Tuesday, June 13, 2006
LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP 8
Here's the most recent local news roundup (mostly from this list).
Given how the World Cup is underway, this June 1 BBC story on a local issue seems worth citing:
Huh? Advertising rules? Displaying ads? On England flags with company sponsorship on them? On private residences? Residences that do not derive financial compensation for displaying them?
Presumably, Peterborough City Council next plans to ban parked cars on private driveways? After all, they have auto company names and usually dealership addresses and telephone numbers. And lawn mowers? They have brand names on them. And bicycles. They have brand names on them, too. And your satellite dish? Well, that is clearly an ad for Sky. That must be in violation. And don't leave washing out hanging for too long, if you happen to have T-shirts with football team logos on them, for they are usually private businesses and that's advertising. . .
Another from the BBC on June 1 (this one courtesy of our Wales correspondent, Bill in Aberystwyth) on a very local Welsh issue:
...Whereupon the local water company then fined Mrs Roberts for violating the anti-"drought" hosepipe ban. (I don't know if there is a ban in North Wales currently. But you smiled also when you thought of that just as I did. For you too know also in your gut that a water company doing that is entirely possible.)
Buxton Today, June 7:
And here it is. Hopefully, it will prove useful:
Uhhhh, we know police mean well of course, but he looks remarkably like a video game "James Bond" bad guy.
"Criminal stupidity" . . . in more ways than one, and the myriad of reasons for the criminality. (There is probably no helping the stupidity.) The Greenwich Borough Mercury, June 7:
The reason Mr Golding did what he did, before he was clumsy enough to leave evidence of his doing so:
Sounds like the child had a close call -- having managed to avoid him as even a father in name. But that's not all.
Yep, both perfectly good justifications for battering and robbing two passersby.
Isle of Wight County Press, June 9:
While we all know how one criminal can be so destructive and impact for the worse entire families and even communities, often we forget the opposite does exist: sometimes one person acting quickly and decisively on personal initiative can also make all the difference for the better.
Ashfield Chad headline, June 7:
What exactly is a "Lawn girl"?
Petersfield Post, June 9:
Not another one!
Incidentally, a pile driver might not be the best device to use to disarm a bomb, so it's good he called for assistance.
Norwich Evening News, June 9:
So he knows now what he should do next time.
Cambridge Evening News, June 9:
AN investigation has been launched into claims of animal abuse on the set of Cate Blanchett's new film The Golden Age at Ely cathedral.
Extras on the set of the film, which also stars Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton, called the police and RSPCA alleging they had witnessed violent treatment of a zebra, one of several exotic animals taking part in the film shoot.
One 34-year-old woman from Cambridge said:
"The zebra was brought in for a scene which was supposed to be Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Clive Owen, bringing back exotic animals for the queen from his travels.
"It had to walk past a line of people and we all had to clap, and the scene was shot over and over again about 20 times.
"The zebra was very distressed, it was breathing heavily and its feet were clattering all over the place."...
Presumably there wouldn't be a need for an investigation if "Sir Walter" had shot it?
Enfield Independent, June 7:
Like I said yesterday, that is a popular song.
The Oxford Times, June 9:
What a world. How many people, honestly, had ever given the slightest thought to the issue of the propriety of staff applying sunscreen to young students?
Melton Times, June 8:
The Home Office will not anytime soon live down its rash of reported recent ineptitude. And on the surface, this above seems another instance. (Deporting a British citizen to Germany?) Nor will this country's High Court ever easily explain away to many its granting of asylum to the Ariana 2001 Afghan hijackers.
The Mid-Sussex Times, May 25:
That is the uplifting part. 15 years later, however:
World War I remains well-remembered here in Britain. And that's understandable. One reasonable count notes that the country suffered 942,135 casualties.
In contrast, the U.S. having suffered 116,516. And most of those took place in less than six months. So it's not too hard to believe that if we had been in that war for four years, our memories of it would be at least as lasting as Britain's.
The Northern Scot, June 9:
And WWII was "better" than WWI ONLY in that fewer British men were killed.
Also, did you notice? They didn't get access to a "trial" and while they "despaired" because they never knew when they might be freed, if ever. . .
. . . somehow they made it through.
Western Mail, Wales, June 9:
Actually, I can think of much, much, much worse even that all that. For while football hooliganism is not a good thing, of course, in a more profound sense, isn't it wonderful to live in this time in Europe? Unlike in the past, young men are now able to misbehave briefly over a football match, and do not wake up in a POW camp barely surviving through another day, or soaking wet and fearful of whether today will be the day they get shot through the head and die in their filthy trench.
Isle of Man Examiner, June 9:
That's just a very nice story. Good for him. And one can hope only that he gets the transplant he needs so desperately.
In our house, we are backing the obvious two countries. The U.S lost on Monday of course. However, if they somehow still manage to end up playing each other, we will first applaud that minor miracle . . . and then, we'll have to decide how on earth we are to watch a World Cup match between the U.S. and England.
[Previous roundup is here.] ¶ by Robert, Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Here's the most recent local news roundup (mostly from this list).
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Given how the World Cup is underway, this June 1 BBC story on a local issue seems worth citing:
Football fans have been warned to keep within advertising rules when flying England flags on their houses.
Peterborough City Council will allow flags draped from windows and other places during the World Cup, but people could face prosecution afterwards.
Flags with slogans flying from masts will be tolerated until the competition is over and must then be removed...
Peterborough City Council will allow flags draped from windows and other places during the World Cup, but people could face prosecution afterwards.
Flags with slogans flying from masts will be tolerated until the competition is over and must then be removed...
Huh? Advertising rules? Displaying ads? On England flags with company sponsorship on them? On private residences? Residences that do not derive financial compensation for displaying them?
Presumably, Peterborough City Council next plans to ban parked cars on private driveways? After all, they have auto company names and usually dealership addresses and telephone numbers. And lawn mowers? They have brand names on them. And bicycles. They have brand names on them, too. And your satellite dish? Well, that is clearly an ad for Sky. That must be in violation. And don't leave washing out hanging for too long, if you happen to have T-shirts with football team logos on them, for they are usually private businesses and that's advertising. . .
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Another from the BBC on June 1 (this one courtesy of our Wales correspondent, Bill in Aberystwyth) on a very local Welsh issue:
A north Wales farmer is recovering in hospital after he was mauled by a 47-stone (298 kg) pig.
Geraint Roberts, 49, was trying to move the Landrace boar into its pen in Brynsiencyn, when it attacked him.
The pig pinned him against a tractor and bit him on the legs, back and left arm. One bite nearly severed an artery.
The farmer's wife Nerys stopped the attack by turning a hose on the pig...
Geraint Roberts, 49, was trying to move the Landrace boar into its pen in Brynsiencyn, when it attacked him.
The pig pinned him against a tractor and bit him on the legs, back and left arm. One bite nearly severed an artery.
The farmer's wife Nerys stopped the attack by turning a hose on the pig...
...Whereupon the local water company then fined Mrs Roberts for violating the anti-"drought" hosepipe ban. (I don't know if there is a ban in North Wales currently. But you smiled also when you thought of that just as I did. For you too know also in your gut that a water company doing that is entirely possible.)
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Buxton Today, June 7:
DETECTIVES have issued a CD-fit of a man they wish to speak to in connection with a robbery at a Chapel-en-le-Frith store.
Two men wearing balaclavas entered the Co-op on Eccles Road at around 9pm on May 24 and grabbed one of the till drawers.
Hours earlier, two men had been seen acting suspiciously at the store. With the help of staff, police have compiled a CD-fit of one of them...
Two men wearing balaclavas entered the Co-op on Eccles Road at around 9pm on May 24 and grabbed one of the till drawers.
Hours earlier, two men had been seen acting suspiciously at the store. With the help of staff, police have compiled a CD-fit of one of them...
And here it is. Hopefully, it will prove useful:
Uhhhh, we know police mean well of course, but he looks remarkably like a video game "James Bond" bad guy.
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"Criminal stupidity" . . . in more ways than one, and the myriad of reasons for the criminality. (There is probably no helping the stupidity.) The Greenwich Borough Mercury, June 7:
...Danny Golding, 21, and an unknown accomplice attacked 58-year-old Patrick Hogan and Alex Hudson, 17, as they walked in Birch Walk, Erith, on February 21.
The victims were beaten with a piece of wood before the pair ran off with Mr Hogan's briefcase, which contained a mobile phone.
But police traced Golding after he dropped his own mobile near the scene. At first he denied guilt, saying he had been the victim of a robbery himself but later admitted the offence.
The victims were beaten with a piece of wood before the pair ran off with Mr Hogan's briefcase, which contained a mobile phone.
But police traced Golding after he dropped his own mobile near the scene. At first he denied guilt, saying he had been the victim of a robbery himself but later admitted the offence.
The reason Mr Golding did what he did, before he was clumsy enough to leave evidence of his doing so:
Blackfriars Crown Court heard that Golding had sunk into alcoholic despair after learning that his girlfriend's newborn baby was not his.
Sounds like the child had a close call -- having managed to avoid him as even a father in name. But that's not all.
Christopher Johnson, defending, told the court Golding had also suffered memory problems after a road accident at the age of 10 and found it hard to cope with change.
Yep, both perfectly good justifications for battering and robbing two passersby.
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Isle of Wight County Press, June 9:
FOUR people escaped drowning by minutes after they were dramatically plucked from the sea off Bonchurch as hypothermia was beginning to overwhelm them.
The four had been clinging to their upturned boat for nearly half an hour before they were spotted by fisherman Dave Scovell, who launched his own rescue to prevent what coastguards said could have been the IW's worst maritime disaster for a generation.
Though he managed to reach the four before they succumbed to the freezing conditions and lost grip on their 14ft fishing boat, one member, a woman, was kept in overnight for treatment at St Mary's Hospital, Newport.
After the rescue, Ventnor Coastguard criticised the fishing party for putting to sea without lifejackets, flares or radio.
Ventnor Coastguard spokesman Chris Welsford said given the failing light it was remarkable the four, from Shanklin and Ventnor, were spotted in time...
The four had been clinging to their upturned boat for nearly half an hour before they were spotted by fisherman Dave Scovell, who launched his own rescue to prevent what coastguards said could have been the IW's worst maritime disaster for a generation.
Though he managed to reach the four before they succumbed to the freezing conditions and lost grip on their 14ft fishing boat, one member, a woman, was kept in overnight for treatment at St Mary's Hospital, Newport.
After the rescue, Ventnor Coastguard criticised the fishing party for putting to sea without lifejackets, flares or radio.
Ventnor Coastguard spokesman Chris Welsford said given the failing light it was remarkable the four, from Shanklin and Ventnor, were spotted in time...
While we all know how one criminal can be so destructive and impact for the worse entire families and even communities, often we forget the opposite does exist: sometimes one person acting quickly and decisively on personal initiative can also make all the difference for the better.
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Ashfield Chad headline, June 7:
'Missing' Lawn girl found safe at home
What exactly is a "Lawn girl"?
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Petersfield Post, June 9:
Bristol was brought to a standstill as workers building the new Broadmead shopping centre uncovered what is believed to be an unexploded Second World War bomb.
All 300 shops in the shopping centre and a number of office blocks were shut down and thousands of staff and shoppers evacuated as police sealed off the area between Penn Street and Bond Street where the suspected bomb was discovered. Major routes into the area, including the M32, were closed, causing chaos for drivers trying to get into and out of the city.
The alarm was raised at about 3pm yesterday by a contractor using a pile driver on the site of the flagship store planned for the £500 million Broadmead redevelopment...
All 300 shops in the shopping centre and a number of office blocks were shut down and thousands of staff and shoppers evacuated as police sealed off the area between Penn Street and Bond Street where the suspected bomb was discovered. Major routes into the area, including the M32, were closed, causing chaos for drivers trying to get into and out of the city.
The alarm was raised at about 3pm yesterday by a contractor using a pile driver on the site of the flagship store planned for the £500 million Broadmead redevelopment...
Not another one!
Incidentally, a pile driver might not be the best device to use to disarm a bomb, so it's good he called for assistance.
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Norwich Evening News, June 9:
A pensioner was threatened with court after he caught some troublesome squirrels in his back garden and released them into the wild.
Stunned Roy Hill could not believe his ears when he was told by an RSPCA inspector he had broken the law by releasing the animals - but would not have got into bother if he had simply shot them...
Stunned Roy Hill could not believe his ears when he was told by an RSPCA inspector he had broken the law by releasing the animals - but would not have got into bother if he had simply shot them...
So he knows now what he should do next time.
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Cambridge Evening News, June 9:
AN investigation has been launched into claims of animal abuse on the set of Cate Blanchett's new film The Golden Age at Ely cathedral.
Extras on the set of the film, which also stars Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton, called the police and RSPCA alleging they had witnessed violent treatment of a zebra, one of several exotic animals taking part in the film shoot.
One 34-year-old woman from Cambridge said:
"The zebra was brought in for a scene which was supposed to be Sir Walter Raleigh, played by Clive Owen, bringing back exotic animals for the queen from his travels.
"It had to walk past a line of people and we all had to clap, and the scene was shot over and over again about 20 times.
"The zebra was very distressed, it was breathing heavily and its feet were clattering all over the place."...
Presumably there wouldn't be a need for an investigation if "Sir Walter" had shot it?
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Enfield Independent, June 7:
Trent Park's popular open-air summer concert is to return with a bang after a six-year absence.
Not only will there be the traditional fireworks display following an evening of rousing music but a flypast by a World War II Hawker Hurricane.
The show, on Saturday July 15, is being presented by the Classical Prom Company which is performing a series of open-air concerts in dramatic settings around the UK.
Acclaimed orchestra Viva will perform a combination of popular classics, music from the movies and anthems such as Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia...
Not only will there be the traditional fireworks display following an evening of rousing music but a flypast by a World War II Hawker Hurricane.
The show, on Saturday July 15, is being presented by the Classical Prom Company which is performing a series of open-air concerts in dramatic settings around the UK.
Acclaimed orchestra Viva will perform a combination of popular classics, music from the movies and anthems such as Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia...
Like I said yesterday, that is a popular song.
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The Oxford Times, June 9:
An Oxford primary school is leading the way in protecting children from the harmful rays of the sun - by allowing staff to top up pupils' sunscreen at lunchtime.
Oxfordshire County Council has issued guidance to headteachers which says parents should put sun screen on pupils before they attend school but pupils have to apply it themselves once they are on school premises.
The headteacher of West Oxford Primary School in Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford, has sent a letter to parents informing them that lunchtime supervisors will now apply extra sun screen in the middle of the day unless parents object...
Oxfordshire County Council has issued guidance to headteachers which says parents should put sun screen on pupils before they attend school but pupils have to apply it themselves once they are on school premises.
The headteacher of West Oxford Primary School in Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford, has sent a letter to parents informing them that lunchtime supervisors will now apply extra sun screen in the middle of the day unless parents object...
What a world. How many people, honestly, had ever given the slightest thought to the issue of the propriety of staff applying sunscreen to young students?
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Melton Times, June 8:
Mum-of-five Nikki Fetzko says the Home Office has written to 22-year-old James Ailmore informing him he will be re-arrested at the prison gates and put on a plane.
Ailmore is due for release on July 7 – having served half of a 16-month sentence for affray and theft.
Miss Fetzko, of Wartnaby Road, Ab Kettleby, said: "James was born in Germany because his dad was in the Army and was stationed in Fallingbostel at the time.
"We lived there for a couple of years and then came back to Melton where James has lived ever since. He isn't German. I can't understand why the Home Office wants to send him there.
"We can't find his birth certificate but I am almost 100 per cent sure it says he is a British national. James has been a bit of a nuisance and I think that's why they are doing it.
"But he's only really been in trouble for things like theft, he's never murdered or attempted to murder anybody like some of the illegal immigrants who are running around free and have not been deported.
"There are terrorists who have hijacked planes and they get given asylum."...
Ailmore is due for release on July 7 – having served half of a 16-month sentence for affray and theft.
Miss Fetzko, of Wartnaby Road, Ab Kettleby, said: "James was born in Germany because his dad was in the Army and was stationed in Fallingbostel at the time.
"We lived there for a couple of years and then came back to Melton where James has lived ever since. He isn't German. I can't understand why the Home Office wants to send him there.
"We can't find his birth certificate but I am almost 100 per cent sure it says he is a British national. James has been a bit of a nuisance and I think that's why they are doing it.
"But he's only really been in trouble for things like theft, he's never murdered or attempted to murder anybody like some of the illegal immigrants who are running around free and have not been deported.
"There are terrorists who have hijacked planes and they get given asylum."...
The Home Office will not anytime soon live down its rash of reported recent ineptitude. And on the surface, this above seems another instance. (Deporting a British citizen to Germany?) Nor will this country's High Court ever easily explain away to many its granting of asylum to the Ariana 2001 Afghan hijackers.
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The Mid-Sussex Times, May 25:
A VC hero of the famous siege of Ladysmith has been revealed as the second holder of the medal from Haywards Heath.
Captain John Norwood VC was only 23 when he survived a hail of Boer bullets to carry a stricken pal to safety during the Second Anglo Boer War.
At the time he was one of the youngest in the world to receive the honour.
The British troops, who remained trapped for 118 days despite their superior numbers, were eventually relieved early in February 1900. The battle was so important that Queen Victoria described defeat as "too awful to contemplate"...
Captain John Norwood VC was only 23 when he survived a hail of Boer bullets to carry a stricken pal to safety during the Second Anglo Boer War.
At the time he was one of the youngest in the world to receive the honour.
The British troops, who remained trapped for 118 days despite their superior numbers, were eventually relieved early in February 1900. The battle was so important that Queen Victoria described defeat as "too awful to contemplate"...
That is the uplifting part. 15 years later, however:
Captain Norwood survived the starvation and disease among the 20,000 trapped troops and civilians and returned to the UK. But he died in action in France in the First World War at the age of 38...
World War I remains well-remembered here in Britain. And that's understandable. One reasonable count notes that the country suffered 942,135 casualties.
In contrast, the U.S. having suffered 116,516. And most of those took place in less than six months. So it's not too hard to believe that if we had been in that war for four years, our memories of it would be at least as lasting as Britain's.
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The Northern Scot, June 9:
THE Lamsdorf Loons worked hard to keep up their spirits, drawing on their down-to-earth North-east ways and humour to ensure survival in a prisoner of-war camp.
With some being there for four years, they must have wondered when they would see home again as 1944 drew to an end.
But they had never given up hope; had never allowed their German guards to see them defeated, despite their despair As February of 1945 neared, tension was rising in Stalag 344. Rumours were circulating that the Russians were closing in on the Polish corridor of Germany where the camp, holding as many as 32,000 men, was situated. The distant rumble of artillery was heard and POWs started to tramp round the perimeter, getting used to walking in case an evacuation was pending...
With some being there for four years, they must have wondered when they would see home again as 1944 drew to an end.
But they had never given up hope; had never allowed their German guards to see them defeated, despite their despair As February of 1945 neared, tension was rising in Stalag 344. Rumours were circulating that the Russians were closing in on the Polish corridor of Germany where the camp, holding as many as 32,000 men, was situated. The distant rumble of artillery was heard and POWs started to tramp round the perimeter, getting used to walking in case an evacuation was pending...
And WWII was "better" than WWI ONLY in that fewer British men were killed.
Also, did you notice? They didn't get access to a "trial" and while they "despaired" because they never knew when they might be freed, if ever. . .
. . . somehow they made it through.
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Western Mail, Wales, June 9:
...Mr Wolfendale, the Deputy Chief Constable of North Wales Police, said, "There's definitely a place for flag waving. I'm an Englishman and I will be supporting England during the World Cup. If I were at a game or in and around the stadiums there's a fair chance I might be waving a flag.
"But there comes a point when weeks before the tournament the incessant use of these symbols is a bit in your face. I wish people sometimes would reflect on the impact it's having on others.
"To have the flag ostensibly of another country - and in a footballing context it definitely is another country - being displayed so frequently and overtly, is unnecessary sometimes. I just wish people would reflect on that before they start festooning their vehicles in this way.
..."Let's all remember at the end of the day it is a game of football and, there's no doubt about it, this can be the precursor to behaviour which is much worse than flag waving - violence, racism, hooliganism of the very worst kind."...
"But there comes a point when weeks before the tournament the incessant use of these symbols is a bit in your face. I wish people sometimes would reflect on the impact it's having on others.
"To have the flag ostensibly of another country - and in a footballing context it definitely is another country - being displayed so frequently and overtly, is unnecessary sometimes. I just wish people would reflect on that before they start festooning their vehicles in this way.
..."Let's all remember at the end of the day it is a game of football and, there's no doubt about it, this can be the precursor to behaviour which is much worse than flag waving - violence, racism, hooliganism of the very worst kind."...
Actually, I can think of much, much, much worse even that all that. For while football hooliganism is not a good thing, of course, in a more profound sense, isn't it wonderful to live in this time in Europe? Unlike in the past, young men are now able to misbehave briefly over a football match, and do not wake up in a POW camp barely surviving through another day, or soaking wet and fearful of whether today will be the day they get shot through the head and die in their filthy trench.
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Isle of Man Examiner, June 9:
A WILLASTON teenager has been selected by soccer star Wayne Rooney for a dream trip to the World Cup.
Chris Ormesher, of Snaefell Road, will be a flag-bearer at an England match and will get the chance to meet the 23-man squad.
Chris, 14, is a regular patient at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, and was hand-picked by the 20-year-old England striker, who is patron of the hospital.
'I'm excited,' said Chris, who after having had a kidney transplant, gets by with the help of drugs and a strict diet.
He was born with dysplastic kidneys, meaning they did not form properly in the womb.
After a course of drugs and dialysis he had a kidney transplant aged just three.
However, he is in need of another transplant shortly, said his mum, June Murray.
She said the trip is a 'chance of a lifetime'...
Chris Ormesher, of Snaefell Road, will be a flag-bearer at an England match and will get the chance to meet the 23-man squad.
Chris, 14, is a regular patient at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, and was hand-picked by the 20-year-old England striker, who is patron of the hospital.
'I'm excited,' said Chris, who after having had a kidney transplant, gets by with the help of drugs and a strict diet.
He was born with dysplastic kidneys, meaning they did not form properly in the womb.
After a course of drugs and dialysis he had a kidney transplant aged just three.
However, he is in need of another transplant shortly, said his mum, June Murray.
She said the trip is a 'chance of a lifetime'...
That's just a very nice story. Good for him. And one can hope only that he gets the transplant he needs so desperately.
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In our house, we are backing the obvious two countries. The U.S lost on Monday of course. However, if they somehow still manage to end up playing each other, we will first applaud that minor miracle . . . and then, we'll have to decide how on earth we are to watch a World Cup match between the U.S. and England.
[Previous roundup is here.] ¶ by Robert, Tuesday, June 13, 2006
