Every picture tells a story

I love this sign , everytime I see it.

Triffid round the corner, get your disc gun ready.

The things that people do with their hands.

Welcome?
The railings put me off !

By contrast this new shop - see comments and discussion.

Do we expect too much?

Is it fair that we expect a team of some 20 football players and their manager to carry the responsibility of England's feelings of self esteem?

Are there other things that we could focus our expectations on?

Like supporting the activities of our local young people.

Would Carnival Day be a better focus for our support?

How about cheering the Karate Academy who are leading the Carnival Parade at the week end at short notice?




How about the successes of the Orienteering activities of Ulverston Victoria High School in their recent visit to New Zealand (Where they had an extended stay because of the Volcanic dust scare)?

Any other suggestions?

The Coalition heading for trouble

The fallacy of the policy that is being proposed is that it is fair.

No solution can be fair.

The concept of fairness is an illusion and a myth.

Unfortunately it's been around a while and causes all sorts of problems.

Many pupils use it as a weapon until wise teachers turn on them and retort "Life's not fair , get used to it mate."

And with voices that shriek about the unfairness, the more disturbed will be the population.

Claiming to be fair is a big mistake.

Getting people to accept that any solution is always going to be unfair is the only way forward.

Putting in place support for those that feel they need it is essential.

We have developed a society that has come to expect support.

We are sailing into unknown seas and we need a contingency fund to deal with the unknown problems ahead.

Those of us that have accepted unfairness and have learnt to cope, will have our work cut out helping others accept this truth.

As I see it first thing to do is ask:

Am I coping?

If yes, then the next may be:

Can I help someone else cope?

Then.

Can I help them help others to cope?

Then we're onto a winner!

Important flood review meeting this next Monday

This is a very important meeting for all the people of Ulverston especially those from South Ulverston:

This Monday 28th June 2010 at 7:00 in the Coronation Mail Hall

It follows what I found to be a shambolic meeting last December chaired bythe then Mayor Norman Bishop-Rowe when a lot of questions were asked and very few answered. One at which I found out far more by talking to the Environment Agency Representative after the meeting than during.

This time, the meeting called, by the new Mayor Phil Lister, to review the findings and progress it is very important. We must be told, as exactly as possible, why the flooding occurred in and around the houses. The issues are not simple.

The residents I believe have some mistaken beliefs of the causes of their problems. As a result ever since the December Meeting they have clamoured for the wrong things to be done to remedy the situation. The town drains and the level of tarmac are not, I believe, the main problem, the control of the river is.

If we get a clear description of the sequence of events from the experts then people can make judgements as to what the priorities should be.

The only people's opinion I would trust is that of the Environment Agency as they are the only people who want to truth to come out. They benefit from a campaign based on their facts, as they can then hope that public pressure, put on the government will result for more funds for the Agency to improve the solution to the problem.

All the other agencies are more likely to try to make out that it wasn't their fault.

The Town in my opinion have a responsibility to make sure that when something similar - or worse happens next, there are clear sets of actions that will immediately happen.

The residents and Ulverstonians in general need to have confidence in the system so that it reaches as fair and quick a result as possible.

I believe if little is done, we will have an even worse disaster within the next five years.

I also believe that whatever is done, in the long term South Ulverston will certainly get flooded so in the long term we must plan for this.

No Rain

Still no rain to speak of for another fortnight.

.

Town Parking

Fountain Street.

Parking available round the corner.

For more examples, click the parking link below.

Your views please.

Welcome

If you've just received one of these!

and took the trouble to look up this blog.

New monsters in the park.

Apparently they are dinosaurs.

Names : Gertrude and Cyril.

Beware.

The weather was perfect.

Lots of great people and children.

The shade from the trees greatly appreciated.

Lots of great pottery was made at this event. Some more monsters on the way - some birds heading for the trees and lots of stuff for the fence.

A Grand Day Out.

Who can be bothered with football after this.

So when's the next?

Watch this space!

Moon Beam Media at the Lantern House

Here's their trailer for

"The Camp"

They now present

"I would like to invite you and anyone interested to the premiere of Moon Beam Media’s latest short film “A Frosty Reception” at the Lanternhouse in Ulverston on Sunday 27th
The film starts at 7pm and is about 45 mins long. People are most welcome to stay for refreshments afterwards.

The film is a horror comedy that was filmed on location at a remote mountain bothie near Shap and was made and produced entirely by young people under the age of 18.

Hope to see you there
Jack Filmore"

Moon Beam Media

Yesterday; London for the Day

Fantastic

Fantasy indeed.

Fair maiden sacrifice.

At the South Bank

Trafalgar Square is always somewhere I love to visit.

But it's good to get home.

Fantastic!

Getting a reply from my MP, John Woodcock.

The excellent reply I got from John Woodcock, the other day may have been due to the use of this site - who are providing an excellent service:

http://www.writetothem.com/

Who have just sent me this follow up email (if you're having trouble getting replies from any politician, why not give then a try!):

Two weeks ago we sent your letter to John Woodcock MP, your MP. (For
reference, there's a copy of your letter at the bottom of this email)

- If you HAVE had a reply (not just an acknowledgement), please click
on the link below:

http://www.writetothem.com/Y/ followed by a personal link

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acknowledgement, please click on the link below:

http://www.writetothem.com/N/ followed by a personal link
If you feel that neither link is suitable, then please do not answer
the questionnaire.

Your feedback will allow us to publish performance tables of the
responsiveness of all the politicians in the UK. The majority of MPs
respond promptly and diligently to the needs and views of their
constituents. They deserve credit and respect for their
conscientiousness.

Likewise, we're keen to expose the minority of MPs who don't seem to
give a damn.

The letter you sent to your MP will be deleted from our database within
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Geoff Dellow
The Coach House
Union Lane
Ulverston
Cumbria
LA12 7BU

Phone: 01229480347

Email: gd at tygh.co.uk

Monday 7 June 2010

Dear John Woodcock,

Please reply to the email that I have already written to you.

I am using my blog at http://geoffdellow.blogspot.com to inform the
public of our attempts to communicate with you. ( the blog has a
regular following of some 350 local people)

I trust you will find our communication with you helpful in
understanding our needs.

I'm pleased to say that I have very fruitful exchanges with my County
Councillor, James Airey who I saw and talked to for over an hour, this
morning, and with my District Councillor Colin Hodgson with whom I have
regular contact by email.

Best wishes in your new job.

Yours sincerely,

Geoff Dellow

Followed by a personal reference number
(Signed with an electronic signature in accordance with subsection 7(3)
of the Electronic Communications Act 2000.)

An impressive scam

No doubt the crooks will get cleverer and cleverer as they try to persuade us that we can have something for nothing.

This one is different (we certainly have some creative thinkers about):

From General Peter W.Chiarelli - generalpeterw.chiarelli@gmail.com

This is General Peter W. Chiarelli , Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, I was deployed to Iraq at the beginning of the war in Iraq. I would like to share some highly personal classified information about my personal experience and role which I played in the pursuit of my career serving under the U.S army which was at the fore-front of the war in Iraq.

I would hold back certain information for security reasons for now until you have found the time to visit the BBC website stated below to enable you have an insight into what I intend sharing with you, believing that it would be of your desired interest one-way or the other. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

Get back to me having visited the above website to enable us discuss in a more clarifying manner to the best of your understanding. I will be vivid and coherent in my next message in this regards, meanwhile, could you send me an email confirming that you have visited the site and that you have understood my intentions? I will await your thoughts.

Thanks,
Best Regards
General Peter W. Chiarelli,

Checking the bbc link we get a genuine story.

Checking Google we get a genuine General with email to match

Someone has taken some trouble to fabricate a realistic story!

Tempted?

I always operate on the theory that you never get something for nothing.

However it's fun dealing with the public when you are genuinely giving something away.

They are rightly suspicious.

Many years ago - (thirty) - I did a stunt on my market stall, here in Ulverston (I sold what were called "Health Foods").

I used dolly pegs to pin up at least twenty genuine pound notes around my stall and offered them to anyone who would write a silly letter to my credit card company!

The public were very wary!

I had just received two letters from them the credit card company within days.

One was offering to increase my credit rating dramatically.

The other was closing my account down because of none payment of my monthly bill (I had been away on holiday).

Both were signed with realistic signatures, inviting me to ring them.

I proceeded to track these people down , insisting on each call , to speak to them personally because this is precisely what they were inviting me to do in their printed letter.

It took some time and many phone calls (but I was onjoying myself) to get to the genuine article - I was very persistent!

I then faced the two people with their contradictory messages.

One person, John Fox of Welfare State fame took me up on my offer of a pound and wrote a letter which I sent off and got published in the Evening Mail - of course!

Any other scams you've spotted that are very convincing.

DNA and the police

Still no sign of my DNA samples being returned.

These were taken on April 24th following my action to straighten the parking sign outside Tesco which resulted in the sign snapping at the base (Click the label DNA). This action was taken in reponse to the inaction of the County Highways to replace the sign in spite of repeated requests over a three month period from our Mayor.

This makes it two months since they were taken. Their return was promised the following week following the police's decision not to press charges for criminal damage.

I don't plan to kick up a fuss but just wait and see how long it takes for them to fulfill their promise, given at the time, that thes samples would be returned.

Having fun with the piano

A few months later!

To see my previous video on the subject click on the label "piano" below made six months ago!

Opportunity

I'm sure there would be the chance of turning this into a worthwhile job/hobby if you know someone that is interested:

Growing flowers and vegetables is very much an my agenda at the moment.

I am getting much help from others that are knowledgeable and very willing to help.

Chiltern Seeds are also providing a wide range of seeds, some of which are quite exotic.

Here's a chance for someone who might be interested in learning to develop this skill into a career even though it might be part time. The idea is to start by growing stuff in our parks - the field is wide open at the moment and the council is supportive !

The philosophy that "it always pays to add strings to your bow" is a wise adage .

This is one that I have followed all my life: if you've got a bit of spare time or are depressed then learn a new skill just for fun especially if it's with other helpful people!

However it's worth remembering not to do things just because they seem to be the "reasonable thing to do". Reasoning like this leads to boring lives, doing something you don't enjoy just because someone persuades you it "makes sense".

I always follow my emotions and have to first think "Wow, that sounds fun" before I take anything on. As a result I've always done work that I've enjoyed and if ever things don't work out, I hand in my notice. Works a treat when the employers give in and ask you to stay on. Finding a job within six months (or less) always seemed plausible for someone ready to work at anything to start with. I believe it now - which is why I'm so relaxed about money. If I need some in the future, I'll go out and earn it!

Cleaning out gutters and drains, cleaning out grotty houses, might be my first choice - anything that others don't want to do because of prejudice.

Make sense?

England

Have they forgotten to enjoy themselves?

All looks deadly serious.

Has anyone mentioned quietly.






It's only a game . . . .

.

Excellent response from my very own MP

In answer to my question about Israel's behaviour.

Worth the wait - arrived yesterday in posh envelope direct from "The House" with reference materials and enough to keep me busy for a while.

Much more thorough than Tim's response but then I got a similar treatment from Tim in the early days when he had more time.

Promising start from John Woodcock MP. Keep it up John.

Well done.

A walk up Hoad

Study in black and white.

Hello, there are four beauties

Not speaking to you today.

A tribute to Phil Hopwood

who died of cancer at the very beginning of this year.

He was a friend that I greatly valued.

People's personality lives after them when they die and I am very aware of his potential approval at something I've just done.

Phil greatly valued well designed equipment often made at the turn of the century. He regularly obtained and returned to their efficient working condition tools and simple machines that others were throwing out.

Poking around a skip the other day I spotted a simple tree pruner, eight foot long and enabling me to cut branches thirteen feet above ground with out a ladder.

It was totally rusted and seized up.





No longer; it's been back in action minutes after the recovery process was instigated - well sixty of them actually.

Phil would have approved . Tree pruning here I come!

I'm convinced that as the world's resources become used up and sophisticated mechanical equippment becomes unaffordable we'll be reverting to well design and made tools from the 18th century. Hang on to your treddle sowing machine that is moderately easy to repair and doesn't require electricity.

I'd love to promote employment for young people to renovate clapped out machines and furniture. It happens plenty in India and other countries. Let's look forward to it happening here in Ulverston soon!

We can start with bikes; perhaps not that old but fifty years old will be a start!

Monster mystery

Help, my garden has been invaded!

Two enormous serpents have found a way of burrowing there way into my garden.

One can be seen swimming down vertically on the left and the other across the middle from right to left.

They are a strange pinky brown and are very threatening - in a humorous way.

More later after further investigation!

Three pigs have a chat and share a drink

No Rain to speak of in the next fortnight

We need to take care of our mains water.

We're lucky at Mill Dam Park that we've got the feed to the original dam nearby so that I was able to water the beds with fifty gallons last night - with two watering cans.

No sign of rain in the future yet!

.

Croftlands Playing Field

It's incredible what a mess the SLDC officers have made of this project by being so manipulative in trying avoid having an honest consultation . Is this because of lack of funds? Why isn't Bishop-Rowe more involved in steering this through?

At the same time the influence of a small group of some five older, frightened, very vocal women is amazing.

They call themselves the Croftlands Community Safety Association and their influence can be very negative; for example to stop kids playing in the playing field.

Sadly they live on the edge of this field and do all they can to prevent it being used for what it's intended. They clearly have a vested interest because of their proximity to what they imagine as potential trouble - teenagers up to no good in amongst the equipment which includes having sex under the slides. They have been encouraged over a period of a few years because one of them has learnt how much noise one can make by repeated attendence at Town Council Meetings so that Councillors are wary of them and District officials are afraid to meet them head on. Bishop-Rowe I understand attends their meetings.

When I was running for County Councillor I visited every house that was adjacent to the playing field - some one hundred houses and 95% of the people wanted the kids to have good playing facilities on the field , yet these women have managed to express their views with strength and stopped things going forward.

As a result the organised few with extreme views have a disproportionate influence.

The actions of this miserable group have managed to delay the provision of various facilities starting with the MUGA for over two years now. My emails with the South Lakes officials indicate the delays and behind the scenes inactivity trying to find a way round this small group.

What is needed is an open meeting with all the interested parties showing up and sorting this once and for all. Trouble is, will the silent majority stand up and say their piece and tell the frightened ladies to shut up and stop working themselves into a tiz as to what terrible things will happen if young people get together and enjoy themselves.

While I agree there is a potential problem this is not dealt with by avoiding it.

What I believe is needed is more adult participation in what happens in this area so that adults have a calming influence. Trouble is the majority are apathetic and want to bury their heads under the covers. Ideally a cafe could be opened on the parade or as an extension of the existing Community Centre which would attract even more adults to the area.

For my part I hope to bring a pottery interest to the railings around the area in the Spring of 2011 through a project at Croftlands Junior school this could become an interest shared by people of all ages as has happened in Gill Banks with the pottery on the railings and the provision of picnic tables nearby.

A good mix of people is ideal.

What it must feel like to have a good MP

In spite of Tim being the MP for the neighbouring constituency he still finds the time to reply to me.

Three cheers and when will I get a reply from Woodcock?

Dr. Geoff Dellow
The Coach House
Union Lane
ULVERSTON
LA12 7BU

Our Ref: Dell001/3/ag
15 June 2010

Dear Geoff

Thanks very much for your kind words of support and for your condemnation of the recent Israeli atrocities.

I entirely endorse your sentiments on the appalling actions of the Israeli forces and I shall certainly press for the strongest possible response from both our own Government and from the President after the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit.

With best wishes

Yours sincerely

TIM FARRON MP

From: Geoff Dellow [mailto:gd@tygh.co.uk]
Sent: 02 June 2010 15:59
To: Tim Farron MP
Subject: Israel

Tim,

Congratulations on being re-elected.

I trust that you're being given some responsibilities in the new coalition.
You would be a great asset.

Today I'm writing about the UK response to the present Israil conflict with
the relief being sent to Palestine.

The UK government should in my opinion support the Flotilla and condemn
Israel in the strongest possible terms.

It should also turn its criticism towards the USA who appear to condone the
Israel behaviour.

Being very supportive of Palestine is the way forward of avoiding terrorism
in this country.

The money, which must be in the region of a billion pounds, spent on
surveillance and police action would be far better spent on alleviating the
suffering of people on the Gaza strip.

Second to Global warming , I believe that the Israel/Palestine conflict is
the most important problem that we as bystanders face.

We must urge those representing our country to take a firm stand against a
country who are totally out of control in their aggressive attitude to
Palestine.

Could you tell me what you are able to do on my behalf?

I hope that the Liberal Party and through them, the Coalition, have
formulated a policy of what they will do when subsequent flotillas approach
Gaza. I trust that this involves very strong diplomatic pressure of the
highest order in order to give Palestinians some hope that the rest of us
care.

Geoff Dellow

Defence crisis worsens after King ruled out

Front page news on my paper this morning.

My God, the country is on the verge of disaster.

Will Queen come to the rescue ?

But no.

This is 22 men kicking hot air about as some, with little else to do, watch, fascinated.

Get ready for the biggest depression to descend on England's men since Germany beat us in the World cup in 1990.

Thank God there will be some sane women about to get us through as the nation's workforce becomes immobilised and refuses to get out of bed for a week.

Mrs Cameron - over to you.

The Vuvuzela - great - but get those ear plugs in

Great for partying and dance but will it catch on here?

This is the best video, I could find:




We'll see when the fans return fro South Africa.

Article in the press today!

Cuts

I fear these will be made without thought to possible alternatives.

One I would hope would be considered and be given every encouragement to pursue is the use of voluntary labour.

Rather places like the library and tourist information centres having their hours reduced or services removed, why can't volunteers be trained and supervised my paid workers with experience.

The TIC in Broughton is operating well with the help of volunteers. Why isn't a similar scheme being introduced in Ulverston?



There are, and will be more and more, very capable people who could assist in these services and could be encouraged to work for other things than money.

If the money isn't available for a service, surely it makes sense enabling others to get the satisfaction of being usefully occupied and have the discipline of doing a job well whilst in contact with other people in the community.



The alternative of having people sat at home in front of the tele becoming demoralised and depressed is sad and even frightening. We need to take care of the self esteem of those in our society as well as the their basic physical needs.




I hope those the campaign on behalf of keeping people employed take a realistic look at alternatives that raise the spirits rather than encourage conflict.

Allan Wilson's superb June Photos

Allan has generously agreed to supply this blog with three of his favorite photographs every month.

The real thing can be bought from his shop in town.

His photographs come in many forms including inexpensive greetings cards





Visit Allan Wilson's web site at allanwilsonphotography.co.uk or far better visit his place in Brogden Street close to the town centre.

Proportional Representation

Join the young people of the country!

An email just received:

Dear Geoff --

The battle lines in the fight for democracy are being drawn.

We know that the people of this country want reform when 8 in 10 agree we need to change our broken voting system.

But this battle isn't going to be easy.

Powerful defenders of the status quo are already in talks with expensive PR agencies to run the "No" Campaign in the referendum on the Alternative Vote planned by this government. They are desperate to stop any sort of voting reform, proportional or not.

It's only by organising from the grassroots that we can stop them.

On Sunday 13th June, the anniversary of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, we will be holding a democracy picnic at Victoria Square Gardens in London:

http://www.takebackparliament.com/heroes

Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the leaders of the suffragettes - the original purple people who campaigned for equal votes for women.

We will remember past heroes in the struggle for democracy and plan how we will organise and campaign for the struggle ahead with the launch of the first Take Back Parliament Voter Action Groups.

Sign up to attend and take forward the fight for fair votes:

http://www.takebackparliament.com/heroes

Invite your friends and bring some food and drink to share with other purple people!

This is the start of something special - I hope you can be part of it.

Best wishes,

Andy May
TakeBackParliament.com

Getting the message to our new MP

Getting others to listen.

Gladys writes:

Are you aware of the web site that allows you to send letters to MPs and local government too? http://www.writetothem.com

It is an incredible web site. I have just written a letter to our MP (and copied it to our local paper - see below)
My son regularly uses this means and gets a letter back every time. The site monitors what happens to make sure MPs are accountable.
I have also signed up to 'Hear from your MP' I am the 107th to have done so in this area.
http://www.hearfromyourmp.com/subscribe

Letter to our MP by Gladys:

Dear John Woodcock,
I am greatly concerned about the reported incidents of both suicide and imprisonment of army veterans. I want to know what is being done to achieve the psychological survival of our forces' personnel once they are back in civvy street.
It is fine to praise our brave lads and good to hear they get medical attention BUT what of the unseen wounds they carry?
What surveys have been done to achieve a clear picture of their psychological survival?
I also want to include our Police Force in a similar assessment.

In the United States, Andrew O'Hara of the Badge Of Life http://www.badgeoflife.com
is a former Police Patrol Officer (and army veteran) who, having come close to taking his own life following retirement, is now devoted to the psychological survival of all those who serve in conditions of intense stress (for him the concentration is on Police Officers as incidents of suicide are high). Andrew, and his committee of retired servicemen and professional medics are pushing forward a campaign of awareness.

Of course, this is not the USA but we have the same problem here — those who go out to serve their country, risking life and limb, in dangerous and stressful situations, deserve to receive more than battle honours. Our brave men and women should not be ending up in prison or on the mortuary slab. This is something NOT talked about. Does praise turn to shame when the reality of being 'human' sets in? What are the facts?

Please don't let the financial state of this country overrule moral and humane concerns. If issues of psychological breakdown of those who serve, or have served, in dangerous and stressful conditions are not dealt with in a compassionate and healing manner, then we will be heading for a truly sick and uncaring society.

Please take a glimpse at http://www.badgeoflife.com and you will understand what I am talking about. This campaign reaches out to the whole of society in an attempt to both prevent breakdown and save life.


Yours sincerely,
Gladys Hobson

In a subsequent email, Gladys writes this:

What I forgot to mention in that letter was to include support for families having to deal with the suicide and 'going off the rails' of their loved ones. This isn't just a small group of people who suffer but the implications of what is happening spreads into the community even if little is heard about it. We hear little, if not nothing, about broken homes, split marriages, depression, violence, imprisonment, affects on society and suicides. Why? Surely not to preserve privacy. Society needs to accept and understand the problem. To offer support, not just after tragedy strikes but throughout the whole process of coming to terms with feelings.
This applies in all walks of life. We should all try to acknowledge if we travel that slippery road and seek help. Young people can be particularly vulnerable. Yet a listening ear makes a huge amount of difference. Maybe schools should teach 'Listening' as part of Life Skills. But taught by trained counsellors not as an academic exercise.
If you have not visited Badge Of Life web site, it really is worthwhile. To think that a caring sane man like Andrew O'Hara turned to drink, and almost ended his life with a bullet in his head, is a sobering thought! http://www.badgeoflife.com

I'm sure you will agree with me that the days ahead could make or break many people. Caring and sharing life's burdens within the family and community could make the years ahead the best times of our lives.

I do agree with Gladys. Increasingly we need to be able to talk and share our thoughts with other caring people. People with the time to listen. On the whole, I believe our society is carrying more problems than it can cope with.

Increasingly we will see people who "flip".

We need to give time to relaxing and talking to others and sharing life with each other.

Which is why I do pottery and work in parks with others. . . .

Sevdalinka - I love this harmony

I'm captivated by this 'Gypsy' scale.


If you liked that then try these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yj_NbYbeF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jViuYuQV-bw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCypSBYxxUA&feature=PlayList&p=0E46503AFC3DB847&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ2dIuAwh10 from 50 sec wow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt6FDBElmbg much quieter


My piano playing and composition is trying to reflect this.

Youtube here I come!

Watch this spot if you can cope with Dellow music on the piano!

People's Pottery in the Park at Gill Banks again

We started the day yesterday at 10:00 with a visit of parents and children from the Ulverston Wildlife Watch who did some brilliant work that is now drying prior to being fired before display here at Gill Banks, Ulverston.












And here's a video we took.




Then all sorts of people arrived!















Then we packed up and went home . . . .

with all our goodies.

You'll see the results on the railings at Gill Banks in a fortnight . . . .

if not before!

What a fantastic day.

We'll have to do it again!

Shoddy repairs by our Highways Department

Shoddy workmanship leads the problem retuning and with time and neglect the problem spreads and spreads.

I'm hoping that our new County Councillor will take this matter up with enthusiasm and show that he can influence the standard of work done by contractors who at present do shoddy work.

James Airey met me to look at the setts. He is genuinely concerned about the way the Highways Department operates and recognises that in the long run we get very poor value for money because of the "stop-gap" way in which their contractors operate.



We talked generally about many subjects and he comes across as someone who has settled into his new job as County Councillor and is ready for some serious action on our behalf.

He's the only politician I know at a local level (other than Tim Farron who I shouldn't really 'bother' as he's not my MP) who comes across as a real person and not a politician cardboard cut-out that spouts politically safe soundbites that try to convince you that they're trying hard when all they are doing is attempting to 'conn' you into thinking that they have a worthwhile role in life.