I've had two days away - half term and family - so now catching up on emails - here are a few bits of random news, campaigns, courses and why I missed Full Council on Thursday (first time)...
Local singer in regional finals: Ruth Royall (above) from Ebley will sing for a place in the final of the Live and Unsigned 2008 competition for the under 18s tomorrow. Ruth, at 17, has already gained local acclaim as lead singer with popular band Sub Justice and with her powerful solo performances. Good luck to her - I already have her new EP, "Music in words" that was launched this week. Ruth is a self taught pianist and guitarist and her influences include Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell. For more information visit www.myspace.com/ruthroyall
Whiteshill photographer catches Stroud: Stroud Life report a whacky audio visual slide show that depicts a week in the life of Stroud. They write: "Images of cows on the common, Stroud at night, Stroud half marathon and new born babies at Stroud Maternity Hospital are delighting visitors to the Stroud Apollo Cinema. The photographic project ,which took place between October 19-28, 2007 captures everyday life in the Five Valleys. Seven local photographers contributed in an idea born out of the town's first photography festival, Photo Stroud, also held in October. The brief was to capture and record life in Stroud, illustrating what a beautiful, vibrant and diverse area it is. Project co-ordinator Simon Pizzey of Whiteshill, and a senior photographer for Gloucestershire Media said: "The festival was a great platform for photographers to share ideas and work together, and with the community. This project is a natural extension of that creative melting pot." Two slide shows, each about five minutes long, will be shown for several weeks at the start of the film programme. Details can be found at www.apollocinemas.co.uk . They can also been seen at www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/stroud The photographers who contributed were: Matt Bigwood, Charlie Bryan, Jeremy Clifton-Gould, Cyril Laffort, Steve Mansfield, Roger May, and Simon Pizzey."
Nailsworth Turbine repaired: as reported earlier on this blog (see blog on 20th March 2008) the turbine has been awaiting repairs. See latest on the Nailsworth Discussion board with excellent photos - one of which I've pinched below - see more here.Picture
Bird ID session in Cainscross: Stroud Valleys Project has a session looking at the most common garden birds and learning to identify them by their singing on Tuesday 29th April 10am-12noon. Donations rather than charge. Bring binoculars and wellies - call 07876 050878 or 764746 for further info.
Anti-Vitamin lobby: Headlines around the world this last week claim that vitamin supplements can cause more harm than good. But see here why BAD SCIENCE + BAD MEDIA (+ VESTED INTERESTS) = CONFUSED CONSUMERS. See here previous blogs re a meeting in Painswick Inn on 15th May and EU legislation.
Walmart meetings on video: apparently back in the 70's, Walmart hired a small video company in Kansas to record all the company's meetings for internal archival purposes - then, in 2006 it fired the firm, Flagler - but without checking the deal's small print, or lack of it. Flager asked for the cheeky sum of $150,000,000 for Walmart to buy the rights back, Wal-mart countered with $500,000, Flager agreed to go to a mere $145,000,000. Flager are now responding by making the footage available to all-comers. The archive offers a rare inside view of the workings of a multinational ethic-lite corporate profit-machine - and SchNEWS notes that it "makes interesting watching for people with a grudge against the mega-supermarket chain. Lawyers for unions and private cases like sexual discrimination have been first in the queue, eager for the damning candid camerawork of things like a senior manager parading around in drag, others mocking women and top executives in full'n'frank discussions about corporate strategy and hiring practices."
Nuke news: I get an excellent daily digest of nuclear news and wanted to urge others interested to join up - it covers all aspects reported in the news - here's a couple of items from 17th to give a flavour:
- Make uranium burn stronger, hotter and longer in nuclear reactors, and you'll need less fuel, and there'll be less waste to deal with when it has been exhausted. For decades, nuclear operators have done just that, but emerging safety and waste-disposal issues are raising questions about this approach. The latest high-efficiency fuel may prove to be unstable in an emergency, and so poses a greater risk of leakage of radioactive material into the environment. What's more, the waste fuel is more radioactive, meaning it could prove even more difficult than existing waste to store in underground repositories. Full article as published in New Scientist on 09 April 2008 is now available free here.
- Fuel poverty and climate campaigners are struggling to understand how exactly the Government thinks its new found enthusiasm for nuclear power will help. See Blog by Pete Roche.
- a Green Goddess fire engine that may have played a role in battle to put out the 1957 Windscale fire has been found buried deep in a trench on the Sellafield site. See here.
- Investigations are continuing into the discovery of a home made bomb found at the home of a Sellafield contractor. See here.
Climate Bill and a local course: Here is a campaign website and video about the Bill with No Balls - see it here - plus how to email your MP. Meanwhile I'm helping to promote on Tues 20th May, 6-9pm the excellent course 'Climate Change Condensed' at Stroud College - The Climate Outreach & Information Network (COIN) returns to Gloucestershire with their fantastic new all you need to know course on climate change. With a sell-out evening in Cheltenham in March, the event is now coming to Stroud, promising a carefully-concocted recipe of expert knowledge, group discussion and more. The course covers the basic science of climate change; extreme weather and home impacts; what the opinion polls tell us about public feeling on climate change; what the politicians and leading experts are saying; feelings which climate change brings up for us all and much more. No previous knowledge required! Contact:Rebecca, Vision 21, office@vision21.org.uk, 01242 224321. Cost:£12 individuals; £10 students / unwaged; £24 charities & local authorities; £49 business
Gloucestershire FoE Network Incinerator Campaign: A meeting to decide on tactics for challenging the County plans for an incinerator in Gloucester will be on Sat 26th April 2:00pm – Venue TBC. If you would like to attend the meeting please contact Sophie on 01242 512881 / sophie@lesberries.co.uk
Unintended consequences of solar panels: this news is a bit like the the unintended consequences of a rapid expansion of bio-fuels....here we have a report of unintended consquences of production of silicon for PV panels...See article here. Clearly not all producers are the same and let us hope this is a one off.
Full Council meeting: As noted above I missed Full Council on Thursday - once again the meeting falls on half term - every other time I have come back early from seeing family in Devon but this time due to starting a new job next week and other work commitments I chose to miss Full Council - many councillors do miss Full Council and other meetings - especially during school holidays - but it is something I rarely if ever do - anyhow here are my apologies email below - I will be pushing the County to release school holiday dates earlier so that SDC can fix their timetable better.....indeed I've already had a reply that SDC Officers are looking into it....
I unfortunately am giving my apologies for the Full Council meeting on Thursday despite there being several issues like post offices that I feel very strongly about. The meeting is at half term and having missed the opportunity to visit family in the past due to Council meetings falling in the school holidays I have decided not to this time. I understand one of the problems with the Council's timetable is that the County Council do not decide term times soon enough to plan the timetable. If this is the case I would urge that this matter is taken up with the County. How best to do that?
As noted in previous emails, the recent census of councillors showed that the average age of a councillor is 58, with more than half over 60, and fewer than 8 per cent under 40. Just under 30 per cent are women, and 96 per cent are white. Stroud would appear to be in a similar situation. The Governments' White Paper, 'Strong and Prosperous Communities', has been looking into barriers and incentives to becoming a councillor - it is clear that having meetings during school holidays impacts on councillors with families with school children.
While clearly all meetings cannot be held in term time it would be great if more could be timetabled then. All the best - Philip
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