STEPHEN ALLISON

Only "little people" pay taxes

2012-01-26T12:08:00.000Z

It makes my blood boil when I read things like this! My father died in November and the inland revenue have already written to him, yes the letter was addressed Mr Derek Allison (DECEASED), to remind him there will be £100 penalty to pay if he fails to file his tax return online before 31st January. Unfortunately as he's DEAD he can't! I pointed this out but its not their problem apparently, the fine is automatic! Then I read that althletes and sportsmen/women who live in tax exhile are being give tax exemptions......I'd do it the other way round......if you DON'T pay UK tax then you can't pull on a Team GB Jersey.

UK waives tax for 2014 Games to attract big names uk.news.yahoo.com

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and other overseas athletes will not have to pay British income tax if they compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the government said on Thursday, encouraging big names to build the event into their schedule.

Derek Allison (Deceased)

2012-01-13T19:01:00.000Z

My battle today was with the Inland Revenue who have sent a letter to Derek Allison (Deceased) informing him of an automatic £100 fine if he fails to file his tax return on line (and pay any tax due) before 31st January. I contacted them to explain the clue was in the letter they had sent him when they put (Deceased) in the address line. Apparently these are just computer generated letters and the fine will be automatically applied if the return is not filed. I pointed out a dead man couldn't operate a computer. The answer to that was if he appealed the fine then being dead might be considered an extenuating circumstance and the fine may be cancelled!

Off to a flying start

2012-01-09T00:50:00.000Z

The open meeting of Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First, held this Saturday, resulted in enough new members joining the party to provide for the party to challenge for at least one seat per ward at the May 2012 Local Elections.

A constant stream of potential members attended the meeting in the Grand Hotel, Hartlepool, to discuss the aims, objectives and policies of Hartlepool Independents - Putting Hartlepool First. The majority of those attending decided to sign up as members of the party and over a dozen of them were keen to represent the party as candidates for the Hartlepool council elections.

“It was a great event” said Geoff Lilley, Leader of the Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First. “We had a couple of members of other parties who came for a look at us but by far the majority of people who came through the door had come to sign up as members. The appetite for change is definitely out there and Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First are definitely being seen as a vehicle to provide that change”

The new party was formed last year and the meeting in the Grand Hotel was its first recruitment event. In addition to new members the party also received donations towards the costs of the forthcoming elections.

Initially Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First had targeted to have at least one candidate in each of the eleven new wards. However, the party already has more than the eleven candidates required to achieve this aim and so are looking at fighting all three seats in a number of target wards.

“There are several existing independent councillors, one or two former councillors and some active campaigners on various issues whom we would have liked to see join us” said Stephen Allison, Party Secretary of Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First. “Unfortunately some of these individuals have so far decided to remain on the side lines and in at least two cases the existing councillors have possibly now missed the boat for selection in their current wards as Candidates for Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First.”

The party will be holding another meeting shortly and will announce its selected candidates for target wards before the end of January. “Its time to stand up and be counted” said Party Treasurer, Steve Gibbon “if anyone really wants to put Hartlepool First then they should join us and put their money where their mouth is. Together we can really make a difference".

one stomp at a time: It starts...

2011-12-27T13:59:00.000Z

one stomp at a time: It starts...: Hi. I'm Rosie, I'm 20, I'm a law student at Kings College London, and my Granddad died of pancreatic cancer in November. A shocking start,...

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T17:30:00.000Z

Merry Christmas. Today was not a good day. My dad was present at the table in our thoughts but obviously not there in the flesh. RIP Dad x x x

Improve Early Detection and Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer - e-petition

2011-12-23T13:24:00.000Z

Almost 97% of people diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer die within 5 years. 22 people a day die from Pancreatic cancer. Earlier, clearer diagnosis would reduce this [1].

This is a campaign for better awareness of Pancreatic Cancer, not just today, not just in November 2011 which was Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, but until the detection and survival rate for this disease is improved.

Pancreatic cancer could be termed 'The Hidden Killer'. Many of its symptoms mirror other less critical illnesses and therefore GPs often do not realise their significance [2]. Other possible causes for symptoms include Jaundice, Diabetes, Gall Stones or back problems. Time can be lost before the correct diagnosis is reached, by which time it can be too late.

THIS SITUATION CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE.

Before you dismiss this please read the symptoms [2]. If you have any of these, it probably isn't Pancreatic cancer…but then again it might just be. Pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment is a lottery. It could affect you or someone you love.

There needs to be a significant improvement in funding for the training of GPs and for rapid diagnosis. This should not be taken from other parts of the NHS but be new and ring-fenced money.

We need better Pancreatic cancer diagnosis NOW. Please sign the e-petition at
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22411

[1] Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer death in the UK. Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate of all cancers. 5-year survival is only 3%. This figure has not changed in over 40 years while deaths from many other cancers declined.

[2] Symptoms include jaundice, significant unexplained weight loss, persistent abdominal pain, pain in the upper abdomen and back, new-onset diabetes without with weight gain, vague dyspepsia or abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, pain when eating, depression. GPs may first look at other possible causes for these symptoms resuting in time being lost before the correct diagnosis is reached. By this time it can be too late to save the patient.

Stephen Allison - Master of Arts

2011-12-15T21:11:00.000Z

Well its been a while coming but my MA Certificate arrived today! Hurray So that's BSc, MSc and MA (amongst other things.....lol.....)

2011-12-15T18:44:00.000Z

I had a letter in the Hartlepool Mail tonight,

Dear Editor,

Hartlepool has had a Labour MP since1945, except for1959 when Commander Kerans took Hartlepool for the Conservatives for a single term. The same applies to the council, apart from a short period when a Conservative/Liberal Alliance held a majority, Hartlepool Council has been dominated by Labour.

So has this loyalty to Labour brought Hartlepool economical success, employment and well paid jobs? Unfortunately not.

In 2010, while the Tall Ships were in town, the office of national statistics reported 25% of working age people in Hartlepool were in receipt of benefits. Compare that to 20% in the North East and 15% in England overall.

Has this loyalty to the Labour Party brought improved health and life expectancy? Unfortunately Not!

The Public Health Observatory reported in 2005 that life expectancy of Hartlepool's women was the LOWEST in the country. Fifty years ago Hartlepool has five hospitals, including a specialist maternity hospital. Today it has one hospital and that is unlikely to survive much longer.

So what has loyalty to Labour brought Hartlepool? It has brought Hartlepool almost to its knees.

Many people are proud they vote labour. Ask them why? Often they don't have an answer other than “Always have, always will” Maybe it's time to start looking for a better reason than that?

We have 60 years of neglect to combat. Sixty years of labour taking the town for granted and 60 years of party political point scoring being more important than really getting things done.

In May 2012 let's start the fight back. Let's ditch the national political parties. Let's all put Hartlepool first.

Stephen Allison
13 Beaconsfield Square
Hartlepool

Of course one of the usual suspects couldn't wait to point out the use of the Beaconsfield Square address and the fact that there is an election coming. So I suppose it's about time for them to start up the "Where does Stephen Allison live?" debate again. If I am sat in my office in the top floor of Beaconsfield Square when I'm doing something then that's the address I use. Typically when I am at Beaconsfield Square its to do with work or council business. If I'm sat in my study at Hurworth Burn when I'm doing something, then that's the address I use. Typically that will be more personal stuff. If I send something from a train then the address on the bottom will be "Sent from my Blackberry" It all depends upon where I am at the time and which hat I'm wearing. When Hartlepool Council write to me, which they do quite frequently, then they send the correspondence to Beaconsfield Square. If Sedgefield Council want to write to me, which they about once a blue moon, then they use Hurworth Burn. If anyone really cares I'm writing this from Hurworth Burn.

PS My first ever letter to the Hartlepool Mail back in 1986 was on almost the same subject! That the only constituencies that get any attention are marginals so Hartlepool would be better off with anyone other than Labour for MP, even if it was only for one term. Just shows how nothing really changes!

Christmas lights

2011-12-01T11:03:00.000Z

Rough day so far. Ten years ago we spent a family Christmas in Florida. It was the year my father turned 70 and in his usual macabre way he wanted a special holioday since, as he put it,“this might be my last Christmas” of course he was wrong that time! As this will definitely be our first Christmas without him I'm not really expecting a very merry time, but I am determined to keep up as many Allison family traditions as possible. One of these being my tacky display of exterior Christmas lights. These date from that trip to Florida when we were treated to the displays of Christmas lights that many in the US seem to love. From Santa and his sleigh landing on the roof, fairly light illuminated and aninmatronic reindeer grazing on the lawn, right down to simple coloured lights in bushes and around the eves of the houses. I of course loved all this. My father in his pseudo grumpy old man way tried to work out how much the electricity cost! So next year I acquired a few rope lights and a Christmas train that had smoke puffing from its chimney and looked like its wheels were going round. Every year since then the collection has grown slightly to the point where I can’t actually get them all up at the same time. So this year will be a challenge! Christmas lights here I come!

Off to meet with PALS

2011-11-29T09:18:00.002Z

Off to meet with PALS (Patient Advisory Liaison Service) to make a complaint about the handling of my father's case. Referred by GP August 3rd, Diagnosed by ultrasound September 26th, We were not actually informed until October 17th and he died November 20th. He never actually got any treatment for the cancer itself. He developed jaundice the week before chemotherapy was due to start and that meant the treatment had to be delayed until the jaundice was controlled, unfortunately it never was. If treatment had started a few weeks earlier then he was clear of jaundice!

Complaints and Concerns

http://www.pals.nhs.uk/

Only 3 working days left in 2011

2011-11-28T09:52:00.000Z

First day of the rest of my life! Tried to tell the tax man about my dad but they won't speak to me without a copy of the death certificate. I've now posted one off to them but they say "All post is dealt with in order of receipt" I asked what that meant and they told me that for receipt of post they are so far behind that "today" is actually December 20th. So taking the strike and Christmas into account my letter to them is unlikely to be even opened until 4th or 5th January 2012! What a way to run a country!

Dad's Funeral

2011-11-25T17:00:00.000Z

Thank you very, very much to everyone who attended my dad's funeral today. It was a great comfort to see St.Hildas Church so full and know that so many people wanted to come and say goodbye to my dad. As a former councillor he was entitled to a civic funeral, with the great and the good of the council in attendance. However, he made it quite clear to me that he didn't want that. He only wanted people at the service who genuinely wanted to be there rather than those attending out of duty or from some need to be seen. A sincere thanks again to everyone who came. Rosemary gave the eulogy and it was a great tribute to her grandad. Afterwards we had a house full of young people who came to pay their respects to my dad. How many 80 year olds would have teenagers at their funeral who were not relatives or family but who came out of respect for the departed. I think we gave my dad a send off he could have been proud of. RIP Dad

RIP Derek Allison 1931 - 2011

2011-11-22T23:28:00.002Z

Thank you very much to all of you who contacted me asking why my blog has been so quiet. Quite simply I've been far too busy to bother with it after the diagnosis of my father as having a terminal cancer of the pancreas. This diagnosis changed my whole world. Blogging just didn't make the cut in my list of priorities, which only had two things that mattered, my father and my family.

Sadly that list has now shrunk to just my family. My father died on Sunday night. He died at home with my mother at his side holding one of his hands and I was holding the other. There was no pain at the end, he just stopped breathing and slipped away. Six weeks previously he and I had been on a roof top re-pointing ridge tiles, now he is gone. I miss him already and know I will ask my self every day “What would my dad do ?”

My dad, Derek, has been married to my mum Aileen (nee Outhwaite) for 57 years. They had been sweethearts since she was 16 and he was 17. Many of my friends have remarked that they have never met a more devoted couple. It would be wrong to say they never had a cross word, a family story records one falling out before they were married that lasted two years and which, according to my father, was reconciled when my mother “came crawling back” My mother obviously has a different recollection of how they got back together.

Family was everything to my dad. In addition to me they also had a second son, my younger brother David (49), who is a Director of the Austrian National Oil Company and currently lives in Budapest. My dad was always extremely proud of David’s achievements but at the same time sad that his career took him so far away from home. My parents also have five grandchildren. Their two youngest grandsons, Charlie and John, are still at boarding school. Two granddaughters, Rosemary and Ria, are both at University and their eldest grandson, Edward, is an engineering cadet with P&O Cruise lines, something that my father was especially proud of considering his own national service was spent at sea as a Merchant Navy Engineering Officer. One of my few regrets is that my dad was not being able to see Edward march in this year's rememberance parade wearing his Merchant Navy Uniform. Sadly my dad was just too tired by then to make the trip round to the sea front.

My dad was born in 1931 and attended the Hartlepool Boys Technical Day School. Like many a Hartlepool lad before him he served his time in the drawing office at British Steel before joining the Merchant Navy as an Engineering Officer with the Empire Line. While in the Merchant Navy he served on troopships for both the Suez conflict and the Korean War. My dad's involvement with the sea did not end when he left the Merchant Navy as he was a member of Tees Sailing Club for many years and was Commodore of the club in the 1980's. He was an accomplished table tennis player in his youth and a keen cyclist. In 1951 he and a group of friends even cycled to London and back to see the Festival of Britain. He hadn't played competitive table tennis for many years but he still went for a ride on his bike nearly every day.

After completing his national service Derek retuned to Hartlepool and worked in Port Clarence at British Steel (Chemicals) where he was the Works Engineer until his retirement in 1995. After retiring my dad took my mother on various holidays to visit many of the ports he had called at during his time in the Merchant Navy. This included far east destinations such as Honk Kong and Shanghai. My parents loved Hong Kong and also made two trips to China to see the Forbidden City, the great Wall and the Terracotta Army (or the Territorial Army as my mother called it!). My dad's engineering background however was never far behind and the Three Rivers Hydro Electric Scheme in China was something that impressed him tremendously.

My dad never lost his inquiring mind or his love of a challenge. He and my mother took up skiing when they were in their 50's and he became an accomplished downhill skier before an accident on the piste, where a novice skier collided with him, left him with a damaged knee and ended his involvement with the sport. At 80 years of age he was “the man who can” for several people in Hartlepool when it came to computer problems. I would regularly come home and find my PC had been upgraded without my knowledge since my “hard drive partition was not the latest version” or some other reason that was gobbledygook to me but not to my dad.

I could go on and on. As a Rotarian he visited Rumania to work on a children's hospital, the conditions under which these children lived, and died, was one of the few things I ever knew to make my dad cry. Until 2007 my dad was Chairman of the Hartlepool Headland Parish Council and a Hartlepool Borough Councillor, an Independent member, he had no time for party politics in local government, he thought local councillors should represent their communities and not play party political games. He applied his considerable carpentry skills to building more than one sailing dingy in the basement at home, he could dig a trench with a JCB back actor and drive a bulldozer. He and I worked together to build my current house and last year our family project was the installation of a ground source heat pump, which is currently saving me over £2,000 a year in heating oil bills. However, I think one of the things he would be most proud off are a bunch of flowers that arrived for my mother today. They are from friends of his granddaughter, Rosemary. The flowers made me cry but they were a fantastic tribute. Several of these young people are coming to his funeral on Friday because they loved him like a granddad of their own.

RIP Derek Allison 1931 - 2011

Funeral Service will be held at 10.30am at St.Hildas Church on Friday 25th November 2011. The family would be delighted if anyone who knew my dad and will genuinely miss him would like to come along.

Putting Hartlepool First

2011-11-10T09:43:00.000Z

Straight talk and political parties are two things that seem to rarely go together, but a new party launched in Hartlepool, wants to change that. Their aim is to do exactly what their party name says, they are “Putting Hartlepool First”.

Putting Hartlepool First don’t care if you are Labour, Tory, Lib-Dem, UKIP, Green or just about any other party in your national views, so long as at local level you agree to set party politics aside and Put Hartlepool First.

“Hartlepool Hospital is a classic case of national party policy being enforced over local interest” said Hartlepool First’s Leader, Councillor Geoff Lilley. “While the Labour government were in power the town’s Labour Councillors were almost totally silent about the issue, because it was Labour Party Policy. Now the Con-Dems are in power Hartlepool’s labour Councillors are claiming to have always opposed the hospital closure. In my opinion it’s just cynical opportunism and party politics at it’s worst”

Hartlepool First intend to field candidates in the 2012 local elections, which will be fought under the new boundaries. “There is another example of party politics being placed above local interests” said Councillor Steve Gibbon, party treasurer of Hartlepool First. “The new boundaries appear to have been drawn to advantage the Labour party not reflect local wishes. The Headland and Harbour Ward is the glaring example but most of the other ward boundaries are set for party political advantage, not to reflect the natural communities within the town.”

The new party believe that the people of Hartlepool are ready for a change and want councillors who represent them and who Put Hartlepool First. “For too many Councillors in Hartlepool Civic Centre it looks like they put party first, political career second and Hartlepool at best a distant third” said Hartlepool First’s campaigns officer, Stephen Allison. “Hartlepool First want to change those priorities. We want to put Hartlepool First.”

The party has formally registered with the UK Electoral Commission as “Hartlepool Independents – Putting Hartlepool First” and has its own logo. Registration as a party is vital if the group want to stand any chance of really influencing decisions in the Hartlepool Civic Centre. Under the Local Government Act registered parties have several advantages denied to individual independents. “It’s the old story about a bundle of sticks together being stronger than a load of single sticks” said Party Leader Geoff Lilley. “In Hartlepool Council at the moment the independents are easily brushed aside because they don’t work together. Forming Hartlepool First means we can combine our strength and really have a chance of defeating decades of Labour dominance in the Council Chamber”.

http://www.puttinghartlepoolfirst.co.uk/

Contact details; Geoff Lilley, 01429 291542 geoff.lilley@gmail

2011-11-09T17:51:00.001Z

Happy 21st Wedding Anniversary

2011-10-07T00:23:00.000+01:00

Quebec

2011-10-05T06:27:00.000+01:00

Edward Stalking took a back seat for a few days. Had to go to London for a UKIP NEC Meeting and that takes a chunk out of the week. Also been doing some work on thr properties and playing with my big boys toys. However, back to the stalk. Edard was in Quebec today, apparently always a highlight of a ‘Fall Foliage’ cruise along the New England and Canadian coastline, Quebec City is a living testimonial to the grace of Old Europe. Its steep cobbled streets make an atmospheric counterpoint to the trees blazing crimson, yellow and gold and creating one of the most dazzling spectacles on earth.

Artists display their wares in its tree-lined squares and Europhiles can shop for fine antiques and savour fine coffee, croissants and La Vie Francais in Parisian-style pavement cafés.

Do not miss the magnificent view from the turrets of medieval-style Chateau Frontenac, which dominates the city. Despite its appearance, this hotel-cum-museum dates from the 19th century, when it was constructed by the Canadian and Pacific Railway Company. A visit here for afternoon tea-with-a-view will make a perfect end to a day ashore.

Aurora Cam shows the port at night at the mment, because yes I am sad enough to be posting this at 6am UK time (soon of course to be Universal time if the French get their way and GMT is consigned to the dustbin!).

Boston Tea Party

2011-09-28T22:58:00.000+01:00

It really is amazing how small the world is these days. Son and hier has just Facebook'ed to say he's sat outside the "World Famous" Quincy Market inBoston with a Lobster roll, crisps and soda. Now all he says he has to do is try some of this Mountain Dew stuff that everyone seems to be going on about!

According to the P&O Website historic Boston is a key cruise port for ‘fall foliage’ trips around New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces but anytime is a good time to enjoy this friendly, walkable city - dubbed ‘The Cradle of Liberty’ for its part in the American War of Independence.
Learn its fascinating history by following the Freedom Trail or take a subway ride beneath the Charles River to Cambridge, home of the 400-year-old Harvard University. On the other hand, you could simply settle for some world class shopping and lunch with a view of street entertainers at one of the pavement restaurants in the leafy lanes which surround pretty Quincy Market.
Or spend your day exploring the citys neighbourhoods; Back Bay - filled with elegant boulevards and imposing brownstone mansions - is the trendiest district while North End displays Bostons colonial charm at its best.

Newport - Rhode Island

2011-09-27T17:22:00.001+01:00

The boy has left New York and is now at Newport Rhode Island. Fabulous mansions, fantastic scenery and the world famous ten mile Ocean Drive make Newport, Rhode Island a must see city. From the splendour of its palatial ‘summer cottages’ to its quaint colonial streets, inviting vineyards and numerous marinas. For a glimpse into gilded age living, visit Breakers – the most opulent and elegant mansion renowned for its intricate art and craftsmanship, or marvel at Marble Cottage – a social and architectural landmark and the first of Newport’s grand residences. Both are laced with endless carpets of green lawn and beautifully manicured gardens.

Unfortunately the miles of scenic coastline are hidden by a fog bank ast the moment

Which means the claimed "rugged beauty" is not very evident. In clear weather apparently the area is ideal for sailing, riding and rejuvenating walks. For true nature lovers Newport’s sanctuaries display a wide variety of bird life and for those who want to simply relax lagoon-like Gooseberry beach is the perfect location. Other famous landmarks include Trinity Church, Redwood Library and the Gothic Church of St. Mary’s - where Jacqui and JFK were married.

UPDATE; Fog too thick to land passangers safely (Newport is a "tender" visit where the ship anchors off shore and passengers go ashore in small boasts) so Aurora has departed early and is on its way to its next port!

New York New York

2011-09-26T00:42:00.000+01:00

The wonders of Blackberry Messenger mean I am typing this blog post and simultaneously carrying on a conversation with son and heir who is shopping in Maceys in New York. He's survived his first full transatlantic crossing (he'd been across to Greenland but not right over the pond before this trip).

According to the Aurora Cruise itinerary the ‘Big Apple’ is the USA’s most charismatic city and really does have something for everyone. Love the great outdoors? Stroll through the gorgeous gardens of Central Park, right in the centre of Manhattan. People-watching more your thing? Get a taste of local life in the quaint cafés of bohemian Greenwich Village, or star spot in the boutique and restaurant-lined streets of the sophisticated SoHo and TriBeCa districts.

Feast your eyes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or enjoy the shopping spree of your life at Saks, Macys, Bloomingdales or Century 21 on Cortlandt Street, which is the worlds largest discount warehouse and near that other must-see, Broadway.

So I'm not jealous, MUCH.

Edward Stalk - Mid Atlantic

2011-09-20T01:24:00.000+01:00

Been a bit busy the past couple of weeks. Went to the UKIP Conference in Eastbourne, fonished off some maintemance work on one of my houses and general consultancy work and other bits and pieces. All this activity has led me to neglect my Edward Stalking. I've still been loking at "Aurora Cam" most days but haven't had time to blog about it. Anyway, son and hier sailed yesterday on a 24-night cruise to American and Canada, his first transatlantic sailing. He'll be calling at the "Big Apple" with two full days to enjoy glittering Manhattan. It"s the USA"s most charismatic city with the iconic Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway and Central Park all waiting to be explored. The yachting haven of Newport couldn"t be more of a contrast with its fabulous mansions, breathtaking scenery and the world famous 10-mile Ocean Drive. Friendly Boston is dubbed the "Cradle of Liberty" for its part in the American War of Independence and with a full day and evening here, you can follow the Freedom Trail or visit world famous Harvard University. Portland is as much about its seascapes as its cityscapes, with an eclectic mix of waterfront pubs restaurants, galleries and boutiques.
Then it"s a journey to a string of interesting Canadian ports. First, take a stroll around the cobblestone walkways of historic St John, New Brunswick. Then, take in the sparkling coves of Halifax, the imposing walled city of Quebec, where you will have two full days, and the charming port of St. John"s, Newfoundland. They"re all yours to discover before sailing home with Aurora.

WOH

2011-09-04T13:43:00.000+01:00

Received my free copy of "What's on Hatlepool"

Twenty eight glossy A5 pages telling me what entertainment opportunities are available at Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre, Hartlepool Art Gallery, Museum of Hartlepool, the Borough Hall, Hartlepool Maritime Experience, etc.

All good stuff, until the bottom of the last page........

Wouldn't it have been nice if Hartlepool Borough Council could have supported Hartlepool business and had the WOH designed and printed in the town?

Job Shares - great idea

2011-09-01T11:07:00.001+01:00

I remember junior school maths problems about how many holes a number of men could dig in a number of days. The answer always showed the more days a man worked the more holes he could dig. Simple really!

Now try applying simple maths to the question about how many personal policies or strategies can a number of Chief Personnel Officers write in a number of days? The answer must be that if Hartlepool can share a Chief Personnel Officer with Darlington then there has not really been a full time job for a Chief Personnel Officer at either local authority. Unless of course neither has been digging as many holes as they could? Possibly that's not a bad thing because the last thing local government wants are more strategies or policies. Of course getting absenteeism down would be one thing a dynamic personnel chief might address, but no doubt she'll be too busy driving between Hartlepool and Darlington to worry about that?

How about also sharing a Director of Children and Adult Services? The current post holder in Hartlepool is going to be filling the Chief Executive’s job for six months. The job she was doing can’t be that onerous if it can be left vacant for half a year? This begs the further question of how many people at Hartlepool (and Darlington Councils) are currently being paid a full time wage for a job that only needs to be done part time, or maybe could be dispensed with altogether. Bring on more job shares I say.

Alicante - main city and cruise port on Spain’s Costa Blanca

2011-09-01T10:57:00.000+01:00

Been a bit quiet on the Edward Stalking front recently. I've still being logging into "Aurora Cam" but the ship has been at sea so not much to report. Today however they are docked in Alicante so there is a new view on the cam.

Alicante is built around a natural harbour and is the main city and cruise port on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Of course Hartlepool's Mayor shared a similar vision for Hartlepool to occupy the position as the main city and cruise port on England's east coast, a vision that so far remains unfulfilled. Hartlepool and Alicante do however have many things in common, apart from the blue skies and warm sunshine of course. Alicante, is also a top beach resort in its own right (Hartlepol has the Block Sands and the paddling pool, although who knows for how much longer after the Heugh falls down). Alicante has a sophisticated Mediterranean feel (Hartlepool hasn't) with its restored old town (Hartlepool Headland) adding to its charm (rows of boarded up terraced houses waiting for new Housing Hartlepool Estates?). Alicante has the attraction of its sandy beaches (Seaton?). Dubbed the ‘City of Light’ when founded by the Romans (Hartlepool, dubbed the place they 'hang monkeys' by the French?), Alicante is still a relaxing place to walk around (As is Hartlepool because all the shops are shut).

Down from the impressive Castillo de Santa Barbara fortress (Hartlepool Civic Centre) which offers impressive views across the city, most activity centres in the streets around the Ayuntamiento (Church Street), a plaza area buzzing with restaurants and tapas bars. There are also many cafés along the seafront (Navigation Point).

Works by artists including Dali, Miro and Picasso are on show at the Museo de Arte Siglo and there is also an archaeological museum (Historic Quay and Museum of Hartlepool.

So there you are, what has Alicante got that Hartlepool hasn't? Just look at these pictures. Can you tell which town each was taken in?

The only thing worse than being talked about.......

2011-08-27T19:24:00.000+01:00

........is NOT being talked about (Oscar Wilde). Of course if you are involved in politics then most of what is said about you is untrue. The public however seem to be much more inclined to believe what they read on an anonymous website than they are to actually find out the real truth, especially f the anonymous website is full of bile and invective while the truth is much less titilating.

Anyway, the message board I am finding most amusing recently is one called "Junius" which proports to be an expose of the real UKIP. I find most of the rubbish posted on there to be exactly that...RUBBISH. When he (or she?) comments on events I know some of the background to, or have details about, I inevitably find he is so far off the mark that it is laughable. I therefore assume anything I do not know the details of, but upon which he pontificates, is similarly wide of the mark. I have just visited the site and he is ranting about the Ashford Call Centre. PLEASE! How long before he lets that go. I do occasionally find myself the subject of his bile. Just a few days ago, I was a Faragist Lickspittle who was put in place to manipulate and cheat to ensure a YES Vote in the PEP Ballot. Ensuring the "right" result would apparently be my route to a seat as an MEP next time! Strangely, there has been no comment from Junius about me since the NO Vote in the ballot! Am I still a Farage brown noser?

UKIP Conference Program Eastbourne 2011

2011-08-23T09:27:00.001+01:00

Thursday 8 Sept
Agents Training 14.00-16.30, Hardwick Suite, ILTC
YI Conference 14.30-16.30, Spencer Suite, ILTC
Freedom Association 'Free Spirits' 17.00-18.15, Spencer Suite, ILTC
YI Public Speaking Contest Final 18.15-19.15, Spencer Suite, ILTC
Chairman's Reception 19.30–22.00, Gold Room, Winter Gardens
Launch of Gadfly Club at Chairman's Reception

Friday a.m.
Session Chairman: Steve Crowther, Executive Party Chairman
9.15 Video: Small Business vs Petty Bureaucracy
9.45 John Wallace, Chairman, SE Committee
Cllr Carolyn Heaps, Mayor of Eastbourne
10.00 Cllr Lisa Duffy
Mayor of Ramsey
10.10 Cllrs Peter Reeve and Chris Adams
Towards 2015 – a strategy for success
10.30 Parade of UKIP Councillors
10.40 Sanya-Jeet Thandi
Standing for UKIP
10.50 Neil Hamilton
Political Commentator, Sunday Express
11.05 Tea & coffee break
11.20 Patrick O'Flynn
Chief Political Columnist, Daily Express
11.35 Barry Madlener MEP
Party of Freedom (PVV), Netherlands
11.50 Timo Soini
Leader, True Finns
12.10 Nigel Farage MEP
Party Leader

12.45 ON THE FRINGE
Freedom Association –
YI – The rise of Euroscepticism in Europe
Pat Bryant – Should drugs be decriminalised?
Care Asset Management – Funding long-term care
NEC Candidate Hustings
Tim Congdon and Gerard Batten: The Cost of the EU (Cavendish Hotel)

1.00 LEADER'S LUNCH, Gold Room

Friday p.m. Session Chairman: Lisa Duffy, Party Director
14.00 Nicolas Dupont-Aignan MP
Forward the Republic Party (DLR), France
14.20 The Euro Crisis – Economists Panel
Prof Tim Congdon
Dr Petr Mach
Godfrey Bloom MEP
14.40 Jon Gaunt
Director, The EU Referendum Campaign
14.55 Gerard Batten MEP
After the Riots: What Next?
15.10 Alex Singleton
[Former leader writer, Daily Telegraph]
15.25 Tea & coffee break
15.40 Paul Doyle
Policy Focus: Defence
15.50 Michael Heaver
Policy Focus: Education
16.00 Robert Elliott
Policy Focus: Long-Term Care
16.10 Andrew Charalambous
Policy Focus: Housing
16.20 Eddie Bone
Campaign for an English Parliament
16.30 Paul Nuttall MEP with Tim Aker
Policy Review

17.15 ON THE FRINGE
Freedom Association – Should the Death Penalty be reintroduced?
Marta Andreasen – The EU Budget: Why we should not pay one penny more
Electoral Reform Society –
Westonaprice –

7.00 for 7.30 GALA DINNER, Floral Hall

Saturday a.m. Session Chairman: Steve Allison, Party Vice-Chairman
9.15 Video: Europe's Ill Wind (25 mins)
9.45 John Tennant
Working in the European Parliament
10.00 Harry Aldridge
Young Independence in 2011
10.15 Tom Booker and Steve Fowler
YI at Freshers' Fayres
10.20 James Moyies
Branch Revival Programme
10.35 Sean Howlett
YI working in branches
10.40 London 2012
David Coburn, Chairman, UKIP London
London Mayoral Candidate
Parade of London Assembly Candidates
11.00 Tea & coffee break
11.15 Steven Woolfe
Campaign brief: City of London
11.35 Bill Etheridge
Campaign against Political Correctness
11.45 Inez Ward
Campaign brief: Justice for Landlords
11.55 Joe Rukin
Campaign brief: Opposing HS2
12.05 Ben Pile
Campaign brief: Fighting the Turbines

12.45 ON THE FRINGE
Freedom Association – Where next for the BBC?
Christian Soldiers in UKIP
UKIP Friends of Israel
NEC Candidate Hustings
Disciplinary Committee elections

Saturday p.m. Session Chairman:
14.00 Motions
Submit your Speaker Request slips to Member Services before 13.00.
[Motion 1]
[Motion 2]
[Motion 3]
[Motion 4]

15.15 Leadership Q&A
Submit your questions to Member Services before 14.00.
15.35 Tea & coffee break
15.50 UKIP Gold Medal Awards
Party Chairman
16.30 Steve Crowther
Chairman's closing address
16.45 Anthems
Introduced by Michael Corby
17.00 Close

HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY HOME.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Spring Conference in Skegness, on 2-3 March.

Mafia Country

2011-08-23T09:17:00.000+01:00

The P&O Aurora is docked in Mafia country this morning, Palermo, Sicily's capital, which perches at the foot of Monte Pellgrino at the heart of a large natural harbour. Founded in the 5th century, it has alternately enjoyed and endured one of the most colourful histories of any Mediterranean city. Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, Arabs, Goths, Vandals have all come and gone, leaving their mark on the population as well as the architecture.

Despite being a lively modern city where the million inhabitants going about their daily business with the traditional Italian mix of style, noise and organised confusion, there is history at every turn from the Arab-Norman artistry of the fabulous, mosaic-laden Palazzo dei Normanni to the Capuchin Catacombs full of Palermitans mummified by the Capuchin monks.

Just outside Palermo is Monreale with its lavishly decorated cathedral one of the worlds ten most visited monuments.

Just so long as there is a fridge magnet shop! The collection for Grandma Aileen must be getting quite big by now!

Wind Farm Hub

2011-08-21T18:05:00.001+01:00

I was pleased to read that Energy Minister Charles Hendry was very impressed with Hartlepool and the town is set to become the “Wind Farm Hub” of the east coast. Apparently the Mayor and Hartlepool MP are delighted that there are thousands of new jobs on the way to the town. Imagine my surprise when I was visiting Hull and discovered their MP was very enthusiastic over the Humberside special enterprise area and that it was going to make Hull the new east coast centre of wind turbine manufacturing. Some mistake surely?

Actually, according to Alex Samond, the east coast wind turbine centre is going to be in Aberdeen and is set to create 5,000 jobs in Scotland. I’m sorry to contradict him but the Isle of Sheppey in Kent is the favored site for Europe's biggest wind turbine factory with 2,000 new jobs. Of course the firm promising to build the plant in Kent is the same one who closed their plant on the Isle of Wight in 2009 due to lack of orders.

Wind turbines are currently being touted as the panacea that will cure all ills, bring 1,000s of well-paid manufacturing jobs and power a clean, green Britain. Unfortunately, not everywhere being promised these factories and jobs will actually get them. However, don’t worry, everyone knows that Hartlepool is set to be the hub of UK Wind Turbine Manufacturing! Energy minister Charles Hendry said so and if we in Hartlepool know one thing it's that the word of a government minister is rock solid! They never just say what people want to hear and then do the opposite! Do they?

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/business/green_energy_hub_is_backed_to_create_thousands_of_jobs_1_3519332

http://www.s1jobs.com/newsandguides/wind-turbine-manufacturing-could-create-5000-jobs-across-scotland.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14577602

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/28/vestas-wind-turbine-factory-close

It's all just a CON Trick

Elected mayors. New idea or a re-packaged Victorian initiative?

2011-08-21T10:50:00.002+01:00

As the twentieth century drew to a close local government was in a perilous state. According to White “For more than fifty years English local democracy has come under sustained attack from governments of every political complexion” (White 2004). This had produced excessive oversight from the national government in Westminster and local government that was effectively moribund and being driven by edict from the centre.

The status of local government in the year 2000 was almost identical to that which had existed 125 years earlier. Victorian local government approached the last quarter of the nineteenth century in a similarly depressed state to its modern counterpart. According to Simon Szreter, the Victorian town hall was, in most towns and cities “in an almost farcical state of low aspirations and low standards” (Szreter 2002).

"where once-proud corporations led by the town's leading men of affairs had put through great town improvements such as widening roads and building hospitals in the eighteenth century, municipal administration had now fallen into a mean state of bickering and 'do-nothingism'." (Szreter 2002).

The answer of the Gladstone government to the Victorian local civic lethargy was to re-vitalise the prestige of local government by encouraging civic activism. This led to the emergence of new local civic leaders, including the managing director of the West Midlands' biggest screw manufacturer (which ultimately became G.K.N.), Joseph Chamberlain, father of the future Conservative Prime Minster, Neville Chamberlain.

Joseph Chamberlain was elected mayor of Birmingham in 1875, for the third consecutive year, on the back his programme of ambitious municipal spending! Gladstone’s reforms were actually so successful that they produced a complete reversal of fortunes, with local government expenditure even outstripping that of central government. (Szreter 2002).

This persisted until the Labour government’s nationalisation programmes in the 1940s and 1950s began a return to central control. Ironically, nationalisation was what ultimately allowed the cycle of national vs local control to return to national dominance through the final destruction of local control by the privatisations of the Thatcher era.

"Nationalisation, by weakening the power of local government and by gathering together industries and services under central control, eased the path for privatisation when the political tables turned thirty years on." (White 2004).

Rejuvenation of local government

It was against this background in the late 1990s that the Blair Government was seeking a means of rejuvenating local government, with renewed local civic activism and increased civic pride. The government hit upon the concept of directly elected mayors as a means of reviving local democracy. According to a government consultation paper “Modernising local government”

"A mayor would be a highly visible figure. He or she would have been elected by the people rather than the council or party and would therefore focus attention outwards in the direction of the people rather than inwards towards fellow councillors. The mayor would be a strong political and community leader with whom the electorate could identify. Mayors will have to become well known to their electorate which could help increase interest in and understanding of local government." (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 1998)

When the government’s proposals were translated into law, they actually gave local people the opportunity to have a real say in how local government was structured. Councils were made to undertake consultation with their residents over three types of alternative arrangements for their future council. The options were to have a directly elected mayor with a cabinet appointed by the mayor, a council leader appointed by the councillors with a cabinet appointed either by the council or the leader or a directly elected mayor and council manager (this last model was withdrawn in 2007).

An elected mayor is in post for four years and acts as the council’s political leader. This is a distinct and separate role from the current civic mayors, who change every twelve months and undertake a ceremonial role. Civic mayors are assumed to be non-political, although in reality it is unusual for the role to go outside the majority political party in a local authority.

Opinion polls have consistently shown that a directly elected mayor is an attractive proposition to between 55 and 75 per cent of the public (Market & Opinion Research International, 2008) but also that there is considerable confusion over the exact role and powers of an “executive” or directly elected mayor.

First elected mayors

A major change introduced by direct election is that a directly elected mayor need not be a councillor first. Anyone aged twenty-one years or older and satisfying certain residency requirements can stand as a candidate in a mayoral election.

This does rather open the door to “celebrity” and novelty candidates. Possibly the two most famous of these are Stuart Drummond, the “Monkey Mayor” in Hartlepool (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2002) and “Robocop" Ray Mallon in Middlesbrough.

The election of Stuart Drummond in particular was heavily criticized by the political establishment. Simon Hughes MP, then the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman, said on BBC Radio that Mr.Drummond's victory in Hartlepool highlighted the shortcomings in the system of directly elected mayors.

"We were against the idea of directly-elected mayors because we thought they allowed for gimmicks and superficial characters to succeed and we were clearly proved right." (Hughes 2002).

The monkey mascot's election success also lead Labour Party Chairman Charles Clarke, also speaking on BBC Radio, to admit the monkey mascot's success was "a serious issue" and that it may push the government into a rethink about the system of directly elected mayors. He further said,

"While there had been a positive mayoral result in Doncaster, where the Labour candidate won, the other end of it is the other guy elected in Hartlepool, the one in the monkey suit, who ridicules the whole system. Obviously we will have to weigh it all up ... but again like all these experiments, they are designed to encourage better ways of looking at local government and that is what we will continue to try to do." (Clarke 2002)

However, despite concerns about the electorate’s inability to vote for serious candidates, the mayoral programme was still felt by the Blair government to be the best way to meet its programme for “strong and prosperous communities” and to provide,

"transparent and accountable leadership which itself has important benefits. Such leadership firstly may provide a mechanism for regenerating interest in local politics. Secondly, a high profile local leader can potentially help create a more inclusive politics, providing an accessible focus point for businesses, the voluntary sector and interest groups, as well as voters." (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2006).

Despite central government’s support for the directly elected mayor model and the public interest generated by the election of individuals like the “Monkey Mayor” there were clear “No” votes rejecting the concept in vast majority of local authorities which held referenda on introducing the system. Since the post of elected mayor was created by the Blair government in the Local Government Act 2000 over 60 referenda have been held, resulting in the election of just 12 elected mayors, four of these being in London. (Hope and Wanduragala 2010).

The lack of public interest in a regenerated local government, via the elected mayor model, was even evident in the Prime Minister’s own constituency of Sedgefield. In a referendum in October 2001 the Sedgefield electorate voted 53% to 47% ((Turnout 33%) against the introduction of a directly elected mayor for Sedgefield District Council (BBC News 19 October 2001).

A review of the political progress of the elected mayors by Professor Colin Corpus concluded;

"The Blair government’s attempt to re-invigorate and refresh local political leadership, by introducing directly elected mayors, has resulted, by the way the mayoral model in England is currently configured, in little more than another route into the top local political post." (Corpus, 2009).

Continued Government support

However, despite the apparent failure of the elected mayoral system to catch the imagination of the general public the concept was included in the legislative programme for government published by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition in May 2010. (Cameron and Clegg 2010).

The coalition produced extensive proposals for a review of local government under the principles of “freedom, fairness and responsibility” which promised to create directly elected mayors in the twelve largest English cities, (subject to confirmatory referendums and full scrutiny by elected councillors). In a somewhat contradictory statement the coalition also promised to allow councils to return to the committee system should they wish to. The proposals to create more directly elected mayors while allowing existing elected mayors to be abolished illustrates the dichotomy that exists with the current mayoral system in England.

Since the field work was completed for this masters dissertation a new elected mayor, Peter Soulsby, has taken office in the City of Leicester but the concept has been rejected in towns as diverse as Welwyn (Kierenan 2010), Charnwood (Ashe, 2010) and Great Yarmouth (Pullinger 2011). In Charnwood only 32 people responded to a public consultation about the introduction of a directly elected mayor and most of them were in favour of a leader and cabinet model.

There are currently public consultations on-going in several major town and cities in the UK, most notably Birmingham, where two of the city’s MPs, John Hemming (Liberal Democrat) and Roger Godsiff (Labour) are leading a “No” campaign and a broad group of media, business and public sector professionals have formed the “Yes” campaign (Elkes 2011).

The involvement of members of parliament in campaigning for, or against, an elected mayor for towns in their constituencies has lead to some suggestions of a conflict of interest. The Tory MP for Castle Point, Rebecca Harris, signed a petition supporting a referendum on an elected mayor that resulted in an outcry from Castle Point council’s Conservative majority, who are opposed to the idea. Ms.Harris subsequently clarified her position as being opposed to the idea of an elected mayor “because it concentrates too much power in the hands of one individual”. However, she remains a supporter of the campaign to have a referendum on the question since she wants “allow people to have their say”. (Harris in Orbach 2010).

The Mayor of Mansfield expressed the opinion during the field work for this dissertation that “I think the big issue is of course, from the party political leaders viewpoint, is that they lose control, which is why they don’t like it.”

I must get a life!

2011-08-21T09:44:00.000+01:00

I just realised that the majority of my blog posts at the moment are related to Edward Stalking. I really must get a life of my own. Today I'm going to proof read the MA Dissertation. It needs to be at the printers by next Wednesday at the latest. I'll do a bit of work round the garden and then parents are coming for lunch. Rosie is due home in time for lunch so it might be an afternoon of "ticket to ride" or failing that "Penguin Game" Early night tonight, I really need some sleep then the next fun filled week commences bright and early on Monday morning. The current jobs list stands at: (in no particular order!)

1, New gas meter box at Duke Street
2. Finish Lister Street bathroom
3. Decorate Lister Street
4 Clear yard at Lister Street
5. Re-let Lister Street
6. Fight Council over Parking Ticket
7. Review UKIP Draft Constitution
8. Clean out and make secure ground floor at Milton Road
9. Repair rear window at Milton Road
10.Finish stripping upstairs bathroom at home
11.Strip and remove old caravans
12.Re-grout Milton Road Shower
13.Creosote paddock fences and gates
14.Tidy away and stack scaffolding
15.Level turnout paddock
16.Repair guttering and down comers round dog's kennel
17.Repair/replace damaged stable doors
18.New guttering along stable front
19.Paint house sofits and facia boards
20.Finish off box round heat pump pipework
21.Re-lay patio paving
22.Finish off exterior heat pump box
23.Infill where trenches have settled and level lawn
24.Cut grass every week
25.Take dog for daily walk
26.Re-felt both pet shed
27.Re-felt storage shed
28.Creosote pet shed
29.Creosote storage shed
30.Repair and re-paint chicken coop
31.Tidy playroom
32.Fit New Kitchen at Thornton Street
33.Finish interior boxing in Utility room
34.Fit mouldings round kitchen cupboards at home
35.Sort out wiring to utility room extractor fan
36.Clean and treat exterior window sill in big room
37.Box in extractor duct in Kitchen
38.Landscape pond
39.Hang mirror above fireplace in big room
40.Make and fit heat shield above wood burning stove in big room
41.Replace insulation in roof where slabs have slipped
42.Rebuild steps outside back door at home
43.Make proper doors for crawlspace access
44.Hinges and finish door on upstairs cupboard
45.Strip out old hot water cylinder
46.Replace Gate post Pillar cap at home
47.Creosote Gates
48.Level area where caravans have been removed
49.Erect fence along boundary from barn to pond
50.Plant willows along boundary near barn
51.Set up raised veggie beds ready for next year
52.Lay pavings stones to provide Newbie with more hard-standing area
53.Lay paving stones to path to chicken coop
54.SUBMIT my MA Dissertation
55.Do audit reports.
56.Invoicing
57.Tax Returns
58.Re-lay the Tiles on the steps at Beaconsfield Square
59.Re-assembly tread mill.
60.Fit new upstairs bathroom

Edward Stalk - Split Croatia

2011-08-21T09:10:00.000+01:00

Today the boy has reached Split. Nestling on the sparkling Dalmatian coast, the medieval Croatian port of Split, faces the myriad magical islands of the Kornati archipelago which include Brac, Hvar and Vis.

Face the other way across Split’s waterfront and you will see Diocletian’s Palace, one of the best-preserved Roman palaces in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The pedestrianised centre of Split is easy to walk around. Wander around its huddle of alleys and piazzas and then, for a great view, climb the exposed steps to the top of the 200ft-high cathedral bell tower.

Sip a drink at one of the many cafés along the seafront Riva or pop into a Konoba (wine cellar) to sample the excellent locally produced reds and whites. Culinary specialities include smoke and wind dried ham, stewed beef with noodles and delicious lamb dishes.

Just three miles from Split are the ruins of ancient Salona, once capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

Edward Stalk reaches Venice

2011-08-20T17:34:00.000+01:00

This World Heritage city is just about the perfect cruise call because everything you want to see is so easily accessible whether the ship docks just down from St Marks Square or further up the Grand Canal at the main Venice cruise terminal complex.

Cars are banned from the maze of narrow cobbled streets and 500 historic bridges within the city centre so there are just the two choices for getting around: the vaporetto (water-bus) network or just plain walking. A gondola ride is really for fun and romance rather than transportation.

Start walking from St Marks Square, with its ancient Basilica, lavish Doges Palace and imposing bell tower, then follow signs for the shop-lined Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs. But wherever you walk, there are intriguing arty shops, museums and galleries plus some tasty cafés and restaurants along the way.

Dubrovnik today!

2011-08-19T14:34:00.001+01:00

Son and heir is in Dubrovnik today, although if he's still on the 12 - 4 watch he probably won't be getting ashore much. Still he should have been able to be on deck to experience sailing into the beautiful 12th century Croatian walled city of Dubrovnik, apparently it is one of the great cruising experiences.

The spectacular Old Town – with its pretty harbour, towering ramparts, creamy stone pavements and red-roofed buildings – is crammed with architectural wonders like Onofrio’s Fountain - constructed in the 1430s – and the 14th century Franciscan Monastery, home to a wonderful statue of the Piéta carved in 1498, and the world’s oldest pharmacy (est. 1391).

Visitors can also see the magnificently Gothic Sponza Palace and the 18th century Baroque Church of St Blaise, Dubrovnik’s patron saint.

After you have had your fill of sightseeing there are numerous pretty restaurants and cafés tucked away on Dubrovnik’s narrow side streets – worth exploring as they also contain offbeat shops and art galleries.

Lacework, oil paintings and ceramics are good buys but take plenty of cash with you, as some shops do not accept credit cards.

Brad Pitt or a Tall Ship......no contest!

2011-08-18T22:33:00.002+01:00

A major Hollywood block buster is being filmed in Glasgow at the moment. A cast and crew of 1,200 will be involved over the next two weeks. According to Glasgow City Council “the positive impact of the production on the local economy is likely to be in excess of £2m” Obviously what Glasgow really needs is the Tall Ships Race? Two million pounds only chicken feed compared to the benefits of the Tall Ships. Let’s face it Brad Pitt is hardly going to generate the same level of publicity for Glasgow as the visit by a sailing ship is he!

One question I’d like to ask is, what are the Hartlepool Tall Ships Team doing now? After all it was vital that the expert events team built up in the town was kept together for the future. Exactly what major events have they put on in the last twelve months? What events are they building up to? If the UK Government applied the same logic as Hartlepool Council then the team who organized Wills and Katie’s wedding will all have been kept together, on full pay, ready to spring into action for the next time a future king gets married!

The Success of Norway’s Fishing Industry Outside of the EU

2011-08-17T12:34:00.000+01:00

Great Article from the Freedom Association.

The disaster of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for Britain’s fishing industry is well documented, but in complete contrast is the great success of Norway’s fishing industry – outside of the EU.
Norway's fisheries and aquaculture industry is one of the world’s largest exporters of seafood reaching over 150 countries and producing 3 million tonnes of seafood each year. For the seventh year in a row the Norwegians have hit record highs in seafood exports (53.8 billion kroner in 2010, a fivefold increase from the 1990’s).
Not being in the EU is no disadvantage for Norway’s fishing industry with the EU accounting for 58% of seafood exports (31 billion kroner) and France being the largest EU market (5.3 billion kroner). Outside of the EU, Norway’s booming seafood exports are seeing significant growth in all of the BRIC countries.
To prevent over-fishing and preserve the ecosystem, Norway has agreements with Russia, the Faeroe Islands, Iceland (also not in the EU), Greenland (which left the EU in 1982) and the EU. The Norwegians have recognised that in order to preserve fish stocks it is totally unnecessary and dangerous to give away control of your national independence and fishing waters to the EU. Norway’s success also nails one of the great lies made by the EU for the CFP- that “fish don't recognise borders”. Of course the EU forgets to mention that fish don’t recognise EU borders either especially when they swim into the waters of countries with successful fishing industries outside of the EU, like Norway and Iceland.
It is quite clear that Norway’s NO votes in two EU referendums (1972 and 1994) has saved both their national independence and fishing industry, enabling it to prosper in the 21st century.
Norway’s fishing success outside of the EU provides a stark contrast to the wrecking of Britain’s fishing industry inside the EU. A look at the shocking figures showing the decline of Britain’s fishing industry should deeply shame successive British Governments:
- In 1970 there were 21,443 fishermen in the UK. By 2009 there were 12,212 (43% less)
- 97,000 jobs have been lost: 9,000 in fishing and 88,000 in dependent industries
- In 2007 Britain had 6,763 fishing vessels compared with 8,458 in 1997
- 70% of the total EU catch comes from what were formerly British waters.
- The CFP costs Britain an estimated £4.7 billion per annum (excluding the costs of unemployment)
- £1 billion of discarded British cod
The CFP disaster has led to other bizarre consequences. Britain has to import fish to satisfy rising domestic demand, with the fish imported being caught in what were our own territorial waters. Spain has Europe's biggest fleet and the largest quotas with most of its fishing done in British and Irish waters. 75% of EU fish stocks are overfished and near extinction.
Insane doesn’t even begin to describe the fact that EU member Great Britain, at a costs of £4.7 billion per annum, has collapsing fishing stocks and a declining fishing industry whilst Norway, outside of the EU, has healthy fishing stocks and a very profitable fishing industry that exports to over 150 countries.
The blame for this disaster can and should be laid directly at the door of those responsible - Britain’s cowardly and deceitful political class who have consistently allowed the EU to ruin Britain’s fishing industry and for that we should truly despise them.

coffee and adrenaline

2011-08-16T19:51:00.000+01:00

Coming down from a few days living on coffee and adrenaline! Not a good combination for an overweight 50 year old! In the same week as supervising the UKIP P-EP ballot I am hitting a deadline for my MA Thesis and trying to do the ground work for setting up a new business. Still the first two are now done and I can concentrate on the third one. Where do you buy chemistry sets?

PS The "boy" is still at sea and on his way to the Greek islands. I hope he's not finding those 4 hour watches too exhausting!

Take a break! I wish!

2011-08-15T09:25:00.000+01:00

Son and heir is currently on the high seas cruising to Cephalonia (the largest of the Ionian islands) so no need to stalk him for a couple of days. Just as well since next week is frantic busy. The future direction of the UK Independence party will be decided in Hartlepool tomorrow (Tuesday 16 August) when the UK Independence Party Chairman, Stephen Crowther, will be in Hartlepool to witness the completion of an internal party ballot, to decide on whether or not UKIP joins a Pan-European Party.

It's been my job to oversee the ballot, as the Party Vice Chairman, and I've been using the services of local Hartlepool Firm, Atkinson Print, in Church Street.

It has been a big job to organize the ballot and the services of Atkinson Print have been vital; they have the specialist printing capabilities to ensure the integrity of the ballots can be guaranteed. Something absolutely essential when the result is as important as this one to UKIP.

The result of the ballot will be announced sometime on Tuesday afternoon. A ‘yes’ vote will see the UK Independence party looking to form a party in the European Parliament which will be open to MEPs of any member country that wish to see the European Union broken up and sovereignty returned to the individual member states. A ‘no’ vote will see UKIP remain purely a UK based party.

Then I've got a couple of meetings regarding a possible new business venture I've become involved in and of course although the MA Dissertation is finished I still have to print two copies and get it handed in. That will take longer than I expect I'm sure. So busy, busy, busy!

Edward stalk - Virgo, Spain

2011-08-14T09:49:00.000+01:00

Received a Blackberry Message from the boy at 8.13am (08.13 hours to the nautical out there) saying he was in Virgo, Spains busiest fishing port, Vigo sits on the rugged west coast of the province of Galicia. Over the centuries, this charming town and its resilient residents have been the target for many naval attacks including a couple from Sir Francis Drake.

In these more peaceful days, you will still find the best view of Vigo is from the fort (Castillo del Castro) built to defend it from the hill overlooking the harbour. Then walk through the steep, narrow streets of the atmospheric old town (Barrio del Berbes) to see (and smell...) the daily fish market.

Try one of the oysters which are fresh from beds in Vigos ‘ria’ - one of the sunken sea-filled valleys for which Galicias coastline is renowned.And a Vigo cruise call is also a chance to visit nearby Santiago de Compostela, the subject of pilgrimages since the Middle Ages.

UPDATE

2011-08-11T23:41:00.000+01:00

The Health Scrutiny Forum had to accept the worst they can do is refer Councillor Geoff Lilley to the standards board. Of course its a kangaroo court!

Campaigning councillor faces threat of legal action

2011-08-11T10:38:00.001+01:00

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Hartlepool Council Health Scrutiny forum adjourned its meeting today and Councillor Geoff Lilley was asked to leave the committee room while the rest of the forum heard legal opinions over whether or not Councilor Lilley could be suspended from membership of the forum and referred to the Standards Board over his alleged involvement with the leaflet branding some of the Scrutiny Forum Members as “Collaborators” over the closure of Accident and Emergency Services at Hartlepool Hospital.

The meeting is due to re-convene at 11.00am

More "Save the Prom"

2011-08-10T09:39:00.001+01:00

The save the prom group were easily out manoeuvred by the civic centre bosses in their attempt to get option 4 removed by calling for a motion in council and a debate. The move has been rejected due to procedural problems. Well unfortunately that was always going to be the result since public question time is not the route to get a debate onto the agenda.

The route for a motion at council is under Part 4 Clause 12 of the Constitution of Hartlepool Council. This requires a notice of motion to be served, signed by at least 5 members, seven clear days before the date of the meeting. The Headland has three councillors? So there are three of the five (well maybe two!) and I'm sure three suitably supportive others could be found. The motion must then go on the agenda. I'm surprised that the chairman of the group, who is reportedly a lawyer? isn't aware of the need to follow procedure?

Actually public question time can be very useful but you again need to know the tactics. The question put down in writing a week in advance is the key but it only unlocks the door, it doesn't kick it open. This submitted question will receive a prepared answer and won't go anywhere. It is the supplementary questions, which DON'T have to be submitted in advance that are the real killers.

So the question submitted, and rejected, was:

“Will the Mayor include in the agenda of the first available meeting of full council, a vote for council members with the following motion?:

“We the members of Hartlepool Borough Council vote to have option four removed from the possible options available for consideration from the Hartlepool Coastal Defences, Hartlepool Headlands Structures study.”

Well that was never going to fly for several reasons as were explained in the response in the Hartlepool Mail. However, if the question had been something like;

"Will the mayor confirm the timetable for the consultation on the future of the sea defences of the headland and identify who will be responsible for making the final decision"

Then this question could NOT have been refused. The supplementaries could then have brought in option 4 and the request for a debate. It would still have been refused but at least the matter would have reached the agenda and be minuted. Also councillors would have had the opportunity to comment and these remarks would have been on the record.

No matter what the rights and wrongs of your case you have to play by the rules of the arena in which you are fighting. The councillors and officers will use the rules to block you if you give them the opportunity to do so. Sorry to say it but the Save our Prom group once again showed their political naivety in their approach to this.

Rambling and stalking

2011-08-09T09:03:00.001+01:00

Had a problem with the PC last week and it had to go to the doctors to be mended (OK I admit it, my dad fixed it for me) so I wasn't able to Edward Stalk as usual. Even more worrying was the thought I'd lost all my data, not just work and accounts related stuff but the first draft of my dissertation on erected mayors in the media.

However, all is now well and normal services can resume. I also have a little grey box, plugged into the side of my computer, which apparently is an external hard drive and is backing up my data files every night. It's wonderful what the pixies can do these days!

Rosie is getting some work experience at a local firm of solicitors and appears to be enjoying herself, Sandra is off doing whatever podiatrists do and I'm just waiting for the dish washer to finish so I can get on with my house work as a means of avoiding a riveting analysis of focus groups as a means of capturing social science data. I seem to have an almost instinctive distrust of focus groups, possible because Tony Blair and New Labour ran the country into the ground by doing what focus groups told them to do, well at least Tony did do that until his mate Bush (and of course God) started talking to him so he didn't need focus groups any more. Yesterday I avoided the focus group question by opening a strange suitcase in Edward's room and disciovering it contained clothes that had not been unpacked since a trip to Canada and the US east coast which we went on three years ago!

Well, that's the rambling over, time for the Edward stalk. The boy is in Gibraltar today, that British possession which so upsets the Spanish!

Apparently Britons love cruising to ‘home from home’ Mediterranean cruise port Gibraltar – and not just because it has some excellent pubs and tax free shops (good buys include glassware, china, leather goods, alcohol, perfume, silk and cashmere garments).

Gibraltar also offers wonderful views of Algeciras Bay and the Moroccan mountains from the Rock Restaurant, served by cable car from the Grand Parade.

Birdwatchers can spot more than 230 species and there are clearly marked nature trails you can follow to discover the country’s flora and fauna.

The most famous ‘fauna’ of course, are Gibraltar’s Barbary apes - get off the cable car at the halfway station to see these, then proceed to the top and hire an audio tape charting the Rock’s fascinating history.

Alternatively spend a day at the beach - Catalan Bay is the prettiest, with its colourful fishing boats and excellent seafood restaurants.

Hartlepool Hospital closure made inevitable in 1945?

2011-08-05T18:59:00.002+01:00

Interesting to look into the historical precedent of the Hartlepool Hospital saga. Many people have argued, myself included, that Hartlepool was destined to lose its last hospital as soon as "North Tees and Hartlepool Trust" was formed. The clear senior partner being North Tees.

However, it could actually be said that the seeds for the demise of Hartlepool Hospital were sown in the 1940's. According to Jerry White (Winner of the Wolfson History Prize for 2001, visiting Professor at Middlesex University and one of the three Local Government Ombudsmen for England)

"Morrison fought hard for the National Health Service (NHS) to be devolved to, and run by, local government, losing out to a powerful cabinet coalition, at least one of whom had an unreasoning hatred of Good Old 'Erb and all his works. And also that the LCC passed over its hospitals to the Minister 'reluctantly' and 'with sorrow'. In its stead local 'accountability' in the new national service was manufactured through a network of local boards. Their members were placed there by the Minister and could be removed at his direction. It was the greatest creation of quangos in British administrative history. And it marks the true beginning of that withering away of local democracy recognised belatedly by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England in 1969: it called the loss of the hospitals a 'great misfortune' that ought to be reversed. But just five years later the remaining local authority health services were nationalised too."

Jackson’s Landing

2011-08-05T11:48:00.000+01:00

Hartlepool Council has decided to spend an undisclosed sum (rumored to be £2,000,000) on the derelict shed that is Jackson’s Landing. “It’s a good investment. We may even make a profit on it” was reportedly the council’s line. In my opinion any profit will be taken by one of the “development partners” lined up ready to step in. If there was money to be made then private developers would already by making it. That’s how the system in this country operates.

Entrepreneurs see an opportunity, put their own money into it and if it makes a profit they are quids in. If it fails they have lost their money. The entrepreneur balances risk of failure against the possibilities of success and backs schemes he judges will give a decent return. Until now no private developer judged the scheme to be worth risking their own money on. However, now Hartlepool Council is throwing £2,000,000 of public money into the pot that changes the calculation. The risk of a developer losing his own money becomes effectively zero, but the chance of him making money, while still small, remains positive.

It’s a no lose scenario for developers. The only people likely to lose are Hartlepool Council and that’s just public money so what’s the problem? Plenty more council tax payers to extort money from. The next time Hartlepool Council pleads poverty just remember they had £2,000,000 of your money to give away on a scheme no private company would touch with a bargepole.

Villefranche

2011-08-05T11:02:00.000+01:00

Got my PC back today, what a relief, collecting e-mails on the Blackberry is all very well and laptops are OK but I still prefer my trusty desktop machine. Anyway, amomgst other things I can get caught up with is "Edward Stalking"

Son and hier has been and gone from Barcelona and is now in Villefranche. Apparently the steeply terraced streets of this pretty centuries-old fishing village set against a densely wooded backdrop create a delightfully timeless picture. Despite its increasing popularity with tourists, Villefranche remains a small, relatively uncrowded resort with plenty of Gallic charm.

The centre is just behind Villefranche cruise terminal, across the road and up a series of steps. Along a maze of narrow cobbled streets, you will find chic boutiques and a choice of both cheap and expensive cafés and restaurants. Alternatively, walk along the seafront to a long narrow beach which curls around the bay. Up some steps is the way to the neighbouring, almost Victorian-style resort of Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

Villefranche is a convenient base from which to explore the French Riviera and Cote dAzur and the medieval villages of Eze and St Paul-de-Vence.

Through the Bay of Biscay

2011-08-02T15:30:00.000+01:00

Well the boy has survived his trip through the Bay of Biscay and is now following the Atlantic coast of Portugal towards the straights of Gibraltar and the first port of call on this cruise, Barcelona.

Save the Prom 2

2011-08-02T15:08:00.000+01:00

Well I've continued with my career of winning friends and influencing people......NOT. I blogged a couple of days ago that the Save the Prom group were being dangerously naive, in my opinion, if they thought they were going to save anything without becoming involved in politics. Of course some individuals in the group wouldn't agree with me if I said night follows day and I knew I was putting my head above the parapet to be shot off. Anyway, I've left the group. I'm sure they can manage perfectly well without me and many people will be glad to see the back of me. I've no doubt the group will succeed in getting option 4 taken off the table but still think they might find it's a pyrrhic victory.

Edward Stalk

2011-08-01T08:41:00.000+01:00

The boy is at sea today on the way to discover the treasures of the Mediterranean including the iconic sights of Barcelona, Villefranche, Rome, Florence and Gibraltar.

Barcelona offers a vibrant mix of ancient and modern, with the extraordinary architecture of Gaudi at its heart, and the chance for a relaxing promenade through narrow streets and open squares.

Rome is one of the great historical cities of the world. With its rich heritage of fascinating buildings and monuments, it"s an essential destination for all lovers of Italy and the unforgettable highlight of this Aurora cruise.

Florence offers the artistic treasures of an elegant renaissance city, or you could choose to visit the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Of course he's beavering away in the engine room so how much will he get to see is the question?

Aurora Southampton

2011-07-31T12:46:00.000+01:00

Boring day on Edward Stalk today as its change over day and they are in Southampton

Edward Watch Saturday 30th July

2011-07-30T10:59:00.000+01:00

The boy is spending the day at sea cruising homeward to Southampton. That means "Aurora Cam" shows quite a boring view.

However, never one to miss an opprtunity to cyber stalk my son and heir I've been reading the general bumff about the ship he is on. Aurora is a mid-sized cruise ship, apparently instantly recognisable thanks to her elegant tiered stern. Aurora is designed as a classic ocean going vessel and is therefore ideally suited to world cruising. At her heart is a Lalique-inspired waterfall which forms the centrepiece of her atrium – one of her signature features.

When it comes to bars she offers a variety to suit every mood including her Crow’s Nest bar, which offers a great view of every port along the way (and the oceans in between), Champions sports bar and adjacent casino, and Anderson’s with its rather sophisticated wood panelled walls. Entertainment wise there’s the Playhouse cinema which shows recently released films, a show lounge and theatre.

Her dining options include her two main restaurants, as well as a bistro by Marco Pierre White and an al fresco grill restaurant.

P&O Cruises Aurora is designed for walking or jogging with the opportunity to do just that around her circumference thanks to the broad teak promenade deck. She also welcomes families with children’s clubs and a dedicated family pool. She even has one pool which can be covered by a sky dome.

Save the Prom!

2011-07-29T23:30:00.003+01:00

I’ve joined a FACE BOOK Group entitled Stop the Heart from being ripped out of Hartlepool which has been set up to highlight the risk to the sea defences around the headland. The group is very well meaning and enthusiastic but they do not seem to appreciate how naïve their stance is and that if option 4 is actually ever under serious consideration then they have probably lost the fight before it starts.

The group are probably destined to succeed because Option 4 is only there as a sacrificial lamb to make the option the council really want appear more palatable. Standard tactics, propose something so bad that everyone will oppose it, then when the second worst option is actually implemented everyone is grateful and claim a victory. If Option 4 was really the aim of the powers-that-be then the group will fail because they are determined to be pure and above it all by keeping the fight NONE POLITICAL. This means they are relying on the good will of the Hartlepool Councillors and the Hartlepool MP to see that the best option is not the cheapest one! Of course when option 4 is dropped then the group will claim victory, the council will claim it listened to the people and then do what they wanted to do anyway! Cynical, not really, just know how politics works! In fact not politics, just any negotiation. Always start from a position you are willing to concede and fall back to the position you really wanted in the first place. By doing this you appear to be compromising and giving up something, in reality you get exactly what you always wanted AND appear to be reasonable and willing to compromise.

The group are making the same terrible mistake as the “Save our Hospital Group” back in 2004. The SOH Group had the political establishment in Hartlepool TERRIFIED but they then threw away their biggest weapon by deciding not to be POLITICAL. At a stroke the political class in Hartlepool realised these people could effectively be ignored because they were not a threat!

What people have to realize is that the ONLY thing most party politicians really care about is their political career which means they need to keep getting re-elected. Losing their seat is the death knell for an ambitious party politician trying to build a career in politics or who wants to make a good living out of it. If something does not threaten their votes or their career in their chosen party then they simply do not care!

By announcing they are none political the Prom Group have told the party politicians that they don't need to worry. If the Prom group announced NOW that they would be standing candidates in every ward in May 2012 fighting on a manifesto to “Stop the Heart Being Ripped out of Hartlepool” then just look how fast the current councilors would come on board, provided their national party allowed them to! which of course they wouldn't! They would be between a rick and a hard place.

If the Save out Hospital Group has stood a candidate in the 2004 by-election then they would have won and the town would have had a save our hospital MP. If they had stood council candidates then they would have won those seats as well. The Labour party would have been desperate to get the town back and the Save our Hospital Group would have been able to demand anything they wanted. Of course, the SOH group would have had to stand as a group, not just a collection of independents. That is something else people fail to appreciate. Politics is about numbers and about working together. You have to have numbers.

I have joined the group, but am not taking an active part because if I do then there are people in the group who will immediately go onto the attack and accuse me of using the issue as a political football. Therefore, I will support the group from the sidelines but sadly I think the Prom group will ultimately fail and will never achieve anything UNLESS they get political.

Sognefjord

2011-07-28T14:08:00.000+01:00

Continuing my Male Menopause and Male Empty Nest Stalk of son and hier. He is today sailing through Norway's beautiful Sognefjord, the worlds longest and deepest fjord. This is one of the world's most memorable cruise experiences. Overlooked by snow-capped peaks and surrounded by cascading waterfalls, this is a sensational approach to the tiny village of Flamm, which nestles in the innermost part of Sognefjord.

But the fjord is not Flamms only claim to fame, it also has the extraordinary Flamm Railway. A masterpiece of engineering, this rises more than 2,845ft above sea level in just 12 miles and the views are just as dramatic as the journey. There are a variety of other boat and road trips which promise more fantastic scenery along with visits to farms, mines, villages and isolated mountain lodges

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

2011-07-28T13:02:00.001+01:00

Statistics recently came my way on the use of Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks by local authorities. The figures, released under a Freedom of Information request, showed Hartlepool was the 91st highest user of CRB Checks in 2010/11 out of 628 local authorities asked.

On Teesside, the highest user was Stockton who carried out 4,220 CRB. Hartlepool reported carrying out 3,716. However, Hartlepool "Public Protection" lists their CRB checks separately to the council and they carried out 266 checks. Therefore, Hartlepool's total is actually 3,982. This puts them on par with Cumbria County Council.

The only other Teesside Council who split their CRB's is Redcar and Cleveland; they list their "Development Department" separately. Their 183 checks in 2010/11 give Redcar and Cleveland an overall total of 3,168. Still considerably lower than Hartlepool.

The lowest user of CRB Checks on Teesside is Middlesbrough Council. They checked 1,057 people in 2010/11, less than one third of the people checked by Hartlepool. Does this mean Middlesbrough is less concerned with public safety? Alternatively, could it just mean they manage their CRB Process more effectively? It might be interesting to find out how much these CRB Checks are costing Hartlepool Council, not just in the fees payable to the Criminal Records Bureau but also the internal costs of administration within the council? If they cost just £100 each and the Council could reduce their use to the level of Middlesbrough, which is a much larger local authority, then there are potential savings of almost £300,000.

/628 Council CRB Checks 2010 / 11
79 STOCKTON ON TEES BOROUGH COUNCIL 4220
91 HARTLEPOOL BOROUGH COUNCIL 3716
120 REDCAR & CLEVELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL 2985
168 DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL 1226
175 MIDDLESBROUGH BOROUGH COUNCIL 1057

Found my Penguins!

2011-07-27T11:41:00.002+01:00

Found my Penguins!

Edward Watch

2011-07-27T11:35:00.000+01:00

Today's cyberstalk of son and heir reveals he is in the peaceful Norwegian village of Olden. The perfect Fjordland cruise setting - nestling at the southern end of one branch of the beautiful Nordfjord and at the entrance to the gorgeous Oldedalen Valley.

A lake in the valley has been turned a rich, deep green by the river pouring down the mountains from the vast, million-years-old Briksdal Glacier. Giant waterfalls also cascade down making the views even more spectacular as you travel through the valley to the foot of the glacier - one of the offshoots of the vast Jostedal Glacier now designated as a national park.

Plastic Penguins

2011-07-23T21:29:00.000+01:00

I was brought up in a household where we played boardgames. Classics like Monopoly and Cluedo were regularly out of the box and the family sat round the table and fought it out.

Other games have come and gone. Railroader, and Escape From Colditz are still in the top cupboard in my room at my parent's house. Now a days we are more likely to be playing RISK, although a friend of mine from University who was visiting a while ago was horrified by how cut throat the game was! "You couldn't play this if you were not a close family" was his comment "Your relationship would never survive!"

Recent games that have arrived are Carcassonne, and the current favourite, until this week, was Ticket to Ride. However, there is a new kid on the block North Pole - A penguin vacation .

Very simple game. Your penguin wants to leave the North Pole and go on holiday. He (or she) has the travel across the pack ice. You can waddle (the slowest method), use snow shoes or a sled. If you are really going for it then the Dog Sled is the fastest way to move. You have to watch out for holes in the ice though. They can block your progress. The only gripe I have with the game is the penguin playing pieces! Flimsy cards on cheap plastic stands. OK they look cute but I would have preferred something a bit more substantial.

So I trotted off today to Toys-R-Us to buy some cheap plastic penguins. Its the first time I've been in this shop for several years. Just about every toy in the place seemed to be linked to a film, TV Show or other "integrated marketing strategy" Kids these days apparently don't play with anything that doesn't have a theme or a TV Show behind it. I did eventually find a plastic penguin. In a small section of farm animals. However, they were £4.95 EACH. That would be £30 for playing pieces for a game that cost me £10. I didn't buy them but the search continues!

Elected Mayors and local Media

2011-07-23T20:55:00.000+01:00

Traditional local government in the UK has been carried out by the election of councilors to represent a number of residents in a ward. These councilors then chose from amongst themselves a Mayor who served as Chair of the Council and undertook the civic duties associated with the post. Normally the tenure of a mayor was 12 months. The actual power associated with the Mayor’s office being almost entirely ceremonial. Real influence lay with the chairs of the various committees.

The short duration of the period any individual spent in the Mayor’s office usually meant that the individual occupying the post was rarely well known in his or her own town. Profile amongst your fellow councilors, or leadership of the largest political group on the council, not public recognition, being the criteria for wearing the robes and chains of office. This anonymity was felt to be one of the reasons that there was a general drop in the turn out for local elections. The councilors elected to serve in the town halls being seen as mainly faceless and not really accountable to the electorate.

To address this anonymity and other perceived deficiencies in local government organisation, the post of elected mayor was created by the Blair government in the Local Government Act 2000. The role of the councilors in choosing who would be mayor was to be removed and instead the Mayor would be an individual who would be elected by the residents of a town and who would serve for four years.
The intention was that this would provide a name and a face for residents to identify with and provide a vehicle to re-engage the public with local authority decision making. It was also hoped that the executive powers granted to a mayor would reduce the amount of time necessary for decisions to be made.

The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the success, or otherwise, of the introduction of elected mayors in achieving a higher recognition of the mayor’s office through the medium of the local media, in particular local newspapers.

Outside of London, there are currently eight directly elected mayors. The Mayor of London is elected under different primary legislation and is not included in this study as the huge media profile of Boris Johnson (and before him Ken Livingston) would totally overshadow all other Mayors. The plans by the new Tory-LibDem coalition to introduce elected mayors into major cities, such as Birmingham, may see the emergence of a mayor with a large enough mandate and a platform to match the Mayor of London. However, the people of Birmingham will still need to vote in favour of an elected mayor in the forthcoming referendum to introduce the mayor system.

The eight elected mayors currently in post have a range of local newspapers covering their constituencies. Some compete for coverage in what is a predominately regional newspaper; others have much more locally focused publications with restricted circulations.

The publication frequency also varies with both daily and weekly publications covering the different elected mayors.

All eight of the elected Mayors were contacted to ask if they would participate in this study and the editors of the appropriate local newspapers were also invited to take part.

Four Mayors, Torquay, Mansfield, Bedford and Watford agreed to be interviewed. The Editors of the Watford Observer and the Mansfield Chad also agreed to take part. The two pairs of interviews in Mansfield and Watford have therefore formed the bulk of the conclusions and discussion in this study. Where appropriate supporting remarks from the interviews with the Mayors of Torquay and Bedford have also been included.

There was universal agreement amongst all participants that the role of elected mayor had markedly increased to visibility of the local decision maker within the local town Hall.

There was also agreement amongst the elected Mayors that the local journalists did not fully understand the role of the elected Mayor and so sometimes, the coverage in the local newspapers was not as clear or as comprehensive as it could be. The Mayor for example has no direct control over the planning process and yet this is often one of the most contentious issues in any local authority. This has sometimes led to dissatisfaction with the mayor where it was not really valid.

The Editors of the Watford Observer and Mansfield Chad did on the whole agree with this view. The lack of in depth training for journalists in the elected mayor role was given as one of the possible reasons for this.

This lack of awareness for journalists on the role of elected Mayors has been addressed in the NCTJ recommended textbook for the public affairs for journalists syllabus. However, as the number of elected mayors is still only a tiny fraction of the number of local authorities most journalists working on provincial news papers are still highly unlikely to ever come across an elected mayor. The alternative local government structure of a council leader and executive cabinet exists in the majority of local authorities and they are given even less mention than elected mayors in the NCTJ recommended textbook for the public affairs for journalists syllabus

The other finding of the study was that the newspaper editors and reporters saw the role of elected mayor as being much more newsworthy when it was linked to a clash with the local Member of Parliament over an issue. This was an interesting example of the news value of a story being linked to the perceived value of the source and gave support to the theories of news values that dictate the prominence or otherwise of a particular story.

The conclusions of the study are of course highly subjective as they are based on qualitative interviews that do not readily lend themselves to quantitative analysis.

However, the conclusion is inescapable that the introduction of elected mayors has raised the profile of the local decision makers in the areas of Mansfield and Watford .

As the Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill, said in an interview for this study;

“I was stopped the other day by one of my residents who said, “I know who you are, I know what you are doing, I don’t always agree with what you do but I know why you are doing it” I liked that. I told him I would put it on my gravestone.”

Too many pharmacies

2011-06-27T18:46:00.000+01:00

A row is brewing, or a decision has been "slammed" in Hartlepool Mail Speak, regarding a new pharmacy on Catcote Road. Predictably the owner of the shops criticised the decision, he after all wants tenants in the units and rents coming in. One of the local councillors also critisised the decision, after all that's his job to defend the perceived interests of his residents and getting his picture in the Hartlepool Mail always helps his re-election chances!

However, the decision to refuse the pharmacy was not just some random act of malice against the downtrodden of Rift House. There already is adequate pharmacy coverage in the area according to the NHS Litigation Authority, which received objections by nearby pharmacists who argued there was already sufficient provision in the area.

A local chemist is like any local shop, local pub, local bus service, local library, local anything. A well patronised and PROFITABLE local anything will have businesses cuing up to provide them. A poorly patronised and unprofitable local anything will go out of business. If there is sufficient customers for two business to survive in any area and a third one opens then unless it generates new customers then it can only take them from existing businesses.

Of course some altruistic person, charity or other organisation may be willing to run a business at a loss.Altruistic individuals are few and far between these days. Charities are also no longer in the loss making business. They have of armies of paid staff to support. The most altruistic organisations recently have been local authorities. These are willing to spend any amount of other peoples' money to provide services to their clients. One silver lining of the current credit crunch might just be that local authorities, like Hartlepool, who are proud of being high spending authorities, might just have to start looking at value for money on their spending schemes. However, don't bet on it!

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/pharmacy_u_turn_slammed_1_3514775

It's an ill wind!

2011-06-24T10:38:00.000+01:00

If Hartlepool Council is facing the difficult and troubled period we are lead to believe, and needs Mayor Drummond’s firm hand on the tiller, then how can he justify abandoning his post and effectively taking on a second paid job?

As part of the shake up of Cleveland Police Authority Mayor Drummond has reportedly been promoted to Vice Chairman of the Authority. When he joined Cleveland Police Authority, he added an additional £9,548 to his take home pay as Mayor of Hartlepool and the Vice Chairmanship bolsters that by another £6,131.

Councilor’s allowances are supposed to compensate Councilors for the financial implications (such as lost earnings) of serving their communities. They are not supposed to provide lucrative second incomes. Mayor Drummond is a full time politician who is paid over £1,200 a week to carry out his duties. What exactly is he being compensated for with the additional £15,685 he apparently now receives as Vice Chairman of the Police Authority?

If Mayor Drummond has time to devote to the Police Authority then his working day cannot be fully committed as Mayor of Hartlepool? At the very least Drummond should surely follow the example of his Chief Executive and return to the Council the extras cash he now takes from his second job. That £15,685 a year would keep a minimum wage employee at the council off the dole cue. Maybe Mayor Drummond could lead by example and show some restraint in what he is gobbling down from the public trough!

Constraint payments, the latest "set aside" to stop farms from producing anything

2011-06-20T18:07:00.003+01:00

We all know about farmers being paid NOT to grow crops. "Set Aside" payments have been around for years. We might question the value of set aside in these days of rising food prices but now there is a another form of "set aside" available to struggling farmers.

This time farmers are being given "constraint payments"

These payments do not give farmers money NOT to produce food stuffs. These payments are to Wind Farmers and the crop they are being paid NOT to produce is electricity.

We really are seeing the economics of the mad house with wind turbines!

According to a written answer to a question in May this year from Labour MP Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire), the "constraint payments" made to Scottish wind farms over the last two financial years are as follows:

Beinn Tharsuinn Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £31,950.00

Black Law Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £134,960.24

Whitelee Wind Farm,
operator Scottish Power,
payments received £466,396.47

Farr Wind Farm,
operator RWE Power Renewables,
payments received £263,484.11

Hadyard Hill Wind Farm,
operator Scottish and Southern,
payments received £152,698.51

Millennium Wind Farm,
operator Flack Renewables,
payments received £32,533.80

According to National Grid estimates, by 2020 wind farmers will be receiving £300 Million a year to STOP the turbines from turning.

PS I don't want to say "I told you so" but here is a post I made on this very subject back in 2007!

No Change is not an option........

2011-06-20T10:45:00.000+01:00

Did anyone hear BBC Tees this morning? They were discussing stoke care in Darlington.

A consultation has been started on concentrating the care in Durham and removing the specialist care from Darlington. No decision has been made (Yea right) but according to the spokesman "No change is not an option"

So if the choice is leave it as it is, or move it to Durham, BUT, No change (ie leave things as they are) is NOT an option, then all that is left is moving the unit to Durham?

Why can't people see these "consultations" are meaningless exercises to provide a pseudo-democratic smokescreen for decision that are already made!

Mind you Darlington has been a fairly safe Labour seat since Alan Millburn took it from the Tories in 1992, although the vote fell by 13% when he stepped down in 2010 taking it below the 50% level for the first time since 1992. Durham however is a definite Lib-dem target so the cynics amongst us might look for the political advantages and disadvantages of moving the health care provision from one town to another. Wasn't it Labour who relied on political heat maps to make these decisions. Closing facilities in solid labour areas (like Hartlepool), where the electorate could be relied on to vote labour no matter what, and moving the facilities to marginals or target seats (like Stockton) to bolster up weak support. The Tories are no different, it's just different heat maps so different decisions.

Britain a democrastic country? Not any more!

2011-06-18T10:03:00.000+01:00

I used to think we lived in a democracy. Unfortunately the political classes have forgotten that. Or more realistically they have found a way to retain the pretence of democracy but without all that troublesome need to actually reflect the will of the ordinary people.

The recent farce of a referendum on changing the voting system shows how false our democracy really is these days. Everyone I spoke to wanted a vote on PR. That was what most people wanted instead of First Past the Post. The political class knew this and they knew the pressure was building for a change. So what did they do? They gave the people what they wanted, a vote on changing the system.

Well in fact they gave the people HALF of what they wanted. Yes they gave us a vote, but they rigged the question so that the result was irrelevant. Effectively the question was "Do you want no change to our voting system or do you want a change that will effectively make no difference to the results"

A brilliant piece of real politic. Give the people the appearance of choice and then do what you wanted to do in the first place. Anyone who has been through a government "consultation" process will know exactly how that is done.

With this in mind I was surprised by the honesty of a senior advisor to Ed Milliband who explained why the Labour Party will not back a referendum on in/out of the EU. The Daily Express contacted the Labour Leader, Ed Milliband, to ask if he would side with the Daily Express and back an In/Out referendum?

One of Milliband's aides thought about this briefly before replying: “The problem with that is that the British people would probably vote to leave the EU.”

The pro-EU blinkers were firmly on, it was Brussels first and democracy a distant second.

A letter written in response to a query from one of the Labour Leader's constituents also contained the claim that a referendum on EU Membership isn't necessary because we had one in 1975. This overlooks the fact that the EU did not exist in 1975. The vote the British people were permitted was merely to rubber-stamp a decision to join the “Common Market” that had already been implemented by the political class.

So do we live in a democracy? Apparently yes but in reality no. The political class pay lip service to representing the people but in reality they represent only the political class. The Tory Party used to make no bones about the fact that they represented the property owning, ruling classes. The Labour Party represented the working class. The Lib-Dems represented those people who were confused over their identity, working class people who couldn't make the intellectual step to the Tories or Tories who became embarrassed by the divisions in our society but couldn't quite bring themselves to join the nasty, uncivilised working class. Now of course all three parties are almost indistinguishable at the top.

The parties are like a growing forest. Initially separate trees grow and compete for sunlight and space. As they get bigger they retain their own roots and separate trunks but the uppermost branches merge into a continuous canopy where you can't tell one tree from another. The big three parties in the UK are now thoroughly merged at the top, to the point where it's almost irrelevant which trunk you climb up, once you reach your place in the sun at the top of the tree then you are at the top of them all and everyone you meet there is the same as you are.

The other advantage (well advantage if you are at the top) of a mature canopy is that it provides a secure place where the people at the top can reproduce. If you are born up there then you stay there. The realities of the dark floor of the forest are unknown to you. You don't have to climb the trunk, you are born to live in the sunlight amongst the upper branches and all your friends and contemporaries are also from the top of the trees. So you may be from a Labour Tree or A Tory Tree originally but it doesn't really matter.

The other advantage of being at the top of a big tree is that the interlocking branches completely shut out the sunlight from the forest floor. Down there in the gloom and twilight a new tree trying to establish itself cannot survive. This is why it is so hard to establish a new political party in the UK, the established parties make sure they keep the lion's share of the sunlight!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/253397/Ed-Miliband-has-just-made-a-terrible-decision-on-the-EUWhat%27s

Spade Ready!

2011-06-17T19:05:00.001+01:00

On ~~Radio Cleveland~~ BBC Tees this morning there was a report about 400 new jobs coming to Tesside by the construction of a bio-refinery to produce around 150,000 tonnes per year of bioethanol, which is enough to run 1.5 million family cars running on E10 petrol. The finished INEOS plant would employ around 50 and the other 350 jobs would be in the construction phase.

Sounds like good news. The firm got £7.3 Million from One North East to get the project rolling and they have completed all the necessary feasibility studies, obtained planning permission, carried out environmental impact assessments, traffic assessments, great crest newt threat surveys, badger and bat watch and confirmed there are no rare or endanger species of plant or animal on the site. They are now, and this was the phrase he used on the radio, "Spade Ready" which means they can start construction as soon as they have the funding in place.

The BBC Tees reported asked how much more did they need? After all they had already had £7.3 Million pounds. Well the plant INEOS are building in Florida is costing around $130 Million so if the UK government kicks in £100 Million then that should be enough to see the construction started. Sounds like a fantastic deal to me! Hand over £100 Million to a private company in return for 50 jobs. The private company then get the revenue the plant generates for the rest of its operating life. That's even worse value for money than the public sector.

A new hospital in Hartlepool could be built for around £100 Million and would employ considerably more than 50 people! Why not use the £100 Million to build the hospital and let INEOS raise the cash through venture capital or sale of shares? Isn't that how it used to work? Public money built public facilities like schools and hospitals and private equity built shops, offices and factories. That seems to be turned upside down these days, public facilities are built with private money but private firms get public money in the form of "grants" to fund their businesses.

Is this your vehicle?

2011-06-17T18:26:00.001+01:00

Hartlepool, in common with many towns around the UK, charges for car parking in the town centre. The residential streets around the town centre are now all "Residents Parking Only" to prevent people using these residential streets to avoid the town centre charges. This of course generates a mass of paperwork to issue these parking permits, which of course only last for 12 months, after which they have to be re-issued. A nice job for someone in the Civic Centre.

So my parking permit expired at the end of May. I telephoned the civic centre "Contact Centre" and after listening to the on-hold music, being told all of their operators were busy, followed by more music and a warning that calls would be recorded for quality and training purposes, I finally got to speak to someone. A protracted discussion took place after which he decided that I had to present myself, in person, with proof of eligibility (gas bill, electricity bill, etc) and I could then be issued with a new permit for the cost of £10.

Arriving at the Hartlepool Civic Centre I was greeted by two very nice ladies at the reception desk, who after they had completed their very important conversation, directed me towards a machine which gave out numbered tickets so that people were seen strictly in order or arrival. There was a choice of buttons at this machine. I pressed to one for Car Parking and received ticket number 834.

The next number called was 82! Through the glass security screens I could see groups of people standing around chatting to each other. How refreshing that Hartlepool Council Staff don't bother with conference rooms with tea and biscuits when they need to exchange information. They hold their meetings standing up in the middle of the office! I was in for a long wait I thought. Number 83 didn't show up and number 84 was called. However I then discovered that each of the three buttons gave out tickets in a different number sequence. Number 843 was the next number served after number 84? Work that out? Why have three separate ticketing systems running? Someone is obviously in love with making things complicated! Possibly that was why the staff had to go into little huddles in the middle of the office, they needed to co-ordinate three separate cuing systems.

After only 30 minutes my number came up! I presented the old permit and asked for a replacement. Did I have proof of entitlement? The electricity bill was presented and accepted. What was the registration number of the vehicle for which the permit was required. I told him. Did I have proof of ownership of the vehicle? That one floored me! Why would I be asking for a permit for some else's car? Sorry he said, I need to see the log book to prove you own the car. Brilliant I thought, another trip to the civic centre and another half a day out of my life that I'd never get back.

However, there was a way out. I was entitled to a permit, as proved by my electricity bill, but as I didn't have the paperwork to prove I actually owned a car I would have to have an open permit valid for ANY Vehicle! I paid my £10 and it was duly issued. Why would anyone want a permit limited to one vehicle when they can present less paperwork and get one they can use for any car, van, truck, motorbike or side-car. The bureaucratic mind never fails to amaze me!

One per cent of entire Slovakian population living in Britain

2011-06-13T17:36:00.000+01:00

There were an estimated 8,000 Slovaks living in Britain at the time the country was created in 1999 by the break up of Czechoslovakia. In 2004 Slovakia joined the European Union and they now represent the fastest growing foreign-born group living and working in the UK.

An estimated 52,000 Slovakians are now resident in Britain. It represents a six times fold increase in the Slovakian population in Britain but more alarmingly it is the equivalent to 1% of the total population of the country.

The number of Latvian has grown from about 7,000 to an estimated 39,000 in the same period and the number from Romania, which joined the EU later, has risen from an estimated 14,000 in 2004 to 53,000 today.

Eight more Eastern European countries, and of course Turkey, are in line to join the European Union by 2018. Eastern European Workers are often paid below what a British worker would have been paid, they work long hours and accept difficult working conditions.

The reality is that they have added enormously to the competition that British workers face and are one reason why since 1997 a huge proportion of new jobs created in the UK have gone to foreign born workers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/8571092/One-per-cent-of-entire-Slovakian-population-living-in-Britain.html

Eric Pickles' "new favourite word", doppelspitze

2011-06-10T01:31:00.000+01:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/2011/may/23/international-localism-models

When it comes to localism, it seems the government is now only too willing to look overseas for its cues.

Take for instance Eric Pickles' "new favourite word", doppelspitze, which refers to the former system in several German länder, prior to introducing elected mayors in the 1990s, when it became apparent that an elected politician didn't need to share power and prominence with a costly salaried chief executive.

In recent weeks we have seen Leicester's newly-elected mayor and former council leader Sir Peter Soulsby enter office and propose the abolition of the city's chief executive post pretty much on arrival after swapping Parliament for city hall. Perhaps he was taking his cue from the logic of the localism bill applied in London, where Leo Boland, the chief executive of the Greater London Authority, concluded that his own post was superfluous given the existence of a directly elected London mayor.

That's not to say that antipathy to doppelspitze is without precedent even here in the UK. For instance Doncaster's troubled mayoralty concluded early on that a 'managing director' might be more appropriate for an authority where supposedly the buck stopped with the mayor.

So far, so European.

But what of other countries like Japan? Interest in the idea of merged mayoral posts and chief executives also abounds here, where, since the introduction of a uniform system of local autonomy introduced in 1947 under the US sponsored post-war constitution, elected 'chief executives' (as referred to in Japanese) exist in both the municipal (city and town) and prefectural (county, roughly speaking) tiers as mayors and governors respectively.

As elected city chiefs, Japanese mayors act as both political leadership and head of the administration and are required to appoint one or more vice mayors, who can either come from within the local civil service or be seconded from a central government ministry on request of the mayor.

Executive leadership has become more of a pressing issue in recent years following the wave of municipal mergers (from 3,000 a decade ago to just over 1,800 today) and continued efforts towards decentralisation, with mayors now seen as more than just community leaders. Japanese academics refer to this as a 'presidential' style of local governance, though curiously there is some debate in these quarters about introducing "the British system" of local authority 'chief executives', as well as replacing elected mayors with indirectly elected ones in order to encourage more collegiate governance.

With respect to day to day administration, the vice mayor of the city or town acts as both lead official and their voice on earth, communicating policies and directions to the bureaucracy and the local elected assembly.

We might recognise this as a de facto local authority chief executive in all but name, but it is regarded as more akin to the US city manager model and is not considered the 'head of paid service' like in the UK.

It is, however, important to appreciate certain facts of the Japanese system, where the local civil service is hired on career length contracts from graduation and work as generalists on the basis of regular and almost guaranteed promotion, culminating in a top-tier of service heads below the vice mayors working near to retirement.

British mantras about leadership and performance are simply not present within the local bureaucracy. It's also worth noting that lack of female participation, despite some political efforts at national level, remains stubbornly persistent in Japan, withonly 15 female city mayors and six vice mayors (out of 1,800 nationwide).

So while there's no question of Japanese mayors having to share the stage with a marzipan layer of well-remunerated chief execs, there would probably be zero interest from Eland House in introducing the jobs for life local civil servants required for making it work, nor much appetite in provincial town halls for the arrival of a Department of Communities and Local Government civil servant from London to oversee their administration.

Andrew Stevens is UK editor for CityMayors.com and also works at the Japan Local Government Centre in London (with thanks to Irmelind Kirchner and Mamika Kambayashi)

key talent quitting the public sector?

2011-06-10T01:25:00.000+01:00

In a SHOCK poll result 73% of those surveyed felt that council redundancies will lead to key talent quitting the public sector, leaving councils unable to provide front-line services.

This survey was carried out by, wait for it, the Guardian and those questioned were, yes, you guessed it, members of the local government network.

Well I suppose that confirms it. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

The question I'd like to have answered is where will all these people quitting the public sector actually be going? The jobs that are available in the private sector generally pay less, have worse job security and the final salary pension schemes collapsed years ago. That's probably the answer, the people quitting the public sector are taking their pensions before the money runs out. Who can blame them really!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2011/jun/08/redundancies-brain-drain-council-warn?&

Japan, China, Rome, Libya, Afganistan, the UK.............

2011-06-09T14:24:00.001+01:00

There are increasing numbers of bloggers and web commentators asking when will the people in the UK wake up to what is happening to democracy in our country and say Enough is Enough. We are spending £Millions on bombing Libya and our troops are being killed in Afghanistan and Iraq but at home the political elite are becoming even more removed from the realities of life. A 19% increase in gas prices might not cause big increasers in heating bills in the summer months but the effects will hit hard next winter.

Unfortunately, I doubt it will be in my lifetime that the people in the UK will reach the point of saying enough is enough.

Materially most people are still much, much better off than they were even just 20 years ago. It is everyone's "right" these days to have central heating, colour TV, mobile phone, internet, McDonalds or a takeaway on every street corner, cheap clothes, reality TV and the chance to be famous for a day. Until things get a lot, lot worse then there is little chance they will ever get better. Ultimately the wealth of the world will be concentrated into a few incredibly wealth families, these people will own EVERYTHING. There will be a small professional class who run everything and a vast mass the rest of us who are given bread and circuses to keep us happy. Social mobility will be zero and you will be born to your station in life.

The Japanese had a stable society based on ridged rank for generations, only toppled by western influences. The Chinese had a stable society for 1,000s of years based on everyone knowing their rank. The basic unit was the family but the principle went from the very top where the Emperor’s family were the ultimate and right down to the lowest peasant in the fields. The father had authority over the wife who had authority over the children. Boys had authority over the girls and the elder children had authority over the younger children. Even in youth, however, younger boys had authority over elder girls. If a grandfather was still alive, he was the most important member of the family with a grandmother the most important woman.

Chinese civilization survived largely unchanged for thousands of years while the West suffered through multiple collapses. Confucianism may not match our modern ideas about gender equality and individual liberty, but the longevity of the hierarchy it produced is still followed by hundreds of millions of Chinese today. The threat to Chinese society now comes from outside influences just as it was Commander Perry, gunboats and outside influences that pulled down the Japanese.

Therefore, the lessons from history are clear. When societies get rotten enough they fall to vigorous and more ambitions outsiders who come in and take over. Even the Roman Empire did not collapse from within; it needed the barbarian tribes to pull it down. However, when the same small group owns the whole world then where will outside influences come from to topple the system?

I'm going out to buy some stout shoes this afternoon.

2011-06-08T11:05:00.000+01:00

As I was spending £80 filling the car at the petrol station this morning, just after spending £350 on an MOT and service, I started thinking.

Mobility is one thing that has made the working classes less amenable to control by the ruling elites. If you can jump in your car and go where you like then you are much harder to control than if you are restricted to walking, riding your pedal bike or using public transport. Ideally, I’ll bet the elites would like to see the availability of private motor cars restricted to them. This would not only clear up the congestion caused by “other people’s cars” but would enable the elites to control where people lived, where they went, where they worked, everything.

Now they cannot pass laws saying only people above a certain status can own a car, not in a democratic country like ours. They can however make motoring so expensive that it moves beyond the reach of most of us. People are already changing their behaviour to reduce dependence on cars so maybe we will go back to the good old days were the workers lived within walking distance of their place of employment (assuming they are lucky enough to have employment these days); they shopped at local stores within walking distance of their homes; their children attended local schools and when they went on holiday, they were shipped by coach or train to suitable places for them to enjoy appropriate entertainments. The places off the public transport network were reserved for those people with cars who could afford to travel independently.

As the cost of motoring rises towards levels where ownership of a car becomes the reserve of the well off then mobility of the rest will decrease and so will their life choices and the opportunities of their children. This then affects another area where ordinary people have an opportunity to challenge the elites. Education. Some research has shown that Grammar schools were actually less popular with aspiring middle class families than with the working class families they were supposed to "disadvantage". This is because Grammar Schools selected on ability not family background, how much your father earned, or where you lived. The new system, based on catchment area, meant that families who could afford to move home to a certain area could guarantee their child went to the school of their choice.

In other words, comprehensive education created a market place where you could use your financial muscle to buy your children a place in the school of your choice when ability couldn't get them through the doors! A great triumph for those who despise the elitist nature of Grammar Schools? I wish someone would explain to me how?

Today, many young people faced with the increase in tuition fees are now choosing their university based on location not necessarily the best course for them or their career aspirations. They are studying where they can live at home to save money! If your parents are rich enough then that doesn't matter!

Education leads people to challenge elites. It was increased education that challenged the Christian church. If education had been kept for the few and all church services still conducted in Latin then how would ordinary people ever have challenged the teachings of the church? As ordinary people gained access to better education then they obtained knowledge and qualifications that enable them to challenge the entrenched elites.

This is why the elite so jealously guard access to the Oxbridge Universities; they don’t want the oiks, chavs and spivs going to their university. Should an unsuitable person manage to sneak through the recruitment sieve, in the name of social engineering, then they of course are never permitted access to the inner sanctum of the privileged, private dining and drinking clubs. If this person does manage to use their education to break into the elite then their children are born into it and the second and third generations are absorbed into the ruling group. The Milliband Children for example, Peter Mandelson another. There is less real mobility in the Tories; there it takes more than a couple of generations and a title helps enormously!

So let’s ramp up the costs of motoring until cars once again become the toys of the rich rather than the tools of the rest of us. Return motoring to where it belongs, a privilege of the few. Let's all move back into subsidized housing owned by the factory, the mine, (or the call centre?) where we work. We can shop in the company store, holiday by bus or train in the approved holiday camps and our children can learn their place early in life. It would also have a beneficial effect on crime! If thieves, burglars and muggers were restricted to carrying out crime within walking distance of their homes then think how much nicer it would be if you lived far enough away from them that they couldn’t reach you. Even if they did get out to where you lived, possibly by using the bus provided for your cook, cleaner, gardener, etc, then they would be easy to spot getting the bus back to their own area while carrying your 50-inch plasma TV!

Of course, the trick is to be one of the elite riding past in your car rather than one of the people you swish past who are walking everywhere! I'm going out to buy some stout shoes this afternoon, just in case!

MILF is the vanguard of the Islamic movement

2011-06-06T01:20:00.000+01:00

Thanks to GC for bringing to my attention the existence of an armed political organisation that calls itself MILF. As he says, this is a highly unfortunate acronym, but one that has brightened up his (and my) day no end.

The joy continued when I checked out their website, which declares that "The MILF is the vanguard of the Islamic movement in the Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao and the neighbouring islands." This conjures up some pretty special imagery, but whilst I want it to be so, I know that it can never be.

MILF is, in fact, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which operates with a small force of soldiers in some islands I never heard of before.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/milf.htm
http://gary-brusselsblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/unfortunate-acronym.html

All you Need to Know about Government Bureaucracy

2011-06-03T17:12:00.000+01:00

* Pythagorean theorem: ................................24 words.

* Lord's prayer:.......................................66 words.

* Archimedes' Principle: .............................67 words.

* 10 Commandments: ....................................179 words.

* Gettysburg address: ...............................286 words.

* Declaration of Independence: .....................1,300 words.

* US Constitution with all 27 Amendments: ..........7,818 words.

* EU regulations on the sale of cabbage:.............26,911 words!!!!

SORT OF PUTS THINGS INTO PROPER PERSPECTIVE, DOESN'T IT?

VAT on Fuel for Air Ambulance

2011-05-19T12:24:00.001+01:00

I WONDER how many people heard the response that the Prime Minister gave in Parliament, when an MP asked why the Air Ambulance has to pay VAT on its fuel but the lifeboats don't?

David Cameron merely said that it was because of a European Union ruling. If our MPs had any nous, there should have been uproar in the House about how the British government meekly kowtows to Brussels. How woefully pathetic I feel our Westminster parliament has now become, if it is powerless to let the vital Air Ambulance service off paying VAT on its fuel. Shame on all MPs.

But in my view, our MPs are now seemingly automatons so conditioned by the system that they fail to spot the outrageous injustice in all of this. They are meant to represent us, the voters who put them there, but, instead, they do what they are told by the likes of Blair, Brown and Cameron In my opinion, they gave up representing the wishes of the British people in 1972.

That is why UKIP fights the three main parties. We will keep fighting them until we get our national sovereignty returned so that we can, once again, be ruled by a properly accountable Parliament in Westminster – and let the Air Ambulance off VAT on its fuel.

(Thanks to Hugh Williams UKIP Treasurer)

Options for re-structuring

2011-05-19T10:50:00.000+01:00

From a blog I follow. welovelocalgovernment.wordpress.com

May is here and many local authorities will have just gone through the first of what is sure to be a number of major restructures to take place over the next three or four years.

At the end of it almost 140,000 local government jobs that once existed no longer exist and a large number of local government employees find themselves redundant and forcibly retired.

However, there are many ways to skin a cat and this set of restructures has demonstrated significantly different approaches from different councils.

In fear of generalising (but doing it anyway) broadly speaking there were two approaches:

1) The ‘protect our staff’ model

In this model every effort is made by the local authority to find their staff a job. Although the new service structures and job descriptions will be significantly different to what was being done by the current staff lower thresholds will be set to ensure staff are able to transition into the new structure.

Under this model there is no attempt to ensure the removal of ‘deadwood’, by which we mean staff that are not performing up to the level they should be. Nor is there any effort to bring new blood into the organisation through the creation of new posts. The primary aim is to limit, at all costs, the number of redundancies.

In one example I heard about the primary determinant of whether or not a member of staff would receive a job in the new structure was their salary. So, if you were ‘overpaid’ in the old structure that would continue and if you were ‘underpaid’ then tough. This disadvantages those on short term secondments or who are acting up into managerial roles (who tend to be newer in the organisation and keener to get on) and advantaged those who’d got high salaries by dint of spending a long time in the organisation.

This model reassures staff in the organisation during the transition and keeps as many people as possible in post. It assumes that the authority has consistently worked to develop talent and performance managed those staff who are not performing up to standard and that development programmes are in place for all staff going forward.

2) The ‘we’ll design a structure and then try to get the best staff we can model’

In this model the council designs a structure that they feel will meet the authority’s needs going forward. All staff are told they are at risk of redundancy and have to apply for the jobs in the new structure. If the staff are good enough for the new roles they are appointed but if not the council is comfortable about going out to external recruitment.

In this model ‘deadwood’ is definitely gone and ‘slightly ok wood’ have to prove their worth in interviews.

I know of one council where a team of 15 was reduced to 10 and yet only 7 of them got a job with three posts being advertised externally.

The disadvantages of this model are that it is expensive; making a lot of people redundant is very costly, as is recruitment. It is also very destabilising for the local authority; staff feel under threat for most of the consultation period and subsequently you need to bed in a whole load of new employees.

It is also largely a one off trick; if the local authority has to do it too often then it is evidence of them failing in many other ways.

I don’t know which model is best but here’s my guess:

In one or two year’s time the authorities in model 2 will be far better off than those in model 1. Carrying staff who aren’t quite up to it might seem like a sensible option in the midst of a horrible series of redundancies but long term having exactly the right staff in post can only be of benefit to the authority and local people.

Welovelocalgovernment is a blog written by UK local government officers. If you have a piece you’d like to submit or any comments you’d like to make please drop us a line at: welovelocalgovernment@gmail.com

Sack the Chief Executive

2011-05-19T10:18:00.000+01:00

Well it's not often I find myself in agreement with an Elected Mayor, but this time I think he's got it exactly right.

According to the Mayor; "The chief executive has a very wide range of responsibilities, some at least of which I believe overlap with the newly elected mayor, particularly providing strategic direction.

"It's for that reason that I've come to the conclusion, partly to save money but also because of this overlap of roles, that the chief executive's role can be removed from the organisation and that's the proposal that I'm making."

Fantastic news. Some real changes being made!

Unfortunately for Hartlepool it's not Stuart Drummond making this announcement. It's Leicester's first elected mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, who has announced plans to scrap the position of chief executive at the city council.

After just a few weeks into the job Soulsby has come to a conclusion that Drummond has failed to reach even though he's well into his third term in office. One of the quotes from Sir Peter echoes something I said when I was a new councillor back in 2002! The mayor added: "There's no legal requirement for us to have a chief executive but we do have to have a head of paid service."

Exactly! We don't need a Chief Executive! Bring back Town Clerks I say!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-13421828

The fight to save St.Hilda Ward

2011-05-11T00:59:00.000+01:00

One of the "issues" that emerged during the local election campaign was the proposed merger of St.Hilda Ward with the existing Stranton Ward to for a new "Heritage" ward. Apparently the existing councillors are very much against it (well John Marshall and Tim Fleming, the independent two anyway) and they, along with Shane Moore, the Conservatibve Candidate in the recent elections are all going to campaign to "Save St.Hilda Ward"

It's a shame the two independents didn't start the fight a little bit earlier. At the Council Meeting of December 16th 2010 the whole council agreed a set or proposals that included the formation of Heritage Ward. Only one of the three ward councillors was present at that meeting. The Labour John Marshall, and he of course voted for the proposal. Shane also needs to check with his Conservative Group Leader, Ray Wells, since all the Conservative Councillors voted with the Labour Group (as indeed the usually seem to do) in favour of the proposals. The Tories even went as far as to send a separate e-mail to the Electoral Commission to stress how fully they supported the plans for Heritage Ward!

Tim Fleming did have his name on a letter from the "Independent Association" but this seems to be mainly a plea to retain Elwick and Greatham as separate "rural" wards. The body you would have expected to be most active in protecting the integrity of St.Hilda Ward is of course the Parish Council. This body has so far made no representations about the proposed changes.

I personally wrote to the Electoral Commission some time ago and the UK Independence Party (Hartlepool Branch) made a formal submission to the Electoral Commission back in August 2010 suggesting the existing ward boundaries be unchanged and simply reduced from three Councillors to two.

I wish the campaign by Tim, John and Shane every success. However I think they have left it a little bit late to start! Still better late than never to jump on the bandwagon!

Toys out of the pram

2011-05-06T16:12:00.001+01:00

I've really upset the St.Hilda Ward Conservative Candidate, Shane Moore! I wonder if he was really naive enough to believe he was going to win the seat? I actually finished where I thought I would, second place, however I did think the Labour Candidate would be the one taking the seat rather than Tim Fleming. However, I'm glad it was Tim.

Anyway, I've apparently posted "blatant and shameful lies" about Mr.Moore on my blog on Election day. Well I've checked up and I only made one post on my blog on election day. I am happy to acknowledge that when Shane ~~told blatant and shameful lies about me~~ made a couple of "mistakes" he did change them when they were pointed out. So in the same spirit if he'd care to tell me which are the "blatant and shameful lies" in my blog then I'd be happy to correct any "mistakes" I've made. Of course I was able to point out errors of fact in Shane's postings, like Hurworth Burn is NOT in Darlington. I never complained about what he thought about me, he's entitled to his own opinion, as am I. When it was commented that Shane himself doesn't live in the ward there was a rapid rebuttal that where he lived was on every leaflet he sent out. Unfortunately for Shane this was in fact not true. That "mistake" was down to the printer apparently?

Having said all of that, congratulations to Shane Moore on polling 4th with more votes than Ruben Atkinson, I'm sure the Tories, Labour Party, the remnants of the Lib-Dems and a number of members of the Council Hierarchy are delighted with your performance and pleased to be keeping me out of the civic centre for another year.

Still can't let it go!

2011-05-06T10:11:00.000+01:00

Even after the votes have been counted the Shane Moore still can't let it go. Why does he feel the need on his blog to refer to "the absent fringe party candidate"

It's over, Tim won, I was second. How would it have hurt him to just acknowledge my name, the fact I stood for UKIP, accept the result and move on without another dig?

Still, that's (unfortunately) politics today. Never pass up an opportunity to belittle your opponent. Now it's back to the real world!

"The Allisons"

2011-05-06T09:26:00.002+01:00

This video was posted on a local message board. I think it was meant to be taunting me! Actually I found it very amusing. Wonderful that some people obviously have nothing better to do that their lives are brightened by my "humiliation"

The lyrics say "It's hard but I'll pull through" which is not quite right. I'd say "It's politics and I've already got over it!" I have much, much more in my life than Hartlepool Council Chamber. So Congratulations to Tim Fleming, St.Hilda Ward Councillor for another 12 months at least.

Thank you and good night!

2011-05-06T01:34:00.000+01:00

Independent (Fleming) 360
UKIP 359
Labour 356
Tory 168
Independent (Atkinson) 45

So Tim held the seat. Congratulations to him. Now I'm going to bed.

Election Day

2011-05-05T17:12:00.002+01:00

So the big day dawns. It's been a strange campaign. There were 5 candidates, the sitting independent defending his seat, a former Lib-Dem Councillor also now an Independent, a hard-working Labour supporter (well that what he said on his leaflet) now standing as a conservative but (again according to his leaflet) he's more of an independent really, a Labour Candidate and me.

The campaign has been a bit strange to say the least. The Independent defending his seat put out one leaflet and then sat back probably expecting the pub vote would get him back in. If he was relying on his record to speak for him then I don't think he'd have much to shout about. The second independent put out one leaflet then disappeared from view. The Labour candidate also kept his head fairly well down as I think he's hoping to win by default so the less he says the fewer people he upsets. The Tory candidate came roaring out of the starting gate and went onto the attack, against me! Not sure why I had to be his target, surely the sitting Councillor is the one to beat? Possibly Tory Central Office (the one he claims not to listen to!) were telling him it didn't matter who won as long as UKIP didn't?

Anyway, I wish good luck to all the candidates, in all the elections, all round the country. I'm sure there are some Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem candidate who are honest, decent, hard working people, who want to make a positive difference, unfortunately I'd be very hard pushed to name any of them! Of course the Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dem loyalist (are there any Lib-Dem loyalists any more? Didn't they all join the Tories!) would say the same about UKIP.

UKIP have some high hopes in the Welsh Assembly Elections where PR gives us a real chance of getting seats. In the council elections around England we will get a reasonable number of votes but realistically very few seats. UKIP's support is growing and is very widespread but this of course means it is very thinly spread in most areas and that makes winning seats very difficult. Nearly 1,000,000 people voted UKIP in the last General Election in 2009 but we didn't get a single MP. That's one reason why voting reform is so badly needed, unfortunately the reform on offer, AV, won't actually make all that much difference, which of course is exactly why it has been offered.

Anyway, that's it for me. If I win then I'll spend 12 months bashing my head against a brick wall in the Civic Centre trying to make a difference. If I don't win then I'll be forced to get on with my life without the giddy pleasures of the Hartlepool Council Chamber and thereby associating with people whom I wouldn't like to have as guests in my own home!

snide comments and supposedly clever remarks attacking me personally

2011-05-04T13:41:00.001+01:00

Love it when people are reduced to making snide comments and supposedly clever remarks attacking me personally since it just shows they have nothing of any real substance to come at me on. Just for clarification I have leafleted the Central Estate many times in the past few years since I send newsletters out all year round, not just when there is an election due!

PS Interesting how the truth can be flexible for some people. It's ironic someone claiming they are off to their "home ground" on the Headland when they don't live in the ward either! Very funny!

Centre of the Universe

2011-05-03T18:43:00.000+01:00

Well Central Estate was definitely the centre of the universe this afternoon. At one point I was delivering leaflets with the Labour Party just in front of me and the Tory Candidate just behind me! Given the choice I'd rather have had both of them in front of me! I never like having my back exposed unless it's really necessary! Of course last time I was on the council I was stabbed in the back so many times it was hard to find room for more knives so the attacks had to be more frontal. This reduced their ferocity quite a bit. Its easy to slip a knife into someone's back using innuendo, whispering campaigns, anonymous leaflets, etc but it takes more courage to attack someone straight on!

Clear Favourite!

2011-05-01T19:07:00.000+01:00

It was a glorious sunny day in St.Hilda Ward today and the welcome I received on the doorsteps was equally as warm. The consensus was I should be clear favourite but some people are worried the No Hope Tory and the Also Ran Independents might block me on the rails and so allow the Labour Candidate to sneak the win again. So I suppose that makes it a two horse race!

Time to get your bet on! Just make sure you back the winner.

For a Councillor who has a proven record of fighting for St.Hilda then there is only one choice!

Put your cross against Stephen Allison on 5th May

My Election Address!

2011-04-30T23:46:00.001+01:00

Click on the picture below to open a larger view

Newcastle win Permiership Title!

2011-04-30T14:35:00.000+01:00

Just imagine if the Premiership Title was decided by AV rather than the current unfair system where the team that wins the most games then automatically wins the Title. How biased and unfair is that? Taking today’s placings then the first team eliminated would be West Ham, then Wolverhampton and Wigan. Unlikely that these teams will give their second preferences to the likes of Blackpool, Blackburm or Birmingham. I definitely can’t see West Brom giving anything to the Brummies!

Then Aston Villa would go, unless of course West Brom and Birmingham rallied round and gave them their second preferences, which might keep Aston Villa in the race a bit longer.

Sunderland and Newcastle then next to face elimination but everyone likes the Geordies (or dislike them less than everyone else!) so maybe Newcastle will stay in and Stoke will get the push. At this point, I would think Aston Villa would run out of second choice votes. Getting serious now into the top 10. Can Fullham keep ahead of Bolton and Everton? Unlikely so they go. Newcastle still hanging in there as Everton wouldn’t give their second choices to Liverpool or a London Team!

Liverpool goes next and their second choices are between Newcastle, a Manchester team or a London team. On the basis they vote for who they dislike least it pushes Newcastle further up the ranks and Manchester City are eliminated. Their second choices are Manchester United (never in a Million years!), Chelsea, Arsenal or Newcastle. I think the Geordies would get it again. Arsenal are next to go! Choices are now Chelsea, Manchester United or Newcastle. No contest, the Geordies all the way.

The last three are Newcastle, Manchester United and Chelsea. It’s down to the second choices of the Stamford Bridge Crowd to decide between Manchester United (Who beat them for the last three seasons) or Newcastle, who never beat anyone!

So, the Premiership winners under AV are the Toon Army!

Haway the Lads!

Hartlepool Mail Profile

2011-04-21T10:20:00.001+01:00

Need to submit a 200 word profile and a photograph to the Hartlepool Mail today. This was the piece that last year the Labour candidate didn't have time to do! Of course that helped to maintain the illusion that he was the Independent John Marshall! Name recognition works wonders!

Anyway, here goes, 200 Words.......

For eight years I was privileged to be a Councillor for St.Hilda Ward. My priorities were to speak out for the residents, to champion their causes and to inform them what really went on in their civic centre. These will be my aims again after 5th May. Speaking out, challenging and informing is not popular with Harlepool’s political class. In 2010, I lost my seat, to Labour Councillor John Marshall. Afterwards many people admitted to confusion over the name.

I am the only candidate to use his own money to produce ward newsletters; I was the only Councillor questioning the costs of the Tall Ships; almost alone, I voted against Council Tax rises; and, despite what other candidates now claim, I was the ONLY Councillor who stood up against the spiralling wage rises for top officers.

Since my departure, St.Hilda Ward has missed my strong voice. The ward now needs someone like me to defend the interests of St.Hilda and its residents. Don’t fall for Labour, Tory or Independent spin this year. Please give me the privilege of representing your interests again on 5th May. Thank You.

Read my blog at http://steveallison107.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/StephenAllison

Not voting FOR something is NOT the same as voting AGAINST it

2011-04-18T15:46:00.000+01:00

According to a leaflet that came through my door this week it is (apparently) a fact that no Conservative Councillor voted for the Chief Executive's Pay rise. Well that may well be true BUT I suspect that would have been just as accurate to say "it is a FACT that no Conservative Councillor voted AGAINST the Chief Executive's Pay rise"

During my time on the Council I noted a distinct tendency for the Conservative Councillors to vote with their Labour colleagues. If they didn't vote "for" then they often tended to abstain, but never, or very, very, rarely did they have the backbone to vote against. I seem to recall the Lib-Dems mostly did the same. They rarely actively opposed anything by voting against the Labour Whip, they just didn't vote for it.

Year on year increases in Council Tax, unopposed by Conservative Councillors who then tell you they didn't vote FOR it.

Freedom of Hartlepool for Peter Mandelson, unopposed by Conservative Councillors who then tell you they didn't vote FOR it.

I don't think abstaining is what most people want from their councillors! They want people who speak their minds and nail colours to masts. A weak exclamation "I didn't vote for it" is just pathetic you also didn't take the opportunity to vote against it.

Mind you look at the voting record of some of the "independents" on Hartlepool Council and they are hardly good examples of active opposition to the Labour Whip. If you act like a Labour Councillor, talk like a Labour Councillor and vote like a Labour Councillor then have the balls to stand for election as a Labour Councillor. Don't hide behind another party or a claim to be independent!

Hartlepool Tops National Poll

2011-04-17T09:54:00.000+01:00

The Chief Executive of Hartlepool Council is the top of the national list of pay rises for Chief Executives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377711/Named-shamed-Council-bosses-refuse-freeze-pay.html

Now is this a bad thing? Hartlepool being mentioned in the national press? I'm sure the Mayor told everyone how good this is? According to him things like this are at least "putting Hartlepool on the map"

Isn't that what the Mayor says about things which cost a lot of money and are of dubious benefit to the town. It's all worth it because it puts Hartlepool on the Map! What are the hidden, intangible benefits of having a Monkey Mayor, a massively in the red Tall Ships Race and the Chief Executive with the fastest rising salary in the country? I'm sure the Council will tell us soon?

Every councillor is now claiming they didn't support the wage rise! Is there an election coming any any chance?

How a bank bailout package works

2011-04-14T17:53:00.000+01:00

It is a slow day in a damp little Irish town. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

The hotel owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub.

The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

Hurworth Burn TS28 - Look it up

2011-04-13T14:59:00.000+01:00

Well the local election campaign hasn't even really started and the mud is already being slung. The half truths, lies and misdirection have started. "Steve Allison doesn't even live in the ward. He's really from Darlington you know!" So what are the half truths, lies and misdirection in that statement

The half truth is the first part. I don't live in the ward. I haven't had my permanent home address in the ward since I got married in 1990. I did have my permanent home there for most of my life prior to getting married and have retained my business address in the ward since I first became self employed in 1986. So I am in the ward most days of the week. Both my parents live in the ward, which is another reason that I am there fairly regularly, and until they passed on, all my grandparents were residents of St.Hilda Ward. So there is the half truth.

The lies and misdirection are relating to me living in Darlington. This is not true. It is a LIE. If I was charitable I would say the misdirection is just ignorance of local geography. However, as this is politics then it is probably a deliberate error.

My home address is in Hurworth Burn. This has a TS28 post code and an 01429 telephone dial code. According to my Sat-Nav it is 8 miles from the Borough Hall and as I drive it almost every day I know it takes about 15 minutes maximum. Hurworth near Darlington has a DL2 post code and an 01325 telephone dial code. Hurworth is 30 miles from the Borough Hall.

So there is the LIE and the MISDIRECTION. I do not and never have lived in Darlington. Since the Grand Central Train Service started running through Hartlepool to Kings Cross I don't even go to Darlington to catch a train any more! I suspect the people spreading these half truths, lies and misdirection are fully aware of the real truth but then politics is a dirty game to some people and they don't care how low they go!

What you see and what you get!

2011-04-05T19:11:00.000+01:00

The 2011 elections are now upon us. In the 2010 local elections the Labour Party stood a candidate with the same name as a long time Independent Councillor from the same ward. Labour of course denies any confusion was caused! However I think most people accept there was enough muddying of the waters to allow Labour to sneak back the seat.

There was no doubt much rejoicing in the Labour Party (and the Tories and the Lib-Dems) at my removal from the Council Chamber and I also heard there were quite a few Council Officers who were also openly delighted at my departure.

So, what a difference a year makes! The Independent Councillor, who’s name was used last time by Labour, now appears as the Proposer for the Conservative Candidate. So maybe he's not quite so independent as he's been making out all these years? Another former Independent Councillor for the ward has decide against a fourth attempt to get the seat back and instead is supporting the Labour Candidate as his proposer. There is no Liberal Democrat but one of the two independent candidates is a former councilor, for a different ward in the town, where he was, guess what, a Liberal Democrat. The St.Hilda Liberal Democrat Candidate last time is this time standing in another ward. Strange that his principles let him do that, especially as he was keen last time to point out my home address isn't in St.Hilda Ward!

There has long been a question mark in my mind over the true allegiances of some “independent” councilors. In St.Hilda ward this year there are some true colours being shown and some former colours being quietly painted over. Red, blue and orange are all there under the “Independent” flag.

Over the top lads!

2011-04-02T09:53:00.002+01:00

I completed my nomination form yesterday so it looks like my name will be on the ballot paper for St.Hilda Ward on 5th May.

Hartlepool politics of course are a perfect illustration of what is wrong with our system. I always thought in politics you were supposed to question and test the other side's proposals, look for weaknesses and ways to improve their ideas or suggest alternatives that would lead to what you would see as a better result for the town and its residents. This testing and probing was meant to produce better decisions and avoid knee jerk reactions and the domination of political dogma over practical and realistic, workable decisions.

In Hartlepool however the political culture is to see any attempt at a contribution from the other side as a personal attack. Never mind what they suggest, just belittle their motives for suggesting it, cast aspersions on their mental capacity for thinking anything different, insult their integrity and of course accuse them of being negative and committing the ultimate sin in Hartlepool Politics "talking the town down"

Just look at how the Mayor reacts to anyone who dares to question him these days. He doesn't deal with the points made, he just goes red in the fact and unleashes a torrent of sarcasm and bile at the individual who dares to suggest there may be an alternative way of doing something.

The same for Brash and his minions.

Classic inferiority complex behaviour! The mistake they are making is thinking inflexibility and refusal to discuss alternatives are signs of leadership and decisiveness. Yes leaders need to be decisive but they also need to be adaptable, flexible and ready to innovate.

The Mayor and the Council in Hartlepool are like the Imperial General Staff during the trench war of the 1914-18 war. They are unable to see any alternatives other than going over the top again and again and again. Unfortunately anyone suggesting this might not be the best tactics is guaranteed a place in the first wave in the next big push. The Mayor and Council have no real new ideas or radical thinking but they will make sure no-one who does is ever allowed to come forward and challenge them.

SHOULD I STAND FOR ELECTION IN MAY?

2011-03-06T19:47:00.001Z

Last year the voters of St.Hilda Ward gave me my marching orders as their Councillor and decided they preferred to be represented by a Labour Party Member.

After the election, many people admitted they had been fooled by the name of the Labour Candidate and asked if I intended to challenge the result. I did not as there were no legal grounds to do so. Since then the new Labour Councillor has become known as the invisible man! It seems evident that the established political groups in Hartlepool were more interested in removing me from the Council Chamber than in providing real representation for the residents of St.Hilda Ward.

Of course, the planned changes to ward boundaries in 2012 are being designed by Labour to tighten their grip on the Town. St.Hilda Ward is identified for abolition and a new ward “Heritage Ward” planned to merge the Old Borough of Hartlepool with part of the current Stranton Ward. The only possible reason being that Stranton is one of the safest Labour Seats in the town!

Since May 2010, there have been no Councillor’s Newsletters distributed in St.Hilda Ward. This is because the ones I use to send were written, produced, distributed AND PAID FOR by me out of my own pocket!

Since May 2010, the Tall Ships Race has been and gone, leaving behind a massive Bill for the people of Hartlepool. Now the other councillors are having to admit the doubts I was expressing were right!

Since May 2010, the Chief Executive of Hartlepool Council has increased his salary by £10,000 and received a £19,000 lump sum back dated payment. All of the councillors now claim to have opposed this rise. Where where they when I was objecting to senior officer’s out of control salaries?

However, the most blatant piece of political opportunism was last month when the councillors decided to object to the increase in the UK’s payments to the European Union. I joined UKIP in 2004 for exactly this reason. Why didn’t these councillors support my objections years ago?

So the question I am now asking myself is “Should I stand for re-election to the Council on May 5th?

I would like to think my voice has been missed!

I know many people from outside the ward were delighted to see me gone. The Hartlepool Labour Party, Conservatives and Lib-Dems all pleased at the result. I have been told there were even celebrations in some offices in the Civic Centre! Especially as I was no longer able to pursue my investigations into the sale of council property at rock bottom prices and the secrecy and “Pink Paper” culture could continue unchallenged to hide the truth about what goes on behind closed doors in Hartlepool Civic Centre!

So, should I stand on May 5th?

Libraries or logos?

2011-02-16T10:27:00.004Z

One of the first lessons I was given in civic finance was that when times get hard it is libraries, community centers, dial-a-ride and services like that which are targeted for the first cuts. These guarantee front page news and interviews with the poor, downtrodden and disadvantaged people who will be worst affected. The same level of public concern would not be generated by slashing the printer cartridge budget or moving down to 70gsm paper from 110gsm. It would hardly be front page news if heartless government was forcing Council to use thinner paper and only print in black and white.

Targeting high profile services over backroom savings also means that should the Mayor manage to “find” the money to keep the services open then this generates more headlines about how caring and sensitive he is and how hard he is working for the town. It is unlikely that the public would applaud the Mayor’s hard work in re-instating full colour printing in the civic centre!

How times have changed, just two years ago a "working group" spent months “refreshing the corporate image” of Hartlepool Council by adding a new wave under the logo. How much did all that cost and how long would it have kept a library open? Of course in those days money was no object and those in power thought the good times would continue for ever. Unfortunately the money is now all gone and the bills are coming in and it is the people of Hartlepool who have to pay them!

Politics is a dirty game!

2011-02-06T11:10:00.004Z

I have been galvanised into action for my first blog post of 2011. My good friend and former council colleague Geoff Lilley called me yesterday to ask for my advise before he surrendered himself to the local police to face allegations of "cyber bullying" I told him to "Say nothing without a Solicitor present"

The Hartlepool Mail briefly covered the story here

Geoff had also been told to bring his laptop computer with him, I recommended he didn't hand it over without a warrant! His wife was told the Police just wanted a "quick look at it" and that if he brought it in then they wouldn't need to keep it. However, if the Police had to get a warrant then the lap top would need to go away and he might not get it back for months. He therefore handed it over, guess what? The police have kept it and he might not get it back for months!

So I have written to the local rag, whether they publish or not I will wait and see.....

Dear Editor,
Politics is a dirty game! The Labour tactic of standing a candidate called John Marshall in St.Hilda ward last year illustrated that. However, it got even dirtier this week when Councillor Geoff Lilley was arrested and held in custody for several hours over alleged “cyber bullying”

Some may speculate Geoff’s real crime is being an Independent Councillor in a town where the Con-Dems and Labour feel only they are entitled to sit in the Council Chamber? While I was a Councillor I was subject to numerous personal attacks on my character and integrity, all dismissed as “normal cut and thrust of local politics” However, when a complaint was about me I was hauled before the Council’s standards board and ordered to apologize. The Lib/Lab/Con Councilors on the Standards board were ready to tar and feather me and drum me out of the council. I appealed my treatment to the Standards Board for England who reviewed my case and totally exonerated me, saying my remarks were in the public interest and intended to promote debate.

Interestingly Councilor Lilley made a complaint to the Council Standards Board a year ago regarding lack of impartiality from Council Chairman Carl Richardson. I’m almost certain that no action has yet been taken to even investigate this complaint. Of course Councillor Richardson sits on the Cleveland Police Authority and is the former spouse of the Labour Councillor whose complaint lead to the arrest of Councillor Lilley. Nothing should be read into these facts of course!

Stephen Allison
Former UKIP Councillor St.Hilda Ward

Further arrests are apparently expected. The police task force will be assembling to swoop down and round up the rest of the desperate gang of internet villains. Kipperdipp, Caturine, Hier Hunter and several others can apparently expect the dawn raid "knock on the door" at any time! So be braced for the potential news that the Vice Chairman of the UK Independence Party is "helping police with their enquiries"

I'm too busy updating my Facebook status to get any work done!

2010-12-26T20:58:00.001Z

I go online most days. How anyone survives without e-mail is a mystery to me! I do research look up information, events or activities. I can’t remember the last time I went to the cinema, theater or out for a meal without checking times and reviews and often booking on-line before I leave home.

However, I know how addictive aimlessly cruising the information super highway can be. Facebook, Blogging, E-bay, Discussion boards, etc all take up hours and hours without even noticing how much time is passing. So, I always try to be aware of how much time I waste. Wasted time is easy for me to measure; it’s time I’m not doing anything productive; it’s time when I’m not generating income. As a self employed person I get paid for what I produce and not just for turning up and sitting at a desk. No-one pays me for what I look like I’m doing. I get paid for achievements, not just looking busy.

I was therefore interested by reports of a “secret” audit of internet use at Waverley Council. This revealed Facebook was the most popular site visited by Council employees during working hours! Not far behind were E-bay and a gaming website. One unnamed worker averaged 90 hours a month on the internet!

Waverley Council now hope to save £100,000’s by restricting inappropriate website access from Council owned computers. I wonder what savings a similar “audit” at Hartlepool Council would produce? Staff on Facebook or close a Library? What would you chose?

£2 Million Pounds at risk of being lost!

2010-12-14T21:06:00.005Z

Hartlepool Borough Council, with funding from the Environment Agency, is carrying out a study to develop a scheme to improve the existing coastal protection provided by the Town Wall. The Town Wall provides protection from coastal erosion and coastal flooding to the highway, residential and business properties behind the wall, but is itself at risk of significant damage due to coastal erosion.

The first stage of the study was to determine the existing condition of the wall, and the ability of the wall to withstand future storms. The results of this first stage of the study were presented in a public consultation event held in the Borough Hall in July 2009.

The second stage of the study looked at a range of options to deal with the risk of flooding and coastal erosion at the Town Wall. Each option was evaluated on the basis of the storm protection provided, the environmental (including historic nature of the wall) and visual impacts and cost. As a result of this option appraisal process a preferred option was then selected.

A consultation event was held on 24th August 2010 in the Borough Hall to provide local residents and other interested parties with information regarding how the preferred option for the scheme was selected and to obtain feedback from local residents with regard to the acceptability of the preferred solution.

Over 200 invitations to the consultation event were sent to interested parties by post, and 300 invitations were distributed by hand to local residents in the area considered to be at risk from flooding in the future. These invitations were supported by press releases and public notices.

Only twenty-five members of the public attended the consultation event. Those attending were asked to complete feedback forms to enable Hartlepool Borough Council to gauge the level of support for the proposed solution, and seventeen forms were returned. Of the seventeen members of the public who returned the forms, eight were broadly in favour of the preferred solution, while nine were not in favour of the preferred solution.

A description of the proposed solution and timetable for future events is attached for your information. This solution was selected as the most advantageous scheme and has the highest chance of receiving funding from the Government. There are other possible solutions but analysis has shown that it is extremely unlikely that they would be funded. Copies of the presentation and posters provided at the August 2010 consultation event can be downloaded from www.hartlepoolcoastal.com/townwallfeedback.aspx or viewed at Bryan Hanson House.

The benefits of the scheme are that erosion / deterioration of the wall is dealt with in a manner acceptable to English Heritage and the standard of flood protection to the properties is significantly increased. This will secure the future for residential and business properties in the current flood risk zone.

The limited feedback from the consultation event shows a fairly even balance between support for and opposition to, the proposed solution. Unless further support for the scheme can be demonstrated from the local community, there is a real danger that the £2m funds currently allocated to the construction works will be redistributed nationally and the opportunity to implement improvement works lost.

In order to determine whether further support for the scheme exists within the local community, the Council are therefore asking the residents of the Headland to complete the Feedback Form by the 31st December 2010.

The Town Wall is an important part of the history of Hartlepool, particularly the Headland area and plays a key role in the every day lives of the residents of the Headland. It is therefore essential that the Council are able to gauge local opinion with regard to any decisions relating to the future of the Town Wall and that local views are expressed and taken into consideration in the decision making process. We would therefore urge you to complete the Feedback Form.

Hartlepool Council Crisis Response

2010-12-09T11:17:00.001Z

I read an interesting article in the Public Service News (http://www.guardianpublic.co.uk/crisis-management-training) this week that was based on the premise that crisis-situations appear to have become the norm in today’s society as opposed to the exception.

The list is fairly impressive, from mad cows, avian flu, fuel blockades, climate change, predatory paedophiles, feral hoodies, economic collapse, terrorist plots, volcanic eruptions, etc, etc. and it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that politicians and their officials are generally ill-equipped for dealing with the non-routine challenges, threats (and even opportunities) provided by crises.

Beyond the UK there are a host of centers of excellence, like the European crisis management agency and the Australian and New Zealand School of Government, that specialises in preparing politicians and officials from all levels of government for the challenges of governing under pressure.

Participants are placed in a central control room and fed snippets of information from a variety of sources using live video streams, email, faxes and a variety of other real-time tools. As the pressure builds and the information becomes more complex the group is instructed to prepare a number of briefings for the council leader. As the information coming into the control room changes so do the demands placed upon the teams.

Scenarios often include appearing in front of the media at very short notice in a full press conference in which they feel the full force of a media feeding frenzy. The most significant and valuable element of this exercise is the manner in which it provides a fairly raw but incredibly valuable insight into how crisis leadership demands a quite different set of skills and assumptions than are commonly honed in day-to-day 'normal' politics.

There's a paradox here the frequency of major emergencies is set to increase because public services are under greater pressures, but we still fail to train decision-makers in the art of governing in a crisis. There is a huge difference between 'coping behaviour' and 'crisis leadership' and it is exactly this fact that makes this kind of project so important.

I wonder how Hartlepool Council would perform in a major emergency? Something really significant like the pies running out at Victoria Park or Drummond getting stuck in the WC? I would have thought the first response weapon in Drummond’s Crisis kit is give Paul Walker another pay rise, no doubt followed by another council re-organisation and a press release urging calm but re-assuring the people of Hartlepool that the Tall Ships will be returning soon!

Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past!

2010-11-29T16:52:00.003Z

As I sit in my office looking out of the window, watching the white flakes drifting higher and higher I am worried that I'm having some form of hallucination! The country can't be paralysed due to the weather because snowfalls are now just a thing of the past! I know that's a fact because I read it in the Independent nearly 10 years ago!

Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past was the title of an article by Charles Onians, published in the Independent on Monday, 20th March 2000. According to Mr Onians Britain's winter ends tomorrow (21st Match 2000) with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.

He then went on to write.........

Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.

The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of lowland Britain, and December brought only moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the continuation of a trend that has been increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the south of England, for instance, from 1970 to 1995 snow and sleet fell for an average of 3.7 days, while from 1988 to 1995 the average was 0.7 days. London's last substantial snowfall was in February 1991.

Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6Â°C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties.

However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".

"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

The effects of snow-free winter in Britain are already becoming apparent. This year, for the first time ever, Hamleys, Britain's biggest toyshop, had no sledges on display in its Regent Street store. "It was a bit of a first," a spokesperson said.

Fen skating, once a popular sport on the fields of East Anglia, now takes place on indoor artificial rinks. Malcolm Robinson, of the Fenland Indoor Speed Skating Club in Peterborough, says they have not skated outside since 1997. "As a boy, I can remember being on ice most winters. Now it's few and far between," he said.

Michael Jeacock, a Cambridgeshire local historian, added that a generation was growing up "without experiencing one of the greatest joys and privileges of living in this part of the world - open-air skating".

Warmer winters have significant environmental and economic implications, and a wide range of research indicates that pests and plant diseases, usually killed back by sharp frosts, are likely to flourish. But very little research has been done on the cultural implications of climate change - into the possibility, for example, that our notion of Christmas might have to shift.

Professor Jarich Oosten, an anthropologist at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, says that even if we no longer see snow, it will remain culturally important.

"We don't really have wolves in Europe any more, but they are still an important part of our culture and everyone knows what they look like," he said.

David Parker, at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Berkshire, says ultimately, British children could have only virtual experience of snow. Via the internet, they might wonder at polar scenes - or eventually "feel" virtual cold.

Heavy snow will return occasionally, says Dr Viner, but when it does we will be unprepared. "We're really going to get caught out. Snow will probably cause chaos in 20 years time," he said.

The chances are certainly now stacked against the sortof heavy snowfall in cities that inspired Impressionist painters, such as Sisley, and the 19th century poet laureate Robert Bridges, who wrote in "London Snow" of it, "stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying".

Not any more, it seems.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html

I wonder if he might just have been wrong?

Hartlepool State of the Borough Debate

2010-11-16T13:44:00.005Z

I often say to people that you can tell how busy I am by the amount of blogging I do. When I'm busy the blog takes a back seat. So as you can tell by the month long absence from the bloggosphere I have been very, very busy recently. However I just had to make a comment about the forthcoming Civic Event in Hartlepool. Thursday sees the annual "State of the Borough Debate"

To use the word "debate" in anything connected with Hartlepool Council is totally erroneous. There is no way Mayor Drummond will engage in any form of "debate"

On Thursday Drummond will make a speech telling everyone who bothers to turn up what a fantastic place Hartlepool is, what a huge success the Tall Ships was, how lucky Hartlepool is to have such a great team of Officers running their town BUT hard times are ahead because the dastardly Tories and their poodles the Lib-Dems are going to take away the money Drummond has been spending like mad for the past few years. Drummond will then take a few questions from the floor and read out the answers he has previously prepared (or had prepared for him).

THIS IS NOT DEBATE.

Debate has proposition which is proposed and seconded and has people speaking for and against. There is rebuttal and summing up followed by a vote.

Mind you, there is no debate in the ordinary council meetings. The rules don't allow debate! There are a series of speeches and forgone conclusion in the Civic Chamber.

There is no chance for any rebuttal of points made and there is no summing up allowed against the motion, only the proposer is allowed to speak more than once (although it has been noted that under the Chairmanship of Cllr Richardson the "one speech per member" rule has sometimes been "one speech per member unless you are Labour then you can have another go if you like").

No-one who knows what the word means would recognise what goes on in the Hartlepool Council Chamber as "debate"