A Serious Mistake

   There's been a fair bit of activity on Twitter this week about the stealthy and creeping privatisation of the NHS and although there have been several links posted to newspaper articles and internet blogs, one criticism that has emerged is the failure of the BBC and other media bodies to include it in their news bulletins.

   I know that in our own town, a hospital ward is threatened with closure with more emphasis to be placed on "care in the community" but I fail to see any efficiency in this. Surely it is easier and makes more sense to tend to patients together in one place than to send carers to their homes for an hour or two a day. Is this another example of David Cameron's Big Society? - "Let them go home, fend for themselves and someone else can look after them. They're off our hands now and we'll have room at the hospitals to bring another company in to provide private treatment for a profit."

   In a couple of years when it all goes pear shaped, all he will have to do is say "I'm sorry" à la Nick Clegg and all will be forgiven. Maybe! A petition has been set up to try and prevent the closure (link) but I fear it will need many more signatures to those already added to reverse the decision despite the idea being branded "a serious mistake". How long will it be before another plaque is required to accompany the opening one pictured: "Ilkeston Community Hospital was closed by the ConDem cuts"

Zig-Zag

   So another week passes by, another wet Bank Holiday Monday due, another government fiasco regarding GCSE results - did they or didn't they influence the Examining Boards? Another Royal embarrassment by all accounts but I'm still puzzled by what the BBC described as a "naked photo". What on earth is a "naked" photo? I presume it is something different to a photo of a naked person - or am I just being my usual pedantic self?

   To top it all, yet more idiot drivers throughout the week parking on zig-zag lines and one in particular causing mayhem on Saturday. Some things change for the better, some things for the worse - some things never change at all but when an accident happens and someone gets seriously injured or even killed on the pedestrian crossing on South Street, don't say you weren't warned. See The Highway Code Rule 191.

Sunday Trading

   For the duration of the eight week period covering the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Sunday trading laws have been relaxed allowing large shops to open for much longer. Now there are rumblings within government wanting to make this permanent. Whilst I realise that some occupations require Sunday working such as the emergency services and transport workers, Sunday for many people, religious or not, is still a special day of the week when they can spend time at home with their families or enjoy leisure activities.

   For me the relaxation of Sunday trading laws would be the thin end of the wedge and before too long I can see office and factory workers being required to turn up for work on any of the seven days of the week. Already many sporting events traditionally held on a Saturday have spread over into Sunday but taking it to its logical conclusion, if Sunday were to become just another day in the week, I could see major football matches for example being arranged on a Tuesday or a Thursday afternoon so that the Sunday workers could see them on their alternative day off - if they were still entitled to one. No enough is enough, the legislation was altered to accommodate the Olympics and when the games are finished the law should return to its previous state - and stay there. Or is it going to be yet another broken government promise?

Regeneration. Are You Serious?

There was dancing in the streets last Saturday as music sounded out across the Market Place. It was the music of my youth with some good old rock'n'roll tunes well-known by anyone of my age. Dancers in fifties dress showed how to jive and a large American car with a picture on the dashboard of Elvis was parked nearby. What was it all in aid of? Well nobody, not even the market traders, seemed to know but the general consensus was that it was an attraction to bring custom into the town.

   There were large gaps in the market with several regular traders missing. They could have been on holiday or taken heed of the mistaken weather forecast that predicted heavy rain and thunderstorms, none of which occurred or they may even have taken their wares elsewhere. But it becomes more and more obvious as time goes by that something drastic needs to be done to regenerate the town centre. The proposal to move students into the town centre and build a supermarket on the existing college site defies belief in its logic and common sense. Another supermarket on the edge of the town centre will drive another nail into the coffin of existing small businesses.

    Here's an idea. Car parking charges in Ilkeston deter many people and lead to illegal parking on double yellow lines and pedestrian crossings. In neighbouring Broxtowe, the first 30 minutes on council car parks is free, thus encouraging shoppers. In Long Eaton, Erewash's other big town, there are free car parks at Asda, Tesco and Aldi all in the town centre. In Ilkeston the free supermarket car parks are away from the town centre with those in the middle of town being fee paying.

   If the council is serious about regeneration, then the time is right to review their charging policy. Invest by sacrificing some parking revenue, even if it is only on market days but don't kill town centre trade altogether by being blind to the effect of planning decisions. Those who take the decisions should learn from the success of Team GB in the Olympics. Investment in the right place is what is needed - it will provide its own rewards. Austerity has not worked, is not working and will not work.

Cancelled Again

Ilkeston's Carnival was cancelled a few weeks ago due to the bad weather in what became the wettest June since records began. Early last week news filtered through that the proposed Steam Rally at Elvaston scheduled for this weekend also became a victim of the weather as did Awsworth's "Party on the Rec." On Friday a torrential downpour when it was forecast that a month's rainfall would drop on the East Midlands in one day caused Derbyshire's evening T20 cricket match against local rivals Nottinghamshire to be called off before lunch. Add to that Ilkeston FC's pre-season friendly at home to Skegness together with their Family Fun Day plus the Ashfield Festival in Nottinghamshire.

I'm expecting a government announcement any time now that summer is cancelled for 2012. We can only hope it improves by the start of the Olympics otherwise the only events possible will be water sports - at all the venues!

Cancelled Carnival

There was huge disappointment all round this weekend as the Annual Carnival had to be cancelled. It was not surprising really as the strong winds and heavy rainfall during the preceding week had left puddles on the car park (left) at the recreation ground and the ground itself was waterlogged. It would have been folly to stage the carnival here.

I think it was last year the the Summer Happening on Victoria Park also had to be cancelled due to similar conditions. Not only is it disappointing for the general public when these things happen but it is even more so for the organisers and charities who would normally have benefited from the events.

The truth is though you can look elsewhere and always see someone worse off. For example this week in west Wales, people have been driven from their homes by flash floods but it is in the face of such tragedies that communities come together to help each other. The people of Wales will come back even stronger, Ilkeston will have another Carnival and communities will continue to thrive. Life will go on with or without the help of the government. And David Cameron thinks the "Big Society" is something he thought up. Come into the real world David; open your eyes and see what has been happening for years. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18387529

Speculate to Accumulate

It was Motorcycle Day at the Erewash Museum on Saturday, one of several free events that are being held throughout the year. We've already had the Rock & Roll Birthday Party in April and Circus Week and Swing Back To The Forties are two more events lined up for June.

And yet it was only in 2004 that there were fears the museum was about to be closed as the council looked to balance the books (Newspaper report). Fortunately local pressure and the work of the Friends of Erewash Museum meant that the threat of closure was removed and last year it won the coveted Derbyshire Museum of the Year award. Last week we were celebrating the Green Flag award in Victoria Park where another investment has reaped its just reward. Perhaps there's a lesson there for our government in Westminster - instead of cut, cut cut, a policy of investment is needed to revive our economy. As someone else once put it, you have to speculate to accumulate. Investment in our country and our people will bring its own rewards.

Sequence Broken

If you guessed today was going to be wet I'm afraid you were wrong since the sequence since the beginning of October was broken. A cloudy morning gave way to a bright sunny afternoon (see the picture below taken this afternoon shows) but it has stayed dry all day.

The picture also illustrates another example of surplus to requirements road signs. The "new" roundabout has been there for a number of years and one of the triangular signs is about "new" surfacing on the road. It begs the question how long does something have to be in existence before it is no longer deemed new? Maybe the signs will disappear after the government's review!

Stop & See

It was over the Christmas period in 2000 that the "Ilkeston Flyer" ran up and down Bath Street and although it proved very popular helping shoppers up and down the hill, it hasn't been seen since and you don't have to visit an optician to confirm that. There are still several Stop signs at various points on Bath Street including this one right outside an optician's shop if you still don't believe me. As we will soon be reaching the tenth anniversary of the road train's temporary visit and in view of the government's policy just announced to remove surplus and confusing signs there is perhaps no better place to start than here .... or can we still expects it's return in December? Probably not.

Curtailment

As part of the government's cost cutting exercise, free swimming for youngsters is to cease but the local council have decided to postpone the new policy until after the schools re-open in September which means schoolchildren will still be able to enjoy free sessions during the summer holidays. It is to be hoped they also spend some time improving their language skills instead of using the foul mouthed obscenities that passed between a group of youngsters who crossed from the direction of the Leisure Centre and entered Victoria Park as I was taking this photo this afternoon.

The Wisdom Of It!

Governments often come in for a lot of criticism and their decisions are often met with disapproval by at least 50% of the population but one thing the older generation are grateful to our current administration for must be the introduction of free travel on local buses. You do however wonder about the wisdom of the decision to leave the car at home when standing in the rain with an icy wind nearly blowing your ears off on Heanor Market Place whilst waiting for the public transport to arrive!


Even more disappointing was the fact that the one item we had travelled to Heanor for had sold out but we did enjoy a nice mug of hot chocolate before we went to catch the bus.