TS ASTUTE

Last Friday evening I accompanied the parliamentary Candidate (PPC) Leah Fraser to Training Ship Astute for their annual prize giving at its premises in New Brighton .  

I had the pleasure of inspecting half the parade (or watch or boat) as Leah inspected the remainder having expected this turn of events I wore a regimental tie and polished footwear although my old parade shoe had some competition from the gloss on the cadets boots.  

Cutlasses and Indian Clubs anyone ?

 

We were entertained by the above squad and the Royal Marine detachment in combat kit doing battle drills and much more.After a visit to the Ward Room for tea and cakes with the very experienced staff (the last warship I was on had pink gins !!) there was the prize giving ably performed by the PPC whose speech to the assembled crew and their parents was well received.  

Sea Cadets and a Marine Cadet recipient of the many prizes presented

 

A really enjoyable evening with youngsters,male and female,in an environment where they learn, skills discipline ,enjoy social intercourse ,friendship and its great fun by the look of it.

ROUND UP

With only 87  days before the election canvassing continues in my constituency,Wallasey, and last week my ward,New Brighton, in particular in spite of the poor weather and after three nights knocking on doors I was left  with a sniffle.    

Happy Canvassers

I’m standing for re-election this year and if I said what the people of New Brighton want is:    

No increase in rates,    

Increased advertising and every endeavour made to attract the right kind of visitors,    

Utilisation of the spaces on the prom,    

Cheaper facilities on bus and boat and Extended illuminations in an endeavour to lengthen the season….that makes sense if somewhat stilted and if I added that bowls charges should be uniformly the same and ferries opened in the winter this would be the summary of Councillor Hardy,an independents, pledge to the electorate standing for re-election in New Brighton according to the Wallasey News dated 29 October 1938 .   

Door step issues as always consist of some of some hard to solve problems such as dog fouling,and we have a lot of it in the areas near the sea front, but there is usually a lot of information that can be gleaned,and given, on these outings that are of great value in hearing what is of importance to the elector.   

We know that there is a budget deficit and  defence will again suffer in the funding that’s going to be available to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The people in “A” Branch type positions in Mod know how to make forecasts on spending after “G” types have spelt out what future deployments and commitments will be but what none of them will be able to foresee is what this Government is going to pull out of the hat for another adventure for an army that’s been reduced by 20,000 since 1997. Goodness sake Mozambique,a former Portuguese territory, who Jose Manuel Barroso and his  marxist chums abandoned is now a member of the British Commonwealth (since 1996) what was the Westminster idea and cost,behind that?  

Why do we need a new aircraft carrier,costing millions, when we cannot support the surviving infantry  in equipment,training or welfare for the troops families ?.     

It could be argued that aircraft carriers,bombers,fighters,war ships, artillery,tanks,cooks and bottle washers are all there to support the man in the vanguard,the infantry man with his bayonet not all at the same time or phase of war but without him the arsenal has no role.We  have weapons that could obliterate vast acerages of hostile territory but no political will first to identify,or accept who is the enemy ,it seems,and then use those weapons against them.

100 DAYS

Yes ,a hundred days to go election day (or at least the locals) and after the spectacular end of recession figure(s) yesterday this Government needs as much time as it can to build a better story to go to the ballot box with. 

Recession? Mann Island,Liverpool.

As the figures were being announced I was in the Cunard Buildings listening to a former advisor to Bill Clinton,Robert F Wescott,an economist with his take on where the world was today and where it would be in the future.He thought that the Global recession was due to end and that we would move from “terrible to OK” and that history had shown that the deeper the recession in the US the faster the rebound yet on Radio 4 I heard a commentator say this may not be the UK’s experience. Growth would be around 3-4% he thought. 

One of the framed posters in the conference rooms,Cunard Buildings.

The audience filled the venue  though the only Councillors from Wirral were from my political party. 

Last week I sat on a committee (as a deputy ) that discussed recycling and waste disposal.Gerry Bowles the general manager of BIFFA,the councils waste disposal contractor gave an interesting presentation,with some facts; they have 30 landfill sites that they expect to be down to 10 in the next 5 years,a refuse vehicle weighs 32 ton,hence the unwillingness to use them on unsalted roads (the sliding factor) and recycling had risen from 14% to 36% a figure that I heard repeated yesterday evening in Wallasey Golf Club. 

I was at a lecture titled  ‘A…Way With Waste’ the presenter was a former Unilever employee and Euro waste quango member with a main interest in commercial packaging waste who’s message was “There is a way to treat waste and if there is a will to consider waste as a resource and support a mix of recovery options we can do away with waste” and of course as a tax payer I have an interest that less goes to landfill as the penalty,imposed from Brussels ,rises year on year if targets are not met and this could affect the rate of council tax. 

At both of these meetings I asked that since food waste was going to be separated out “how would it be treated/disposed of?” I never received a clear answer so thats something I will keep in mind.

SPACE

No no, not up there in the sky but here on the ground in Wirral that sort of space in which the council are inviting the public to comment on how they see the future of the boroughs development.  

The Local Developement Framework is gradually replacing the Unitary Developement Plan (UDP) that was adopted in 2000 .  

I attended a presentation on Tuesday of the “Spatial Options” available with a purpose. That was to change the usage of  a parcel of land that is plainly a commercial site,and a very successful one in New Brighton, but is designated as being “Primarily Residential Area” to a “Tourism Developement Site”. The need for this is to add protection in the planning process however I was informed that,this level of detail was not being looked into at this stage, so for now nothing changes, it’s the ‘big picture’ thats being addressed.  

Core Strategy Development Plan paperwork spread on map of Unitary Development Plan.

 

If you live on the Wirral you can look at the options and alternatives for the future development of the area and have your say on them.An ‘Open Day’  between 10am-8pm tomorrow at the Town Hall will give you the opportunity as well as being able to ask questions and hear presentations. 

The three main options cover: 

Focused Regeneration,Balanced Growth and Urban Expansion and its thought that the final plan wont be ready until two years from now,however in 106 days there will be a General Election and the best laid plans ect…………………

DUTIES

Economy and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee,you know it? neither did  I until Tuesday when I attended its meeting as a deputy for a member who was unavailable.There were a number of presentations and interestingly for myself and the Ward that I represent being many things but in the main a seaside venue the website,www.visitwirral.com which promotes the area has had a 37% increase in hits over the past year,if this brings more visits to the area all the better.

The item that engaged me was that the council had successfully bid for funds for new housing and 23 new units are to be built to ‘level 4′ standard,solar panels,window glazing ect and will be retained by the council as “Council Houses”!!.Having disposed of of all its accommodation to a Registered Social Landlord (RSL),and passing on that stock in as we would have said in the army “bad order” the thought of going back to that position was were my engagement came in.The opposition gave a defence of past council performance but they were missing the point if the council could not service housing in the past whats changed? funding wont be available.After some further questioning an officer has said that he will produce a paper on the situation that I would want to show the relationship between the council and the 23 houses,will it need to appoint an officer on £25000 to administer these council houses for instance?.

The Town Hall in light snow and a large moon.

The next evening I was again in the Town Hall for a Pension Committee meeting.These meetings,which commence at 6pm can be fairly short but only because a briefing session begins at 4.30 so that any technical or areas that trustees are not familiar with can be questioned.

Today Im sure is the day that the telephone is going to wear out,it’s never stopped ringing with calls from residents and fellow councilors over the non collection of refuse bins for the last couple of weeks and the information that “Streetscene” (the connection between councillor,resident and the contractor) is saying that the next collection is not going to take place until two weeks from now,is not good enough .Bin wagons are out and about. Time for some hard talk with the highways department.

NEW YEAR

I started New Year in the Smoke (London to the uninitiated) and what a good break it was. I could wake up and look toward Connaught Square 100 yards to the West and think of Tony & Cherie or at least the five coppers outside their house in the bitter cold.      

Winter Sun over the £3 ooo,ooo town houses in Connaught Square

The Capital has something for everyone how about going skating (is it still called “roller”)  Going into The Victoria a local period pub ,off Hyde Park Gardens, for lunch, a 

herd of skaters whizzed past      

and vanished Eastward toward Marble Arch. 

      

The Sunday lunch was excellent. My local pub is the Duke of Kendal and Sunday evening they have a knees up.      

Transport outside the Duke of Kendal

  As I mentioned something for every one in “The Smoke”.      

Close up

 Joan the pianist has been playing in pubs for more years than she can recall and she is joined by a variety of singers, some from the shows others who have  trained in the medium,all great voices, and its a great evening where I joined them after giving the casino a few shillings to help them out. The next day counting my loose change before the congestion charge kicked in ( Which Boris has promised to drop ,this Western extension )  I headed further South.     

I had a chore to do in the Kent wine country and experienced the first problem that the weather was to bring.Traveling down tarred narrow lanes the trusty vehicle couldn’t manage an ice-covered slope and sliding backward became stuck.It would have probably taken a day for the AA to reach me as I was in the area of Pett Bottom (I kid you not)  however after some heavy engine and gear work I managed to slide and face back from where I had come and continued by another route.     

For logistical reasons,ex wives, I was booked into the George Hotel in Battle .A building on the main street that was  at one time a military headquarters.     

GEORGE HOTEL,from what were the stables.

Other than the outer appearance of the building little except the stairs remain of any past grandeur.    

1st Floor landing.

 Overnight it snowed and continued snowing for the next two days.The Police would not allow traffic to travel South so a journey to Hastings meant going North to the A21 and then backtracking to the coast.    

GEORGE HOTEL,Courtyard.

 The main thoroughfares  into and around Hastings were cleared but the danger was on the very hilly roads that lead down to the sea. Recently the Conservatives held a seat in a by-election in their St Helens Ward after a resignation and although the Member of Parliament is from Labour at the election this isolated seat in the area could well change.    

The local council is quite innovative and with partners had a number of festive trees in the town centre and an ice rink in Queens Square.    

Ice Rink & tree supplied by Rotary.

  Hastings Council can be found on Facebook as can Brighton.Wirral with its large IT resources are no doubt thinking along these lines…….after a re-think maybe not?.    

After many lunches and dinners it had to happen a family fallout and it did in aptly named Battle High Street.  

HIGH STREET,BATTLE.

 Both sides scored hits but it did seem to be ”get grandad night”.  

Before snowballs and after an Italian.

 Hitting the road the next day just South of Robertsbridge on the A21, I ran into heavy snow that continued until just before the M25.  

North end of the A21 before the M25

 It was a traffic free run from then on and only slow where the highway was down to  two lanes.  

On Friday I was attending to residents problems that included requests for wheelie bin replacements,the lids had been taken to use as sledges as had life saving equipment positioned along the promenade by the Beach Patrol.  

Oh yes, Happy New Year ! 

P.S. “JOIN THE ARMY AND SEE THE WORLD” The Regimental Band of the Irish Guards head off to America tomorrow ,on tour  until March 26th.

YEAR END

Monday 21st in the morning had me at Landican for a cremation service for a lady friends father.The ground was so slippy that a chap in his eighties took a tumble and struck his head and on leaving the service I did a bit of skating until I reached the safety of the grass verge. One observation was that the chapel had no sign of peeling paint, it had been redecorated surely the least taxpayers should expect as the norm on a vist ?.

The evening had me and those councillors who could make this “special” meeting in the main chamber of the Town Hall to decide how the council should govern itself .The choice from two options offered by the Government went from an elected mayor who would not be a councillor to a system not a million miles from the one in use today and that was the one accepted.

I’m taking some time off and dependent on the weather heading South, so Happy Christmas.

PRE-CHRISTMAS

With a week to go until Christmas Day I have already eaten three turkey lunches and some of the  users of the Cambridge Road Centre will be having one today in the Nags Head Public House on Rake Lane.Other centre users had a lunch there on Monday both days are when the most users attend the centre. 

The (NEW) Nags Head

 

The pub is close to the centre and some users go there to play bingo.The centre recently held an evening bingo session that was attended by pub users and local people numbering around a hundred in all I was told on my final visit to the centre for this year last Friday. 

The day before that visit I was at a businessman’s Lunch with Leah (THE PPC) at the excellent Queens Royal on the sea front There  were many people who I didn’t know but plenty that I recognised from local businesses. 

Pre lunch drink with Leah Fraser and two good people from the top of the hill,or tobe exact St Georges Mount.

 

The food was fine as was the wine all to the background of music and a singer in the setting of a dining room I always enjoy. 

On Saturday I accompanied Leah to New Brighton Primary School for their Christmas Fair . During our visit the school began to fill up with people coming  to see the various stalls selling a variety of festive and non-festive wares. 

Looking down at the visitors

 

I talked to a couple of parents who I knew from their attendance at the New Brighton Sure Start Centre.The highlight of the visit was winning a can of beer,yes just one, that the stall attendant wouldn’t take back and I had wander around the school in a most un-councillor manner hoping that everyone could see the raffle ticket on the top of the can. 

Like all schools the walls display a host of information and what surprised me,this being a primary school, was a project harking back to the last world war. 

Second World War theme

 

Old posters were reproduced like, Dig For Victory, Dont Panic,You Never Know Who,s Listening ect and some old newspapers were there. I think the pupils had to design their own posters and some were very imaginative, with the odd spelling mistake like “Be healthy Milk, Eggs, Meet”. An interesting project. 

My blogger at the bar told me that the builder on the Hotel Vic site was in trouble. 

Hotel Victoria site Albion Street.

 

Lets hope that it’s not terminal trouble because it would seem that all the hard work has been completed bricks are already on site and most of the footings seem ready for bricklaying to commence. 

There was also a full council meeting during this period the most memorable part being pupils from Pensby Primary School singing carols before the meeting in different languages.My favorite was one in Cantonese,it just sounded so right !

OUT & ABOUT

Out and about mainly delivering the local political news-sheet “Newsline” with time also to accompany the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate ( PPC ) Leah Fraser to an Advent Coffee Morning at  St Peter & Pauls Primary School,because of her busy schedule we arrived so early that the hall was still in the process of being set up so I treated the PPC to a mug of tea in the ‘T Junction’ the excellent little cafe at the railway station.

ADVENT COFFEE MORNING

Getting back to the school we found a busy hall filled with plenty of Chrismissy things for sale,did I really need more Christmas Cards ?, and a conversational buzz that was vying with pupils on a stage playing carol music .The PPC headed off to another engagement and I went to the barber and got some of the grey cut off.

The next day ,International Day of Disabled People, I had been invited to visit the Remploy factory in Birkenhead although the site is in fact in Wallasey !!.Having found it on the West Float I arrived just ahead of the Deputy Mayor and his good lady I ended up being shown around with them by the boss Julie Holmes .

CELEBRATORY CAKE

The workshops are housed on a large site that has a upstairs training centre which is where we began our tour.I was unaware of how large Remploy nationally is and locally how many organisations are involved .Wirral Metropolitan College run basic numeracy and literacy courses and later I spoke to two recipients of certificates on the shop floor with a representative from RDI a people development company who’s motto is “learning without bounaries” . The disapointment was that a large iced cake on a table next to where we drank a cup of coffee wasn’t offered.

In the workshop we met school children,from schools like Claremont,  who were packing products as part of a scheme to gain work experience that includes the daily interaction of using a canteen and the banter of work colleagues .

CLAIMING MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Remploy have government contracts and some of the protective clothing that is made was on display as the photograph shows along with a lady from the Hamilton Square office of Remploy,the Deputy Mayor and his good lady and me. They wouldn’t let me keep the helmet.

My blogger at the bar tells me that the Somerfield store in Victoria Road, New Brighton is to be re-branded as the CO-OP but the even better intelligence is that its planned to retain it when the Neptune site is up and running.

CHRISTMAS

 

Christmas comes earlier each time around, in October one of my watering holes  started promoting their Christmas lunch with a take away menu and I remember that the children’s menu boasted that the soup would be ‘Heinz’ . There is nothing wrong with ‘Heinz’ but this was the first time I had seen it as a named soup. My first card came in the last week of November !! thats apart from the normal corporate  cards and organisations wanting my donation ,and the result of the Library Inquiry has now been made available to all the borough taxpayers and that gift will be debated in the Council Chamber on the 14th of the month.  

I attended the last meeting of the Merseyside Pension Funds (MPF ), Investment Monitoring Working Party  for the year at Cunard Buildings.We had a number of presentations by external fund managers after having been supplied with detailed papers on the position of the fund as a whole and the individual valuations and performance of funds.  

Cunard Buildings entrance hall.

The position is that the fund having shed 1/2 a billion in the recent financial crisis is practically back to its original state, the markets have been kind to MPF.  

The next day I was off to the races or at least the race course at Aintree for the MPF Annual Employers Conference where all the pension scheme employees representatives,  representing around 130 groups of employers go to get the lowdown on their pension fund.  

In the Princess Royal Suite,Aintree.

Delegates heard six speakers give their  report on the economic outlook, the actuaries update and other thrilling items before being able to ask questions.  

interestingly enough its was very much a Conservative set of meetings with from Wirral,bar the chairman, only this party attending .  

Thursday had me in a church hall as a teller for a local by-election that we retained the seat in and Friday I was in another church hall,this time having a drink at a colleagues birthday bash.  

Finally on these cold winter evenings (having been out canvassing,this isn’t hearsay) wouldnt it be nice to own your own pub, have the fire blazing ,the ale flowing and forget about the weather, well you can if you have £260 000 to spare  

The Travellers Rest

Thats the advertised price for what could be your bit of heaven on Marine Promenade, New Brighton.  Go On , you know you’re worth it.