<< Nov 2009 Nutts! Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - 12:33 pm
Lib Dem Shadow Home Secreatry, Chris Huhne, said about news of the sacking of Professor Nutt from the government's independent advisory committee on drugs:
“If ministers care so little for independent scientific advice, they should save public money by sacking the entire group of experts. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is simply not independent if its chair can be sacked for telling the Government what it does not want to hear. Ministers have constantly ignored the advice of experts when it comes to drug policies and pressed ahead with their own prejudices.
He added that if they care so little for independent advice they should appoint a committee of tabloid editors instead. Hallowe'en was my Father's Birthday Saturday, October 31st, 2009 - 7:06 am
My father was born on 31st October 1903, so today is the 106th anniversary of his birth.
Oh, heavens above, Phil is dead. Thursday, October 29th, 2009 - 5:08 pm
..... Or rather Norman Painting, the voice of Phil Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers. A lovely voice, a lovely character and - according to those who knew him - a lovely person. The last episode he recorded will be broadcast on 22 November. I'll be listening! I think Keighley Needs Traffic Improvements Thursday, October 29th, 2009 - 4:21 pm
At last night's meeting of the Keighley Traffic (Advisory) Panel people were wanting to know what Bradmet's priorities were for improving traffic flow in Keighley. The Bradford traffic official who was there indicated that he couldn't exactly say. However I passed on what Mr John Blackburn, Bradford's chief traffic official, had already told me some time ago: it would be AFTER the Saltaire Roundabout traffic had been sorted out.
We were shown the projected traffic for various roads if two teensy bits of one way traffic flow were to be introduced. It didn't look great. I said that I thought a complete (or even nearly complete - see below) one way system would be better.
In any case traffic figures from five years ago had been used. I asked how they got the figures. Apparently some could be logged by staff at the side of the road. This would obviously be expensive. However another method could be used, those cables that you see across the road. This seems like a much cheaper option. The Bradford official thought that because Bradford's traffic had decreased in the last five years then Keighley's must have decreased too. Everyone there assured him that this was not the case. Someone pointed out that with so many empty shops and a big hole in the middle of Bradford people probably just didn't want to go there.
I very much hope that they'll use their computer programme to work out how the following compare:
a) a couple of teensy little bits of one way road
b) an almost complete one way system
c) a complete one way system
And I do hope they'll do an up to date traffic count before that.
At present traffic in some parts of Keighley is a little better since the roundabout at Bradford Road/dual carriageway from Bradford was made smaller and traffic lights were installed. In addition the former pedestrian crossing over Bradford Road by the railway station was removed so now pedestrians have to cross at the lights at the Cavendish Street junction. This reduces the number of times vehicles have to stop along Bradford Road. However I used that crossing myself at about 5 pm on Tuesday and people were remarking on the pedestrian refuge being too small. I reported this to the meeting.
There is an argument that these measures have done more to relocate the problems than to solve them.
At the meeting it was pointed out that traffic and pedestrians along there will increase hugely when students move to the new college building on Bradford Road - it seemed from his reaction that the Brad Met spokesman didn't know about this! It was also said that the new Asda supermarket (also on Bradford Road) has only about a quarter or a third of the number of customers they expected to get. If Asda does get more customers, traffic along there will increase. Nick Clegg challenges Gordon Brown on Environment Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 - 8:28 pm
At Prime Minister's Question Time today Nick Clegg challenged Gordon Brown on Labour's poor record on the environment. He says,
"Labour's time in office has seen rising carbon emissions, plans agreed for a third run way at Heathrow, more dirty coal-fired power stations and more nuclear energy plants."
For many years Liberal Democrats have campaigned for more respect for the environment. Writing to Lib Dems Nick says,
"In the run up to the Copenhagen Summit I will be asking the whole of our Party to spread the word about our radical green agenda. I want everybody who cares about our environment to be left in no doubt that ours is the only mainstream party in Britain that will do what it takes to protect the future of our planet."
Click on the links below to see Nick Clegg's website and to hear what he has to say about the environment:
I have to say I'm appalled by the case of the vicar who sexually abused young boys. Peter Hedge was found guilty and has now begun a 14 year prison sentence. Bradford Council and another Useless Great Hole Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 - 8:12 am
Ever wondered why that flippin' great hole at Forster Square in Bradford is still a building-site-masquerading-as-a-roundabout. It's now official - the building company has probably gone bust. But wait! They have a cunning plan to make lots of dosh. It seems they think Bradford Council (or rather Bradford Council tax payers) can buy it back from them.
Now somewhere or another I heard a rumour that Tory minority run Bradford Council's just about bust too. Hmmmm.
Even so Bradford is planning to knock down the Odeon, a beautiful art deco building. That would be another site they couldn't afford to develop. What else can they think of to destroy, I wonder? My favourite comedian (apart from Nick Griffin) Monday, October 26th, 2009 - 2:44 pm
Last night we finished the day by watching my favourite comedian on telly - no, not Nick Griffin - Shapi Khorsandi. She really is a tonic. Street Freezing Monday, October 26th, 2009 - 2:20 pm
Not so long ago a large upright freezer of ours finally ground to a complete halt and, as it was not at all efficient any more, we decided to let it go to freezer recycling heaven in the care of Bradford Council.
We had nowhere to put it other than the street, which was a bit embarrassing, to say the least. We took off the door and I duly booked with the council for them to take it away, paying my £15 for the service. It was to be collected by 5 October.
On 7 October I phoned to ask whether they'd remembered about my freezer. "Oh, it's been logged as a complaint now," I was told.
On 15 October, freezer still very much in evidence in the street outside the house, I phoned again to check whether they'd changed their policy. No, they still claimed to collect electrical items within 15 working days of the booking.
Gerald had checked and Bradford Council had indeed taken the payment some days before.
"OK," I said, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'm going to write all along the side of the freezer that Bradford Council were paid to collect this freezer by 5 October, and then I'm going to take a photo of it and send it to my local paper - unless it's collected within two days."
It was collected the same day. Result!
But it seems to me that Bradford Council can't get the simplest things right. Who's the council leader? Conservative Kris Hopkins who wants to be our next MP and help to run the country. Good to see BNP leader Tie himself in Knots Friday, October 23rd, 2009 - 11:39 am
I somewhat disagree with Nader about the BBC inviting Nick Griffin on to this week's Question Time. It was delightful to see Mr Griffin tying himself in knots. I thought Chris Huhne was the star of the show, pinning down BNP lies much more effectively than the others did. Er, shouldn't that be White Humour? Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 - 12:36 pm
BNP Nick Griffin is now claiming his ill advised comparison of British generals to Nazi war criminals was "black humour".
Er, shouldn't that be "white humour"? Rampant Racism in Britain Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 - 3:42 pm
Yesterday evening I watched a horrific TV programme chronicling rampant racism in present day Britain. Panorama's "Undercover - Hate on the Doorstep" showed how anti-social characters behave when racism is given a covert go-ahead by some national level politicians. It was absolutely sickening, but thank goodness that even in the midst of it there were other residents who were decent, non-racist citizens. Sorrow at civil unrest in Pakistan Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 - 3:04 pm
I am very sad to have heard of people having been killed or made homeless by Taliban in Pakistan. Multi-cultural Dancing with Bells On Monday, October 19th, 2009 - 1:36 pm
The fabulous Urban Gypsies and two different kinds of morris dancers wowed the crowds at Keighley's popular Farmers' Market yesterday. A bit of a tradition has arisen for all of them to join forces for the last dance of the event, really letting their hair down.
I surveyed customers at the Farmers' Market, and at the Oktoberfest on the two previous days, about where they had travelled from, what they thought of the events and so forth. Having colated the results I don't think I'm letting you in on a state secret if I tell you the response was overwhelmingly positive. When I broke into a Youth Hostel with Margaret Becket's Sister ... Monday, October 19th, 2009 - 11:09 pm
Hearing Labour government minister Margaret Becket on the radio the other day reminded me of the time when I broke into a youth hostel with Margaret's sister.
Her sister and my sister were friends because they taught at the same school. They and I were hostelling in East Anglia, but when we arrived at one the hostels it was shut. We had already booked and paid to stay there and were wondering what to do about it when two cyclists arrived. They too had already paid to stay the night. They suggested getting in through an open window and under the circumstances it seemed a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
We were all in the kitchen cooking our suppers when a large policeman arrived in the room wanting to know what was going on. We explained that we'd paid to stay there and that we'd been a bit miffed to find the hostel closed.
On finding that my sister and her friend were teachers he decided to let us stay there. It turned out that the hostel warden had run off with the wife of the man next door.
And that was the end of our life of crime. Been doing a survey Sunday, October 18th, 2009 - 10:51 pm
On behalf of the Town Council I've been doing a survey over the weekend of people attending the Keighley Oktoberfest and Farmers' Market. I enjoy meeting people, though it's harder work than it looks. Park Wood Litter Picking Saturday, October 17th, 2009 - 10:43 pm
Been collecting litter in Park Wood this morning. The weather was ideal and the company very pleasant. What a pity people drop litter though!
Neighbourhood Forum and PACT Saturday, October 17th, 2009 - 7:43 am
At the Long Lee Neighbourhood Forum meeting on Thursday people were asked to say which priorities they wanted the police to concentrate on for the next few months. The priorities that emerged were bad driving and parking in the vicinity of Long Lee School, a spate of trespass in and thefts from gardens - and the perennial litter problem that seems to plague nearly everywhere on earth these days. I think that will only really be resolved when shops cease to use such excessive amounts of packaging and that it needs to be tackled by national legislation.
PACT? Police and Community er, what was it? Togetherness or something (???) Paddy Ashdown was an inspiration Friday, October 16th, 2009 - 8:33 am
Lord Ashdown quickly told us to call him Paddy. Not only that but he genuinely wanted to know our views at an evening meal local Lib Dems shared with him after his gig at the Ilkley Literature Festival. He then gave us a very interesting run down of his views on the present state of British politics, including his high opinion of Nick Clegg.
Paddy also said that the Lib Dem balance between the rights of the individual and the good of the community makes us the best political party in Britain by far, and that's what we need to get across.
Just found this little video of Nader Friday, October 16th, 2009 - 8:26 am
Here's a link to a video of Nader Fekri saying that Jacob Bronowski is his greatest inspiration.
Nader Fekri Sorry Animal Aid's Compassionate Charter wasn't adopted Thursday, October 15th, 2009 - 4:13 pm
A proposal from Councillors Allan Rhodes and Siobhan Alderson for Keighley Town Council to support Animal Aid's Compassionate Charter was defeated at last week's council meeting.
However several of us, including myself, did vote for it. I'm sorry that it wasn't passed. Another councillor has suggested that the proposal be re-drafted in smaller chunks, so that each part can be voted on separately. I think there is a good point to this and I hope Allan and Siobhan will present it again. A challenge to show why people should vote Lib Dem Thursday, October 15th, 2009 - 7:05 am
I've been challenged in the Keighley News to show why people should vote Liberal Democrat and why they should be interested in politics at all. I've responded by writing to the paper to suggest the writer might like to find out more by reading my blog. Hope the letter's in today. Ooh good! Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 - 8:10 am
Choral Evensong, live on BBC Radio 3 at 4 o'clock this afternoon, is from Exeter Cathedral. It's specially interesting for me because the Director of Music there is godfather to one of my great nephews. Looking forward to that. Last night Paddy told us the Secret of his Bird. Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 - 1:22 pm
Several of us enjoyed dinner with Lord Paddy Ashdown at Ilkley last night. Many thanks to him for being so generous with his time and also to Sam whose idea it was and Vaughan who organised it.
During the evening Paddy told us the secret of his bird - it was he himself who designed the Liberal Democrat Bird of Liberty. Never knew that before. I like the logo and wish it and Paddy many more happy years.
Paddy signed my copy of his new book, A Fortunate Life, too. It's about the various careers he has had, including his time in politics. Roman Polanski Monday, October 12th, 2009 - 8:35 am
Is he still not in prison? Why not????? More on Further Education Colleges Sunday, October 11th, 2009 - 11:31 am
I'm in favour of college courses teaching skills such as brick laying, plumbing and electrical wiring. I believe crafts such as these are just as valid as any other kind of work. I believe that Conservative and Labour governments have made a big mistake in denigrating practical courses, which has happened through assuming that the only valid education is gained from a university degree course. In my opinion trying to get everyone into university is a kind of snobbery. What's wrong with good, honest skills?
I do wish, however, that the Learning and Skills Council wasn't so fixated on vocational classes that it discourages courses that don't lead to a certificate. Retired people do not want or need a load of certificates but they can keep mentally active through attending classes. That is, they used to be able to, until most of the non-vocational courses were cut. Courses get brownie points for the number of students getting qualifications, but because many older people do not want to take certificates, the courses they may be particularly interested in don't get enough points to get funding from the Learning and Skills Council.
By cutting down on non-certificate courses colleges get higher marks in inspections too - fewer non-certificate courses means a greater percentage of students get qualifications so the college gets a higher inspection mark, not for teaching better or providing what the population needs, just for engineering a higher percentage of passes.
This doesn't tie up with the mantra of equal access for all. Don't older people have a place in that? Students with special needs are also being adversely affected by this ruse. I'm told they can have any courses they want as long as they pay the full price for them. Equal opportunities? No!
It has recently been announced that senile dementia can be prevented, or at least delayed, by keeping the mind active. Being able to attend college courses without it costing a fortune should be recognised as being an important part of the mental health of older people. I've been on a tour of the new college building today. Saturday, October 10th, 2009 - 12:02 am
Along with some other Town Councillors, Bradford Councilor Kris Hopkinson and others I went on a tour of the new Keighley Campus [Keighley College as was] building today. The invitation came about as a result of a chat I had with Clare MacDonald, head of the Keighley Campus of Leeds College at the Keighley Civic Service a few weeks ago.
The building is rather deco in appearance with its curved "corner" at the junction of Bradford Road and Dalton Lane but does not totally hark back to the past. It seemed to be very brown at first but as more of it has been literally unwrapped more of the lighter colour has been revealed. The atrium just inside the main entrance is impressive, overlooked by the internal windows of four storeys.
I asked about solar panels, a feature I had suggested when I worked at the college, but was disappointed that they hadn't been installed. However there are some good environmental points, including a sort of heat exchange system which transfers heat from whichever side of the building has the sun on it to the side in shadow and should cut down on the amount of power needed to heat the building. The windows have double glazing - a step up from the single glazing of the old college building. A pity it's not triple glazing but maybe that doesn't have very much more effect than double glazing.
Some of the classrooms are smaller than the rooms in the old building. I think this is good because rooms were often half empty in the old building - but there weren't enough rooms for all the classes. I had the experience in several different years of being scheduled classes that had no room allocated for them. It wasn't sorted out until I went to the deputy principal about it. Well obviously he didn't build a new room so there must have been a bit of a counting problem somewhere, but it was difficult to fit all the classes into the rooms. Having more rooms instead of very big rooms is much better. Frost versus Gales Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 - 7:55 am
The Indian Summer of a September we've been enjoying has now turned into Autumn and the annual nail-biting contest between frost and gales has begun. If frost beats wind by a few days we get glorious golds, but if storms arrive first we lose the leaves before they change colour. Leaves don't turn golden until the temperature drops below zero, so I like a forecast of frost.
Not sure if this is philosophical or it's a seagull moment. Keighley Promoted! Monday, October 5th, 2009 - 10:26 pm
After winning their rugby match against Oldham on Sunday Keighley Cougars are being promoted. Well done, Cougars! Parking Permits Possible - but Not Yet Certain Thursday, October 1st, 2009 - 7:59 am
So far the news is that Keighley Area Committee passed all the sites that had applied for variations to Traffic Regulation Orders at their meeting last week, including the Skipton Road site. The variations in question allow specific "sites", that is particular stretches of road, to be an area where residents can apply for parking permits. If such a variation to a TRO is allowed and then the residents apply for permits (costing £10 per year, I've been told), they would be able to park outside their homes without being fined.
However I don't think that's necessarily the end of it. I had a long talk with Braford Council's Chief Traffic Engineer a few days before the meeting and he told me that only a few sites could be agreed for the whole of the district. There were more on the Keighley list alone than he said would be allowed for the whole of the Bradford District, so it is possible that the Keighley list will go into the pot with all the other applications from all over the Bradford District for consideration by Bradford's Highways Committee.
On Skipton Road, there should be no impact on free passage for emergency vehicles, or buses, so at least that one ought to be 'cheap'.
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