2016 The year the music died

                It is common knowledge that 3rd February 1959 was the day the music died with the loss of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, That day immortalised by the lyrics of Don Mclean's American Pie.
                 The following morning as the lyrics tell us Don shivered at every newspaper he delivered on his paper round on a cold February morning, delivering the news of the tragic plane and the loss of such talent. I wonder if he shivered throughout 2016 with every months headlines announcing the loss of another musician.

January - David Bowie & Terry Wogan, Paul Kantner, Jimmy Bain, Glenn Frey, Dale Griffin, Clarence Reid, Colonel Adams, Ed Stewpot Stewart, Pierre Boulez, Robert Stigwood, Paul Bley
February-  Viola Beach, John Chilton, Johnny Murphy, Vanity (Denise Matthews), Maurice White,
March - Phife Dawg, Lee Andrews, Peter Maxwell Davies, Keith Emerson, George Martin. Martin White
April - Prince, Billy Paul. Papa Wemba, Victoria Wood, Jeremy Steig, Merle Haggard, Leandro 'Gato' Barbieri,
May - John Berry, Guy Clarke,
June - Bernie Worrell, Henry McCullough,
July -  Might have had a months off, not sure
August - Rudy Van Gelder, Tom Searle, Matt Roberts,
September - Prince Buster, Jerry Heller,
October - Bobby Vee, Pete Burns, Dave Cash,
November - Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones, Mose Allison, Leon Russell, Jimmy Young
December - George Michael, Rick Parfitt, Greg Lake

This list contains all sorts of musicians from Jazz to orchestral to composers to Radio 1 founding Dj's (3 of these) and I'm sure I've missed some. and maybe 2016 started early with Lemmy passing in late 2015.

These are just a few I have highlighted, i thinks we all know the big names and what they did.
Bobby Vee a contemporary of the buddy holly with possibly his best known turn being Rubber Ball.
Pete Burns click here to see my previous blog entry
Martin White, contribution to music was being the producer for  the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Johnny Murphy played a musician, not sure if he could play or not.
Robert Stigwood, launched the Bee Gees

Christmas day bought us the news that George Michael had passed away, aside from having some great hits the speculation over his sexuality in the 1990's seems to eclipse the artists work, and eventually an incident "outed" him. From that point on the press seemed to consider him fair game and ignoring his talent and contribution instead focusing on any misdemeanour. and now following his death we are hearing about the good charity work he performed and donated to.
Its amazing how quickly they turn. My personal view is sexuality is up to the individual and if they want to announce it they should have that right and not be "outed" by anyone else.

The viola beach story i suppose is similar to the 1959 loss, up and coming musicians torn form us in a tragic accident.

but is 2016 really the year the music died ?
Some really good new artists have seen success in 2016 and have dominated, but also there has been some interesting news with the Led Zepplin lawsuit.
Following the successful suing of Pharrell Williams by the family of Marvin Gaye for plagiarism 2016 saw a lawsuit against Led Zepplin for copying the riff in stairway to heaven. This to me was a worrying thing, I think it was one of the Gallagher brothers who when asked about the likeness of their music to the Beetles replied that its impossibly not to be influenced by great music, or words to that effect.
others encapsulated the sentiment in song lyrics, including Natasha Bedingfield with These Words -

Threw some chords together
The combination D.E.F
It's who I am it's what I do
And I was gonna lay it down for you.

I'm trying to focus my attention
But I feel so A.D.D
I need some help some inspiration
But it's not coming easily...

Tryn'a find the magic
Tryn'a write a classic
Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know?
Wastebin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see ya later

and even better put by Twenty One Pilots with Stressed Out -

I wish I found some chords in an order that is new
I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang

what a challenge to create new music that isn't similar, I am really pleased that the Led Zepplin lawsuit collapsed and feel it will allow freedom for artists to be artists and influenced and inspired.

Maybe the music didn't die after all.

Maybe its in the playing of the recording that the music will always live on .....
or we should just drive to the levee and drink whiskey and Rye

Christmas, consumerism and pressure

Pre Christmas moan !!!

Nice Christmas message tomorrow 

As the last few days before Christmas fill our supermarkets with crazed shoppers desperate to buy enough food to last the Christmas Day closure for the next 5 years and the stores remove Christmas stock before it's even happened I had a moment to think yesterday about the pressure we/they put us under.

I use my local Morrisons as a local shop due to its proximity. This last weeks it's just got hellish, queuing for 15-20 minutes at the tills to pay for a loaf of bread!!!! What !!! Are we in some collapsing communist eastern block country. No wait it's just the hoards desperate for Christmas cheer stored in out of season food and booze, and let's not forget for this week only bulk food shopping is a family activity so each trolley is now accompanied by both parents and 2.4 children all throughly fed up of the supermarket. I just want to pay for my loaf of bread oh and buy extra wrapping paper which has been replaced with mini eggs at Morrisons !!

Ok supermarket rant over for now, I will save my rant about being accused of shop lifting by a computer ever time I try to adjust my shopping or the computer can't work out why the weight of a 7kg bag of charcoal is 7kg. And the carefully chosen voice exclaim "unexpected item in the bagging area, are you stealing form us you untrustworthy human"... sorry I said I'd save that rant.

The discussion about commercialisation of Christmas and the increasing pressure to spend is not a new one and dates back to the Victorian era. I'm not talking about a feast here I fully support the tradition of Christmas dinner with a roast bird etc I fully support decorations, and I fully support the giving of gifts and cards to loved ones.  What I worry about is the need to spend a fortune and the behaviour that causes.

Do we really need the spend or is there more to it. Do we really need to beg borrow or steal, some will feel there have no option some will not know any different. Over the last few years I've seen people I know or know of struggling to pay off last years Christmas debt and borrowing for the next Christmas with a higher interest lender. I seen 'houses broken into' and crisis loans and claims made after. And the world carries on blinded by the Christmas lights.

Everyone's hearts bleeds to genuine stories of loss at Christmas and it's those families that I think we should look at for strength.

A few years ago we had a skint Christmas, one of those where unexpected events mean you've  spent any reserves and it's a general strain to make ends meet and achieve children's dreams on Christmas morning. That Christmas was amazing we had a great time together as a family and the lack of spend on presents was barely noticed, thank the lord for seconds hand items. The gift of Christmas for me is family. (Tomorrow's blog entry will be about my family memories) 

This year as with any year as we get closer to Christmas focus turns from the kids I what to buy each other, me for my wife and my wife for me. As ever the question is what do you want for Christmas and the realisation that I've missed the hints and bought something else.

 When my wife asked me what I'd like I thought for a while and decided rather than spending £50-£100 on me I would rather we had a family day out together. And so we did. Which is a rarity for our household. Not only did I enjoy it but so did they and that meant so much more than an item in wrapping paper, the family together having fun enjoying and celebrating life together. Isn't this what's it's about? The giving of a gift not the present within the wrapper?

I really enjoyed looking at the families faces on Thursday, we had a great day out! 

I managed to have a couple of moments thought yesterday and the chance to catch a few of my children sitting at the dinning room table, so I asked the question

    "What was your main present last Christmas?"

Well the answers varied and took a while, I'm still not convinced they actually knew or remembered the main present we had sourced 12 months ago. 

Right rant over ! As I'm sitting in a separate room from my family as I write this, oh the irony

Questions to any reader

 "what was your main present last year "

 "What was the best thing about Christmas last year?"

Merry Christmas all !!!!!

Post publishing addition.

I know someone who when short of cash near Christmas will go quiet and avoid us, then when finally pinned down will say they feel bad because they want to give the kids £10 for Christmas, I tell them every year! Don't give them £10 just buy them a selection box and smile

Nico Rosberg has driven his last F1 race

Who saw this coming ?

Today Nico Rosberg announced his retirement from Formula 1.

Apparently he had made the decision before the lights went out at the start of the last grand prix, so the 2 big questions are Why and Who is going to replace him?

So why has he quit, in a statement he shared on social media  he states it has always been his aim to be world champion and he has now achieved it. Well done Nico. for Nico winning the world championship has been a tough job and we have seen that on his face during difficult moments along the way and we have seen it played out in the press speculation regarding his friendship with Lewis Hamilton. Now Nico Rosberg is formula 1 world champion and be retiring he never has to defend it, he will be the undefeated F1 world champion 2017. Of course there is a phrase, when you're at the top there is only one way to go.
In Nico's statement there is also a mention of being a husband and father, Thanks to some very strong characters in the 1970's Formula 1 has become a lot safer than it was and the number of deaths has fallen but Motor sport is still dangerous and being a dad and not missing your kids grow up must be everyone's dream. But it doesn't happen overnight, Nicol will have to tie up all his loose ends and then learn how to be around for his family.  I think there is some merit in his comments about spending time at home.
Lets no forget the rosberg family is a racing family and its been 36 since his dad won so I do not think this is the last we have heard of the Rosberg's in racing, who know his daughter may have a carrier in the sport herself.

My personal view is that Nico was not the fastest f1 driver on the grid in 2016 but the combination of car and driver consistency gave him a well deserved championship win.

So Who's Next ?

Twitter and face book have been alive with speculation today as to who will replace Rosberg.

My view is that the likes of Massa and Button have made their decisions and have not taken those decisions lightly so I don't feel they will just come back due to a nice car being dangled.

There has also been a lot of fantastic captions and pics posted on social media which have been really amusing, these have hinted at Verstappen and of course Alonso. Again its only my opinion but i think verstappen is safe and secure at Red Bull and I will keep saying until we see the winter training i think 2017 will be a good year for red bull with the new regs.

The question around Alonso is also for me relatively simple, Alonso is one of if not the best f1 driver on the 2016 grid but i think he will stay where he is certainly for 2017 as he has gone through the pain with his team and already chosen to stay



This is not finished, but got a few things on so will finish later...

PLEASE COMMENT WITH YOUR VIEWS

Louis & Lewis, Smith & Hamilton, Formula 1 & Gymnastics

Formula 1 World Champion 2016 Nico Rosberg !!!!

For me Rosberg deserved to win the championship this year, 

I do not however believe he is the best racing driver on the grid and yesterday we said goodbye to 2 greats Massa and Button. 2 great talents in a small pool of awesome drivers which includes for me Alonso, vettel and of course Lewis Hamilton, who has to be the best driver in Formula 1 right now. But watch out Max Verstappen is coming and he is going to kick everyones ass. 

 I bet Hamilton was quite deflated at not reigning world champion anymore, having won 3 times.  

Earlier this year we witnessed the specticle that is the Olympics where Max Whitlock stormed through to win a number of medals and become the most successful British Male Gymnast, Well deserved in my opinion. In doing so he took the title away from Louis Smith and this was in addition to Louis standing next to a successful Max at the British Championships in liverpool earlier in the year. Louis Smith was quite visibly gutted, and has since apologised for the way his response looked. 

There's the background and now I will go on to explain how I feel both of the above have let fans down. 

Louis Smith MBE

 Last Month we were reading the headlines that an Olympian who has dedicated his life to his sports has been suspended due to some stupidity on his behalf and I will not be defending him here for his actions.
     I will however pass on a little advice to him (assuming he ever reads this). My career was damaged by similar stupidity albeit not my comments and my political career still hasn't fully recovered 7 years on, friends made jokes and I found it funny at the time. Take this as an opportunity to reflect and regroup, sort yourself out, review friendships and interactions with friends and more than anything else move forward. Social media is like an Olympic final, its great to be part of it but a small slip and it's dangerous and can be all over.
   I'm much more reflective now
Louis Smith  has for me become more arrogant over recent years and I has watched this happen. Maybe fame takes its toll, or maybe to complete immersion that the sport demands has limited horizons, But the bottom line is that his behaviour this year has been an embarrassment and a let down to all his fans.

Lewis Hamilton

Yesterday I watched the last grand prix of the season. and what a fantastic race it could have been, 12 points separated Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Lewis needed a win but Nico only needed 3rd.
Formula 1 ! the pinnacle of motorsport ! the fastest drivers combine with the fastest machines to display skill and take the win. (I say fastest machines I have opinions on the regulations of the sport).

Yesterday we witnessed a racing driver (I'd say the best in the world) not doing what i would expect. Hamilton was not driving as fast as he could smashing lap records but deliberately driving slowly!!! the championship this year was decided by the performance of driver and car throughout the whole season taking us right to the last race. The only guys racing near the front were 3rd and 4th, 5 laps from the end i turned to my wife and said this is crap I didn't turn on to watch this. I felt really let down.
I remember being in a pub in my youth when the track Love Me Tender came on the karaoke a guy sat near me said "God I hate this, the king of rock n roll singing ballads what was he doing". I thought of this yesterday "the fastest driver in the world going slow".
Is it anything for a win? Is deliberately going slow attempting to fix a result in the same way a cricketer may drop a catch or as goal keeper may let one in ?
Maybe I'm being harsh but something about a driver going slow in Formula 1 doesn't feel right.

2017 new cars, new regs, I think Redbull and Verstappen may well be in the mix at the top of the championship.

Louis and Lewis, good luck in the future and learn from 2016

Fake News, Read all about it!

Since Donald Trump was announced President Elect the media and pollsters have been running round trying to work out how it happened and whilst I do not necessarily agree that one of their conclusions was correct I do think there's something to this story. The election was affected by fake news particularly fake news shared on facebook.

  I don't think it had much of an impact but every vote counts as it did with brexit. The difference was that either side were creating the brexit fake news whereas here we see something more sinister. The allegation is that due to the business model of facebook it is profitable to create and have fake news shared. Therefore anything can be said just for the sake of profit and we all know where this is going... the more sensational the story the less it relates to reality the more it will be shared and the more profit is made.

    STOP RIGHT THERE!!! What about the poor gullible teenagers and young people who believe this crap.  I have a daughter who often walks into a room and starts a conversation with -
     "oh my god have you heard about...."
to which my reply is either
     "Where have you been?"   or
     "Really! Where did you read that" or
      "That is complete......"
And then get "it's true I read it on facebook!"

This gets me thinking again does everyone know you can't believe everything you read.

I stopped writing the blog as I was drawn into a conversation with a blogger (like proper blogger, she has 16000 comments on her blog I have 16, www.simplybeingmum.com) a barrister and a university medical lecturer. We were talking about Trump ,brexit and this story.

Can't we believe all we read, the conversation I had assumed everyone knew we shouldn't, and whilst we noted that the printed press is regulated both they and the virtual press or social media have the chance to produce some far fetched stuff. Then there's the situation of a true story but the facts are presented after many would have stop reading. The medical lecturer explained he had recently read a story that he thought simply didn't make sense (here's a link) it wasn't until he got to the last few sentences that his thoughts were confirmed as an expert stated is story was unlikely. But this was a story on the BBC so it must be real, just like the famous War of the Worlds reading or BBC program Ghostwatch.

  I think this reinforces how we should  be careful I do think many believe believe without question something they have read, I've heard people say it's true I read it in the paper on the letters page. Why we are persuaded by text more so than spoken word, I wonder if it's a historical trait from the great philosophers. 

This blog has really gone off at a tangent!!

I think we should all reflect and consider what we read especially in the day and age of social media. And when it comes to politics elections and referendum the best hope you have is the leaflets the candidates produce. Good luck

The 'fake' news that really annoys me is the sort that is repeated so many times the masses believe it, the one in particular is the American view of the ethnic make up of the UK.
throughout the us election we heard it repeated as a fact and I have seen many videos on Youtube stating as a fact that the uk population is 50% muslim ? Firstly so what if it was. Secondly this is simply not correct and woe betide anyone who comments on a youtube video to state its not true as they will get a torrent of abuse.

I think the 2 parts that annoy me with this fake news is the fact that its spread with dark undertones of racism and has no basis, but when senior US campaigners are spreading this what chance has the average american got. The UK is a great place which has been built on diversity and acceptance a place where we have been able to walk shoulder to shoulder with people from different cultures, religions and backgrounds, It annoys me the this can be damaged by scaremongering by the ignorant and the perpetuation allows those who try to use religion as a reason for terrorism to win, Muslims are not terrorist, in the same way Catholics became alienated by the Terrorism of Guy Fawkes.  Terrorist are nothing more than terrorist.

Ok getting excited there, but I will share the figures of the UK's religious breakdown just for any ill informed readers.

Detailed 2015 BSA survey on religion in the UK Affiliation % of U.K. population
Christian 42 %

Church of England 17%

Other Christian 17%

Roman Catholic 8%

Unaffiliated 49 %

Non-Christian faiths 8 %

Muslim 5%

Other Non-Christian faiths 3%

Don't know/refused answer 1%

Total
100 %

Triumphant Trump

So there we have it after what I would describe as the most sensational election I've ever seen Donald Trump wins to becomes the 45th American President!

I've just listened to his speech

I've just listened to his speech and immediately there seems a mellowing of  retoric. America will be a nation for all, for all races. And I feel we will see more of this as Trump gets nearer and becomes president. This is not because he was trying to mislead or lie this is to me the result that we see often and damages political opinion. He we have the first American president never to have been elected to office and never to have served in the military, when he was campaigning he was genuinely making those commitments in the belief he can deliver things like the wall. Donald Trump will now have get to grips with political systems and process as well as a huge learning curve about how sometimes things have become so integrated it's incredibly hard to unpick. He will be judged on this and as he has already spoke of a corrupt system he willbe under particular pressure. This may perpetuate the 'all politicians can't be believed' myth. There are a great many hard working honest politicians out there tarred with brush of corruption, in the workplace I have been introduced to visitors by managers who have said "this is Jeremy, don't believe a word he says he's a politician".

Anyway back to the American result, shock horror the polls have get it wrong Again just as they did in the referendum just like they did in the 2015 general election, but combined with the popular press many results have been predicted incorrectly for years. Throughout  the first 15 years of the 2000's we saw the BBC and others on the grass outside the Houses of Parliament the morning after local elections stating surprise wins for the Tory's, being in politics the only people surprised were the TV crews on the grass. So what's gone wrong?

Today we read the financial markets are in chaos due to Trump's success, I have a question press, pollsters, bankers etc who is running our politics? And this brings me back to my 3 paragraph with Trump's pledges. How many of the reported pledges were mere sound bites from sections of speeches without the full context. Yes I know this is an excuse abused often. Just after midnight I heard an interview of a Trump supporter, the reporter said 'we heard what Donald Trump wants to do but we have not heard how he will do it " the supporter replied "at a rally 10 days ago Donald Trump explained exactly what he will do in his first 100 days". Hmm? Something not reported.

I think we need to stay calm and see what happens, panicking ain't gonna help.

Back in July I was talking to someone fresh back from the states who said "he's going to win you know, there's a lot of Silent Trumpers!"

Guy Fawkes Night

When I started typing I had no idea where this was going to go, so an unexpected entry here!

This weekend many of us watched bonfires and fireworks lighting up the sky.
    Tamworth Borough Council put on yet another fantastic free outdoor event with tens of thousands watching a superb display, this event was re introduced by then Councillor Bruce Boughton who fought for its return as a safer way to enjoy the celebration and bring communities together.

It was whilst I was stood watching the fireworks I wondered how many people there have thought about what they are celebrating and how much tradition has been maintained and how much has been lost.

  On the 5th November in Great Britain we are celebrating a foiled terrorist attack on parliament which was religiously driven. Guy Fawkes was found guarding explosives under parliament to kill the then king James I and replace him with a catholic king. Once Fawkes was caught the people of London celebrated by lighting fires and not to long later the day was made a public holiday.
   Now we have fireworks and a bonfire but some tradition is ebbing away like the penny for the guy, I vaguely remember doing this once or twice. dress up a guy put it in a wheel barrow and walk the street knocking doors asking for cash. it seems this has been replaced with trick or treat, I might have to push my kids to bring that back next year.

     In the past this celebration has been used as a way of promoting sectarianism but fortunately these days are over in relation to religious divide but not all sectarian activities on November the 5th have ended. This weekend we would have read the news of anti capitalist protests in London, (I must add I do not have a problem with peoples right to protest) we read that there had been a number of arrests during the protest and prior to it starting police had requested people remain well behaved. Protesting is a great way of bringing attention to your cause and this years seemed calmer than in the past but i wonder how sensitive or over sensitive we have become to protests. November the 5th has been used in previous centuries for protests between class divisions particularly in Guildford etc and this is what we see to an extent in London.
I am aware of Anonymous and their adoption of the Guy Fawkes mask but they just didn't fit into this blog aside from the role they play in protests, like many other groups.

  And then we have the towns that burn  effigies, I have to say whilst i would find it quite offensive and scary if someone had chosen to burn an effigy of me. I do find it slightly amusing that CNN and other US news channels are reporting "England is burning trump effigies". it is interested though to look at the other effigies of famous people that have been voted on and burnt in the past.
watch CNN's video here


 So I wonder how much of a conflict in 'tradition' we have on Guy Fawkes night and is there a place for all elements to celebrate in their own way.
      I do hope there are two things that I will push, bring back the public holiday (for the right reasons its a long way from august to christmas) and bring back penny for the guy. Lets make sure we enjoy what we have and keep traditions alive.

The country leaving the EU maybe delayed due to processes on the line

The saga continues around triggering article 50 and Great Britain leaving the EU, this week (as has been the case since the start of the year) the headlines have been dominated by Brexit and a legal challenge.

I have spent most of the week ranting that we had the referendum in June and the government must now implement the exit from the EU. We had a referendum and the result was to leave, since there there has been attempt after attempt to delay or derail our exit.  I voted to remain but the result is to and now want to see all efforts to get our position straight and leave the EU.

  So for the week I've been moaning about the increased legal challenges to our political decisions and this years seems to have had more than others. We had a referendum, we decided, end of story get on a deliver.


And then this morning it struck me the decision of the judges for a parliamentary vote is in fact the right process. We are Great Britain and we have our ways of doing things and we do them properly.
In June we voted in a referendum which gave an indication and i would say an instruction to our Government to leave the EU. It wasn't until this morning that I realised no decision has been made, this choice has not gone thought the governance that our nations decisions have to go through and that is through parliament. The systems we have are the systems that make Great Britain the place it is and until parliament have voted we do not have a sovereign decision. we have to have a decision made by our elected decision makers and they must act in the way they have been instructed by the population, each constituency had a count and so the results are there for each MP to consider as well as the final result.

So this should be simple albeit a pain in the arse.

1. Government get a plan together with a prospective offer,
2.  put it through parliament, 
3. Mp's listen to the referendum result, Don't look for bits of detail to try and delay the inevitable, don't tie this up in scrutiny all that can be done as negotiations take place on individual matters
4.  get article 50 triggered so negotiations can begin. 

Happy Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Solstice

Halloween and the half term break is over so back to school go the kids. This year they have spent the whole break doing crafts based on Halloween and last night had some friends round to have fun and eat.

Do remember when Halloween was just about carving a pumpkin or a group of small kids dressed up going trick or treating with innocence and under the supervision of an adult, earlier I was reminiscing about one neighbour coming out onto his roof and throwing stuff down onto us at his door, I think it was flour. We would then all go to the organisers house and evenly share our gatherings.
I even remember carving swede rather than the pumpkin made popular by the Americans.

Today is I created a box labelled "Halloween" and containing the decorations of this year,  this will go with the ones labelled "Christmas" which will come out in a few weeks with Christmas only 53 days away and so our festive decorations collection grows. A week of crafts and Family time distracting away from phones tablets, social media and computer games

I have pondered Christmas decorations out of season for a while and with the exception of the efforts of hobbycraft I feel we let other festivities down.  This year we created a Halloween wreath for the front door, in a few weeks the Christmas one will be there and a few months later the bunny shaped Easter Wreath we made this year will go up, then the door will be bare till Halloween again. WELL UNLESS I GET MY WAY!

With my family I am going to have decorations up 4 times a year and would love others to join in, let's get crafty and get some decs up. Christmas, Easter, mid summer solstice and Halloween let's celebrate these with feasting decorations and a wreath on the door. For the Christian element the latter 2 are All saints and St. John's day,

When I were a kid (this blog seems to have a lot of my memories of childhood) we used to go to Cornwall for the same fortnight each year and on summer solstice we'd park at the side of a country road, clamber through gourse bushes and up a damp hill where we'd find a stack of wood and sometimes tyres. From here we would look along the coast , searching and waiting in anticipation to see the distant flicker of flame from the next beacon, this was the sign for the builders of the fire we were at to light ours and so the signal was passed on as the sun set on summer solstice .

So less all do it, challenge for 2017 4 wreaths on our front doors
Christmas, Easter, summer solstice and Halloween,

Let's do this!!

Just need a wreaths hash tag

The Loss of Pete Burns

Last weekend another celebrity from my childhood memories joined the growing group of celebs to leave us in 2016, Pete Burns passed away this has been reported as the result of a heart attack.

Who was Pete Burns and what did he do?
    Well for me he was a singer who went on to become even more famous for his looks and courting controversy with his TV appearances. He rose to fame through his music and particularly the hits that took him onto Top of the Pop with his second band Dead or Alive. The big hit for Burns was the 1985 classic "you spin me round" which is still an awesome tune to hear and was used at the beginning of last nights Strictly Come Dancing.

    Now looking back, growing up in the 1980's was a strange an potentially confusing time with different fashions and trends not just music genera. We still had some mods, rockers, punks, hippies, yuppies etc and we also had a new wave of rappers, house artist, pop stars and new romantics just to mention a few. It was also often difficult for a youngster to work out whether some artists were male or female with the preening of artists hair and looks. of course with the innocents of youth sexuality was not considered it was simply "is that a boy or a girl?" as Pete Burns with his androgynous looks performed at the same times as Boy George and Marilyn.

 The above picture shows what I thing is Pete Burns looking at his best, this is the pop star from my childhood I remember and I think he looks good int his photo.  But the presences of the eye patch is an indication of how a comment about him had already started his to manifest as an insecurity and develop into a quest to reach a perfection which lead to a tragic story. I am not going to judge whether his idea of perfection was right or wrong. Its this point I want to pick up on really as its happens all to often.

  Watching a recent TV program featuring Pete Burns I learnt what started his life with plastic surgery.  The way Pete Burns told it was that he had previously had  small accident where he broke his nose subsequently, later in life he was at a photo shoot in which he overheard a simple comment by the photographer asking someone to get Pete to move slightly so he could lose the broken nose look. Surely that broke nose was simply part of Pete? but he took it as a recognition of his imperfection and immediately sought a nose job. This subsequently started to collapse and Pete found using an eye patch he could hid the nose repair more surgery was on the cards.
       There are other examples of extreme plastic surgery addictions being caused by individual event. We are told by the media that Michael Jackson's life of plastic surgery and use of painkillers was triggered by the incident of his hair catching fire during a Pepsi promotion. It s said that this left the star bald and scarred, to deal with the pain he was prescribed the pain killers that went on to kill him and he changed his looks significantly

As we know from then on Pete Burns' quest for perfection saw him try a number of procedures and again things went wrong, we all remember the front page tabloid headlines of his lips engorged with infection  following filler injection that had gone wrong. there were then other problems he had which may have been linked to surgery and the treatment after in order to heal and correct the damage.
    For me this lead Pete down a narrow path of trying to make the best he could with what was left. Pete quest for perfection and change his look had ironically put him in the limelight and given him a career over the last 2 decades and i wonder if some of his outlandish behaviour we say on Big brother was him trying to deal with thing.

I think what I am trying to say is that despite the the fame and front stars have they often have insecurities which lead them into avenues they didn't expect. The reason this is important is that small or large incidents and small comments can really effect people, the famous live under a microscope and therefore deal with things in what becomes more extreme ways. Sometimes we have no idea of the impact of the things we say or do, I'm not talking about bullying or the legitimization of bullying we call Banter I'm talking about the judgments we make in almost innocence.  it just makes you think a little when its put like this.

   One simple comment possibly not even meant as an insult changed the path of Pete Burns' life. But what an entertainer, whether it was his music, his TV appearances or other behaviour Pete Burns' entertained.

  If you don't remember what made him famous just listen to his biggest hit You Spin Me Round  or even this one Brand New Lover without the eye patch and very 1980's

What about Brum !!!!!!! Another run way for Heathrow

Today saw the announcement that the government has agreed to pursue a third run way at Heathrow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37760187

http://news.sky.com/story/heathrow-airport-expansion-now-comes-the-hard-part-10631608


Some have said it is needed to support british industry, some have said london needs it, some have said it will never happen and some have even resigned at the announcement.

I say What about Brum ?

I did have the pleasure of working for Birmingham Airport in 2013 this was a time when the the Uk's airport capacity was being looked at and a number of airports and ideas came forward. This was when Boris was mayor and he had is Island idea. This was a news story at the time showing the proposed runway.

During my time there I was convinced that expansion of Birmingham Airport was not only feasible but also advantageous and beneficial not only to the midlands region but also London and the rest of the UK. Today I still believe this is true.

Not only is Birmingham airport served by Birmingham International train station but also links straight onto the M42, M6, M5, M40 and  M6TOLL giving fantastic links to the whole of the UK in a mere few hours. Hold on here's something joined up, Birmingham airport could be a vital link connecting London to the Northern Powerhouse.

And be careful we might have too much joined up thinking here. The expansion of Birmingham Airport instead of Heathrow would create a justifiable argument for HS2, something the project could certainly have done with. The proposals that were made in 2013 used HS2 and an expanded Birmingham Airport as a midlands hub for travel. this would not only lift the region but also pull some of the wealth from the south east and up into the country without complete displacement, all in easy reach

Tamworth would benefit hugely from this with employment opportunity at the airport and business development in Tamworth as well as potential tourism in the region. I am not going to repeat all the arguments that have been documented before but I will conclude.

   An expanded Birmingham Airport is a better option than Heathrow and I would urge all MP's in the region to fight for this before the final vote in the house for the Heathrow 3rd runway

75% of us are micro criminals and petty theives

http://news.sky.com/story/three-out-of-four-britons-are-micro-criminals-poll-10629227

Is a micro criminal like a micro pig, at first they are small and make little impact but then they grow into huge pigs?

I am keen to find out what local results would be to the yougov and sky story ? Have you committed any of the crimes below? (remember commenting on my blog is moderated for language and hate but it is anonymous)

• :: Paid someone cash-in-hand knowing so it costs less, knowing they won't pay tax - 43%
• :: Illegally streamed TV programmes, films or music - 28%
• :: Illegally downloaded TV programmes, films or music - 25%
• :: Avoided paying for a fare on public transport - 24%
• :: Said your food order was to take away rather than eat-in because it's cheaper - 22%
• :: Lied about your age/situation to get a cheaper deal - 19%
• :: Taken a plastic bag at a supermarket without paying for it - 17%
• :: Lied about your child's age to get a cheaper deal  - 16%
• :: Refilled your drink without paying extra - 16%
• :: Eaten loose fruit / pick n' mix at a shop without paying for it - 12%
• :: Put a product through a self-service till for less than it should actually cost - 9%

Now I've asked the question and hopefully you've answered I'm going to get opinionated and judgemental. I have looked at the list and can say 8 of which I definitely haven't done, as for the other 3 I'd say its a grey area ;)

All of the above crimes have in this article been looked at a minor or petty or "micro"and they way they are discussed is as if they are victimless crimes. But stop for a second!! One person takes one sweet from the Pic'n'mix and before you know it Home Bargains has replaced Woolworth on our high streets. wow it was only one aniseed ball.

 Ok I jest but the point I am getting at here is the small end of the wedge in terms of petty theft, the area of concern for me is how society handles this and what does it lead to? what 'crimes' are 'acceptable' to some parts of society as they are perceived as victimless or at least the huge numbers of people involved for the small amounts taken they can be justified.

What is it that makes these things ok?

I wonder if the below is a list of justification

well its cheaper for me, they get to save some taxation and being caught is unlikely
I'm not taking anything away from anyone, its not like stealing a car. everybody is doing it 
the bus/train is going that way anyway it's not like a taxi driver is not getting paid loads of other people have already paid, I can retrospectively pay for a ticket. My child is too young to enjoy this and will sleep through it, they are only little it won't cost this attraction anything if my little 5 year old goes in as a 4 year old. 

So if these micro crimes are "ok" then what about the next step. Oh its only a little benefit fraud my neighbours get benefits and if I lay it on thick I could have a slice of that free money.
Right now we get to some business. 
For me the tone of the article justifies taking something from someone else without permission and suggests that as these crimes re so prevalent they are ok. being able to get away with something due to its impact is a slippery slope and as I've suggested can lead to other things becoming acceptable in some parts of society. Benefit fraud or as I call it the theft of our taxes is prevalent and costs a fortune to police yet very few would be concerned enough to report someone they knew were committing this crime. reporting benefit fraud is one of those things you only do to someone you don't like as people hide behind the "its not my business". I think there are also other barriers such as the need for evidence or the potential pressure of having to be a witness, 

At risk of going off on a rant about a different issue for a minute there. 

We all know the above crimes happen and its up to us to police ourselves and resist the temptation. I am disappointed that this article does not promote this or a sense of guilt.  The tone of the article is for me jovial and almost promotional. 

Recently I was talking to a Sikh guy and we were discussing terrorism relating to religion he had a simple out look, he said "first I have to be a good human being,  if I cant be a good human I can never be a religious man"

Lets resist temptation with these "micro-crimes" and remember victimless or not our actions determine what sort of human being we are. 

Bonkers it's the end of the Conkers !!!

Conkers to run out within 15 years !!!! and it doesn't look like its due to Brexit (phew sigh of relief)

http://news.sky.com/story/conker-trees-could-vanish-from-uk-in-15-years-10617877

   This story really concerns me for a couple of reasons. I grew up with older brothers and a conker tree at the end of the front garden, so grew up playing conkers. To lose them is to lose the opportunity of my children having similar childhood memories, or is it?

   I've noticed and discussed with people in the area the brown leaves of the Horse Chestnut tree and until now we have been at a loss, but we now understand what is happening to the trees themselves. a moth from Europe (oh hold on! more immigrants from the borderless Europe, thought we'd voted to keep them out?) well it's their caterpillars that are causing the problem eating the leaves from the inside out causing them to go brown early and conkers not to form fully. Combine this with mature trees being cut down due to their size or potential danger of diseased limbs and that these trees are not being planted as they used to be due to their relatively short lifespan (apparently it's councils according to the article) and we have less and less conker trees with a prediction of no more in 15 years time. 

 So back to the game of conkers I remember from my childhood. 

It must have been 4 years ago when I took my 2 sons to collect some conkers I had spotted next to the road in Bolehall, I took them home, bored a hole in them and mounted the conkers on a boot lace. The next hour was a series of

"what do we have to do?"

"I can't do it"

"he won't let me hit his"

"dad can you take me out to get some too"

Fun was clearly being had by all. I posted a comment on my facebook wall about the boys playing conkers and quickly got a comment "Have you Health and Safety checked this game?" this was tongue in cheek comment but I wonder what truth was in the comment. since then I hadn't thought about it until a few weeks ago. 

 Again this year I walked out with my 8 year old to collect conkers near Ninefoot park, we found loads just on the path. This surprised me as its a route for school kids so I asked my kids why there would be so many.  The answer I got was shocking, the kids just pick up the fallen green spikey cases, throw them at the floor to see them split and then leave the brown shiny conker. It appears to me that this may satisfy a short attention span and a sense of destruction but it goes no further. I actually wonder if these kids actually know how to play conkers, why have their parents not shown them? maybe their parents didn't know, maybe I hadn't realised how lucky I was a s a kid to have a conker tree at the end of my front garden, the things I have taken for granted. 

I wonder how many people are as panicked as I am about the end of the conker, maybe my concern is just because this great tree produces conkers rather than the environment, It's amazing what people think is the most important issue of the day. 

I may write a blog about the oak trees challenge with Knopper Gall wasps and Clanker later this week. 

When I grew up we were warned about rain forests being destroyed and the next ice age or global warming, I don't remember worrying about our own woodlands and parks, our mighty oak and the horse chestnut tree. 

so what shall I do?

A)collect conkers and teach kids to play?

or

B)collect conkers and plant them?

or

C)maybe both A&B

ex Page three girl arrested on suspicion of terror offences

ITV News have reported an ex page three girl has been arrested on terror charges. Read the article here. 

Having read this and it appears someone has been arrested for "possessing a document or record which contains information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism." Obviously there is more to this and the police are restricted in what they say.

I have a question :-
 What is a "document or record which contains information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing and act or terrorism"?

  Not wishing to demean the subject at all, would an AtoZ and a Yellow Pages be useful? or a bus and train timetable? what sort of documents are we referring to?
  Or is it a wording thing? should it read contains a plan for an act of terrorism.

Genuine question, what does this all mean?

Anti-bullying hero

http://news.sky.com/video/man-runs-401-marathons-in-401-days-10606598

This is a great story, chap gets bullied and turns his life around to do so much as both a personal achievement and a great fundraiser.

Earlier this week I attended a meeting looking at Multi Agency Centres in schools I'm Tamworth. These were set up to focus service delivery of a number of agencies serving young people. I'm not going to go into the full details but the biggest thing that young people said they got from these centres in Tamworth schools was having someone to talk to.

The sky story about Ben Smith shows what can be achieved and shows that even when someone is feeling low they can turn things round. This guy should be held up as an inspiration to many, especially with some of the tragic stories we hear of where young people have even taken their own lives.

Today the pressures on kids seem so much bigger than the things I had to deal with at school. When I was at school home was a safe haven but now with technology and social media etc there are few let and fewer places to be safe. Thinking about it I was lucky, some kids don't have that feeling of security. I have to say I am really pleased the centres I mentioned above are being used for what some would say is a warm and fluffy chat with no measurable outcomes. Sometime the none measurables are the most meaningful.

I really hope my children can speak to me or their mom and if not I really hope they can visit their health and wellbeing centre at school if they ever need to speak to someone.

So to conclude, a cracking service in place in Tamworth with the Mac's.

401 marathons in 401 WOW
  true hero well done, I hope the bullied gain from your work

Changing Place needed in Tamworth Castle Grounds

Quote George Osborne in Manchester 16th September 2016 09:20.

"Frankly when you're in politics and do jobs like I have done you put out ideas and launch initiatives that don't get off the ground"

    This is the mantra I am going to use to justify posting ideas on this blog, what's the worst that can happen? the idea doesn't get off the ground.

You wouldn't go barefoot in a public toilet?

No?

So why is okay that disabled vulnerable children & adults are changed on public toilet floors ? Their lives and dignity matter.

Imagine having to change your son, daughter or partner on the floor of a public toilet.

Imagine how you would feel if you were that person on that floor. Sadly there are thousands of disabled people and families who do not have to use their imagination. For them this is a daily occurrence.

Standard accessible toilets meet the needs of some disabled people - but not all. Over  230,000 people in the UK need personal assistance to use the toilet or change continence pads, including people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, spinal injuries and people living after a stroke.

Without appropriate facilities, carers are forced to change continence pads on public  toilet floors or wait until they go home. This is unhygienic, undignified and unacceptable!

Specialist toilet and changing rooms enable people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, their carers,  assistants and families to enjoy days out. Enjoying time together shopping, visiting attractions, enjoying outdoor events or just spending time together

My suggestion is create a Community Interest Company to take on the day to day running of the public toilets in the Castle Grounds and take on the building as a lease (to be negotiated) with TBC. Once this is secured  an extension of 5 x 12 m is to be built on the western elevation of the building to facilitate 2 family changing rooms catering for adults with extra needs (including stroke victims, the disabled, those with dwarfism etc) baby changing and those who need to be accompanied. Increasing the capacity of the baby changing facilities as well as providing adult facilities. The building would also house a small ‘shop’ selling essentials for those caught short supplying nappies, wipes, pads etc, as well as providing a First aid post.

Each of these rooms will include 2 toilets at different levels, 2 sinks at different levels, a host, adjustable changing table, shower, privacy screening within the room, wet room flooring, waste bins, shelving for bags etc as a minimum. It is envisaged that the 2 family rooms could also be used for emergency triage and so 2 full first aid kits will be available along with a community Defibrillator.

With regards services, the build will need improvement to energy efficiency and improved use of natural lighting where possible, the 2 rooms themselves will need to have underfloor heating to maintain temperature for people getting undressed and redressed without drafts etc.

Lorries to be banned from London ?

   Ok I may be biased or prejudiced on the matter of heavy goods vehicles but I must share my opinion on this, road safety is a priority and more must be done to protect cyclist on our increasingly busy roads.  I  just feel there needs to be some extra care here to make sure the outcomes are what was intended.

   The figures I have used are from this sky news article, HGVs were involved in 23% of pedestrian fatalities over the last two years and 58% of cyclist deaths, the mayor's office said. Lorries account for just 4% of all miles driven in the capital. These figures are quite horrific, 58% of cyclist deaths within 4% of over all mileage. The figures that are missing are those for incidents involving cyclists, HGV's and other vehicles which do not result in fatalities. One of the tragic elements of this subject if that due to the weight, size and construction of a lorry if there is contact between one and a cyclist the outcomes are some what limited. 

  In London, the UK and in general people do not drive lorries just for fun, they drive them to make money by delivering goods (however that doesn't mean they can't enjoy driving). 

 Obviously there are different sizes of lorry but just to make this point I will assume that the ones in question are a standard artic size with trailer and I am going to avoid other complexities such as fridges, waste management, builders/maintenance etc . All shops, restaurants, cafes offices etc etc need to take deliveries have good collected by vehicle. the capacity of lorries means that a large quantity of goods can be delivered to single or multiple destination with a single limited mileage, limited trips and limited resource in all definitions. If all of these goods were delivered by smaller vehicles there would need to be significantly more vehicles on the streets of London. 
     Many shops use roll on roll off cages for deliveries, a double deck trailer can carry around cages, with a tail lift to lift them in and out of the trailer down to street level, a white panel van, may get 3 cages on and if fitted with a heavy tail lift or ramp this figure may reduce based on gross vehicle weight. SO, if a fleet of vans (sprinters or transits etc) were to replace a double deck articulated lorry with its limited lines of vision the fleet would need 25 vans. That's 25 drivers and 25 times the amount of mileage per lorry removed

     One of the main threads of the argument for banning lorries is the lines of visibility. I am sure that this is an area that can be developed on lorries but there must also be other options such as goods vehicle permitted times, These can be investigated and do not have to follow the traditional methods of night time only deliveries, Or maybe cycle/none HGV routes and none cycle/HGV routes to segregate the different vehicles but facilitating the needs of businesses and workers. 

I just feel more thought needs to go into this before the roads of London are blocked with an invasion of vans making the deliveries of a few lorries and there is even less space for cyclist to travel freely and safely.   

Jeremy Corbyn's Leadership fight

The Last couple of years for the Labour party in the UK has been somewhat of a roller coaster and I am not going to get all party political in this blog, but I am going to raise something that I think many politicians can learn from.

  So lets wind the clock back.... but not too far.... not as far back as siblings Milliband were going head to head but to the point just after the awkward photo of  Milliband Clegg and Cameron the morning after the general election. Ed Miliband took the decision to step down following the election result triggering a leadership contest in which the Jeremy Corbyn was nominated, possibly to stir it up a little, and very quickly it became apparent that within the Labour party he was becoming very popular and it is at this point that I think the lesson of the last 15 months for all parties starts:-

   As soon as his popularity became apparent a number of senior politicians expressed the view that if he were elected the party would be un-electable. So the MP's were advising the grass routes membership that they did not want Corbyn as leader and at that point it was fair for them to air that opinion. Jeremy Corbyn then went on to win with 59% of the membership vote, Just pause for a second, the membership of the party voted by nearly two thirds in a four way battle to elect the leader they wanted knowing that this was not the MP's popular choice. This is the democratic right of the membership and so the leadership was settled, the new leader was elected and it was time for MP's to get on with the job.

   Earlier this year we had the EU referendum and I agree that Jeremy Corbyn was slow out of the blocks and probably enjoyed the blue on blue a little too much, he didn't come out fighting as he was expected to do. So the MP's who didn't want him there in the first place in my opinion used this as an opportunity to fight the democratic decision of the grass routes membership.  The MP's were saying "we don't like the leader you have chosen and so we will vote we have no confidence in your choice and want a different one". The vote of confidence happened and Jeremy lost so the leadership battle commenced.

 3 months on and we have seen a summer of rule changes, court battles, trolling, a bruising campaign and the grass routes membership have voted for their leader who is Jeremy Corbyn, with a bigger share of the vote than before. All of that emotion, political damage and money spent to get the result the membership wanted in the first place.
 
 This does raise the question when is it a good time to have a vote of no confidence if you don't like the result.

The lesson must be that whilst MP's are elected to make decisions they must listen to their constituents and party members on the ground especially if they can make the decision, Remember its grass routes members that select and elect MP's.

Ninefoot Park a place to play IDEA

Quote George Osborne in Manchester 16th September 2016 09:20.

"Frankly when you're in politics and do jobs like I have done you put out ideas and launch initiatives that don't get off the ground"

    This is the mantra I am going to use to justify posting ideas on this blog, what's the worst that can happen? the idea doesn't get off the ground.

So this idea is about improving the park near where I live, 

Ninefoot park,

A place of play

Current position

Nine foot park is a large open public space, tree lined containing 2 football pitches and evidence of previous place equipment.

Proposal,

To create an open space with a variety of activities for all ages to enjoy the great outdoors, including places to play, exercise or rest and relax.

The proposal is to set up a local interest/residents/park neighbours group to work in partnership with the public sector to oversee and deliver an equipped open space. This will include aspiration, designing, fund raising (collections, donations and grant funding)and planning the project. Equipment will be procured and installed by professional specialist companies.

Equipment

• 2 sport walls, one for teens and adults and one for juniors, these are the traditional wall with goal and basketball hoop, I wrote of the virtues of kicking a ball in the blog entry about Childhood Obesity, basically unless the ball comes back its really boring.
• 2 climbing frame/ play areas as per the pictures below, this is to cater for different age groups
• 2 twin frames of swings, providing 4 cradle swings and 4 normal swings, it amazes me how people just love sitting on swings. 
• Covered benches are also needed in the park to focus places to sit and spend time
• 1 Adult/teen trim track 1.5 km trim trail including 8-10 different exercises and signage for direction and instruction

Delivery

• Confirm TBC have no plans or reasons to refuse as landowners etc
• Create Group
• Agree roles
• Agree designs
• Create fundraising plan
• Source suppliers
• Install equipment

Before too much work is done we must be clear that the landowner will not have any issues in trying to complete this.  It is also important that we work with the local authority as this will have an impact on deliverability with regards Public Liability, planning permission and landlords consent.

Whilst at this stage this scheme is merely an idea a key to delivering the long term sustainability of the area community buy in is essential. The role of a local interest group is key to the projects delivery however the roles within the group will be varied from soft consultation and participation with events through to part time volunteer role in project management or treasury.

	Costs of project
Phase 1	Childrens play		£40,260.00
		Phase costs	£40,260.00
Phase 2	MUGA x 2		£33,462.00
		Phase costs	£33,462.00
Phase 3	Adult Trim Trail estimated costs		£4,565.00
		Phase costs	£4,565.00
	Project Costs		£78,287.00

these costs are from suppliers I found locally and the photos here are from their website.

 

 

Phase 1	Childrens Play
	Item	Costs
1	bombay under 6 clc/bom	£9,556.00
2	London 6+	£24,329.00
3	city 2 bar cradle swing scsw(2)	£3,055.00
4	city 2 bay junior swing	£3,320.00
	total (including installation)	£40,260.00

Phase 2	Ball Games area estimated costs
	Item	Costs
1	Sportswall Junior Classic	£16,731.00
2	Sports wall Classic	£16,731.00
	total (including installation)	£33,462.00

Phase3	Adult Trim Trail estimated costs
	Item	Costs
1	Tyre Run	£375.00
2	2m Climbing Wall	£675.00
3	Net Climb	1,150.00
4	Heaves & Lying Heaves	£495.00
5	Rope Assault	£950.00
	Customised Trail Data Board x 2
	Pair Trail data board support posts 2.4m x 4	£220.00
	Oval 60 degree Station Indicators x 10	£250.00
	60 degree Cut Station Indicator Post x 10	£450.00
	total (plus installation)	£4,565.00