Train your own traffic managers

If you run an event that needs traffic management you can avoid the expense of paying a traffic management company by sending local volunteers on a training course.

In the past the police used to take responsibility for managing traffic at events such as street fairs, sporting events etc. , but it seems that is another service that is no longer on offer.  Now the police will only turn up if an event is of 'national importance or are a potential risk to public safety'.

The course is run by a private training company (details below) and is aimed at event organisers or individuals that have responsibility for traffic management or organised events working in conjunction with the Highways Authority or others.  It is aimed at event stewards whose duties might include guiding vehicles, maintaining emergency routes, erecting signs and notices and dealing with pedestrian control.  It is not aimed at traffic marshals, who are appointed and accredited by the Police to deal with more complex traffic management at major events.

The course is classroom based, and participants have to pass a test at the end.  This does not seem too tough however since the pass rate is 70 percent.

Further details are available from  Palmer Training of Bramford, Ipswich. Telephone 01473 834969. e mail: info@palmertrainingacademy.co.uk

Supernatural tales at Lavenham Literary dinner.

Vannessa tells a tale

Storytelling is probably the earliest form of entertainment. Much of the first literature to be written down comprises tales, lays and legends that were formerly part of an oral and aural tradition going back to ancient Greece and beyond. 

In these days of  TV on demand, and self generated electronic entertainment of all sorts, it is an unusual treat to be able to listen to a really accomplished story teller and to be transported by words alone into the vivid world of the imagination for half an hour or so.

It was therefore a lucky group of people who assembled at the Swan in Lavenham on Friday night for this year's Lavenham Literary Festival Dinner.   In addition to enjoying  a very good meal (as is usual for the Swan), and good company,  we also experienced the storytelling skills of Vannessa Woolf.

Vannessa is a professional storyteller based in London.   It is clear from her website that her stories, which are grounded in folk tales and tradition but which have a contemporary twist, are much influenced by the location in which she finds herself.   To prepare a story for the evening, she had clearly researched the surroundings of Lavenham and based her tale on one of the mills that used to stand on high land close to the village. Appropriately for the time of year, the story had elements of the supernatural, but at the end we were brought back with a bump to a Shell petrol station in the 21st century.

Vannessa's storytelling was a refreshing departure from the usual after dinner speaker, and I think that most people much enjoyed an evening that turned out to be a more than a little bit different.

Following the very successful Childrens' Festival in October this year (see blog entry for September 18th 2016)  the next Lavenham Literary Festival will take place on 17th, 18th and 19th November 2017.

Two musical evenings

Two musical events are coming up in the next few weeks.

Firstly, next Saturday, 19^th November,  in St Lawrence’s Church, Little Waldingfield, Little Waldingfield Historical Society will host the Bury St Edmunds Male voice choir who will be singing a wide selection of songs, ancient and modern.

The concert starts at 7.30 p.m.  There will be a licenced bar for pre-concert and interval refreshments and there will also be a raffle.

Tickets are £8 each and can be obtained from:-
Di Langford, Pitt Cottage, The Street, Little Waldingfield 01787 248298
Sue Sheppard, School House, Church Road, Little Waldingfield 01787 247980

The concert is kindly sponsored by John Sparkes, proceeds will go towards the fabric of the church.

St Lawrence

Then on Saturday 3^rd December at 7 p.m. at St Lawrence’s Church, Great Waldingfield there is a concert of Medieval Music by Hexachordia.   Tickets at £10 are available from Faith Marsden (312002) or Revd. Caroline (377287).

Taking a quick look at this trio’s website, I would say that the audience is in for a real treat!

Incidentally, does anyone know why the churches in both Waldingfields are named after Saint Lawrence?  Is it something to do with the fact that he is the patron saint of cooks?  I understand that 200 churches in England are named after this particular Saint and Martyr who died on a gridiron in Rome in the 3^rd century,  but I am not sure why.

Babergh Chairman's charity curry night

The Chairman of Babergh District Council, Peter Burgoyne, has certainly tried to strike a different tone with his official Chairman's events this year.

Peter's  latest venture was a curry night at the North Street India Restaurant in Sudbury in aid of his chosen charities.   A good number of Babergh members, guests and Babergh officers sat down to a delicious meal which was very cheerfully served by the restaurant staff.  It was good to catch up with a number of old friends and also to meet some of the new councillors who were not members of the council during my time there.

Peter has chosen some small local causes to be his charities in his year as Chairman. 

The first one is the Age UK Chilton Club, a specialist day club for those affected by dementia. The club allows those with memory problems the chance to mix with others, have a hot meal and participate in creative activities.  It also offers much needed respite for the carers of the club's members.

Peter's second choice is the Sudbury Gateway Club, a social and leisure club for adults with learning disabilities which facilitates a number of activities in a safe and fun environment.

Peter says that he is hoping to raise as much money as possible for these two good causes during his year as Chairman of the council. I understand that he will be holding a Christmas Carol Concert in December.

Highway repairs in Suffolk , an opportunity to have your say (officially!)

A new approach to potholes, coming to a road near you soon.

Another week, another consultation, this time from Suffolk Highways.

When residents are asked about what really matters to them when it comes to the services delivered by the County Council, highways always comes out as their number one concern.  This is, of course mainly due to the fact that almost all of us use the roads.  Social care and even education, while obviously very important, affect the lives of fewer people.

From my perspective it is unfortunate that highways scores so highly among the general public, because in Suffolk it is impossible to escape the fact that the council's performance here has been less than optimum in recent years.(although I would maintain that it is probably not significantly worse than that seen in many other rural counties).

For those really interested in getting to the bottom of what has gone wrong and why, it is worth taking time to read the recent Cabinet paper which deals with the extension of the contract signed three years ago with Keir.  The contract effectively outsourced our highways work to the private company.   There is no attempt in the paper to hide the mistakes that were made in the design and implementation of these arrangements.

The paper can be accessed by clicking on the link to item 6  HERE.

It has taken far too long in my opinion to get to grips with shortcomings at Suffolk Highways that became evident to all at a very early stage.  However, the appointment of a new director from a county where the delivery of highways services through a private contractor actually works appears, finally, to be leading to some changes..

As part of the reorganisation of the Highways Department that is now ongoing, residents in Suffolk are being invited to give their views on a new plan that sets the standard that Suffolk Higheways will meet for ‘reactive maintenance’  (road repairs to you or me).

You don’t have very long to make your views heard.  The consultation closes on November 18^th, but for full details of the new arrangements, and a chance to have your say, you should click  HERE.

What price conservation?

The town of Dubrovnik

In late September and early October we went on a holiday to the Adriatic and visited the Croatian town of Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is one of 8 sites in Croatia that is registered with UNESCO as a world heritage site, and it is indeed a beautiful old town.  It is also a stupendously busy one!  Like Venice, and other places that make it onto the conservation list,   the town has been swamped by tourism, and many of its inhabitants have now moved to quieter and more convenient homes elsewhere.

Listed in the 1970’s, the attentions of UNESCO will mean that Dubrovnik is being preserved for posterity (although this did not save it from being shelled heavily during the Civil War in the Balkans in the 1990’s.)  The tensions caused by the conservation of the town as a living museum did give me pause for thought however. Must preservation come hand in hand with a level of tourism which in itself compromises the very nature of that which is preserved?

Roman cistern in Dubrovnik with bomb damage and sandbags during the 1990's

In the UK there are only 25 cultural world heritage sites, which seems a low number in comparison with the number in Croatia, a much smaller country.   There are many places at least as deserving as those already on the UNESCO list at home and abroad, including lovely Lavenham, which, with its unique collection of cloth merchants homes and its fine 15^th Century church certainly compares with many places that have already been listed.

While encouraging more people to come to Lavenham is an admirable aspiration (the village and its businesses could certainly absorb more visitors without problem on most days of the year), the idea of encouraging the sort of hordes that we experienced in Dubrovnik or Venice does frighten me a little.   

Holiday cottages and second homes are already an issue in the community.  It is very important that the demands of cultural tourism go hand in hand with making sure that places of special interest continue to stay alive, and retain the sense of place that made them unique in the first place.

Tourists take time out in the shade in the old town of Dubrovnik (note the restored Roman Cistern!)

A good start for revamped community transport system

Different areas of coverage for Suffolk Community Transport

It is now four months since Suffolk Community Transport was reorganised and relaunched.  My colleague, Jessica Fleming, who has special responsibility for the initiative, tells me that all is going well.  The service, which is supported by the County Council, seeks to help people without access to regular public transport.

It is hoped to continually improve what is offered, and the next step is to use funds released by vehicle sales to improve connectivity with bus and train services.

To find out what is available in our area you should take a look at the website HERE.

If you have ever been attracted to the idea of driving a bus you could become a volunteer driver.
These are always in demand and there is now a webpage giving full information on what is required HERE .

If you have any problems or issues connected with the Community Transport service, please get in touch with me and I will pass your concerns and comments on to Jessica.