Stan's great speech about Randwick Village Hall

Randwick Village Hall recently opened it's doors to show folk the measures undertaken to turn it into the countries first carbon neutral village hall - now Wap Mayor Stan Giles (see photo) has kindly given permission to publish here a copy of the notes for his speech - I loved hearing some of the background and wanted to share it wider with locals and others alike.

See write up of the hall opening here and here - and here Alan Tomlinson's speech about the measures undertaken and here more about the Open Homes weekend.

The hall has since been short-listed for a SW award - see here - anyway let's get to that speech....

Welcome everyone to a very special occasion. Thanks to the many who contributed ideas and support for the project- District Council, Green Shop and Philip Booth.

September is an auspicious month for the hall as so many important events appear to have occurred at this time of year.

The Hall started in March 1946, when The Randwick Village Hall and Playing field Fund was formed with Mr W.L.Paul of Longcourt as chairman. It took three years to raise the funds to purchase the field. Apart from dances, bazaars and whist drives, a donation of £47.00 was received from Randwick, Australia and £162.00 from the Combined Services Social Committee, an organisation which existed to improve the lives of service personnel after World War 2.

By April 1949, £800 had been raised (approx. £18.000 today) and a public meeting was called to finalise the details and plans, which included appointing new officers, and agreeing that the Parish Council should hold the land in trust. This was to ensure continuity and was obviously successful as there has been continuity ever since. The land, which is directly in front of the hall,was purchased from Mr. Wheeler for £250.00 (£5,700).

The following September there was an opening ceremony carried out by the Bishop of Gloucester- I’m afraid he wasn’t available today and neither was the Agent General of New South Wales, who represented Randwick Australia. An interesting reminder of those austere times - and perhaps a pointer for today - is a record in the minutes of the Secretary having to visit the “food office” “to obtain information on a ration allowance for the tea on September 10th.” Let us hope the W.I have been equally well organised.

There was still no Village Hall, however, and in 1951 the Church Room on the corner of the Lane became available and this was purchased and used for the next 11 years. In May 1952, the committee felt it had achieved its aims and a new committee was elected at a public meeting and soon became the Randwick Social Committee. Mr Scriven, Chair, Mrs. Wehner (vicar’s wife) Secretary and Mrs Ashmead as treasurer.

In 1957, £25.00 (£400.00) was transferred to a separate fund for building a new village hall. At the December AGM in 1958 new officers were elected ( Harry Keene-chair, Mr Axford- vice-chair, Mr H.A- Spud- Taylor Secretary, Mr Wheeler- asst secretary and Barton Haines as treasurer. The next five years were full of activity - dances, carol singing, horticultural show, bazaars and the legendary house to house collection every week to collect subscriptions of sixpence- 21/2p (40p today).

By March 1962 £2000.00 ( £30,500) had been raised and grants had been negotiated. In September - that month again - building started but there was a very severe winter and the work was delayed. The building was officially opened on 26th September 1963, 45 years ago within a week.

The cost of the hall, furniture, equipment and fees was £4,600 (£65,000) of which £2,500 (£35,000) had been raised in the village and the remainder funded by grants. The use of the hall increased and gave the impetus for several new organisations, including the Youth Club, Over 60s, Play Group and a re-formed Cricket Club. The Car Park was completed in 1965, the same year that planning commenced for an extension and the old village hall was sold. There is a particularly bureaucratic wrangle over the money, which took seven years to resolve and resulted in the Parish Council paying the committee £229.00 - the cost of a new roundabout.

So a new phase in the life of the Hall begins. In researching the hall, there seems to me to be two underlying themes which run through its history and are so indicative of life in our wonderful village, so recently celebrated on ITV through Alec Alder’s efforts.

The first theme is of community - throughout its development, villagers have been consulted, responses and anxieties respected and the hall adapted to changing demands and expectations of users. It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautifully sited halls in the county and the present improvements have been achieved with a positive impact on our environment and provide an example of environmentally sensitive development and improvement.

The other theme is the need for a committed, hard working and enthusiastic committee, members of which give their time and energies freely and willingly, and I feel the present committee more than adequately continue that tradition so a special thank you to Mort, Alan, Val and Harden for bringing plans and ideas to such a positive conclusion. Bring them forward for a round of applause.

And indeed there was much applause and then the ribbon cut to allow us to enter - 150 people attended the opening and over 400 visited the hall during the day.

Peak oil: greater threat than terrorism and short-term impacts of climate change

The Guardian reports that a study from the Peak Oil group shows the risk to the UK from falling oil production in coming years is greater than the threat posed by terrorism, according to an industry taskforce.

The 'The Oil Crunch' report warns that the problem of declining availability of oil will hit the UK earlier than generally expected - possibly within the next five years and as early as 2011 and then decline rapidly or collapse.

As regular blog readers will know, Peak Oil has been covered a fair bit on this blog - indeed only yesterday I mentioned it in relation to community resilience - anyhow all along the Government has been in denial - let us hope this is the wake up call they need as it is the first time a group of businesses has weighed into this debate. The report also argues strongly that the risk of an early peak in oil production poses a bigger threat to UK society than tightening gas supplies, terrorism or the short-term impacts of climate change. Wow that is serious stuff - all the more need for more Transition Stroud projects to show what is possible and for all of us to wake up to the need to move away from fossil fuel dependency rapidly....

After all as noted before Sweden plans to be free of oil dependence by 2020 - see more in this blog post here.

However while the Government is failing us on this there are signs they are getting more serious on climate change - all credit to all the campaigners who have lobbied for the change - The UK Parliament now has the world's first Climate Change Law upping the pressure on other European governments to legally commit to cut emissions and on the European Union to agree a strong climate and energy package (Finland is already working on a Bill). Plus they included aviation and shipping but unfortunately the bill does not limit the amount the UK can 'off-set' by purchasing credits from outside Europe - anyway more of that another day....there is still much to do and it shows into even more sharp contrast the Government's absurd plans to expand aviation. Anyhow time for work....

ooohps but before I go I meant to also mention that I will be forwarding info re this to the Council's financial officers - they look at all sorts of info to make judgments about the future so that they can budget - it is my view that like most Councils when it comes to fuel prices they are relying too much on Government and not enough on reports like the one above and the All Party committee looking at this issue.

Talk in Stroud on threat to natural medicines and food

I just came across a comment left on a previous blog of mine and wanted to publicise it more widely - the series of talks start with a look at a topic I have covered previously about the threat to natural medicines and food - I am not sure I can get to that talk but it looks like being worth a visit. Anyhow here it is:

Uncommon Knowledge is a brand new series of talks and presentations at the Painswick Inn Project, Gloucester Street, Stroud. The regular events, organised by Christopher Hill and Theresa Johnson, will bring together top speakers from different fields under a common theme:

“Many societies seem to be entering a period of transition, whether environmental, cultural or economic. We feel this is a good time to be raising questions, re-evaluating old perspectives, and looking at ourselves and the world with fresh eyes. We hope Uncommon Knowledge will provide a platform for new and exciting research that will entertain us and challenge some of our preconceptions.”

The series kicks off on Thursday 13th November at 7.15 pm with The Global Food and Drug Code, a presentation by Scott Tips and Ian R Crane. Scott is President of the US based National Health Federation (www.nhf.com) and author of the book 'Codex Alimentarius: Global Food Imperialism'. Independent researcher Ian R Crane is the author, presenter and producer of one of the best selling DVD's on the Codex agenda, focusing on what is being seen by many as an international threat by corporate industry and global organisations like the WTO (World Trade Organisation) to natural farming, global food standards and complementary health.

This topic is extremely pertinent following the recent revelation that, 'Gordon Brown and other European leaders are secretly preparing an unprecedented campaign to spread GM crops and foods in Britain and throughout the continent...', as reported in the 26th October edition of The Independent on Sunday (see my blog on that here). The following day the headline of the Daily Express screamed, 'PURPLE TOMATO CAN BEAT CANCER' (see above photo taken from their website). So it would seem that the 'campaign' is already underway.

Event organiser Christopher Hill said, “This will be Scott’s first public presentation in the UK, so we are particularly excited to welcome him to Stroud, home of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association.” Admission price is £4 on the night, and doors open at 7pm. See my blog previously on Codex here and re Ian Crane's talk in Stroud here.

Update this evening - see Green party comment on purple tomatos:
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2008-10-28-GM.html

Resilient Communities: A Guide to Disaster Management

I read this report, 'Resilient Communities: A Guide to Disaster Management', by Richard Heinberg, a while back and forwarded it to the County's Disaster management folk - see report here - it is about how we help make communities better able to respond to the coming economic shocks from resource depletion, beginning with Peak Oil, and perhaps also to shocks from other causes (such as the ongoing subprime mortgage and credit collapse).

Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy; the ability to absorb shocks.

This is an area we could do better and goes to the heart of Green politics - District Councils are already working with their local parishes/communities to develop local community resilience plans and in Stroud we have the Think Tank set up locally with the District Council, Transition Stroud and others - important starts - and will allow many issues to be aired but we need much wider discussion. Central Government are about to provide guidance on Community Resilience as an outcome from the excellent Pitt Report earlier this year but I am again sure it will miss some key points...

It will certainly not go far enough as the Government has failed to even accept Peak Oil is a problem. Last month on You and Yours on Radio 4 John Hemming, Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and Gas, said: "We need to recognise … that there is a link between food and energy … we need to be much more orientated towards controlling the use of fossil fuel. I think the Government's not even doing as much as it intends to. The first problem … is denial. They estimate the global peak for hydro carbon production as being 2030 … if you start by denying there is a problem then it's not surprising they're not doing anything about it … (the Government is planning) for a growth in air transport, it's a farce … when there isn't … the fuel to power it."

Mr Hemming said, "Energy is going to be rationed by either price or by having tradable energy quotas. If it's rationed by price the poorer people will suffer to a far greater extent, it requires international action, one country can't resolve this on their own … when you look at the numbers game in terms of alternative energies they're all various partial solutions, it's not clear they add up to a complete solution therefore you have to look at how you equitably deal with the fossil fuel provision that we have. I think we need to focus more on quality of life rather than standard of living … what is critical is we need to look at an equitable way of dealing with scarcity … it's in everybody's interest to adjust their lifestyle to minimise their use of energy."

Good for him - my email to the County was batted back to me saying they will await Government guidance and suggested I talk to the new Climate Change Officer at the County - an understandable but disappointing response. Wouldn't it be great if instead they got serious and developed a plan like Portland, Oregon - see more here. Or a Green New Deal like Greens called for again locally this week - see here details plus talk at Sub Rooms on 27th November.

To create real community resilience to cope with disasters we need to cover all the issues from how and where we grow our foods to how we actually deal with the disasters themselves - but enough scribbling for now - it is a little too early to be putting all these thoughts together - off to work v soon...

Dismay at nursery fingerprint recognition door entry system

Earlier today I was commenting on this blog on the dire new appalling Communications Data Bill (see here) which proposes to record - for life - the details of everyone you call or write to and what websites you visit. Then later today I get a call to comment on news that Tiggers nursery at Downfield has installed a £10,000 fingerprint recognition door entry system! Sadly another aspect of our 'database state' that we are creating....

Photo: last of the Sweetpeas?

I didn't get back in time to the Stroud Life journalist as work was busier than usual today but did leave a comment on their website - part of it said: "By introducing this into nurseries, we are normalising fingerprint scanning and giving children the message that they are in danger by seeing their parents fingerprinted. There are no proven benefits of using this system. Even Microsoft's Identity Architect Kim Cameron has said that 'It is absolutely premature to begin using 'conventional biometrics' in schools'. Furthermore the Government have still to issue guidelines concerning the human rights implications of the use of biometrics in schools. While I recognise some parents fears this is not the way to deal with them." Read full release here.

Plan to log your visit Ruscombe Green

The latest outrageous plan by the Government to increase our database state is the Communications Data Bill - this proposes to record - for life - the details of everyone you call or write to and what websites you visit.

Photo: view of Ruscombe

This raises not just the prospect of a new, massively intrusive surveillance database, but - according to the Sunday Times - the possibility of compulsory registration of mobile phones. Negative media coverage has forced the Home Secretary to announce further 'consultation' on the Bill in the new year and a flat denial from the Home Office on mobile phone registration.

Monitoring your communications is in many ways more intrusive than searching your home. It should only ever be done under warrant with good reason. The general convenience of the Home Office is a very bad reason indeed.

As NO2ID ask: "Do you want the state (and anyone who can gain access to the system) to have a record of your religious and political beliefs, your sexual interests and relationships, your financial and medical worries - "just in case" they ever become of interest to the authorities? You wouldn't tolerate someone creeping into your home at any time, night and day, to go through your and your family's private things. You shouldn't put up with this."

See Open Democracy article here and NO2ID here - and make your thoughts known to our Government. This comes on top of news that the Home Secretary has brandished a new plastic card to be issued to some foreign residents from November - she is calling it an "ID card" for foreign nationals. This cynical branding exercise with its sly appeal to xenophobia should fool no-one.

As regular blog readers will know I have totally opposed the push for ID cards - indeed the Government have failed to convince industry and employers, the unions and the public at large that ID cards are necessary or desirable - now it seems they are picking on soft targets - anonymous individuals seeking marriage visas or education - those who have no choice but to keep quiet and comply. And if the statements of junior minister Meg Hiller at Labour Party conference are to be believed, they also intend to target children as young as 14.

Ministers try to give the impression that their National Identity Scheme is inevitable - It is most definiately not. All the opposition parties are committed to scrapping it and, without the National Identity Register (the database at the heart of the scheme) and with the repeal of the Identity Cards Act we can - and shall - go back to being a free country.

Locally Jeremy Hilton, Lib Dem MP for Cheltenham was reported in the paper re his anger at the scheme - his wife Polly, a Chilean woman who has lived in Gloucester for over a decade will have to get a card - and indeed my Norwegian partner who has lived in Stroud well over 20 years looks set to also need a card as Norway is not part of the EU. What utter nonsense and waste of money...

Play: 'When the Lights went out!'

Some will remember the Flood play earlier this year - a great success. Well I have just heard from Chris Garner, the artistic directorof the Stroud Theatre Company and a fellow Ruscombe-ite that there latest show is now touring.

It is coming to Edge Village Hall (26th Nov), The museum in the park (6th Nov), Stonehouse (25th Nov) as well as other venues throughout Glos and touring nationally. Check out their website for more info: www.stroudtheatrecompany.co.uk.

'When the Lights went out!' is by Mike Akers and a story celebrating the home front heroes - it is based on extensive research in Gloucestershire - drawing on the memories and stories of those who were there during the dark days of World War Two. Perhaps with the threats forecast to our power supplies in the future by some commentators this will be more than topical? Certainly I am looking forward to learning more about this time.

"Do not let us speak of darker days; let us rather speak of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are greater days - the greatest days our country has ever lived..."
Winston Churchill, 29th October 1941

For booking info call 01242 695571

Bank near Ash Lane: threat or improvement?

Many will remember the Planning appeal in Randwick earlier this year re the proposed house at Glenfield, Ash Lane (see more here).

Well the house has another planning application in: S.08/1740/FUL - for some reason I can't access the Council website to view it at the moment, but there is apparently a change to the plans. I will check them out but there is a very short time to respond - I think last comments need to be in by 3rd November - so I wanted to add this post here as this issue has led to lots of strong feelings in the past.

My concern has always been the loss of the bank - a move recommended by Highways - see my original objection here. I have spoken to planners and others about this and I understand this latest change is in response to my concerns and others raised previously by many villagers - this latest plan apparently does not cut the bank back so far - as noted I haven't seen the plans but I do have concerns that any sense of widening that stretch will in my view lead to faster cars and a loss of character to the neighbourhood - but I'll reserve judgement until I view the plans!

Action at last on dangerous Westrip Lane wall

Re the wall in Westrip Lane near Hawthorne Rise and opposite Red House Farm

Photo: part of the wall that is much more dangerous now

The wall has over the last years become increasingly dangerous. I had a site meeting there just under a year ago - see background to this story here - the good news is that after dozens of emails and several phone calls action is now underway - this week hopefully the wall will come down and made safe with further work to the area when a team becomes available.

And don't forget Puckshole is closed 28th to 31st as they are reservicing.

Future of Woodcutters Arms?

I can hardly believe that more than 2 years have gone by since the Woodcutters Arms in Whiteshill was put up for sale - see my blog here re the loss of pubs.

Photo: to year old photo before tarmac was converted back to a Village Green

Since then many have asked what my views are on this site and I have made no secret that I do not support a change of use to a home. However my view will have little effect on the planning process and I know from talking to others there are many who disagree with me as they would like to see the site developed. Here is roughly what I said to the local press when they asked last week:

I am concerned that we will loose another community facility from the village just at a time when climate change and oil prices mean that we should be supporting more local services. However I accept that to develop this site as a public house is unlikely to be attractive in the current economic climate - particularly as another pub is so close. However Stroud District Council policies (Policy SH15) state that there must be 'no prospect of a continued community use'. I have therefore requested more robust evidence to justify their case than currently provided.

The Christie and Co report dated 18th September 2008 that was submitted with the planning application along with other evidence supplied by the applicant certainly provides justification for questioning the viability of this pub as a business. It should be noted that no longterm lease was granted by Admiral and at no time in recent years have landlords been given a chance to develop the pub's business. Indeed there seems to have been precious little development or promotion of this pub in the past.

I am keen to see improvements made to this property, which has, what is arguably the most prominent site in the Village - it is situated in full view as you come up the hill and on our Village Green - it is deeply disappointing that planning laws seem to make it so diificult to insist that any development on the site is for affordable housing or some other community use. We need to keep villages alive - and yes of course it will be great to have an empty building full but this is not what is needed.

Having said all that I hear the proposed applicant is allegedly a stone mason and aims to restore it sympathetically. In the light of our planning laws not allowing for other possibilities this may well be a good solution.

Update 16th November 2008: This application is likely to go to Development Control Committee on 9th Dec following a letter of support from the Parish Council - also I had a comment sent re above: 'Mr Anderson is not an 'alleged' Stone Mason, he is fully qualified having served his apprenticeship on Westminster Abbey, his other experience speaks for itself, such as teaching Masons working on Woodchester Mansion, the lead Mason on the reconstruction event celebrating the moving of Abel Simble in Egypt....'

Planning details: S.08/1669/COU Woodcutters Arms, Main Road, Whiteshill - Change of use from public house to residential. See details here on SDC planning website - comments can be made up to 5th November.

Government's secret push on GM

Yesterday The Independent on Sunday carried a story on Europe's secret plan to boost GM crop production - I wont repeat here other than to say it is worth a read as exposes how Gordon Brown and other EU leaders are secretly preparing an unprecedented campaign to spread GM crops and foods in Britain and throughout the continent.

Apparently minutes have been obtained by The Independent of a series of private meetings of representatives of 27 governments - disclose plans to "speed up" the introduction of the modified crops and foods and to "deal with" public resistance to them. This is shocking indeed but no surprise from this Government who carried out a consultation on GM that showed the public were against it yet nevertheless the Government have continued to push every which way to get GM here. Indeed Greens have locally tried to raise this issue several times - see most recently Fi MacMillan's letter this summer to local press - it seems we have to remain ever vigilant.

Even France, one of only three countries in Europe to have grown them in any amounts, has suspended their cultivation, and resistance to them is rising rapidly in the other two, Spain and Portugal. Currently only 0.119 per cent of Europe's agricultural land is GM. I hope there will be much outrage about this - we cannot open the GM Pandora's box.

Village Shop: 10th Anniversary party today

I was delighted to get an invite to Whiteshill and Ruscombe's Village Shop 10th Anniversary party - 10 years of serving the community - all run by volunteers - a real birthday party with plenty of sandwiches, cream scones and of course a cake - see the photo left of the team of volunteers who keep this shop going ...

...especially Mary and her daughter Emma who made the wonderful cake - a close up reveals The Citizen gets an advert on the cake (see photo)! Indeed their photographer was there in his own time - he lives locally and is one of the many supporting this community shop.

The afternoon started with opening the new toilet - the old one suffered a fire a year ago (see here) - since then those in the shop, local school, playgroup and more have been raising monies to put it right - David Drew MP was there to cut the ribbon - in the case a stream of toilet roll!!

See photos - he also applauded all the hard work of those involved in keeping the shop going and indeed raising the money for the toilet. Indeed the community has been great on this.

Anyhow there was also a raffle - and the sun was out - maybe 50 people came to the party and the shop was festooned with cards from local children - and the cafe was serving drinks and wine - and of course there is the wonderful views across the valley - as I've said before this is the cafe with the best view in the county!

Anyhow I've rambled on long enough - it is a great achievement to reach 10 years - they had some of the photos from that time on the wall - see below the crane lifting the portacabin into position - see here an old news story that gives some background for those who don't know about it.

The Shop is still looking for volunteers to help run it and with all sorts from publicity and painting a new sign to perhaps a website designer? Give us a call if you are interested - and don't forget if you live local please support it - and don't forget while prices are in some cases a very little more than supermarkets it is basically cheaper than many corner shops and cheaper on lots than the local Tesco Express - I remember helping with a survey a long while ago looking at basket prices to promote the shop - see here.

Humphreys End Orchard part 2

Yesterday I blogged about our wonderful afternoon in Humphreys End Orchard picking and juicing apples - some 50 people plus joined in - for those who missed it and are interested we will again be doing it on Saturday 8th November 2pm to 5ish - but more exciting there are some long term plans for the orchard being explored - see below and also details of how to store apples and a bit of history re the orchard....

Sat 8th Nov

Julia Currie, the landowner is kindly opening her gates again to her orchard at the bottom of Ruscombe road (Bread Street) for folk to pick apples and get involved with trying some juicing. Several folk like Guy from Bread Street and myself will help with shaking trees - large sacks will be provided and when filled that will be £5 or bring your own carrier bags - supermarket size filled will be £2. Please call Julia 01453 764376 if you need any information especially re parking and juicing. Bring helmets!! A bike helmet would be good as some of the apples falling are seriously heavy - one split on my glasses leaving smears of juice another hit me full on the chest and a third on my head - one child also had one on the nose - no serious injuries but be warned apple picking can be dangerous!!

Something about this orchard

It has about 20 mature old trees and 25 planted saplings of Gloucestershire varieties. All unsprayed - here below is some info from Julia's leaflet:

This orchard has been in my family’s ownership (Martin) for at least 2 centuries. Unfortunately I know little about its earlier history, but it stems from a time when every village had its orchards and local residents were involved in the harvesting and use of the fruit.

In recent years English orchards have been in serious decline – the power of the supermarkets has led to the virtual eclipse of our thousands – yes thousands - of native apples. However, in the last few years we have thankfully begun to see not only the rescuing of these wonderful apple varieties, but a growth in demand for them. Farmers markets and local growers have fought back. Thankfully, due to this fight back, we have saved over 100 varieties of Gloucestershire apples

Over the last 6 years I have been restoring the orchard, pruning and cutting back overgrown trees and planting new ones. That process is ongoing, and you will be able to see all the 18 saplings at different stages of growth. All are local or Gloucestershire varieties with one or two exceptions and include Stroud’s own apple the Lodgemore. It will be some years before the saplings bear fruit of any quantity, but in the meantime, we can enjoy their growth and know that this wonderful orchard is providing a wild life haven for birds, insects and bats.

Some of the many things that orchards are good for:

- The trees are beautiful all year round with blossom in spring and fruit in autumn. The wood is great for fires and smells lovely

- Old orchards are a very important wildlife habitat for birds, insects, bats and fungi

- Orchards provide us with links to our past where they existed in every village and farm. They have provided us with sources for our language, poetry, songs, stories, art and games

- Today they can provide us with local varieties of fruit and juice, unavailable in supermarkets, and recreation and community activities in community orchards or where owners give access

And Now the Future

Here is more info from Julia's leaflet about plans:

I am hoping to increase community involvement in the orchard eg by renting or sponsoring the trees, planting new ones, sharing the produce, sharing in the maintenance and using the orchard for community activities.

If you are interested, please join us on the next open Saturday or call me on 755451.

Storage of your apples

This is something several people asked about - some of the apples from this orchard will store through to the new year. Again Julia had produced some useful info for novices like myself plus a recipe sheet:

· Ideally, store apples in a draught-free place such as a cellar, attic, garden shed, or unheated spare bedroom, away from bright light. Keep cool, preferably at below 45° F (7° C), and avoid fluctuations in temperature. Store in shallow, slatted trays, not quite touching, on newspaper and put sheets of paper between the rows. Trays can be stacked. Label each tray with the name of the variety .Examine fruits frequently for rot

· Another way – keep on flat surface on newspaper, slightly apart

· Alternatively, wrap apples individually in paper (colour supplement seems to work particularly well; let us hope the inks are not toxic), and put them in cardboard boxes which are then shut up. This seems to prevent the fruit shriveling, and keeps out the mice and rats (which can often be a problem).

· Fruit for cooking and jams can be deep-frozen. Some people blanch it first, others just freeze it. Use small freezer bags; otherwise a big load has to be defrosted just to get enough for a single pie.

Huge success: apple juicing at Humphrey's End Orchard part 1

See the video at the bottom and photos of our wonderful afternoon today in the orchard at Humphrey's End. Some 50 people or more joined in the picking and juicing and plans are now afoot to set up some sort of community involvement in looking after the orchard (see initial ideas here that are progressing slowly).

Many helped with loosening the apples with a gentle but firm shake of branches - then it was washing the apples.

Next came the chopping of apples into quarters and then the grinder thing - has it got a special name - all including children helped with this - at times requiring the strength of Pippi Longstocking to turn the wheel.

The mush of ground apples then goes into the press in a muslin-like bag and the crank turned and turned to squeeze the juice.

Then out comes the juice - and wow what a juice - most of us tasted it there and then - a wonderful rich amber colour made from a mix of Newton Wonder and Blenheim apples. It was pretty labour intensive and with all hands we manged to create about 12 litres of the stuff - 2 of which I have here - of course it wont last so will need to be drunk within a couple of days - no problem with that!

It is probably the best tasting juice on the planet!

Anyhow more info about the day will be coming in another blog soon - hopefully tomorrow - including info on how to get involved with the project in the future......let me leave you with the video for now....OK not great quality but I am still learning this game!!

See more on my blog re Orchards here re Edwinna Bridgeman and here re Whiteshill Parish orchard.

US elections favour scary return to Republicans

I've not blogged on the US elections and don't really mean to start but note John Marjoram's letter in Guardian today here. He calls for them to consider more than just the Republican - Democrat fight...

Photos: This morning over Farmhill - a new dawn!

With that in mind I note Roseanne Barr comes out with some typically feisty comments re the US elections and her support for Cynthia Mc Kinney and the Greens here. See also Reactions of the Green Party Vice Presidential candidate to the Vice Presidential debate here.

In one shocking bit of news it emerged at the European Green Party Council that the General Secretary and the EGP had been in touch with the US Greens trying to get them not to campaign in the so called swing states for fear of damaging the Democrat campaign. The US Greens had told them where to get off. Agree!!! Can you imagine the US Greens telling the EGP not to campaign in the UK, as it might damage the Labour or Tory vote? The Gen Sec apparently went on to state that it was no longer an issue as the Democrats were sufficiently ahead in the swing states this time. Ah well Greens are not perfect!

Election stacked against Obama

Anyway more re the US elections - certainly this week the Republican election campaign has gone from one crisis to another with the seemingly barely competent Senator McCain and Governor Palin - the latter is now deliberately being kept away from the media as she shows her true colours as Mayor of Gaffe City.

However the US election is still stacked against Obama - the scale of voter disenfranchisement in America could put the Republicans back in the White House (see Peter Tatchell comment here). Naomi Wolf as seen on this blog earlier this month believes a coup has already taken place - see her scary video here.

Amazingly research by the New York Times (NYT) and BBC Newsnight confirms that the US presidential election will not be free and fair, because millions of electors will either not be allowed to vote or will not have their votes properly counted. The NYT found that in some states for every new voter registered in the last couple of months, two voters have been removed – negating Obama's massive voter registration drive. This voter purging could mean fewer people voting next month than voted in 2004. This widespread electoral malpractice is independently corroborated by a Newsnight investigation by Greg Palast. See here and here.

Palast says that almost three million voters have already been purged from the voter rolls – mostly poor and black voters who are more likely to vote Democrat. During elections in New Mexico earlier this year, one in nine voters found that their names had disappeared from the voter rolls. In Colorado, the disenfranchisement is even greater, with 20% of voters being purged. It has happened before. During the 2004 presidential election one in four registered Ohio voters turned up at the polling booth only to discover that their names were not on the voter roll, an exclusion rate of 25%.

The Republican strategist Karl Rove has backed a new law requiring voters to show photo ID at
the polling booth. One in ten US citizens don't have photo ID. Among African Americans it is one in five. This requirement will disenfranchise millions of poor, elderly and black Americans, who tend to vote Democrat. In one swing state, Indiana, an estimated 100,000 African-Americans may lose their right to vote (see more here).

Many will remember that voting irregularities in 2004 were enough to steal the presidency for the Republicans - see article by the civil rights lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr, JFK's nephew here.

What would Obama victory bring?

It is clear a McCain victory would have truly frightening foreign policy implications. However I can't say I am not also worried ny an Obama victory - many of his foreign policy statements have been less than reassuring. Indeed he sounds positively hawkish on Afghanistan. The occupation of Afghanistan is increasingly brutal. Reports of civilian deaths have been mounting as air bombardments become more intense. The occupation is in crisis, but the response in both the US and UK seems to be to order an escalation of the aggression. The outspoken General Dannatt is resigning early as chief of the General Staff and is replaced by the hawk Sir David Richards who supports a surge in Afghanistan including sending 5,000 extra British troops. Yet the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, recently said that the US strategy in Afghanistan is destined to fail. "The coalition presence - particularly the military presence - is part of the problem, not the solution."

The only way to end this destruction is by the withdrawal of all foreign troops, a view shared by the vast majority of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, America and Britain.

Obama on injustices in the US is better than McCain but again no real programme for the one hundred million poor people and children in the US. But hey I wasn't intending to blog on all this - there are many more knowledgeable bloggers out there that will give you the low down on these elections.

Green bloggers on election night

I've been invited to join a network of Green bloggers at Green Change for an election night online party - sadly I wont be able to join them but others might be interested - see more here.

Huge fire in Cainscross: homes still being evacuated

Last night homes were being evacuated after a huge fire broke out at units behind the former Wycliffe garage site in Chestnut Lane, Cainscross just after 6pm. This morning homes are still being evacuated although I cannot see any smoke from the site now - poor people indeed.

Photo: Smoke yesterday evening pouring over Whiteshill and Farmhill - apols for poor quality

Apparently over 40 firefighters with crews from Stroud, Gloucester, Dursley and Chipping Campden were all called to the scene. 38 houses within 200 metres of the site were evacuated over fears about volatile gas being stored on the premises - some residents were taken to an emergency shelter which was set up at Stroud Leisure Centre. Thick black smoke and 20 metre high flames could be seen over Stroud and explosions from acetylene cylinders stored in the units were heard across the area.

Second flawed nuke consultation condemned

It's official, Brown's personal pollsters have fixed another public consultation on new nuclear power. I've done a press release this morning on behalf of the local Green party condemning this blatant attempt to get the decision they want - see here - it is another illustration of how they cannot argue fairly on this one as they would loose.

Photo: Oldbury, 16 miles from Stroud

Greenpeace received an astonishing response to their complaint to the Marketing Research Standards Board about the government's second public consultation on nuclear power. The board sets the standards for opinion research and found that the market research company Opinion Leader Research breached the Code of Conduct. The board said Opinion Leader "information was inaccurately or misleadingly presented, or was imbalanced, which gave rise to a material risk of respondents being led towards a particular answer."

The Conservatives in the press accused ministers of "gerrymandering" and attacked them for employing Opinion Leader to run the project, a consultancy linked to Gordon Brown's personal pollster Deborah Mattinson. Opinion Leader runs the Government's citizens' juries and was awarded almost £1m of Treasury contracts when he was Chancellor. Ms Mattinson stood down as the company's joint chairman last year to work for Labour but remains a senior figure in its parent company.

The Market Research Standards Board said: "Information was inaccurately or misleadingly presented, or was imbalanced, which gave rise to a material risk of respondents being led towards a particular answer."

Greenpeace have denounced the consultation as "a sham and an insult to the people who took part" claiming it would leave the Government's plans in disarray. Examples included focus groups being given material colouring nuclear and renewable power green, with blue for coal oil and gas. See Greenpeace blog here and more here.

Other recent nuke news

In my recent letter to local press on nuclear ownership and new build I noted the delays and problems with the flagship newbuild in Finland - now we hear that the completion of Europe's first pressurized nuclear reactor will be delayed by another three years (see here)!! This is the fourth delay how can anyone take the industry seriously when they promise to meet targets and budgets?

There is also news that the Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is battling to recruit up to 50 inspectors to cope with its existing workload in the nuclear industry and the vital assessment of the reactors being put forward to meet government plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations. HSE said its nuclear arm had some 160 inspectors but needed another 30 to bring it up to full complement to meet the workload on existing nuclear sites. It also needs a further 20 inspectors for the teams working on the generic design assessments of the next generation of nuclear reactors. This is deeply worrying See Guardian 20th Oct 2008.

Meanwhile a Labour MP has accused the UK Government of covering up a deal that will land taxpayers with a multi-billion- pound liability in the event of a nuclear accident while a private consortium will reap the profits. Newport West MP Paul Flynn discovered that details of a contract to privatise the management of waste from the controversial Sellafield nuclear power station in Cumbria should have been placed in the House of Commons library in July. If they had been, MPs would have had 14 days in which to raise questions about the deal. In fact, the contract was not put into the library until last week, by which time the opportunity to scrutinise it had gone. See more here.

UNIFEM President in Ruscombe

Periodically this blog briefly covers some of the people who live in the ward - well one I've missed so far is The President of the UK National Committee of UNIFEM who lives in Ruscombe - UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations and it provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality. Zarin Hainsworth, who some will know as she is also Chair of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group, was appointed May last year to the UNIFEM role and is also Chair at Bahai Council for England.

UNIFEM have a conference planned at Ebley Mill for 15th December so get in touch if you want more info. Also UNIFEM are currently supporting a campaign to stop violence towards women - you can see UNIFEMs Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman's short appeal and sign their petition here:
www.saynotoviolence.org/

Scrutiny: Interchange, budget, Hunts Grove, Icelandic banks, Ebley Mill and more

A week of scrutiny stuff - Monday night training on Budget's, Wednesday 3.30 to 8pm more training on Scrutiny in Gloucester with other Gloucestershire Councils then last night 6pm to 10.20 for the Performance and Audit Overview Scrutiny meeting....

Photos; badge from training session and below last weekend in Standish woods

Now if you are still with me and not fallen asleep at the very thought of all that I can assure you that I am not going into all the details here - indeed you can watch the meeting when it is uploaded onto SDC's webcast but here are a few highlights....

The Interchange is under consideration - nothing is moving - and to be fair on SDC it is largely due to other parties - although I would love to see them make more public noise about this - the current arrangements are wholly unacceptable if we are about promoting alternatives to the car - we will seriously regret the lack of leadership on this issue in the future when oil prices start to make cars less and less affordable for people - when I was first elected and the Chief Executive came out to the ward I raised the Interchange with him then and was assured things were still moving on it - now it seem SDC may not continue to allocate £70,000 in each budget for the Interchange - in some ways this makes sense as transferring money over each year and not using it is a waste when that money could be put to good use - however my fear is that without that money then there is even less incentive to get things moving on this project. Anyhow I made an amendment last night which was supported by the POSC Scrutiny panel to recommend to Cabinet that if they do shift the money then it should go to cycling.

Section 106 Monitoring Officer and the latest twist re Hunts Grove - Section 106 agreements allow a local planning authority to enter into a legally-binding agreement or planning obligation, with a land developer over a related issue. For example the local authority will restrict the development of an area of land, or permit only specified operations to be carried out on it in the future, for example, amenity use or perhaps make the developer plant a specified number of trees and maintain them for a number of years or make a certain number of homes being developed 'affordable'. Anyhow about £3m of these come into Stroud - and like many other authorities they have not monitored them fully in the past - much of the money may not come to the District Council but rather to County for say schools or roads or perhaps for a community building. Some agreements are complicated - some come into being when say the 28th house is built....

...the Hunts Grove Development which has been in the press so much was crucial re this as monies from that were to provide funding for a Monitoring Officer - now I learn that Crest Nicholson who were to develop Hunts Grove are owned by the dire HBOS - couple that with the Credit Crunch that all house-builders will be effected by and it seems v unlikely this development will go ahead soon - this is not good news for SDC as other monies would also come from that. Anyway to cut a long story short SDC have been doing some work re 106 agreements but the person has now left and I am not confident that this work will contine as thoroughly as it needs to - chasing up such agreements will be all the more important for the local economy that is being squeezed - I therefore made another amendment which was passed last night recommending that Cabinet look to appoint a 106 Monitoring Officer.

Ebley Mill paid off!! Yes Monday night the last payment was made for the building - it is now owned by SDC - and similarly the London Road Brunel Mall carpark - it is no secret that I consider the move out of Stroud town centre a mistake - the loss of all those people working in the town centre was a v significant blow to the local economy - many of them shopped in town and used local businesses - now instead many use the out of town supermarkets.

Budgets - paying off Ebley Mill is clearly good news but reading the latest SDC budget makes clear there are many problems ahead - I think we will need £450,000 to be saved each year to keep pace with inflation - but most worryingly the current budget leaves virtually no room for manoeuvre - I have noted before Goldman Sachs prediction that oil could reach $200 a barrel next year - oil certainly looks set to rise even if now it is a little cheaper again - plus economic turmoil, increased bad debts, less income etc etc. It is an impossible task to forecast so I wondered at the meeting last night if a report could be prepared with how we would manage as a Council with a more gloomier forecast. This wasn't accepted as they said they made the most accurate forecasts they could - now while I accept that I am still concerned that we do not have a proper contingency plan that councillors can discuss with more time. I do not want to have stuff sprung on us like at the last Council meeting re the waste contract. Surely it is better to be prepared? Now I am sure they will say they are - but then why can't we look at that....?

Icelandic banks latest - my previous post, here, discussed what we knew then and Stroud's £3m tied up in them - Molly's letter there is perhaps a little unfair in that the Council has played by the rules set out by Government - but then again it was the Tories along with this current right-wing Government who set up the rules that allowed this to happen.....However she is spot on re the failure of the Council to accept the Green party amendment to invest in ethical investment - it is interesting that so far no ethical banks have suffered the fate of the others - indeed the Coop is by all accounts in a v strong situation - now there are various difficulties about why it is difficult for Councils to invest in ethical banks - to get the A or triple A ratings banks have to pay lots so smaller ones just don't - so if SDC invested in an unrated bank how would tax payers feel if that money was lost - by following the herd and investing unethically in the likes of arms industries, tobacco etc they can be seen to be doing the right thing.

The good news is that Cllr Sarah Lunnon, leader of the Green group last night got assurances from the Cabinet member Cllr Wride that he will be looking into ethical investment and reporting back in January - indeed it seems he set the inquiry up himself - good stuff indeed - let us hope it is able to find a way forward that is more ethical and sustainable than currently....anyhow let me finish with the lGAs Q&A on councils’ credit ratings and Icelandic banks:

Who are the credit agencies?
There are two main credit ratings agencies that most councils use when looking at the credit worthiness of banks and building societies:
• Fitch Ratings
• Moody’s Investors Service
These are amongst the leading credit agencies in the world.

How do credit ratings work?
Each agency provides its own rating scale for both short-term and long-term ratings. These are not easily comparable. As per the guidance from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 12 March 2004, councils only deal with institutions that receive the highest ratings.

What happened with the credit ratings for Icelandic banks?
Both Fitch’s and Moody’s reviewed Icelandic banks in the early part of this year, and Moody’s reduced their long-term rating for Landsbanki at the end of February – although it was classified as A2 (the middle of ‘good’). In May 2008 Fitch reduced their long-term and short-term ratings for Glitnir and Kaupthing to A minues and F2 respectively. Both agencies’ ratings then remained steady over the summer before a more significant downgrade by Fitch’s on the afternoon of 30 September. There was no warning to councils from the agencies by way of reduced ratings over the summer.

How did the credit ratings change over 2008?
The agencies continued to review Icelandic banks over the course of the year, but were still offering good quality ratings up to the afternoon of September 30. There was a further general downgrade by the rating agencies on October 8.

Did councils invest after the credit rating had gone down?
It is our understanding that only a tiny number of councils invested after 30 September 2008. We are conducting research with our member authorities to establish an exact figure. If a council did invest after 30 September, the LGA would urge it to conduct an internal inquiry.

What should happen now?
The LGA is today calling for a government inquiry – led by the Financial Services Authority – into how credit ratings agencies continued to give Icelandic banks high credit ratings right up until a few days before they went into administration or receivership.

How many councils are involved and how much was invested?
Information has been received from 236 authorities about whether they had investments in Icelandic banks. Most of these authorities have, where relevant, provided details of the amount and maturity of each investment. Of these 236 authorities, 120 have confirmed that they do not hold investments with Icelandic banks (or UK subsidiaries of Icelandic banks). The 116 authorities who do have investments with Icelandic banks have total deposits of £858.3m. These figures include information from Welsh local authorities and Police Authorities where details were not fully known when we reported the figure of just under £800m last Thursday.

What is happening with the administrators, Ernst & Young?
The Local Government Association held talks with Alan Bloom, Joint Administrator of Heritable Bank Plc (“Heritable”) and Patrick Brazzill, Joint Administrator of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Limited (“KSF”) on 13 October. In broad terms, the Administrators considered that the value of the book value of the assets of each business appeared to be of the same order of magnitude as the liabilities but that the recoveries for the local authorities would be dependent on the final level of actual realisations. The Administrators confirmed that they were seeking to maximize value from both companies, for the benefit of creditors. The LGA said that local authorities were looking to the Administrators to do their utmost to recover monies deposited, and would expect vigorous action from the Administrators to that end. The Administrators said that they could not currently give an estimate of the level of funds expected to be recoverable, nor when any payout could be expected. However, they agreed to provide estimated outcomes which local authorities could use (if they see fit), in planning their budgets, by mid-November.

What other discussions are taking place?
The LGA will work with the Government and individual councils on a case by case basis to ensure that satisfactory financial packages can be agreed for all councils that are affected. A meeting is scheduled for later this week. Although we are not aware of a single council with imminent serious liquidity problems, one option could be for councils to defer payment of business rates to the Government. This could raise up to £1m a year for an average size authority. The LGA is also seeking a meeting with the Icelandic Ambassador.

What will be the impact on councils?
We are not aware of any councils with serious imminent liquidity problems that would affect frontline services or mean that staff could not be paid. Authorities typically spread their deposits widely and have flexibility to manage their day to day cash position.

Councils also hold significant reserves. They saved money while the economy was strong and can make use of reserves now that times are not as good.

Local news: WIs cow, SVP saved, Teddy, Swimming, Stagholt stream, Safer Stratford Road

Various updates on items previously discussed plus some new bits of local news...

Randwick WI buy a cow - the WI have raised £750 so that a family in Africa can buy a cow. Shirley Charley, a member of the committee is quoted in the SNJ saying: "We are so thrilled to have raised the money. We held lots of events and the money all mounted up. We had a night of antique valuation, lunch parties, raffles, cooking and biscuit sales and an Italian evening."

Stroud Valleys Project saved from closure - see background here - seven months after launching an urgent funding appeal, Stroud Valleys Project is facing a brighter future. When the appeal began in April, there were very serious fears that SVP, which works with communities to look after green spaces and wildlife in Stroud and the surrounding countryside, would run out of funds by September. Patricia Rowan, chairman of the trustees, is quoted in the SNJ saying: “What was especially welcome was that nearly £5,000 came from ordinary members of the public who knew our work and had heard about the cash crisis. Many of them turned up at our stall in the farmers’ market in the summer, or called in at our Threadneedle Street office to offer cash or sign up as regular friends of the SVP.” But though cash-flow is now secure until next spring, SVP staff and volunteers are continuing to work to improve financial stability. The crazy thing is that just as governments everywhere are finally facing up to global warning, funding to groups like ours delivering on green issues on the ground is drying up."

Calls for slower traffic in Stratford Road - homes in the road have regularly been hit by speeding motorists and understandably they are fed up and fear someone might be hurt - they are petitioning the county council for improved speed enforcement. Police have already recorded an astonishing 30 incidents along the road this year, including one in July when a car ploughed into the bay window of a house. There is now a Safer Stratford Road Residents’ Association which was set up partly by Green Town councillor Val Saunders, who lives in nearby Central Road. This is excellent news and in light of the work being done by the Cycle Campaign on the Chalford to Stroud route I have emailed them to see if any work could be done in this area to develop plans - especially as that would support attempts to encourage folk to go to the Leisure centre by means otherthan the car.

FREE swimming lessons for over 60s - as part of a Government scheme, as noted on this blog council has been allocated £74,000 between April 2009 and March 2001 to fund the initiative at Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Dursley Pool and Wotton Pool.

Chalford Donkey update - as reported in SNJ this week Teddy, the donkey, is now delivering groceries around the village once a week - more than 60 years after the last working animal died. See previous post on this here.

Cartoon: from Russ, the Local Scribbler - still makes me smile

Stagholt Stream Delight - it was good to see the SNJ cover news re this brook - the residents of Little Australia, Stonehouse have been working with Water 21 following 13 homes being flooded there last summer. Adam Broadhead who spoke at the RBAG AGM and a recent Ruscombe Brook Action Group meeting has worked on plans with others from Water 21 for more sustainable flood measures at the site - using the land and tackling the stream up nearer the source - just what we have been after for Ruscombe - but sadly Ilaria, the Italian MSc student on secondment with Water 21 to work on our brook this summer had to concentrate more on Slad as the Environment Agency had figures for that and not for ours - but to be fair their need was greater than ours - as folk will know many properties were flooded there - anyhow she has like Adam done a stunning job that is groundbreaking and will hopefully create a real shift in how water is managed (see more here) - in the past authorities have seemed to go for engineered solutions that hasten the water away - this 'new' approach is a return to the ways of the past - slowing water down with attenuation ponds - like Mill Ponds - and indeed any work upstream at Slad or indeed in Ruscombe will be beneficial for those downstream....anyhow I'm rambling, unfortunately the Defra bid that I had identified for Water 21 for the Stagholt brook failed - I hope not because they are stuck in the old ways - anyhow SDC and the Stonehouse Town Council have stepped in with £10,000 and a further £10,000 is coming from GCC's multi-agency fund - this is very good news and all credit to all those involved - an excellent job indeed that will hopefully lead to work happening at Slad and other streams across the District.