25/08/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Why Traditional Games Are Good

A number of teenagers regularly use my shop to play a strategy card game called Magic The Gathering.  Back when it was released about fifteen years ago it was a fairly complex card game with about sixty pages of detailed rules.  Even though it was tricky to learn in the first instance, something about the game made it immensely popular and in very short order it grew into a giant success which spawned hundreds of other similar games. 
  
Since then the manufacturers have been releasing “expansion sets” at a rate of three or four a year each with addition rules.  They have also revised the “main” rules a full ten times.  The end result is a hugely complex, detailed, strategic, competitive monster of a game overflowing with complication, rules conflicts and complexity which make the games most of you have probably played look like noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe if you are American).
 
One particular boy who plays in the shop has been coming in for years and I’ve gotten to know him.  He has explained to me that he had problems at school, has needed lots of help with learning difficulties whose root is apparently a combination of ADHD, behavioural problems with other children and Dyslexia.  He’s a nice lad, but he’s had something of a tough time of it by all accounts.
   
To learn to play Magic The Gathering you are forced to read a huge rulebook and learn the intricacies of tens of thousands of different cards that could be played (most cards have rule variations written on them!).  Then, when the game begins if you are playing multiplayer (you can play with two, or many, people) then the game might last several hours during which a great deal of concentration is required.  Throughout the game the players must wheel-and-deal, scheme, cooperate and manage complex interpersonal negotiations and interactions. 

The (dyslexic) boy learnt the rules in a day by reading and watching other people play.  The same (ADHD) boy can sit for hours involved in the imaginative and detailed mechanics of a game that he himself is not even playing at that time.  And when he does take part, the same (behavioural problems) boy can make deals, break deals, connive, bluster, get stabbed in the back (metaphorically) and win or lose with perfectly good humour.  
  
That’s why traditional games are good.

Ps.  I stopped selling games some time ago and do not sell Magic the Gathering.  Nor do I
recommend that others go and and buy the game.  It’s not for everyone.  This article was
purely to demonstrate why traditional games are certainly not a “waste of time” as
some less enlightened folk have suggested in the past.
  
  

Posted in Games, Wisbech | 1 Comment »

23/08/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Petty Crime
We are often told that despite the public feeling that crime is rising the true facts are that in many respects crime is falling.  This jars with what most of us experience day-to-day and thereby creates scepticism of the official figures.  Still, we are told that our perception does not represent the facts - that the illusion has other roots than genuine crime.  Fear.  The Media.  Moral Panic.  Whatever.
  
Last night somebody stole a fern out of a pot in my front garden.  They didn’t steal the pot - it was probably too heavy and therefore might qualify as ‘real work’.  They literally stuck their hands into the earth, whipped the plant from its moorings and then - presumably -took it home and planted it.  Or possibly just threw it into a hedge somewhere.  I doubt they tried to resell it in the local pub or ‘thrift’ store, there not being a likely massive market for loose second-hand shrubbery.
     
So now the quandary.  Do I report it? 
 
If I phone the police and tell them I’ve had a plant stolen from a plant pot I doubt I am going to receive a visit from the serious crime office.  CSI (or the British equivalent) are not going to swarm into my street, cordon off the road and ticker-tape my yard with colourful orange and yellow bands.  No specialist analytical team will arrive and take dirt samples from the pot to look for DNA left therein.  A plant-shape, drawn in chalk, will not adorn the footpath outside my house.
 
The problem is, it is precisely this sort of thing which leads to our perception of crime rising. 
 
Last night I had drunks screaming and shouting at 2AM outside my door.  One of them stood in the middle of the road flagging down cars and asking for a ride.  I have neighbours opposite me for whom a weekend is not complete without an hour or so of hammering on the front door in the small hours demanding “let me in” (actually they say “Pozwalane ja” or something, but I digress) to some faceless resident who appears to very much not want to. 

Cars park up and down along my street, engines running, during any sort of show at the Angles Theatre - the double yellow lines do not deter them and of course there are no PCOs to issue tickets because they prefer to discharge the traffic warden-esque portion of their duties at more sociable hours.  People smash glass in the road.  Kick down the decorative brick walls of nearby buildings.  Break open the electrical box and turn off half the lights on the car park.  I could go on…
  
In the last month alone I suspect I have experienced or noticed in excess of twenty individual small crimes of this nature.  Often after-the-fact of course, since I do not stalk the streets at night dressed in a body stocking, cape and mask.  How many have I reported?  None.  It hardly seems worth it, so conditioned am I to the idea that nobody will come if I call, that the police will have “better things to do” or that I don’t want to be a bother with my “silly little” crime reports.
  
There is a reason people perceive crime is rising and it has nothing to do with our overactive imaginations.   The “official figures” are all well and good but they do not represent the true picture.  I put it to you, dear reader, that our towns are awash with petty crime, antisocial behaviour, vandalism and old fashioned rudeness.  Anybody who lives in a town that isn’t fed from a silver spoon knows this to be true.  Our solutions?  Massage the figures, invent colourful ‘initiatives’, tell people they don’t know the ‘truth’. 

Now I’ll be the first to admit that a stolen potplant, though annoying and not inexpensive, is hardly Crime Of The Century.  No movies will be made about it starring George Clooney or Brad Pitt.  But I wouldn’t steal something from someone’s yard.  Would you?  With that in mind we must accept that thieves like this have a different mindset to you and I.  A pot plant today - a bike next week - a car the week after that?  It’s not an impossible progression to imagine.

What would happen if each and every one of us reported each and every crime we saw?  Every piece of new graffiti we passed.  Every smashed bottle?  Every leery fistfight?  Every time some mindless oik woke us or our children up by the simple expedient of not being able to hold a few pints, or thinking that the fun way to spend an evening is breaking other people’s stuff?  Every broken car window?  Every stolen potplant?  What would the “official figures” look like then?
 

Posted in Wisbech | No Comments »

05/08/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Here We Go Again (UPDATED)
The Clarkeson Arms wants to turn itself into a Lap Dancing club and inflict pounding bass lines, drunken revellers and scantily clad ladies upon the streets of Wisbech.  (Well, more of those things, anyway.)

It seems that a week doesn’t pass where somebody isn’t trying to drop things into Wisbech that people who live here would prefer stayed away.  I suppose the accusations of nimbyism will start again in due course.  (Nimby - Not In My Backyard.)  My problem with that term is that by its nature ”your backyard” is surely a place you’d like kept in a certain manner and not filled with things you don’t want, like or which might want to vomit on your lawn.  That’s a normal human response.  It’s not necessarily a bad response either.
    
Back to the Lap Dancing Club:
While I wouldn’t visit such a venue (I think my wife might have something to say about that sort of behaviour - or at the very least would insist on going with me ) I personally don’t have a problem with Lap-Dancing clubs in certain environments.  They are legal businesses in this country.  But Wisbech is a small town and these sort of places are more suited to large cities - where the police are always around and have huge forces capable of handling potential problems.
      
The arguments against these sort of places are many and varied.  Some claim they make the streets more dangerous for women.  This is probably true.  After all, young men tend to drink a load of alcohol and get hot and bothered looking at barely-dressed girls gyrating enticingly but whom they absolutely can’t approach.  That’s a recipe for trouble if ever I heard of one. 
  
Is Lap Dancing degrading for women?  I think that’s a matter for the women to decide - and I know it can become quite a thorny debate in some circles.  I suspect, all too often, it is a trap which ensnares vulnerable women with the promise of popularity and money - a promise that ultimately is revealed as nothing more than a shoddy illusion.  Nevertheless, some women choose to become dancers and are happy in their work and I guess they have the right to take on any legal profession they want to.
  
Whatever the case for or against lap dancing clubs there is one thing that seems to be pretty clear.  People feel strongly about it.  As a keen supporter of localism I believe that decisions must finally be taken by the people closest to the issue and most likely to be affected by it.  The people who live near the Clarkeson Arms are saying: “No!” and they are saying it loudly.  Some others throughout town feel quite the opposite, including several people I’ve spoken to recently.  In a perfect world it is therefore the job of those who wish to open the club to make their arguments, engage in the debate, and try to convince local folk they’ve got it wrong.  And if that’s not possible - then the license should be refused.
  
But being realistic, that is probably not what’s going to happen.  What is more likely is that there will be enough people opposing the idea to force it to go to committee - where it will be approved.  This is not the committees fault.  The licensing laws in this country are extremely permissive and the committee must consider the expense of going to an appeal they are almost certain to lose.  It’s a sad state of affairs, all told.  And one I hope might change with a corresponding change in national government. 
   
In the event that the lap dancing club does open, what then?  Well, in the current economic climate I’d give it six months, maybe a year, until the shutters and For Sale sign are up again.  But who knows?  These are strange times.

UPDATED (13th August)
Wow.  They threw it out!  I really didn’t expect that, but i’m really enthused by the responsiveness of the District Council committee to the strong public feeling.  Whether you like the idea of a lap-dancing club or not, it’s surely a great thing that the will of local people has been heard and acted upon.  Hurrah for localism and local democracy.
   
  

Posted in Lap Dancing, Wisbech | 1 Comment »

03/08/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Credit Where Credit Is Due
I was surprised that an earlier entry here turned into a Cambs Times / Wisbech Standard news item on their website tonight.  I had begun to think that the paper had forgotten about me.   Not to worry though, it appears they still read my blog.  (And very welcome they are too!)
  
I have to be fair - I’ve had a little fun with this branch of the press recently (in response to their fun at my expense in recent weeks) and I suppose they could have dragged me over the coals on this one.  A little judicious editing here and out-of-context quoting there could have made my comments look rather different than their original content. 
 
No sign of anything like that though, the newspapers article was a fair summation of my position.  Which, I suppose, means I may have been unfair in my quickie poll recently.  Never mind, I’ll make it up to them.  I’ll buy them some chocolates at Christmas or something.
  
In the meantime, I have no idea if I am about to come under fire from the public, my colleagues, or indeed the letter-writing power of the opposition (those guys can fill a letter page faster than you can shout: “but I didn’t…” if they want to.  I’ve seen it.  They are like Tasmanian Devils out there.) 

I suppose it’s lucky I have thick skin.

Ps. (Thanks to a commentor, A.Melon, for the heads up on this.) 

A Tasmanian Devil

Posted in Cambs Times, Wisbech | 2 Comments »

01/08/2009 by Steve Tierney.

A Weekend Off
There will be no further posts this weekend.  I will be at the Madhouse Minicon (a games convention) which I organise once a year for my online games customers / players.  It’s work, because I’m the host and have to keep everybody entertained.  It’s fun, because I love games and that’s what this weekend is all about.  Well - that and some beer.

If you happen to enjoy unusual strategy board and card games, why not pop by?  We’re in the Rose & Crown Hotel, Wisbech, all day Saturday.  There is no cost to come along and join in some games during the day.  You might just like it.
  

Just for fun a “quickie” poll of our own. If the local paper can do it - so can I!

Posted in Wisbech | 2 Comments »

31/07/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Things You Don’t Say
The Cambs Times this week carries an article about the old Queens Hotel, in Wisbech, that was all set to become a shelter for homeless people.  The plan has been scuppered (Cambs Times words, not mine) by Cllr. Phil Webb.  The paper makes a big deal about Cllr. Webb’s use of the word “undesirables” in his statement.
  
John Elworthy, the editor and journalist on the piece says: “HOMELESS people were last night branded “undesirables” by a Fenland councillor who successfully fought off a £700,000 refurbishment of the former Queens Hotel, Wisbech, to accommodate them. “ 
      
Later, Cllr. Webb is quoted as saying:
“My motion said simply that it was in the wrong place- Wisbech is not very attractive and this could make it less attractive,” said Cllr Webb. “The people who would use the centre are a difficult thing to describe but, without being nasty, they are undesirables.”
  
Of course, this makes great “news”.  The Cambs Times grabs a hold of the word which Cllr. Webb was clearly silly to use and shakes it like a dog with a bone, while (deliberately?) ignoring the actual pertinent issue.
  
I’m glad this isn’t my division because this is a thorny subject and sometimes it’s nice to not be the councillor who has to field these sort of problems.  The fact is, pretty much nobody I’ve spoken to who lives anywhere near this proposed shelter was ever in favour of it.  They have  a variety of reasons, some more politically-correct than others.  But the will of the area residents is not in much doubt.  The will of the area businesses is not in much doubt.  Apparently the will of the Town Council is pretty obvious too.
    
So what Cllr. Webb has done is speak on behalf of those people and try and stop a project that many desperately did not want to go ahead.  We can pillory him for using inappropriate language.  It certainly wasn’t sensible, or particularly fair, to call people who are troubled and down-on-their-luck “undesirables”.  But what Cllr. Webb has done on this issue is speak the majority view.  Isn’t that part of a councillors job? 
   
I don’t agree with him that Wisbech is not attractive.  Just lately it’s been an extremely pretty little market town.  I would never condone the language he used about the homeless, but I suspect he really did have no intention to cause insult and has just committed the cardinal offense of forgetting to consider the gravity of his adjectives.  But let’s not let that colour our consideration of what has actually gone on here.  His choice of language in this instance may have been ill-considered.  But the end result, many will think, was not such a bad thing for Wisbech.  
   
People who are homeless, have drug and alcohol problems, or other difficulties obviously have to be helped.  They obviously have to go somewhere to get that help.  No decent person would deny this.  But there are right places and wrong places.  And there is such a thing as balance.  Wisbech already has a number of such places including the Ferry Project (an excellent service) and the new AddAction that resides in the building that used to be the Registry Office in Wisbech’s main car park. 
  
The Cambs Times points out that the Town Council also oppose the Queens Hotel being used in this way.  Again, these are local councillors speaking for the people in their areas.  The Town Council are only saying what many of the residents of Wisbech are telling them.  Again - isn’t that their job?

Cambs Times response?  Another of their ”quicky” online polls.  You might remember they ran one of these during the County elections whose result assured us that Labour were neck-and-neck with the Conservatives - shortly before they met electoral oblivion across the county.  Look, I have no problem with bias in the press really.  A journalist or an editor obviously has to have a position and that is likely to colour their approach to the job.  But would it kill our local paper to at least try and look at a story from both sides once in a while?
   
It’s easy to paint Cllr. Webb as the bad guy.  He set himself against a shelter for the homeless.  He called them something he should not have.  Then he single-handedly managed to stop a development that was going to help them.  Like some sort of Bond Villain he manipulated a meeting in a dastardly fashion.  Or so the press would have us believe.  But I wonder if the businesses and residents of the surrounding roads will perceive it in quite the same way?  Or will some of them be quietly thanking his intervention?  I know several who will be doing just that. 
    
Right or wrong?  You decide.

Posted in Cambs Times, Wisbech | 4 Comments »

29/07/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Good News Poll

CON 42 (+4) LAB 24 (+1) LD 18 (-4)

That’s the result of the latest ComRes poll whose results were released today.  I don’t usually do poll numbers on this blog but it’s been a quiet week and I was struck by the interesting mathematical result here that the Conservatives have as many polling points as Labour and the Lib Dems combined. 

Reproduced at a General Election this would result in a 150 seat majority for the Conservatives.  Happy Days.

Customer Service
I had to pay some money in at the bank today so I took a stroll there and was pleased to see nobody in the queue, just a couple of customers at the two open counters.  I stood at the end of the aisle and waited for one of them to finish their business.  Sadly, things were not as they seemed.  One of the customers was involved in some complicated business that was taking a lot of time, while the other was involved in an animated but friendly discussion with the cashier. 

I waited patiently, impressed that the bank staff were taking a little time to engage with their customers and be civil.  A few minutes passed and there was no sign of either counter clearing - the discussion continued with both ladies laughing and joking about something or other.  By now, there were half a dozen people in the queue.  Everybody was relaxed but a couple of customers had that harried look about them of people who’d hoped to get finished in a hurry and had seen that expectation dashed on the rocks of fate.

By the time I had been in the bank for ten minutes the mood of the line was changing.  When I had arrived I was the sole member of this queue, but now I was at the front of a snaking, muttering row of people that reached all the way to the banks external doors.  And still the chatterboxes showed no signs of ending their little natter, let alone noticing that they were holding up a significant portion of the population of Wisbech.

You know when a group of people has reached the end of their patience.  They begin snarling pithy comments beneath their breath, staring angrily with the sort of petrifying gazes that make you glad looks cannot actually kill.  Tutting, tapping their feet, coughing pointedly.  Since I was at the front of the queue it felt like all eyes were on me to try and move the situation forwards.  I resisted, but I was pretty irritated myself since this had already eaten up an unnecessary quarter of an hour or so of my day. 

Finally I decided to take action.  “Excuse me,” I tried.  “I don’t mean to be rude, but there is a long line waiting here.”  Some people grunted their agreement.  Others looked embarrassed, which was a bit of a stab in the back since just moments ago they had been mentally willing somebody to say something.  (I’m fairly sure.)

Both the gabby lineblockers (the customer and the staff member) looked at me like something slimy they had just found in their pasta but joy of joys they did seem to get the message.  Helpfully, at that moment the other cashier cleared too and finally the line was moving.

I shuffled up to the lady who had held me up for so long and put my paying-in book on the counter.  She smiled in a sweet-but-dangerous way and said: “Thank you so much for your patience, sir,” her voice dripping with irony.
“No,” I replied, my own tone absolutely deadpan, “Thank you.  This is just how I wanted to spend half my day.”

At which point a number of people in the queue starting laughing, the other cashier started laughing, then my own cashier and I started laughing too.  The tension eased away as quickly as that proving, if nothing else, good humour is a wonderful salve.  
  

Posted in Election, Wisbech, Conservatives | No Comments »

22/07/2009 by Steve Tierney.

The Bramley Line
Today’s full county council meeting was a somewhat muted affair, thanks to the absence of Cllr Moss-Eccardt, everyone’s favourite procedural expert.  In fact, during the first few agenda items I began to wonder if the Liberal Democrat contingent had been suddenly struck dumb - so quiet were their ranks.  Not so!  When it came time to talk about the Bramley Line our colleagues on the opposite benches became highly animated.  You would almost be forgiven for thinking that this was a clever political machination.  They had clearly spent some time getting all their ducks in a row.

I should probably explain.  The Bramley Line is the disused railway track which runs from Wisbech to March.  To cut a long story short the people of Wisbech would quite like it opened again, the people of March (who already have a railway station and probably see no need to burden themselves with more rail traffic) aren’t so sure.  There is a very active and dedicated group of local enthusiasts who have been working for several years to get the line re-opened.  There are Conservative councillors like Cllr. Simon King who are part of that group and have been working alongside them towards this goal.  To the best of my knowledge nobody has really seen any Lib Dem councillors anywhere near the project - ever.  This could well be because Fen Folk prefer not to elect them anywhere in the region.  But even so… their sudden interest and support furrowed some brows.

Perhaps the Liberal Democrats had really grown a sudden fervent interest in the Fens traffic infrastructure?  If so, good. Any ideas and support are always welcome.  But there are some amongst us who think what actually happened is that they saw an opportunity for division.  The Bramley Line is a very interesting project, but it’s also a controversial one.  Not everybody feels the economic case has been made for it yet.  Some people prefer other options for improving transport in the area (like giving the A47 the dual-carriageway treatment all the way to Wisbech.)

So when Cllr D.Jenkins (leader of the Liberal Democrats) proposed that a new funding method called TIF be considered to assist in the re-opening of the Bramley Line some people questioned the motives.  I have to say I really don’t know if this was a machiaevellian move or not and I think I’m prepared to give the benefit of the doubt and presume that it was just an honest, well-meant idea.  What a shame then that the motion had to include a load of party-political swipes that devalued it and forced the Conservatives to table an amendment that stripped the unhealthy fat from the bone and left only the meat for consumption.

Cue lots of long speeches by councillors on all sides which basically seemed to be saying the same things from slightly different perspectives.  Cllr. Alan Melton delivered one of the blistering verbal barrages for which he is so famous in support of better transport all over the Fens.  Cllr. Geoff Harper read a prepared speech full of deft lyrical flourishes in which he pointed out the many improvements that had already taken place - in order that proper perspective be maintained.  Speaking to the chamber myself, I took the opportunity to make it quite clear that Conservatives do not oppose rail, nor the Bramley Line (quite the opposite, as far as I’m concerned) and that our amendment unequivocally expressed that we felt this was a strong option that deserved serious consideration.  There’s no lip service there.  We do.  Because it is.

All’s well that ends well, the amended motion met the approval of all councillors and resulted in a (very rare) unanimous vote of “yes”.  Which doesn’t mean the Bramley Line is suddenly going to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but does surely bring Wisbech one step closer to getting the rail link it wants so badly.

Armed Robbery
When I got home from the council meeting today I was surprised to find the Police in my shop and a member of my staff clearly badly shaken by something.  It turns out that we had been victim of a robbery.  Two young men had entered the shop and snatched a laptop from behind the counter (one made a distraction while the other snatched, then both ran.)  Dominic, who works for me part-time, gave chase!  Following the two men out of the shop he managed to grab one of them.  During the struggle a gun fell from inside the jacket of the criminal and landed on the pavement.  The man made a grab for the gun, Dominic (no doubt terrified of the consequences of this nutcase getting his hands on the weapon) kicked it across the street.  The man struggled free and both of them fled with the laptop - leaving the weapon behind. 

Now it appears that the gun was actually not a ‘real’ gun, but an airsoft weapon or something that looked very authentic.  At least, that’s what the police suggested before they bagged it up as evidence.  Even so, you wouldn’t want to be shot in the eye with something like that, nor meet the sort of person who carries it around.  The police officer was clear that somebody caught carrying one of these would expect prison time.

I’m a little torn about all this.  In the first instance I’m horrified that this sort of thing can have happened on my doorstep (quite literally), I’m angry that I wasn’t here to try and prevent the crime and I’m furious that they have (so far at least) apparently gotten away with it.   But I have got to give it to my staff member Dominic, who found himself in a dangerous and frightening situation and whose first instinct, against all common sense, was to come out fighting.  I suspect many people would have let the criminals go.  Why risk your safety for a part-time job and a single stolen item?  Even the police were keen to point out that they suggest people do not try and tackle criminals of this type.  What did Dominic do?  He chased two guys out onto the street, struggled with them and relieved them of a firearm.  

Where I come from they call that sort of person a hero.
  

Posted in Fenland District Council, Cambs. County Council, Wisbech, Conservatives | No Comments »

16/07/2009 by Steve Tierney.

Who Ya’ Gonna Call?
If you’ve been following the Ghost Passage shenanigans on this blog then there’s no need to read this or this, but if not those posts make a good preamble to this one.  This afternoon I attended a meeting which had managed to morph from the original small nucleus into a something more like a public gathering (there were more people there than there were at the last police panel meeting I attended…)  The purpose of the meeting was to clarify positions on all sides of the debate and try to agree some way forward.

The meeting was chaired very ably by Cllr. Simon King and featured Myself and Val Bolem (on behalf of the residents), Sgt. David Bax and two PCSOs (on behalf of the Police) and representatives from the Freemasons and The Spiritualist Church (which both adjoin the alley.) 

Now those who have read this blog will know I have not been a big fan of the whole idea of closure.  When I first shot off a couple of emails about it I suspected this might be a lonely position to take.  ‘Turns out that wasn’t the case.  In fact, almost everybody was opposed to the police plan - albeit to different degrees.

I wont go into the detail of what was quite a long meeting.  I found it very interesting but I strongly suspect the old adage “you had to be there” holds true for this and I have no wish to bore readers to sleep. Suffice to say the “compromise plan” involving only two gates did indeed meet with the approval of pretty much everyone.  The police position is that this was always the plan and that the idea of three gates was only put out there to “encourage discussion.”  Indeed.  Well - if that is the case then I’d say they achieved their goals.

I still stand by my original contention that the way to deal with trouble is not to wall it off and pretend it isn’t there.  But it was clear that the “people on the ground” including the two eloquent PCSOs were earnest in their belief that some closure was needed.  I think it would be incredibly arrogant to hold on to my ideological position with an iron grip while ignoring the people at the business end of the problems.   The compromise retains the passage as a public right of way while taking the pressure off the police and, more importantly, the residents who have been most harmed by the antisocial behaviour.

I did manage to get the police to make some important statements which went a long way towards allaying the concerns of many residents.  For the record, Sgt. David Bax committed to the following:-

a. There is no plan to keep the alley closed any longer than 3-6 months. 
b. There is no plan to close the oft-used passage between the Crescent and Love Lane.
c. There are no “other targets” in the form of alleys elsewhere in town to get the same treatment.

With these statements made I can support the new plan and believe that the other residents who protested will agree (although I will, of course, take the time to ask them.  Just to make sure.)

What started out as a worrying development which did nothing to enhance the reputation of the local police has turned out to do quite the opposite.  I cannot fault the way the police have responded to the issues we have raised.  Sgt. Dave Bax was exemplary in his engagement with us.  He was frank, fair and confident.  The PCSOs were a credit to the force too.  Residents were forthright and involved at all levels.  Meanwhile, Cllr King, who had initially been a little difficult on this issue was a vital ingredient in its resolution.  In short, all the cogs in the wheel worked just as they should and everybody came out of it looking reasonable and fair.  A breath of fresh air, all in all.

I suspect that for the time being that’s the end of the tale in regards this particular haunted corner of Wisbech.  The issue of Ghost Passage is hopefully now well and truly exorcised.  So next time there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who ya’ gonna call?

Pandemonium
As far as I can see there are several schools of thought on the Swine Flu Pandemic. 

There’s the: “I’m not scared of a glorified cold - In fact I’m going to a swine flu party to try to catch it.” 
This is all very well until you discover you’ve got some lurking underlying health condition.

There’s the paranoid: ” The Government / The Press / The Freemasons / The Twilight Zone (Circle One) are out to get us - government made this disease in a test tube” brigade who probably shouldn’t be allowed to play with sharp things.

There are people like my wife who are relaxed and quite fatalistic about it.  “We’re all going to get it sooner or later.   No point worrying about what you can’t prevent.”  (Very wise, my wife.  I should listen.)

And then there’s people like me, who don’t have a clue how bad it is, how bad it might get or what the consequences might be - and who find that lack of control over events nerve-wracking (primarily for our family’s sake.) 

The doctors are keen to tell us not to worry. “It’s no worse than seasonal flu” they say, “people die of that every year.” 
Yes, that’s true.  But we don’t see the government planning to ship in enough vaccine to cover the whole population at Christmas each year, do we?  When you treat something differently, people wonder what is different about it.  I suspect the doctors are quite right, but they really need to start sending their message more clearly.  A climate of fear is not a healthy climate to live in.  We aren’t there yet, but if the predicated 100,000 cases a day reaches fruition I suspect we may see a polarisation of public opinion.

Now I suspect that we’ll get through this just fine.  That many of us will get it, lay in bed for a few days, then get on with our lives.  But the press have done a good job of making people nervous on this one.  Or maybe its more than the press.  I’m not suggesting that we’re in Stephen King’s The Stand here.  There’s no need for a soundtrack of Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper to rattle ominously in the background.  But we should pay attention to the progression of events.  This is a pandemic, after all and the virus itself is very new - almost unique - in its structure.  The way to keep people safe is to be vigilant - not complacent.  And please - if somebody invites you to a swine flu party, tell them where to get off.  Whatever else it is, this isn’t a game.

The Figures (according to Department of Health via The Times newspaper on 3rd July)

7,447 cases of H1N1 swine flu confirmed in Britain so far. Three 29 (update:16th July)  people infected with the virus have died
100,000 new cases predicted each day by the end of August
35 per cent of the population may become ill at the peak of the pandemic
£800m cost of antiviral drugs stockpiled to treat 80 per cent of the population
£155m cost of contracts for vaccines for the pandemic flu strain over four years
12,000 deaths annually due to seasonal flu, likely to be far exceeded in a pandemic

More Blue Please
I spent this evening in Ramsey campaigning on behalf of the Conservative candidates for District and County.  I was pleased to find that our vote seems to be holding up well, that our pledges remain secure and that the people of the area seem to know the colour they want to paint their politics.  I didn’t see much yellow on that canvas tonight. And not a drop of red.

Mostly, the opposition appears to be UKIP (very much as it was for my own campaign recently.)  Interestingly, the results of our canvassing seem to suggest that (for once) the UKIP vote is coming from the Lib Dem camp.  Everywhere I go people seem to be expressing their feelings for the European Union (and they aren’t feelings of love.)  I wouldn’t want to be canvassing on behalf of a pro-European party in this environment!

For the County election on July 23 our Conservative candidate is Susan Normington, a very nice local lady with bags of experience and dedication to spare.  Labour, The Lib Dems and UKIP are all fielding candidates. 

For the District election on the same day the Conservative is Angela Curtis, facing opposition in the form of the Lib Dems, UKIP and an Independent Candidate.

Now I know the people of Cambridgeshire have already blessed the county with that gorgeous blue in a very healthy majority and I have no right to ask any more of you, but I will anyway.  You have two excellent candidates in Susan and Angela.  Tick the right box.  More Blue Please. 
  

Posted in Ramsey, Swine Flu, Ghost Passage, Cambs. County Council, Wisbech | No Comments »

08/07/2009 by Steve Tierney.

A Little Sunshine
I’ve been getting all sorts of good news this week and I thought it would be fun to share a little of the sunshine. Surrounded as we are by recession and gloom so often it doesn’t hurt to highlight the places where things have gone well. First of all, perhaps blog readers will remember Lisa Goddard? She was the lady who featured on the front page of the local newspaper a couple of months ago, furious about the state of her road and the way vibrations and noise were affecting the quality of life for her and her neighbours. 

I took the case up, joining Lisa’s campaign and talking to the leader of the council, Jill Tuck, about the issue.  To her credit Jill took immediate action, bringing forward planned repairs to the road.  I kept on the case, nudging gentle reminders, but really there wasn’t a lot I needed to do.  The council roads team dealt with the matter swiftly and professionally. 

I’ve just spoken to Lisa Goddard on the phone who expressed her gratitude for all the assistance and support she had been given and was effusive in her praise of local government in this area.  She said that the road repairs were fantastic, that she was surprised by how quickly action was taken and expressed how happy she was to: “Finally get a good night’s sleep.”  Lisa is right, the council reacted very effectively in this case, but she must also take credit for the positive outcome.  She worked hard and was a powerful advocate for her case.  It’s an example of council and residents working together as a team and a brilliant one at that!

Interesting to note, though: When Lisa was unhappy about the state of her roads she got the front page of the local paper in short order.  When she phoned up to tell them how well the job had been done they apparently said they would “return her call”.  She’s still waiting.  Ho Hum.

Meanwhile, another well-known local resident Tony Kiddle has had an ongoing problem with his streetlights.   None of them were working and the council seemed to think the road was “unadopted”.  I took the case up on his behalf and I promised him I would make sure the lights were fixed.  And this week - guess what - the lights were fixed! Yay!  Tony is passionate about a number of local causes and I know I’ll be working with him again on other issues.  But here’s another case of something that needed doing and then got done, thanks to teamwork and a responsive council.

Finally, rumour has reached me that the PCSO’s in Wisbech have been visiting residents of The Crescent and telling them about this “new plan” the police have to avoid full closure of Ghost Passage and only use two gates instead of four.  It sounds very familiar to me.  But never mind.  The important thing is that they’ve listened and are rethinking the idea to meet the resident’s concerns. 

Some people have called me naive because I believe in “local people working together for the good of the community” as expressed in my council candidate leaflet before the elections.  I suppose it does look a little “apple pie and ice cream” if you want to be cynical.  But you’ve just read several cases of exactly that happening in the last month.  These may be small matters in the grand scheme of things, but they matter to people here and isn’t it nice to read good news once in a while?

Posted in A1101, Cambs. County Council, Wisbech, Leverington, Conservatives | No Comments »