A trip to middle England.

We have spent the weekend in the Midlands, visiting a number of old friends and taking in some cultural experiences.

Angela's magic flower garden

We were in Worcestershire for the first two nights where we spent time with friends who live close to Tenbury Wells looking over the Teme Valley.  They have an astonishing herbaceous border, pictured above.

Then on to Stratford, the town where I spent much of my childhood. Stratford is a key point on the canal system since the Stratford Canal, which runs down from Birmingham. enters the River Avon at this point.  From here it is possible to sail down to the River Severn and ultimately to the sea.

There are always a few narrow boats moored in the Stratford Basin.  However, this year our arrival coincided with the annual Water Festival, when hundreds of craft congregate for a weekend of friendship and music.  The many colourful boats moored along the bank of the Recreation Ground were a fine sight.

A meeting in Great Blakenham.

 Last week I went to a residents' liaison meeting at the new energy-from-waste facility at Great Blakenham.  It was the first time that I had visited the site, and I was keen to see the plant that will make a huge difference to the way that we deal with our waste in the county.

The meeting is a regular fixture arranged by the site operator SITA. It gives local residents the chance to review progress,  and also to express any concerns and problems that occur during the construction and commissioning period. The site operators and also representatives from the local authorities involved in the Suffolk Waste Parnership were there to participate and listen. 

It was a really beautiful evening, and the cross country trip from home was really enjoyable. I was concerned that, since I don't know that part of the county very well,  I would not be able to find the site, but given its size this proved pretty easy since it loomed up on the horizon from a little distance away.

In June the facility took in its first deliveries of waste.  On the first day some 21 lorries brought 200 tonnes of waste, and over the next few weeks the amount will gradually increase.  The plant is expected to reach full capacity at the end of the July by which time most of Suffolk's waste will be used to generate electricity rather than ending up in landfill sites.

As mentioned on this site a little while ago, some of the residual heat generated by the incinerator will be used to make Suffolk one of the UK's largest producers of tomatoes.

More information on the energy-from-waste project is available here.

Braithwaite Trust inspection 2014.

Prize tomatoes on the Braithwaite Trust allotments

It is the beginning of July and so it is time for the annual allotment inspection in Great Waldingfield carried out by the trustees of the Braithwaite Trust.

It is particularly poignant to be undertaking the task almost on the day of the one hundredth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event that started the First World War. This is because the Trust was created by the father of three brothers all of whom died in the conflict.  The Trust, which comprises land held for the benefit of the village, was set up in their memory and has been going ever since.

The Trust Deed  is very clear about the identities of the trustees.  The Chairman must be the vicar, and so Rev. Caroline is in charge!  The Secretary must be the teacher from the school, and we recently welcomed Tina Horsford, pictured left, the new headmistress of Great Waldingfield School to our ranks. The Parish Council Chairman is also included, as is a District Councillor, which is how I became involved.

We made our usual round of both the allotments in Folly Road, and those opposite the village hall.  There were more vegetables and fewer flowers on the plots this year, and on the whole all was in good order, although pigeons have caused worse than usual depradation in some areas.  There was some complaint from some quarters that too much allotment had been set aside for 'environmenally friendly' planting.

The Trust sometimes has money available for small community projects.  It is worth contacting a trustee if you have a project in mind., although just at the moment funds are rather constrained owing to higher than usual water bills.

Brettenham Has Talent

Yesterday we went along to the Brettenham Has Talent art exhibition held in the Parish Church.

We arrived a little late, but were in time to enjoy the works on display, and also to admire the church. In addition to pictures by local artists, work by school children was on show, including a range of interesting decorated masks, with illuminating descriptions.

I particularly liked the understated pottery created by Fiona Camp, who lives in the village.  The giclee prints by Carol Saunderson were also of note, as were the watercolours by Michael Waldon.  I was much taken by a picture called The Red Umbrella, but unfortunately it vanished from the walls before I had a chance to go back and write down the name of the artist.  There was also a fine picture of a large lurcher, which, of course, I found very appealing.

Once we left the show the rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy a walk from the church to Ryece Hall across the fields.

Conservative Party candidate selection hits the streets of Sudbury.

If you were out and about in Sudbury today you may have noticed groups of people with score sheets wandering around with individuals sporting blue rosettes.

I can reveal that this exercise was in fact part of the selection process for the Conservative Party Candidate who will stand in next year’s general election.   Each person, many of whom had travelled especially to Suffolk for the event, was asked to engage the citizens of Sudbury in conversation on topics of local and national importance.  They were observed and their demeanour and feedback was then assessed and scored by volunteers from the South Suffolk Conservative Association.

The candidates had been short listed from over 100 applications from people on the Conservative candidates list.   I am happy to say that there was a good balance of men and women, and all have experience of life outside politics (which is more than can be said for some of our current MP’s.)

This exercise is part of the process that is aimed at whittling the group down to a final short list of three or four.  All association members will be eligible to pick the candidate from this list, which  means that we have had to hire a rather large hall for the last stage! We expect to announce the identity of the candidate, all being well, within the next three weeks.

So watch this space!

An hour at the seaside

One day last week one of my meetings was cancelled and I found myself with three hours to spare before the next one.  I had had enough of the relentless stream of e mails, and, indeed, the inside of Endeavour House, so I took myself down to Felixstowe to look at the sea and the ships.

I do love to see the vessels great and small plying back and forth along the sea lanes.  I like the vastness of the container boats, the ferries going to Harwich, and the more interesting, smaller, boats which are probably making their way to and from Ipswich Docks.

The sea front has been much improved by the removal of all the concrete, and the sandy beaches, created as part of the renovation works, have fared pretty well despite last winter’s gales.  I am pleased to report also that Suffolk Coastal DC has recently put a stop to launching from the beach of paper lanterns that do so much environmental damage.  Now all they have to combat are the jet skis!

I have been reading a book, Deep Sea and Foreign Going by Ruth George,  the story of a woman’s journey on a container ship from Felixtowe to the far East.  In addition to describing the life on board, which, being pretty dull, would not really fill many pages, the book is a compendium of almost everything you need to know about the world of modern shipping.  George covers a wide range of topics from modern day piracy and the role today of missions to seamen, to the terms and conditions of crew members, whales, and the issue of the refuse and plastic that floats in great abundance in the oceans.

It is a must read for anyone interested in gazing at the passing ships from Felixstowe promenade and wondering what it would be like to be on board.

Domestic abuse cannot be tolerated at any level.

Readers of the website may be aware of the letter in today's Suffolk Free Press referring to the fact that the Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds, David Ruffley, was recently cautioned for an incident of common assault against his partner.

I am called upon in the letter to 'show leadership' in this matter since I am the Chairman of the Suffolk Domestic Abuse Partnership.   I do not wish to wait for a week before making my position clear, and therefore I set out below the text of a letter that I wrote yesterday to the Fawcett Society of Bury St Edmunds who had expressed concern about the incident.

'Thank you for your e mail.

As far as the specific case that you mention is concerned I have no power to influence directly any action that may be taken by the constituency association involved since, living in the Sudbury area,  I am not a member.

However  I cannot condone any incident of domestic abuse, regardless of the identity of the perpetrator or his position in society or political persuasion.   I have always been, and will continue to be,  clear about this view.

The Suffolk Domestic Abuse Partnership works tirelessly through officers at the County Council, Suffolk Police and other agencies, and partners from the voluntary sector to combat abuse and violence against women in all its forms. As Chairman of the Partnership I am totally committed to supporting and continuing this work, and will be active in confronting complacency or indifference towards domestic violence whatever the source.'