much).
This is also the subject of a debacle in the Whitehills industrial estate expansion - Kensington were asked to consider providing part funding for a road as part of that application - and once again appealed so that an Inspector from Bristol who hopefully doesn't realise just quite how many times Kensington go back on their word.
So why repeat an offer for funding for a road that can't be guaranteed to ever be built? And why mumble so that people had to ask him to speak up several times on the issue of ecological factors involved in building on a wet peat bog?
In my opinion he already knows he's on a sticky wicket and repeating the "Kensington dream" will put some thoughts into the Inspector's mind - but I'm not convinced the Inspector will be so easily fooled. We'll have to wait and see before we all start sinking and filling up with water. (see next post)

Bloomin' Road Census?

2009-10-07T17:20:00.000+01:00

Yesterday evening travelling back on the A583(?) (think that's the right number - dual carriageway you can get on from the dock roads in Preston that goes past Salwick, Dobies, Kirkham, Westby and ends up at Whitehills) and there was extreme traffic congestion. The lane to Blackpool was cordoned off so everyone had to get in the Lytham one and what for? "Census" - no VR technology just 3 policemen in florescent jackets with their backs to the traffic whilst everyone fumed.
Do you have to answer any questions if you're pulled over or do you have the right to remain silent? I'm pretty sure if we say what we think the police will arrest us.

What's happening at the Gazette?

2009-10-07T17:17:00.000+01:00

On a story re Kensington want to build another 190 homes in Lytham Quays I'd commented pro Alison Jack (not that I like her but she was unfairly criticised and Kensington overly promoted) and of course all comments not agreeing with Kensington were reported.
So I reported the other two with the explanation that as the other comments had been removed the comments were biased towards one side of the argument - then they started appearing back with no option to report the comments (the first one to reappear was one of mine and I thought I'd better report that if the others didn't come back as only being fair).
Have they really sorted the comment reporting thing out? I certainly hope so - no-one should be given a stronger voice by these deleting tactics.

Want to buy something? Do we approve of that?

2009-10-05T14:52:00.000+01:00

On Friday the Daily Mail reported that a 21 year old in Evesham, Worcestershire was not allowed to buy teaspoons in Tesco because she didn't have any proof of age on her. Her boyfriend did, (aged 23) but under Tesco rules he couldn't buy them either because he could just be buying them for her, and they didn't know for sure how old she was.

Today a pregnant woman was stopped from buying cheese (Canadian cheddar) at Sainsbury's in Bedfordshire. Apparently the shopworker mistakenly thought it was unsafe for pregnant women because it was unpateurised although Sainsbury's have acknowledged there is no danger (even to pregnant women) from this particular dairy product.

Since when did the law change so that we are no longer allowed to buy anything unless the supermarket staff approve? When did we vote to be told what to do by 16 year olds on a till who have an IQ of less than 10?

On Friday as well, a local disabled pensioner (from Thornton Cleveleys) who fled communist East Germany was reported as having been convicted of assault in court for prodding a local 17 year old and telling him off. The 17 year old (according to the pensioner) threw gravel at her window, used foul language to her, (referring to her as "some fucking German woman"), held her by her wrists so hard he bruised them and who was carted off into the back of a police van? Of course the pensioner. They have since defended their decision because they didn't see what the youth did themselves, but they did see her and she apparently should just put up with them doing this to her and the police doing F all about it. "She should have admitted her guilt then we could have cautioned her" said some CPS official so out of touch with reality they did actually believe what they said. Did they ever consider that they should have done something about the abuse she was suffering instead first? Apparently not.

I really despair of how this country has become. Where our lives are dictated to by people with a complete lack of common sense or intelligence. And that seems to include not only supermarket checkout staff, but the police, CPS and our politicians.

Phantom Deleters!

2009-10-02T11:49:00.000+01:00

On the Gazette site today I reported a comment! This is a very rare occurence from me but the comment went very roughly as this (and related to the South Shore train station potential closure)
"Say what you like about Gordon Marsden but he's a man of the people looking after us"
and nothing else.
Sorry but that's just political - no comment about the train station being necessary or why, no comment about anything else at all.
What did the idiot do? (and maybe this confirms Gordon Marsden voters might not be so very bright)
Deleted comment number 2 - which was less enthusiastic about Marsden without going too far and did discuss the proposed closure.
I have put up now that it was me who reported it for the idiot, but as someone's deleting all my comments at the moment anyway it's hardly likely to change anything is it!

Binge Drinking Plans

2009-10-01T10:19:00.000+01:00

After deciding that making alcohol more freely available by "24 hour drinking" (well it is if you drink what you've bought from the supermarket) the government have finally decided that maybe it isn't working.

So the new plan is to make entire towns and cities public alcohol-free zones (which means you can't drink in the street, but you can still get bladdered inside pubs and clubs and pre-load).

Well Fylde council has gone against this plan already with granting an alcohol licence to grant public drinking in Ashton Gardens (as they thought it would attract more money from licensees) although there is still a ban on drinking if you didn't buy the drink in the cafe. Maybe you'll have to buy the one drink, keep the glass and refill it with your own booze out of sight of others if you don't want any trouble.

Will this affect Blackpool? Well I doubt it, because most of the binge drinking happens inside buildings - it's the pissing and throwing up that's usually reserved for the public spaces.

Oldham thinks you can tackle the problem by making people queue in a very British fashion to get their drinks. Reading wants to introduce measures to stop establishments encouraging vertical drinking.

Some experts claim we need minimum pricing as in Scotland, others want to target certain drinks such as alcopops and toffee vodka set to appeal to the young.

Some condemn the plan as saying the drinkers merely move to less obvious places - canal towpaths in Lancaster for example where you really don't want a group of irate drunk teenagers.

It could also stop us have the right to picnic with a bottle of wine or a bottle of beer which even as a teetotaller due to an alcohol allegy I think is a serious detrimental impact on our civil liberties.

Banning booze isn't an option - prohibition didn't work. And banning booze in public places is as likely to stop this as the law on not using your mobile whilst driving as it can't be realistically enforced.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1217132/City-to-impose-blanket-ban-drinking-alcohol-street.html#ixzz0SfjxdlPu

Cut the illuminations?

2009-09-30T16:08:00.000+01:00

According to the Gazette (http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Call-to-scrap-three-miles.5689564.jp?CommentPage=3&CommentPageLength=10#comments)

A TOURISM guru is calling on Blackpool to scale back its world-famous Illuminations – to boost visitors.

Marc Etches, the former boss of one of the resort's biggest tourism operators, Leisure Parcs, is urging council bosses to scrap three miles of the Lights.

Now personally I think a little trimming could do some good - the Beaverbrooks silver balls aren't very entertaining and the Macdonald's golden arches are 100% pure advertising and appalling illuminations. But 3 miles? That would completely alter what is one of Blackpool's most entertaining crowd pullers. The tourism industry of the town relies on this attraction when the weather is no longer all that great. Can anyone imagine Blackpool without the lights? And cutting 3 miles off would make it more like a usual Christmas display than an iconic tourist landmark - the whole things only about 5 miles. How did this person qualify to be called a "TOURISM guru"?

Debate on the Island continues

2009-09-29T22:19:00.000+01:00

The Gazette has followed up on yesterday's story that the Island has closed.

Comments are of course being selectively deleted by the usual idiot I presume.

My comment is as below. If anyone wants to add to this debate, feel free.

Paul W (7) I don't agree the site should be used to attract even more bikers to the area. This doesn't benefit the town as a whole.

We were supposed to be concentrating on Classic resort status - making the town benefit from it's unique heritage from it's planned Victorian/Edwardian buildings and large streets. For goodness sake millions is being spent on restoring the facades to just this but the content of the town is turning into an assortment of bargin basement shops and businesses which will never be exceptionally cheap or great bargins because of the high rents. Blackpool on it's doorstep will always offer a much better version of this.

It's this lack of vision for the town (i.e. a poor version of the cheaper shops and facilites of Blackpool) that has helped lead the decline in the resort - the Island should have done very well in a recession as more and more people stayed at home - and it didn't. That tells us what was there was not high quality enough or interesting enough to attract people.

What I do hope is that we don't get more plans from people with no experience of developing a windy coastal frontage who don't understand the heritage of the area or the people either. And MisterJJ is spot on in calling for something to be built that will attract the locals to it - and not just for our benefit. It's the locals who enable these facilities to survive when the visitors aren't around. And lets hope the council realises you can't charge really high parking charges for these areas - people park elsewhere for free and walk - then they get fed up and don't come at all.

Floods and drought

2009-09-29T09:35:00.000+01:00

Kenya's lakes are drying up, the Phillipines are flooded, the UK is building on flood plains and will soon follow suit.

And the real reason for all this? Overpopulation. For most pensioners the world's population is now treble that when they were born. For the middle aged it's doubled. And whilst people are living longer which is contributing partially to this rise the biggest rise is purely due to couples having more than two children - especially in the less developed parts of the world.

It's causing shortages in food supplies and our natural resources. It's causing misery to all those affected and it's actively promoted by two major religions - Islam and the Roman Catholic faith.

So next time you think about donating to emergency relief charities, think about also contacting them to request they consider their policies on promoting contraception too.

The Island is Closed!

2009-09-28T20:27:00.001+01:00

The whole Island complex on the Promenade has gone into liquidation tonight with the loss of 24 jobs - that's the cinema, Jacks, the bowling alley and amusement arcade.

The Gazette announces that it's a shock. Well as hardly anyone went there, hardly.

The leaseholder (the council own the freehold) says the recession has killed it off. Well again hardly true - the recession combined with our weak pound has meant people staying in the UK to holiday more than ever and the whole of the UK tourist industry has had a boost.

But this is the area that houses the (now closed) pool. It's the area that had a "masterplan" written for it just 14 months ago despite the council not being able to do anything with the area that was already leased out (see http://www.fylde.gov.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id=fAAxADAAMQA0AHwAfABGAGEAbABzAGUAfAB8ADAAfAA1) for the grand ideas like a huge hotel and a golf museum (of course Royal Lytham's hosting the 2012 men's open).

Counterbalance covered the plans in detail at the time (which included more foreshore residential housing as a plan )
http://www.counterbalance.org.uk/recent/whatmast.htm
How much flood risk are we expected to have deliberately imposed on us in this area?

Of course the original plan got rid of the pool complex altogether - until some nasty locals pointed out that the council couldn't legally do that. But the council plough ahead desperately trying to find a way to enforce their will regardless of public opinion or apparent legal duty on any matter lately. I expect there to be sudden and quite massive developments on this front announced shortly.

When are you prejudiced?

2009-09-28T12:05:00.000+01:00

Counterbalance ( http://www.counterbalance.org.uk/latest/faux.htm ) has yet another excellent article about the scrutiny process within Fylde council. It is excellent reading for anyone living in an area where the council has a cabinet system and shows just how toothless the scrutiny process is.

Dim Tim Ashton was responsible for the "Streetscene" department when a massive deficit occured - the amount of which is hotly contested but it's certainly £690k at least by the Chief Executive's own calculations. For a small borough like Fylde this is a heck of a lot. And this was the period in which bus-using pensioners were criticised for closing the pools.

And guess who's now on the scrutiny committee deciding what went wrong? Yes the man in charge of that portfolio at the time. Now the Standards' Boards' guidance says the following on such things:

You have a prejudicial interest in any business before an overview and scrutiny committee or sub-committee meeting where both of the following requirements are met:

• That business relates to a decision made (whether implemented or not) or action taken by your authority’s executive or another of your authority’s committees, sub-committees, joint committees or joint sub-committees.

• You were a member of that decisionmaking body at that time and you were present at the time the decision was made or action taken.

If the overview and scrutiny committee is checking a decision which you were involved in making you may be called to attend the meeting to give evidence or answer questions on the matter. However, you will not be able to attend the meeting in this manner unless your authority’s constitution or standing orders allow members of the public to attend the overview and scrutiny committee for the same purpose.

You will, however, be able to attend the meeting to give evidence or answer questions if you are a leader or cabinet member of an authority operating executive arrangements, provided you follow thenormal rules for executive members who have personal and prejudicial interests.

OF COURSE THEY DECIDED THE MAN RESPONSIBLE SHOULD ALSO BE PART OF THE SCRUTINY PROCESS OF HIS ACTIONS.

And for those that read the article you'll see that Paul Hayhurst (an independent) was criticised by Dim Tim as having a vendetta against the chief executive - which actually was the subject of a Standards Board investigation caused by the chief exec who concluded he was entitled to question the chief executive's actions at any time he liked as a serving councillor without such allegations of "vendettas" having any substance to them whatsoever.

The stench in Fylde council is getting worse than that in Downing Street, and as Dim Tim is now on the Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement for Lancashire County Council goodness knows the financial mess the whole county could soon be in.

Balls yes, Judgement - None

2009-09-28T11:50:00.000+01:00

The Daily Mail is today reporting about Ed Balls' redecoration of the Department for Children, Schools and Families. A bargin at only £3million, it houses a massage room, a 'contemplation suite' and an area set aside for Muslim prayer and designer furniture was shipped over from Italy.The most costly expense was a grand staircase made from glass and surgical steel. Its price tag is understood to have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A gym, four lifts, six meeting rooms with high-tech conference equipment and two cafes have plumped up the bill for the two-year project to £3m. But the gym's going to be subscription only and he's planning to save the government money by cutting teachers and schoolbooks, so don't worry about them wasting money.

Come on Ed, when are you going to refit my office?

Strictly facing even more criticism

2009-09-28T07:00:00.000+01:00

Strictly is in the news again. This time not for Arlene vs Alesha arguments.

Apparently the dresses are too small - the latin ones anyway and there are fears the BBC is cutting back in its material allowance to bring the show within budget.

I very much doubt that the costs of the material are the difference between the show breaking even or being a total loss, but then I don't see how these outfits cost the thousands they do. Anyway I for one will be voting for the ladies to continue wearing very little (except for Jo Wood and Natalie Cassidy of course). Mrs F. suggests doing away with see-through shirts for the men in the latin and having bare chests instead. Now that's equality and budgeting in one fell-swoop.

Bloomin' Marks and Spencer and their plastic bag policy

2009-09-25T17:48:00.000+01:00

Driving back on a very long journey from the West Country yesterday, I stopped at Exeter services (whilst the sat nag kept announcing she was "Recalculating!. Recalculating! Recalculating!" as she struggled to comprehend someone might want to stop at some point via a quite complicated series of roundabouts and short stretches of road) I stopped at their M&S outlet to purchase dinner for when I finally got home.
"Do you want a 5p bag with that?" I was asked.

NO I bloody well don't. I'm sick to death of being nagged by mass packager M&S about the flimsy plastic bag I might want to use to carry my purchases home. I wouldn't care but I always re-use them - as bin liners in the kitchen bin usually rather than buying much thicker bin liners. Usually they then provide you with a free mini-bag to try to squash your purchases in but they were having a real "green" kick and said they hadn't any left.

Some old dear in M&S Food St Annes when I was last in was saying how good it was that they donated this money to charity and were saving the planet. Boy did she get it for that inane statement. I pointed out she had just packed an enormous amount of packaging along with her food and whilst M&S didn't keep the 5ps (though I've yet to check the charitable donation doesn't have the actual cost of the bags deducted from it) they certainly saved money in not having to buy so many bags so it was a profit making scheme (to be immediately offered the free small bags that you usually get your lunch in by the cashier).

Plastic in landfill went up when the stores stopped giving out plastic bags in Ireland because they then had to purchase thicker bags to carry their shopping home and buy bin liners. So M&S is making the planet worse not better and profiting to boot. So two fingers of my go up to the M&S bag scheme and I never buy more than I can balance in my arms without a bag if I purchase anything from them - and I try not to purchase at all anymore. No wonder your food profits are decreasing!

In the words of the Daily Mail, "Did Baroness Tell the Truth?"

2009-09-25T16:36:00.000+01:00

Baroness Scotland is the Attorney General for England and Wales. As such she is the government's chief legal adviser and supervises the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the DPP for Northern Ireland.

As such you'd really expect her to know the law on employing people - especially when it is obvious from their accent and appearance that there may be an immigration status issue. Now to be fair she wasn't Attorney General when the law on this issue was enacted in 2006 - but she was at this a Home Office minister (which was undergoing an enquiry into illegal immigrant cleaners at the time) and if everyone in the country is expected to know about the laws of employing people then why does this seem to have escaped Baroness Scotland's attention? Especially as she personally helped steer the very law which created this legal responsibility in the first place.

The Attorney General has to swear an oath to provide an express duty to respect the rule of law. Maybe she does respect it - but doesn't follow it herself?

The Times has also reported that there is currently an enquiry into the Baroness's £170,000 receipt that Cabinet rules say she shouldn't have had.

The Baroness claims she saw false documents, thought they were real but mistakingly didn't take copies as the law requires. Of course we all didn't believe that for one minute - especially now that allegedly the housekeeper has come out of hiding to claim she didn't show any paperwork at all. That's more believable altogether. Afterall why would you delegate taking copies, but see the actual documentation? The truth is you wouldn't. You'd copy and vouch, get someone to copy it and vouch if afterwards if you were following the law because you can't delegate this responsibility.

So what is the reaction of Gordon Brown to all these shannigans?
The prime minister said he had decided to take no further action because Scotland had employed Loloahi Tapui, a housekeeper from Tonga, "in good faith" and had apologised "unreservedly".

Not good enough Gordon. If the chief legal adviser doesn't follow the law, what's the point in having any laws at all? Can we all pick and choose which ones we comply with then?

Politics has descended to incredible depths in the past decade - not because of rogue individuals with their snouts in troughs and self-serving judgement - but because of the failure of the very top of the leadership of this country to even condemn these actions whereas an automatic and permanent sacking from all political life would have once been inevitable.

Simon's intended surge back to power

2009-09-25T15:20:00.001+01:00

Simon Renwick still has political ambitions! Amazingly in the Blackpool Gazette yesterday, Simon is hoping to make a political comeback and is already substuting for other councillors in council meetings following his suspension from the Conservatives. Poor Simon has been hit with several porn issues over the last few years - one putting up porn pictures on his Facebook profile, and of course porn found on his laptop when it was out of his possession.

Whilst I remain open to the possibility that he does look at porn on his council laptop, I'm personally not so sure that he's guilty, or that it actually matters. Councillors are there to represent the public's interests and if a public laptop was also used personally but not at real detriment to the Borough then what is the big f'ing deal. It's also strange that rumours were circulating prior to this discovery of inappropriate browsing history on his laptop that he had staged an attempted coup and that Fuhrer JC had survived them (for watchers of Eggheads on BBC 2 - the reverse of CJ in every conceivable way (especially the high IQ part if those at school with him are to be believed), and leader/dictator of Fylde council).

The allegations as to what "brought the party into disrepute" are unclear - whether it was the porn things or his use of his mobile phone has not been revealed. Although he didn't really use the phone he said, other than to check the time.

Now as irritating as Mr Renwick is, we cannot have a political system where this sort of rubbish is allowed to decide who our councillors are and aren't. Does a councillor's conduct matter - of course! Does whether a councillor checks the time during a meeting on his mobile phone, or have porn which he may or may not be responsible for on his council laptop affect his ability to do a councillor's role effectively? Not really.

Please can we remind them that they are there to represent the Borough and do what is best for us - to provide the very best of services at the lowest possible price, to keep our pools open, to keep our green spaces well and to inspire us to volunteer to further improve things where necessary. For goodness sake in a pensioner filled town like Lytham St Annes this should be incredibly easy to achieve - yet we have middle-aged inexperienced idiots running the whole town into the ground instead.

Speed bumps for cyclists!

2009-09-25T11:55:00.000+01:00

Hoorah for the news that Islington is trialling speed bumps for cyclists in an effort to help pedestrians. Of course this will also be a nuisance for some pedestrians - i.e. with wheelchairs, pushchairs and prams in particular but walkers need protection from cyclists just as cyclists have protection from cars.
Cyclists seem to be the only group that have a hardcore within them hellbent on ignoring every traffic regulation in the book. Of course that is some and not all - and those that do behave as the law dictates I have no problems with at all. But when cycling was announced as permitted on Lytham Green's frontage there has been a persistent problem in St Annes of cyclists cycling on pavements everywhere even when there are no cars (in the process of being driven or even parked) to be seen. And when as I witnessed an elderly lady had a bell rung at her insistently until she wheeled her husband's wheelchair off the kerb (not a lowered one) into the road and then struggled to get him back on - when the cyclists were in an area where cycling was not permitted there can be no justification for this blatant disregard of the law in favour of one minority group. The initiatives to increase cycling were supposed to include provisions for increasing walking too - perhaps Cycle England has too loud a voice in this process.

Is Blackpool a dump still?

2009-09-11T10:37:00.000+01:00

There's a lot of debate on the Gazette today over Paul Daniels being a bit negative about the town. To be fair (if my comment's still there of course you'll see this) I think he has a point - yes it's on the up now, but it's still not the Blackpool of old that was a world famous, well-respected resort.
And the Callows might not be universally popular, but when compared to leadership in the Fylde I find Peter Callow's "lets get the job done pose" with arms folded and that special facial expression quite reassuring. They haven't been in power all that long to reverse Blackpool's decline - but they do have plans. And to look at the helter skelter roundabout and general greenery in Blackpool I must say I think it's become a lot better and the entrances to the town look relatively impressive.
We all know there's a danger of Blackpool being the town of plans - where little gets built, but is this not better than the don't have any ideas approach?
And most importantly of all, is Blackpool slowly becoming a quality tourist resort again rather than a hole for exceedingly drunk hens and stags and druggies?

I've heard of trout tickling but really....

2009-09-11T10:27:00.000+01:00

Staff at the Sealife centre apparently thought one of its fish had an itch - but apparently it just likes being tickled under the chin.
Story here:
http://www.visitblackpool.com/site/news/2009/9/1/trevor-the-ticklish-triggerfish-a80
How weird!

Calls for St Johns Square to be pedestrianised

2009-09-10T10:02:00.000+01:00

St Johns Square is now being considered for complete pedestrianisation. It's already a no-go area for most vehicles.
Will pedestrianisation improve the area? Or will it mean that people have to walk a lot further which could prove difficult for those disabled or merely carrying a lot of shopping around the town? (which when it's windy and wet can be quite an ordeal) And will the shops still be able to receive deliveries?
Given that anyone driving in the very centre of Blackpool has to crawl to avoid tourists stepping in front of their cars during the day and falling in front of them later on, is there a real need for any area to be pedestrianised? If they're stopping they need to stop on the outskirts to park anyway.

Child porn found by police on mobile phone

2009-09-10T09:55:00.000+01:00

Today's Gazette states that police found someone storing child pornography on his mobile phone. The said phone was lost and they "discovered" the pictures whilst looking for clues as to who the phone belonged to. Now if I find something, rather than get involved with a long procedure of handing the thing into the police whilst they um and ah and take all day to process the thing, I look in the phone address book for "home" or failing that someone with a first name only as they're bound to be close to the phone holder. I don't go looking in the photo section at all. So whilst it's good they found out about the child pictures (assuming they are pornography) is it something the police should really be doing as a matter of course?

People turned away from Lowther Theatre

2009-09-10T09:48:00.000+01:00

People have been wrongly informed that Jack Dee and Gordon Smith's performances are fully booked when they aren't. I think we can all put the following words in the correct order- booze up FBC couldn't brewery run.

I'm shocked

2009-09-09T16:39:00.001+01:00

Today's article on the Pontins closure on the Gazette has 21 comments (It's now 16:39) and only two have been reported!
I'll have to have a lie down now I think.

Floral Displays

2009-09-09T14:13:00.000+01:00

Floral Displays in St Annes are to put it mildly quite pathetic. Whilst we can afford a new sign on Progress Way declaring ourselves a "FreeTrade Borough" we can't afford to clean the green slime off the one at Queensway near the Easterleigh and Kilnhouse Lane turn-offs. Nor can we apparently afford much planting either. But despite being charged as much per household as neighbouring Lytham for "open spaces maintenance" the standards are much lower. Lytham has beautiful grounds at Lowther Gardens, and along the Green - I know in part due to Friends' groups and Lytham in Bloom but why is the difference SO enormous? I understand that some local politicians are now taking up the cause as to why a town with twice the population of Lytham can't afford the same standard of display anywhere within in. My street is one of many where the once-a-year weed-spraying didn't happen until all the weeds had seeded. There are now some weeds several feet high in the pavement and soil squares around the trees. Hopefully our local politicians can get a fairer deal for St Annes soon.

In Blackpool though Cllr Callow's "Greening of Blackpool" is already apparent. The helter-skelter roundabout looks fabulous, verges are relatively well-maintained and tree-planting programmes have started. Maybe there's still work to do, but critics might like to pop over the border into St Annes before criticising him too harshly.

Favourite iconic Blackpool landmark

2009-09-09T10:40:00.000+01:00

Blackpool actually has a lot of landmark buildings and objects. Examples are the Grand, the Imperial Hotel, The Cliffs, the Common Edge Road Cottage, the Shelters on the Prom and the Tower (of course). I suppose you could even include the illuminations in this list.
What's your favourite landmark and why?

Favourite post of the day

2009-09-08T16:48:00.000+01:00

From the Daily Mail comments section about the BMA's requested ban on alcohol advertising, sponsorship and a minimum price to be imposed:

Thanks Alan

"More stupid remarks. Someone who is sick of people drinking on the streets calls for 11pm closing again. What is the connection between people drinking in a pub and people drinking in the streets? In fact lessening pub hours is more likely to increase people drinking on the streets.

Yet again this 24 hour drinking nonsense. It is 24 hour licensing, which still results in 90% of pubs only opening for 12 hours a day and us having the shortest opening hours in Europe (but the most problems). I can buy toothpaste 24 hours a day but don't indulge in 24 teeth brushing.

As for advertising, there was zero advertising during prohibition where there was supposedly zero availability and zero drinking hours but it resulted in more alcohol being consumed at any time in the USA's history. There wasn't advertising in communist countries like Poland and the USSR, neither were there any bars only state shops, yet the had the most horrendous problems with alcohol.

- Alan, Hull"

Pontins to Close

2009-09-08T12:04:00.001+01:00

Not exactly unexpected news though is it?
It's spent a lot of time looking like a run-down dump and the barbed wire surround doesn't exactly feel very touristy.
What's the bet on new housing? (No doubt already agreed in principle by Fylde planners?)
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Housing-plan-for-site-of.4773462.jp

Update:

Actually just what is the bet that Trevor Hemmings has already been given the nod from Fylde Council because there is no official decision notice online yet?

The Parish Council objected - said too close to airport, any redevelopment should be one that created employment just as Pontins provided and if they did go ahead the Borough council should secure s106 agreements for money to contribute to extra infrastructure needed
Blackpool Council weren't keen - they said the tourists could go elsewhere very easily but that allowing residential housing here didn't fit into the current development plans for the region and a significant housing development under the flightpath of the airport might not be a good idea.
Lancashire said fine - but give us money. They want £117,290 for library provision, some money for schools (not yet determined because it's dependent on the Queensway plans), £177,600 for waste management and £555,000 for their highways division all from the developer. The breakdown of this £555,000 included £100,000 for redeveloping Squires Gate station (are they responsible for this?), £44,000 for new bus stops /timetable displays for Adshel, £70,000 for upgrading the tram system, £50,000 for cycle routes (including work at Todmorden Road - not exactly next to Pontins, is it!), £24,000 to monitor the "travel plan", they recommended that free or reduced public (bus) travel be given to these residents and pedestrian crossings to be put in.

For what seems to be a relatively small development, there's going to be a lot of changes to this part of town if the development goes ahead.

Plug pulled on pool

2009-09-08T09:51:00.000+01:00

The YMCA have apparently had enough of Fylde Council tendering and retendering, then retendering again the St Annes Pool. Who can blame them?
Having won the tendering process several times already, only for it to be put out to tender again, it's a miracle that they haven't ruled out running what public non-profit exercise provision we have in this Borough.
Although I'm not particularly for a Christian charity providing our services rather than the council, the council has continually shown itself to be so incompetent at running anything that no-one outside the council would oppose them running the whole show.
It's a shame for the people of St Annes to still have the question of a public swimming facility being resurrected in doubt. Of course the "Masterplan" paid for by FBC for the whole site included removing this facility altogether. Thankfully people in this Borough investigated the issue and found out that it would be illegal for the council to do so and the plan was stopped - but we've been in limbo since.
Children of this borough need a swimming pool on their doorstep to learn to swim, keep fit and keep them occupied. And their parents shouldn't need to have deep pockets for that to happen. Let's hope that someone comes up with a workable solution soon - it's not fair to the children, the pensioners who used this facility to keep fit, and Blackpool taxpayers as their pools are full of people from the Fylde.

Michael Jack MP - Second Job

2009-09-08T09:43:00.000+01:00

Michael Jack is today reported as having been receiving £514 an hour x 3.45 hours as a Non-Executive Director of Topps Tiles.
Well it's not exactly as bad as those free Italian lessons (estimated to have cost the taxpayer £100,000) ready for his retirement to Tuscany with his vineyard.
Nor is it as bad as his work for Newfield Jones - a local developer in a town that is really quite overdeveloped already. At least it wasn't Kensington, but it did lessen his independence in talking about over development in the Fylde and the massive Ashton Garden View development where part of a park given to the people of Fylde was sold by Fylde Borough Council.
Let's hope Mark Menzies who is lined up to replace him, has a good sense of public service rather than lining his own pockets.

Want to know what's going on in Blackpool or elsewhere?

2009-09-08T09:33:00.000+01:00

Although I'm not a Lib Dem (they always seem to want to reduce speed limits and put traffic hazards up too much for my liking) their websites are one of the most useful of the local political parties for information.

Here is (in my opinion though PhiltheOne would be best placed to judge I suppose) one of the best articles for how to get updates on various important issues in your area:
http://blackpool-libdems.org.uk/news/000020/ten_top_internet_tips_for_councillors__activists.html

What sort of nutter?

2009-09-08T09:29:00.000+01:00

The Gazette is reporting that the man charged with the Yates' fire didn't actually do it (although part of the reason he was charged was that he confessed to it!).
What sort of idiot confesses to a crime they didn't do - and thereby wastes police time and significantly helps the real culprit in evading prosecution.
The culprit may even have been responsible for more of the town centre fires and who knows how long it will be before people die in these blazes?
Here's a copy of the Gazette's report: (see pictures as well at: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Yatess-fire-confession-deemed-fake.5626230.jp )

Yates's fire confession deemed fake

THE man charged with burning down Blackpool's iconic Yates's Wine Lodge has walked free from court after the case against him sensationally collapsed.

Prime suspect Aaron Bell was due to stand trial after police said he confessed to starting the £20m Talbot Square blaze.

The 21-year-old North Shore man was said to have been seen acting suspiciously near the scene of the fire which tore through the 141-year-old Yates's building and five other businesses.

However, the case collapsed after new scientific evidence proved Mr Bell could not have been involved in sparking the blaze.

Vivien Mumford, area prosecutor for Preston and Fylde Crown Prosecution Service, said: "On the evidence available at the time, I am satisfied there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest to charge Aaron Bell with arson in connection with the fire at Yates Wine Lodge.

"This evidence included an admission by the defendant in a police interview that he had committed the offence.

"The CPS keeps cases under constant review and in the light of further evidence we have received, including forensic and other expert reports, it appears that Aaron Bell, despite his admission could not have been involved in the arson.

"Accordingly we have decided there is no longer sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and have therefore offered no evidence against the defendant."

Judge Christopher Cornwall, sitting at Preston Crown Court, directed a verdict of not guilty to be recorded against Mr Bell, from Derby Road.

Police must now go back to square one in their hunt for the firebug who struck in the early hours of Sunday February 15.

Det Insp Frank Walmsley, from Blackpool CID, said the case would now be reviewed.

"We have liased with the CPS and, based on the evidence available, a decision has been made that there is insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

"We are now reviewing the investigation and we still have an open mind as to how the fire started."

Yates's area manager John Creighton said he was "shocked" to hear the news and declined to comment further.

Blackpool Council leader, Coun Peter Callow, said he hoped the police would be able to pick up the trail and catch the right person.

"I always regarded the Yates' building as one of Blackpool's most historic and as an entrance to the town centre," he said.

"The company had just spent a lot of money on refurbishing it and had done a fantastic job.

"For the fire to happen when it did in a prime location with the tourist season approaching, creating an eyesore, was a massive body blow.

"Hopefully the police will now get their man and justice will be done."

The cost of the huge blaze was estimated by £20m by loss insurers with a nearby Subway restaurant, Wildcats nightclub, Blackpool Aquaria and Pet Supplies and the Bosley shopping arcade also gutted.

All the pets – bar one canary – died in the devastated pet shop.

More than 100 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze which broke out at around 3am.

Despite desperate attempts to save Yates's famous rotunda, health and safety officers ordered it to be demolished.

£3,000 per meeting for "missing" Tory Councillor

2009-09-07T17:13:00.000+01:00

Courtesy of Blackpool Liberal Democrats:

Anchorsholme's Conservative Councillor, Michael Jebson has received the equivalent of £3,000 per meeting in the last 12 months, the Conservative Councillor has only attended 2 Council meetings. Anchorsholme Liberal Democrats have launched a petition calling for the missing Councillor to resign. Former Anchorsholme Councillor, Jon Bamborough said:-
"Councillor Jebson is probably a great bloke, however, we don't think he deserves to be paid over £3,00 per meeting. The residents of Anchorsholme have been let down by Michael Jebson and they have been let down by the Conservative Council that has refused to sack Cllr. Jebson. This is the same Conservative Party that promised to clean up this town, the same Conservative Party that accepted not one but two gifts of £5,000 from a building company who later submitted multi million pound development plans."

What happens to our local politicians once they get into power?

"Vent your feelings"

2009-09-07T17:07:00.000+01:00

Is the phrase "vent your feelings" an incitement to violence?

Well that was the phrase used by Birmingham Central Mosque chairman Dr Mohammad Naseem concerning Saturday's anti-Islamic protest demonstration by the English Defence League.
And guess what - some did. With hoodies on, one with an arabic scarf as well and one who seemed confused about being an Islamist protester rather than an IRA assassin and decided on a good black balaclava.

Perhaps these kids looking for a cause and purpose in life are more integrated into English society than they realise?

The trams - should they stay or should they go now?

2009-09-07T14:29:00.000+01:00

Blackpool trams are iconic. Well they look pretty much like all trams did years ago, but times have moved on and Blackpool's trams haven't - except they do go along the front and so are scenic.

But apart from being a good thing to kill off particularly annoying soap characters in Coronation Street and the odd tourist, they are persistently a big money loser for Blackpool transport - and thus the Council. And nowadays that money just can't afford to be lost because it stops other things going ahead.

So what to do?
Stop the number 1 bus route?
Make tram and bus tickets into one "Zoned" ticket (like the tubes in London) so that both services are encouraged?
Invest in the tram system infrastructure and make it go somewhere other than the typical tourist route?
Modernise the trams?
Instead of a tram depot at Starr Gate, make it a "park and ride" for the town with the connecting tram service the first port of call for many?

If I go there will be trouble - And if I stay it will be double - So you gotta let me know - Should I stay or should I go...

Blackpool Council's Access for All

2009-09-07T14:09:00.000+01:00

Doesn't it sound good - an access for all scheme. All information the council provides is available in large print, braille, on audiocassette or computer disk (so far I'm thinking well done). And there's also extra help available for those using British sign language (again - quite right too).
But why is Blackpool council paying for all these services to be available in languages other than English - Bengali, Polish, Urdu, Lithuanian, Catonese and Kurdish?
Fylde council being desperate for money only offers translation for voters (which looks like a national scheme) - in Arabic, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Latvian, Portugese and Punjabi as well as those on offer to Blackpool residents.

There are two big questions here:
1) These are not known to be areas where aslyum seekers come from, so these people have acitvely chosen to come here - but without understanding the language or knowing anyone else who speaks and reads English - so why are British council taxpayers paying to translate these for them? And how will they have a job here if they can't speak English?
2) How are the selection of languages chosen? Do there have to be a certain number of people here from that nationality for a translation service to be sanctioned? And if so, surely those with the greatest numbers and therefore qualifying for the services are surely more likely to have an English speaker within their community that can translate for them aren't there?

Heritage Open Days

2009-09-07T13:58:00.000+01:00

From this Thursday (10th September) to Sunday there are going to be special Heritage Open Days in Blackpool.

For more details on these free events (with places of interest including Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, Funny Girls, The Blackpool Comrades Club and Donna’s Dream House) see:
http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/news/visitthepasttoday.htm

Smears the order of the day

2009-09-06T10:43:00.000+01:00

According to the Daily Mail, yet another smear campaign against army chiefs has been afoot leading to Eric Joyce's resignation.
This time it is the daughter of General Sir David Richards, our new head of the army, because of her ‘crime’ of working for David Cameron.
This follows of course their attempt to smear General Sir Richard Dannatt over his expenses - which spectacularly backfired because the Government hadn't even considered that anyone might not be massively on the take like they are. This "smear" flopped with Sir Richard publishing his own expenses to the public's cry of "well that's not very much is it!"

How desperate are our politicians that they can't even consider winning arguments by progressing good ideas and policy and have to turn to smears.

And how dirty are their politics when they wait to see which way the public wind is blowing before declaring their policies on any one issue:
The Labour Party in Scotland - against the Lockerbie bombers release once they saw how unpopular that was
Gordon Marsden - against building homes on Marton Moss but only after all the scandal and fuss - and waiting to declare the Kensington Conservative party donation issue until a politically opportune moment rather than doing something straight away.

Then we have the Conservatives in Fylde - policy to follow all unpopular policies and ignore the outraged public on the grounds that a lot of people will vote for them no matter how badly they do policy wise. Even in the Lancashire County Council elections where people wanted a change and were voting Conservative for the first time in many areas, seats were lost in Fylde and the majorities slashed.

Being a politician should to some extent be an altruistic act - people with a passion to improve our country. Yet we have spin doctors and professional politicians with no experience of real life, merrily trying to deceive because it's easier than doing the real job that's required.

Due to the lack of real people being politicians, voters are increasingly turning to fringe parties at local and European level and yet the major parties still turn a deaf ear to the electorate. How much longer can this go on?

The Future for Blackpool

2009-09-04T20:15:00.002+01:00

Blackpool is a great place. Bold and brassy - a centre for fun. And yet it also has a rich heritage and some very fine buildings as well. Of course the fading UK tourist industry and the right for benefit claimants to get on their bikes to do nothing at the much more pleasurable seaside has also taken its toll and regeneration is needed.
Ideas for improving what is already THE English Golden Resort here please:
(PS No calling of individual people here please and no swearing. However be as passionately pro or against an idea or concept as you like.

Get back to your own country!

2009-08-21T09:47:00.007+01:00

A local lady has been fined £100, charged £60 costs and £15 victim's surcharge tax for making the get back you your own country remark. The charge: "racially aggravated threatening behaviour".

Of course the lady was in the middle of a blazing row at the time. And the victim? An Australian.

Now when we see the charge "racially aggravated threatening behaviour" you expect the worst form of unjustified tormenting just on colour and creed - not someone from a country very similar to this one with very similar conditions in the heat of a row where probably 90% is really meant. Is this the most appropriate charge?

I know a Canadian living here. She is a pensioner and has voluntarily chosen to move here (where her two sisters live), takes advantage of every free service provided by the state and moans about how this country is and how great Canada is. So is it now racially aggravated threatening behaviour to calmly suggest if she thinks Canada is so much nicer, why doesn't she consider moving back again? Probably.

Compassion?

2009-08-20T14:05:00.003+01:00

Today the convicted Libyan bomber of PamAm flight 103 which crashed over Lockerbie, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Meghrahi, is to be released on compassionate grounds. He is dying of terminal prostate cancer.

In a very long and sermonious, sanctimonious, lecture by Kenny MacAskill (Scotland's Justice Secretary) every little detail of his working life involving this case was laid out in fine detail. In fact the BBC had to cut to other news in the middle of the speech or there would have been nothing except his speech in the lunchtime bulletin.

Now I've searched quotes on compassion from the bible. Of course there are quotes about forgiving sinners and being compassionate, but I have not been able to see one that could possibly relate to a person that committed so hideous a crime against others, murdering 270 and has shown no repentence whatsoever.

And if you managed to stay awake during the speech, Mr MacAskill himself refered to al-Meghrahi's condition and stated that he "faces justice from a higher power".

So should we as a nation have shown him compassion?
Of course - we should have given him appropriate painkillers and palliative care and allowed his family to visit him in his last days. That is compassion. Releasing a mass murderer is just plain wrong and a terrible insult to all those who lost their lives and their grieving relatives. If in MacAskill's own logic God has condemned the man by giving him terminal prostate cancer, what is so cruel about our country giving him painkillers and keeping him in a nice cushy Scottish jail?

A plane is on its way from Libya to collect this man as I type - one Edinburgh News reader stated - "I'd shove him out at 30,000 feet".