Sdapeze's Colchester

Our New Arst Building - Firstsite

2011-10-02T13:58:00.001Z

I went to have a look at the new Firstsite building today with my temporarily wheelchair bound wife. The yellow line fiends had not yet done their worst on the approach road so we were able to park for free, right outside the door. So that was a nice start. A very hot day too and the chance to get into the air conditioned building was another bonus. We had a nice welcome from the security chappie and the staff giving out exhibition guides. We loved the whole experience. We started with some breakfast outside on the terrace of the cafeteria which was priced high enough to deter the riff-raff, was nicely cooked and good to eat. We enjoyed a view of the newly grassed area leading down to the town wall with rooftops in the distance. The only bad bit of the view was the smelly old bus station that will soon, hopefully, be gone. Then in to have a look at the building proper and the exhibits, having first sat and read what was on offer. Something for everybody we thought. We were naturally underwhelmed by some of what passes for art nowadays, but very pleased with most of the exhibits, particularly the Colchester history themed items, the 1909 Colchester Pageant, the Oyster Feast, the linked picture display, etc. A nice shop and learning rooms. I had already used the auditorium so already knew that it was another excellent feature of the building. Externally, what has already been done looks very attractive, with a lovely view of St James the Great church, Hill House, etc. An interesting opaque lampost, presented as a piece of art, too. The whole experience was good and all the more so as it compliments Colchester's existing visitor attractions so well. As my mate Wendy has already said, 'it has had a difficult birth, but now is time to kiss its bottom'. I was one of the building's strongest opponents at the beginning, as I did not like the design chosen or the lack of a democratic process. However, we now have our new arts building, like it or not. It is here to stay and I, for one, will give it my full support. My main disappointment perhaps was the presentation of the Berryfield mosaic; which only goes to prove that you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

The Firstsite Visual Arts Facility

2011-09-04T12:00:00.003Z

Well! I received an invitation to attend the awards ceremony of Colchester in Bloom at our new arts building yesterday. I have been watching the building's progress over the past years and listening to and reading the comments being made about it from the usual suspects, who ceaselessly whine about things generally. What a waste of money, money could be better spent, what about our bus station, etc. etc. sort of thing. Well! Now we have our new arts building. It is an incredible building and, although I have only seen it in its almost-ready state, I was very impressed and very optimistic about its future. The auditorium especially is superb and I hope, one day, to give one of my talks there. So I will come clean and admit that I opposed the design of the building from the outset. I wanted a Roman temple styled building for Colchester. This is anything but that. I shall now watch with interest how it fares and to learn whether one Andy Hamilton ever sets foot inside the place.

Jumbo

2011-09-03T10:40:00.001Z

As somebody who offered several thousand pounds to the Balkerne Tower Trust towards acquiring Jumbo, a few years ago, I feel I have a say in this matter. From memory the trust only raised around £20k towards the purchase, when Mr Braithwaite bought it for over £330k. The trust's campaign was a total failure and reflected the lack of interest of the majority of Colcestrians in public ownership. Those that now whine about making it a tourist attraction must be delusional. To do so would need the money to be raised to buy it from the owner - were he willing to sell it - and the wherewitall to run it at an inevitable loss. So where would that money come from then? I am fed up with the council's procrastination over this matter. I wish Mr Braithwaite every success with his plans and look forward to Jumbo being once again a landmark that we can all be proud of. At the moment it is a decaying eyesore. It will never be a water tower again. Indeed, was it ever used as such to its full capacity? The latest plans for its conversion are sympathetic to the building, as those that converted Berechurch church were. Where was the outcry about that I wonder? The basic structure will not be affected to any major degree (apart from some glazing replacing some of the tank shell). The Victorian structure will always be on view. For heaven's sake, let's get Colchester into the 21st century and kick these whining nimby dinosaurs, who oppose anybody with a bit of modern vision, Buntings, the VAF, etc. for example, into this century.

The British Pub - Its future!

2011-08-14T11:19:00.000Z

Sadly, the pub is gradually dying out as a British institution. We are going the way of Europe with demand for places where everybody can go for a drink and a meal - and who's to say that is a bad thing? The difference between us and the more socially adept Europeans is that we have a nasty element among us who want to get drunk, to threaten people, to eff and blind and generally show the British to be a backward and immoral race. People want to take their children into our pubs and it is at the owners discretion whether he allows it. I have no time for those who also want to smoke in pubs as that is pure anti-sociability. My suggestion to you all is to use what pubs we have left, especially the good ones. Sadly the bad ones will die through no fault other than the managements. The law cannot be changed back to the rose-tinted times of the past, nor should it. Supermarkets have been given the right to sell cheap booze. That cannot be taken away from them, any more than we should go back to stigmatising single mothers, homosexuals, spongers, the work-shy, etc. We have made our bed so now we need to lie on it.

A John Lewis Store in Colchester

2011-08-06T12:14:00.001Z

From my point of view I see Colchester's future as one based on tourism, culture, entertainment, food and drink - and quality shopping. I don't want any big stores inside the town and believe that the likes of John Lewis should all be out of town, on a site comparable (and competing) with Braintree's Freeport. We need to attract people of all sorts to Colchester, to our shopping parks at Tollgate, to our quality small shops in the town centre, to the Castle and our museums, to the VAF and other art based locations, to the zoo, our hotels and restaurants, to Leisure World, etc. We all know that Colchester cannot handle car traffic at all well. So the Tollgate style shopping area makes the shopping experience attractive to car driving shoppers, especially if there is a Park and Ride facility as well to compliment, rather than compete with, our shops. There is huge potential for all types of visitors to our town, yet we get this petty political squabbling over the scraps. Like the old bull and the young bull. Rather than rush in and have a few of the heifers, take your time, stroll in and have the lot!”

Tymperleys

2011-08-06T10:24:00.003Z

Times are hard and they are going to get a lot harder. People don't seem to realise that. Keeping Tymperleys open costs a lot of money and that money has to be earned rather than funded from our taxes. Sadly, Colchester cannot earn that money because it has failed as a tourist destination. All it is interested in is getting visitors to visit the castle where they can earn some money and to get visitors to pay high parking charges to get access to the consequently dwindling shops. It cannot be a mere coincidence that they have closed both our clock museum and our social history museum, both well away from the Castle Museum. At the same time the council pats itself on the back for what a good job it is doing. A total lack of vision! Let's throw them all out and put businessmen and townsfolk in place that have the necessary vision to bring Colchester back from the brink. Let's learn lessons from other top tourist locations.”

Colchester Man - The Camilla DNA Project

2011-02-19T11:25:00.002-01:00

What fun! A project has been started that hopes to show a DNA connection between living Colcestrians and those people whose skeletons were uncovered in the 1980's during an archaeological dig at the Roman period graveyard around Butt Road. What fun! It would seem that the female to female line will prove the connection - if there is one - as the type of DNA that is needed only passes from mother to daughter. Girl Power!

www.camulos.com/dna.htm

Lack of Jobs for our Young People

2011-02-19T11:07:00.002-01:00

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The last Labour government screwed the country good and proper. We can't afford all the non-jobs in the public service. We need to be making a profit through industry so that the service industry can be feeding off it. Look at what we import and set about making it ourselves. I could do so much more and expand if the workforce was there and there were incentives to open up new workshops. I had to turn down some nice work last year because I couldn't do the work in the required time slot. I didn't have the labour or the facilities - and don't make me laugh about the bank's willingness to help. Yet what are they teaching our kids at school? Very little as far as I can see.
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I need people in my industry, in engineering. We have kids coming out of school quite incapable of basic maths or writing ability or, in many cases, verbal ability. We need skilled workers and we are getting them from Europe instead of from our own people. Added to that the high cost of business units, rent, rates, human rights and all that old bollocks that makes a small businessman like me very reluctant to take anybody on. I got turned down to do work for the Olympics because I didn't have something called an equal opportunities policy. Sorry. A one armed welder is no use to me. Icould have downloaded a form so that some public sector jobsworth could tick a box. Were I to download the form, I would be supporting the PC rubbish that brought this daft piece of legislation into being in the first place. What happened to plain old common sense? I have no interest in knowing whether somebody is gay or lesbian or whatever else I am supposed to deal with. Can they do the bloody job and are they willing to work? So I end up doing work for a Spanish company that is on the Olympics supplier's list and who sub-contracted the work out to people like me.
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In my day as an apprentice in the 1960's/70's I benefited from proper maths, technical drawing and metal work at school. Nowadays, schools teach maths that it is of no practical use in the real world and the very thought of using a lathe or a drill simply won't happen in case one of the little dears hurts themselves and the parents sue the school. Now I am approaching retirement, who can I pass on my knowledge to? I am not big enough to take on an apprentice. Our industry has gone. The Lathe Company and Paxmans and Woods of Colchester, all sold out to the property speculator. Betts, Bracketts, Ozalid, Dynapert, Regulators Europa, Mohler, etc. All those jobs lost for short term financial gain.
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....and now we are carping on about there being no jobs for our young people. Cameron and Co are sitting pretty but with no prospect of new industry creation. Meanwhile we are bringing unskilled migrants and their dependant families in by the drove, huge ghettoisation of our once proud industrial cities, the NHS and benefits culture all under a strain that this country cannot afford to pay for. Our benefits system makes it unnecessary to work any more. What hope for the future?
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Only this morning I heard that Barclays only paid 2.5% in Corporation Tax on its profits. How'd they do that then?
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Don't start me off!

2200 New Homes for Colchester

2011-01-04T18:47:00.003-01:00

I went for a walk with Bob Russell, MP for Colchester, on New Year's Day, along with about 30 others. I was curious to see where the proposed housing was to be located in the Mile End area. It had seemed to be a crazy idea when I first heard about it, so I was naturally curious about the whole thing.
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The first thing that struck me was the vastness of the site, all unspoiled, beautiful, wooded, farmland. A huge swathe from Cants rose growing fields to the north, adjacent to the small roundabout at the top of Mile End Road, all the way down to the back of Bergholt Road, Prior Way, Hugh Dickson Road, etc. The second thing that I noticed, as we walked onto the farmland, was the noise from the A12. Who would want to live in housing so close to all that noise? I know how bad it is in Stanway, Halstead Road, Peace Road, etc. It's terrible. The third thing that struck me was that this would become something like another Greenstead; a huge housing estate of, without doubt, small, gardenless, multi-storeyed dwellings. How will they cope with the services, the sewage, the drainage, etc? What about the vehicle traffic, schools for the children, pubs, shops, community centres, etc? A development of this magnitude will have all these needs.
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The land, I understand, all belongs to the Cant family. No more roses from that once famous company. The Cant family presumably stand to make a huge profit from this agricultural land, as I don't suppose for one minute that they are selling it at agricultural land prices. If this gigantic enterprise does go ahead, it will be a rape of our wonderful countryside. A tragic loss of landscape, wildlife, cultural heritage and way of life for the people of Colchester - and Mile End, in particular.
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Surely this cannot be right. If we must have new housing on this scale, why concentrate it all in one place? There are so many other locations across the whole borough where new housing can be built with minimal impact, where existing farmers or other landowners could sell a bit of land perhaps; where smaller independant builders can take on smaller, affordable, projects and where the quality and architectural diversity that that would bring would make Colchester so much more attractive to both inhabitants, migrants and visitors alike.
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This is clearly an ugly business, a dubious piece of planning work, where only the big boys will profit and Colchester will be the loser. Stop it now, before it is too late. For goodness sake, let's knock the heads together of these idiot planners and thereby bring about a sensible decision for what Colchester's needs really are.

The ongoing Roman Circus saga

2010-12-28T12:16:00.004-01:00

Back in 2004 archaeologists realised that the bits of Roman masonry, that they had been uncovering over the years, formed a neat and very long line. What could it mean? The only known Roman Circus in Britain had been discovered. Six years has passed since that incredible discovery. What have we done about it?

Like any unique find of this type, we realised its immense potential for putting Colchester on the heritage map and we took steps to tell the world about what we had found, to display and interprete this fantastic archaeological find, we built a museum and visitor centre to accommodate the thousands of people who came to Colchester to see this remarkable site. Colchester became the No 1 heritage destination in Britain with schools, families, oversees visitors and academics alike, all flocking to the oldest recorded town in Britain - the place where British civilisation began - to see all that we had. Special plans were made to welcome the thousands of vistors who were to come to Britain for the 2012 Olympics; to make Colchester a 'must see' destination.

One can but dream.

What did we actually do? Absolutely nothing perhaps? Surely not?

Surely we made a basic effort of putting up some signs to show visitors and townsfolk where the circus lay? No! Not one sign or road name change.

Surely we took steps to bring the site into public ownwership and to protect it against future housing development. No! If it wasn't for English Heritage hurriedly making the find a Scheduled Ancient Monument, we would have houses built all over it by now. Many of our councillors didn't even know that it had been classified a SAM, such was the lack of interest at the Town Hall. Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council made no attempts to acquire the site or to assist others to acquire the site. They even overturned a previously set 10 metre exclusion zone ruling that prevented house building encroaching on the circus location, such was their lack of interest.

So, it was left to the people of Colchester to do something about it. A public appeal was set up to work with the Colchester Archaeological Trust, to buy a building known as the Sergeants Mess, the gardens of which held the site of the circus starting gates. Thousands of people contributed. Money that a little boy was saving to buy a rabbit was given to cause. The owners of the building refused to sell the garden land without the building. The building was Grade II listed and had been severely vandalised, yet no enforcement order has ever been made to make the owners repair their building. Anybody who bought the building would have to do the repairs at their own cost, on top of the ridiculously high £750k asking price. Added to that, there were no water or electricity or gas services. All would need to be provided at considerable cost. The public appeal raised the required £250k and various other contributors and partners made the purchase possible. However, the bureaucrats put stumbling block after stumbling block in the way and, after key partners pulled out, the appeal had to finally admit defeat, after working so hard to acquire the site.

What is absolutely clear is that the relevant county and borough councils could have resolved this matter very easily. They chose not to. What other place in the UK would treat such a remarkable heritage site as this, in such a way? The mind boggles at our complete lack of vision! May history judge us.

Interesting times ahead!

2010-12-28T11:49:00.003-01:00

I have not written here for some time so I have some catching up to do. So much is going on in Colchester at the moment. The VAF is nearing completion, the Roman Circus campaign has taken a knock, our High Street is on its way to pedestrianisation, the Cultural Quarter plans are awaking, Mile End is threatened with masses of new housing, government cuts are hitting hard and the way of life that we have become accustomed-to is under threat, the Chelmsford/Colchester political divide continues, with Colchester being the loser. As the outgoing government said in a note to the new incumbent of the treasury, 'There is no money left. We spent it all!' Interesting times ahead.

2010-12-28T11:42:00.004-01:00

The Romans left these shores in AD410, exactly 1600 years ago. So a group of us walked the walls of Colchester on Boxing Day, some of us dressed in Roman soldier attire. Was this the first time that it had occurred in 1600 years, one wonders? Romans walking the walls I mean!

Officer's Mess Destruction

2010-07-27T12:56:00.002Z

Another blaze in one of our heritage buildings. Surprise or not? From my recent memory, the Recreation Hotel, Severalls Concert Hall, the Flying Fox pub, the Bell at Old Heath - to name but a few and now joined by the Officer's Mess. What have they all got in common? Are they all owned by people who would have rather liked them to be wiped from the face of the earth so that they could build bigger and more valuable buildings on the site? In the case of the latest example of a suspicious fire, is it a fair assumption that it was fully insured? All these questions. But the biggest question must be, 'Have the police ever caught the person responsible?'

Back Stabbers

2010-07-09T15:36:00.003Z

I can't help but notice that the back stabbing is still going on at the Town Hall between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Anybody would think that we don't have a coalition of the two in Westminster despite it seemingly working very well. Much to the annoyance of the failed Labour destructionists, they are a happy team. But not in Colchester. Why is that?

Heritage Madness

2010-07-09T15:18:00.002Z

Well. They all seem to be getting in on the heritage bandwagon at the moment. Yesterday's Gazette was lamenting the loss of the Hythe - only 50 years too late. We have let it all go to the wall, we knocked down the old buildings and built flats all over it, we stopped dredging the river, etc. and then we complain about what has happened. Last night in the Town Hall we had a bunch who want to be friends of the Roman Wall. So what about the rest of Roman Colchester? Another lot of fantasists want to bury Southway and restore our lost historic streets and various other pie in the sky ideas that have about as much chance of happening as finding some rocking-horse poo. That little exercise alone seems to have been at public expense. Then there is another bunch who want the Gosbecks Dog Walkers Park to be turned into an archaeology theme park of some sort. That could have been done 15 years ago when the money was there to do it. Since then the council have spent the money elsewhere and don't like to be reminded of it. It strikes me that we have tried to close the stable door after the horse has bolted. The damage has already been done. Oliver Cromwell started the ball rolling when he knocked big holes in our walls and chunks off our priory and churches. Colchester Borough Council seem to have carried on where Cromwell left off. It's too late. The damage is done. Why bother?

Cloud Cuckoo Land!

2010-07-03T16:05:00.003Z

I am pleased that an outside group (Save Britain's Heritage) has seen fit to comment on Colchester's heritage (Essex County Standard 2nd July 2010). Third party opinion, good or bad, should be a good thing and will hopefully stimulate discussion. The crackpot ideas of burying Southway and Balkerne Hill, bringing back trams, allowing historic streets to be reinstated (!!!!!), demolishing the beautiful telecom building, etc, are in cloud cuckoo territory. How many billions would that cost our bankrupt council I wonder? It seems to have ignored our World Heritage Site potential - which is probably a good thing on reflection. Just imagine what they would have made of that! We could rebuild the missing bits of our Roman walls or knock the castle down and re-instate the Temple of Claudius. Where on earth Damacus is, I have no idea. It repeats the word twice so it must be a well kept secret. Wherever it is we compare with it. Sorry but, as you probably guess, I am not impressed. Very amateurish. It could and should have been done so much better.

VAF

2010-07-03T15:58:00.002Z

You kinda know that things are going well when bus drivers complain about the glare from the new cladding of our new arts building, known by me as the visual arts fiasco. Is that the best they can come up with? I hated the thing from the start and was not alone. I hated even more the process that we have been forced to endure during its construction. But now that it is taking shape, I have mellowed. I quite like what I am seeing. It really does look very impressive. The aerial view that I saw in the local rag really shows its potential. Now I cannot wait to get rid of the scruffy bus park and to see the landscaping under way and to join all the other curmudgeons on my first visit to the finished building. Although what they are going to put inside it is quite another matter!

Colchester to be a World Heritage Site?

2010-07-01T15:36:00.002Z

A bunch of local people known collectively as destination Colchester, working alone for the good of the town, have recently submitted a bid for Colchester to become one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. They have been given the full support of Colchester Borough Council, on the proviso that the council will not be asked to contribute any money towards this. In fact, the bid was completed and sent, with no costs whatsoever. Why is that? Could it be to do with the fact that it was done by volunteers; people who do this sort of thing for the love of their town; to try and make a difference where officialdom would rather do nothing in that direction? No 'consultants' were used. No fees were incurred. No parasites on the public purse. Whatever the reasons, the bid was submitted and now a waiting process has begun. It may be that Colchester doesn't stand a hope in hell of joining such a prestigious list of World locations. But why not have a go anyway? The sadness is that, no sooner has the bid been sent, the backbiting begins to try to discredit the application. A Conservative politician, (presumably jealous of other's achievements) makes a wholly unsubstantiated claim in the local newspaper that it would cost Colchester Borough Council a sum of £400,000 to become a World Heritage Site. It beggars belief! Why don't these people get behind the bid and support their town?

Followers

2010-07-01T15:29:00.002Z

I have just noticed that I have two followers. I thought that I was a lone voice in the ether of time; indulging my ego for the good of my soul. Now that I have company I will have to make more of an effort. Welcome, fellow travellers!

Gosbecks Archaeological Park

2010-07-01T07:51:00.003Z

I see in the Gazette that the boys and girls at the Town Hall have trousered a gift made to the people of Colchester for the development of Gosbecks Archaeological Park. They are spending the money on mainteneance and appear to have got through £100,000 or so of the original £500,000 given in 1995. So, what has happened to the interest for a start? Who has taken this decision to misuse the money and why? Was it a Tory or a Liberal Democrat? Colchester has more of a story to tell than Stonehenge. Gosbecks may just apppear to some as a few lines on the ground, but that is what the council's view seems to be of the word 'development'. The original intention was a visitor's centre with all the prestige and activity that that would bring to Colchester. Colchester alone fulfils all of the requirements for the Roman part of the school curriculum. The potential for catering for this is immense and could so easily have been enabled at Gosbecks. It has huge potential as part of what could be. Sutton Hoo was just a mound of earth until some people with a vision made a lottery application. Now look at what they have. We should have had those millions. It is negative thinking like that of the council that holds us back. But then, that is probably exactly what some want for Colchester. It appears that our council have trousered a half milion pounds of our money plus 15 years worth of interest, to use for helping itself out over maintenance costs, contrary to what it was given for. That, to me, suggests a dishonest act and one that should be challenged. Who accepted this money on our behalf all those years ago and how do they view what has been done in their name since then?

Dwile Flonking

2010-06-26T11:08:00.003Z

Whether through despair or apathy, I have not posted here for 6 or so months. The election has been and gone and, despite my hopes, we still have the pc health and safety idiots out there, telling us we cannot put up bunting or banning dwile flonking. The party is over. Labour stuffed the country. Now we need to pay its debts and restore Britain's pride and traditions. We shall see!

Festivals

2010-06-26T11:06:00.001Z

I attended a Colchester 2020 event in the park yesterday. How much did that little lot cost the taxpayer? I should like to know what planet these people have been living on for them to believe they could co-ordinate festivals in Colchester any better than is being done already and has been going on for the past many years and will go on in the future, unaided. On past evidence, they would have difficulty running a beer-up in a brewery. What we do need is a town centre manager to run the whole town centre - including funding (not interference) for festivals. What say?

Roman Circus

2009-12-11T14:45:00.002-01:00

I did my bit last weekend in turning out to support the attempts to Save our Circus from the property speculators. The law requires that developers do any archaeological survey when requested, before they are able to commence their building works, in case something important lies below the ground that may prevent the work going ahead. This is exactly what has happened in this instance. The quite remarkable and completely unexpected find of a Roman circus (only bettered by the famous Circus Maximus in Rome) was found, a ban on building work was slapped on the site and the developer has to take it on the chin. He took the risk and he lost. However, what the law does not require is that the developer then gives the site to the Crown. We now have a stand-off situation whereby the developer will not allow access to the public, so the huge potential for tourism is thwarted. What the developer wants is a cool £750,000 for a blighted site' with a severely vandalised Grade II listed building standing on it, with no access road, no electric or water services. So now the fight is on, to raise money from a bankrupt nation, where money for fighting the moslems, money for failed banks, money for fat cat pensions, money for the Olympics, etc, is no problem. I wish the fund-raisers all the best in their endeavours. Just don't expect any money from the government! It's bankrupt. It has been bankrupted by this Labour government of ours. What a legacy we are handing to our children!

Highest Parking Charges in Essex

2009-11-30T17:40:00.004-01:00

I went into town today by car, due to a need to use the car. For a little over 2 hours parking at St Mary's, I was charged £4. A similar visit to Chelmsford recently was under £2. The my old dutch had to call in at the court and had to pay £3 for her 15 minute errand. Either we want people to visit Colchester or we don't, but to expect them to pay nearly £10 to park for the day is a bit steep, isn't it? We must surely have the highest parking charges in Essex.

My lady will be shopping elsewhere she says as she refuses to have to pay to shop. Sudbury is free to park, apparently!

....and how many empty shops have we got for this Christmas?

....and why is that I wonder?

Christmas Market

2009-11-30T17:36:00.002-01:00

Well, I went into town yesterday to visit the Christmas market in the High Street. Great atmosphere! We bought a few things and later repairing to a favoured hostelry for a cup of foaming ale. Well done the organisers and wasn't it a delight to have a traffic free High Street? Why can't we have it that way all of the time - and the market in its historic location - the High Street?

School Funding

2009-11-27T14:48:00.003-01:00

£130 million on the table. In order to get it we must allow two of our schools to close and for a piece of green field land to be used for a new road. That will enable Philip Morant school to be made bigger and to ease traffic in Prettygate (allegedly!). It will also mean that the pupils from the two closed schools will have to travel (bus or Mum's car) across the town to their new, bigger, school, thus adding to the already bad traffic congestion in Colchester. It will also enable the land that the two closed schools occupy to be used for house building (at least that is what I guess will happen - rather than create green spaces for people to enjoy).

Now comes the bits that I don't understand.

1. Labour - are divided on the issue. Cllr Dave wants to save the two schools but Cllr Tim wants them to go. Why don't they agree? The money ultimately comes from their beloved Labour government. Isn't the provision of schools in local areas a fundamental socialist principle?

2. LibDem - are united in the view that the people of Prettygate want to keep their green space in Norman Way, but they would like to have the £130 million please. They naturally don't like Essex County Council (who are insisting on the closing of the two schools) as they are Conservative. So, are they doing this to support the people of Colchester or to stick two fingers up to the Tories?

3. Conservative - are united in their view that Norman Way must be sacrificed for this scheme and that the two schools must go, as nobody wants their kids to go to them anyway. Of course, the Conservatives have big posh houses out of town and there is no chance that their kids would go to the threatened schools anyway.

I have to agree that I wouldn't want my kids to go to the two schools either but, every area should have a school - shouldn't it? People don't want their kids to go to those schools presumably because they are thuggish and give a poor standard of education - due I suppose to the yobs intimidating the good kids and the teachers being powerless to control the situation. So what will the yobs do in a new school? Will they turn over a new leaf?

My biggest concern is that the main players are playing party political games, rather than doing the right thing. What is the right thing to do?

Heads in the Sand

2009-11-22T16:54:00.003-01:00

I was interested in a bit of wisdom that I saw written on the Gazette's forum last week. A comment was made that Lord Hanningfield was anti-Colchester. This was answered with a statement that Colchester is anti-Colchester. Sadly, isn't this a fairly true statement of fact? Why is it that Williams and Griffin turned on their Christmas lights last week, the town centre turned on it lights this week and the Christmas Fair in the High Street is next week? Why is that there are so many factions and political groups that cannot get on together or agree on anything? This is all so bad for the town - and ultimately destructive. Yes! I have to agree that Colchester is anti-Colchester. What is to be done about it?

Christmas Lights

2009-11-22T16:46:00.003-01:00

I managed to make the big switch-on of the lights at the Town Hall at 4.30pm, despite the hundreds of people that had gathered there to see the lights go on. Superbly done. Our joker mayor, Councillor Spyvee, put on a splendid performance - a credit to Colchester. I daresay that the usual maoaners will be whingeing about the lights tomorrow, but my old dutch and I thought that they looked good. A traffic free High Street was another delight. Why is it that we cannot close it to traffic permanently? Then on to Lion Walk, where they were having their own fun with their light switch-on. Not a bad word was heard. All good family fun. Perhaps the low-life were laying low until the bars opened!

Jumbo

2009-11-12T19:57:00.003-01:00

I read that a group are campaigning to stop the owner of Jumbo, Colchester's most prominent landmark, a long defunct water tower, from converting it into a luxury dwelling.

Jumbo is a much loved friend to us all. It has stood neglected for many years and a new life for it is needed. It has been an eyesore for too long. We trod the path that the Save Jumbo group are proposing, some years ago - and failed miserably. I do not believe that there is any alternative way forward, other than to welcome Mr Braithwaite's vision and to allow him, the owner, to convert it for a habitable use. Hopefully that would allow for some degree of public access, whilst preserving its history. There never was any public access before, so why should there be in the future. Sorry, but, apart from keeping a close eye on what is done with the fabric, I am (now) all for its conversion. Colchester should welcome it, as it should welcome any move to restore/preserve our heritage.

Freedom of Speech - Big Brother

2009-11-12T19:53:00.002-01:00

The following was sent to me by a member of my church.

Do make gospel freedom a matter for urgent prayer as today the House of Lords votes on whether the free speech clause should remain as part of the criminal law. Lord Waddington’s clause protects free speech and religious liberty in the Government’s homophobic hatred office. This is an issue of freedom for the gospel. Julian Hurst, an evangelist in Chorlton, was handing out invitation cards to his church’s Easter services in a town centre when five policemen surrounded him and took away samples of his literature to investigate. The police had received complaints that he was homophobic. But neither Mr Hurst nor his leaflet had said anything about homosexuality. More recently many will have heard about the case of Pauline Howe who wrote to Norwich City Council objecting to a gay rights march. The next thing she knew two police officers called at her house to tell her that she had committed a ‘hate incident’. No action was taken against Mr Hurst or Mrs Howe. It is perfectly lawful to hold the Biblical view that homosexual conduct is wrong and also to preach it. But in practice the free speech protection is vitally needed to stop false allegations being made. So do pray that Lord Waddington will succeed in the vote today and that gospel freedom will be protected. Pray also that the issues will be fairly reported by the media.

A sad reflection of Blair's Britain?

Strippers and General Low-Life

2009-11-05T17:09:00.003-01:00

Haven't we got enough rubbish wandering our streets of an evening without opening up a strip joint (lap-dancing by any other name) at St Botolphs? I thought that this area was destined to become a fabulous new development area. Has this town gone completely mad?

World Heritage Site

2009-11-03T17:49:00.004-01:00

Interesting to read the Standard last week with the call for Colchester to be become a World Heritage Site. What an odd suggestion for a town that clearly has quite the opposite ideas for itself. Our council has clearly demonstrated over many years that its only interest is building houses all over the place, clogging up our roads with more and more cars, having the highest parking charges in Essex to deter shoppers and visitors alike, closing down our schools, selling off our assets, giving nothing to culture or heritage - unless there is a profit in it, etc. etc. What have we got that might possibly qualify us as a World Heritage Site?

The largest Norman castle ever built, standing on top of a 2000 year old Roman temple?

Nah!

The fact that we are the oldest recorded town in Britain?

Nah!

The fact that Colchester was once King Arthur's Camelot?

Nah!

The most complete Roman wall around any town in Britain, with the most intact Roman gateway as part of it?

Nah!

The site of not one but two Roman theatres - something that occurs nowhere else in Britain?

Nah!

The location of where the Roman emperor Claudius came in AD43 to the most powerful and influential location in Britain to take the surrender of eleven tribal kings?

Nah!

The location of the only know Roman Circus - on a par with Ben Hur's Circus Maximus in Rome?
Nah!

The birthplace of the discoverer of electricity, and who gave electricity its name?

Nah!

Where 20 Colchester men lived and fought at the Battle of Trafalgar?

Nah!

Where the jealous Tories in Chelmsford are doing its level best in gradually squeezing the life out of us in every which way it can, to finance its final salary pension schemes for its workers?

Now that's interesting!

Bah Humbug

2009-11-03T17:28:00.004-01:00

We have witnessed some very public mudslinging recently concerning who said what about what for a planned Christmas extravaganza. We have accusuations that one of our cabinet councillors pledged public money to assist wealth creating businesses - and then welshed on the deal; was a liar even. Now, my understanding has been for many years now that there are no resources available for anything like this - unless it concerns cricket, in which case there is always plenty of funding available. So, my two questions to the businessmen who have so bitterly attacked our council is, 1. did you get it in writing (rule no.1 in my book - know your enemy/customer/supplier before you trust him)? and, 2. do you realise that you have shot yourselves in the foot with your very publicly reported actions? One of you, especially, manager of one of our principle shopping malls, must surely be in danger of losing his job. What do his bosses say about a manager who has made himself 'persona no grata' with the town's council? Another of you relies heavily for council support with staging profit making events in the town. Perhaps somebody has misjudged a situation; has not done their sums right and has looked for a scapegoat; has a good backup plan that will overcome any need for future working with Colchester Borough Council. I go for the scapegoat theory.

Our Pubs - Use them or lose them.

2009-08-18T12:42:00.001Z

The government have missed a golden opportunity. Look back 20 years. I used to go into town of an evening, to one or other function. It was very quiet. No shrieking silly girls or mouthy yobs, as we have come to know so well - to our shame. Pubs were well run because they had a publican; somebody who was a professional, knew their trade and their customers and who were licensed by the courts to do their job. They knew that, if they put a foot wrong with the authorities for allowing drunkennes, rowdy behaviour, wrong sort of women, etc. they could easily find themselves out of a job at the next licensing session. We had an opportunity then to bring life to our towns with the granting of different sorts of licences, to create a cafe culture with seated customers only - as they do so well on the continent. It has long been known that standing drinkers are often belligerent troublemakers. Publicans knew how to deal with them and trouble on the streets was almost non-existant. So what happened? Tony Blair and his retinue of social reforming appeasers came along and gave us 24 hour drinking, supermarkets and corner shops selling booze at low cost, banned smoking - and consigned the traditional publican to oblivion. Anybody can run a pub now, in the full knowledge that the law cannot touch them. If you sell alcohol to children or allow drunkenness, you should lose your licence. Period! People are staggering around our town absolutely legless. They got like that in our licensed premises and those premises should be punished in the only way that fits - closure!

Two Park and Ride Schemes?

2009-08-16T14:41:00.002Z

I learn that those buffoons in the Town Hall are now considering two P and R sites. All we ever wanted was one. Now they are talking about two. Only talking, mind you. That's is all they ever do, talk. Meanwhile, Colchester is fast becoming the place that shoppers avoid due to the traffic congestion and high parking charges. Just look at all our empty shops, if you want proof.

Training Ground for the U's

2009-08-16T14:35:00.003Z

I was wondering why this project had been turned down as it seemed harmless enough. Having now read the local paper, it is a bit more than a training ground. Like the Tories wanting to close our schools and build a new one on a green field site, thus making a lot of money for somebody, the U's are up to the same thing. Has anybody noticed all the land next to the new stadium? What's wrong with that? It's on their doorstep. Or how about Layer Road, sitting there looking for a good use. No. What they want to do is build houses and a pavilion and concrete over more of our green fields. If this travesty goes ahead, there would have to be a sniff of corruption somewhere. Watch this space!

Cycle Tour Came to Colchester

2009-06-20T14:54:00.003Z

Well. I went into town to have a look at the cycle race that cost so much money, but which, apparently has been covered by grants and sponsorship. Wow! The town was buzzing. I have never seen the like of it in Colchester. What a great show! And now I understand that they want to do it all again next year. Well done Colchester Borough Council for at last having some vision for what is possible in our lovely old town. I just hope that you can learn from the experience and do more thingts like it. How about getting behind the Colchester Carnival?

But perhaps the most interesting aspect was that Colchester clearly doesn't need traffic in the town centre. The lard-arsed car driver will always whinge about restrictions but this cycle race has brought a breath of fresh air to Colchester. Wouldn't it be good if all of the town centre, within the heritage zone, within the town walls, was pedestrianised from 9.00 am to 6.00pm? We have seen that it can be done and I like the result. Quieter, cleaner, safer town for everybody. Let's ban the car from the town centre and buses and taxis from the High Street. Let's claim our town back from the unnecessary vehicles that make our lives a misery.

Cycle Tour Comes to Colchester

2009-06-04T11:37:00.003Z

Whilst we repeatedly learn that the council has no money for festival activities, having cut its cultural and heritage budgets drastically, we now learn that somebody has decided to spend £95,000 of our money to stage a cycle race around the town. For 3 hours on a Thursday night, road closures, the lot. They could have done it a lot cheaper by riding around the football stadium. What amazes me is that this decision was made out of the blue with no consultation. You can imagine the uproar from event organisers in town who get no help from the council for what used to be traditional well attended events. Our council have happily destroyed our flower beds to save £17,000. They are closing schools and selling off our assets and reducing services generally but - a cycle race around town? £95,000! No problem!

Cast Your Vote

2009-06-04T11:19:00.003Z

I cast my two votes this morning for the county and European elections. These are indeed interesting times, with so many corrupt politicians pouring out of the woodwork. I hope that my fellow voters have taken this golden opportunity to teach the big three parties a lesson that they will not forget in a hurry. We in Colchester, have been treated very badly by Conservative led County Hall, forcing cuts in our services on us and selling off our assets to pay for lucrative council workers final salary pensions. Who do they think they are kidding by forcing closure of two of our schools and to replace them with a remote academy. There is no earthly reason why the kids that do badly in school would do any better in a school that is a long distance away from their community? Of course, the reality is that County Hall want to close our community schools so that they can acquire the land to sell to property speculators. The sooner that these pension agreements are revised, as is being done throughout private industry, the better. Why should the council tax payer fund such lavish pensions at the expense of services? ....and as for Lord Ninnyfield, the sooner he goes the better! The man's a fool!

Cycling Tour Comes to Town

2009-05-23T08:06:00.001Z

Sadly, Colchester is not geared up for this sort of prestige event - and we should be. Colchester worships the car and wo-betide anybody who inconveniences the car driver. Years of political ineptitude have allowed this situation to prevail, rather than decisive action being taken to change things. Our politicians have allowed thousands of new homes to be built without any new roads or park and ride or new car parks being provided. The result is regular gridlock, misery all round - and danger to pedestrian and cyclist alike. We call ourselves a 'Cycling Town'. What a bloody joke! What have we done to make Colchester any safer for cyclists? The ideal location for a 'Park and Ride' at Tollgate has been removed by the granting of planning permission to the land owner who spent many months 'lobbying' his mates in the Town Hall to make himself a great deal of money through change of use of the land. The result is that we still have no park and ride, nor are there any plans for it. We have numerous plans for new housing but none for the essential infrastructure. Balkerne Heights now stands where a huge multi-storey car park should have been built. Profiteering is the reason, yet again. When will our politicians do something for the town rather than to line their own pockets? 'Never', do I hear you say? No, they would rather knife each other in the back. ........and claim their full quota of expenses!

Lottery Bid Failure

2009-04-03T14:16:00.002Z

I have just learned that our bid for lottery funds to build an interpretation centre for our Roman Circus has failed and have to wonder whether the disinterest shown in it by Colchester Borough Council during a recent planning application could have anything to do with it. After all, our council gleefully rubber stamped the segregation of the starting gates (probably the most interesting part of the whole circus) so that the public could not get at it in future. The pathetic terms for access that were agreed would hardly have demonstrated to the lottery board that we had any interest whatsoever in interpreting our heritage. What a golden opportunity - missed!

Politically Correct Crap

2009-03-27T16:11:00.002-01:00

I read an interesting article in the Gazette this week about some geezer from London who came to Colchester to encourage local businesses to register for work for the 2012 Olympics in Stratford. I'll try for some of that, I thought, so I signed onto the website and filled in me details. What could my company do? How big are we? How many employees? Now I am getting a bit wiser with age nowadays and I know you don't get owt for nowt. Slowly it dawned on me that I was being drawn into a PC world of tree hugger paradise. They never ask those sort of questions at the beginning, just like they never put the fruit and veg at the other end of the supermarket. The questions started to veer away from my company's field of expertise. They wanted to know how many women we employed. How many women in managerial positions? Do we have any lesbians or gays or bi-sexuals and various other categories that me mum never told me about. Do we have any atheists, jainists, buddhists, moslems, and various other categories. Do we employ disabled people, old people, young people, etc? Have we got a health and safety policy, an equal opportunities policy, how many millions worth of insurance, etc? I answered as best I could, not really knowing or wishing to know the sexual or religious proclivities of my employees (but having a fair idea) and completed the questionnaire. On clicking the final button to send my application on its way, I was instantly informed that my company did not meet their requirements as we didn't operate an equal opportunities policy (or something like that) - apparently! Well! I have to put my hand up to simply wanting to know whether potential employees can do the ?*&$? job and that their references are up to scratch. This came to me at a similar time to that when I had learned from one of my fellow business colleagues that they had won a contract from a Spanish firm to provide equipment for the Olympics. Said Spanish company clearly had inflated their bid to allow sufficient profit in the job to sub-contract it to a British firm! So, who needs the Olympics anyway?

Living in a Bubble.

2009-03-27T14:59:00.004-01:00

I took time off work yesterday to attend a Colchester2020 meeting at the new football stadium at Cuckoo Farm. It was the first time that I had visited and the place is impressive. If only the VAFiasco had run as smoothly in its realisation. So anyway, the great and good of Colchester were there to put Colchester to rights. They entered the bubble at the door and found themselves transformed into a world where anything is possible, money no object. The ideas flowed and kept flowing. I attended a group session that was entitled 'Transport'. The group comprised council employees, borough councillors, a county councillor, public transport lobbyists, car drivers, local authority workers - and a smattering of business owners. The only bloke who made any sense to me was the businessman who commented that traffic congestion and high parking charges are driving people away from Colchester. He was a voice in the wilderness as we listened to various car drivers who complained about traffic jams, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it is they, themselves, who cause the jams. Another moaned about the inconvenience of the traffic associated with school chucking out time. All we need, apparently, is less cars on the road, 4 lanes through North Station Road roundabout, a monorail from Mile End into town, a travelator along High Street. Then the bus users complained about the infrequency and unreliability of buses and the lack of a bus station, again, seemingly oblivious to the fact that buses are provided by private companies who respond to demand. No passengers, no money coming in, no profit, goodbye. I sat there, with a view of the car filled car park, that also had one motorcycle and two bicycles, having been told about Colchester2020's Carbon Emission plans. No. It was too much for me. I don't do 'head in the sand'. Whilst I would have enjoyed lunch at the borough's expense, I felt that my time would be better spent at work, doing something useful. I left the cosy comfort of the feel good bubble and out into the real world headed for the office - on two wheels!

A Night at the Theatre.

2009-03-27T14:49:00.002-01:00

My lady and I went to the Mercury Theatre last night to see Blonde Bombshells. This has to be one of the most enjoyable performances that we have seen at the Mercury. The place was packed. We have also enjoyed several other performances there recently: Richard Digence, Brilliant Baroque, Just a Song at Twilight, The Lifesavers, Fascinating Aida, etc. If it is one thing that Colchester does well it is its theatre. Long may they escape the long knives of those who are responsible for bringing so much upset to our town, the destruction of roadside flower beds being just one of the latest instances. Oh well! We have tickets for Tony Benn next week. That should be interesting!

Who's for a pint?

2009-02-23T17:40:00.003-01:00

Our attention has been drawn to the fact that we are gradually losing our pubs. Over 20 have gone in Colchester in 20 years and the most recent, the Sun at Lexden, the Robin Hood, the Bell at Old Heath, face an uncertain future. The Sun especially is a very old building and it would be a tragedy if it succumbed to destruction by the inevitable vandals. But is it any surprise when Labour's Nanny State has been instrumental in this decline? The banning of smoking was the final nail in the coffin. Who in their right minds wants to go to a pub where you have to stand out in the cold to have a cigarette. It's not very welcoming is it? You are better off staying at home with beer at a third the price from Sainsbugs where you can smoke as much as you like. And what happened to all those meanspirited whiners who said that they would be more inclined to go to the pub if smoking was banned. I don't know of one. Do you? No. They are all still sitting smugly at home, happy that smokers have been taught a lesson. They are probably quite pleased too that pubs are in decline - all due to their selfish whining about inhaling people's smoke. Funny old world innit?

What a Circus!

2009-02-23T17:15:00.005-01:00

It comes as no surprise that Taylor Wimpey, armed with their planning approved Sergeant's Mess and Roman Circus starting gates, they want to sell it on for somebody else to develop. They are clearly strapped for cash, as are many others in the house building industry at the moment, so they will settle for £800,000. How much did they buy the site for I wonder? Something like £80,000 I am led to believe, so it will not be a bad return on their investment. The problem is, they have managed to get Colchester Borough Council to allow them to section off the starting gates so that they can never be turned into a tourist attraction. CBC positively rolled over on their backs and asked for a tickle when the plans came to committee. It bordered on the sycophantic to hear the reverence given to the applicant. It was almost an apology for inconveniencing them. Not one of the planning committee voiced any concern at this sectioning-off of our scheduled ancient monument. Their names? Councillors: Mary Blandon, Peter Chillingworth, Barrie Cook, Mark Cory, Stephen Ford, Wyn Foster, Ray Gamble, Chris Hall, Sonia Lewis. Remember those names in any future heritage matters. History will judge them.

So, has anybody got £800,000 so that we can buy back the remains of the only Roman circus in Britain?

Our Royal Family under attack - again!

2009-01-13T16:22:00.003-01:00

I know that it isn't of local interest but it so irritates me when yet another member of the Royal family is attacked by the gutter press for just being themselves. What is a Brit other than slang for British. Am I offended by it? I can understand that a person from India would be offended by being called a Paki or a person from Scotland being called a Paddy. I shall continue to call a welsh mate of mine Dai. I don't know any Chalkys or other of the names that the tree huggers get so anxious about - but I will continue to despise the pea brained idiots who promote what passes today for political correctness. I mention this here because Prince Harry is a serving soldier and Colchester is a military town and I, for one, am proud of our culture, our boys and of our Royal family. What other country affords the freedoms that we enjoy but which are being seriously threatened by these pacifist appeasers?

The New Year of 2009

2009-01-03T11:35:00.003-01:00

We go into this new year for Colchester with:

1. The VAF in limbo, an empty, unfinished shell, that nobody (we are led to believe) wants, an embarrassment to us all, with no fixed price to finish it or to demolish it, no name that anybody can be proud of that would make it the promised flagship of the arts in Colchester.

2. No permanent bus station or decision as to where there will be a bus station, if/when the Visual Arts Fiasco gets completed.

3. Not one marker as to the location of the Roman Circus that was discovered in Colchester over 4 years ago.

4. No Colchester Carnival or Festival or any promise of funding for such an event in the future.

5. No Park and Ride or any firm decision as to the location or timescale.

6. Lots of political midgets in the Town Hall who clearly derive immense pleasure out of knifing their fellow councillors in the back over things done and said but not achieved over the past few years.

7. Lots of political midgets in the Town Hall who have no balls to take the decisions that would make the real changes that are needed in Colchester to make it a place that people really want to visit.

All Must Go!

2009-01-03T11:24:00.004-01:00

The press is reporting the fall of Woolworths. People are saying that they used the shop regularly. Clearly not enough of us did; otherwise it wouldn't be closing - or should they have charged more for their products? Either way, it is too late now so there is no point in crying about it.

More to the point, we should be looking to the future. My family did much of their Christmas shopping on the internet this year. Why? Because its easier, cheaper, more convenient, delivery to your door, etc. Who, in their right mind, wants to drive into town (no convenient buses where we live), get delayed in traffic with like minded people, having to queue to park the car, having to pay to park the car, having to put up with the foul-mouthed shrieks of ill mannered children/parents/youths, having to dodge traffic, having to try several shops for the thing that you want because they don't have what you want or the size (I buy underwear for my wife), to carry my purchases back to the car, pay Colchester Borough Council for the pleasure of parking my car (whilst being informed that all risks are mine), getting back into the traffic jams - and then driving home?

Look to the future. Woolies has gone the way that more will follow. Until CBC realises that our shopping experience (yuk PC phrase) is made easy by either Park and Ride or free parking, people will avoid the town unless they have to. We have lost Zavvi now too and things are looking bleak for a few others. Look at how many pubs have closed in the town when you can buy beer in Sainsbugs at a third the price and avoid a punchup by drinking at home.

It is my prediction that, in 10 years time, CBC will have woken up to reality, the town will be a joyful place to visit, for leisure rather than for shopping, parking will be cheap and easy and traffic jams will be a thing of the past.

The big question is, has this council got the balls to get things moving in this direction - or do we need a new thinking council in place?

A Sign of the Times

2008-12-11T17:16:00.006-01:00

So our Woolies (Woolworths) is going the way of all the others. Sadly, the writing has been on the wall for many years for certain businesses where their product is either too expensive or is no longer wanted. Why should I travel into town in my car, pay a high price for parking and enjoy the traffic congestion that inevitably comes with a trip into town. Then to dodge even more traffic once in town, put up with their noise and air pollution, the foul mouthed utterings of all ages of people, etc. When what I could simply do is (as so many people are increasingly doing) get onto the internet and do my shopping that way. We hear cries of concern about Woolworths closing or the latest of our pubs that find they can no longer afford to trade. Of course it is sad when shops or pubs close but it is a symptom of the times. People don't want broken biscuits any more. Messrs Sainsbury/Tesco/Asda sell beer at a fraction of the cost of a pint of beer in the pub and Sky telly provides the entertainment at home. Until our borough council wake up to the fact that they are driving people away from the shops by their failure to offer free car parking or a Park and Ride or a traffic free town centre, then things are going to get worse and worse until we are all voting with our feet, staying at home and shopping by the internet. In 20 years time, Colchester will have become a very depressing place, unless something positive is done to reverse the trend. What do you think?

It wasn't me!

2008-12-02T12:43:00.003-01:00

The public bloodhounds are homing in on exactly who it was who agreed a contract without an agreed price to build the VAF. We now learn that the price that we thought had been agreed has turned out to be over £7 million more than thought. We are slowly learning too, exactly who wasn't responsible.

Who has to pay this amount? It looks as if you an me will have to pay for it, presumably through yet more cuts in services and sale of assets - such as our school land. All I have to do is put in a low starting price, start the work, get a few stage payments, stop work, and then ask for more money. It's a breeze. All supported by the good old Colchester taxpayer.

What I would like to know is who I should apply to to do work for Colchester Borough Council at a price that I can name at a later date. Presumably, my firm will not have to go through the tendering process, as has clearly been the case with Banana Holdings. Presumably I will have to join some old boys club to get the work - but it will be worth it, if it means I can name my price.

Perfick! Early retirement. Here I come.

Colchester's Heritage Assets

2008-11-18T12:21:00.003-01:00

I can't say that I will shed any tears over the fact that Taylor Wimpey have financial difficulties, as I read in last night's Gazette. It is that company who own the land on which our unique Roman circus lies and who have refused to allow us to have full and free access to it. Their concern was profit, pure and simple, to enable future owners of the land to have a nice garden rather to enable visitors to Colchester to see the circus starting gates remains. Our council clearly don't appreciate the archaeological importance of this piece of land, otherwise they would have made a bigger fuss about it. The missed opportunity for tourism is immense. But then, Colchester has long failed to capitalise on its heritage assets. We can only hope now that whoever acquires Taylor Wimpey will have a better regard for the only Roman circus known in Britain and will allow us full unrestricted access to its remains.

Armistice Day

2008-11-11T21:41:00.003-01:00

I went in to town today to pay my respects at the war memorial to those that gave their lives for us. There were a lot less people than on Sunday but we had a good turnout. Colchester lost a lot of men, including two 16 year olds, in the first war. Was their sacrifice appreciated by our modern day, money grabbing, dog eat dog, atheistic society that we have today? I think that you could safely conclude that the majority couldn't give a damn!

Call for money to maintain our heritage

2008-11-10T15:36:00.002-01:00

All credit is due to Cllr Willetts who has called for funding to protect our heritage monuments in the press today. Sadly, I do not believe that the will is there to promote our heritage, let alone look after what we have. See all the weed growth on our Roman walls that is destroying the ancient masonry. Go take a look at the Balkerne Gate, which I noticed today has yet another chunk of Roman material missing, presumably gone for a souvenir. It is also a travesty that, almost 4 years since the Roman circus was discovered, there are no directions or markers to say where the circus lies. What a missed opportunity!

If ever there was a case for renaming the road that runs along the circus from Le Cateau to Roman Circus Way, this has to be it. A bit of signage, a cut of the grass, a general tidying up of the area, etc. would not be expensive. Whilst Le Cateau Road commemorates an important battle in our proud military history, its relevance now is reduced since the military barracks have been moved away. Surely a renaming would be more relevant and a positive step for encouraging visitors. Will it ever happen? I don't believe that the will is there but I wish Cllr Willetts well with his quest.

The Very Best of Colchester - A Credit to us all!

2008-11-09T16:55:00.003-01:00

Together with my family, I attended Colchester's service of remembrance this morning. This marked the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice in 1918. I never fail to be moved by this service, the sight of our old soldiers, the military band, members of the British Legion with their standards, the modern representatives of our armed forces including our Gurkhas, Sea Cadets, the Town Watch, Aldermen, Councillors, MPs, etc. But of special significance for me this year was to see our mayor, Mrs Margaret Fairley-Crowe, doing the job that fell to her following the sad loss of her husband during his term as Mayor of Colchester. I was also pleased to see the new plaque that has been added to our wonderful war memorial to remember those that have lost their lives in the armed conflicts that have followed after 1945. The only downside for me is the continued presence of the traffic lights that completely mar the appearance of the war memorial, as they do all over our town, to cater for the never ending procession of the cars that are a blight on us all.

There were hundreds of people at the service, one of the biggest gatherings that I have seen in all the years that I have been attending. Young and old, all gathered to remember those that gave their lives for us and to help bring peace to the world.

Their names liveth for evermore!

School Land Wanted for Building More Flats

2008-11-02T17:40:00.003-01:00

The Tories at Chelmsford need more land to sell off to their mates so that they can build more flats, the slums of the future. What they need to do is to find schools that don't do as well as others, close them down and grab the land. They have earmarked two in Colchester for the chop and have recently renewed their attack on them. Lord Ninnyfield wants the children to go to other schools so that he can lay hand on our assets.

Sadly, this situation is a sign of the times. It's all about making money, rather than providing essential services for the people of Colchester. By measuring school's performances, comparisons can be made with others. It can come as no surprise that a school in a poorer area will not perform as well as a school where the student's parents are more affluent. By closing these schools down and selling off the land for the building of high density, gardenless rabbit hutches, Essex County Council are in breach of their duty to us.

Society needs schools that serve local communities, just as it needs children's play areas, post offices, shops, etc. If a school could do better, then those in power need to make it happen. Profiteering from their removal is corrupt.

Traffic in the Town Centre

2008-11-02T13:42:00.002-01:00

I want this council of ours to get up off its backside and do something positive about traffic in our town. I want them to:

1. close the High Street to all non essential traffic from 9.00 am to midnight, including buses and taxis and disabled badge holders, but not cyclists. This will enable the High Street to be developed as a place where pedestrians rule, not selfish car drivers, where the market can regain its rightful location, where cafe type activities can spread out and where live street entertainment/festival activities are possible.

2. to restrict access within the historic core, ie inside the walls, for access only of delivery vehicles, buses, taxis, disabled drivers, residents, etc. If people cannot get off a bus in Head Street or Queen Street and walk into town, then they need a wheelchair, which could be provided as a service also. We don't need a central bus station. Layovers in Head Street and Queen Street are perfectly adequate.

3. to actually provide a Park and Ride service from the Stadium and/or Stane Park. This will be used and the buses will be laid on due to demand. There is no demand at the moment because the car driver believes it is his/her God given right to drive into and clog up our town. Has the council got the balls to do it or are this lot just as bad as the last lot?

Added to this, the totally unnecessary St Botolphs development should be abandoned as irrelevant and - totally unnecessary. We simply do not need it. If people were to use it, it would take shoppers away from the town centre - and what is the point of that then?

(The Stane Park development, between Tollgate and the A12, is a waste of space and would be better put to use as a Park and Ride area. It was a dodgy deal anyway, the old pals getting together from the old regime, to convert farm land into very valuable building land. Nothing new there then! That land is best placed for our much needed Park and Ride.)

My Mission

2008-11-02T10:24:00.001-01:00

I shall be making my views known on aspects that concern life in Colchester, especially social, historical and political.

Hello

2008-11-01T15:25:00.000-01:00

I created this blog on 1st November 2008