First woman parliamentary candidate in Suffolk.

I am very pleased to read this morning that Suffolk at last has the chance of electing a female Member of Parliament.
Therese Coffey, who currently lives in Hampshire and works for the BBC, has won the nomination to be the Parliamentary Candidate for Suffolk Coastal. I see from her website that she used to work for the US confectionary company, Mars. I have a good friend who also worked for the company and know that they do not tolerate slouches so I am sure that she will work very hard for her constituents.
I have been concerned at the failure of female and local candidates to get anywhere in these candidate selection competitions. Now at least the female box has been ticked!
I hope that Therese will find time later in the year to come and talk to the South Suffolk Conservative Women’s Group (organised by women, but men always welcome at meetings!)

Frogs in Davis, California

Our Californian reader writes with regard to a recent post:

'Your frog story was of special interest to me. Davis has a "frog tunnel" under one of our main thoroughfares, to make road crossing less dangerous for our frogs. However, no one knows whether any frogs have taken advantage of this tunnel.'

Many thanks Martha for your feedback! It's great to know that the blog is being read in such distant parts.

Pictured above is a Californian Bullfrog.

Cockfield Computer Circle, 2009-10 Programme, Remaining Sessions

You may be interested in these computer courses, held in Cockfield, which I believe are free of charge, although a donation towards overheads would, I am sure be welcome.

(Thanks to David Hodge for the information)

The Cockfield Computer Circle 2009-10 Programme is nearing completion. This is a reminder of the sessions in the final block of topics, for which there are plenty of places available. To book your place, please contact Neil Ashton, neilka@btopenworld.com, 01284 827238, 07900 880888.

Feb 22nd: Buying and selling on eBay Comprehensive guide on how to buy and sell items on eBay, and practical guidance on what to look out for when using eBay.

Mar 1st: Home Networking and Internet Telephony Choosing and setting up a home network, using either wireless or cabling.
Introduction to Voice over IP technology for making internet telephone and video calls (e.g. Skype).

Mar 8th: The PC and Music These days your PC is as much a media centre as a computing device. Your PC can be a CD library with a number of possible applications. These include synchronising with an iPod or similar mp3 player, interfacing to your hi fi for access to your CD library or for multi-room music systems, and just simply using media software and your PC to organise and play CD’s, and to create playlists. The exact content would depend on your specific interests, but the session could range from how to create and organise a CD library on your computer, to a higher level discussion on integrating your PC into a home music system.

March 15th: Upgrading or buying a new PC Key things to look for when buying a new desktop or laptop. Guidance on upgrading your PC, adding new devices e.g scanner, external hard drive or DVD writer.

The Cockfield Computer Circle (CCC) sets out to help participants improve their computing knowledge and hence get more from using their PC. It is achieved through a combination of teaching and sharing of experience amongst participants in a relaxed environment. Some topics are aimed at beginners seeking to learn new skills and gain more confidence in using a computer, other topics are aimed at the more experienced user seeking to push their knowledge a little further.

Hot News on Local Government Reform

There have been a number of rumours recently that Local Government Reform in Suffolk is unlikely to happen unless, of course, Labour win the forthcoming election. Now we have confirmation that Local Government Minister, John Denham, (pictured here) will indeed need to act quickly if he hopes to change the face of local government in Suffolk in the very short term.

Intelligence received by Babergh this morning states that unless draft orders on the issue are laid before Parliament by February 10, next Wednesday, there will not be time to allow for debate and passage through both Houses. The whole process needs to be completed by the end of March when Parliament goes home for the Easter Break, otherwise it will fail because after that time only measures that enjoy party consensus will be enacted.

It is probable that a decision on whether or not to proceed with reorganisation plans will be announced as close as possible to next Wednesday, so watch this space at the beginning of next week.

Hawks in London

I am spending a couple of days in London this week doing some research for my next talk about Russia which I will be making in the summer at UEA and again at Gainsborough’s House in October.

Walking through St Paul’s Churchyard this morning I was very surprised to be confronted by a couple of Harris Hawks. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me and so have had to ‘google’ for a picture of one of these beautiful birds.

The hawks, one older male and a young female, were on pigeon scaring duty. Apparently they really do act as a deterrent against what many Londoners regard as rats in the sky. Their handlers are anxious to prevent them from actually attacking the pigeons however. Apparently the contents of a London pigeon’s gut does a hawk no good at all, and innocent passers-by do not much appreciate the spectacle of a kill!

Season tickets for Sudbury workers and residents to be considered

Those concerned about the introduction of charges for long stay parking in Sudbury and Hadleigh might take some comfort from an agreement that was reached at Thursday’s Council Meeting. A season ticket scheme for residents and/or workers will now be considered before the introduction of the scheme in October. Of course this might mean that less money is raised, but in fact getting funds into the council’s coffers electronically and in advance would be cheaper to administer than bulky cash collection.

It was further agreed to look into the question of Babergh’s own staff paying to park at Babergh’s offices in Hadleigh. While not wishing to appear to have made up my own mind on this issue, I do feel that people should bear in mind the sacrifices in salary and conditions that Babergh’s staff are already making and weigh this in the balance when thinking of imposing further penalties on them.

Many Councillors continue to be unhappy about charging for parking. However most realise that some charges are really unavoidable if the budget is to be balanced for 2010/11. The result was that at Thursday’s meeting many who have voted against such proposals in the past made quite moving speeches about why it is ‘different’ this time.

And indeed it is different!

Implications for councillors of not producing a balanced budget are very serious. We could all be sent home and the budget would then be set by officers, supervised by a Government Department. At worst, if deemed to be negligent, we could all be personally liable to pay financial surcharges.

It is unlikely that a team of bureaucrats from central Government would think twice about setting a much more draconian parking regime for Sudbury than the one that is currently in prospect!

Site visit in Acton

The Members of Babergh Development Committee certainly earn their corn!
On a very raw and miserable day, the Clerk to Acton Parish Council and I met the Committee which I had invited to take a look at the site of a proposed development on land behind no 6 High Street, Acton. This is just a little behind Bob’s Stores.
It was the fifth visit that the Committee had made that morning and the weather was awful. Some of them looked quite blue! But they were only five minutes behind schedule, and they paid absolute attention to the details of the case. The Chairman even moved a fence so that a better view could be obtained from a neighbouring property, and then, of course re-erected it again. This was, of course, with the permission of the householder!
I can’t think of anything worse than trying to do this sort of thing in the middle of winter on a regular basis. I was really impressed by the energy and diligence of the Committee and of course Planning Officer, Graham Chamberlain, who had to hold the plans steady in the biting wind!