As is customary with the British psyche the main topic of conversation at the moment is the weather. Heavy rainfall on already sodden ground has caused major flooding and many people are enduring damage to their properties for the second time this year. The Environment Agency has said that work on flood defences since 2007 has prevented the damage from affecting large numbers of people but that's little consolation to those who are suffering.
Whilst we can all have sympathy for the flood victims, I am still amazed by the fact that plans will be submitted to build more housing estates on flood plains - that's just asking for trouble. A phrase commonly heard after any major disaster is that "Lessons will be learned" but it doesn't seem that they are learned quickly enough. And how often do you hear "It's the hottest/coldest/wettest/driest since .....whenever" which only goes to prove it has been this ... whatever... previously and yet we still get the same thing happening over and over again. Obviously there are still a lot more lessons to be learned.
I was bemoaning the fact that Christmas arrives far too early in the year these days with cards on sale in August and shops decorated by October. Now in mid November although some of the trees are still hanging onto their autumn colours, others have already drifted into their winter appearance and two weeks from now we will be in Advent, the Christian period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Festive lights are being switched on up and down the country - Derby's ceremony took place on Saturday and those in Ilkeston are due to be lit on November 30th. In another six weeks, Christmas will have passed and we'll be on the verge of 2013. Hard to believe I know but that's the truth of it.
Ilkeston's Remembrance Day service is usually held at 3:00pm with a similar service at 11:00am being held in Long Eaton. In recent years there have been several calls for the Council to hold Ilkeston's service in the morning too but until this year the call has been resisted as the Mayor can only be in one of the towns at the designated time. This year however, the Mayor's Chaplain is also the Vicar of St Mary's in Ilkeston and the annual service of Remembrance was switched to the eleven o'clock slot with Long Eaton's service at the same time being attended by the Deputy Mayor.
I have attended many of the afternoon services in Ilkeston and there has always been a good turnout but Sunday's was exceptional with twice as many (and perhaps even more than that) standing in silence to honour all those who have paid the ultimate price in two World Wars and many other conflicts. I felt honoured to be among them and if the Council needs any more encouragement to make the Ilkeston service on Remembrance Day at 11:00am a permanent arrangement, they only have to look at the evidence of this year.
Americans go to the polls this week to elect their President and coverage of the campaign has featured heavily on the television news and in the press for what seems a lifetime here in the UK. I'm not sure how the Americans at home are putting up with it and I'm certain the majority of them will be really pleased when the election is over and life returns to normal.
Here in the UK, we will also be going to the polls this month to elect people to the new positions of Police and Crime Commissioner in various areas throughout the country. These new positions will replace police authorities and are a change to the existing establishment. There have been many changes in the UK since the formation of the coalition government following the last General Election and not all of them have been for the better. At the time of writing Barak Obama and Mitt Romney are running neck and neck in the opinion polls, Obama with a slogan of "Forward" and Romney asking for a "Vote For Change". All I would say to the Americans is "Be careful what you wish for". You may not like what you already have but is the change any better?
Whilst we were in Derby last week I stopped at an information point in the bus station to see if there were any new leaflets that I hadn't seen before. I picked up a couple concerning Denby Pottery and Haddon Hall. Both were advertising events in December and "Christmas" was a common word on both leaflets. I know I've often said that I think Christmas starts far too early but as I write this, two of my grandsons are making Christmas cakes. They have to be done in October so that they can mature and brandy be added at intervals during November ready for the icing and decorating just before Christmas.
The weather last week was anything but Christmas-like being dull and mild with a hint of drizzle in the air. Saturday was the exception as a cold blast straight from the Arctic blew away the clouds and sent a shiver down the spine before returning to damp and dreary weather today. It did mean though that the trees showed up really well on Saturday (see picture) in their autumn colours but looking at those leaflets again that I picked up in Derby, I've just noticed a line on the one for Haddon Hall. It says "Christmas is closer than you think" - how true! And I'll tell you something else, with the cakes now baking in the oven and the aroma emanating from the kitchen, it's even beginning to smell like Christmas.
The Planning Committee of Erewash Borough Council last week gave the go ahead for a Morrison's supermarket to be built in Ilkeston. Whilst I welcome the prospect of a Morrison's in the town, I can't help but feel that the logic of the decision is somewhat warped. The idea that building a new college on the former Magistrate's Court site and attracting 800 students plus 200 staff there will revitalise the town centre is something of a forlorn hope as the new supermarket to be built where the existing college stands will only succeed in drawing shoppers out of the middle of the town. With Tesco's and Aldi at the bottom of Bath Street and Marks and Spencer's, Argos and others on the Waterside Retail Park off Station Road also already taking people away from the traditional shopping areas, the construction of the Morrison's store will only exacerbate the situation.
The Annual Charter Fair last week shows exactly what is needed to revitalise the town - an attraction in the town centre. Some people do not welcome the annual event but it doesn't take a genius to see the number of people that are drawn into the town when it is being held each October. The answer is surely obvious. To revitalise the town centre there needs to be something there to bring the people in. Development on the edge will not do this - but I am pleased that in the future we won't have to travel out of town any more to shop at Morrison's.
Last week we were looking at the Stanton Wagon on the island at the
northern end of Chalons Way but confusion reigned at the southern end
one day last week. The traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing are
being replaced and the work is expected to take three or four weeks
which has necessitated the closing of one or more lanes at various
times. As vehicles approached Chalons Way warning signs indicated the
one lane (of two) was closed but one sign showed the left hand lane and
another showed the right as the picture below shows.
It looks as though the new lights are of a different design to the old ones and the indicators for pedestrians to cross are no longer directly in front but are to one side which means that if someone is standing next to you, then you can't see when they change to green. Also if the lights are the same design as others that have been replaced, there will be no audible signal to aid the visually impaired. If this is progress it is not very good. I doubt that these traffic lights are in the running for any design awards. Confusion will continue to reign even when the warning signs are removed and the work is complete.
