Cllr Adrian Smith

A while ago I posted about the launch of the 4 new online television stations from the EU. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the EU has managed to make a complete dogs dinner of it. First, there seems to be only sporadic updating of the site, and almost none on some of the channels. Most annoyingly, the videos all have French audio, with other languages only provided in subtitles. The combination of these two things makes the whole site annoying to use.

There was a certain inevitability about the fact that someone is already doing it better. www.europarl.tv is essentially two Dutchmen, a camcorder, and a good grasp of YouTube. They have made a selection (some 500+) videos about the European Union and its member states, primarily in English. Graham Watson has clearly realised they are a good bet, and took part in this video:

The note on their YouTube page says that they need investment to develop this as a journalistic endeavour. Might I suggest that some of the presumably vast pile of dosh the EU spent on producing their in house nonsense would have been better invested here?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7683640.stm

Apparently we need a ‘toilet strategy.’

I’ve already thought it was a golden rule of local politics that you do not close down public lavatories  - but apparently they are being closed down in droves, with the Disability Discrimination Act being used as the primary reason.

Apparently we now need a strategy to ensure that the right of people to have access to a quality toilet is upheld. This also requires a data collection exercise - the mind boggles.

In Hinckley we of course defended the British lavatory user, by removing the 20p charge on the station road toilets.

Thursday saw the annual Voice of Young People conference, once again held at the meeting centre in Hinckley. I’ve probably eulogised enough about this event to most people, but for a group of 11-18 year old people to organize and run a conference of that complexity and scale is truly to be admired - and, I would submit, do a far better job than many professional conference providers.

It is also the only event in the Council calendar that both fellow Members (from all sides) and council officers give their time to entirely of, their own volition, and come along and support the event often for hours at a time. The free food probably helps too.

It should also be mentioned that the Youth Council received superb support from Lorraine Simpson-Ward, with Malcolm and his County team also helping to make the day go so well. Have a look at:http://www.thejitty.com/hbyc/conference.html for the rundown from James Hunter.

Today has been the quarterly meeting of the Leicestershire district councils Children & Young People Champions. This was a particularly enjoyable meeting, since we have now turned to thinking about how the group can have some practical outcomes, rather than simply being another talking shop.

I’ve come away impressed with some of the key projects that our host council, North West Leicestershire, talked us through. I’m starting to work out the ways that I can make a meaningful contribution as C&YP Champion, rather than just being a talking head, and I’m keen to take a few of my ideas forward.

In a fortnight I have the launch of the SureStart Childrens Centres in Hinckley & Bosworth, which has developed from a simple press conference to a two day extravaganza apparently featuring balloons.

I hope the organizers of this event paid attention to the way the Youth Council organized their event - best practice should always be shared!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7660409.stm

A strangely graphic way of highlighting the depths of the problems we face.

As a way of reducing their burden I shall step up my consumption of American Hard Gums.

At Parish Council last night, our excellent Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator reported an alarming rise in car thefts in Burbage - 8 in the last month.

These are not cars that have been broken into, but where the keys to the vehicle have been snatched from inside the house. People do need to make sure that their keys are kept somewhere well out of sight of any marauding thieves. At the moment high performance and new cars are being targeted.

Burbage’s proximity to the motorway network does make us a target unfortunately.

It only takes five seconds for someone to swipe your keys - don’t give them the chance.

P.S. Some wag did suggest to me afterwards that a potential way forward would be to buy a car from the British Leyland era, as then there would be a better than evens chance that any would be thief would need a push to effect his/her getaway.

On one of the more remote sections of the BBC news website, they have been scouring the internet for reports in other news publications about how the current economic situation is changing the daily lives of people. Some highlights for you:

The Daily Express (not one of my regular reads) notes that the soaring cost of petrol and diesel has achieved something that many moons of Government hand wringing has failed to do - make children walk to school.

This is notable mainly because, possibly for the first time in history, the Daily Express may actually be telling the truth. I live almost directly opposite Sketchley Hill School. Now, while it is still pandemonium at 8:50am and 3:15pm it has been noticeable that there are less cars coming to and from the school - this is particularly noticeable at home time, as up to the end of last school year, probably 10 cars would be parked up waiting for their kids from 2:30pm (a practice I abhor). Since the start of this school term, this is down to about 3 cars.

The Times (again, not fond but sometimes read the Business section) reports on how it is changing our eating habits: apparently Tea Rooms are enjoying an extraordinary renaissance, since a large pot of tea to share amongst friends is considerably cheaper than a round of cappuccinos. More surprisingly, sales of turnips have apparently rocketed, since it is one of the cheapest vegetables, and considerably less expensive than more fashionable veg like baby sweetcorn or purple sprouting broccoli. One thing I don’t understand is the booming trade in fish & chips reported by the Times, since I’ve always thought fish & chips to be a relatively expensive meal.

The Independent has news from the slightly improbable National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardeners, who claim that more and more people are stealing fruit and veg from allotments.

The Daily Star reports that Bourne Leisure (proprietor of Butlins, Haven and Warner Holidays) is enjoying extraordinary growth - profits before tax hitting £103 million this year, because people are looking for cheaper holidays. Though, once again, Butlins has never struck me as being particularly cheap.

According to the Sunday Mirror dominoes will be the present of choice this Christmas, as parents can no longer afford iPods, Xbox 360’s etc.

The People has really got to the crux of the matter though. They report the sensational news that the tooth fairy has had to cut back, and the average coinage left under the pillow has fallen from £1.22 to 87p. Miserly git.

If any knows how The People has researched this, do let me know.