How to avoid scams, plus other good advice; a chance to meet Suffolk County Council Trading Standards

It is not generally known but Suffolk County Council Trading Standards Department is one of the most highly respected in the entire country.   It has won several awards in recent years, and in general its officers are so busy doing what they do that it is rare to have the opportunity to meet them.

A representative, Matthew Spall, will however be talking about his work and answering questions at the next Articulate breakfast meeting at the Auberge at Yaxley on Wednesday 22nd February.   Booking for this event closes on 15th February, so there is not much time to reserve your place!


Why attend?   Jenna Cox of Articulate writes:

'You are doubtless inundated with spurious offers of service or product that can appear awfully good … but are they?

We all know the old saying …"If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, chances are …"

But scammers, rogue traders and fraudsters are becoming ever more sophisticated and they are costing businesses, as well as consumers, a lot of money. They can also impact the reputation of your business through no fault of your own.

Is there no one/no body that can protect us?

In Suffolk, Trading Standards is campaigning hard so that you have a better understanding of what is afoot in the area and how to deal with/recognise when something is not as it seems. They are also proactively addressing the problem and identifying those who threaten us and taking action to stop it.

We hope you can be there to participate and get a new understanding of Trading Standards and how they might be of service to you.

Bookings close on 15th February
For details and to book, please visit

http://www.articulatehlc.co.uk/events/trading-standards-breakfast

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To blog on or not to blog on?

On January 30^th this blog passed an important milestone.   Exactly 10 years ago on that day I wrote the first post, and have been writing ever since.  Over the 10 years there have been 1363 articles on a diverse range of subjects.  The main thrust has been local government oriented (rubbish collection around the world has loomed fairly large) but I have also tried to promote local organisations in which I have an interest, and from time to time, indulged myself by writing the odd theatre review , comment on a book I have enjoyed, or a comment about Russian matters.

When I started the blog I was gearing up to stand for Babergh District Council in the elections in May 2007, and, aware that social media was becoming an essential tool for even the most lowly politician, I decided to take the plunge.

The audience has not been enormous but I think I have reached many people in the communities that I have served both in Waldingfield Ward and also in Cosford Division.  Interest from overseas has also been quite significant which I do find interesting.  I wonder what they make of this slice of life from South Suffolk?

So what next?  As is now generally known I will not be standing again for the County Council in May this year.  I may elaborate on my reasons once the elections have passed, provided I am still writing the blog.  And this is the point.   Should I continue?  Although I will still be involved in local government through membership of Sudbury Town Council for at least a couple of years, are people really interested to read my maunderings?  Would it just be an act of vanity to blog on ?

I had decided that the answer to the last question was yes and had thought that shortly I would metaphorically hang up my pen.   However, on Saturday I went into Sudbury and met two people (in Waitrose of course) who told me how much they enjoy reading the blog and then, yesterday, spoke to a resident of Sudbury North who was keen to be included on the ‘alert list’.  Now I am in a quandary.   

I shall have to think on.

Residents show keen interest in our local environment

Healthy activity in green spaces round town

Yesterday morning I went along to the Craft Fair in St Peter's Church, Sudbury.  I was aware that a number of ecologically minded groups had combined to man a stall at the event and it was good to see so many like minded people co-operating with one another to promote the establishment, protection and creation of green spaces around the town.

It was remarkable how many residents visiting the fair took time actively to engage with the representatives of the different organisations present.  This is clear evidence to my mind that local people  are very concerned about this issue.  They are both keen to see our local environment and wildlife protected, and also support the view that green spaces,  beneficial to wildlife and to man,  should be planned into the development of Sudbury as it grows.  Commitment to a green circular route around the town would in this connection be a really positive start.

This is not a party political issue.  People of all political persuasions are well aware that we ignore the future of our local ecology at our peril and even the most 'economic growth at all costs' politician understands the savings to the public purse that can be achieved by healthy activity in green spaces.

In this connection I have recently received the latest edition of  the Sudbury Area Wildlife Newsletter.  If you wish to receive this interesting publication on a regular basis you should contact nicknewmiller56@gmail.com. 

A week left to see Northanger Abbey at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds.

Nick and I much enjoyed our visit to The Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds on Friday evening to see their production of Northanger Abbey.

I must confess to being a little queasy about book adaptations for the stage.  They do not always work so well, and you take the risk, particularly in the case of a favorite work, that your imagined recollection of the book may be spoilt.

I am happy to say that this was not the case with this adaptation by Tim Luscombe of Jane Austen's early work.  The book is at one level a wry observation of the impact on society of the early 19th Century passion for the gothic novel. At another level it is about the development of the character and understanding of a naive young woman newly entering society, who, in the end, happily gets the right man.

Both these features contributed to an adaptation for the stage that worked very well.  The gothic references allowed for the introduction into the mix of entertaining moments of imagined melodrama, and the love story had sufficient twists and turns, triumphs and disappointments, to move the action along briskly, over the course of what was actually a relatively long play.

Well produced and brilliantly acted by what was necessarily largely a young cast, the play was a perfect fit for the early 19th Century Theatre, and a great evening out.

Northanger Abbey plays for another week and then goes off around the country on tour.   It is a Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds production and is directed by the theatre's Director  Karen Simpson.  I do urge as many readers as possible to give this Suffolk born show a good send off by buying a ticket!

(If you cannot go next week it does return to the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, later in the run).

Town Council election, a good fight, but a pity about the turnout.

Sudbury Town Hall

I was very pleased to read the article about my election to Sudbury Town Council in the Suffolk Free Press.  The journalist, Ian Parker, managed to extract the main points from my disconnected ramblings very well.  I was delighted to be elected, and have already had a constructive meeting with Jacqui Howells, the efficient Town Clerk.  There is a lot to do, it is good to keep a toe in the 'local government' water,  and I think the next two years will be interesting ones both for me and for the town.

Despite the fact that Christmas intervened with the timetable, and the weather was very cold, the election felt like the ‘real thing’.  The competition from other parties was quite fierce and it was good that almost all of them took the time to get round the town to try to engage residents.  It is sad that the turn-out was so low.  The lack of polling cards and the time of year has been blamed. Additionally, maybe it is optimistic to hope that working people will take the time to go out to vote on a cold winter evening.   However, even a good proportion of those receiving postal votes did not fill them in.  I do wonder why this is.  Is it just a feeling that politicians aren’t worth voting for?  Or is it the sign of a deeper malaise?

I share the view of the young councillor from Great Cornard, who was featured on the front page of the newspaper this week.   We really must do more to encourage people to engage in the democratic process.  It is not a perfect system but it is certainly the best one that there is.

What did your Grandfather do in the War? LWHS Members' evening

The Little Waldingfield History Society enjoyed a first class 'members only' evening earlier in January when David Empson came to the village to talk about the history of medals.  A report  by our correspondent Andy Sheppard, of what was by all accounts a fascinating evening can be found by clicking on the tab 'David Empson Talk' above.

For the Society's next event, on 15th February, former Chairman of the Sudbury Society, David Burnett, will give a talk about Chilton Through the Ages.  For a small place Chilton has a long and fascinating history  and I am sure that David's comments, which will include details of Saxon Treasure and riotous behaviour by parishioners, will prove to be very absorbing.

Three days remaining to support our Police and Crime Commissioner

Tim Passmore, our PCC

Cuts that have been made to funding of the Police Service in recent times have had an obvious and damaging effect,   Time was when Parish Councils recieved the assurance of a visit from their local PCSO at parish council meetings, for example, but this is no longer the case.   I understand that these very valuable officers only now work during the daytime.  There also seems to have been an exponential increase in house burglaries in rural areas, and many routine road traffic offences such as speeding and HGV weight restrictions are rarely enforced.

Our Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore, is asking for public support in his attempt to obtain a fairer funding deal for Suffolk from central Government, and there is just 3 days to take action.

I set out his e mail to all interested parties below. Do take action if you can!

Tim writes:-

 As your Police and Crime Commissioner it’s my job to ensure you as a Suffolk taxpayer gets the very best value for money for policing in the county. At the moment I don’t believe we get a reasonable share of funding so I am launching this campaign to get public support to make a case to Government for a fairer settlement.

 I welcome a fundamental review of the funding formula by the Policing Minister, Brandon Lewis, as it provides me with this opportunity to lobby for a formula which is readily understandable, transparent and provides a fairer funding settlement for Suffolk.

 But I need your help, I’d like you, to go to www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk to read my assessment and, if you agree, to show your support by emailing  fairshareforsuffolk@suffolk.pnn.police.uk  by Friday 20^th January . Any additional comments that anyone wishes to make can be added to this email.  I  will use these public responses as evidence to lobby the Minister for a fairer deal for Suffolk.

I think Suffolk should get a more equitable settlement, which reflects the challenges the county faces.  Whilst I recognise that fairness should take account of specific factors that will be common across all policing areas, I think the rural nature of Suffolk should be given proper weighting and the challenge of policing individual communities over a large geographic expanse should be considered when levels of funding are agreed.

 Suffolk is home to one of the largest container ports in Europe, has a coast line of over 60 miles, we have five military establishments including two American airbases, the county is home to a nuclear power station and the A14 is a major route of national importance – my concern is that the Government does not recognise the significance of these crucial strategic national assets and the impact it has on our police service.

 If we compare ourselves to one of our closest neighbours, we would receive around £3m more Home Office grant funding every year if it was funded to the same level as Norfolk (using unweighted population as the basis of the calculation).  This is just not fair; £3million is a huge disparity between two quite similar counties.

 Suffolk has a reputation of being a very prosperous county, and while there some very affluent areas, over 83,000 people in the county live in income deprivation at the most minimal standard provided by welfare benefits, that’s over 10% of the population.   The recently published ‘Hidden Needs’ research makes pretty sober reading; the first report was written five years ago and sadly deprivation levels have increased right across the county since then. Sadly, where there are higher levels of economic and social deprivation, communities suffer from increased levels of crime, anti-social behaviour, addiction and abuse, which provides resourcing challenges for the Constabulary which are not considered in the current formula.

To support my call for a fairer share for Suffolk please go to www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk to read my assessment and then e-mail fairshareforsuffolk@suffolk.pnn.police.uk  by Friday 20^th January.

Kind regards

Tim Passmore 

Suffolk Police & Crime Commissioner

Police Headquarters

Martlesham Heath

IPSWICH  IP5 3QS

Tel: 01473 613614

Mob: 07725 085604

tim.passmore@suffolk.pnn.police.uk