Local press still not quoting Greens

The BBC rang me for a quote re a Lib Dem leaflet in Gloucester. Controversy surrounded a campaign leaflet which was sent out to gain Muslim support in the local elections in Gloucester. It apparently appealed to Muslims to vote for him - See some of my comment here.

Of course my recorded answer got cut very short on the BBC but The Citizen failed to even mention the Green party despite Greens having a candidate in the ward - every election I have to write to them top remind them - to be honest I am getting really fed up with it - I await a reply to my email below with interest!


I know it is difficult to represent all parties but your coverage in The Citizen today of the Lib Dem leaflet excluded the Green party from a quote re the leaflet. BBC Radio Gloucestershire were able to cover the four main parties views on this. I would urge that you please also could do this in future news items. It is hard enough for smaller parties to make our views known to the electorate without being excluded from such items.

It would also be great if you could perhaps cover issues like climate change that are going to have such a major impact on our County's economy and future. Scottish Friends of the Earth for example recently said that the Green party is the only party with policies that will tackle climate change: the Tories came bottom despite their green rhetoric.

I have already forwarded a list of candidate phone numbers to Lisa Bonnell. If you have any difficulties contacting them please phone me on my number below first or my temporary mobile number: 07817 456646.

All the best - Philip

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Update on health cuts

Tomorrow I've been invited to talk to the Randwick Women's Institute. One of the key topics they wanted to discuss was the recent health cuts.

Photos: Stroud Hospital and below Gloucester Royal

Over a year ago there was uproar in these valleys at the proposed closure of Stroud Maternity Hospital, Weavers Croft and cuts in other NHS. There were over 9,000 objections to the cut proposals and people took to the streets in vast numbers. Stroud Hospital League of Friends, Stroud Town Council and Stroud Maternity Matters organised protest marches which were supported by a very wide spectrum of citizens.

The “Save Stroud Hospitals” was formed and the District Council had a Task Force committee of which I was a member. Indeed my submission re the cuts was used to help the District Council's submission. The District Council made available £4000 to analyse the impacts of the NHS proposals to close Weavers Croft and the Tyndale centre and a further £4000 for Stroud Maternity Matters to assess the implications of the proposed closure of the Maternity. To get the latest info I spoke with Cabinet member Cllr Libby Bird who kindly gave me some of the following info which she'd used for another talk - the latest news re Weavers came from the press.

Maternity Hospital update

As noted previously on this blog the proposals were to close both Stroud and Cheltenham maternity Hospitals and locate both consultant led and midwife led births at Glos Royal Hospital. Stroud Maternity Matters commissioned Dr Suzanne Tyler to write a report - this was instrumental in winning the reprieve of the closure of the Maternity Hospital. Stroud being one of 15 in the country. Some mothers prefer a more natural approach offered by Stroud Maternity and are not keen on the high tech births offered in Gloucester.

It was in 1998 the Maternity hospital was last threatened with closure. At that time targets were set and these were met. So, how long will this reprieve last? They have just undergone a review and are subject to another one in 2 years time. However, it is open and delivering babies at the moment but we need to be watchful.

Other health cuts

The proposals were to cut the provision of in patient services and just have day surgery. This would mean the loss of the gynaecology and breast operations and some general surgery. Open it up with a private provider to supply some sort of medical provision and upgrades to the theatres as has happened at Cirencester. Usually private providers specialise in one or two types of procedures so the rest would be lost.

Fortunately all the proposals were shelved and the operating theatres should be upgraded this year at a cost of £0.75 million. Good news.

Weavers Croft

The proposal was still to close Weavers Croft and locate the facility at Charlton Lane in Cheltenham. However the latest news is that Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has just ordered an independent review.

I hope the proposals are also overturned - it is perhaps the cruelest of all the proposed cuts in services. Patients will gradually loose touch with all things familiar surroundings and people. Practically impossible to visit without a car, as it is three bus journeys and a lot of elderly people don’t like to drive out of their immediate vicinity or don't have access to a car.

I heard a report that there was a bit of alarm recently when it was found that there were only 4 people in the 18 bed unit which is normally full. It was thought by some that closure had begun but the announcement will not be made until after the local elections. Apparently it is normal seasonal downturn but I've also heard rumours that some were asked to go to Cirencester? If so I would be deeply concerned - I would welcome any news from others on this.

Berkeley Hospital.

The proposals for provision in that part of the district were seemingly satisfactory. In that a new health unit would replace Berkeley hospital nearer the centre of a growing population in Cam and Dursley. A new doctors surgery is badly needed and could incorporate a 10 bed unit. People do not want to see the hospital close before the new provison is in place. Long term use of Berkeley hospital will need to be found.

Kings Fund Report

The District Council also commission the Kings fund to look at the possibility of setting up a Social Enterprise with partners to provide some form of health care in the district. This was supported cross party and a sum of £40,000 has been set aside to explore that possibility. See blog entry for 15th November for more info on this.

County Council provision

Blog readers will know about the new care homes to be provided in our district by the non profit making Order of St John. The County Council have given them a 25 year contract (replaces coverage care) and some of the provision is in several years time. Locally as noted before that includes Wyatt House in Paganhill which will be replaced by a new build 40 bed unit for Elderly Mentally Infirmed. See more re this on my 11th July blog entry.

Why is the NHS in trouble?

The NHS is facing a tough time indeed. I welcome the extra money Labour has put into the health service but their management of the NHS is misguided. Rampant privatisation of NHS services is causing fragmentation of care, reducing accountability and increasing costs. The sale of the NHS is happening faster than ever, through a wide variety of routes from PFI to Independent Sector Treatment Centres and contracting out NHS Logistics to the German parcel company, DHL which can now even use the NHS brand logo.

Spending on management consultancy has soared to £170 million this year when this should go to front line services, not corporate and shareholder pockets.

Alongside this the developing health care market increasingly damages the infrastructure of local services through disastrous payment mechanisms and pointless competition. Health care should not be a product to be bought or sold - but a right available to the sick and vulnerable members of a civilised society.

The public rightly react to cuts in services, but it is these underlying policies of marketisation and privatisation that are driving many of these cuts and it is these policies that we should also be protesting about. Sadly all three main parties support privatisation measures. I would urge people to challenge those politicians and support the national campaign group, "Keep our NHS Public" - sign their online petition at: www.keepournhspublic.com

Wolfowitz must go

I have been very pleased to read that Euro-MPs in Strasbourg have supported a Green proposal calling on the EU Presidency to push for the withdrawal of Paul Wolfowitz as President of the World Bank in the light of the current cronyism scandal.

Speaking after the vote, Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas said: "By digging in his heels and refusing to resign as President of the World Bank, Wolfowitz is dragging the whole organisation into disrepute and further undermining the credibility of its anti-corruption policy. The European Parliament has today added to the mounting pressure to end Wolfowitz's chequered tenure at the helm of the World Bank by calling on the EU Presidency to press the US government for Wolfowitz's withdrawal."

Wolfowitz is on the brink. International support for him has collapsed - but the Bush administration is trying to prop him up. The organisation Avaaz has released a video spoofing the global TV programme "The Office"- with Wolfowitz in the role of the awful boss. Watch the video and sign up here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/sack_wolfowitz

Over 40,000 from 189 countries have already signed the petition. Please consider adding your name.

Update 18th May: he's gone today!

Painswick library on front page of MI

The campaign to save Painswick Library is still going - the County has now given indications of support for a longer period. All good news...

Photo: cover of MI

When the threat first occurred I wrote a piece on this blog - this was picked up by the Editor of Managing Information magazine - a magazine that sells in over 70 countries looking at all things to do with information. This led to the editor coming to Painswick (see previous posts) and The April edition of Managing Information (which I have just received) carrying a feature on Painswick including the Gateway Project. MI are apparently keen to follow the story in future editions.

Let's hope this article and subsequent articles will be another way of galvinising support particularly from the County. The library is apparently the least used in Gloucestershire but it does have considerable support - and while the staff are great the building is in need of attention. It is clear where libraries are improved and made pleasant, usage increases. The Gateway project is a very positive way forward which looks at such improvements and widening the use of the building.

Photo: view of Painswick

I am concerned that already in some areas, although not Gloucestershire, there have been moves towards privatising library services. I don't want to see this being the first step.

The argument often goes that local councils are wasteful and inefficient, and therefore we need privatisation. In fact private companies who run library services give priority to the parts that make not only profit, but the most profit. Sometimes, in the short term in particular, it is quite possible that private companies run the service more efficiently, but private companies must make a profit – this is their raison d’etre, and this must be put above the wants and needs of the people in the local community. Thus, whilst local authorities might not run a good and efficient service (whatever it is that we mean by ‘efficient’ – but that gets us into another whole debate altogether), but at least it is possible for them to do this, as their main goal can be to satisfy the wants and needs of the people in the local community, if they should wish to do so.

Here's a great quote (sadly I can't find the author): “I like to think of our library as the civic ballroom of our community where citizens can practice that awkward dance of mutuality that is the very signature of a democratic culture.”

I welcome that the County has now given some reassurances over the future services, but it is clear that these commitments need to be extended and firmed up. Painswick is entitled to a properly funded locally-provided library service. More work is needed. As Tim Waterstone said:

"Libraries, at their best, are an extraordinary community resource, and a force for real good. They should be given every bit of the support and encouragement they need."

District leaders' sounding board: climate change and Peak Oil need to be central to approach

Last year the inaugural district leaders' sounding board was held. It is a group to promote issues relating to district councils. It is made up of various councillors - sadly no Green party councillor has a place so I wrote a while back to the chair and SW representatives calling for green issues to be taken more seriously.

Photos: Standish Woods a week ago - this weekend it is clear the Bluebells are fading fast

I got a reply but sadly lost all emails in a computer blip a while back. Only now have I managed to catch up. Here is my email to them:

Apologies for delay in responding to the replies to my initial email last year. I had a number of computer problems and lost all email contacts and emails. I would like to urge that the most important areas for the Sounding Board to address are how to tackle climate change and deal with Peak Oil.

Climate change I welcome news that the LGA has set up a "climate change commission". This will hopefully help local authorities - many councils are what could be described as "carbon criminals". I do not use the word 'criminal' lightly: the average Somali is about 100 times more likely to die from events caused by climate change than the average American, despite emitting roughly 16,000 times less carbon. We must cut emissions. Here are some key issues:
- bypasses are a big problem: costing vast amounts and increasing CO2 emissions
- airports. Councils often support airports (e.g. Liverpool) and Manchester owns its airport. Councils have to be far clearer in taking on the role of saying "enough is enough" (Uttlesford DC has just done this for Stanstead) whereas Cornwall despite having Beacon status in Sustainable energy plans to invest over £21 million on Newquay Airport.
- councils are usually very bad at green travel plans (shifting staff travel to walk/cycle/bus)
- councils are bad at planning (PPG13 and traffic generation). There is still very little car-free housing
- councils are missing the point on procurement. Procurement is getting more centralised and the main pressure is to cut the cost of purchases.
- councils with some honourable exceptions are not doing the carbon counting or eco-auditing that should be done to reduce carbon

The Nottingham Declaration is an important start but does not go far enough. Many Councils are now developing strategies and policies. My own Council for example, Stroud District Council has recently launched it's Environment Strategy which we hope will lead to significant changes. It calls for example for at least a 3% cut in emissions year on year in Council activities and accepts the need to review the policies each year. Other Councils like Kirklees and Woking have clearly gone much further.

Peak Oil Portland, Oregon became the first governmental body in the US to not only acknowledge that imminent peak oil is a reality, but also to publish a plan as to what the city should be doing to cope. The Portland Peak Oil Task Force have produced a succinct, outstanding report that should be read by every local official everywhere. While there will naturally be many local variations, Portland’s approach to the problem contains much that seems universally applicable. See: http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=145732

It is vital Councils start to address Peak Oil. I welcome news that the Leader of Stroud District Council has planned a talk on this to start to explore what needs to be done.

I look forward to hearing more about how the Sounding Board develops and would welcome your views on these issues. Cllr Philip Booth, Coordinator of Green Group on Stroud District Council, Stroud District Green party.

Election: green votes, canvassing and fraud

What with doing election press stuff and a busy few weeks of meetings I've not been pounding the streets canvassing as much as I would have wished. Some people are happy to leaflet and don't enjoy canvassing - I'm the other way round - I enjoy meeting people and listening to what concerns them - talking and sharing my passion for creating a better world - that sounds a little naff but that to me is what it is all about - and we can only do that by listening and doing it together.

Photo: Out canvassing

Anyhow Saturday saw me out in Rodborough with our candidate Phil Blomberg - a great guy committed to stopping the housing development on the Rugby fields, seeing more renewable energy new developments and much more - he is on the Parish Council - read more by seeing his election leaflet here. Greens have come second in that seat on the last couple of occasions - we are the best chance to bring about changes on the Council. I'll be out again today - it was good to meet folk - and even ended up with a very broken wooden gate that someone didn't want - it has already been recycled into part of the roof of a playhouse I'm building for my partners' granddaughter.


Green votes look set to rise

I was interested to read that an opinion poll showed voters feel they have more in common with Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas than any leading Labour Party figure. The poll, carried out by Populus published in the Times newspaper a week ago or so, asked more than 1,300 people to give leading figures from Britain’s four main political parties a score based on the extent to which they ‘share your values on social and environmental issues’.

Participants gave Caroline Lucas, who was named one of the top 100 ‘eco-heroes’ of all time in an Environment Agency survey last year, an average rating of 4.21 (out of ten), higher than either of the three Labour figures: David Miliband (3.95), Tony Blair (3.62) and Gordon Brown (3.61).

It is good to see Green politicians starting to get recognised - and it is entirely in line with the general rise in awareness of environmental issues and support for the Green Party in recent
years. In fact Green party membership is on the up - in stark contrast to that of the Labour party and the Green party vote is on the up - infact it has been going up for the last 3 general elections with a record local election last year. Green party candidate numbers are also on the up - this year we are fielding a record number of candidates - and amongst young people, we are one of the most popular parties - at universities our membership often exceeds that of other parties put together - e.g. LSE.

Labour has failed badly when it comes to meaningful action on climate change. It would seem people can see through the hype and are aware of the yawning chasm between the government’s rhetoric and reality - not just on climate change but on a whole range of social and environmental issues.”

The poll coincides with a Guardian/ICM poll which shows that nearly a third of voters have turned their backs on Labour and the Tories, with labour facing ‘wipe-out’ from many councils in next week’s local authority elections. The Green Party is polling at more than double its rating this time before the last election - I'm hoping we'll see more gains across the country.

Electoral fraud??

I came across a blog entry yesterday (29th April) on Conservengland re electoral fraud and more - one example being that the Times reports on an analysis by Britain’s electoral watchdog that it is estimated that there are at least 1m and possibly up to 3.5m people whose names appear on the electoral roll even though they are ineligible to vote.

The evidence does seem to be growing for the need for action on this. On my Ruscombe blog entry for 17th November I highlighted concerns over e-voting or electronic-voting and the international campaign raising awareness about the problems of this. Indeed we need action on all of this soon otherwise this will only discourage people voting even more - it is bad enough already when it seems like whoever you vote for the Government gets in.

Green drinks or Transition drinks set for 23rd May

Don't miss 'Transition Drinks' Wednesday 23rd May 7.30 in Nine Bar, 9 John Street, Stroud

Transition Stroud aims to establish community-based initiatives to deal with both the descent from peak oil and climate change. This most initiative is one of the most exciting things to hit Stroud for years. Groups are now meeting all around Stroud to look at energy, textiles, transport and more. You can also see more at our blog site.

Anyway all this good stuff and often no time to talk and share as so much in meetings - and how to get to meet and hear about others. It has been long suggested Stroud needs an informal Green Drinks - it was tried once but not with this broad group - the huge success of the Coffee House Discussion group each month shows it could work - now with Transition Stroud I think the time is right.

We are giving the first meeting a ago in May at the Nine Bar - see above - we then could make it the fourth Wednesday of the month. Meanwhile Nine are exploring the possibility of getting Stroud brewery and seemed very keen to support local enterprises; they already source some food locally. I understand coffee and other drinks are also served.

The idea comes partly from Green Drinks International who have lists of groups across the world who meet up monthly. They suggest newcomers who don't know people ask "are you green?" - perhaps we should make it "are you Transition Stroud?"

In other places it has become a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different
crowd, making it an organic, self-organising network. These events are simple and unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals and had moments of serendipity.

Please pass details of this on to others - all welcomed. All are also welcomed to tomorrow nights' Coffee House Discussion on Nanotechnology :

Friday 27th April - The perils and possibilities of Nanotechnology. Whose afraid of the big grey goo? Is the grey goo scenario real? Do advanced technologies have a place in a greener world? What can nanotechnology do for you? Can nanotechnology make solar power affordable for all? New pollution, new health issues are the risks too high? Open to anyone - 7.30 to 9.30pm at Star Anise Arts Cafe at the Painswick Inn, Gloucester Street, Stroud.

See more re Coffee House discussions here:
www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/coffeehouse

Cows, Council, disability and access

Nearly late for Full Council as discovered some 6 cows had broken into the neighbours garden.

Photos: Neighbours unwanted visitors

It really wasn't as easy to tackle them as I could not discover a route back into the field. Fortunately I was able to contact the cows owner and did manage at least to get the cows out of the more formal part of the garden.

Then took a call from an angry parishioner as one of the other political parties had put political notices up on Highway signage in Randwick. I rang that parties HQ rather than make a formal complaint - it was a genuine mistake from a less experienced candidate.

Did get to Pre-Council Party Group meeting before the Full Council meeting - it was a wonderfully short meeting. It included celebrating Sheffies time as the longest serving councillor - he retires this month - also a letter from the Bishop congratulating the unsung work of public service folk like councillors and Glos-based Dan Robinson coming 9th in the London Marathon (first Brit home).

Green councillor Martin Whiteside did propose an amendment to try and ensure the report re the Local Development Framework spelt out that local peoples views are taken account of when developments go ahead at Brimscombe Port. There was lots in the report being proposed re consultation but not a recognition to really take account of residents views and it was noticeable absent in the Officers report re Brimscombe. Labour supported Martins moves but Conservatives and some Lib Dems didn't - the amendment fell.

Photo: Cows being encouraged to return to field

Conservatives have a point that there are policies re Community Involvement but we have seen people consulted over the canal for goodness knows how many years - each time the previous views are not acknowledged - people really wonder if they are ever heard. I am sure the intention is to consult and really take account of local peoples views but economic pressures are huge and while on some things this Council has a good record on consultation on others it does not. I would have preferred to see it spelt out and can't see why Tories were reluctant.

There always seems to be political manoeuvrings going on - and of course but it would in my view have done no harm to support this motion and reassured Brimscombe residents.

The motion up last was re access to Ebley Mill (see my post on 8th April) - Cllr Mattie Ross introduced her first motion - and full marks to her for raising this issue. The Tories response was to add an amendment to widen the remit so include more premises. A welcomed amendment - but infact some of it they would have to do anyway due to Govt guidelines. We await now until September to see the outcome of a report looking at costings and ways forward. As I've said before it is vital the District Council leads on this issue - they are doing lots of good things but much more is needed.

Some of their projects include close working with the Stroud & District Access Group, which was launched in March 2005 with support from Stroud District Council, (The former Stroud Access Group having disbanded in 2003). This aims to act as a mechanism to advise on and assess physical access issues across the Stroud District Council administration area. This group is a key partner in the Disability Action Network. See their website: http://community.stroud.gov.uk

The Disability Action Network (DAN) is new - in Stroud District there are a variety of groups and organisations that have been operating for many years delivering physical activity, education and assistance to people with disabilities. There are issues, however, preventing many disabled people from leading as full a life as they would like and so this group was formed to tackle and resolve these issues and provide a central point of enquiry on disability matters.

To this end, Volunteer & Community Action, Stroud District Council Sports Development and Stroud & District Access Group have been working in partnership to set up the DAN for the district whose aim it will be to link up and monitor key disability actions across the district in areas such as access issues, volunteering opportunities and lifelong learning, sport and physical activity.

The draft action plan was produced as a result of feedback received at the consultation event in October 2005 and subsequent meetings - I attended a couple of those meetings. Whilst far from comprehensive, it is a starting point, comprising a few tangible areas that DAN can take on board. The group, of which I am a member, aim to review this action plan annually, ensuring that the current needs and aspirations of the disabled community are adequately reflected.

Attendance at the meetings by people with disabilities is low. The aim is for the Network to be led by the people who live with their disabilities day-to-day and, as such, are the experts about what is required to improve things. Please if anyone is interested do get in touch - also an idea of a virtual email linked group is being considered for those who would be unable to attend meetings or find it difficult. If interested contact Development Officer, VCA, The Old Town Hall, The Shambles, High Street, Stroud GL5 1AP, Email: sdcvs@yahoo.co.uk, Tel: 01453 765600.

I could talk more about the Councils support re disability - like Ring and Ride and work at Stratford Park to improve access but it's time for bed and you can look it up on their website - lots of good things but still a fair way to go. Indeed lots of awareness - I mean look at the new cinema - terrible! Anyway looking out the window I am pleased to say at least in terms of cow access things seem to have been sorted and temporary repairs made to prevent more on the lawn. I am also pleased that my sprouting broccoli wasn't touched.

'AIDS for the bee industry'

Last week I was asked to a meeting with a campaigner in Stroud who wants to step down a bit from campaigning but wanted to pass on some information about bees and encourage more people to be aware of this issue.

Photo: Bluebells in Standish Woods and below hives at Hawkwood College near Stroud

In terms of bees, apiarists in both the U.S. and Europe have been increasingly concerned by rapidly waning honeybee populations - what has been described by an apiarist with the Pennsylvannia Dept of Ag. as 'AIDS for the bee industry'.

Last week some scientists concluded cell phones were to blame. The British researchers suggest that phone radiation could be disrupting bees' navigation systems: bees act differently around power lines, and a recent study found that up to 70 percent of bees failed to return to hives that contained cordless-phone docking units.

I also read that examination of the dead bees has found a high number of pathogens suggesting a massive immune system crash. The Varroa disease has been ruled out as being the cause, but other theories for the bees' departure have included mites, pesticides, global warming, and genetically modified crops, but so far, none has been definitively proved.

I read a report a while back that laid the blame with chemicals - many of them used in the hives and those present in the environment. But I have just been passed a report which quotes the President of the German Beekeeping Association citing drops in bee populations of up to 80% in some areas. He blames a toxin or agent that bees are not familiar with - German beekeeping officials are more specific about suggesting GM is to blame. This fits with other evidence - and now over 40% of US cornfields are GM insect-resistant crops. The implications of all this go beyond bee welfare.

Albert Einstein once said that: "If honey bees become extinct, human society will follow in four years."

Scary stuff, but bees have survived many serious threats we have thrown at them. I am of course concerned deeply - bees are having to contend with far too much - we can hope that the bees adapt to this latest twist or we can discover the cause and put an end to it - part of that answer must be a return to more organics and an end to dabbling with GM when we know so little about its effects.

One further possibility worth mentioning comes from Rudolf Steiner - at one of Steiners lectures a professional beekeeper, Mr Müller, who contributed to the lectures in the form of insights and questions, rebelled vehemently. He disagreed when Steiner explained the intricacies of the queen bee, mentioning that the modern method of breeding queens (using the larvae of worker bees, a practice that had already been in use for about fifteen years) would have long-term detrimental effects. Infact at the time Steiner is quoted as saying: "A century later all breeding of bees will cease if only artificially produced bees are used . . . . It is quite correct that we can’t determine this today; it will have to be delayed until a later time. Let’s talk to each other again in one hundred years, Mr Müller, then we’ll see what kind of opinion you’ll have at that point".

Seventy-five years have passed and the kind of queen breeding Steiner spoke of has not only continued, but has become the standard, and is now supplemented with instrumental insemination. What about the health of bees now? Michael Thiele in Germany writes:

· Honeybees are dying in those parts of the world, where these practices are common (USA, Canada, European countries);

· During a period of ten years, 75% of the beekeepers in Quebec, Canada vanished together with the bees (1987: 97,000 hives; 1997 only 30,000 hives);

· In 1997 many German beekeeping journals wrote, “Experts estimate the loss of colonies in Germany to be about 50%, some talk of 70%”;

· Over 60% of the American honeybee population has died during the past ten years.

There is a workshop on Biodynamic Bee Keeping 24th to 26th May in Ruskin Mill, Nailsworth. They will specifically be looking at disappearing bees.

Are we really all Green now?

A couple of letters in this weeks Stroud News and Journal had a go at Greens - my response is below although I suspect with the next day being elections it may not get printed. Papers are not obliged to stop printing letters but many local papers do at election times because of the enormous pressure from political parties to get their views across and respond to points being raised.

Photo: Stroud today already sorting out delivery of Polling Station paraphenalia.

Stopping the political discussion is strange as this is just the time that many local people get a bit more interested in what is going on around them. I would hate an editors job at election time!

Greens give the warmest welcome to moves by other parties to green themselves. Liz Peters says all parties are now 'green' (Letters 25/04/07), but there is 'green' and 'green'. Nationally we see Tories and Labour both supporting more road building, doubling airports, Trident, the war in Iraq and nuclear power and even blocking EU Environmental legislation. Scottish Friends of the Earth this month said Tories have the least firm commitment to environmental policies and that only Greens have policies to address the issues.

However the elections should not be about national politics. In terms of 'green' the District's Tory administration along with Council Officers are to be given enormous credit for the new Environment strategy which they consulted over in an exemplar fashion. The fact that they were willing to take on board Green party and others recommendations is hugely welcomed and democracy at it's best. However without Greens on the Council it would not be the policy it is now. Furthermore the challenges are still ahead.

We need more Greens to ensure the policies are delivered and continually improved: this is only the first small step to taking seriously the threat of climate change and dwindling oil supplies.

Sadly there still seems to be a lack of urgency and understanding about what we face. Other parties need to realise this is not 'just' the environment we are talking, about this is about our economic future, social justice and much more. Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green party

Stroud District councillor for the Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill ward

Iranian Fish swims in Stroud

Having met Ahmad Nadalian yesterday afternoon I could not miss seeing him work before he caught the 11.20 train to London - especially as my car was in for MOT not far away. See my blog yesterday for more info and a link to his amazing website.

Ahmad also had a talk last night at Artspace that was apparently full so that some had to stand.

Ahmad started work this morning at 6am near Capel Mill (opposite Waitrose carpark on the otherside of the by-pass) - by the time I had got there he was finishing up.

The first series of photos here are of the fish he created out of berries from a nearby hedge - it looked stunning in the morning light - see more on his website about why he often uses fishes - as he said to me 'fishes have no borders'.

The berries reminded me of British artist Andy Goldsworthy who also uses nature.

I then have some shots of Ahmad working followed by two shots of his finished feet.

The feet look beautiful after the chippings were washed away - Ahmad says they weather very rapidly and I can imagine that in time many would not notice them. One set of feet face the water while the other a tree.

In my conversations with Ahmad we shared talk about the importance of art and how it can reach out to people in many exciting ways. I shared with him the British Waterway proposals and the varying views of the canal route that may lead to very significant changes at this site. I also talked more about the Ruscombe Brook Action Group (RBAG).

We also talked more about possibly doing something in the future next year around water - more of those potentially very exciting plans in a future blog.

I feel very fortunate to have met Ahmad and seen him at work. It is very special to have this internationally known Iranian artist leave pieces of his work here in Stroud. His 'River Art' is a powerful reminder that we need to look after our waterways - indeed one commentator said that his art might actually save the world. Certainly his pieces are full of environmental optimism - something we need now! He hopes to return so hopefully next time more people will be able to get involved.

In the meantime if you've not yet discovered Ahmads' blog click here.

Ahmad Nadalian: environmental artist from Iran works in Stroud

I heard at very short notice that Ahmad Nadalian was due to be talking about his River Art
(represented at the 50th Venice Biennale) in Stroud last night - by some strange coincidence it was the night of our talks on water and our local brook so I couldn't go. However I was determined not to miss meeting this extraordinary guy if it was possible.

Photo: Fiona and Ahmad at Capel Mill yesterday

I contacted local artist Fiona Meadley who I heard was organising the event and managed to join Ahmad at the newly developing Artspace in John's Street - it really is already a massive, massive improvement and is indeed going to be a very fitting centre for arts in Stroud. Anyhow Ahmad was kind enough to listen to my enthusiastic talk about the Ruscombe Brook project (Click 'RBAG' Label below for more info) and share some of his own experiences and journey.

Ahmad inscribes symbols on rocks in situ all over Iran and other countries on his travels (including Italy, Germany, Spain, USA, Uzbekistan, Lebanon). The fish (his main symbol) is his emblem for the human soul, thirsty to experience life. He works with local residents in doing his carvings, and had already carved work in the river in Chalford earlier that day.

"My fundamental concern is the search for harmony with nature, with ourselves and the universe."
Ahmad Nadalian

Photo: Ahmad exploring Capel Mill site for possible carving work.

After our talk we walked with Fiona down to the canal where Ahmad explored the site for doing another possible piece of art. I hope to go later this morning to see if he decided to do anything - if so I'll post another blog.

His website is essential viewing - love the inspiring images and work:
http://www.wwwebart.com/riverart/index.htm

The extraodinary mysteries of water

Fascinating talk on the 'Nature of Water'

The Ruscombe Brook Action Group held a public meeting at Randwick Village Hall on Wednesday 25th April 2007 (this evening).

Photo: Julian Jones, Water 21

As the group's Secretary, I outlined progress so far on improving the brook while Julian Jones from Water 21 talked about developing plans for improving the local brook further with help from a Glos University Masters degree student (See last post re RBAG by clicking Labels below for more on that). Water 21 are joining with RBAG in what looks set to be a very exciting partnership to seek sustainable solutions 0- they have already confirmed £3,000 towards developing a plan.

Photo: Simon Charter

Mysteries indeed

The key speaker of the evening was local water expert, Ruscombe resident, Simon Charter who talked on 'The Nature of Water' and gave many demonstrations and slides on the fascinating qualities of water. There was also lots of local food and apple juice - all very nice indeed.

Simon Charter illustrated some of the mysteries of waters' structure using the work of Theodor Schwenk, a German pioneer in water flow research (see book cover left). Schwenk's work arose out of wanting to revitalize the municipal water supplies of Europe's cities and he was the first to document the more hidden nature of water, particularly the relationship of water's rhythms and movements found in its flow. Schwenk was able to see correlation between water's movements and water quality, which he demonstrated through a Drop Picture Method.

In the talk Simon used slides to illustrate this approach where a sample of water is photographed while it is brought into motion by dropping into distilled water (see left). Minute changes in water quality register as changes in the flow patterns observed in the pictures. Water's ability to move and form delicate, sensitive patterns reveals it as living water. The rosette patterns, were found more vividly in better quality water while degraded/polluted water or water not allowed to move freely the vortex formation is greatly diminished, or non-existent.

Simon also demonstrated how vortex move - stirring the water then adding dye to show how it moves up and down in quite extraordinary and unexpected ways (see left). Slides also showed the incredible patterns that could be created (see left).

Another experiment showed the patterns occurring when a brush was moved in a straight line through water (see left). Simon didn't propose explanations but rather left us to wonder - and wonder I did.

Perhaps most staggering for me to witness was the effect of one drop of washing up liquid on the way water moved. Simon had two large trays of water and created a wave in both (see left) - it was beautiful to look closely at how it moved - and as one of the audience noted, very restful to watch - the ripples and smaller waves going back and forth up the tray.

Simon then added one small drop to one tray (see left), didn't stir it in but made the same waves by lifting the end of the tray very gently. The tray with this small drop behaved so very differently - the waves breaking up quicker and without the wonderful patterns. It is really quite a surprise to see the effects of one tiny drop - and of course an argument for reducing detergent use or going for detergent-free laundry balls - see RBAG offer of a 10% discount on such balls by quoting 'MRUSCOMBE10' at www.ecotopia.co.uk - apparently Environmentally friendly versions of detergent do the same but may not persist so long?

It is of course also support for improving our local brook and putting an end to sewage and the rest getting in it.

One of the issues raised by the audience was about Masuru Emoto, a Japanese researcher who shows photographs of the water molecules resulting from his worldwide research on the effect of ideas, words, and music upon the molecules of water.

The result were staggering - the photo left is of a frozen water sample from the lake at Fujiwara Dam, in Japan - the water's structure is dark with no crystalline formations.

The next photo left is the same water sample photographed after a priest made a one-hour prayer practice beside the dam. I have seen the book 'Messages from Water' and it does seem quite amazing.

Others in the audience including an ex Environmental Health Officer and a Sustainable Drainage Consultant added weight and support for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems - which Julian Jones had pointed out earlier are called 'Best Management Practice' in the US.

An extraordinary evening that really makes you think about water on all sorts of different levels. I want to write lots more but no time...

Further details of RBAG and how to join their next meeting on 30th May can be got from Philip Booth on 01453 755451

Election means nuclear news is cancelled

As it is local election time the local press go into their state of ignoring news releases - hence no local nuclear news for people. I've recently sent out a couple of unsuccessful news releases re Oldbury - our local reactor - some 16 miles from Stroud. I also bring news re Burnham before it hopefully will get into press in Somerset at least.

Photo: Oldbury power station

Oldbury to restart in summer

Firstly there was the news that this dangerous old plant would be restarted - see my news release here.

Oldbury reactors have been shut since maintenance in June 2005 raised concerns over the safety of its graphite core. Last year I, along with other Greens, helped Radio 4's flagship investigative programme File on Four look at information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act - this shows a catalogue of incidents from leaking cooling system pipes, cracks in boiler tubes and cracks to the graphite core. Oldbury has the worst weight loss of any UK reactor core and independent nuclear engineer John Large has said this could lead to a catastrophic nuclear-fuel fire and release of radiation. Why on earth take the risk? This is putting profit before safety."

Were organs of former nuclear workers at Oldbury nuclear power station secretly been removed?

The Radio 4 Today programme revealed that nuclear workers at Sellafield and other nuclear sites had organs and tissues removed from their bodies at post-mortems apparantly without the knowledge or permission of their relatives. This occurred from 1962 to as late as 1992. Stroud District Green party campaigners asked whether Oldbury workers were subject to this process. See here.

Edward Courtney dies

It was good to finally see Edwards death have a place in the Western Daily Press today and apparently the Gazette are also doing something this week. He was one of my greatest sources of info on nuclear matters and I feel his loss greatly. See Glos Green party note here and my previous blog item here.

Burnham breast cancer excess 70% over ten years

Also today I hear that newly released figures show that Burnham North has suffered a seventy percent excess of breast cancer mortality over the decade to 2005. Greens haven't yet done a news release on this as it seems pointless when the papers refuse to pick the story up - hopefully as the Stop Hinckley group have released lots of info the Western Daily may pick it up. Anyhow I enclose below some of their info - yet more evidence to shut these reactors down for good.

The Office of National Statistics figures were analysed by Dr Chris Busby from Green Audit, who was commissioned by campaign group Stop Hinkley. The new statistics confirm a worrying trend first discovered in research by Dr Busby in 2000 where Burnham North stood out from 150 Somerset electoral wards studied for cancer deaths with twice the expected number.

In 2002 a doorstep health survey by local group, Parents Concerned About Hinkley, PCAH and analysed by Dr Busby also showed breast cancer incidence was 85 percent above average together with excesses of leukaemia, kidney cancer and cervical cancer. The PCAH survey, considered a breakthrough in community epidemiology, was the subject of a row with the Government body charged with auditing radiation-linked health trends, COMARE who later softened their criticism based on their faulty understanding of the large 1,500 sample size, one third of all the Burnham North residents.

The South West Cancer Intelligence was then prompted to conduct a study which also showed a thirty percent excess of breast cancer registrations between 1990 and 1999. When they added three more years' figures up to 2002 their overall thirteen year pattern still showed a statistically significant 21 percent excess. Although SWCIS attributed this rise to efficient breast cancer screening, campaigners argued that good screening should reduce mortality from the illness which is worryingly excessive.

Dr Busby said: "This clearly shows that the breast cancer cluster in Burnham North is a convincing phenomenon and is clearly, in my opinion, related to releases or a release from Hinkley Point. Since radiation causes cancer through mutation we might expect some effect on infant mortality in the area around Hinkley Point and we are now looking to see if that is the case in a study covering West, Mid and North Somerset."

Jim Duffy, spokesman for Stop Hinkley said: "The figures speak for themselves and all sorts of white-washing have not stood up to reasoned examination. Some environmental cause is triggering these cancers and logic points to Hinkley's constant sea and air discharges of radioactive particles upwind of the town: a good reason to shut down these crumbling reactors."

Church initiative on green consumerism a distraction?

I just picked up on another blog - Dorothea's 'Conservengland' a story in yesterdays' Christian Today which reads:

Photo: Standish Woods last weekend

Prime Minister Tony Blair joined the Church of England this week to launch a campaign urging consumers to make drastic cutbacks on their carbon emissions. Eight major companies helped form a powerful new coalition led by Blair, the Church of England and environmental groups to call on households in Britain to cut their carbon emissions by more than one tonne in the next three years....

....Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said: "The Church of England is officially committed to 'cutting the carbon'. Since the launch of the Church's Shrinking the Footprint campaign more and more congregations are seeing the connection between caring for God's creation and embracing a greener way of life. We are glad to be partners in this common effort because it is true that 'We're in this together'. We are working to engage both with our own members and those of other faiths. One fresh contribution is the publication today of a practical guide for individuals entitled 'How many light bulbs does it take to change a Christian?' "

This is all good news and a welcomed initiative to help consumers use their purchasing power to embolden decision-makers - but it is also a distraction from the need to take action at a Government level - see my recent post re Friends of the Earth (21st April) and their view that only Greens understand and have policies to tackle climate change.

Green consumerism is all very well but what we really need is for us to all consume less - that message keeps getting lost amongst all the glossy info about M&S new 30 degrees wash labels and insurance discounts for greener cars.

I hope that this initiative will lead to more action locally - as blog readers will know I've had contact with the Diocese over their policies (see Label below re Diocese for previous posts) - and am still in correspondence over the Vicarage in Cashes Green - why no greener houses there? I have a meeting with one of the Diocese committees later in May when they will kindly let me talk for 15 mins.

The Church is in a great position to be a real leader in this, I hope this doesn't distract us from what really needs to happen.

Councillors talk 'Play' - and learn 'Karate Kid' move

I should be out helping Greens to be elected - canvassing and leafleting but there was a Policy Panel last night and as the only Green not standing in this election it fell to me to go - and very glad I was too. There was a presentation about Stroud's bid to claim money from a national fund to support 'Play' initiatives - all good stuff, well presented - shame only 5 out of 51 councillors were able to make it.

Photo: Museum where last night's meeting was held - great Wisteria

Stroud District Council has done much work looking at this and where priorities should be. They picked three projects which still have to be approved by Cabinet before being put forward for approval - if accepted they will start early next year.

The three projects are:
- 2 Play Rangers funded to provide activities
- 3 MUGAs (Terrible name for Multi-Use Games Area) and a boulder wall (we can't know where until after elections)
- Significant improvements to Stratford Parks Skate Park

The Stroud Peer Education Project were there to help cross-examine councillors on the projects and gain our opinions.

The Peer Education Project is a group of some twelve 14 to 22 year olds who each year work with young people - and adults. It was initiated by young people to act as a self-support group in which they could discuss the issues affecting them including substance abuse but has grown to be much more. The main activities of the project include running interactive workshops and consultations for young people on issues such as drugs, sexual issues, bullying, diets and self image - they were a wonderfully enthusiastic group who had given up their time to support this project for young people in their District.

One of the warm-up activities of the evening did have a few of us struggling - I can't describe here but it included all of us swinging arms and calling out 'Monkey' and going "PHwaaaaa" as we did the 'Karate Kid' move. Download more info re Stroud Peer Education Project.

Anyhow one issue I raised is that of Natural Play areas - click on the label link below to see my previous comments on this (especially 2nd October blog entry). Coincidently I came across David McCord's "Every Time I Climb a Tree" poem last week - not enough tree climbing goes on nowdays! Here's the final stanza of the poem:

And then I skin
The other leg
But every time I climb a tree
I see a lot of things to see
Swallow rooftops and TV
And all the fields and farms there be
Every time I climb a tree
Though climbing may be good for ants
It isn't especially good for pants
But still it's pretty good for me
Every time I climb a tree

Anyway after meeting and talking of 'play' I managed to get to Vine Tree for a drink - and met there Sheila Bliss, Randwick Wap's new Mayor for this year - now that is serious 'play' and more.

Ruscombe resident nearly makes Glos 100

Martyn Brabbins, Cheltenham International Festival of Music artistic director lives in Ruscombe with his family. He didn't make Gloucestershire's Top 100 in The Echo/Weekend Citizen chart this weekend, but he was listed amongst those "who didn't quite make it..."

Photos: Standish Woods - look amazing

Martyn was associate principal conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra between 1994 and 2005 and has worked with most of the major orchestras in Britain.

"Martyn Brabbins is one of Britain's leading and most versatile conducting talents, widely respected for his flawless musicianship, artistic integrity and programming skills."

Intermusica' have this quote about him and also lots more about his work on their website here. I've not seen him in action but have heard his sons' band play locally.

Such charts as this Top 100 are a bit of nonsense and fail to celebrate the many thousands whose contributions deserve to be celebrated - indeed this papers Top 100 seems to consist mainly of sports folk, celebrities, politicians and royalty. How about next year celebrating the many unsung heroes in our community?

More planning applications today

This month due to the local elections it means we don't get a DCC in May so we get two days of Development Control Committee in April - and two lots of the papers and two lots of minutes - quite a challenge to read the lot - it takes a fair few hours to look over them and then some like todays Hunts Grove application can require seeking out further info from Officers.

Photo: Orchid in Standish Woods at the weekend

I wont go into the details as you can get them all on Stroud District Council's website including a webcast of both meetings.

If you watch you'll see I today raised a fair few issues re the Hunts Grove application - considering current legislation and policies this Outline Planning permission is a great start and went through virtually unanimously. Among the issues I raised were tightening it up re energy efficiency conditions and 20 mph for the whole site is now an 'Informative'. Indeed if it all goes through smoothly this could be a very positive development indeed - yes there are difficulties and some of those are caused by the huge number of homes each District has to build......but house building can be for another blog item!

Self-Management Courses for People Living with Long-Term Illness

When I was starting to get better from ME/CFS I got involved in Self-Management Courses for People Living with Long-Term Illness - after my brief talk today at the local Arthritis Care group someone asked for more info and I thought I would post stuff here....it was infact Arthritis Care nationally who provided the training in London for the self-management course leaders like myself.

Photo: Beech tree leaves yesterday

The idea is that these self-management courses give people with chronic illnesses the opportunity to also become experts in managing their conditions. Anyhow some of this stuff below is now out of date as some health authorities are now also organising schemes and I've seen courses advertised in Gloucestershire.

‘Within every patient there resides a doctor and we physicians are at our best when we put our patients in touch with the doctor inside themselves’
Albert Schwetzer (1875 - 1965)

I still consider it is a crucial way forward - although after my own experiences of running these courses I am not wholly happy with the way it is delivered using volunteers - 'though I still consider there is a truth to the statement: If you think of the patient with a chronic condition as the Cinderella in the health system then lay led self management is the golden slipper.

1 in 3 adults lives with a long-term illness - in England.
Two-thirds of people aged 75 and over have a long-standing illness or disability.
Many live with more than one condition - particularly older age groups.

Here's something I wrote a long while back on this:

Living Well courses

There is an increasing awareness of the need to respond to the challenge presented by the incidence of long-term conditions. We know answers will not just lie with technological medical interventions but rather with learning to our manage chronic diseases. People with long-term chronic conditions have known this for years - it is the daily management of our symptoms which can help to determine the quality of our lives.

Research consistently shows that a key component of successful management of long-term illness is the inclusion of the patient as partner in care. Patients provide individualised information about their condition while health professionals provide general information. Both are necessary for effective management.

One approach to enable this partnership is self-management education - such programmes have been around for many years - an important element being participants learn from each other and become more confident in their ability to manage their disease.

One of the most successful schemes in Self-Management has been the course pioneered by Kate Lorig and I’d like to briefly go over how it came about.
History

This chronic disease self management course started life as the disease specific Arthritis Self-Management Course. The unique and attractive feature of it was that Professor Kate Lorig and her team at Stanford University started by asking people with arthritis what they wanted to know in order to cope better. They then consulted health professionals and conducted an extensive literature review. This led to a manual being produced that was a distillation of expert opinion research and experience.

Professor Lorig’s experiences of developing courses for people with arthritis and then other conditions such as diabetes and HIV was instrumental in the development of this more generic course aimed at all people living with chronic conditions. She recognised that people with long-term conditions are dealing with similar issues on a daily basis, these include pain management, stress, low self-image and developing coping skills. A more generic manual was produced.

In the UK in 1998 the Long Term Medical Conditions Alliance held a joint conference with the Royal College of Physicians looking at how self-management of long term conditions could be extended. Following this they secured funding for the Living with Long-term Illness (LILL) project which meant that a first rate coordinating function could be undertaken to involve a range of different disease groups in self-management courses.

Research was undertaken into different Self-Management courses. Kate Lorigs ‘Chronic Disease Self-Management Course’ was chosen as the best way forward.

Why the Kate Lorig Model?

Tried and tested and over 100 research papers
Experience of lay led delivery
Across three continents
Ideal vehicle for partnerships
Distillation of expert opinion

Prior to this Arthritis Care in the UK had set up their Challenging Arthritis courses and this led to them taking a key role in establishing the training. Since the 1998 conference an increasing number of organisations including the ME Association, British Liver Trust, Diabetes UK, Haemophilia Society, Depression Alliance, National Endometriosis Society, National Osteoporosis Society and the British Polio Fellowship became actively involved. Just recently MS Society has joined.

Partnerships have developed with a range of NHS and Social Service providers and between charities moving away from a disease specific focus. For example the course I ran in Bath was with a tutor from the British Liver Trust and was funded partly by the local Primary Care Team.

Underlying Assumptions to this approach

- People with chronic conditions have similar concerns and problems
- People must deal with not only their disease(s) but also with the impact these have on their lives
- Lay people with chronic conditions when given a detailed tutors manual can teach the programme as effectively if not more effectively than health professionals
- The process or way the programme is taught is as important if not more important than the subject matter that is taught

The tutors
This is what is known as a ‘high challenge high support volunteering’ approach. In other words it requires loads of effort and commitment from the volunteers and the sponsoring organisations. But it also gives support so that volunteer tutors can;
- achieve personal growth and the development of transferable skills
- opportunity to give back to others coping with a chronic condition - this is one of the main reasons quoted for getting involved and certainly part of my motivation. I also hope that it will be a step closer to returning to paid employment.

About 400 volunteer tutors deliver the Challenging arthritis course in the UK. However there are only about 50 tutors trained like myself, nationally delivering the Self-Management course for people with chronic conditions. 13 of these are fully accredited (ie been assessed on 2 courses) with the others in the process. Another 30 are planned for this year.

Some have delivered this course to a single disease group where others have delivered it to mixed disease groups. In both tutors like myself and the participants walk together discovering new skills and techniques to break the vicious cycle of fatigue, pain, depression, frustration and anger which is often part of living with a chronic condition.

All the tutors have experience of living with a chronic condition and meet a set criteria, before undergoing a four day residential training programme which covers;
- all the material in the manual that has been put together for presentation with various group exercises and discussions
- how to work in an adult group setting
- how to market and deliver a course in a local community

As tutors, we must also experience and internalise the messages of the training ourselves, in order for the training to be effective. It is the beginning of the process whereby we become better self managers. Indeed on the courses tutors often find they learn lots. This has certainly been true for me.
Complement healthcare provision

Another attractive feature is that the courses are intended to complement and provide added value to existing health care provision, not to replace it. Compare the figures....
Added value to health care
15 - 30% reduction in symptoms with self-management
40 - 60% relief with best health care
55 - 90% when used together

Tutors maybe experts at managing our own conditions but we do not set ourselves up as experts to participants - if issues arise we refer them back to the health care teams.

The US National Arthritis Plan: Public Health Policy indicates that self-management is not an optional extra or a luxury. It is an integral part of being able to cope on a daily basis with a condition that is not going to go away. Patients who have been on the course will use resources better and thus be a lesser strain for the NHS.

Feedback from health care professionals is that these courses enable their patients to meet them in a much more informed manner. One Scottish consultant calls it the ‘anti-winging course’.

They have in some areas created an active informed group of patients willing to participate in consultation on purchasing decisions and the development of health care provision.

In line with Government thinking

The course is also compatible with the government’s priorities for improving the health of the nation and challenging social exclusion. For example, learning self-management skills can in many cases substantially improve the quality of life for people living with long term conditions such as heart disease and stroke as well as arthritis.

Following the Governments’ White Paper in 1999, Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, the Chief Medical Officer has set up a Task Force to design an Expert Patients programme to address the needs of the very many people in the country with a chronic disease or disability. They have already looked very favourably on this course.

The Task Force is itself a partnership of people who are living with chronic conditions, voluntary sector organisations working in this area, health and social care professionals and carers' representatives. The Chief Medical Officer chairs the Task Force himself, such is the importance he places on its work. It is due to be published very soon.
The course

Topics

Goal Setting
Cognitive Symptom Management
Relaxation
Anger, Fear and Frustration
Fitness / Exercise
Better Breathing
Fatigue
Nutrition
Living Wills / Power of attorney
Communication
Medications
Making Treatment decisions
Depression
Informing your Health care Professional
Future Plans

Every minute of the course is scripted. The courses are two and half hours long each week for six weeks. They are delivered in community halls or other suitable local venues.

The process has a beginning and an end so as not to encourage dependency of participants. It is about giving people the tools to use in their daily lives.

The classes are always taught by two leaders who have a chronic condition. For example, this year I will run a course with a tutor from the Haemophilia Society while the course in Bath I mentioned was witha tutor from the British Liver Trust. On that course in Bath we had participants with ME, heart conditions and MS.

Role modelling is an essential part which makes it difficult for a participant to say ‘You cannot know what it is like’

Every week except for the first week starts with feedback of how participants have got on with their individual action plan. Something they want to do not what they think they should do and something achievable. Moving to action not being passive recipients of information is the aim of the course.

The primary aim of the course is not to impart medical information, but to facilitate the development of self-management skills such as problem solving and goal setting. This ability to manage and control various aspects of the condition like fatigue and pain increases participants confidence.

Self-management is not primarily about conveying information, it is about developing confidence and motivation so as to effectively manage.

For example in relation to exercise, we know that about 70% of nursing consultations include something about exercise, but the compliance rates are dire. We know from our research findings that up to 12 months after the course participants are still exercising and in the US they have shown that up to four years after the courses participants are still using many of the techniques discussed.

In essence it is about true empowerment where people are given the tools to make decisions and take effective action in order to accomplish a specific behaviour – a belief that you can make a difference improves.

Other models

There are models otherthan this one. The LILL project coming out of the 1998 conference with the Long-term Medical Conditions Alliance, that I mentioned earlier, found that there are over 30 self-management interventions used across the country. You can read more in their report, ‘Partnerships for Successful Self-Management’ (February 2001)

The programmes fall into two main groups, professionally led and lay led. The majority of lay led programmes (ie 11 of the 13 organisations) are using the Lorig chronic disease self-management course.

Research

There is considerable research to show that self-management of chronic conditions, when delivered in addition to standard care, benefits participants. Group and individualised approaches have similar effects, although individualised contact with health professionals is more costly.

In the UK all the research int the Lorig course has been undertaken by Professor Barlow and her team at the Psycho-Social Research Centre at Coventry University. Monitoring and evaluation of all the courses in the UK was being done primarily with questionaires going to participants before and after the courses then again after months but they also interviewed people, have asked participants to keep logbooks and have held focus groups.

What the research at Coventry shows is a decrease in pain, depression, fatigue, less anxiety and fewer visits to and better communication with doctors. And a sustained use of self-management techniques.

Coventry University Research findings

Attendence on courses was high with 69% remaining at the final week
Participants self-evaluation demonstrated very high satisfaction ratings, 91%
Four months after the course participants reported statistically significant increases in; perception of disease control, use of self-management techniques (ie cognitive symptom management, communication with GPs), health status (ie mental health)
Four months after the course participants reported statistically significant decreases in; fatigue, anxious mood, health distress, visits to specialists
Participants also showed improvements (not statistically significant) in symptom control, shortness of breathe and depression
Tutors reported increases in self-efficacy
Research data is consistent with US research

As you can see the content of the courses are developed on sound evidence based research which demonstrates positive long-term outcomes. The ongoing research findings feed into the dynamic process of developing the content of the courses. To protect the integrity and efficacy of this process, the courses may only be delivered after formal training and under licence from Stanford University.

The most recent data from a five year research project in America of more than 1000 people who participated in a CDSMC reflects the research findings here.
Chronic Disease Course research findings. Stanford University, US

Increased confidence in dealing with symptoms
Increased use of exercise
Reduced levels of fatigue and disability
Reduced hospitalisation
Improved communication with physicians

www.stanford.edu/group/perc/bibliog.html

What participants have said

‘The course has given me my life back’ ‘There is no magic pill, but the course gave us the necessary skills to start rebuilding our lives and believing in ourselves again...The course has given me back my confidence and the skills to make the management of the condition something I can now have some control over’ ‘I shared my feelings in a safe, contained environment and learnt coping strategies, and breathing techniques which I use several times a day’ ‘Somewhere within the six weeks the light bulb goes on. The message is really powerful, the answer has got to come from within you’ ‘The visual evidence is clear that each one of us has made improvements with the management of the condition’

The future

As you have seen there already exists a great deal of research and experience within the voluntary sector of developing and managing lay led Self-Management Programmes. It would be great to see these further developed to compliment government priorities for health and lifelong learning.

I hope I have also shown you that in this approach where people with long term conditions take the lead, we have been able to increase individuals ability to feel more in control of their condition and that this is the key factor to maintaining long lasting positive behaviour change.

Another aspect of the potential for added value is the compatibility between this programme and the government’ s priorities for improving the health of the nation and challenging social exclusion. For example, learning self-management skills can in many cases substantially improve the quality of life for people living with long term conditions such as heart disease, and stroke. The course will also save the NHS money in terms of fewer visits to GPs and in terms of having healthier people with chronic illnesses.

The project continues to grow. There are several tutor courses planned for this year, a project with an inner London Health strategy group to develop a programme for the Bengali community and a health action zone to create a comprehensive programme across a whole region.

What is needed now is support to take this work forward.

To build on the superb coordinating role by Long-term Medical Conditions Alliance which enables information to be shared and for charities to work together
For Arthritis Care to be supported in their role as a lead training organisation working with other interested organisations.
For more effective partnerships with health authorities, primary Care Groups Healthy Living Centres
For partnerships with health professionals and other voluntary organisations so that lay led self-management is seen as part of a package of provision including drugs, therapy, hospital treatment, professional led education

No-one ever became empowered by being told what to do when to do it and what to think or say. It is a long journey that never ends it is a jigsaw of experiences and exposures that can be challenging and frustrating and nearly always enriching.

Those of us with a long term condition do not have a choice about managing we can do it passively or proactively. We can let it control us or we can take control over it. Self-management techniques are at the forefront of hospitals without walls solutions the country is turning to with mounting urgency.

Arthritis Care 60th birthday bash and steam trains

Today I had the honour of an invitation to the 60th Anniversary celebration of Arthritis Care - David Drew MP was apparently not available! As a local councillor I was next best thing perhaps....

Photos: Clifford Howell and me and below more of the Arthritis Care group

Anyhow Clifford Howell, Stroud Branch Chairperson of Arthritis Care made an opening speech about Arthritis Care then I was invited to talk about my own experiences of disability as a Social Worker and also being seriously ill with a chronic illness. I was also able to talk about running self-management courses for people with chronic conditions - these had initially been organised by Arthritis Care - I'll enclose more on this in a separate post...

I also talked about the progress Stroud District Council was making by involving people with disabilities in their consultations and plans. After a toast and cake cutting the 50 to 60 members present sang Happy Birthday.

Photo: Steam train leaving Stroud

There was then a fascinating talk about Steam trains in the Five Valleys including tales of the Dursley Donkey and the Chalford Flyer.

Photo: Chalford Flyer

The talk took in many wonderful old photos of our area - my how things have changed!

Photo: train going across Victory Park, Cainscross

After that talk I got tea, cake and the chance to pull the raffle numbers out and present prizes - it was then goodbyes and onto a couple of Ebley Mill meetings.

Whiteshill swimming lessons lead to tirade on tax and inequality

Whiteshill Primary School children faced the loss of their swimming lessons due to lack of parents paying the voluntary donation of £2.90 per child per lesson. However after hearing of the loss an anonymous donor stepped in with £300 to make up the shortfall.

Standish Woods: the bluebells are looking stunning

The Dept for Education doesn't allow compulsory charges for items like swimming - and rightly so - but it is a poor situation when schools have to rely on such goodwill - the Dept for Ed should be funding such activities properly. To learn swimming should not be a privilege - yes some of those refusing to make a donation could probably pay but why not take it out of the tax system - now don't get me on that.... the gap between our richest and poorest workers widens evermore....

The poorest quintile of the UK population pay a greater proportion of their income as a whole in tax than the richest. This cannot be right. This is compounded by Britain's notably soft approach in dealings with companies which are domiciled in tax havens. Under Labour even the Inland Revenue itself transferred ownership of its buildings (incl the tax office in Stroud) to a company registered in Bermuda for tax purposes!

This very real increase in inequality is damaging social cohesion and distorts our whole economy. Directors' pay at Britain's top companies soars at more than seven times the rate of average pay. In contrast average earnings are rising just above inflation at 3.7%. Last year at Tesco, for example - which is third from the bottom of the low payers amongst big companies - its 368,000 staff get an average of £11,594, down from £12,713 a year ago yet its chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, was paid more than £5m.

Labour have made some improvements, compared to the Tories, but they are very minimal. Our society is growing more unequal and now all three main parties shy away from increasing tax for those earning over £100,000. Meanwhile, our health service is being damaged by Government policy whilst New Labour continue to spend billions on its illegal war in Iraq.

Why are the main parties so scared to tax the rich? Where is the debate? Wealth inequality is rising and contributes to ill-health, crime and other social problems and even those who are materially better off are not always happier.

The Green Party has a different approach, believing top earners should contribute more in taxes and that for peace and community harmony we must reduce the current gross inequalities, both between the richest and poorest countries and the richest and poorest people within them. Greens want 60% on earnings over £100,000 like in Denmark and under Thatcher plus we need to abolish tax havens for the super-rich. These havens cost an estimated £25bn-£85 billion a year; up to 74 per cent of all the income tax the exchequer receives! Public services could really benefit from that!!

Greens also advocate a Citizens Income (CI) like in Alaska: an automatic, unconditional payment sufficient to cover basic needs to every individual, working or not with specialist benefits, such as disability and incapacity benefits paid on top. A CI is the most efficient way of circulating wealth, allowing maximum possible economic activity (within ecological limits), whilst eliminating unemployment and poverty traps.

There is a viable alternative to our current tax system, but we wont find it with the other main parties. Yes I said don't get me going on all that....it is great that Whiteshill children will be able to continue swimming but we shouldn't have to rely on such donations.

Friends of the Earth give Greens highest score

The Scottish Friends of the Earth yesterday got publicity for looking at all the political parties on environmental issues - it is no surprise to me that Greens came way out top in their score card - see below and see FoE analysis here.

Indeed they write: "The Greens manifesto addresses all of the proposals in FoE Scotland's benchmarking, and in the case of climate change it exceeds our benchmark."

It is once again a reminder of how far the other parties still have to go on climate change. All the main parties there accept that climate change is caused by human activity and must be tackled - which is important progress - and all five back some additional investment in renewables. Beyond that, though, there is little sign of progress just spectacular complacency. See Scottish Green party comment here and BBC report here.

Interestingly the message is starting to get through to the public - the Guardian reported a couple of weeks ago that neither of the main political parties, Labour or Tories has made a breakthrough in convincing the voters that they have the right policies to combat climate change.

The ICM poll showed Labour leading with 16 points to 14 for Tories in terms of who was the party with the best policies to tackle climate change. The Green party came third, with 13 points, and the Liberal Democrats was fourth, on eight points. This is an astonishing achievement in a media that largely ignores the Green party.

Twenty-two per cent of respondents said no party had the answers while 26% did not know. Asked to reflect on whether they trust Mr Cameron or Mr Brown to be more effective in tackling climate change, Mr Cameron polled 26% and Mr Brown 25%. More than a third, 36%, trusted neither of them, and 10% did not know.

Friends of the Earth analysis: the first figure is 'green' indicating full or substantial inclusion; then 'amber' partial, and the 'red' :

Conservative 0 0 10

Green 9 1 0

Labour 3 4 3

Lib Dem 3 5 2

SNP 3 4 3

SSP 5 3 2

For more interesting discussion on parties views re economic growth see Gaian Economics blog here.

Simultaneous Policy: a way forward on Climate Change?

Fellow Green, Dr Richard Lawson - infact he was elected minutes before John Marjoram as a councillor back in the 80s, making him the first elected Green party councillor - anyway he has been carrying on a correspondence with the Government around Simultaneous Policy as a way forward re Climate Change. See more here re Richards letters to Government and more here re SP.

I've for a long time been very supportive of this approach to tackling problems and find it difficult to get my head around why the Government is reluctant on this. Hence my letter to the Minister Ian Pearson - key extract below:

"I am appalled by the lack of movements forward in terms of action on climate change. Preliminary figures for 2006 show that CO2 emissions rose by 1.2 per cent last year alone – meaning CO2 emissions from the UK now stand at their highest level since Labour came to power in 1997. Given the urgency of the situation with regard to climate change and the challenges presented by achieving 100% multilateral agreement on a solution, I think the way forward needs to be using Simultaneous Policy. I note that you have already noted support for Contraction and Convergence and that you would support it when a reasonable number of parties have indicated a similar willingness. I am disturbed to read that the UK would not be in the business of initiating simultaneous policy with regards to climate change. I would welcome clarification on this. Would you also be able to let me know at what stage would the Government be prepared to join a Simultaneous Policy for Contraction and Convergence process if it were to be initiated by some other country?"

I'd just sent this off when I got the second of four reports being released this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the group looked at the impacts of global warming, both present and projected, and said we can expect more big floods, droughts, wildfires, species extinctions, and mass migrations. Most vulnerable are the Arctic, sub-Saharan Africa, small islands, and Asian river deltas, but the report also predicts flash floods for Europe and heat waves for North America.

It also makes clear it's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit. The report was written by hundreds of scientists and reviewed by government officials; negotiations over the final wording got heated during an all-nighter before the report was released (one journalist commented "you'd think they could've just scrawled "apocalypse" on some scratch paper and been done with it"). Several scientists accused government negotiators of watering down the report, making it, in the words of one, "much less quantified and much vaguer and much less striking than it could have been." Read New York Times report here.

Photo: Step It Up campaign in Florida

Meanwhile on a more positive note the success last Saturday in the States of the "Step It Up" campaign is very encouraging - 1,400 rallies and events re climate change - read more here and here. Plus the first major U.S. oil company, ConocoPhillips, joins coalition to limit greenhouse gases.

Randwick Parish AGM: Councillors pledge to only drive 20 mph in ward!!!

This evening I went to the Randwick Parish AGM - so much discussed that I can't possibly put it all here.....but heres a taster starting with the great news....

Photo: Randwick Playing field

- Councillors agreed to only drive 20 mph in the ward and are exploring car stickers for themselves and others who may wish to use them. This is great stuff indeed - see more re my blog on 29th March re Slow Stroud.

- 20 mph voluntary limit is being considered and I have a task to explore possible signs that could be used instead of the dreadful cheap '20 is Plenty'.

- Council are looking to improve the Mayors Pool.

- 3 trees at Randwick School need to be removed due to safety issues and fears they might fall on children in the playground - because they are near electricity cables they will cost £300 each to remove!!!!! Hopefully County will pay - strangely due to possible bird nesting they wont do it until Autumn yet dangerous trees at Ash Lane (see previous blog) were removed almost instantly.

- Talking of Ash Lane a resident this evening raised the possibility of planting something on that corner to replace the cut down trees - a great idea that the Council will look at.

- Councils budget is published

- Cashes Green school flashing lights have apparently been flashing at wrong times for 11 weeks!! They are now fixed.

- If any Parish work is needed then parishioners should talk to Parish Council Chair John Taylor and he can let the Handyman know.

- The Guide hut had lots of discussion - see 2nd April blog for background info. The Council will be talking to owners again about ways forward.

- The Village Hall has £30,000 towards it's target of £150,000,

- Concern was expressed about Sandpits Lane being used as a rat run. Cllr Richard Huxford will be looking into that more.

- Randwick bus in the Lane - see blog on 17th April re letter written by residents. I raised this issue again with Pam Thorne, the Village Agent. The Council agreed to invite County Council officer to explore ways forward. It was good also to hear about past work the Parish had done to protect the bus from cuts in the past. Ironically one of the buses has been going back through The Lane temporarily. No one was clear why and buses still seem to be unreliable in terms of times. If this is the case it is vital that people call the County to let them know of poor service as they can fine operators and put pressure on them to improve: 01452 425985.

- National Trust woods was one of the other issues I raised - see more here re background - the Parish acknowledged things had been delayed somewhat on looking at the campsite or protection of the archaelogical sites there. I am hoping that I might be able to progress at least some of this with individual councillors as the Parish is till unable to take on in near future.

A great website: US culture in statistics and art

This is a great website that makes you think - Chris Jordan's Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait - see here.

Seattle-based Chris has kindly let the Gloucestershire Green party use his work in the past to illustrate our news releases - see here on Katrina and waste. He writes of this latest work:

"This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

"My only caveat about this series is that the prints must be seen in person to be experienced the way they are intended. As with any large artwork, their scale carries a vital part of their substance which is lost in these little web images. Hopefully the JPEGs displayed here might be enough to arouse your curiosity to attend an exhibition, or to arrange one if you are in a position to do so. The series is still in its early stages, and new images will be posted as they are completed, so please stay tuned."

I think this work is a great way to get a message across about consumerism and waste and more - wish I could see the exhibition itself - anyone out there want to bring it to the UK? I've emailed Chris to see if he might even be interested in a UK version - sadly not in a position to fund it though...any blog readers interested??

Launch of safe water beer mat

The Safe Water Campaign for Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, which is based in Stroud, launched a beer mat in the Angel Cafe in Stroud on Thursday 19th April. The aim was to raise awareness about the dangers to our water supplies from possible fluoridation by health authorities.

Photo: Rob Mehta, Chair of the Safe Water Campaign in Angel Cafe

We have been working on this for a while. One of our members from Bristol who comes up regularly designed and printed the mat. We were lucky to get both Citizen and SNJ to turn up - I managed to avoid most of the photos they took. I also have to say I was useless at building beer mat towers - the photographer kept us at it and you will see from the photo we did manage a small one in then end - it makes me wonder how I could of wasted all those hours as a student....I could barely ger 3 mats to stay up.

Anyhow here were some of the quotes we gave the press:

Ali Poole, a Safe Water Campaign spokesperson who manages the group's blog site said: "Is it not my role as a mother to be responsible and make choices about my child's health? Fluoridating our water supplies takes away that choice. There are very real questions and concerns about the unacceptable safety and health risks."

Blog address: http://safewatercampaign.blogspot.com

James Christian, another group member said: "Why have so many other countries stopped fluoridating water supplies? The evidence against it is massive."

Philip Booth, Secretary of the group said: "The Government's own review admits fluoridation is not proven safe and calls for more research. We believe we should each have a choice about whether we are medicated or not. There are much safer ways to tackle tooth decay than fluoridation. We will be asking more pubs and cafes in the area to have these campaign beer mats to highlight our campaign."

The beer mat has information about the campaign and reads: "FLUORIDE in the WATER MEANS FLUORIDE in your BEER".

The group have also organised a talk for 10.45 a.m Saturday 28th April at the British School, Painswick Inn , Gloucester Street, Stroud entitled "Is our drinking water still at risk?" It includes Rissa Mohabir, a local homeopath talking about the effects of fluoride and Bernard Seward, a long term campaigner against water fluoridation. More info from Philip Booth on 01453 755451 or R.Mehta 47, Bisley Old Road, Stroud, GL5 1LY.

Whiteshill near miss, theatre group vacancies and other local bits

The near-miss in Whiteshill Village Shop carpark made front page of this weeks SNJ.

Photo: Parish councillor John Rogers at the play area in Lower Street, Whiteshill

Just over a week ago an 88-year-old woman's car went through a fence and smashed into the children's play area - luckily there were no children playing at the site. The owners of the vehicle have accepted full responsibility and liability, and have already been in touch with their Insurance company. The Parish Council were also quick to visit the site and put up signs - the car was removed on Monday.

The SNJ report that police believe the driver had put the automatic vehicle into drive instead of park mode by mistake. Her elderly husband was also in the car, but neither were injured. Whiteshill and Ruscombe parish councillor Peter Hood said residents are relieved that no-one was hurt. "Everybody is so happy that there were no children there. I have seen that place absolutely packed with children. Had it been an hour later it could have been terrible. We are just so thankful."

Ron Poiis, 81, who volunteers in the village shop overlooking the play area, described the incident as a 'freak accident'. He said: "The car went down in a semi-circle and down the bank. It's very lucky that no-one was there. It's very well used. The car did quite a bit of damage to the swings."

Other local news reported in papers relevant to our patch includes:

- the fight against the second T-mobile mobile phone mast near the primary school

- the Popular Jill Woods Theatre Company has been taken over by Randwick's Marie Machers - she is head of media studies at Maidenhill School, Stonehouse and examiner for theatre and drama studies. The Company will continue to offer acting, movement and singing to 6 to 21 year olds. And just had an email from Marie to say there are places for 6 to 10 year olds.

- Maternity Hospital has had a 9% rise in the numbers giving birth there - all good news and adds weight to those who are still looking to close it.


Plus dangerous footpath?

I had an email from a local resident re "2 quite dangerous styles on the footpath between Glenamure Alex Way (off Upper Kitesnest Lane, Whiteshill) and a field and between the field and the road." I have phoned Gloucestershire County Council and they will contact those responsible for repair; unfortunately that wont be until next week due to staff on leave. If there are any other problems re footpaths or the repairs are not made in a reasonable time do feel free to either phone direct GCC Public Rights of Way section on 01452 425577 or contact me.

Aviation: Staverton, David Drew, Health warnings, Cornwall and more

Heres a quick round-up of various aviation campaigns?

Staverton and more - A while back blog readers may recall that various people entered into correspondence with David Drew to ascertain his position on aviation. I have to say I warmly welcome some of his answers that I have just viewed in a link from Kev's Climate column - a Nailsworth-based campaigner. David Drew in his response on 2nd April to Kevin makes many useful points - not least giving me a mention:

"I am, in principle, opposed to further expansions at Staverton Airport. There are several reasons for this:

• Staverton’s expansion plans are not essential to safety management. Rather, they are business-oriented propositions that seek to transform the airport into a major regional carrier. Planned runway expansions will enable the airport to accommodate large passenger aircrafts which will have detrimental effects on its surrounding environment.
• Increased air traffic will diminish the living standards of those residing near the airport.
• Sites marked for runway expansions fall within a greenbelt
• As Phillip Booth has rightly pointed out, extended runways will enable the airport to provide a greater number of short-services (i.e. flights to London). These are the most carbon intensive of all flights."

This is good news. However where I am more concerned is with Mr Drews views on aviation expansion. He writes:

"I do not, however, just believe that imposing a moratorium upon further airport expansions is the solution to this problem....I cannot endorse anything which would endanger the safety of air passengers, however but believe the way to stop airport expansion is to cut our dependence on flying everywhere off at source. There should initially be a voluntary personal moratorium apart from whence this is absolutely unavoidable on flying to be re-enforced by the use of compulsion when we get the Bill through and international agreements are sought."

I don't believe this is the way. We need direct action by Government which should include massive promotion of video conferencing, health warnings (see below), taxing aviation fairly (see below), proper massive and urgent investment in public transport especially trains...all this would cut demand and the need for more airports. When people have to start paying the true costs it will be a very different matter. It is vital in my view that a clear plan for no further airport expansions is developed. We cannot sustain the extra CO2 emissions they will cause.

Anyhow I also saw a good letter in the Echo from Alison Parfitt re Staverton raising the issues re their Business Plan:

"Madam - I may have lost the plot as the airport story twists and turns like a thriller. Can the airport explain two turns:First, why does it publicly state that plans to extend a runway won't result in increased air traffic, when its five-year plan expressly predicts such increases and tries to play down the impacts of this increase, for example on property values?

Second, why does it ignore its own impact on climate change, stating that its carbon impacts are negligible compared to traffic down the road. It aspires to increase small business air traffic - the most inefficient use of fuel for business travel."

Indeed I was very disappointed to read in the local paper that Cheltenham Borough looks set to continue to support the Airport's Business Plan for expansion - this is in the face of their own Climate Change Strategy. When are these people going to wake up?

Greens support Health warnings - The Institute for Public Policy Research, one of the leading UK independent think-tanks on the centre left said the Government should introduce cigarette-style health warnings on all advertising for air travel, holidays that include flights, and at airports. Since their conference a year ago in in March 2006, the Green Party has been calling for similar measures, and the Party's manifesto says it would introduce mandatory warnings to be included on all advertisements for air travel, along with details of the carbon dioxide emissions for each flight advertised. The Greens' scheme would also place this information on flight tickets.

Aviation is the fastest growing source of dangerous carbon emissions but in reality how many people are really aware of the impact their individual flights will have? Health warnings on airline advertising would go a long way to curbing the dangerous and increasing impacts of flying. Runaway climate change will kill more people than those that die from smoking; isn't it time we did something about it? Mind this is only part of a series of measures - Greens also seek to end the UK tax-payers massive subsidisation of aviation - airlines receive over £9 billion in tax breaks each year because of tax-free fuel and VAT-free tickets and planes.

Southampton - Greens are campaigning across the country but this action by MEP Caroline Lucas hit the press as she was handing out ear plugs. She met a group of about 20 residents who live under the airport flightpaths and has opposed increased activity at the airport, submitting a response to the airport's consultation on expansion. Dr Lucas sits on the European Parliament's influential environment committee that considers EU aviation policy. Speaking at the event she said: “Aviation is the fastest-growing source of the greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change, and we must cut them quickly if we are to prevent its worst impacts. Doing so will require international action – and this could better be achieved by calling time on plans to expand airports and runways around the country and exercising real global leadership on the issue, not tweaking charges to passengers.”

Cornwall - Well after the Climate Change seminar in Gloucester a week or so ago I ended up being quoted in a Green party news release in Cornwall - see below - election time meant I don't think it got picked up - it seems a bit to knock Cornwall with all the good work they are doing but unless such inconsistancies are pointed out we are not going to get anywhere. We can't expand aviation. It's as simple as that.

CORNWALL ADVISES GLOUCESTERSHIRE ON CLIMATE CHANGE REDUCTION MEASURES

Philip Booth, a Green party District councillor in Gloucestershire, attended a seminar yesterday in Gloucester on climate change at which a presentation was given by Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership. He Council's Beacon status in Sustainable energy means that they were here in Gloucestershire to help us improve. It was indeed inspiring to hear about Cornwall's actions to reduce carbon emissions - but I can't help wonder how this fits with the County Council plans to invest over £21 million on Newquay Airport? The increase in emissions will wipe out any gains by the Councils Beacon status. They may have Beacon status in sustainable energy but it is climate change villain status when it comes to the airport."

Roger-Creagh Osborne, the Cornwall Green Party's spokesperson on transport issues and candidate in the forthcoming Caradon district council elections, added

'We were very disappointed when BA recommenced their service from Newquay to Gatwick - short haul flights are the most damaging and there is a viable alternative. Also, the proposed airport expansion will mean the tarmacking of good agricultural land at the very time that we should be keeping it in production for local food and fuel crops'.

The Green Party in Cornwall is very supportive of the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership which has developed an energy strategy signed by 72 organisations and has been instrumental in tacking fuel povery in the county.

Marines home safe but what was it all about?

Lines in the sand? Boundaries in the water? Who draws them?

I have watched with some interest the marines captured by Iran and recently released. I hope this is not a process of demonising Iran prior to a military strike. Whilst the human interest story is legitimate the facts of the border dispute, as far as I have read or seen on the BBC news, have simply been ignored.

Let us set aside the offers of cash to servicemen and women to tell their story - clearly they had a terrible time but it wasn't that terrible compared to the deaths of 8 British servicemen since these others were captured. Nobody is offering hundreds of thousands of pounds for the story of the families of the dead. Let us also set aside for the moment the fact that the BBC so rarely gives any voice to the majority view that our soldiers should not be in Iraq. Let us also set aside the fact that the Iraqi government had asked the US government, several weeks ago, to release the five Iranians captured by US troops. The US is "reviewing the request" - as Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, said of this it is "no clearer illustration that the idea that Iraq has a sovereign government is a sham".

According to Craig Murray - OK so he's a bit of a maverick but he is also a former Head of the Maritime Section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - there is a legitimate border dispute in the area. So there is no legally agreed international boundary where the incident took place and those pictures of GPS coordinates are just spin. The official story of what our marines were up to also seems fishy, they would under international law have been allowed to enter Iranian territorial waters if in "Hot pursuit" of terrorists, slavers or pirates. But they weren't doing any of those things, they were searching a boat for smuggled vehicles attempting to evade car duty - this makes no sense in such a sensitive area, a fact of which the ships captain was fully aware.

Before the spin doctors could get to him, Commodore Lambert (Captain HMS Cornwall) said: "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they were in Iraqi territorial waters. Equally, the Iranians may well claim that they were in their territorial waters. The extent and definition of territorial waters in this part of the world is very complicated".

So were we involved in trying to provoke Iranian response? See more extracts below from: http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/

Fake Maritime Boundaries

The British Government has published a map showing the coordinates of the incident, well within an Iran/Iraq maritime border. The mainstream media and even the blogosphere has bought this hook, line and sinker.

But there are two colossal problems.

A) The Iran/Iraq maritime boundary shown on the British government map does not exist. It has been drawn up by the British Government. Only Iraq and Iran can agree their bilateral boundary, and they never have done this in the Gulf, only inside the Shatt because there it is the land border too. This published boundary is a fake with no legal force.

B) Accepting the British coordinates for the position of both HMS Cornwall and the incident, both were closer to Iranian land than Iraqi land. Go on, print out the map and measure it. Which underlines the point that the British produced border is not a reliable one.

None of which changes the fact that the Iranians, having made their point, should have handed back the captives immediately. I pray they do so before this thing spirals out of control. But by producing a fake map of the Iran/Iraq boundary, notably unfavourable to Iran, we can only harden the Iranian position.

British Marines Captured By Iranians

The capture of British Marines by Iran has happened before, then on the Shatt-al-Arab waterway. It will doubtless be used by those seeking to bang the war drum against Iran, though I imagine it will be fairly quickly resolved.

Before people get too carried away, the following is worth bearing in mind. I write as a former Head of the Maritime Section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Iranians claimed the British soldiers had strayed into Iranian territorial waters. If they had, then the Iranians had every right to detain them for questioning.

The difficulty is that the maritime delimitation in the North West of the Persian Gulf, between Iraq, Kuwait and Iran, has never been resolved. It is not therefore a question of just checking your GPS to see where you are. This is a perfectly legitimate dispute, in which nobody is particularly at fault. Lateral maritime boundaries from a coastal border point are intensely complicated things, especially where islands and coastal banks become a factor.

Disputes are not unusual. I was personally heavily involved in negotiating British maritime boundaries with Ireland, France and Denmark just ten years ago, and not all our own boundaries are resolved even now. There is nothing outlandish about Iranian claims, and we have no right in law to be boarding Iranian or other shipping in what may well be Iranian waters.

The UN Convention on the Law of The Sea carries a heavy presumption on the right of commercial vessels to "innocent passage", especially through straits like Hormuz and in both territorial and international waters. You probably won't read this elsewhere in these jingoistic times but, in international law, we are very probably in the wrong. As long as the Iranians neither mistreat our Marines nor wilfully detain them too long, they have the right.

Gloucester bandstand campaign continues - sign petition

I've raised this issue before on my blog on 22nd March but have now received the email below from Gloucestershire Heritage and Conservation Saving History. If you haven't signed the petition please consider doing so.

Photo: bandstand

We are a small concern attempting to save the historically important George V Bandstand in Gloucester Park. It is only a few moments of your time we ask, simply to read the following and sign the petition on the 10 Downing Street website. The Bandstand is not a derelict or dangerous structure, but one which has been in use by Council Officials as recent as Autumn last year, and is currently open to the public and for children to play on.

The Bandstand is not only important in the local sense, but is also of significance both Nationally and Internationally, another reason we are seeking your support. English Heritage say the Bandstand should be listed at local level, but they have refused to list it at National Level, a status which would afford it some protection for future generations. At the point of winning our campaign for preservation and restoration of the Bandstand, we shall once again approach English Heritage to list the structure at National Level, and this is where the signatures on the 10 Downing Street comes in, as a collection of signatures nationally upholds the aspect of National Interest. Further, this is also a matter of public interest.

A lead expert in War and Memorial from the University of Oxford, say the presentation of the Prestigious US Presidential Citation makes the case for national listing on its own. In fact this person is one of the experts from whom English Heritage themselves seek advise, when they are not sure whether to list or not to list a building; they did not seek his advice on this occasion.

“History Matters”, English Heritage: Save the Gloucester Bandstand

We are petitioning the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to support our campaign to save the historic George V Bandstand in Gloucester Park. We would like as many of those who value our history and appreciate the relevance of culture to support the petition, so we invite you to join us in doing so at the following link:

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

The City Council, in wishing to demolish the Bandstand, have completely ignored its historic and cultural significance. The prestigious US Presidential Citation was presented to the Gloucestershire Regiment on the Bandstand for their bravery during the Korean War. During the conflict, the Regiment took a loss of nearly 100 men, and two soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross. The Gloucestershire Regiment, only 700 or so men, held up the Communist Chinese Army, some 27,000 men, allowing the UN Forces to regroup and consequently go on to preserve the very existence of South Korea.

Queen Mary was at the Bandstand in the 1940’s when she visited Gloucester to inspect a Youth Rally. Events have taken place at the Bandstand spanning seven decades, including bands, tea dances, festivals, and sports activities. Built in 1933/34, the bandstand has a regal appearance, and is the only one of its kind in the Country. Sadly it has been neglected by Gloucester City Council over many years, and they now wish to demolish the structure for their own very lack of attention.

English Heritage state that the Bandstand is of local historical importance and should be listed at local level, and that the Fake Victorian alternative is not an acceptable replacement. Further, the 20th Century Society wrote to City Council in the strongest terms to urge them not to demolish the bandstand.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) “…encourages participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage…”, and is embodied an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. UNESCO only recently criticised this country for not taking care and being more aware of our historic buildings, namely the Tower of London on this occasion. The complaint related to large office block type buildings blocking out the Tower from the London landscape.

Thank you for reading this message.

Yours sincerely

Les Branchett
Gloucestershire Heritage and Conservation Saving History

Letter to OFWAT and another to Minister re SUDS and Ruscombe Brook

I enclose a copy of a letter to reply to the Minister re SUDS and to OFWAT - it does seem strange to me that SUDS - an answer to so many of our problems - is not being pushed from all angles. I'm hoping that we can get some momentum going on this nationally as well as locally. At the moment very little seems to be happenning.

Photo: Spring at Randwick School

Letter to Minister:

Atten: Jennifer Offord, Joss Wallace and Ian Pearson Thank you for your email in response to issues I raised regarding SUDS (copy enclosed at foot of this blog). I am pleased to hear that the SUDS Working Group is on-going. I thought that the group had stopped meeting. Could you let me know when they have met? I have to say that I am disappointed that you are unable to let me know when a final report might be available. While you note that Defra see this as a matter of urgency I can see no evidence of this. The last report was July 2004 and there is not even an estimated date for the final report. Furthermore that Interim report did not go far enough in making use of the advantages of SUDS, for example insisting on SUDS to developers. SUDS is a well tried and tested cost-effective approach. I fail to see why any delay is necessary. As noted in my previous email this is a critical issue in terms of climate change. SUDS as you note is by no means a panacea for all current flooding problems in urban areas, however in most cases it offers huge advantages over other systems. As all forecasts indicate we must expect considerably more flooding in the future. Furthermore it is not just flooding but sewage and pollution that SUDS can manage. Indeed with proper installation they can manage industrial pollution in addition to household sewage. SUDS also reduce energy used to pump water and treat sewage and in the case of reed beds SUDS can provide a biomass crop. I have been concerned to read that we may have grossly underestimated the dangers of the thousands of repeated outflows of sewage into our waterways. If this proves to be the case then this gives even greater urgency to the need to develop SUDS. Your suggestion that stronger personal responsibility is fine but I would urge you to examine how effective this approach is. I don't believe we cannot afford to wait for people to be educated and then possibly take responsibility. Legislation and incentives are needed to promote more sustainable approaches. The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report confirms again that the disastrous effects of climate change are already happening and will accelerate significantly without major policy changes. Michael Meacher, former Environment Minister, has said: "What we, and the government, need to get our minds around is that we are at war: at war against climate catastrophe, presenting us a far greater threat towards our survival than 1939." I despair at the lack of urgency on climate change which is verging on the criminal. I do not use the word 'criminal' lightly: the average Somali is about 100 times more likely to die from events caused by climate change than the average American, despite emitting roughly 16,000 times less carbon. We must cut emissions. The fact that we still do not insist on a countrywide SUDS approach is deeply depressing. I hope very much that you will express the urgency of this matter to the Ministers involved. I look forward to hearing more re the SUDS Working Group. Yours sincerely, Cllr Philip Booth, Secretary of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group

Letter to OFWAT:

I write on behalf of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group, a community group based near Stroud. I enclose an article below that spells out some of what we have been doing (Blog ed: click in Labels to find article). One of our key aims is to tackle the problems we have faced along the brook, particularly the number of incidents of sewage escaping into the brook. We have particular concerns about the health risks that these incidents entail.

We have been working with local Councils, Severn Trent Water, British Waterways and others to develop solutions. Severn Trent have replaced some pipes and plan some relining. We also have agreement to proceed with a scoping exercise to look at what possible solutions will bring about the water quality improvements we desire. Water experts, Water 21 have offered to undertake this exercise in conjunction with us. I undertsand you have had some correspondence with them.

One approach that looks particularly promising would be SUDS/reed beds. However this tried, tested and cost-effective approach seems to be restricted by current practice, policies or legislation. One issue is that there seem to be few if any real opportunities for competition, specifically in regards to guaranteeing consumer preferences for safe and economically viable methods of sewerage.

We have written to the Ministers: the most recent email from them is enclosed below. The answer is in our view unsatisfactory. While they note that Defra see this as a matter of urgency we can see no evidence of this. The Interim report on SUDS was July 2004 and there is not even an estimated date for the final report. Furthermore that Interim report did not go far enough in making use of the advantages of SUDS, for example insisting on SUDS to developers.

I am writing to seek assurances that you have no objections to a SUDS scheme for the Ruscombe Brook. Indeed we would welcome your support in ensuring that the community can proceed with this approach if that is seen as best following the scoping exercise.

Philip Booth, Secretary of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group,

Letter from Minister:

Dear Mr Booth

SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

Thank you for your follow up email of 25 October to Joss Wallace and Ian Pearson regarding sustainable urban drainage systems. I have been asked to reply.

The Interim Code of Practice was produced by the National Sustainable Drainage Working Group which continues to support the development of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) through the production of technical and other guidance. The Group is made up from a wide range of stakeholders and government feels that it has undertaken sound work and continues to perform a very useful function in respect of consultation on SUDS policy development.

It is fair to say that SUDS require a different approach to that traditionally taken by the construction industry, regulators and the bodies responsible for managing infrastructure and this is an area which is under detailed consideration by government with the aim of securing more widespread implementation of SUDS infrastructure. This is an important piece of work which has complexity, not least through its linkages to other work streams relating to flood management and it is not possible to state at this stage when it will be finalised. It is however viewed as having urgency within Defra.

I think it should be stated that SUDS is not be seen as a panacea for all current flooding problems in urban areas and these will need to continue to be addressed through the existing industry structures i.e. water and sewerage company in relation to sewer flooding and local authorities or Environment Agency in relation to flooding from watercourses. However, by way of example, were a water and sewerage company is dealing with a sewer flooding problem within an existing urban area through the promotion of new capital works, it is at liberty to consider the removal of surface water from its piped system into a SUDS system.

Your final comments regarding the need for advice for householders and others about the problems of impermeable paving and the importance of surface water separation are noted. Government continues to work with the water industry on public information on a wide range of issues and would wish to see that a greater awareness leads to stronger personal responsibility in these matters.

I hope that this letter addresses your concerns.

Yours sincerely, Jennifer Offord, Customer Contact Unit

Restoration of bus services to The Lane, Randwick?

See blogs for: 17th May, 17th June, 21st June, 17th Feb for background to this.

I have been following up still to see if there is anyway to move this forward - the County seem very uninterested and the current bus companies have not returned my calls - clearly this is a County Council matter but it has huge impacts on a few local people.

Photo: bus on Bread Street, Ruscombe

I was delighted to recently meet with a few local people who are still angered by the cut to services and want to see if there is anyway to restore the bus to The Lane or at least some other service. They have written the letter below and are now seeking support from the Parish - several hope to go to the Parish meeting this week.

They recognise a solution is not easy but at the very least this will make it clear to service providers that there is strong feeling in the area. As regular blog readers will note the way bus users in this area were treated was quite terrible - the service being cut with no consultation and not even the timetables being changed.

Restoration of bus services to The Lane, Randwick

We are Upper Randwick residents for whom the 230 bus service is an essential link to Stroud for shopping and visits to the post office for pensions. The undersigned all use the service regularly for these purposes, travelling into Stroud once or twice every week.

While it is acknowledged that after a period of disruption last year, the service is now running regularly with a helpful driver, the change of route considerably inconveniences several people who formerly got on in The Lane and now have a good distance to walk to a bus stop. The new route via Bird in Hand means that the total time taken for the journey into Stroud takes 45 minutes; no new stops have been added on this new route.

The purpose of this letter is to ask for the support of the Parish Council in raising the following points with the County Council Transport Department and to formally set down the impact that the change of route has had on residents.

1. Are there any measures, acceptable to the Parish council, which if undertaken might persuade the County Council to consider restoring the route through The Lane, for example, regular leafleting of Lane residents re poor parking or limiting parking in The Lane? What measures can we offer to the County?

2. The bus company who originally had this route have expressed willingness to do it again, and have a suitable vehicle – is this an option for the future?

3. Some Gloucestershire areas have benefited from the ‘Village Link’ services, for which funding has now come to an end. This type of service, which runs partly ‘on demand’ also uses easy access vehicles. Could the Parish consider joining us in recognising the benefit of such a scheme and requesting that Randwick is included in a similar scheme if one is planned for the future?

4. Is there any possibility of the 37 bus detouring up into Randwick and Ruscombe at certain times? This is a 15 minute service and uses low access vehicle. We would welcome a review of the current route to reduce journey times but are anxious that the service is not reduced further.

5. The ‘Ring A Ride’ service operated by Volunteer and Community Action, Stroud is an excellent facility for those who cannot manage the bus, or who have advance notice of hospital appointments etc. However it is expensive and not suitable for regular trips.

The Randwick bus users are anxious to support local bus services for their regular journeys and appreciate the free bus passes provided by SDC to the over 60s for those using regular services. Some of us hope to come to the next Parish meeting on 19th April and would welcome hearing your views on these matters in the Public question time.

Yours sincerely,
14 local bus users

This letter also has the support of:
Philip Booth, District councillor for Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill,
Pam Thorne, Village Agent

Record number of Greens in coming elections

I'm just back from a meeting of Stroud Green District councillors - looking at issues to raise in coming weeks and at Full Council next week. Things can get a little hectic around election time as suddenly people have to focus on their seats - infact 4 out of the 5 local Green party District councillors seats are up for grabs - all except mine - I suppose I could be the only Green by early May - but suspect we will be holding onto our seats and making gains locally.

Photo: Stroud District Green party candidates this time around (from left to right): Clare Sheridan (Stonehouse), Cllr John Marjoram (Trinity), Molly Scott Cato (Central), Clive Philips (Wotton-u-Edge), Cllr Martin Whiteside (Thrupp), Cllr Sarah Lunnon (Valley), Kate Shuckburgh in Chalford, Gwen Belcher ( Slade), Philip Blomberg (Rodborough). Not photographed: Chris Harmer (Nailsworth), Marie Gwynn (Minchinhampton) and Helen Royall (Cainscross).

In my role as the County Green party Press Officer I've been providing the papers with election statements - like here - also putting together stuff re elections - see here - but it is the first year

I've had nothing to do with the election materials - a separate committee looked at all that - it is a real challenge to get issues across in a simple way. This year in our leaflets Greens have tried to show the interconnectivity of Green policies - but poss too much text? Then again many say we are the only party to go into any proper details....

Photo: Image from leaflet and photo of Citizen article

Interestingly The Citizen covered Derek Walls' recent visit to Stroud with a couple of good photos, but others are more wary about covering it - I await with interest to see if they do - certainly if any key party figure visited from one of the other parties it would have been plastered over the paper.

This year there are a total of 1,411 Green Party candidates for the May local elections (plus eight for co-incident by-elections and two for mayoral elections). This is an absolute record.

The previous record being 1,317 in 1990. Consequently the Green Party is contesting 13.50% of the seats up for election and has candidates in 200 (63.69%) of the 314 councils with polls. There are also a fair few Parish and Town councillors, of which 32 have already been elected unopposed.

Pothole count approaches one million and cows escape again

Almost one million potholes are filled each year in England and Wales. Apparently there is a backlog of work stretching to 11 weeks and maintenance appears to be reactive rather than preventative.

Photo: Puckshole potholes above and cow in Bread Street below

Please let me assure you that there is no truth that half those potholes were found and repeatedly filled in Puckshole. It is true though that those potholes are refilled regularly due to what appears to be a spring that seems to want to come up in the middle of the road - certainly a case of reactive rather than preventative work. When will someone sort the problem rather than just refilling holes?

Potholes are dangerous and need attention - having said that, as noted previously on this blog, I have to say that on a few local roads including in Puckshole the potholes have actually reduced traffic speeds - the holes are easily visible, well known and are a cheap way of making walking safer!! Indeed when they are repaired cars return to travelling too fast.

What we really need is for residential roads to be designed for speeds of no more than 20 mph. Anyhow locally in an effort to improve roads the County introduced a system to make it easier to report online. Last year 2,254 people called the County to report a pothole - only 97 used the website which is cheaper for the County to process. If you have a pothole in Gloucestershire to report go to Glos County Council's new hotline at:
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/pothole

Meanwhile this weekend I spent a wee while trying to get a couple of cows back in the field. Once again they managed to escape onto the road and were heading for Stroud at quite a good pace. Fortunately within 25 mins both cows were safely returned.

Slavery: should we apologise?

Following the well attended Anti-Slavery march in Stroud (see blog 27th March and 6th March) the local paper has had various arguments for and against apologising for Britain's role in the Slave trade.

Photo: Poster of reward for runaway slaves

The House of Lords leader Baroness Amos Britain's first black female cabinet minister describes the slave trade was one of the UK's most "shameful and uncomfortable chapters". But if we start to apologise for this where does it end? Should we be demanding apologies from the Romans and Scandinavians asks one letter?

Britain has in the past opposed an apology for the transatlantic slave trade - like at the UN conference on racism - preferring instead a more modest expression of "regret". Last month, Tony Blair expressed "deep sorrow" for the slave trade, saying: "We are sorry."

The Archbishop of York however has called for a stronger more formal apology for the slave trade. Dr Sentamu, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, said: "A nation of this quality should have the sense of saying we are very sorry and we have to put the record straight."

Toyin Agbetu, of Ligali, a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to challenging negative representations of the African British community, has said that an apology would encourage honest engagement with the past: "An apology is just a beginning. As well as an apology, there should be re-education, reparation and a rewriting of history."

Indeed the story of enslaved African peoples must be remembered, retold and reinterpreted. But just an apology is surely a navel-gazing distraction from the much more important issue of how much slavery goes on, unrecognised and unheeded, across the world today? Or is it as Jesse Jackson has said that the countries opposing an outright apology fear the legal consequences of such a move, as they could be forced into paying reparations?

There is also the issue of who should do the apologising, and to whom?

Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society said: "Morally this is an incredibly complicated issue. Africa itself was the main perpetrator of slavery; the continent is deeply implicated as a buyer, catcher and seller of slaves. What is really important is the lasting damage done to the psychologies of black people."

That, he believes, is the issue at the core of a lot of Africa's problems today. "What needs to happen is something much deeper than an apology. There needs to be a coming together of all the countries involved in slavery and its global legacy needs to be discussed."

We should not forget that it is when a people no longer feel the need to ask for an apology that their wounds can be judged to be healed and their self-confidence restored. If an apology is the first step on that road, then it should be made without delay.

Certainly it has been good to see the focus on today's slavery: the Stroud march and talks all made clear that slavery is still around today. I would wholly agree with Charlotte Wilberforce - the great, great granddaughter of William - when she said the evils of the modern-day slave trade should feature more prominently in the school curriculum: "Unless people know what's happening nowadays they're not going to know what they can do to combat it."

Save the Children UK have just published a major report about modern day child slavery: more than 218 million children aged between five and 17 are working as child labourers across the world. This includes prostitution and a range of different work that is harming them and in some cases killing them. This is indeed very shocking.

And we know it isn't just children. People trafficking is just one other aspect which we've raised locally (see for example here). And when it comes to our trade policies there seems to be a massive blind spot about the reality. I heard someone quote the example of an 80-piece tool set selling for £14.99: this isn't super-efficient manufacturing processes it is abusive labour practices. It is about people working in hot, dirty environments for 12 plus hours a day for a pittance of pay.

It is essential that our trade policy recognises the importance of international labor rights, so that we are no longer building our prosperity on exploitation. Why are the other parties not talking about this? Slavery and trafficking is part of our history. Its time to make sure it is not part of our future.

Ruscombe artists exhibition success

I mentioned on this blog Rachel Carter, 19, who lives in Ruscombe had an exhibition in Star Anise cafe in Stroud - work done before starting her degree course in September. The debut exhibition, entitled 'Out of the Sun Hut' was an astonishing success - almost £3,000 of paintings snapped up!

Photo: Citizen photo above of Rachel and below one of Rachel's paintings.

The Citizen covered the story and note that her paintings sold almost as fast as Star Anise's legendary chocolate and almond croissants. Indeed they are very good there - good luck to Rachel in the future.

Meanwhile her Dad, Simon Charter will be giving what looks set to be a fascinating talk about water on 25th April in Randwick Village Hall - come along and here also about the latest on the local brook group.

PCS Union campaign and petition

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have sent a letter with three questions to local councillors and prospective councillors around the proposed job cuts, privatisation and pay. The PCS union represents more than 320,000 civil servants and those working in non-departmental public bodies, related areas and the private sector.

See my response to their questions here and on the PCS website here. Locally the Gloucestershire branch of PCS also sent a question out to a list of Gloucestershire councillors: two were quick to respond to the whole list saying they didn't respond to such questionnaires as they often get misrepresented. To me this is a little shocking as electors in my view have a right to know our position. I therefore sent my answers around - here was a reply from one councillor whose name I have removed as I've not sought permission for publishing views:

"When you talk about a minimum wage and a 48 hour week you show a total lack of understanding as to what is going on in the real world. We have already lost thousands of manufactoring jobs to the Far East and Eastern Europe. If we are to survive as a Nation with any like a decent standard of living to hand on to our children then we must be able to compete with these rapidly expanding economies.

It is clear that you really have no business experience and you have to be blind if you haven't noticed that the low paid jobs in our Country are now being taken up with Polish workers etc, leaving our own countrymen on the dole. How are we to fund the Unemployment Benefit and other Social Security Cost in the future?

I bet you that the workers at Peugot that lost their jobs to Chezch Rebulic recently would gladly work over 48 hours per week if they were given the choice. Througout my working life I have never worked less than 50 hours as soon as I became an Executive."

I find such responses can be a challenge as we are coming from such different viewpoints - here was my answer:

"Thanks for response but I have to strongly disagree - research shows that longer working hours lead to lower levels of productivity. France is a case in point: a country with a 35-hour working week which has higher productivity than the US and UK.

And no one canseriously suggest that we should compete with wage levels in China or Vietnam. Research indicates that the discrepancy in wages between the EU and these poorer countries is as much as 50 times. Not only would this cause personal misery it would also result in a sustained economic depression due to reduced levels of demand by those without the money to spend on consumption. Deeply short-sighted economics.

The solution to our economic problems is to focus on the sufficiency perspective, providing for our own needs and protecting domestic jobs by a system of import and export controls. This would have the added benefit of reducing the volume of trade, which has been shown repeatedly to only benefit the wealthy in developing countries, and reducing transport-related CO2 emissions."

Coincidently as I write this up I came across this collection of three articles showing we need to look beyond the old growth economics. See here. It is at last not just Greens who are challenging the absurdity of our current system.

Anyway more for another time - there is also a petition people can sign re public services - please go here and add your name.

'One of the best Green blogs around'

Dr. Derek Wall, author and lecturer in economics and the Male Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales came to Stroud yesterday.

Photo: Me and Derek at the evening talk

It was good to catch up with him and hear his enthusiasm for Stroud - he clearly had a great visit here before he went on today to launch the Green party's campaign for a Welsh Assembley seat. During his visit he was kind enough to mention this blog as one of the best Green blogs around.

Heres a link to his blog which if you check out Tuesday 10th April date and a few days before you'll see more re his support for Stroud Transition Towns and a good summary about Whiteways.

See news release re his visit.

20 mph zone for Callowell not enough

The 20 mph zone at Callowell Primary School just off the main road going up through Whiteshill is now open.

Photo: new 20 mph sign

The colourful new signs were designed by Jessica Wilson, aged 6 and Jessica Mason, aged 11. It is good that traffic will be slowed there - but as the County Council's own research (presented to Scrutiny) shows, accidents don't just happen outside schools.

I have written another letter to the SNJ calling on the County to get serious about 20 mph zones - see my letter for the arguments.

MSc Student to help with brook?

Last year I and another Ruscombe Brook Action Group member, contacted Gloucestershire University about the possibility of a student working on our brook project. We ended up having a meeting with a couple of the senior staff there who were very interested - sadly nothing came of it despite writing a lengthy outline for a possible student project.

Photo above: Lake at The Lawns since the work was done earlier this year - it now awaits the reed planting.

The good news now is that Ismaila Emahi, a Masters degree student, has expressed an interest in looking at water quality testing - Helen Patrick, Vice-Chair of RBAG and myself met up with him to talk more and show him some of the brook. We now have to wait and see if he is intererested in pursuing it further.

Photo above: Ismaila and Helen at The Lake at the Lawns

Motion on access to Ebley Mill

The monthly Coffee morning yesterday at Randwick Church was a good chance to catch up with various people on moves to tackle the local bus service, trees at Ash Lane and various other items - but also wanted to mention this motion that I supported last week.....

Photo: Coffee Morning at Randwick Church

Labour have put forward a motion to next Full Council (later this month) to improve access at Ebley Mill - I am very happy to support this motion - but wonder sometimes if such matters need a motion - I would imagine Cabinet will be happy to support this? But then again perhaps I'm wrong - we'll wait and see.

Photo: view of Ebley Mill from above Westrip

Infact the Council has done more than most to tackle this issue of access - but I do agree there is still much to be done and it is important we lead by example. This issue of access is fundamental - infact back in 1985 my dissertation for my Joint Honours degree was on the Social Model of Disability - it is also Green party policy - things have come along way since then but we still have much to do!

Motion: This Council believes that priority should be given to providing direct disabled access to the Council Chamber at Ebley Mill. Plans and costingsfor providing such access should be submitted to a Council meeting at or before 20 September 2007.

Preamble for motion: Access to the Council Chamber at Ebley Mill remains difficult for disabled people (and anyone who finds stairs difficult to climb, for whatever reason). Though disabled access is available via lifts in adjacent parts of the building, it is not right that members of the public do not have direct access to the chamber in which Council decisions are taken and other meetings, which they may wish to attend, are held. Having to ring a bell to summon help with access is demeaning. The issue is not merely one of providing disabled access but having access that is straightforward and that preferably can be managed without relying on other people for help. Having had help to access the lift and to reach the Council Chamber, in an emergency or when a disabled person wishes to use the toilets or leave the building, s/he is again dependent on someone else using their card to open the door that leads to the lift.

Under disability discrimination legislation, we should be looking to reducing occasions when people attending Ebley Mill fell that they are being treated differently. We should be making sure that we respect the dignity of all members of the public.

Looking at transport locally

Some aspects of campaigning are hard work but have to say a meeting last week of the Transition Town Stroud (TTS) working group looking at Transport was very pleasant indeed - 7 of us met at the Village Shop and took our tea, coffee and cakes out into the sun.

Photo: TTS meeting and Big Green Thumb advert

The discussion was wide-ranging from the needs locally for improved bus and train services and better cycling and walking to what individuals can do to reduce their car use - all those coming to Whiteshill for the meeting had walked, cycled or caught the bus - but how can we best change the way we use the car? For many it is a habit and our world has been designed around it's use - despite the fact that so many don't have access to a car.

There was talk of a Transport Manifesto which included the need the bus interchange in Stroud, the canal having proper commuting cycle facilities and more plus actions like Driving Greener (see my blog 29th March) and a Big Green Thumb project to encourage hitching.

It was exciting to see the enthusiasm in a non-political group to help make the changes we so need - in coming meetings there will be more looking at aims the group wants to achieve.

Complaint against BBC Today programme

I made a complaint against the Today Programme yesterday morning - once again they did a round up of the prospects in the local elections covering Cons, Lab and LDs (7.25am). They then went on to the "small parties" and amazingly covered only the BNP telling us they had lots of councillors and will make gains. This is by no means the first time.

Photo: early morning mist across Ruscombe fields

It is amazing that the BNP consistently seems to have more coverage and infect journalists - the Green Party and indeed others should be getting coverage beyond that of the BNP.
Greens certainly have more votes and more elected members than the BNP in more council chambers and in parliaments where the BNP have none. The BBC covering them in this way has the effect of encouraging them. They will have been delighted by this morning's broadcast - see a Green party view on BNP here. Come on BBC let's have some more responsible coverage of local elections.

Listen to most of slot here and make online complaint at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/contact/

The BBC telephone number is 08700 100 222 - their address is BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow, G2 3WT

Tories new logo and their eco cons

The Tories have been using more and more of the language of Greens - even ditching their blue and red flaming torch emblem for a green oak tree emblem on all ballot papers, letterheads and other documents - also in some areas they have also been using the Green party's usual colour green paper for some of their leaflets - there new slogan is even 'Vote Blue, Go Green.'

So is this the end of privatisation and an end to turning a blind eye to corporate pollution?? Are they really ready to drop their support for 'free trade' and the many negative impacts trade liberalisation policies have on the environment? Tories have also repeatedly criticised 'red tape' - yes much needs cutting but their knee-jerk reaction against it means that they also criticise many important environmental policies.

Cameron and his colleagues are certainly doing a fair job at trying to portray an image of environmental awareness and concern. I believe and hope they are sincere about the future of this planet but they have a very long way to go - locally here in Stroud all-party collaboration on the environment strategy certainly shows that some Tories are willing to become greener.

We should not forget that the underlying principles of the Tories still mean that if your vote blue you get blue. How can they reconcile policies like new roads and airport expansions with this supposed new found enthusiasm for the environment?

I dislike having a go at other parties but it really does take the biscuit when Tories are claiming to be green - the Green party nationally have recently released the Top Ten Tory Eco Cons to try and set the record straight.

Let's face it the only way to get green policies, and green action, is to vote Green.

The national Top Ten Tory Eco Cons:

1 Support for nuclear power
2 Support for new roads
3 Support for aviation growth
4 Opposition to EU green schemes
5 Axing environmental regulations as “red tape”
6 Opposition to congestion charging
7 Support for incineration of waste
8 Support for tax cuts for super-consumers
9 Support for low taxes for the most polluting multinational businesses
10 Support for Trident replacement rather than tackling climate change

Download Green party report here.

Climate Change seminar in Gloucester

Myself and Sarah Lunnon were the only two Stroud District councillors present at the County-wide seminar on Climate Change yesterday in Gloucester - a Green party Stroud Town councillor Dave Cockcroft was also there - it was disappointing to see only some 40 people attending - invites had gone to all Parish, Town, District and County councillors.

Photo: Shire hall Gloucestershire County Council Chamber, Gloucester

The train there meant there was time for a cafe before - after a double espresso we got to hear three key presentations from three Sustainable Energy Beacon Councils - the Beacon Council scheme identifies excellent councils from which other authorities can learn and acknowledge service areas that have a direct impact on local people - hence their visit to us.

It was refreshing to see that the Shire Hall Chamber had taken Sarah Lunnon's advice from a previous Climate Change seminar when she had called for the lights to be switched off and the curtains open!! Anyway here are some scribbled thoughts and notes about the three presentations - that certainly don't do justice to the actual talks!!

1. Steve Fowkes, Sustainability Officer from Shropshire - he talked about their path since 1991 - including their Carbon.org van giving advice to local businesses and their Marches Energy Agency - anyhow since then they have cut 38% of their corporate emissions on 1990 levels. They had the same mileage allowances for cycles as well as cars - something Greens have tried to get passed here - each time the motion is voted down - am sure we will get there in the end - but it is only a small part of tackling transport emissions - as Shropshire noted it is a v difficult area - they are now at 6 million miles annually by the Council - and growing!!

2. John Thorp, Managing Director, Thamesway - he talked about the cross-party support from 1990 - the strategy that was adopted in Dec 2002 and is adapted each year - he spent some time talking about Thamesway itself, the financing, the CHP, the Fuel cell, the private wires, car park lighting and Woking's plans for new developments - he condemned current guidelines by the Government - he called even the new regulations grossly inadequate and said that in 50 years we would be 'seriously embarrassed' by the houses we are building now. Indeed he went on saying: 'we have a real problem with these rubbish buildings' and how 'the houses being built now aren't even being built to these poor standards' because of poor Building Regulations enforcement (see my comment added to 30th March blog which echos much of what he said!). Most exciting is that Woking will refuse developments that don't achieve a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions against current building regs and will be carbon nuetral on greenfield developments - I'll certainly be taking those thoughts to our local Council who as noted previously on this blog are still struggling to formulate even a basic policy. Interestingly Woking were more than happy to go to an appeal to protect that policy.

Anyway Corporate CO2 emissions are down 82% and energy consumption down 52% - while the Borough has seen energy efficiency of properties increase by 33%, CO2 reductions of 21% and 4,489 grants re energy considerations given out. All inspiring stuff.

3. Tim German, Director, Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership - they have an energy strategy signed by 72 local organisations in July 2004 - they found in Cornwall 24% of population was fuel poor and that only2% of revenue from energy remains in Cornwall. He talked of various measures that have led to 35% increase in CO2 savings in the domestic sector - 7000 homes have received insulation and/or heating measures under their scheme 'Home Health' - in some areas they found that 91% of homes surveyed required measures! A quote given to illustrate the reasons for targetting was the famous one by Dr Hart:

'those who get are those who know and demand, rather than those in greatest need who do not know. Inequity occurs because no one goes out and finds those in the greatest need.'
Julian Tudor Hart 1971 'Inverse Care Law'

Good stuff - that should be remembered lots more when delivering services.

One question I didn't get to raise was how Cornwall can become a Beacon Council in Sustainable Energy yet can still support their airport growth. The Cornwall County Council plans to invest over £21 million on Newquay Airport, at a time when concerns are growing about the contribution of air travel to climate change. This is on top of the Council’s annual subsidy to the airport of £1 million worth of taxpayers’ money. I wont repeat all those arguments re aviation and the damage it does but cannot help but ask does the left hand know what the right hand does?

Photo: artists impression of wave hub

Anyway this last presentation also listed several other inspiring projects like Cornwall's planned Wave Hub - this hopes to be online in 2008 and supplying energy to 14,000 homes from several different types of wave enrgy providers - part actual project but also partly research to see how each functions - see more here.

There was also news of Navarra, Spain - that one region (smaller than Cornwall) now provides 6,500 jobs in the renewable energy sector - yet the whole of the UK only provides 8000 in that sector. We also heard about the inspiring example of Linz in Austria which had 1,300 homes built in a very short space of time - it is known as solar city and is designed on many key green principles like being around an electric tram route.

After the presentations there was a chance for questions - I also managed to talk afterwards with County staff and two of the speakers about Kirklees - another Council doing well - there a GReen councillor has pushed forward allsorts of initiatives - they now have 5% of the countries solar panels in that Borough and have just announced last month free insulation to 30,ooo homes!!!!! This is another issue I have raised with Stroud - if they can do it - why not us -more of that in another post - this blog entry was just intended to give a flavour of the day - more than happy to talk further locally on these issues.......

UPDATE: See Beacon Council presentations here

Stroud's Sustainability Appraisals

Last week I spent many hours pouring through 100 plus pages of yet another consultation document - as part of the new planning system future planning policy documents will need to be accompanied by Sustainability Appraisals. These will examine such issues and how they feed into the policies of the relevant plan. The council has commissioned a scoping report for future sustainability appraisals and they were after comments.

Photo: budding new shoots

The scoping report is intended to define the key environmental and sustainability issues for the whole of Stroud District. It is available on Stroud District website - I, along with Cllr Sarah Lunnon, put together a response from the Green party - see our comments here. Here is the intro to our report:

The production of this sustainability scoping document is to be welcomed, as is the process of consultation that is taking place. Our major comment of the document is that while it raises many important issues of sustainability it fails to address sufficiently key sustainability issues of robustness of the local economy, climate change and local food and fuel security (energy production).

Sections on waste and climate change appear less robust than Stroud District Councils own Environment Strategy paper and are not satisfactorily integrated into other sections. Indeed by listing climate change as chapter 10 it seems to suggest equal weight is attached to this as the other areas of consideration. We consider that the issue of reducing carbon emissions is so important that it should be included in the majority of the SA / SEA objectives.

In many ways this appears to be a “business-as-usual” approach when what is needed is more radical action.

We welcome the opportunity to have further discussion and input into this important report.

Trees in Ash Lane felled

I have had phone calls and emails from residents regarding the cutting down of trees at Ash Lane, Randwick.

Photo: Site where trees were lost

Some 15 trees were removed: some being over 30 years old and had bats roosting in them. Here is the response from Highways:

"I can confirm that we are removing these trees, following the high winds we had 4-5 weeks ago we had a report of a couple of the trees being in an unsafe condition. We took 2 of them out straight away before they fell, but we took the opportunity to inspect the rest, and they were found to be potentially unsafe as well. The problem is that there is insufficient room for them to develop a decent root system in the bank, and they will always be a potential danger during high winds. They are the wrong trees in the wrong location."

I have in the past raised concerns about the loss of verge-side trees (see blog 18th May). I have been assured that consultation around such matters would be improved. I recognise this is perhaps a small matter in terms of Highways work but it has a very significant impact on that local area. I was somewhat reassured that they also wrote:

"In terms of consultation, due to the urgent need to maintain public safety, the result, i.e removing the trees is not negotiable, has been minimal in this instance, and restricted to residents in the immediate vicinity who are involved. If we had a choice, and more time we would have carried out full consultation, but I trust you will appreciate the need to expedite matters when public safety is compromised."

In terms of the bats and chippings left behind here is the answer:

"Our tree surgeons are very environmentally aware and come straight back to us if they find such a situation. The safety issue does take a legal take precedent, but in the event we found a bat roost we would call in specialists to relocate it before felling. Our policy is to leave chippings to decompose naturally on site if at all possible for a number of reasons. The decaying matter provides a habitat for many wild species. By removing the chippings we increase the number of journeys and subsequently our carbon footprint. Also this adds to cost due to disposal charges. We do remove chippings if it is not suitable to leave them, and we insist that they are spread rather than left in heaps."

Beautiful wedding and Cafe Maitreya

My brother, Robert got married on Saturday to Alice - it was a very, very beautiful and special service and reception in Bristol.

Photos: Rob's wedding and in the cafe

It comes on top of news that Robert's cafe - Café Maitreya - was named the Observer Food magazine’s vegetarian restaurant of the year. This was despite stiff competition from bigger and wealthier restaurants in flashier places. The award comes after winning the Vegetarian Society’s top award the last two years!!

The cafes menu is changing all the time but at the moment you’re likely to see interesting things with nettle, wild garlic and Wye Valley asparagus. For the full menu, please go to our web site:
www.cafemaitreya.co.uk

And talking of nettles, I had my first taste of nettle soup last week - not at the cafe but madewith Bread Street nettles - and very delicious it was - infact I'm all in faviour of supporting the National Be Nice to Nettles Week which will take place between the 16th and 27th May 2007!

Guide Hut in Ash Lane, Randwick

Martin Rendell, Randwick Parish councillor has raised the issue of what should be done with the Guide Hut on various occasions. This weekends' Randwick Runner he wrote a piece outlining the options.

Photo: looking across to Whiteshill and Randwick woods from Uplands, Stroud

The Hut has been semi-derelict and empty for several years - the guides had to stop using it because of vandalism and ended up relocating to the Village Hall for Friday nights. Since the move the hut has further deteriorated - both District and Parish Councils have spend money trying to scure the building.

Martin is now quite rightly calling for a debate about the Hut's future. It is estimated it could cost £15 to 20,000 to secure and make the building useable. Here are some options:

- let it fall down - demolishit and return land to field - keep it secure and leave it as it is - help the Guides repair it for their use - repair it and use as a facility for youth groups of all kinds - repair it and use as an additional facility to the Village Hall (particularly during the upcoming refurbishment of the Hall) - sell it for use as a small workshop or some other use (Planning apparently have indicated a change of use to residential use would not be granted) - use as a camping barn for Cotswold Way walkers

As Martin notes any of these choices would need to be agreed by the Guide Association as owners. Also a group of people would be needed to push forward the work and to help manage the finished facility.

The Parish Council are now seeking views on this - contact them direct via the Clerk or Martin - or I can forward views if you leave a comment here.