It Could Happen Here....

Or Perhaps Not.


Dear Axbridge Town Clerk

Photo extract from the latest "Oyez" Axbridge Council Newletter.....

I just wondered what is this fascination with dog turds? 

I've lived in Axbridge for about 10 years, so I'm very much an incomer to this area.
However, in my experience it's quite rare to spot a dog in Axbridge, let alone
any evidence of a marauding pack of diarrheic Alsations. 

Yet, month after month, the Oyez newsletter goes on about turds. 

And a few months ago, the Mayor Albone was in charge of a stand in the 
town square, filled with children's paintings ramming home a message...
Pick them up.... Or Else...

If you look around Winscombe right now, the whole village is filled with
these childrens' paintings, threats and all. Up by the former station, on just
about every lamp-post, in most shop windows, on walls. Everywhere. 
In fact, in my opinion, the biggest source of mess in the village.. is the notices 
themselves.  

I just wondered who exactly has an agenda here, and who is pushing it ?

In my opinion, it's one thing to try to raise kids to have an awareness of right and 
wrong, and to be responsible. It's another thing completely when children are 
used to promote agendas, and substitute as some kind of local police.  

Or is it all a diversion from other things...?

Herbal Medicine, Libraries, and Other Important Stuff

Herbal Medicine

I recently did a morning course to make a herbal remedy.
Run by a local herbalist, Bett Partridge, at Wookey Hole.
She comes from a long line of herbalists; her grandfather would regularly
make medicines for Lloyds the Chemists.

http://www.herbalpartridge.co.uk/

Recent and past experiences sparked my interest. 

In the 1960's, as a schoolkid I would get hayfever. A drug named Piriton came onto
the market, prescription only. I took some. Awful. I walked around in a kind of haze.
Others I've spoken to describe the effects as trance-like.

Last year, as the pollen season arrived, I noticed one of my neighbours picking nettles.
Turned out he made nettle tea from them, to treat his hay fever. I made some, and
found that the eye-watering pretty much disappeared. The sniffles, and runny nose
were much reduced. And in general I felt better in myself. The distressed feeling that
goes with hay fever, almost completely gone. 

Piriton is still here. These days it's called Piriteze, and is available over the counter.
I know which I prefer.


Libraries.

The Winscombe Library refit is now complete. 

I wandered over to Winscombe on opening day. Staff were very bubbly. Not
surprised. Aside from a can of Dulux about 2 years ago, this looked like the first
time any money had been spent on Winscombe Library in about 40 years.

For a Tory refurb, they've done quite a nice job really. Front of library extended to
create more space. Wall knocked through to create a bigger children's area. More
book space and 1 more computer for interneters. Generally a rather good refurb.
In the way of Conservative attitudes towards public services, the cheapness will
show through after a while.

One of the various people there was a senior library manager. I spoke
briefly with him . He was keen to emphasise that many 'new' items had been
recycled from elsewhere.When I remarked.... " It's alright.., I like to see money
spent on libraries..". his face cleared. A look of relief flickered momentarily,
before neutrality resumed.

I accepted a slice of cake from a very cheerful woman in a summer dress. She
introduced herself as North Somerset County Councillor Felicity Baker. The
North Somerset Libraries Councillor. I decided to have another slice of cake
before I said anything. Shortly after, I offered my succinct opinions of her behaviour
over the closures of Weston super Mare, and Banwell libraries.  To the discomfort
of her associates, and some smirks from others. 




Other Important Stuff

I sometimes imply that in Scotland, life is milk, honey, and the sun always shines. 

It wasn't very sunny at the last football match I attended, 40 years ago, just before I left to work in England.

Stirling Albion v Stranraer.  A winter Saturday afternoon. Players hacking lumps out of each other on a rock hard pitch. Half way through the second half, score 0 - 0.
I'd just shivered... "Gggod, I'm ffff... ing freezing, there's got to be something better than this.."..., when the effects of the greasy half-time pie made themselves known. I briefly considered my options.... Toilets with no roof, a wall to pee against, perhaps a cubicle, but no doors.

I made a run for Stirling Station. It was like.....







Happy summertime

Somerset County Council - Libraries : Truth, Smoke and Mirrors, Lies

County Councillor David Hall announces an increase in the libraries 'Book Budget' of £250,000 over 2 years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20624292 also at
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Somerset-libraries-share-space-services/story-17504752-detail/story.html



Odd Thing Though.... The official stats/figures for public libraries in 2011/12......

http://www.cipfastats.net/uploads/CIPFA_Profile_Nearest_Neighbours_Somerset1312201251414.pdf

Of 144 library services throughout the country, only 19 spend less on their libraries than Somerset. (Total Net Spend/Per Head of Population).

For comparative purposes, the stats people group library services into what they call 'near neighbours'. Statistical near neighbours, that is.., not geograpical. Somerset is grouped with 15 other library services, most of which have an amount of scattered rural population.....

North Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Devon, Cumbria, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk.

Stock Turnround

(The average number of times each book was issued during the year)

On average, Somerset books were loaned 20% more often than the other 15 authorities.

Total Books Loaned

On average, Somerset Libraries loaned 5.5% more books than the other 15 authorities.

Total Net Expenditure for the Somerset Library Service

£6,464,237

Per 1,000 population.           Average of the other 15.

£12,160                                     £12,984

That is, Total Net Expenditure for Somerset Libraries is much less than the average of the other 15 comparable library services.



All Acquisitions    ( the 'Book Budget' )

Replenishment of the Lending Stock (Books, DVD, Audio Visual, the lot).

Year             Total Number      Per 1,000 population         Average across the other
                                                                                   15 comparable library authorities.

2007-08          111,904                 214                                         219

2008-09          77,792                  148                                          222

2009-10          38,920                   74                                           195

2010-11          41,414                   79                                           182

2011-12          38,394                   72                                           165

As you can see there have been significant cuts at the other 15 library authorities. They pale in comparison with the behaviour of Somerset County Councillors. The publically quoted current book budget of £200,000 equates to the 72 in the 2011/12 figure above. An additional £125,000 in one year raises the the 72 to 117.  Which is still miles below the average of 165 across the comparable library authorities.
The £125,000 in the second year merely maintains that situation.


1. The local County Councillor for Cheddar, Dawn Hill, is on record as saying of Somerset Libraries..     "They cost a lot."..

2.The now departed Council Leader Ken Maddocks described the library service in terms that implied that   he was disappointed it didn't make a profit.

3.The current 'libraries councillor' David Hall has described the libraries as 'underperforming'. ( This is a   rather favourite word of his to describe just about any public service .).....

From the official figures, Somerset Libraries are performing well, especially considering what has been meted out to them over the last several years.., by people who have an inbuilt antipathy towards public services.  

In terms of the public utterances of County Councillors..., individually, their statements are pretty much par for their local political course.

Collectively, in my opinion, the words of the County Councillors are lies.

                                                             -----------------------

Sainsbury Meeting in Cheddar

SAINSBURY

I attended the Sainsbury's meeting on 5th December at Kings of Wessex school.

Here are some of my impressions.

1. 6 out of 15 members of the Sedgemoor Planning/Development Committee
    showed up. Or as the chairman, an individual named Filmer, put it...  "...over half."

2. Persons on stage. (left to right).
    a. 3 from Sainsbury's. ( 2 consultants/hired opinions, and one Sainsbury's man.)
    b. 2 from Sedgemoor District Council. One from 'Democratic Services' .
        Second person was a legal officer.
    c. Chairman
    d. 2 Planning/Policy people from Sedgemoor DC. 


3.. Right from the start the chairman, Filmer, stated that the people on stage were not there to answer questions from the floor (alternatively known as... local people who had turned up on a  freezing night. ).  They were instead there to give responses to pre-prepared, pre-selected questions which appeared on a screen.

    Protests and quite loud objections began almost immediately. And within moments and minutes, people started to leave. This continued in one's and two's until about 2/3rds of the way in, a small group got up to leave, and right away about 30 - 35% of those still present also got up and left.


4. To me, it was pretty clear from the utterances of the 2 Sedgemoor policy officials that they are already primed, by councillors presumably, to favour the application. In particular their references to the allegedly unattractive state of the local area. And also when challenged from the floor about whether the proposals breached a particular aspect of the 2009 strategic policy  one replied ... "It may do.., however .., 3 years is a long time in retail, and we are looking again at that".

    This basically said to me that policy and local strategy is being re-written, or re-interpreted to suit the needs and desires of Sainsbury's.

5. Outside, afterwards, I passed several other attendees as I walked to my car. One was in the middle of saying, with some certainty ".. there is no silent majority." I didn't hang about to hear more. It wasn't hanging around weather.

    A day or two later I phoned Sedgemoor District Council Democratic Services. I had previously spoken with them about there being no public records kept of the voting behaviour of councillors. I spoke with Leila X. I mentioned that she had attended the meeting , and noted that she had sat there all night, through all the protests, objections and stifling of discussion by the chairman. And not said a word. I asked if she would like to make some kind of comment, bearing in mind that the sign above her head said 'Democratic Services'. This didn't go down too well. And she had no comment.


6. My impressions of previous events.

A few years ago, there were two local Lanes Hardware shops. One in Cheddar, one in Winscombe. In my opinion both were viable.  Not fortune making, the Winscombeone in particular. But viable.  The owner(s) of Lanes chose to embark on a program of  financial and property engineering. The most obvious results were..

a. Lanes in Winscombe closed, and it became a charity shop.
b. Lanes sold the Cheddar shop to Tescos, and opened a cheap replacement nearby. 
c. When Tesco Express opened, within 3 weeks the shop 2 doors down stated that their turnover had reduced by 50%, and that they would close. They did, and it's now a charity shop.
d. The presence of Tescos did no favours for the now closed and boarded-up butchers shop a few doors     further down.
e. The small bakers/coffee place opposite the library. Eventually closed. Not completey the fault of Tescos,    but a major contributor.
e. Just round the corner from Tescos, shortly after, the Co-Op closed their store, and instead chose to invest in refurbishing their Axbridge and Winscombe stores.

What Tescos and Lanes, imo, have mostly created was money for themselves, several more charity shops, the eventual closure of a whole clutch of locally run shops, and the out-muscling and departure of the Co-Op.

Somerset County Libraries

Watchet Library


For Somerset Libraries
In 2006/7

• net expenditure per head of population was 33rd out of 34 English
Counties

• expenditure on books was £700,253 or £1.34 per head, 25th of all
English Counties

• income raised by the service was 4th highest of the 34 counties

• items loaned was 9th highest

• visits per head of population were 3rd highest


Subsequent years.... repeated cuts in budgets, and expenditures.


In 2008...

• 6 month period, May - October... Peoples Network internet
computers almost completely collapsed in many Somerset
libraries.

• Somerset is ranked 27th out of 34 in staff expenditure per head of
population of English Counties.

• Taunton Library is 18th busiest in England.

• Further cuts in book budget, expenditure on books down to
£376,700 or £0.72 per head of population.

In 2009...

• More cuts in expenditure, and charges for just about
everything in libraries ratcheted upwards.

• Peoples Network internet service now very much compromised and
degraded. Also chargeable after short period of free use.

• Budget for books down to £176,700 (£0.34 per head of population).
Somewhere along the way, I've gained the impression that, in
fact, the figure is closer to £122,000 or £0.23 per head of population
in Somerset.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My view of the purpose of a library is that it is for everyone who wishes to use it, not for special-interest community groups trying to impose their own interests on libraries, nor for police to hold their beat surgeries in.

A library is primarily about books, its members, something that takes us out of the everyday, to learn about ourselves and others.

Just for a moment, to adopt the language of business, this looks extraordinarily like a business that is being deliberately run into the ground, with a contempt for its customers, staff, and just about everyone associated with it.

The responsibility lies with the budget setters, or is it with the County, the people of the county itself ? People who know the price of everything, and the value of nothing ? Is Somerset a place to get out of ?

If you love your libraries, its time to ask some hard questions of your representatives and others whether they recognise that they have statutory obligations and responsibilites for our library service.