Small tortoisehells in abundance

In recent posts I have been recording my huge pleasure in seeing so many butterflies on my buddleia this summer. Earlier on it was a very broad range of species I was observing but now the small tortoiseshells are easily outnumbering the others, in fact at any one moment there seem to be more of them than all the others put together.

Past experience has informed me that there are large numbers of bloggers with a particularly keen interest in wildlife. Moreover many of them incorporate photos in their blogs. Out of curiosity I thought I would see if other folk were seeing such numbers of small tortoiseshells this year. Happily Google is very good at helping to find what bloggers are saying. Not only is there a special section for blogs when you call up their search engine but there is a sort of sub-menu which gets you to the more recent entries.

So it was with great delight that I found Caroline Gill's blog 'Wild and Wondeful' here Not only were Caroline's observations in line with mine but, as you can see from the link, there are some really superb photos of this incredible butterfly as well. She posted this yesterday but I notice on Friday there were photos of the 'Painted Lady' butterfly. I'm pleased to say that at least one of these has turned up in the garden. It's interesting that certain years can be especially good for one particular species.

Now not such good news I'm afraid. I heard the other day that greenfinches are in serious decline right now. Some conclusion has been reached I think for the cause although I can't recall exactly what - must do some research on the reason. Although the wheezing sound that these finches produce could hardly be described as a beautiful song at least it was something I could recognise and always typified the sound of the garden in the summer. Sadly I can't remember hearing any in the garden or nearby this year. I really hope that, like the small tortoiseshells, they will come back in numbers again.

Silly article from Martin Robbins

Martin Robbins. Martin who you may ask. Until today I hadn't come across him but in my continued quest to try and understand how Dr David Kelly died I came across a piece written by Mr Robbins in today's Guardian on line (it's in the News: Science part). It transpires that he is a Berkshire-based researcher and science writer. Evidently he is quite happy with the conclusions of the investigating pathologist, Dr Nicholas Hunt, and seems to take the attitude that those querying the conclusion of suicide are loons. Well I don't think he uses that word but that is the impression I got. He ends his article thus:

"The attorney general has already asked people with genuine evidence to present it to his office, but it seems that so far nobody has met the challenge.

The conspiracy theorists should put up or shut up. I doubt they'll do either."

Now I'm rather imagining that the attorney general has made his comment as to a sort of backstop. If he doesn't receive new evidence he might turn round and say: "no new evidence, therefore no new inquest". The AG is showing he might hoodwink people here and Robbins is trying to do the same thing. Of course neither myself or, I would guess, other people wanting the truth will have any additional evidence - how could I for instance? It's not up to people doubting the suicide verdict to bombard the AG's office it is the duty of the system to properly examine the existing evidence, something that the Hutton Inquiry manifestly failed to do.

The only answer now is a new inquest. At least then we would have evidence given under oath, the coroner could subpoena witnesses to attend and a decision arrived at by a jury rather than one individual. Also of course verdicts of either "suicide" or "murder" would have to be "beyond reasonable doubt". Where doubt does exist there is the option of an open verdict and I wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the result in a new inquest.

Robbins has produced a silly article - I hope readers see it for the nonsense that it is.

Bill applauded at Dawlish Air Show

Bill Millin may not be the best known name on the planet. For the record he was the unarmed bagpiper who piped his comrades ashore on the Normandy beach in 1944. This piece of action was incorporated in the film 'The Longest Day'. He survived the D-day landings I'm happy to say and has only just died, his last years living at a Nursing Home in Dawlish. Yesterday was the day of the Dawlish Air Show, part of the annual carnival celebrations - it seems that the show just beat the awful wet and misty weather that has now swept in from the south west.

Someone had the wonderful idea that those present watching the show could demonstrate their feelings for their most famous resident by applauding for one minute. What a brilliant suggestion, there are many occasions of course when a minute's silence is the way to respect someone who has died but I'm sure this would have been the exact time for people to have clapped, and I in turn applaud that decision.

Although I had heard that this was going to happen I now read that a Sea King helicopter lowered a winchman who placed a wreath on the sea in front of the crowds - a nice tribute.

It's possible to read more about Bill's piping exploit by going here . This in fact is in Bill's own words and I can really recommend having a look at it.

Tom Mangold, Dr Kelly and duff reporting

It is looking increasingly likely that a new inquest will be opened into the death of Dr David Kelly. The pressure for this to happen from many quarters is building and I shall pleased if it materialises.

This particular entry is not so much about the suicide v murder question, it concerns just how slanted a journalist can make his story. The person in my sights is Mr Tom Mangold who, on his official website, describes himself as "one of Britain's top television reporters". Evidently modesty isn't his greatest virtue! I've been reading an article he penned which is on "The Independent" website and dated 4 July 2010. It is headed "David Kelly murdered? Yes, and I bet you believe in the tooth fairy too". The sub-heading starts "Investigative journalist Tom Mangold ..." Mangold takes The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday to task as they said that they produced "damning new evidence" of a cover-up to hide a murder plot. Mangold then writes:

The "new evidence" now includes a statement last week from Mai Pedersen, Kelly's former US Air Force interpreter in Iraq, who was a close friend. After seven years, she has suddenly recalled that Kelly could not have cut his wrist because an elbow injury had left his arm too weak. She has also said that he could not have swallowed 29 tablets because he "had difficulty swallowing pills".

Now it's quite possible that Ms Pedersen repeated the statement at the time described by Mangold but the implication he makes is that this is brand new stuff. Well, it isn't. Her statement came into the public domain in July 2009 a year earlier than Mangold's article. Two possibilities then:

• Mangold didn't know about the Pedersen information until the week prior to his article, almost unbelievable for an investigative journalist, someone who also said "I knew David rather well".
• Mangold was aware of the earlier statement from Mai Pedersen but tried to hoodwink his readers into thinking that this was brand new information. If that is indeed so then it is a total disgrace and furthermore an abuse of his profession.

Later on, in berating those in the "Kelly was murdered" camp, Mangold lists a sequence of events which he says must have happened if their theories are true. He includes "They then kidnapped Kelly and forced him out of the house while his wife was present". What is Mangold on for goodness sake. Kelly might have had a phone call to meet someone away from his home, he might have been shadowed by someone on the way to Harrowdown Hill. I don't know and neither does Mangold.

Mangold we know believes that David Kelly killed himself. Nothing wrong with that. And of course objectivity can get kicked out of the window when you are convinced that your version of events is the right one. Certainly on the basis of the points I've raised one shouldn't give much credence to the writings of Mr Mangold.

Butterflies in abundance

I wrote about butterflies in my last piece when recording our superb coastal walk. Still with these delightful insects I'm thrilled to see more and more of them on the large buddleia that's at the back of the patio. Back in the spring I pruned it quite vigorously and thought I might have overdone things but the result now is a really glorious example of this lovely bush. Of late I've had very disappointing years with hardly a butterfly in sight but 2010 has changed that! More and more butterflies are coming in (I could do with some 'painted ladies' though!) and it seems that by good fortune the pruning time was ideal as the mass of flowers have come at the right time.

Not just butterflies but bumble bees as well. These beautiful creatures really do work hard, as do honey bees of course. No wonder the phrase "busy as a bee" came into being (unintended pun with that last word!) Another great plus for the buddleia is its wonderful scent - I don't have a good nose for scents but I can recognise the buddleia's flowers with no problem!

In a previous entry I had commented about the frogs hopping around in the garden. There are as many as ever in the grass that passes as my lawn. Do I risk getting the mower out to give the lawn a much needed trim? Will the sound and vibration ensure they get out of the way? As far as I can see they appear to avoid getting crushed under my size nines at least. So I might give it a go.

Repeat of a favourite coastal walk

The other day, well Monday of last week to be precise, a friend and I enjoyed a superb coastal walk. I had written about this same walk a couple of years ago although this time we stretched our legs slightly to make the ramble a little longer ...

I'm sure that all lovers of the British countryside know those special places they regard as their own, you know the sort of locations which feel like going to visit a special old friend when you go back to see them. For us that part of Cornwall's south coast between Lansallos and Polruan is one such place. As an added bonus the drive there is pretty well stress free and, at just under an hours travelling each way, a practical distance from home.

Apart perhaps from a few yards at the Polruan end our walk was wholly on National Trust land and there is a total air of timelessness about it. Lansallos itself consists of a church, campsite and a scattering of cottages and houses, really not much more than a hamlet. The Trust have their usual low key car park: two years ago I noted that the honesty box asked for 50p, this has now gone up to a whopping £2! Now £2 for all day parking near the coast is still pretty reasonable in my book so I'll forgive the NT its fourfold increase (I was a member, will be again probably, but have made a temporary economy which means paying these occasional car park charges on their land).

Here, at the start of our walk, we are just inland from the coast and the path to the sea is down a wooded valley for about three quarters of a mile, the briny not coming into view until the last moment. One reason that we selected this particular day, other than it was warm and sunny, is that it was potentially a good time to observe butterflies and coastal flowers, especially toward Lantic Bay. We weren't disappointed!! Having said that I had hoped to spot some 'Clouded Yellows' - it was not to be. Later a friend, more knowledgeable about butterflies than I, said he had read reports of clouded yellows moving up through the country but fewer being spotted on the coast for some reason. But we were compensated by plenty of other butterflies and also a humming bird hawk moth, the first this year!

I won't go into further detail regarding the scenery, there are plenty of images on the 'net of Lansallos Cove and Lantic Bay illustrating how special this area is. After we got home my friend challenged me to write down how many species of wild flower we had seen - I thought I was doing quite well with about two dozen, she though had amassed a total of over 40! Well she is a better botanist than I am! Many of the flowers are butterfly friendly: for instance lots of 'birds foot trefoil' and 'Small Blue' butterflies feeding on them.

In truth there are many other special walks I know but perhaps none of them surpass this one.

Correction: the 'Small Blue' butterflies may have been both small and blue but in fact the species we saw was the 'Common Blue'. Glad to get that sorted!

Garden alive with frogs and bumble bees

I have to hold my hands up and say that my garden isn't the tidiest one in the neighbourhood. It's true that it shouldn't be quite so wild in appearance but, in my defence, I would point out that it is very much a cottage garden and that I want a selection of wildlife to be present.

In amongst the Shasta Daisies, Golden Rod and Calendula there are dozens of froglets scurrying about. These little frogs are only about a thumbnail in size and I can't say for sure that they all came from my pond originally but they are amusing to watch. No doubt some will be lost to predators but it's nice to see them around for the moment at least.

My patio slabs aren't properly cemented together - I'm relaxed about thatand my marjoram has taken advantage of some of the gaps. Apart from that plant being attractive to butterflies it is absolutely humming with bumble bees! I'm a great lover of bees and a summer garden without any would be very depressing for me. Next month should see lots of fresh yellow as my mass of golden rod comes into flower and they normally play host to huge numbers of hover flies. The buddleia at the back of the patio is looking good: so far I've seen a small tortoiseshell, a red admiral, a peacock, a couple of commas and a small white on the bush. If we have a nice sunny weekend perhaps the numbers will build up, I really hope so.

Yes it's nice to share ones garden with nature!

Gordon Brown remains in hiding

It's about time I added to this blog - or gave up altogether! I'll see if I can regain the enthusiasm that I think that I once had.

In my last entry I had expressed a little sympathy toward Gordon and Sarah Brown but that feeling has disappeared now. It would seem that Gordon Brown has not yet appeared in the House of Commons since Labour's defeat in the General Election. So when will he show up? A proud man feeling both bruised and humiliated, my feeling is that the longer he delays making that journey south from Scotland the harder it will be for him. I shall be fascinated to know just how long it will be before he turns up.

Hitting the ground running

The usual phrase is something like "the wheels of government grind slowly" but I'm pleased to see that Messrs Cameron and Clegg are getting a plethora of decisions made very quickly. Sure there are items for which a commission or some such similar device has been arranged so that they are effectively kicked into the long grass but there are huge amounts of policy being enacted even though the coalition is less than two weeks old and we only went to the polls a fortnight ago.

Full marks from me for not only stopping plans for a third runway at Heathrow but saying there would be no expansion at Gatwick and Stansted as well. And also goodbye and good riddance to the Home Information Packs (HIPS) - I've voiced my objections to these before. However the energy performance certificate is still there, courtesy of an EU directive. Not nice for HIPS inspectors finding themselves out of a job (although some will carry on with the energy efficiency bit no doubt) but the then government should never have embarked on such a flawed scheme in the first place.

Brown leaves a message for Cameron

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words" and it is worth scanning this series of 14 photos taken by 'Guardian' snapper Martin Argles of Gordon Brown's final moments at 10 Downing Street before he leaves to tender his resignation to the Queen. Click here. There is a link on the first photo which takes you to some commentary by Mr Argles of these events.

What I found particularly fascinating though is photo number 13 in which Brown is seen writing a message for his successor - whatever can it be? "There's some milk in the fridge", I wouldn't have thought so. Bearing in mind the antipathy between Brown and the new PM perhaps he wrote "You bastard Cameron!". It's all very mysterious.

Seriously though we have at last seen some evidence of Brown's human side: although there has been every reason to criticise him I must admit that I did feel some sorrow for he and his family, his wife in particular I thought was so very choked by his political demise. Politics may bring many rewards but it is also truly brutal at times! For all of his character defects, his tribalism and all the rest it is too easy to forget his genuine feelings towards the Camerons at the time they lost their son Ivan. Of course he and Sarah Brown know only too well the feeling of losing a child and this perhaps was the one time when Brown really did display some emotional empathy.

Gordon Brown and the election

In less than five days from now I will have cast my vote in the General Election and I'll stay with my prediction that the Tories will win through as the largest party, probably with an overall majority. What seems fairly certain is that Labour can't win outright and naturally many people mean "Gordon Brown" when they talk about Labour.

I've written about Brown before but this is a good moment perhaps to bring my thoughts about him into one blogpost. I am a floating voter: at various times in my adult life and depending on where I was living and the circumstances at the time I have voted for each of the three main parties. It was in 1982 that I moved into this constituency and here it is always a fight between LibDems and Tories, Labour and smaller parties being way outside the reckoning. Not only would my voting for Labour be effectively a wasted vote but the recent behaviour of the party and that of Brown in particular would certainly ensure that my vote won't be heading their way!

What is it about Brown that is so off putting? I'll kick off with his attitude to the military. He has been castigated about an apparent lack of empathy with the armed forces and I have blogged before about my take on this. I had written about how appalled I had been regarding the fact that when Brown first became PM he made Des Browne a part time Defence Minister. That he did this at the time when we were fighting both in Iraq and Afghanistan was unbelievable. But not just that, Brown never praises the troops at the start of a major speech such as at the Party Conference, no it is slipped in part way through. Because of the task they have been asked to do for us and the risks being taken you would think that, like Cameron, he would speak up for the military right at the start. Never seems to happen.

The next thing is why did the Labour Party allow Brown to bully his way into the position of Labour leader and Prime Minister unopposed. Surely in this televisual age they should have realised that his many character defects would be cruelly exposed. I can remember him being caught on camera picking his nose and eating the contents thereof, of meeting someone with one of his trouser legs tucked into his sock: the sort of things that get onto YouTube for the whole world to see in the time it takes to say "General Election". No wonder that Labour spinners have been trying to divert away from "style" to "substance". It might seem very unfair to Brown but the increased preoccupation with style is the way of the world right now, and of course a major reason for the success of Tony Blair.

Talking of Blair it's interesting to see him back for the last few days of the campaign. Some had surmised he wouldn't have wanted to be associated with a likely Labour failure and I thought that way myself about him. Maybe Mandelson had pleaded for him to help the party's cause but I don't think that Blair will save their bacon - it's too late now surely, apart from which I think that Blair will be viewed as one of yesterday's men.

Back to Brown, one of my dislikes about him is his failure to assume any responsibility for our economic crisis. And also it still rankles with me that in reducing the basic income tax rate to 20% he removed the 10p tax band thus making millions of the poorest worse off. If it hadn't been for Frank Field and one or two other principled MPs he would have got away with it.

There is so much more that one could write about regarding Brown but I just can't be bothered right now. I'm just hoping come next Thursday that it's "Goodbye and Good Riddance"

Clegg, Cable and hypocrisy

In my profile I had written about myself "Dislikes hypocrisy". One of several reasons for my not voting for the Liberal Democrats next week is the fact that they have demonstrated their particular hypocrisy big time. This all relates to questionable sources of funding that all the three main parties have secured prior to the election. In the video above the BBC's Jon Sopel does a very good hatchet job on Vince Cable. Sopel absolutely correctly makes Cable wriggle over the hefty donation the LibDems received from a now convicted fraudster, Michael Brown. Naturally Cable and Co are finding excuses not to return the money which effectively had been stolen from other people. Of course the LibDems aren't exactly awash with funds and seeing their bank account depleted by two and a half million pounds would be really bad news for them!

That the party is holding on to this money is both legally and morally questionable. But what really infuriated me was the 'holier than thou' attitude of Nick Clegg in, I think, the first of the leaders' debates in which he castigated the Tories and Labour over receiving money from Lord Ashcroft and the UNITE union. What rank hypocrisy! At least Ashcroft has benefited the country by using some of his money to set up 'Crimestoppers', a very different man indeed from the disgraced Michael Brown.

A mad chaffinch at the window

I think that it is fairly well known that Britain's cheerful robin isn't perhaps such a nice character after all. Well certainly he can be very aggressive if he thinks another robin is invading his patch and I've heard of them attacking their own reflections in a window say.

Not just robins it seems because I've had a male chaffinch flying at a small window on the first floor at the back of my cottage. Good job his beak is strong because he has been hitting the glass with some force. This behaviour has been repeated at one or two of my neighbour's windows and I can only assume that it his reflection he has been attacking so vigorously! I have a blind for that window which I am keeping lowered at the moment in the hope that the poor demented chap will give up! So far this morning peace reigns .......

First debate with Party Leaders coming up

This evening sees the first of the three televised debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. As I don't have a functioning TV connection I shall not be watching it live but might well listen to it on Radio 4. I guess the participants are more than a little nervous right now but who, if anyone, will come out on top? A common consensus seems to be that Clegg should benefit a lot because this is a rare occasion when his party gets equal billing with the Tories and Labour. And herein lies a problem: the Lib Dems might hold the balance of power in a hung parliament but they are not going to be, on their own, the next government. So in a sense what they promise, what their manifesto says is slightly irrelevant. With just the two main party leaders the thing has balance but the whole debate will be muddled in my opinion by possibly two of the leaders ganging up against the third. We shall soon know!

Cameron has a lot to lose because expectations are high that he will be very much better than Brown at least. What about Gordon then? This is not natural territory for him and I would hope that he gets well challenged. Surely he will have to get away from tractor statistics and slogans. But can he do that?

Unsettled Easter ahead

Easter weekend is almost on us and it looks as if it is going to be very unsettled so far as the weather is concerned. A shame for visitors to the West Country to be sure. Whilst the worst of the snow has been "up north" in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Dartmoor also saw some with Princetown waking up to about two inches of it yesterday morning. From near the top of the hill that leads south from our village one can see across to the western flank of Dartmoor and from that viewpoint this afternoon I couldn't see any snow still lying. It's possible though that snow remains further into the moor.

The unusually cold winter certainly put a check on nature, but now it seems to be catching up. We are well and truly into the "yellow season" with daffodils, lesser celandine and forsythia well out. Good to see plenty of wood anemones in bloom as well, these do very well in the local wooded banks of the Tamar. Talking of the Tamar, that river was flowing quite high and fast a couple of days ago. I don't know where they nest but kingfishers do get seen in the area close to the weir which is not many minutes walk from here. The River Tamar is liable to rise and fall markedly over a short period of time and the thought crosses my mind: do the kingfishers nest high enough not to be flooded. I imagine they have it worked out!

Politicians and egos

The LibDem's economy spokesman Vince Cable has made a perfect idiot of himself. Now Cable has been gaining a good reputation with the public: the man who tells us as it is, the man who stands above and away from his Labour and Tory counterparts to be honest with the public, the man who really understands economics. At least this is the impression that has been fostered about him. He is sometimes referred to as "Saint Vince" for goodness sake, although I think there may be a sense of mockery when right wing bloggers so describe him.

A story in the Observer newspaper eight days ago intimated that Vince Cable had been to the Treasury and spoken to the Permanent Secretary, Sir Nicholas Macpherson about the fact that he, Cable, was prepared to serve as Chancellor if he had the call, and discussed some policy matters. There was, at least, an implication that Sir Nicholas had instigated the meeting. The truth it has been revealed is that it was Vince who requested the meeting and that it was a mere 20 minutes long! As a follow up I am reading today about Cable making an apology to Sir Nicholas because of the false impression generated by Cable. Not surprisingly some Tory bloggers at least are revelling in his discomfort.

So is it an ego problem, an arrogance thing that afflicts politicians of all hues? Interestingly tonight there is a debate on Channel 4 between the Chancellor and two would-be Chancellors from the three main parties. I no longer have a functioning TV and so won't watch it but what an awful sense of timing for Vince Cable to make his humiliating apology!

Brown versus Paxman - it might not happen

I really have been neglecting my blog, so I had better get on with things!

For those who closely follow politics in this country there are plenty of blogs to read: for me the best I've seen so far is that of Paul Waugh of the 'Evening Standard'. One of his entries today is headed "Is Brown running scared of a Paxo stuffing" and, humorously, underneath is a picture of Paxo Sage and Onion Stuffing! The Paxo in this case is the nickname of Jeremy Paxman, he of 'Newsnight' and 'University Challenge' fame. Paul has pointed out that ever since 1992 Paxo has done an in depth, programme long, interview with the incumbent Prime Minister. However, as yet, Brown hasn't signed up for this particular grilling on Newsnight. Paul states that a senior Whitehall source confirms that the PM hasn't given the green light. Quoting the source directly we hear that "It's not just the airtime, it takes a lot of time to prepare for Paxman, for example." What?!? Are they admitting that Brown has to spend time preparing for Paxman rather than just doing it? We know he is hopeless at a probing interview but this really is very very weak.

His preferred interrogator appears to be Andrew Marr and, it would seem that Andy Marr bowls him gentle full tosses most of the time. It is high time that Brown faced an attack dog who will face him down. Full marks to Jon Sopel by the way on 'The Politics Show' (I watched it on IPlayer) who did pinion him at one point. Although I am a floating voter I do recognise that Brown is a blatant liar and full of self deceit. In fact I would go so far as to say that Brown finds it as easy to lie as tell the truth; I've seen this before, it's almost a psychological condition - lying becomes a way of life, even when it is totally unnecessary from the point of view of everybody.

How can you prepare yourself for a Paxman interview? You can't really, you just don't know from which way the arrows will come. What we do know from Brown is that he is wooden, that he can't think on his feet, that he relies too much on slogans and 'tractor statistics' fired out like a machine gun. He has survived at PMQs because both Speaker Martin and Speaker Bercow have been unprepared to say "The Prime Minister must answer the question".

Brown must be dreading any big interviews coming down the track. I want to see him taken apart - no holds barred. Oh, and my suggested first question from Paxman to Brown, if Brown shows the courage to face his possible tormentor; "With the benefit of hindsight do you think it showed good judgement to sell our gold reserves at the bottom of the market?"

Ann Widdecombe just doesn't get it

Second rant of the day coming up! This all kicked off last month with an assertion by Sir Nicholas Winterton that MPs should be paid to travel first class on the railway. Both he and his wife Ann are Tory MPs standing down in the General Election and were regarded as prime examples of those misusing the allowances and so it is little wonder that his remarks drew a few raspberries. Since then other MPs have deployed various lines of reasoning to show why they consider they should also be paid for first class travel. The one who really takes the biscuit though is Tory Ann Widdecombe!

In the past I have lavished praise on Ms Widdecombe having seen some of her documentary stuff on TV where she has been at the sharp end going where most fear to tread and confronting hoodies and prostitutes amongst others. Full marks to her for that. Now though she has really let herself down talking about how she travels first class and evidently thinks she has a right to be paid out of the public purse. She has tried her hand at writing books and, get this, says that by travelling first class she has been able to write two of her novels whilst in transit as it were.

The inference of her remarks - I believe they were quoted in the 'Daily Telegraph' - is that the public stumping up her fares in first class has enabled her to complete something for her own benefit and not something that is connected with her work as a constituency MP in Kent. She really doesn't get it does she. What a totally stupid inane thing for her to say, especially as she is standing down anyway. I understand that she now has her 'retirement' home near, appropriately, Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Well at least now Ann the only cost to us for you writing a book is if we decide to buy one of the darn things!

Teignbridge staff parking plans

Here we go then, time for a rant or two! First up is Teignbridge District Council in Devon and their plans to charge staff to park at their Newton Abbot main office. Now we are seeing, and no doubt will continue to see, more local authorities slapping a parking charge on their staff who have the temerity to drive to work. This in itself isn't the main reason for my rant although even a flat charge for all is unfair in as much as it discriminates against the person who lives nowhere near public transport whereas others can just hop on a bus. By the way this is all in the name of the environment, trying to get people out of their cars and walking if near enough, or using the train/bus. Of course traffic tends to peak at times of the office commute and the school run, at other times of day it is likely to be more manageable. And increasing the use of public transport should bring their unit costs down.

However it wasn't the basic idea of charging staff to park that made me see red: it was the suggestion, now abandoned, to charge older cars more than the newer models. If you had a car made before January 2001 the proposal was that you would pay double the amount i.e. £1 a day instead of 50 pence. This makes me so angry to think that such an idea ever saw the light of day. Yes of course the technology has moved forward and today's car engines produce less emissions but the pseudo-greens never ever mention the cost to the environment in manufacturing a new vehicle. Nor do they mention that because of the complexity of modern systems on new cars when such parts ultimately fail it becomes too expensive for the owner to replace them. This can mean scrapping a car ahead of time as it were because the rest of the vehicle is perfectly alright. The car scrappage scheme illustrates my point perfectly - yes of course it helped to get the economy to get on the move but had absolutely nothing to do with the environment. When that scheme started I heard an "expert" state it was good for the environment. It's a wonder I didn't hurl something at the radio.

It happens time and again that experts and decision makers will just paint that part of the picture that suits their agenda. Does it make me cross!

Thoughts on Michael Foot

I know that this is a bit late to make a comment but as Michael Foot had strong connections with the west country I think it only right to make a blogpost following the announcement of his death last week. Michael was born in Plymouth on the 23 July 1913, in other words a year before the outbreak of World War One. He was one of seven children, his father Isaac Foot was a solicitor and was Liberal MP fr the then Bodmin Constituency at various times between the two world wars and also did a stint as Lord Mayor of Plymouth. It can be fairly said that Michael Foot was a member of a family with strong political views. Early education was in Plymouth before going to a school in Reading and subsequently Oxford University. It was at the last mentioned that he forsook the Liberal Party for Socialism and as early as 1935 stood for Parliament at Monmouth. However he had to wait until the cessation of hostilities in 1945 before getting into the House of Commons as MP for Plymouth Devonport; he held the seat until ousted by Janet Fookes for the Tories in 1955. Five years later and he was elected as MP for Ebbw Vale in a by-election following the death of his hero Aneurin Bevan. He was to become Labour leader in 1980 but resigned following the Thatcher landslide victory in the 1983 General Election.

Another link Foot had with this part of the world was his unwavering support for Plymouth Argyle Football Club. For several years he served as a director of the club.

So what are we to make of Michael Foot the man? It is generally agreed that he was a very fine orator. It is also the case I think that he was a decent principled man, too decent and principled I guess to be a successful politician. A republican, a founder member of CND and a great believer in state industry, many will argue that he really belonged to another age. Rather like Tony Benn and Enoch Powell he had strong adherents to his views and interestingly like these other two he was very anti Britain's membership of the Common Market. Are we now seeing the end of conviction politics in this country I wonder. Although there are differences still between the major parties they are all jostling for the middle ground and although there are adherents to the more extreme views of parties like UKIP and the BNP these are currently very much in the minority.

A couple of quick points in conclusion: Michael Foot is credited with doing much to get Plymouth functioning again after the German bombing, and apparently it was not a donkey jacket that he wore at the cenotaph but a presentable duffel coat - in fact the Queen Mother complimented him on it!

Morwellham sale progressing

It was last autumn that we learnt that the heritage attraction of Morwellham Quay in West Devon had gone into administration. This followed the decision by Devon County Council to no longer continue to pump funds into the running of Morwellham. Good news time now: Morwellham has been sold and I'm led to believe that it will be run on a fairly similar basis to the way it was before (although in a more business like manner one trusts!). Although I'm aware of who the purchaser is I'm not going to mention any names prior to an official announcement. There are the various legal bits and bobs to sort out but I would think that would be done by the end of this month.

The re-opening of Morwellham to the public will be very welcome boost to tourism in the Tamar Valley and in fact to the wider south west.

Nature wrecking havoc

The last two or three days have seen the weathermen (and women) forecasting a dire day today in terms of wind and rain. We were lucky this time round as it has been the east of England that has seen the worst of it although even they were let off lightly compared with our continental cousins, Spain and more particularly France being very badly affected. At least 50 people have died in Europe as a result of the storms. I don't know whether this weather system is the same one that had caused the recent devastation in the little island of Madeira, especially around its capital Funchal.

I'm guessing now as I have not read up on it but I believe that a major reason for the UK having had a cold winter is the fact that the jet stream which normally brings the succession of depressions that yield the mild wet winters in our latitudes is further south than it should be. So my assumption is that the storms surging through to the south of us are occurring in those places because of the jet stream displacement as well. The recent wet summers in the UK have also been blamed, at least in part, on the jet stream being in the wrong place and not allowing the Azores high to build in over us. So what is going on?

All the foregoing of course is dwarfed by the horrendous earthquake that has devastated part of Chile. As I type this on Sunday evening the current death toll is 708 according to the BBC News Website. Absolutely awful. And this so soon after the horror of Haiti. I've just looked at the Shelterbox website and see that they are currently mobilising a response team to go to Chile to assess the situation.

This does seem to have been an extraordinary year so far in respect of the damage caused by the forces of nature.