Broadband test

I have an incredibly busy life but I do value getting value for money so I'm going to keep an eye on my Broadband speeds.

With two separate testing sites:

I got 6.6 and 6.45 MB per sec download and only 0.3and 0.36MB on upload - no wonder my webcam to Youtube is poor this is for LA12 7BU.

How are you faring ?

You can test here and here and several other places too.

Allotments - David Parratt of the Town Council

True to form, I received a prompt and detail reply to the email I sent last weekend; it arrived last Tuesday.

Here it is:

You need to be aware of the facts and I have spoken to Les Ord about this.

The situation has improved considerably over the past few years. Last year
the waiting list was 60+. It is now down to 10 at present out of all the
allotments in Ulverston and there is no waiting list at Sandside. There is
one vacant plot here at present which is in the process of being let.

The marked reduction is partly due to a number of allotment holders
receiving a 'Notice to Quit', a number simply giving up for various reasons
and an increase in the availability of half plots. Where plots have been
taken over fairly recently, some in poor condition, little work if any will
have been carried out in the atrocious weather conditions experienced of
late. Therefore, the true picture may not necessarily be apparent without
the facts. The situation will continue to be monitored over the coming
months using regular and excellent feedback that we receive from the
allotment representatives both at meetings and outside them.

The method of administration does not need to change - it already has!

David Parratt
Town Clerk
Ulverston Town Council

A reply, I thanked him for, on Tuesday.

Memories

This smart exterior is difficult for me to take in.

A few years back it opened to onto amazing store of wood by Bill Stables.

You opened the then double doors and where faced with machined wood of every description to within one yard of the door - all collected and saved by Bill for some unspecified future project.

Asked when he'd last been to the back of his 'workshop', he replied ten years ago . In it's present state it was  impenetrable.

What a character - bare chested he gave the impression of being supremely fit and walked to his favourite spot beyond Bardsea, every day for his swim in the nude.

There he left his philosophy of life engraved on the Limestone pavement that went down to the sea.

His wood was put to great use and his rocking horses were much sort after. He is best remembered for his musical round abouts - beautifully crafted.

Feel free to fill in the gaps and correct inaccuracies.

Now we have a neat and tidy notice which reads:

Worth investigating.

Changes to the information, here, on the right

I've shuffled things around so that you can check the weather easily.

I've inserted the two places that I find most helpful.

I hope you all find this helpful.

How you can use this blog

You can:

Enlarge any picture by clicking on it

Find other posts on the same subject by clicking on one of labels at the bottom of each post (eg  "information" below)

Similarly find posts using the labels, listed on the right below the list of other blogs

Translate the lot into the language of your choice - top right.

See enlarged versions and make contact with the photographer by clicking on any picture on the slide show top right

Search the blog posts and comments - lower down

Access other people's blogs and sites that might interest you still lower down

Finally at the bottom access postings from the archive by title and date of posting

Always send me a message!

The Future of Ulverston's Tourist Information Centre

Photo Ian Taylor and used thanks to his Creative Commons License

At present we have an excellent set up.

At the moment we have a very good system operating for an important aspect of the town's economy - Tourism. An industry that has a direct impact on many of the shops in the town.

The upgrading of the County Square has made it the focal point for tourists arriving in the town.

Coaches deliver their tourists to this venue or to the nearby Victoria Bus Station.

The new Laurel and Hardy Statue has attracted tourists to the front door of the TIC, with nearby wide open doors has had its business double recently.

Here at the centre we have staff with as much as 20 years experience (and no less than 8 ) to give a wealth of advice to tourists.

The Laurel and Hardy Museum also benefits from being in the nearby Roxy building.

The possible future.

Yet because of the expenditure cuts proposed by the ruling Lib. Dems. all this could change as soon as April next year :

1. The staff at the TIC may have been dispensed with.

2. The offices in the Coronation Hall may no longer be available for Tourist Information and be restricted to a Box Office for the shows held in the Coro.

3. The uncertain future of the Roxy, now that the main use as a night club has been halted (with the exit of Gary Robinson), leaves the future of the Laurel and Hardy Museum in that location in doubt.

The outcome for the first two of these items hinges on the proposals to be made to a meeting called by SLDC , this Monday, for organisations to voice their intitial proposals.

So what would be good for the town :

1. That the Town Council take this service under their wing making an effort to involve the voluntary sector as well as professionals.

2. That they raise money were necessary by increasing our rates which they could if they wished.

3. That they get greater involvement with the Tourism Industry here so that they share some of the burden as well as the benefits of having a vibrant tourist economy.

4. That they push harder for an excellent web site for Ulverston instead of using their money to promote themselves as Councillors and allowing Jayne Kendal to opt out on the opportunities that were available to her leaving what is now a defunct web site (the demise of this site is an absolute disgrace in my opinion).

My concerns.

What concerns me is that I suspect that our local councillors are not taking the initiative to help solve this crisis. Unlike Grange who now have their own TIC , along with Broughton who took over the initiative two years ago and now I believe Coniston. These towns put Ulverston to shame - for how much longer?

Ulverston along with Kendal and Windermere have an uncertain future, if an organisation takes them all over, it will be Ulverston that will loose out.

I dread a future front page of the Evening Mail along previous lines when a picture of Colin Hodgson or another SLDC councillor is shown wringing their hands at the loss of yet another facility in the town. It seems that for the most part our councillors stand by and react to disaster rather be proactive and wrestle with a problem and offer a solution.

It would be good to find at the meeting this next Monday that this will not be true.

Important

For me, as someone very much involved with tourism in the town in the past, it is extremely important that we as a town take on the running of this facility and do not leave it to outsiders who also administer Kendal and Windermere to do it for us.

We have a very different product to sell and we should take charge of every aspect of selling it. A good TIC is one part of the jigsaw. A good web site would be another - but let's take one step at a time!

I'm hoping the Cllr Judith Pickthall, who has shown an interest in this situation as well as the health of our Town Market, has a few tricks up her sleave.

I'm also looking to our new Chair of the Ulverston Community Partnership, Paul Jarvis , to have some firm proposals that will rescue the situation as it is reported by our town clerk that they have expressed an interest in running the Coronation Hall based Ulverston TIC.

Frustrations in getting information

Since writing this I have spent a very frustrating time trying to reach people at SLDC offices four phone calls resulted in being tranfered to one office to another, receiving a statement that they would ring back and after two hours they have not, being tranferred to the correct extention but being left with and endlessly ringing town, in a following call being transferred to a silent line which remained that way of two minutes.

On the last occasion, getting the same operator ( and I still managed to be patient but persistent) I was finally put through to a real person - David Phillips who confirmed that a meeting called by Michel Keane was taking place but that the information was confidential and that members of the public were not to be admitted.

I shall now chase what information I can find through alternative channels. At times like this it is easy to give up.

The general attitude is "Leave it all to us and keep your nose out" only to find that those in charge are apathetic and only get involved in an ineffective way giveing everyone they can the impression that they are working hard. But are they?

What would be encouraging is to find that our District Councillors are not simply acting as bystanders to this process but are actively engaged in achieving a result. So far I have found that three Councillors have at least asked questions at the TIC - they are Judith Pickthall , Town Councillor, Norman Bishop-Rowe, both Town and District Cuncillor and Mark Wilson District Councillor. But what are they doing to support a local bid.

Being outside the system is very frustrating which makes me even more determined to get elected and be in a position to ask questions more effectively and to promote action where this is possible.

Adult education courses

The new 2010 -11 brochure has been published and can be obtained at the Library and Town Hall.



A very professional job has been done by the team based at Cartmel School led by Jude Godden who has rescued our ability to attend a variety wide variety of courses.

The on-line version is not yet quite ready.

One can enroll at :

Victoria High School this next Friday, July 9th 9:45 - 12:00

or in September on Thursday 9th 2010 12:00 til 14:00 in the Library.

These limited times, I suspect, reflect the low budget available for running this service.

Mind you this brochure probably catches only a fraction of what goes on in Ulverston.

If you wanted to do Egyptian Dancing at 11:00 on a Saturday morning would you know where to go?

Keeping moving

Just come across this site which no doubt if you're a regular traveller you know all about.

It tells you of road works, lane closures, accidents and tail backs on highways in Britain. Audio reports are also given by people on the spot.

This blog - some statistics

First - your interests:



To read this lot , click on the image. My browser shows an enlarged image.

Below shows information about visitors:


The top two graphs show the number of visits per day in blue with the maximum touching 80 and buff, the % new visitor. This latter figure shows that over the past month we have about 80% returning to keep in touch.

The bottom blue graph shows the number of different visitors returning to the site over the month is close to 400. The number shoots up every Monday as people return to work - I suspect a number of these are civil servants!

I can get emails almost immediately from self conscious 'servants' when I mention their name!

In my opinion this information indicates that a blog is an interesting way of discussing topics to do with Ulverston. What I would like is for the blog to be run by several different people rather than just me and I'm willing to change its name and focus away from "Geoff Dellow" - any interest?

I like the sound of this

Photo nicked from here

Water Yeat
Village Hall

Proudly announces

The Nibthwaite Olympix

An evening picnic and some daft games thrown in.


On Sunday 12th July starting at 4pm
At Water Park Outdoor Centre
(East of Lake beyond Nibthwaite)


Bring your own picnic, drinks, seating and a sense of humour.
A barbecue will be provided for you to cook any food you bring.


Parking is available for some cars.
Arrival by foot, bike, canoe, sailing boat and rowing boat is encouraged
– moor up on the promontory opposite Lake Bank Jetty.

Entry fee £2.00
Under 16’s free
Dogs welcome

Proceeds to Water Yeat Village Hall Funds and Water Park Trust
**
Charity No 222932

Insurance - Swintons, replacement for Armstrongs

Not impressed!

A right pushy, hard sell outfit!

Gone elsewhere!

Blog information

Visitors to this blog continue to rise!

You are now well above a steady 250 different visitors with 80% returning again and again. You now average about 45 visitors per day.

Click on the image to get more detail

Thanks for your participation and it's good to meet some of you at Poppies in town on Saturday mornings at 11 am and on the streets and listen to your concerns ! The smiles I get are particularly encouraging!

This is a great way to communicate though face to face is far better!

Suggestions always welcome.

Links for Locals - Something to tell your friends about!

Not only have we a new web site for Ulverston,

We also have what we think is a comprehensive source of selected local information for you.

Try and find out about something and let us know whether you find it!

If you have some useful information to add then leave it as a comment either here or on this Links website designed specially for the job!