A bit of high culture

This creatively produced video entitled "Women in Art" has attracted comments from around the world. It is accompanied by music, Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yo-Yo Ma if I'm not mistaken, so you will need your speakers turned to the 'ON' settting.

Here is a sample of what people have said:

"UN VIDEO FANTASTICO, COMPLIMENTI!"(Italy)

"Minden elismerésem a festőké! A 2D-től eljutottak 500 év alatt a 2D-ig! hurrá" (Hungary)

"Gracias mujer por tu maravilla" (Argentina)

"Grossed me out. Sorry, but the morphing thing just creeps me out..." (USA)

Merry Christmas

'Tis the season of giving and get-togethers

After all the outrage and moralising by David Cameron over donations he has got in a spot of bother himself for accepting an improper donation in his very own constituency of Witney.

Hopi Sen has all the details here and here.

The Tories have recently had their very own doctored photo scandal too.

But since it is also the season of goodwill...

Bling a ding ding!

On Tuesday in The Guardian's G2 supplement Jon Henley reported on the growing christmas craze of decorating not just the inside of a house but the outside also. Its happening all across the country. In Shropshire, in Oxfordshire, Norfolk and of course Leyland has its own fine examples...

house-bling Leyland-styley

The art (or sport for those who approach it competitively) even has a name ...'house-bling'. There's a book, a website and a blog -house-bling blog! Try saying that after a few sherries.

Chorley and Leyland Guardian have teamed up with Three Barrels brandy to offer £250 for the best dressed sparkly house. Send them your photos -competition ends 14th December.

While some commentators on the phenomenon lament it as evidence of commercialisation and not being in the true spirit of Christmas for some house-blingers the motivation is in part to bring pleasure to others. Which is quite a nice sentiment. Some also collect money for charity from passers-by and visitors delighted by their displays.

There is also concern about the environmental impact of the increased electricity use. Alex Goodhind one of the blingers in the Guardian article reckons his festive exuberance of lights adds £480, and counting, to his bill. However, he says he is trying to cut down on energy usage by using new low-power LED lights wherever possible and the family makes a big effort to minimise consumption during the rest of the year.

In the video below, John Hartley, one of the authors of the book 'Christmas Houses' gives his fascinating take on the whole bling thing.

He finds people are incredibly collaborative and supportive in their displays and concludes, "There's something that really wins your heart over when you turn that corner in the depths of winter and there's an amazing display of heat and light"...

A fluffy proposal

As temperatures dip below zero this week another layer of clothing is called for. Indeed, the Mayor is being measured up for an extra special extra layer of clothing.

Samples have been ordered to further the Conservatives' proposal to invest in some mayoral robes.

Wouldn't taxpayers' money be better spent on some more tangible service that the whole community can benefit from rather than finery for one individual?

Its not just the expense of the initial investment, there will also be ongoing maintenance and cleaning costs. Such robes cannot just be chucked in the washing machine and will most certainly need special attention when there is an inevitable dribble of prawn cocktail or a canapé gets mashed into the faux-fur.

Besides, the Mayor will look lovely in whatever he wears. And the current incumbent looks just radiant as she is!

Also see here

Labour councillors support local good works

Anne Brown, County Councillor for the Western part of Leyland, has been proud that her nominations for small grants have helped so many local groups who do good work in Leyland.

This year alone, the Widows Welcome Club, two playgroups, a support group for people suffering from M.E. and a voluntary, young people's club have benefited.

Councillor Brown said, "I like to think that these small grants make a difference to the groups, enabling them to do what they otherwise struggle with. I was particularly delighted to be asked to support the provision of a book for every child at Moss Side Playgroup, to take home, linking with this terms project. In any case it is one of my favourite books, We're going on a Bear Hunt".

Park improvements, parked..

Much as we all love Worden Park are South Ribble Borough Council right to delay improvements to Paradise Park and Western Drive Park in order to pursue Lottery funding to enhance Worden?

Let us know what you think.

On The Buses

As a result of a suggestion from County Councillor Anne Brown, the 112 bus route now takes in Leadale Road.

Some years ago this area was served by a minibus and when it stopped people objected saying that they had a long walk to a bus stop. This is quite true for a number of residents at the centre of the Broadfield Estate.

This should prove popular, picking up a few more passengers. It is unfortunate to see that these buses are often running empty.

Remember use it or lose it!

Local News and Action

Local Labour councillors and representatives are working hard on your behalf throughout the area and bring news of action they are involved in and other other local issues which have been brought to their attention....

Nixon's Wood

Moss Side Women’s Institute have been involved in work to enhance the wood. And a very good job they have made of it. The pathway through the wood is quite narrow. Ulnes Walton Bridleway Association wants this path to form part of their bridleway route to allow as many horses as possible to avoid the busy road around School Lane and Dunkirk Lane. Your local Labour Team is aware of some concern about the safety of mixing horses with walkers, children and pets. County Councillor Anne Brown said "Both local organizations have a lot to offer this area and I am sure that a way of safely accommodating both groups and their objectives can be found".

(Trouble at) Mill Lane

Following complaints to local Councillors and the Area Committee, County Councillors arranged a meeting on the site which has been the source of significant anti-social behaviour. The land owner, the Community Beat team met Anne Brown and a number of residents. As a result of this the site was made less accessible and residents report some reduction in nuisance. We hope that this can be permanent peace for the hard pressed residents. The people who were a problem have probably moved elsewhere. Where are they now? Do you know where your kids are?

The Place is the place

Use of the community centre is building slowly and will build faster as volunteers come forward to help.

Wade Hall Community Forum

Concern was expressed by members of the community about drinkers hanging around the Royal Avenue shops during the day, giving a bad impression of the area and a poor example to children. Police and Borough Council officers will work together to solve this problem.

Moss Side Community Forum

Moss Side Community Forum is beavering away trying to raise the funding to make a much improved and more accessible Community Centre. They also need a lot more volunteers. If you are interested in the community you would be very welcome.

Penwortham Bypass

This would mean an end to delays going into Preston. The County Council have agreed to employ consultants to bring the bid up to date.

Get Loud in Libraries

In October the Get it Loud in Libraries project from Lancaster Library won, by popular vote, the Love Libraries Award. The groundbreaking project brings live music into libraries to give young people a new and exciting experience of the library and was such a great success in Lancaster it may come to Leyland.

Music Librarian Stewart Parsons explained:

"The essence of Get It Loud in Libraries is simply to give young people, especially teenagers who love music, a fabulous time in a library and put them in the right frame of mind to use libraries again whether it’s for novels, music, internet, quiet time, whatever. To pitch great bands into the unique traditional library setting and allow all ages to come and enjoy the music is, for me, the best use of space in an after hours setting. Get It Loud in Libraries offers modern, up to the minute excitement on teenager’s terms in a safe, feel good environment."

It has some of the hottest new bands performing exclusive gigs in the library from Harry and the Potters to Bat for Lashes.

A young library user also appreciated it:

"A massive thank you for the gig – one of my favourite bands right on my doorstep – unbelievable. I even came into the library the next day to check out the novels for some holiday reading – the power of song or what!"

Read more at the Love Libraries website and check out forthcoming gigs at the Get It Loud in Libraries Myspace page.

Local Service News

Rosebud helps business bloom

Rosebud is Lancashire County Council's way of providing loans and support to new and developing businesses. It is particularly interested in businesses in the digital, tourism and Green/recycling sectors.

To see if your business can benefit check here or email

Meals on (different) Wheels

These will no longer be delivered by the WRVS but they will still be delivered and they will be delivered 7 days per week. Those who can manage will get frozen meals once a week, but those who need it will get a hot meal personally delivered, daily.

Extra Help

Many people need extra help when they come out of hospital. Lancashire County Council provide this in the form of a Reablement Service. Often after 6 weeks of intensive support, they are back on their feet and able to cope. If they are not they will be assessed for long term care.

Smoking and Drinking

How many wish they had never started? The age for purchasing tobacco went up to 18 in October. Trading Standards, Environmental Health and the Police have stepped up their test purchasing to see if shopkeepers are willing to break the law. Child volunteers are used under strict supervision and without trying to trap the trader their adherence to the law is tested.

Alzheimer’s Disease - New resource centre

Lancashire Care Trust and other organizations, will redevelop the old Charnley Fold Home For the Elderly at Bamber Bridge to create a state of the art resource centre, providing services to people with dementia and their carers.

The Benefits of Grass

County Councillor Anne Brown at the proposed site as shown in the Leyland Guardian

County Councillor Anne Brown who represents Leyland South West at Lancashire County Council has urged local residents to have their say on a proposed development which would demolish 105 Slater Lane and build 8 new detached properties on the site.

The trend towards property developers acquiring houses with large gardens and building more homes on them is a national one and has become known as 'garden-grabbing'.

As more and more homes are needed and the government has encouraged development of brownfield (previously developed) sites to avoid using up green-belt land, this has been one, albeit controversial, solution property developers have found of where to put them. Planning law identifies gardens as brownfield sites.

There are a number of problems with such developments. Green space and having a garden in urban and suburban areas provides habitat for wildlife, cleanses the air by capturing carbon dioxide, offers rest and relaxation for the home-owner and importantly absorbs rainwater.

Some localised or flash flooding can be partly due to not enough land being available to absorb the rain and with more intense rainfall predicted (during the summer some parts of Britain experienced a months' rain in 24 hours) as the climate heats up this could become more of a problem in the future. However, all this must be weighed against the need for housing.

Coun Brown takes a pragmatic approach. Of the proposed development at Slater Lane she told the Leyland Guardian:

"I think that this part of Leyland is very beautiful and I would hate to see anyone building houses up to the river. I don't disagree with building houses on garden plots of land but I don't agree with the plans on this occasion as it will harm the natural beauty along the river. However, I do feel there is a need for more development in this area. It's something the residents need to have their say on."

"As a local resident I pass the site several times every day and I value the glimpse of rural riverbank that it affords. Kingfishers and herons can be seen."

Use the councillors' and representatives' contact details on this site to let them know what you think (by 17th December).

Hough Lane Proposals - Have Your Say

The Leyland Town Centre Masterplan is being developed to guide the future development of Leyland town centre over the next 10 to 15 years.

Hough Lane is to be transformed into a modern welcoming space for shoppers and town centre workers and the propsals for its makeover takes into account all the results from recent consultations.

Find out more about the ambitious and exciting plans and about how you can be involved at South Ribble Council's website.

You can express your views on the design proposals until 18th January 2008. As ever your local Labour team will also be happy to hear your views. Use the ward contact details opposite to get in touch with them.

The Lancashire Evening Post website features some sketches, newly released by the regeneration team at South Ribble of what the scheme might look like.

Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times

In 1857 the gentleman in the picture to the left, Gustave Flaubert, was put on trial for affronting public and religious morality with his book, 'Madame Bovary'. He was acquitted but the publicity ensured the success of the book (although it is a good read) and is one of the lessons from history that censors often have to weigh. The words above on the ignorance of history are attributed to Flaubert.

On December 5th an independent initiative, the History & Policy website, was launched to encourage the use of the lessons of history to make better government policy.

History & Policy is the brainchild of historians at Cambridge and London Universities who believe today’s ‘evidence-based’ policy environment would benefit from more historical input.

Social historian Pat Thane explains:

"We believe that policymaking could gain from paying more attention to history. History can help unravel how today’s policy problems have been constructed and dispel the ‘golden-ageism’ that often dominates public discourse. For instance, boys’ underachievement at school is often assumed to be a recent problem caused by family breakdown and a lack of male role models. In fact, governments have been concerned about this since at least the mid-nineteenth century when divorce was rare. History could help today’s policymakers focus on the real issue, which is how to educate boys and whether they need a different school culture to girls, rather than blaming the ‘broken society’."

History & Policy works to increase the links between historians and those analysing, discussing and deciding public policy in the UK today, and makes historians and their research findings more accessible to policy and media audiences.

They have made available at their website papers on a variety of policy areas, using history to illuminate them.

For example, there is A central role for local government? The example of late Victorian Britain and The Hidden History of Housing. Other areas covered are democracy, family, media, education, health, pensions, crime and many more all in historical perspective and written in reasonably accessible language.

Four reasons why the Tories haven't changed a bit

The Independent's journalist Johann Hari identifies four vulnerable groups who will suffer from Conservative policy proposals and describes the effects. Well worth reading here and here.

...oh and a fifth reason is the Midlands Industrial Council (MIC).

This organisation hit the news again this week. It is widely seen as a front organisation for anonymous donors to the ...Conservative Party. It has donated more than £2.8 million to the party.

It was forced last year to reveal the names of its members as such an arrangement is against the spirit of the rules on donations to political parties and undertakings were given to declare any new names as they joined.

It now appears that three months ago they had a new member but have only just named him. This was despite Cameron saying, on Sunday, that the names of every member of the Midlands Industrial Council had been made public.

The Birmingham Post uncovered the latest member, businessman David Grove, and also found that MIC had donated £195,000 to the party since he had joined. However, his membership was not revealed publicly until inquiries were made by The Birmingham Post on Monday.

As well as donating money to Conservative local constituency parties MIC also funds Coleshill Campaigning Services the call centre, based in a 19th century country house in Warwickshire -Coleshill Manor- which bombards voters in key marginals with calls urging them to vote Conservative.

Nick Watson of the BBC's Politics Show West Midlands did an investigative report on who the MIC donors are and what they want.

The Daily Mail is also bothered by Conservative funding arrangements asking "how come no one's attacking the Tories over their funding?"

Meanwhile, local Conservatives still have questions to answer about who knew what and when with regard to the £40,000 given by another anonymous donor, brokered by the local Conservative Party, to RAWS for the Farington Waste Plant judicial review.

There is also the question about the tax and residence status of Lord Michael Ashcroft who donates money to Conservative constituency parties in marginal seats -including South Ribble.

His peerage was given at the behest of William Hague and on the understanding that he moved his tax affairs to the UK otherwise he would be able to sit in the House of Lords and make policy here without paying tax, turning on its head the old rallying cry of democrats 'no taxation without representation'.

Trump that for a planning application!

Last week at Aberdeenshire council, a mild-mannered councillor who travels around by bicycle, Martin Ford, cast the deciding vote which turned down US billionaire Donald Trump's planning application to create a £1 billion golf complex.

Unfortunately the plan for two championship golf courses, a five-star hotel, a golf academy, almost 1,000 holiday homes and 500 private houses also included trampling all over a Site of Special Scientific Interest. See a photo gallery of the area.

Trump's proposals have divided the community. Some argue for the development as an economic boon to the area. On the other side are those who want to protect the beautiful, ecologically important landscape and question the business argument for the proposal.

They have set up a petition on the government's e-petition website which already has 2,871 3,482 signatures and is open until 01 March 2008. The petition wording reads:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to back SNH and stop Donald Trump from building a golf course in Aberdeenshire that will damage a SSSI and one of the top 5 dune sites in the UK."

Also featured in various news items on the issue has been the local man, Martin Forbes, who refuses to sell his property to the developers to make way for the complex.

In an unprecendented move the rejected application has now been 'called in' by Scottish Ministers. A statement from the Scottish Government said:

"Ministers recognise that the application raises issues of importance that require consideration at a national level. Calling the application in allows ministers the opportunity to give full scrutiny to all aspects of this proposal before reaching a final decision."

In response, Councillor Martin Ford said: "There is no doubt in my mind that the council has been bullied over the last few days and that has caused us immense difficulties. The result is that the application has taken a most unusual route and ended up with the Scottish ministers.It is inescapable that this has happened in response to the behaviour of the applicant. It calls into question the integrity of the planning system."

Meanwhile the RSPB have also got involved. Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said:

"Ministers should not be hurried or bullied by the strong-arm tactics of Donald Trump. The Infrastructure Services Committee of Aberdeenshire Council took a carefully considered and principled decision when they voted to reject his planning application..." Read the rest of the statement here.

The whole controversy has been likened to the film 'Local Hero' starring Burt Lancaster as an American oil tycoon who wants to buy an entire Scottish village on which to build a refinery. Although some villagers are keen to get their hands on the 'Silver Dollar' and can't believe their luck a local hermit and beach scavenger lives in a shack on the crucial beach which he also owns.

See the similarities? It is sometimes said that "art follows life"! But what did happen at the end of the film?

Whatever happens let's just hope that democracy and justice are well served.

Read some associated news stories:
The Scottish fisherman who didn't want to play golf
Scottish councillors reject Trump's £1bn golf course
Trump decision being 'undermined'
Photo gallery of the area
Sustainable Aberdeenshire

Green Lights for Christmas Lights

As domestic, commercial and civic Christmas lights begin to be switched on around the Borough, some other areas are leading the way in efforts to make their Christmas displays more environmentally friendly.

Manchester City Council have swapped traditional bulbs for over a million low energy LED bulbs which consume less energy. They are also using a real Christmas tree complete with root ball which can be planted in one of the city's parks afterwards ready for re-use next year.

The South Wales seaside resort of Porthcawl have gone further by installing solar-powered light decorations this year. Read about it here.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic where they often do things bigger, the city of Mason in Ohio will again be treated to the Christmas light and sound extravaganza of engineer, Carson Williams.

Warning: Contains flashing lights.

See this and more related videos here

Williams is noted for decorating his home and garden with homemade displays which synchronise christmas lights with music over FM radio channel (to keep the noise down for his neighbours).

One of his displays was used in a beer commercial and his displays have become an internet phenomenon with many videos featured on YouTube.

The music is from rock opera group Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

For more information and links read the Wikipedia entry for Carson Williams here. Also see the feature about the lights at local media outlet Pulse Journal.

More footage of the display and Carson Williams interview on MSNBC here

Lancashire Deli opens its doors

Today The Lancashire Deli, on Hough Lane, Leyland opened its doors for the first time.

Business was brisk with produce available from both around the world and more local sources.

There were traditional favourites such as bottles of Dandelion and Burdock, Sarsaparilla and Ginger cordials and of course creamy Lancashire cheese.They also have a range of hampers for sale which would make ideal Christmas gifts.

Upstairs you will find handmade jewellery, ceramics and health & beauty products. With Christmas fast approaching the store is well worth a visit.

Good Luck and much prosperity to all at The Lancashire Deli

Christmas Market

Today in Leyland a Christmas Market was held. This pretty handmade bobbin lace christmas tree decoration was available for purchase.

With complaints from many people that Christmas is too commercialised these days it was good to see the availability of ethical produce at a Fairtrade stall, handmade gifts and traditional crafts as well as some have-a-go-yourself opportunities such as 'paint your own pot' and decoration-making.

Tomorrow, at Worden Arts and Crafts Centre there are further opportunities to get into the festive spirit at a Christmas Craft Fair from 1-5pm

Families can buy or make their own Christmas gifts and decorations, sample mulled wine and mince pies and visit Santa's grotto. The finishing touches will be put on the Christmas tree in Worden Park before the festive lights are switched on.