Why go into politics?

John Bird, founder and editor-in-chief of The Big Issue writes in this week's edition about why he got into politics. He said people responded: "Why would you want to enter a sewer?"

His reply was: "Why would you leave a sewer to turn into a bubonic plague? Wouldn't you want to clean the bloody thing up?"

As he goes onto say: "If politics needs change, it needs it now. It needs a different kind of politics - the politics of being engaged at every level of society."

Great stuff - and while I don't believe we are a sewer or at the bubonic plague stage - I've met a fair few committed and dedicated local councillors - yet even amongst them there is still a remarkable denial and complacency about how climate change and Peak Oil will effect our society. Witness the extraordinary advert I came across recently in a national paper encouraging people to take 5 holidays a year "for vitality" (4 of them flying)!! Something is deeply wrong with our society when we are trying to encourage this as good healthy behaviour - now don't get me on flights and how we all subsidies aviation......

As I've noted before the changes ahead mean that nothing short of a new human era is in the making. The choices we make now will determine whether the birthing is successful. We do indeed need more people to get into the 'sewer' to help sort it out!!

PCS, more consultations, WaRbler, Painswick Library and more

The local elections are getting closer and already some candidates are getting out newsletters and more. The lobbying of candidates has also begun - yesterday I sent off a response re the PCS union - see answers to their three questions about public services and link to online petition here.

Photo: Me on Selsey Common with Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill in background and Ebley, Cainscross and part of Stroud in foreground

Consultations

But usual Council stuff continues - not so many meetings but, as always, consultation documents to look at - this week spent many hours on the Sustainability Appraisal that the Council is producing - have to say I am disappointed with what the external consultants have produced - hopefully have Green party comments on the Glos Green party website by the weekend. This is important to engage with as it will be used with planning applications and at the moment it is v poor on sustainability grounds indeed.

Indeed despite the recent local Environment paper I can see there is much to be done with Officers and councillors - one exaample I followed up was that the Council's submission to the recent Post Office consultation about local post office closures failed to even mention climate change.

Next week need to make time for the consultation on Climate Change Bill - I've written to Officers to see how we can also engage in the Council's submission - they are listed by Defra specifically amongst some 100 plus others. Have to say all this is very, very time consuming - it is no wonder most councillors don't engage with these consultations - but then if we don't engage how can we ever change things??????

WaRbler Newsletter - submission / distribution dates

This is the new newsletter of the Whiteshilkl and Ruscombe Parish Council - the first issue was out a while ago and is available on the Parish website - it was agreed at the latest newsletter meeting that we will be using the following dates for future newsletters:

Issue- Copy Deadline- Printing Date
Easter 2007 - 23rd March - 30th March
Summer 2007 - 15th July - 22nd July
Autumn 2007- 13th October - 20th October
Christmas 2007 - 8th December - 15th December

If you have anything you would like included in the newsletter, please contact our editor - Dilys Warren on editor@whiteshillandruscombe.org.uk

Save Painswick library campaign

Click on 'library' label below for background to my involvement in trying to save this library from closure. It seems from reports in SNJ this week that all is not well - when members of the working party set up to secure the town's Grade II listed building presented their ideas at the parish council meeting they were challenged by some as being unrealistic. However the Parish have agreed to write to the county council, setting out the financial situation and its support for the working party.

Comment on Lyons and budget

eGov Monitor asked councillors for comments on Lyons Review and the recent budget - locally we've already looked at the recent budget and made comments plus rather unsuccessfully tried to show what Brown could have done in his budget - see Green party budget here. Anyhow here is my quick note sent off:

You asked for a comment on the Budget and Lyons report. Firstly proposals on the environment are seriously complacent. Browns failure to heed the warnings that we must tackle climate change now is staggering.

Budget measures promise to save just 16 million tonnes of carbon through a package. One single measure - restoration of the fuel duty escalator - would save more. In contrast the Green Party's own Carbon Costed budget, which includes bringing back the fuel duty escalator, doubling the climate change levy and giving a £500 million boost for renewable energy grants, would save 55 million tonnes in 2007/8 alone.

Lyons proposals for further devolution and local authorities having more influence over housing issues are to be welcomed. The report also confirms what we know about that Council Tax being seen as unfair but the changes suggested fail to address the fundamental unfairness . Similarly the report fails to re-localisie Business Rates and fails to tackle the issue of affordable housing.

We are urgently in need of real reforms that will build strong local economies and communities and give them the tools to tackle the challenges of dwindling fossil fuels and climate change. Sadly both Lyons and Brown have gone nowhere near far enough.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

The Enuffometer: Stroud team into climate change competition final

This blog takes great pleasure in being the first to break news locally that a stroud team of youngsters have got to the final of the national IceEdge (see www.iceedge.co.uk) climate change competition.

STOP PRESS: 10th May: Stroud Team wins competition

The 4 young people from Stroud Woodcraft Folk have won thru from a field of 1700 plus entrants to the finals in London on May 4-5. They're up against just 2 other teams from the South West for the first prize of a 10 day research trip to Svalbard.

Photo: the team's Enuffometer is planned to look something like this

All great stuff - See the innovative Stroud entry at www.enuff.org.uk

Meanwhile today I'll be going along with my partners' granddaughter to a younger local Woodcraft Folk group - 'elfins' - who will be egg rolling today. We painted the hard-boiled eggs last week - the winner is based on which egg gets furthest before breaking up.

I understand this is more of an American tradition dating back to 1870s - and still done on the White House lawn - last year facing controversy after a number of gay parents attended with their children in order to show that their families are like any other family. Anyhow I digress good luck to the Stroud entry to this climate change competition.

Slow Stroud: how to drive green

OK what can we all do now that means less emissions, money saved and saves casualties. Plus it's easy to save more than the 5% emissions that biofuels (if they really were carbon neutral) would save by 2010. I'll save that biofuel argument for another day here I want to look at what it means to drive green......

Photo: Poster from Government's new campaign

The Government launched this month a new campaign to reduce CO2 emissions by encouraging motorists to check their air pressures, not to rev the engine and not exceed the speed limit. This ‘Drive Smarter’ campaign, promoted by the Department for Transport, states that CO2 emissions could be reduced by 8 per cent if all drivers in the UK followed the campaign’s smarter driving tips – this equals 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year, or more than £2billion in fuel costs.

This campaign is the first to be launched under the cross Government brand ‘Act on CO2’, and aims to provide the public with information on how to reduce individual carbon emissions (see their suggestions below). Sadly it is a hugely missed opportunity. The former Environment Minister, Michael Meacher has said:

"We are at war against climate change. Business as usual, while relying on improved technology as a get-out card, is a fool's game."

This Government has still not grasped it and shies away from even suggesting we drive slower than the speed limit. The Green party in contrast has a much more radical policy that includes:

TR114 In rural areas, apart from trunk roads, the maximum speed limit would be 40m.p.h. Local communities would be encouraged to set lower limits on country lanes where pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders would be particularly vulnerable. They would also be encouraged to designate green lanes where these modes would have priority, and where feasible, to close lanes that act as through routes to allow only for these modes plus local access.

TR115 On major roads outside of built up areas, the maximum speed limit allowed would be 55m.p.h., to maximise the efficiency of fuel use as well as improving safety.

As the Government admits at 70mph you could be using up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more fuel than at 50mph. There is also evidence to show that the slower speeds would lead to better flows of traffic during peak periods of traffic. A mandatory max speed limit of 55 mph would significantly cut emissions and make a very positive move towards our targets.

Sadly we are not going to see that at the moment - and hey the motoring lobby would no doubt get plenty of signatures like they did on their anti-road pricing petition - some the 1.7 million. The greatest pity of it all is that if argued properly many of these schemes like lower speeds could be accepted but political will is lacking. Shockingly those who oppose all these measures fail to provide any alternatives that could cut our emissions - two local councillors I had email correspondence with both rejected road pricing but when asked to put forward an alternative suggestion to cut our traffic emissions came up with nothing...

So what can we do?

Well this week I had an email from a member of the Minnesota Green party in Pine County, U.S.A. He wrote: "...we have been promoting a very simple concept which has been gaining momentum. I thought that your group may be interested and have included our web page for your inspection. Very simply, we have come up with a method of encouraging people to slow down their vehicles when driving and come together as global citizens to reduce fossil fuel consumption. We have over 10,000 emblems on cars around our area and if you would like to share with the people of Britain, please do so."

Photo above: Logo from Minnesota

This is similar to an idea I came across last year from Australia while researching more on the Shared Spaces approach to traffic - the idea of Pace Cars. As author of the excellent book 'Mental Speed bumps', David Engwicht says:

"Pace Car drivers pledge to drive within the speed limit, stop to let pedestrians cross, walk when they can, and do something to their car to make others smile."

In some areas cars have stickers saying they stick to the limits. Apparently very interesting discussions can take place between locals about whether they would put the sticker on their car - it seems it is OK to speed in others' neighbourhoods but outrageous that vehicles go fast in their home areas...

It seems to me we could do something similar locally...give a whole new meaning to the concept of a 'Slow Stroud'.... perhaps our own designed emblem or perhaps the Minnesota logo?

Smarter driving tips from the Government

Pump up to cut down
Under inflated tyres create more resistance when your car is moving, which means your engine has to work harder, so more fuel is used and more CO2 emissions are produced. Simply check and adjust your tyre pressures regularly and also before long journeys. This will also help to increase the life of your tyres. Under inflated tyres increase CO2 but over inflated tyres can be unsafe so check your car manual for the correct tyre pressure. Remember, a car with a heavier load may need different air pressure in the tyres.

Less clutter in your car means less CO2
Clutter in your boot is extra weight your engine has to lug around. By removing it, you could reduce your engine's workload. This will burn less fuel and cut your CO2 emissions so unload any items you won't need for your journey before you set out.
Driving at an appropriate speed reduces CO2
Speed limits are the maximum lawful speeds which may be driven in ideal circumstances. Drivers should never exceed the speed limit. Staying at or within the speed limit increases driver safety. It also reduces CO2 emissions and saves money on your petrol costs. At 70mph you could be using up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more fuel than at 50mph.

Less stopping and starting means less CO2
Every time you stop then start again in a traffic queue, the engine uses more fuel and therefore produces more CO2. Keep an eye on the traffic ahead and slow down early by gently lifting your foot off the accelerator while keeping the car in gear. In this way, the traffic may have started moving again by the time you approach the vehicle in front, so you can then change gear and be on your way.

Over revving accelerates emissions
Modern car engines are designed to be efficient from the moment they are switched on, so revving up like a Formula 1 car in pole position only wastes fuel and increases engine wear. Using your gears wisely by changing up a gear a little earlier can also reduce revs. If you drive a diesel car try changing up a gear when the rev counter reaches 2000rpm. For a petrol car change up at 2500rpm.

Idling is wasting fuel
When the engine is idling you're wasting fuel and adding to CO2 emissions. If you're likely to be at a standstill for more than 3 minutes, simply switch off the engine.

See more re their campaign here.

GM nonsense from Channel 4

After the nonsense on Channel 4 re climate change - see my blog on 14th March - they have done another programme that leaves much to be desired!! This time on GM - I've already had 2 people ask what I thought - well I didn't see it but apparently the programme 'Animal Farm' accused anti-GM lobbyists of wanting to hold back scientific progress.

Photo: GM Tomato paste launched a while back by Sainsburys

Well this really is a load of tosh - The Ecologist magazine online have interviewed Jonathan Matthews, founder and editor of the GM-Watch website. He writes: "GMOs are no more "science" than washing machines, cars, DDT or nuclear weapons. They're technological products. They may draw on scientific knowledge but they need to be evaluated on their own merits. If we judge nuclear weapons to be a dangerous misappliance of science, that doesn't involve us in rejecting the laws of physics!"

He goes onto write that: "much hyped GM "solutions" that attract tons of media attention are actually expensive hi-tech distractions from simpler and far less risky ways of tackling the problem."

Read the full article which tackles the programme in much more detail here.

Private sewer adoption good for local brook

Water bills in Gloucestershire are set to increase by up to £13 for every household following the Government decision to transfer responsibility for nearly 35,000 miles of private sewers and drains to Severn Trent and Thames Water. This means both water companies will be responsible for the maintenance and repairs for the sewer network - and therefore facing extra costs which will be added to customers bills.

The exact costs are unclear as the condition of the network to be adopted is uncertain - average bills last year already increased by 7.5% in Gloucestershire.

Clearly adopting the sewers is essential and should have happenned long ago - locally hours have been wasted working out responsibilities re sewers and then trying to trace owners - indeed Stroud District Council's Drainage Officer managed to get one private sewer in the Ruscombe Valley adopted last year by Severn Trent after hours and hours of work. This has led to considerable improvements on that section but other private sewers exist along the brook so this latest news is good as it should make it easier to clean up our brook.

All this only confirms what I've said before - we need water companies back in public ownership -see my letter to press last November re Thames Water .

Save William Morris Gallery

Photo: William Morris Gallery (not far from a friend of mine!)

I just got this from Derek Wall who will be in Stroud on 11th April:

As Principal Male Speaker of the Green Party I recognise the enormous debt that Greens have to William Morris, a great thinker and artist campaigned who for environmental and social justice, it is vitally important to save this resource. The William Morris gallery in Walthamstow is under closure threat from Waltham Forest council, he was a great artist and green thinker, a founder of the socialist movement in Britain, his legacy should be celebrated not put in the bin!"

I had signed this a wee while ago as I have been fortunate enough to visit the gallery when staying with a friend in Walthamstow. Infact the stained glass in the local Selsey church is one of Morris' first commissions. I would urge all to sign the petition - the Council have set an Official Consultation period to review the cuts, reduced opening hours and redundancies. This will end on April 13th - sign here.

Ruscombe Brook: why we need to take water seriously

Talk: The Nature of Water

The Ruscombe Brook Action Group are inviting people to join them to hear local water expert Simon Charter talk on 'The Nature of Water' and Julian Jones from Water 21 talk about plans for improving the local brook.

Details: 7.30 pm Wednesday 25th April 2007 at Randwick Village Hall by the playing fields in Randwick. Further details from Philip Booth on 01453 755451.

This should be an interesting talk - I am also hoping that we might get a Transition Town Stroud water group together? Anyone interested?

Some figures below might be of interest - it seems to me that even among many environmental groups and organisations water is not being given enough attention - the Ruscombe Brook Action Group is trying to implement the solutions we need so that we do not add to the problems of climate change and peak oil...

- power station cooling accounting for 39% of national water consumption
- £313 m spent each year dealing with pesticides, nitrates and other contaminants ie 10% of costs of drinking water
- clean-up of water supplies uses chemicals and energy intensive ultra-violet treatment: the water industry emits 2.6% of UK carbon emissions
- most of us flush 50 litres of water down the loo everyday

See background and progress re Ruscombe Brook in my article on this blog on 5th January 2007 - the article also appears in the latest edition of The Edge.

Bring your questions to me at the Coffee Morning

I’ll be at the Church Coffee Morning for most of the time on Easter Saturday, 7th April, 10am – 12 midday in the John Wesley Room - and will be joined by Pam Thorne, Village Agent. Do bring questions for either of us and enjoy the cheerful ambience of this regular event.

Or phone my on 755451 or Pam Thorne, Village Agent for Randwick and Whiteshill on 07776 245791.

Road closures, Village Green, local events and more

Here's some of the local events planned and an update on a few local issues:

Village Green

Photo: Whiteshill Village Green

The Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council Chair and Clerk met Highways today to see how best to improve the Village Green - that area of concrete outside the Woodcutters Arms. The land is apparently owned by Highways so any work need checking with them - the Parish are seeking to make more of this area - local school children have been involved with plans which they presented to some of us last year. I missed the first bit of the meeting as I was talking too long with several neighbours but we are slowly moving forward - I have another meeting possibly next week with Highways re their plans for outside the school.

Ruscombe Road closed

It is still due to reopen on 31st March - some have said how much quieter the road is while others have complained of more traffic.

20 mph is Plenty

Having had a 20 mph zone ruled out for the moment plans are afoot to consider '20 is Plenty' zones. Both Whiteshill and Ruscombe and Randwick Parish are looking at this route. Here is basically what they will need to do:

1. Survey the current traffic speeds (they will loan/hire us the necessary equipment) 2. Consult with residents about our plans and gain their support (public meeting) 3. Inform Police, Highways, Press. 4. Introduce the features of the campaign - posters, signage, flyers, etc. 5. Re-survey the traffic speeds to confirm effectiveness of campaign. 6. Feedback to residents (via newsletter?)

My suggestion is that we need a local Residents for Slower traffic group - any offers to help - please call me on 755451.

Randwick Campsite

This will be at last up for discussion at the next Randwick Parish meeting on 19th April (see my blog for 22nd December).

Abolition of slavery match

Photo: Citizen's pic of march

200 people gathered at the Paganhill Arch on Sunday - see Citizen report here. See my blog on 6th March for more info.

Carbon Rationing Action Group

This is a sub-group of the new and exciting Transition Towns Stroud project (TTS) - there will be a meeting for those interested in learning more about a CRAG (carbon rationing action group) on Thursday 29th March at 7.30 at the Town Council offices in London Road, Stroud. Vey Straker from the Hereford CRAG group is coming to talk about how they set up their group, and to answer any questions we may have.

Coffee morning

Randwick Church on 7th April - Easter Saturday - I hope to be there if anyone wants to catch me in person rather than phoning or arranging a meeting.

Next local Stroud Valleys events

Pond survey in Cainscross – come and get your free A3 pond poster from SVP
Garden ponds are very important places for aquatic wildlife to thrive – it’s estimated that 1 in 10 gardens in Britain have ponds, which adds up to a staggering 2 million ponds. Over 1,200 species of animals and a third of the UK’s plantlife depend on ponds for their survival. Ponds play a vital role in the water cycle but in the past century the numbers have declined by 75%. The aim of the survey is to get a better picture of the network of ponds in the parish where wetland wildlife can flourish. If you’d like a copy of the pond survey and a free A3 pond poster, please contact SVP on 01453 753358 or pop into the SVP office (8 Threadneedle Street, Stroud).

Circular Walk from Humphreys Close - Saturday 12th May, 10am – 12noon. Stroud Valleys Project would like to help the local communities appreciate our beautiful landscapes, and get healthier by organising regular walks. The Government guidelines say we should be exercising 5 times a week for 30 minutes, but a lot of people are put off the idea of going to the gym. Regular walking could be the answer – it’s a very good form of exercise, it’s free and anybody can do it. This is another 2-hour circular walk from Humphrey’s Close to the nearby woods. Bring walking boots/trainers and waterproofs. The walk will involve going over some stiles.

Wildlife Planting at Hamwell Leaze - Saturday 19th May, 10am – 1pm. The spring bulbs we planted last autumn are flourishing, so this time we will plant wildlfower plugs to increase the diversity of the site. Please bring your own trowel if you have one.

Greens conference in Swansea: call for localisation

I joined over 10 Green party members from Gloucestershire for the Green party's national conference in Swansea - I only made it yesterday as feeling too tired to manage more - a great pity as it was a wonderfully positive atmosphere and I would loved to have stayed longer.

I got to several different workshops like the key one on localisation mentioned below and one with Dr Chris Busby who has been studying the uranium found in the Lebanon - he showed a shocking film - how on earth could anyone use this stuff in battle?? And why on earth aren't our authorities taking these issues more seriously - Green MEP Caroline Lucas has been trying to get to the bottom of this at the EU but much appears to be covered up.

Photo: Delegates voting

There was also the usual voting on various motions and much coffee drinking and catching up with others.

Photo: Derek Wall delivering his speech

Derek Wall, one of the Green party's Principal Speaker opened the conference on Friday with a great speech (some of it on BBC website here and in full on Green party website here). In my view worth a read - he will be coming to Stroud on 11th April - did manage to talk at some length with him about how to organise his visit - he was also kind enough to say this blog is one of the best Green blogs - mixing local politics and the wider issues. Mind he gets 80 hits a day on his blog - I still haven't got around to adding a counter but know I get at least a couple a day as I get daily at least 2 emails from people about items posted!!

I missed London Mayoral Candidate and Principal Speaker Siân Berry's key note speach where she urged people to rise to the challenge of being the only party with the right ideas and necessary courage to tackle climate change. She said: "Like a political fashion show, party leaders are strutting down the catwalk showing off their latest clothes. And we know whose designs they are copying. Whose clothes they are trying to steal? But the reality is they haven’t changed. They don’t understand that Green isn’t a sharp new suit you can wear for a few days." See Sian's speech here.

Other parties are starting to talk green but they still don't understand. If they did, how could they still support more road building, doubling our airports, Trident, nuclear power, lower taxes for polluting industries, waste incineration and more? As we go into this May's elections we need to get across that there really is only one authentic Green voice: The Green Party.

According to a survey carried out for the Guardian on Saturday, March 17th, 13% believed the Green Party had the best policy onclimate change. The party of government, Labour came out with 16%, David Cameron's "green" Conservatives managed 14% and the Lib Dems were bottom at only 8%. No one can dispute that the political scene is changing rapidly. The Green Party is setting the agenda and others are following.

Locally also things are looking good - already this year we got our first seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly. We now have a new West Gloucestershire Green party that plans to have candidates for the first time - and they are very serious about winning. I think they have more than a chance of a few seats there. In Stroud we'll be standing in a good proportion of the 17 District seats and have candidates for the Town Council - across in Gloucester Greens will also be standing in seats there but not Cheltenham as they don't have local e;lections this year.

Anyhow Swansea had great talks, great discussions and great music but most important of all great politics - as Principal Speaker Derek Wall said at conference: 'Green politics cannot fail - we have a world to save.'

Call for localisation

In a key workshop on the politics of localisation Stroud Green, Molly Scott Cato, the Green Party economics spokesperson, was a speaker with David Boyle of the New Economics Foundation and Carl Schlyter, an MEP for the Swedish Greens Party.

Molly started the debate by dismissing the current economic status quo and went on to criticise the perceived benefits of material wealth. She said: "Personal wealth accumulation means that money has a claim in the present against a stake in the future, generating generational in-balance. The average child born now would have needed psychological therapy if they were born in the 1950's. Levels of mental problems and stress have never been higher."

Molly also used examples from Stroud like the exciting Transition Town project which includes the Stroud Community Agriculture project and a new textile group looking at everything from weaving, spinning to growing hemp locally.

Photo: Localisation panel with Mollys talk and Stroud Community Agriculture getting a plug

In the presentation David Boyle started by celebrating that nef had been founded out of the Green party some 10 years ago then dismissed outright the notion that industrial centralisation contains any benefit and also decimates social cohesion: "A recent study showed that towns in the US containing a Wal-Mart have fewer amenity groups, fewer local activities, less scout groups and a lower voting turn-out than places that don't. Why? Because these giant, rational, centralised systems suck the life out of places and the people that live there."

Swedish Green MEP Carl Schlyter despells the argument of globalisation still further. "When people think that companies are outsourcing all the jobs overseas, they're wrong to think that countries like China are benefiting from this globalisation. In the last 10 years, China have lost 15 million jobs in manufacturing, compared to a further 10 million jobs lost globally."

A localised economy was called for, with the benefits of zero food miles, a genuine ownership of production, and a greater emphasis on seasonality and community co-operation. The Green Party's Lord Beaumont's wise words from 2006 were repeated: 'Such a vision offers greater community and personal satisfaction: a world where conviviality replaces consumption, where local identity replaces global trade, and where community spirit replaces brand loyalty.'

Much more I want to say but think I'll leave it at that for now.

Should Councils run E-petitions?

Some Councils like Bristol City have set up E-petition sites to inform debate - signatures collected online are used to support or encourage the Council in particular directions. Should Stroud District Council follow this path? I'm not convinced that it is necessarily the role of the Council, but can see some benefits....

Photo: Stroud District Council HQ at Ebley Mill

Some petitions can have positive outcomes that lead to change or show the extent of feeling on a particular issue. Petitions may also involve people in politics who don't normally get involved - they are also signed by many campaigners who sign petitions regularly - indeed I sign many online petitions each week.

Other petitions like the recent Road Pricing petition where the issue has not been properly discussed have possibly done more damage than good (see my blog for 13th Feb 2006) - where for example was a discussion about if not road pricing then what must we do to tackle climate change? Simplifying the debate in such a way sometimes doesn't help. Indeed too often the consequences of our actions on other species, other areas and future generations are not considered.

Let us not forget that generally online petitions seem to be signed by a small, non-random sample of people!

Perhaps a better way than the Council developing a petition site would be to use some of the existing sites like the Downing street E-petition site. I would welcome any other thoughts on this?

Airport expansions latest

Well at last The Citizen has covered Green party criticisms of the airport expansion - and gave a nice (??) pic from the demo last summer. They used an older letter in todays' edition - click here for my latest version. The Echo have also been in touch re a story on the environmental impact.

Photo: newspaper clipping in todays paper of Cathy Green (Cheltenham Green party) and myself

Since starting this blog I've had many emails and comments left on many of the items - one recent correspondence has been with a campaigner up in Carlisle where they are also fighting airport expansions - it has been good to share and hear about others challenges - I also get regular emails re the situation with Bristol and of course down in Cornwall - infact Greens had quote in yesterdays Independent on their campaign there - and a good write up in their local paper - Greenpeace cleverly offered free rail tickets instead of the flights.

The Citizen also quoted me re the budget - see earlier blog for full statement and link to the Green party's budget - two quotes in one day is OK especially as I had thought they were boycotting Green letters and news releases - very few have been published in recent weeks.

Save Gloucester's bandstand

The bandstand in Gloucester is due to be replaced with a mock Victorian one.

Photo: Gloucester bandstand

This really isn't good enough - many have been campaigning for the retention of this bandstand for several years and English Heritage was asked to list it in 2005. There are apparently no other George V bandstands on their file anywhere in this country. This is a very rare building - the battle is not lost and there have already been 1,600 signatures on a paper petition to save it - now an online petition has also been launched on the Downing Street site - please consider signing:

http://petitions.pm..gov.uk/glosterbandstand/

50 reasons to love Europe?

As the EU celebrates its anniversary, The Independent looked at 50 benefits it has brought - see below. The list is a timely reminder of the importance of the union as a forum for international co-operation, but it hides the reality - its goals often conflict with one another and recent polls show a growing number of EU citizens believe that it is an irrelevance which, if anything, has made their lives worse, not better.

As the EU celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, it’s clear that it must resolve the tension between its economic and environmental policies by placing a new Big Idea at its heart if it is to reconnect with the half a billion Europeans it exists to serve.

Greens see that idea must be sustainability, and delivering climate security – in line with the global crisis we face and the wishes of voters across the EU. Green MEP Caroline Lucas has issued an ‘Alternative Berlin Declaration’ which aims to replace EU aims of ever-more free trade and competition with the objective of sustainability, and making its work more democratic and accountable to voters. She said:

“The EU is remote from Europe’s citizens, who are rightly mistrustful of its lack of democracy, links with big business and obsession with enhancing free trade and competitiveness. The EU has enormous potential to spread peace, freedom and security in and around Europe, and to promote and protect democracy and human rights at home and throughout the world. It has the potential to be a pioneer in the transition to low carbon economies, and in living more lightly on the planet. But to fully achieve this potential, it has to change direction, and to put democracy and sustainability - rather than trade liberalisation and the single market - at the heart of its objectives. We need a strong EU – but one that is democratically accountable and focused on tackling the challenges that Europe’s citizens care about most: climate change, social injustice, conflict, resource depletion and fractured local communities.”

The Independent's 50 reasons:

1 The end of war between European nations
2 Democracy is now flourishing in 27 countries
3 Once-poor countries, such as Ireland, Greece and Portugal, are prospering
4 The creation of the world's largest internal trading market
5 Unparalleled rights for European consumers
6 Co-operation on continent-wide immigration policy
7 Co-operation on crime, through Europol
8 Laws that make it easier for British people to buy property in Europe
9 Cleaner beaches and rivers throughout Europe
10 Four weeks statutory paid holiday a year for workers in Europe
11 No death penalty (it is incompatible with EU membership)
12 Competition from privatised companies means cheaper phone calls
13 Small EU bureaucracy (24,000 employees, fewer than the BBC)
14 Making the French eat British beef again
15 Minority languages, such as Irish, Welsh and Catalan recognised and protected
16 Europe is helping to save the planet with regulatory cuts in CO2
17 One currency from Bantry to Berlin (but not Britain)
18 Europe-wide travel bans on tyrants such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe
19 The EU gives twice as much aid to developing countries as the United States
20 Strict safety standards for cars, buses and aircraft
21 Free medical help for tourists
22 EU peacekeepers operate in trouble spots throughout the world
23 Europe's single market has brought cheap flights to the masses, and new prosperity for forgotten cities
24 Introduction of pet passports
25 It now takes only 2 hrs 35 mins from London to Paris by Eurostar
26 Prospect of EU membership has forced modernisation on Turkey
27 Shopping without frontiers gives consumers more power to shape markets
28 Cheap travel and study programmes means greater mobility for Europe's youth
29 Food labelling is much clearer
30 No tiresome border checks (apart from in the UK)
31 Compensation for passengers suffering air delays
32 Strict ban on animal testing for the cosmetic industry
33 Greater protection for Europe's wildlife
34 Regional development fund has aided the deprived parts of Britain
35 European driving licences recognised across the EU
36 Britons now feel a lot less insular
37 Europe's bananas remain bent, despite sceptics' fears
38 Strong economic growth - greater than the United States last year
39 Single market has brought the best continental footballers to Britain
40 Human rights legislation has protected the rights of the individual
41 European Parliament provides democratic checks on all EU laws
42 EU gives more, not less, sovereignty to nation states
43 Maturing EU is a proper counterweight to the power of US and China
44 European immigration has boosted the British economy
45 Europeans are increasingly multilingual - except Britons, who are less so
46 Europe has set Britain an example how properly to fund a national health service
47 British restaurants now much more cosmopolitan
48 Total mobility for career professionals in Europe
49 Europe has revolutionised British attitudes to food and cooking
50 Lists like this drive the Eurosceptics mad

Ed Courtney: loss of a great anti-nuclear campaigner

I have only just heard yesterday the sad news that Edward Courtney, a stalwart campaigner trying to shut Oldbury power station, died last month. Ed, who lived in Charfield, was a great source of information and kept me regularly up-to-date with news items and information. I never met him but spoke many times on the phone: his loss is a great shock.

As another campaigner wrote: "Ed was the bane of the local nuclear industry and regulators. He wrote long detailed letters using his former civil service skills to unpick spin and cover-ups on issues such as nuclear incineration, local cancers and plant safety. His local MP picked up on Ed's concerns and followed through his suggestions."

Indeed Ed wrote many papers and letters - he never used a computer so I have a collection of his letters and papers - some of his papers are also scanned into websites like his submission to the Nuclear Policy Framework. His work led to many of our Green party news releases like the lack of filters at Oldbury nuclear power station - amazingly he discovered that the operators there say the reason they are releasing radioactivity into the air is because they do not want the problem of radioactive filters - the filters would apparently become radioactive waste and would then have to be disposed of in a safe manner - far better just to release it into the air!

Ed was also behind the local campaigns re potassium iodate tablets and Emergency safety procedures at Oldbury. Many news releases on these stories like here and here. Infact today I read that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council are overseeing the distribution of information booklets to 4,300 people in Portland, advising homeowners what they should do in the event of a radiation emergency in Portland Port. The homes concerned are those that lie within a 2km radius of berths to be visited by Royal Navy nuclear submarines. While this improvement to safety would have pleased Ed it would have also highlighted the complete nonsense and craziness of the situation - as he said repeatedly, nuclear makes no sense and the only sane and safe way to deal with nuclear is to shut it down and not build any more.

I get a regular bulletin of nuclear news and just in the last week or so here are some of the items that are typical - and daily confirm Ed's views:

- 30 safety incidents were investigated at Torness nuclear power station in 2005, sparking fears about the reliability of the plant.
- the Russian submarine - 800ft down on the bed of the Barents Sea and carrying almost three-quarters of a ton of nuclear fuel has been an environmental menace since it sank 14 years ago with the loss of nine crew members.
- The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo's dilapidated and poorly guarded nuclear reactor plant has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling enriched uranium, following the disappearance of large quantities of the material.
- Two South Korean nuclear power plant workers were burnt by heated, radioactive liquid waste while helping repair a device that transforms liquid waste into a material for storage at a nuclear reactor.
- Global nuclear watchdog IAEA is cooperating with South Africa to develop a security plan ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to avert any "dirty bomb" attack.
- Safety alarms have been routinely ignored, operating instructions flouted, and safety equipment left broken at the controversial Sellafield nuclear plant, a devastating official inquiry has found. The inquiry report - one of the most damning ever on a British nuclear installation - condemns "an alarm-tolerant culture", "long-standing failings in some key safety arrangements" and a "failure to learn from previous events" at the Cumbrian complex. Dr Mike Weightman, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, says that the investigation found "a significant prolonged reduction in attention to the high standards demanded for the unique nature of nuclear operations, something we are not prepared to tolerate."

I am sure Ed would be disappointed that I cannot make the Glos County planning meeting tomorrow to discuss the nuclear store at Berkeley - I was invited to make a statement after I had made a submission to the planning application to both the District Council and the County Council - unfortunately I wont be there but he will be pleased that the three key points made earlier will be available to the meeting (see also my previous post of 16th Feb) - in brief these were:
- An intermediate level nuclear waste store is the least worst option.
- Planning Committee should seekassurancesthat the store will not take waste from elsewhere.
- Planning Committee should seek assurancesthat the store will beprotected from sea-level rises: the area around the power station is known to be prone to flooding. The Environment Agency estimates risks from flooding by the sea will at least double by the 2080s and could increase by up to 20 times.

One of Ed's latest concerns was regarding 'Wifi' - see my blog for 22nd December 2006 for a discussion on that.

Ed always preferred a low-profile style of campaigning and veered away from opportunities to do TV, radio and newspaper interviews. He also He did however turn out for local demos holding up placards outside Oldbury power station and attended meetings at Oldbury and Berkeley power stations to argue his point with local pro-nukes.

I enjoyed our phone calls and discussions - I think if we had met we would have got on wonderfully - I will miss him lots.

Green budget comment

Oh dear....I'd seen a headline suggesting it might be a Green budget - it is deeply disappointing - Brown's failure to act on tackling climate change means we will pay later - as the Stern review has shown. After 6 months of rhetoric on climate change, there is a shocking absence of substance in this budget.

Photo: Ruscombe field

The additional 50 per cent for green grants for homes equates to just £6 million - peanuts. A 30% increase for top band vehicles to £300 this year and £400 next year flies in the face of the govenement's own research about the price difference requried to change behaviour. We need to see a rise to at least £1800 tax for the worst gas guzzlers to ensure people but greener cars.

Exempting zero carbon homes from stamp duty sounds good but means little - it will not incentivise installation of micro generation and insulation measures. Brown was right to reject VAT on domestic flights as having limited impact. But he has copped out - Greens would have slapped an additional £100 on Air Passenger Duty on all flights to reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes. Cutting corporation tax is another step towards reducing the tax burden on big business - a step in the wrong direction.

See what we were proposing here.

More meetings, news releases and Cotswold Life

Have to mention Cotswold Life this month as local Green John Marjoram makes the cover and an article inside - the longest serving Green councillor in the country. Some shops have already sold out but I managed to get hold of a copy today.

Photos: Cotswold Life cover and page inside

Well I was going to spend some time reporting on the Cabinet meeting on Thursday night - but suggest people go to the SDC website and see the webcast. There was a fiesty debate over the Woolaway homes which I have previously commented on in this blog plus various other discussions.

After that I managed to catch the last 45 mins of the Parish meeting in Whiteshill - moves are now going ahead with the non-mandatory 20 mph site seeing as the 20 mph zone has been turned down - the Parish will also be writing to protest at the refusal.

Meanwhile today several mini meetings including one re Transition Town Stroud - discussed how best to get message across to others re Peak Oil and Climate Change.

Other stuff over last couple of days include nappies and justice for British soldiers.

Trident protest in Stroud

MPs at Westminster are to vote this evening on whether or not to replace Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system, at an estimated cost of £76bn over the lifetime of the weapons. In Stroud on Merrywalks bridge some 40 campaigners and protesters gathered to protest - some of us waved at the many hooting cars.

Photos: demonstration on Merrywalks bridge

The expected decision to replace the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system is illegal, immoral, obscenely expensive – and utterly irrelevant to the real security threats we face today.

Voting in favour of replacing Trident is a shameful waste of billions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash and it sends out a deadly signal to the rest of the world:‘we don’t care about nuclear proliferation, so neither should you’. It is completely hypocritical. How can we lecture countries like Iran on international law designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons when we are prepared to so blithely ignore it ourselves?

Amazingly the Government’s support for new nuclear weapons looks set to be approved only thanks to the support of pro-nuclear Tory MPs. New Labour faces its largest Commons rebellion since the decision to go to war in Iraq, and the issue has already claimed more than one ministerial scalp.

Green MEP Dr Caroline Lucas, a co-founder and Co-President of the European Parliament’s cross-party peace group, said:

“The Government’s support for Trident is yet another example of its failure to grasp the urgency of climate change. Imagine if its anticipated £76bn costs were invested in energy conservation and renewable energy generation – we might actually have a chance of cutting CO2 levels sufficiently to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. Instead, we are left with an obscenely expensive white elephant that is likely to the world a more dangerous place – at best it is utterly irrelevant to the real security threats we face, chief among them climate change, and a missed opportunity to spend the cash on tackling them.”

And please vote in the BBC poll here. See SNJ video of demonstration and interview with Cllr Marjoram here. See Green party news release here.

The real great global warming swindle

Conspiracies abound. Now comes the latest: Channel 4 screened last week 'The Great Global Warming Swindle', a documentary which claims that it is 'a lie' that carbon emissions are causing global warming and that attempts to debate the subject are being suppressed.

I hadn't wanted to spend time on this issue again (see comment re 'deniers' on my blog on 18th 2006) - but as several people have asked for comment I've cobbled together this answer from my own thoughts and others. There are indeed many reasons to dismiss this Channel 4 programme, but some important points do emerge and we should not make the mistake of ignoring them.

Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - which brings together almost all the world's leading scientists in the field and all its governments - published its latest huge "assessment report", concluding that it was 90 per cent certain that human activities are heating up the planet. The conclusion was all the more authoritative as the IPCC is a cautious body that acts by consensus; all governments, including the US, have to agree its conclusions.

It is true some scientists still disagree - that is the nature of science - but their numbers are diminishing, and few are leaders in their fields. A recent survey of 928 published scientific papers found not one that dissented over the reality of global warming. All the main political parties accept climate change and the need for action. Even Bush admitted in January's State of the Union speech that the climate change presented "a major challenge".

Many who thought that there was now full agreement about climate change and that they could now get on with making the changes we need, will have to think again. This film and attacks on Gores' own CO2 emissions (see my blog 7th March 2007) are indications that the battle is still not won.

The programme...

Martin Durkin first achieved notoriety when his previous series on the environment for the channel, called 'Against Nature', was condemned by the Independent Television Commission for misleading contributors on the purpose of the programmes, and for editing four interviewees in a way that "distorted or mispresented their known views". Channel 4 was forced to issue an apology, but despite this they have not sought checks of this current programme.

Indeed already Carl Wunsch, from the programme states: "the context was not at all what we had agreed on....As I began to see ads for the program, I realized I'd been duped." See here.

On the programme Martin Durkin interviewed various well known climate-change deniers including Phillip Stott, Piers Corbyn, Nigel Lawson and Nigel Calder. Each of these sceptics have a point, but fail to give the whole picture and so draw the wrong conclusions.

Lord Lawson, for example agrees much with environmentalists saying there is "little doubt that the 20th century ended warmer than it began" and that "there is no doubt that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide increased greatly" during it. He even agrees that it is "highly likely that carbon dioxide emissions" have played a significant part" in heating up the Earth.

Indeed he could not do otherwise: the basic science on this has been established and unchallenged for 180 years. Where dispute lies is in the contribution to warming that pollution has made, whether it will continue and what to do about it. Here I'll look briefly at the key arguments and show how they have been discredited.

Is the Sun to blame?

Michael Crichtons' novel 'State of Fear' started the ball rolling although it was some years before that I was given Nigel Calder’s “Manic Sun” - this controversial book claimed an alternative theory to global warming. The book was based on work by three Danish scientists who discovered correlations between quite complicated solar cycles and past weather patterns. The scientists claim this is a more accurate reflection than anything to do with carbon dioxide. Work with data from satellites showed the Sun to be in an energetic state, the most invisible radiations from it intercept cosmic rays that are always impinging on the Earth. The cosmic rays are important in initiating cloud formation, and clouds make a lot of difference to the weather, and cumulatively to climate.

However while the book and subsequent articles and further books make some useful contributions it is clear they are a long way from demonstrating an influence of cosmic rays on the real world climate. Variations in solar activity may have been responsible for past warm periods, though it's hard to be sure because we have been taking good measurements of it only since 1978. Certainly recent solar increases are too small to have produced the present warming, and have been much less important than greenhouse gases since about 1850. See here.

Questions about temperature?

The programme shows how studies of gases in bubbles of air in polar ice sheets reveal that in prehistoric hot periods temperatures began rising before C02 levels. So it is argued that increasing concentrations of the gas are the result, not the cause of global warming.

Temperature and C02 are indeed bound together: as one goes up, the other follows. Historically temperatures often started rising 800 years before levels of the gas, but this is irrelevant to what is happening now, because for the first time ever enormous amounts of extra C02 are being released.

The programme emphasises that temperatures in Britain and other parts of Europe were warmer in the Middle Ages than they are now. That may or may not be true - since no accurate measurements were taken it is hard to be certain. But, if so, it was only a regional effect: measurements of ice from the poles on which the sceptics place great reliance for other arguments show it did not happen worldwide.

Arctic ice shrink is exaggerated?

Skeptics claim that ice caps ebb and flow in size and their current shrinking is exaggerated. In contrast Al Gore suggests the Arctic is a "canary in the coal mine". He shows how since the 1970s the extent of the Arctics' ice cap has "diminished precipitously". If we continue as we are, it will disappear for part of the year and profoundly change the climate. Certainly part of the Arctics' shrinking is probably due to natural ebb and flows, but this has been increased by global warming caused by rising levels of greenhouse gases - and these continue to go up. The Arctic is likely to be free of ice by 2050, for the first time in millions of years.

Solutions to climate change will hurt the world's poorest?

This is the claim but infact renewable sources of energy should be the poor's salvation. They are abundant in the Third World and don't need costly distribution networks to get them to village.

Climate change hijacked?

Heres a view..."Petrol-guzzling 4x4s must be taxed, foreign holidays discouraged, TVs unplugged and lavatories left unflushed. After decades of waiting, the green movement has found the cause of its dreams: a crisis that gives them carte blanche to rule our lives?"

Myles Allen, of Oxford's climate dynamics group says: "That is the striking thing about global warming. It is a Christmas tree on which each of us can hang virtually everything we want."

Everyone of us can now use global warming as an excuse to tell us how to live. Some of this advice is sound - indeed much of it is good but some is clearly not. Mixed and confusing messages abound. Does carbon off-setting work? (see my blog on this for 23rd February 2007) What about road-pricing? (see my blog for 13th February 2007)

Critically in all this the lead must come from government. So far it hasn't.

One of the key ways forward that gets away from all the negative arguments about banning this or that is Personal Tradeable Carbon Allowances - my blog on 17th February goes into this in some detail.

But what if the sceptics are right?

Even if the sceptics are right and the bulk of the world's scientists wrong there is still a compelling reason for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. For rising levels of the gas - in an entirely separate process - are killing the world's oceans by turning them acid.

Plus oil and gas are running out - world discovery of oil peaked in 1964 and has been declining ever since, despite considerable improvements in technology, and there is no prospect of any significant large discoveries. We are currently consuming more than six barrels of oil for every one we discover. There is growing consensus that we are now approaching, or are even at, the world oil peak. We have longer for gas but which ever way we look at it we must move away from them.

The truth is that the real swindle is that such a one-sided programme can be presented as fact when the vast majority of scientists disagree with the conclusions. Such a move is dangerous when we are only just developing the momentum to find the solutions to this massive problem.

More info:

There are various responses to this Channel 4 show like science blog, 'Stoat' here, The Royal Society put out a news release here and The Independent also published a fair response which I have used to put this case above: 'Global warming: An inconvenient truth or hot air?'

Also see George Monbiot writing in The Guardian: "The science might be bunkum, the research discredited. But all that counts for Channel 4 is generating controversy." See here. And for more general stuff see Realclimate that covers many of the issues raised in the programme.

16/03/07: Just found this on MediaLens: a good look at the whole programme - look for 13th March 2007 entry here. See Ecologist here with Met Office comment here. Lots more info and letters to Channel 4 here. See also Royal Society rebuttal here.

DCC: Aston Down plans rejected and Cashes Green Vicarage threatened

Today at Development Control Committee I had to note an interest on the planning application re Aston Down airfield near Minchinhampton. I was commissioned by Cllr. Sarah Lunnon to look at the site in 2004. This led to much research and a 20-page report: "Aston Down: Sustainable Development Or Traffic Chaos?" (August 2004). Since then I have continued to take a strong interest in the site.

Photo: Aston entrance

It seems a pity that I could not participate in the discussions or vote as I have looked at the site in much detail - however as I have expressed views, like that enforcement should take place on the businesses on the site, this could be viewed that I do not have an open mind.....even though all those comments were made prior to being a councillor and on the basis of research that has been backed up by what the Officers are recommending in their report.

Their are many serious issues that, in my view, make this site unsuitable for the development proposed. Furthermore I am convinced that enforcement action on the unauthorised uses on the base is long overdue: the site remains a breach in planning control. I am pleased to report the committee voted for refusal of development and for enforcement - but only on the casting vote of the Chair......this seems extraodinary to me as there were so many clear planning reasons why this development should not go-ahead - in my view there was no alternative but to accept the officers recommendations.

Having said all that I am not opposed to all development on the site - there is no reason why some would not be suitable, but we must consider what is sutainable.....

Photo left: Vicarage in days gone by and photo below is of the carved concrete ship above the door.

Other planning issues today included the Vicarage in Cashes Green - planning permission had already been given to pull this building down and build houses on the site - Listed building status was considered in the past but the building didn't meet the criteria - apparently the Diocese who own the site are still looking at possibly saving the building although they didn't withdraw their plans for houses on the site today which included demolition of the Vicarage - if they don't act to save it they may need some more community action and letters to save the site - have even heard some talk of a sit in - similar to the tree sits that saved those trees outside Tesco.

Campaigners to save the building say this is one of the only old and slightly more interesting buildings in the area - they want to see it saved. Their view was supported by the Parish Council and some 30 people who turned up to a recent meeting.

The SDC website should have the webcast on soon so you'll be able to catch the other items - as usual I managed to raise Sustainable Urban Drainage as an issue on 3 or 4 applications.

The extraordinary Whiteshill Weekend Revue

Tonight there is the last chance to see the Whiteshill and Ruscombe Players present "The Weekend Revue": 7.45 at the Village Hall.

I went last night and words fail me - it is a quite extraodinary experience that only if you see it can you fully appreciate and understand - well maybe not understand - but words here certainly cannot do justice to the evening....but to give you a flavour I'll try...

The first photo above is of the team of women who did a couple of numbers from West Side Story - they included the extraodinary young girl, Ros Bremmerkamp who soloed "Tonight" - beautiful indeed.

The next inset photo is of a sketch.....you've heard of "Grumpy Old Women" and "Grumpy Old Men" well here is "Grumpy Old Pets" which included the Chair of the Parish Council dressed as a grumpy dog complaining that the people he lived with kept getting lost and that he often needed to put them on the lead...

The next photo in the first lot is from Peter and the Wolf with another Parish Councillor dressed as Peter - as the programme says "this innovative and ground-breaking production is heavily influenced by the Japanese representational theatre of 'No'. As in, 'No', we don't have much in the way of props nor did we have a cast until the last minute".

The photos left are from a couple of other sketches - the first being "The Archers" - as the programme says "the only episode of this BBC masterpiece ever recorded in Whiteshill" - Ruth in the show seemed to be carrying on with the herdsman...and Joleen....ummh there is no way I can explain - you have to be there!! The sound effects were slightly too loud but added a certain something....the beer hand-pull noises were recorded at the Star in Whiteshill.

The second sketch is a version of Bill and Ben and little Weeeeeeee-eed - one of my favorite childrens programmes - apparently when they were axed from the schedules they were saved by Charlie at a house called Highgrove, not far from here - well we visit them here and Charlie is there but Bill is actually Billinda - I don't remember that bit...

Anyhow the programme also had lots of music - a couple of sessions from "Edge of Blue" - pictured left - brilliant music - we also heard from Sam Jones (guitar) and Milly Griffin (bass) performing Pachelbel's Rock Canon and Gigue' in D minor (second photo) - great stuff....there was more like a sketch entitled "The Committee" and join-in singing plus a running commentary from two members of the audience who quite literally joined in at every possible and impossible moment....a huge thank you to all the hard work that went into the show......an evening I wont forget!!!

Stroud Valleys events this weekend

Two events organised by Stroud Valleys Project:

SPRING WALK - THIS SATURDAY 10TH MARCH, 10am- 12noon

Come and join us for another circular walk from Humphrey’s Close. We will be exploring the surrounding countryside (the route: walking out towards Stonehouse, round the hill you can see in the distance when driving down Bisley Old Road + lovely views of the Malverns) and spotting the first signs of spring. Very muddy in places, wellies or decent walking boots advisable (and waterproofs if the weather looks a bit iffy in the morning). The walk will involve going over some stiles. Meet:at Humphrey’s Close, on the green. The site is off Cashes Green Road, next door to the Scout hut.

HEDGE PLANTING - THIS SUNDAY, 11TH MARCH, 10am - 1pm

Last week's workshop had to be cancelled due to that lovely horizontal rain but the trees are desperate to be planted before they dry out. This is another chance to flex your muscles at Hamwell Leaze, gapping up an existing hedge by the bungalows to provide a good habitat for songbirds, insects and small mammals. You could learn which species could be suitable for your garden and why. We will be planting native species such as wayfaring tree, hawthorn, dogwood and privet. Please bring a spade if you have one. Free workshop, donations welcome.

Meet: at Hamwell Leaze by the oak tree. Directions: from Cashes Green Road turn right into Hyett Road. At the end of Hyett Road turn right into Walter Preston Court. Hamwell Leaze is at the end of the cul-de-sac.