Shambles at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

According to the Times of Tunbridge Wells  the chief executive of the borough council is 'quite bitter' that the council is facing a £150m gap in its infrastructure funding.  Quite right too.

But then....you do wonder when the council spends a  lot on a cycling strategy which will cost a huge sum to implement.

Add to this the fact that the council is hankering still to ban buses from Fiveways: a move which will inconvenience many passengers, add to road congestion at key junctions, lengthen journey times and make timetables a work of fiction.  A really bright idea.

Makes one wonder if, with the present clueless mob, withholding infrastructure money is not a bad thing after all.

You have to admire the stupidity. Maybe not.

English Passport carries posts by leading lights in the English Democrats. This is the latest offering. Nuff said.

Cycle routes strategy for Tunbridge Wells or away with the fairies

How much did this cost to produce?  What is the cost of achieving  the proposals?  Austerity? Strapped for cash?

http://consult.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/portal/economic_development__regeneration/cycl/cycl?pointId=1442496491425

Just think of the proliferation of street clutter with all the signs.  Pembury Road is a good example of clutter.

Route 9 will be a nightmare on Rusthall High Street.

Ashford went mad over cycle routes - hardly used.

Best thing would for this strategy to be kicked into the long grass and give the thumbs down to the vociferous cycling lobby. Spend the money on improvements to public transport.

EU exit

Yes, yes, yes!


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11892111/Suddenly-leaving-the-EU-looks-within-reach.html

Rusthall Parish Council

Now work has commenced on the old fire station I thought I would look at the minutes of the parish council to ascertain the name of the contractor and how much the council is forking out for the work. Stymied at the first hurdle:no minutes on the council website since 8th June meeting.

Below is a copy of a sample agenda:

Note Item 15.  Why is the open session at the end of the agenda? How can any issue be addressed elsewhere in the agenda?

Another day, another charity shop opens.

Two days ago I attended the official opening of the IMAGO charity shop. Today I attended the opening of the Bridge Trust shop Bridge Revivals Boutique on Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells. This shop, together with Bridge Revivals Gifts and Treasures on Camden Road replace the Trust's previous shop lower down Camden Road.

It has been a busy period for the Trust.  The Tonbridge shop closed and the furniture warehouse in Tonbridge had to close on termination of the lease.  The warehouse has relocated to Eldon Way, Paddock Wood and trades as Bridge Revivals Homestore.

Now this is a jest.

In an earlier post on this blog reference was made to Robin Tilbrook who advised us that when it came to machine-gunning immigrants Steve Uncles was only being facetious or writing in jest.

Doubtless this post from Steve Uncles is also in jest.

IMAGO open charity shop in Tunbridge Wells.

IMAGO?  You may well ask.

Rather then answer the question please click on the link below.

http://www.imago.community/

The charity has opened a shop on Crescent Road, Tunbridge Wells.  Good quality stock: well worth a visit.

IMAGO began life as the Tunbridge Wells Council for Voluntary Service. It then became West Kent CVS and more recently Voluntary Action Within Kent.

Met up with many friends at this evening's official opening.

Anti- EU, pro- English Parliament

Readers of this blog will be aware that I support the creation of an English parliament within a UK federal structure.  I support UK exit from the European Union.

My reasons for the stances I take are well documented.

Enter the fray one John Dutton in a letter to the Times of Tunbridge Wells.

'As for an EU exit.....consequences (of exit) seem to be ill-thought through or ignored, by anti-EU bigots and our many (mostly?) ignorant and uneducated fellow British citizens! A crippling price to pay for an illusory, self-defeating, nationalistic, ultra-patriotic, British sovereignty!'

Clearly written by a pro-EU bigot, well endowed with breathtaking arrogance.  Keep up the efforts JD, you are an excellent recruiter for the anti-EU movement.

Goodbye EU?

Interesting article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/11886592/Treaty-change-is-only-way-to-end-migrant-crisis.html

It was all in jest.......

Remember this statement by the  English Democrat candidate for Kent Police and Crime Commissioner?

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/596076/Calais-migrant-crisis-shoot-English-Democrats-Kent-Channel-Tunnel

Note this from the article:

Despite the public being outraged by his comments, the boss of the English Democrats has backed the shocking comments.

Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the party said: "It seems to me that it is a statement of fact.

"It is not unusual that on international borders that after being warned, if people keep climbing over fences and persist it would not be unusual for guards to fire."

Having being trounced in a BBC interview Tilbrook published the following:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/jo-coburns-interview-of-me-on-bbc-2.html

I was drawn to this from the article:

Steve Uncles, our Police Commissioner candidate for Kent, made a facetious comment on the not at all serious “social medium” of Facebook and wrote about using a machine gun. 

Isn't that a relief.  It was only a jest, a joke.  The latest in a  long line of 'jokes' in poor taste by Steve Uncles. Sorry Robin, it won't do.  A very poor effort at damage limitation.  What you should have done is chucked Uncles out of the party.

Steve Uncles, our Police Commissioner candidate for Kent, made a facetious comment on the not at all serious “social medium” of Facebook and wrote about using a machine gun.

English Democrats AGM

Take a look at the following screen captures from the English Democrats' website:

Note the words 'the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex'.  Not named and in any event it is likely there is more than one Deputy.

I queried the appropriateness of a DLL speaking at a political meeting and moreover one being held in Leicester in an e-mail to Essex County Council.  The link I provided to the ED website now comes up as a 404 error. However I have the screen shots.

There is no reason why a DLL cannot hold political views and attend political meetings but surely this should be in a personal capacity.  To publicise the DLL role is politicising a Crown appointment and should not be countenanced.  Indirectly it has brought the sovereign into party politics.

RefugEase

Wandered into Royal Tunbridge Wells this lunchtime.  Huge traffic jam at the roundabout at the bottom of Major Yorks Road.  The cause of the congestion: cars parking to deliver goods to The Forum for onward transmission by RefugEase to  Hungary in support of migrants in that country.

I watched proceedings for a while and was surprised at the volume of cars and people on foot dropping off items - in some cases boot loads.

Disgraceful

Is there any evidence that Corbyn made the statements he is 'alleged' to have made?  Weasel words by English Democrat loser.

What Corbyn said is here:

http://jeremycorbyn.org.uk/articles/morning-star-280413-no-room-for-the-racists/

There can be no excuse, justification or apology for what happened to Rigby. It was an appalling crime and it has to be condemned.

Corbynmania

Jeremy Corbyn had an overwhelming victory in the contest for the position of Leader of the Labour Party. He succeeded in persuading the party's electorate that an injection of left-wing policies would make the party a force again in British politics.  The fact that Ed Miliband lost the 2015 election decisively on a manifesto which was somewhat to the left of the Blair/Brown era was ignored.

However if the party collectively wishes to commit electoral suicide, so be it.  The wheels will come off Corbynmania within weeks, but the true believers will sink their heads in the sand, pretend all is well with the great project and then wonder why they are annihilated at elections.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11859233/The-day-the-Labour-Party-died.html


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34126758


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11860462/Corbyns-victory-reveals-Labours-revulsion-with-real-voters.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/5-reasons-to-be-happy-with-jeremy-corbyns-victory-10497758.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/jeremy-corbyn-becomes-labour-leader-today-is-our-darkest-hour--we-have-become-unelectable-10497770.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11861327/jeremy-corbyn-victory-new-labour-death.html?


WT.mc_id=e_DM47653&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FAM_New&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_2015_09_13&utm_campaign=DM47653

SPACE charity

Earlier this year I became a trustee of SPACE, mainly to assist with governance and reporting issues. Yesterday I was elected to the post of chair.

What does SPACE do.......click on the link.

http://www.spacecharity.org/Pages/default.aspx

Law enforcement - English Democrat style.

So, the English Democrats plan to preserve English culture.  This will be achieved through law enforcement and in particular the use of guns by the police.

In Kent the English Democrats state they will ban the burka (no indication of the legislation to be used) and also halal and kosher meat sales (again no indication of the legislative framework to achieve this).


All this in the name of protecting English culture from 'dilution'.

BUT, what is English culture?  Presumably the English Democrats will ban Chinese, French, Indian etc. restaurants, and all USA films.  Somehow I doubt it.

Smoking cessation (2)

I stopped smoking on 28th July 2015.  So far I have managed to resist the temptation to get a nicotine fix. Friends tell me the first few weeks are the worst.  We shall see.  I have made huge financial savings, put on a little weight and my sleeping pattern.has changed. I am awake all night and sleep in the afternoon!

Adrian Ratcliffe vindicated - again

Older readers of this blog will recall the squalid campaign of character assassination by The Courier newspaper against Adrian Ratcliffe.  Adrian had the temerity to argue that white English girls were at risk of being sexually assaulted by Asian men.  Racist said The Courier.  Today we have the outcome of the latest of a string of cases involving vulnerable white girls and Asian men.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11848625/Aylesbury-child-sex-ring-sentence.html


What was noted by me at the time was that local establishment figures in Tunbridge Wells fell over themselves to put the boot into Adrian. And I haven't seen a word of apology from any of them.

Uncles repeats his promise

I'll ban the burka in Kent said Steve Uncles.

http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/uncles-speaks-again.html


His response:

Steven Uncles23 August 2015 at 12:42

John there are plenty of existing laws that can be used to achieve this, watch and learn

BTW - You are about to be exposed on your Anna Cleves "joke"

Well, I have waiting to 'watch and learn'.

Now we have this:

Still no explanation of the legal framework to legitimise any 'ban'.

Oh, by the way, I have not been 'exposed'.  All bluff and bluster.

Rusthall Parish Council excluding press and public.

Rusthall Parish Council meets on Monday 7th September to consider the tenders for the work to the old fire station - the white elephant acquired by the council having been gifted the purchase price anonymously by a local resident.

It is not unusual for councils to exclude press and public when considering tenders/contracts on the ground that there is commercial sensitivity concerning the subject matter.  However the problem is that press and public are often excluded without any debate as to the need to exclude in a specific case.

Sometimes the impression gained is that the reason for 'secrecy' is not so much commercial sensitivity, rather it is to protect councillors from their deliberations being aired in the public domain.