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.