My favourite school day of the year !

Today I have been enjoying my favourite day of the school year, our trip to the Royal Norfolk Show !

For those who do not know, the Royal Norfolk Show is one of the biggest agricultural and trade shows in the country, attracting tens of thousands of visitors, including many thousands of school children from across the county.

For me, the highlight still remains getting stickers and freebies from the stands, and I make something of a competition of it to see who can get the best stuff. I would like to think I did well with frisbees and baseball caps amongst my haul.

I did see a couple of celebs, with Mike Liggins from BBC East wandering around and a Big Brother winner (I was assured by a 9 year old). But my personal highlight was seeing my friend Simon Wright, now MP for Norwich South wandering around in a very official capacity.

Of course, the show is not just a nice day out. It is a fabulous learning opportunity for children too. Children were able to learn about road safety, lifesaving, healthly eating, and of course, something of the farming heritage of Norfolk which many city dwellers may know very little about.

All in all, a great day and one I will look forward to next year.

Nazis in Norfolk

The ever excellent Malcolm Redfellow has another gem of a story on his blog about the author Henry Williamson, his Fascist leanings, his love of the Nazis and the fact that his North Norfolk house is for sale.

I cannot really add much more than that which has been written by Malcolm, but I wanted to add my own local knowledge on the subject of Henry Williamson.

From 2003 to 2005 I "adopted" Stiffkey, the wartime home of Henry Williamson. By adopted I mean I took responsibility for getting out Lib Dem leaflets to Stiffkey four or five times a year. In doing this, I got to know where all the letter boxes were, and started to bump in to the same people over and again and started to be able to chat with people about the local history of Stiffkey.

One man who had lived in Stiffkey all his life, told me that he and his parents knew Henry Williamson, and like many, they didn't care for him very much.

Aside from his arrest which Malcolm Redfollow writes about, according to the chap I knew, Wells police would regularly call on Mr Williamson, checking his house out regularly for radio equipment, and reminding him of the blackout precautions. Now it appears this was Williamson's biggest problem as he would light his house up well and leave the windows open for the light to shine out. So the story goes, he was asked by a group of locals who spoke to him about this, if he would close his curtains so that Stiffkey wouldn't be bombed, and Williamson's response was "Oh don't worry. I can assure you we won't be bombed".

Local's took this to be that Williamson was allowing the light from his house to be used as a marker as to where the North Norfolk coast was in order to aid German bombers.

Whatever the excuse, it appears that Williamson was a gullible fool if he believed the Nazi message. It is though pleasant to know that despite people liking to maintain Norfolk is a place full of easily fooled simple country folk, local people were never taken in by him.

Eco Town Con

The quiet Norfolk village of Rackheath is to be turned in to a town (or eco-town as the government insist on calling it). It wouldn't be so bad if the town was actually going to be an eco town. However, the standard of eco friendliness required for building the houses is a lower standard than those standards expect of all new homes by 2016, and by 2016 none of the new houses will be built. So in effect the government has dumped 4000 new homes on prime farmland which will not be built to a higher standard than any other house in Norfolk or the UK.

Labour like to talk up the environmental credentials, but in reality it all a con. Roll on the General Election.

Norfolk MPs with nothing to hide print additional costs allowances online

Four Norfolk MPs who clearly feel they have nothing to hide regarding their expenses have decided to print their additional costs allowances details for the last four years on their websites today.

You can find the details at http://www.normanlamb.org.uk , http://www.richardbacon.org.uk , http://www.iangibsonmp.org.uk and http://www.charlesclarke.org.uk .

The frightening truth about MRSA screening at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

My mother went in to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital last week for a minor operation, and she was pleasantly surprised to be taken to one side shortly after arrival and told she, like all other patients would be screened for MRSA with them taking a mouth swab and a groin swab to test.

Great news, you would assume. After all, this is what they do in Holland as a matter of course in order to isolate MRSA carriers and ensure they are kept away from other patients and treated with the correct drugs to eliminate MRSA before it gets in to open wounds.

But no, the hospital's actions is a piecemeal attempt to pretend at trying hard to control infections. Why ? Because they told my mother it that they results would not be known for three days, which was pointless as she was actually having the operation that day and she would be home before the results would be known.

What an utter joke infection control is in the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital is, and I am sure that other hospitals are no better.

Update : It appears from this BBC story this morning that there is a 2 hour MRSA test available (which costs £17) but there is also a cheaper 3 day test (£6). So it appears that the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital are simply doing the cheapest test and wasting £6 each time in to the bargain.

Cuts to neo-natal services in Norfolk make no sense

According the the Eastern Daily Press, cuts are to be made in the provision of neo natal services in Norfolk.

This has, from my experience, got to be a massive mistake.

I have a friend who works at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital who has told me on numerous occasions about how the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been, at times, almost 80% over occupied, such is the shortage of beds in the hospital. Whilst whilst my wife was in hospital in Labour last year in a ward (because maternity was full) she heard a midwife on her ward on the phone literally begging for some support because, in her words, she "had 14 women in various stages of Labour on her ward, she was the only midwife and she should have been one of four".

It is scandalous that the NHS can be considering cuts when it is clear that closing facilities in Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn will only put further pressure on to Norwich.

Gun crime in rural Norfolk

I was slightly shocked to hear this morning that my parents house (5 miles North of Norwich) , was the subject of what the police believe to be a drive by shooting incident.

My parents front door was shot at, presumably from the main road, in the middle of yesterday evening.

The police have taken the incident very seriously, and not just because my father is a local councillor) and had officers round within 20 minutes, but it is a sign of the times that even in the more rural parts of Norfolk people live in fear of random gun crime.

Never before has a boundary commission proposal been so lambasted and opposed

A group of Norfolk councils today launched another strand of the attack on boundary commission proposals to scrap every district in the county and instead have one unitary County Council, which just to confuse matter more will include a large part of Suffolk).

The option the boundary commission chose was no organisation's preferred option, indeed, it was not even on anyone's list of options at all.

I have been told by a few sources that a meeting held recently between some MPs and the Boundary Commission left the Boundary Commission absolutely shocked that not one MP could find anything at all to say in favour of the proposal, such has been the utter incompetence of the Boundary Commission's thought processes.

The only hope for Norfolk now is that someone in government can see how ridiculous the proposals are and they might save the councils and council tax payers having to fork out for the legal costs of opposing the proposals.

Not quite as bad as Norfolk Police

THIS story about the response from police after Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher was involved in an accident at the weekend reminded me of a similar story about 20 years ago when Norfolk police stopped a speeding Lotus in Norfolk not far from the car company's headquarters in Hethel, South Norfolk.

The policeman was reprted to have asked the chap who he stopped "Who do you think you are ? Ayrton Senna ?"

"Yes, replied the man"

"Are you taking the ... ?"

Only for the policeman to take a proper look and realise it was Ayrton Senna.

A sign of economic troubles at the Royal Norfolk Show

I have today been to the Royal Norfolk Show with my school, and I have to say, yet again, that it has been a thoroughly entertaining day out for us all.

For all those who do not know what the Royal Norfolk Show is, put simply it as a massive trade and civic event which takes in business, commerce and charity stands around what is essentially a traditional agricultural show. The Royal Norfolk show, celebrating its 100th year as a "Royal" show, is the largest two day event of its kind in the UK and is a traditional part of Norfolk life, in my honest opinion.

For school children the great joy of the day is collecting dozens of stickers and "freebies", but it was the total lack of freebies this year which tells me something is really wrong with the economy. There seemed to be far less car dealerships represented this year, and those that did rarely had stickers for the kids or any kind of "goody bags", which usually contained pens, pencils and key rings. Other stands too which normally would be giving things away by the bucket load were bereft of anything for the kids.

This is not to say that there was nothing on offer. My group did acquire a lot of stickers, but only because they asked politely and had an eye for them. One lady came up to us at 2.30 this afternoon and asked me where my group had got their stickers (her son had only two), and we explained that you really had to ask rather than wait to be offered, seemed slightly surprised.

Of course it is a good thing for the environment that less plastic bags were produced and wasted, and of course I could be putting two and two together and be coming up with five, but I really got the sense today that the credit crunch was biting business hard.

Who needs Ashes to Ashes ?

In the 1980's we used to have a lot of family days out in Great Yarmouth, but upon going there today I could be forgiven for thinking I had gone in to some sort of time warp and that I was back in the 1980's like in the series Ashes to Ashes.

The photo shows that on one of the piers they have Jim Davidson and Freddie Starr, but further along the poster it also showed that they have Cannon and Ball and Roy "Chubby" Brown.

Now I'm no snob, indeed I have seen all these acts live back in the 1980's in Blackpool (which will upset a number of people who love to refer to me as politically correct), but it was such a retro moment when I saw this poster, and the music that was playing over the tannoy really summed it up as some sort of weird time travelling moment, with the sound of "Something about you" by Level 42 blasting in to my ears. Oh it took me back to Blackpool in 1986.

How proud their parents must be

I often read about acts of depravity and needless violence from other parts of the country and am very pleased to live in what is a relatively safe County. But then you read about a truly sickening attack by a group of teenagers in a small coastal village (they like to call themselves a town but it is really only a village), and you realise there are truly twisted people all around the country and Norfolk is far from exempt.

How proud the teenager's parents must be.

Do the government really care about security of electricity supply or about terrorism ?

It is interesting to note that despite the government supposedly being worried about energy supply to the UK and its future security and despite claims that they are doing everything they can to make sure we are all safe from terrorism, they are cutting £750,000 from the security budget of Bacton Gas terminal, Britain's biggest gas terminal, and the Ministry of Defence are no longer prepared to be responsible for its safety and protection from terrorism.

This means that Norfolk Constabulary are picking up the bill, but it will also mean an 8.3% increase in the police council tax take this year putting up costs for council tax payers in Norfolk.

Here is a question though. If it were in London, who do you think would pay for its protection given that Bacton Gas terminal is a top terrorist target (detailed maps of Bacton have been found amongst terrorist belongings already in the UK). I bet the government would pay for Bacton's protection if it were not in a rural county.

How did you get here ? - Cottaging in Norfolk

It is always interesting to do a search to find out how people are coming to your blog. I think I might make it a weekly review of the most popular ways people got to my blog.

So for week one, the search term "Cottaging in Norfolk", seems to be ever popular. Every other day I get at least one visit to this blog from someone who has typed that phrase in to Google or Yahoo. Presumably had my blog also gone on to mention "Dogging in Norfolk" or "Cottaging in Hampshire", then I would have got even more hits that that.

Still I hope the people searching for "cottaging in Norfolk" are not too disappointed when they get linked to this blog posting.

The end of an era

Anyone wanting to copy Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's soup painting will be out of luck as the Kings Lynn factory where the unique condensed soup was made is to close and the famous Campbell's brand is to disappear and be renamed part of the Batchelors brand.

You can read more about it HERE.

An NHS cock-up that isn't the government's fault ?

It is nice to know that a cock up which meant a new scanner meant for the Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Kings Lynn was not, for once, the fault of this bloody useless Labour government.

Read about it HERE.

How do you get planning permission for something the council normally opposes if you live in a Tory controlled District ? Be a Tory Councillor ?

I was told some very interesting information by someone the other day. A councillor in a Tory run council told me that in a ward, a number of applications to build houses on land the council refers to as "backfill", have been rejected because the council has a policy of normally turning down "backfill" applications. However, in this councillors ward a backfill application has been allowed, completely contrary to the council's stated policy.

I personally gained a better understanding of why this application, which is against the council's policy, might have been allowed when I leanrt that the application was made by a senior Tory councillor from another ward (not the councillor whose ward it was).

Ah, you might say, this means a precedent has been set and that future applications will now be judged fairly against this councillor's own application. But no, that is not the case. Subsequent applications for "backfill" have since been rejected.

This is odd in itself because the latest Policy Planning Guidance states that Councils should not block backfill apllications. So in this case it appears that the council are only applying the letter of the law correctly to "certain" applicants.

So does this council have one rule for Tory Councillor's applications and one rule for everyone else.

You cannot blame the Tory Councilllor concerned. It appears he, like everyone else has tried to get planning permission for something that is normally rejected (although should be accepted). It is just, rather strangely to my mind, that in his case the council has done the right thing whilst in virtually everyone elses case they do not.

Don't be fooled by the Mr Cameron. At a local level, the Tories never change their spots.

Update : For Iain Dale's benefit (see comments) the Council is Broadland District Council, the application and decision by the council is HERE and the Councillor, who himself has done absolutely nothing wrong (I am suggesting the Tory run council are using double standards and are in the wrong), is Cllr S Clancy (the applicant).

Update 2 : Iain claims I am accusing the planning officer. Clearly Iain I am not because the decision made by the planning officer is only a recomendation, the Council makes the decision. And if it was recommended for acceptance, then the officer was correct because under the latest Planning Guidance from government, the application should have been accepted. I
Hopefully Iain Dale will now apologise.

Now who is soft on terrorism Mr Brown ?

you know how Labour like to talk tough on terrorism. how they like to tell us they need a 90 day period in which to question people and how the Lib Dems and Tories are soft on terrorism because they don't blindly follow everything Labour does on terrorist issues ?

Well there is good reason to point out why Labour are all talk on terrorism and don't actually match deeds with their words.

In Norfolk, labour have slashed funding from the County's counter terrorism budget, which includes protecting Bacton Gas Terminal (Britain's main gatway for Gas in to the country), the Royal Estate at Sandringham as well as protecting the home of a former Prime Minister and Norwich International Airport.

So Labour, soft on terrorism, soft on protecting us from terrorism ?

An early election should focus the press on the real target seats for the parties

In recent elections it has been pretty clear to everyone when the elections were going to be called and because of this, very few constituencies did not have candidates already selected by each of the three main parties. Because of this it was not always easy for a slightly ignorant press to pick out which seats the parties were targeting as the press become obsessed each time with uniform swings and national factors whilst ignoring what is happening on the ground. This election, should it happen, will be very different.

There are vast swathes of the country that have not selected parliamentary candidates, and in the main this is because these are seats where the parties who have not selected know they stand absolutely zero chance of winning.

Take, for example, Norfolk. The Lib Dems have slected candidates in North Norfolk (obviously as they hold the seat), Broadland ( where April Pond is the candidate) and Norwich South (where Simon Wright is hot on the heels of Charles Clarke). The fact that in South Norfolk, a seat which was always hailed as the lib Dems best chance of success in Norfolk has failed to select yet perhaps underlines that this seat, although favourable to the Lib Dems, should not longer be considered a major target.

The Tories too have shown their hand in Norfolk. Both Norwich seats have failed to select candidates, despite the fact that Norwich North in particular was Tory held until 1997. Norwich South too is obviously not much of a prospect for the Tories with the Lib Dems in a clear second place to challenge Charles Clarke.

Labour are in a worse position than any of the parties in Norfolk. All the non held seats in Norfolk have seemingly not chosen candidates which highlights that they have very little chance of any gains.

Will the press notice these facts ? I doubt it.

New Statesman on the popularity of Norfolk Tories

A classic quote from the New Statesman on the plight of Norfolk Tories in the wake of the Norman Lamb Facebook scamming incidents and own goal howler from David Cameron claiming one thing about a local hospital whilst this local Tory MP claimed the other and apologised to the hospital for what his leader said.

"A week I’m sure the Tories would like to forget as they came out less popular in East Anglia than Alan Partridge following his comments about farmers."

Indeed !