tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38429565795840945142023-11-16T06:46:28.595+00:00Goodbye Blackberry WayViewing life from water levelPeter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-2764955441175744372014-07-23T22:13:00.001+01:002014-07-23T22:14:05.895+01:00Toilet communications <p dir=ltr>In a move entirely unrelated (honest) with the uproar caused by the draconian imposition of 48-hr moorings on most of the handful of mooring spots on the Lancaster Canal the Canal and River Trust has suddenly decided to communicate with boaters.<br>
Their chosen method is a single sheet of A4 paper stapled to the inside of the toilet door at Garstang services.<br>
And the message comes not from the Waterways Manager but from the unelected members of the Waterways Partnership <u>who</u> have been behind the whole ill-considered, unresearched plot from the beginning.<br>
The note also announces that the moorings will be monitored by volunteers, who will also 'greet' visitors. I assume these are the ones taking pictures of moored boats yesterday, and I assume they have been advised to wear lifejackets as they poke and pry into the privacy of boaters.<br>
The vigilante volunteers, armed with cameras, were conveniently unmentioned when I asked Waterways Manager Chantelle Seaborn about policing her new mooring strategy. She assured me she couldn't do that. <br>
Meanwhile, on the overcrowded visitor moorings at Garstang, CRT has decided it is perfectly acceptable to take up space with a large workboat - you couldn't make it up.</p>
Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-35621862737099162782014-07-21T19:52:00.001+01:002014-07-21T19:52:16.056+01:0048-hour moorings fiasco<p dir=ltr>This is the resolution passed, nearly unanimously, by a well-attended meeting of boaters at the Tithe Barn at Garstang on the Lancaster Canal last night. It is being sent to Chantelle Seaborn, the NW Waterways Manager and copied to Richard Parry.</p>
<p dir=ltr>This meeting of resident and visiting boaters on the Lancaster Canal calls on the Canal and River Trust's NW Waterways Manager Chantelle Seaborn to immediately reverse the imposition of 48-hour moorings on the Lancaster Canal, removing all signage and reverting to the previous situation.<br>
We do so because:<br>
1. The restrictions have been introduced without proper research or consultation, with either local or visiting boaters;<br>
2. The restrictions will not achieve their stated objective of 'fairness' as there is insufficient usable mooring space for the number of boats wanting it, so moorings will remain first-come-first-served regardless of timing restrictions;<br>
3. CRT has failed to measure and establish an existing problem and therefore has no means of measuring the failure or success of the 48-hour mooring experiment;<br>
4. CRT has admitted it has no prospect of enforcing a 48-hour mooring restriction and it is pointless to make rules which cannot be enforced;<br>
5. Introducing 48-hour moorings destroys the relaxed nature of the Lancaster canal and is already deterring visiting boats from returning, to the detriment of canalside businesses;<br>
6. These restrictions have clearly been made at the urging of unelected members of the waterways partnership who should have no role in boating issues.<br>
Instead, this meeting urges Chantelle Seaborn to focus on the creation of many additional mooring spaces around the most popular parts of the canal, along with a programme of dredging throughout the length of the canal as this will do most to enable resident and visiting boats to enjoy the Lancaster Canal.</p>
Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-68920575471651674512013-02-12T15:09:00.002+00:002013-02-12T15:10:19.553+00:00A personal appeal to Canal and River Trust Trustee John Dodwell.<br />
Dear John,<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">I have said elsewhere
that I was disappointed that you decided to use your position of
influence to support your Estates Department and Waterways Manager
Wendy Capelle in their decision that it was right for the Canal and
River Trust to deprive a young, hard-working man and his three
children of their livelihood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Even though very
suspicious, many of us had hoped that CaRT would have a different
approach, on a more human scale, to issues like this, yet we have
seen canal traders and now canalside traders being pushed out of
business and we don't really understand the motive. What's more we
all worry about who you will target next.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">What inspires a major
charity to conduct a campaign to smear a young man, desperately
trying to do his best for his three children and working hard?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">OK, so he planted some
vegetables without agreement, put up a lean-to and tried to expand
his business. I dare say he wasn't very good at meetings and he was
naïve enough to take the verbal assurances of CaRT officers without
getting things in writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Despite the fact that
you choose to portray him – without any proof that I can see – as
'aggressive' and difficult, Danny has massive support from boaters
and local people, who see him as nothing but charming and
hard-working. That is demonstrated by his popularity and the growth
of his business, something we all ought to applaud.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">And the mistakes here
are hardly one-sided are they? A senior CaRT's manager gave Danny
verbal assurances that she later refused to confirm, and went so far
as to refuse to attend a meeting where she might have been questioned
about them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Your staff, whilst
making much now of 'heritage value' have over the past year or more
variously suggested knocking down the brick hut at the centre of the
disagreement and putting a Portakabin up alongside it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">In fact, everyone
thought we had agreement in December, but CaRT seems to have been
pulled out because Danny George honestly explained he didn't
currently have the cash to fund the building needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">You could have helped
him then, but you didn't. Instead he simply had the rug pulled from
under him and a campaign mounted to blacken his reputation with those
who protested on his behalf.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">You make the excuse
that everyone has to abide by the rules but the difficulty with that
is that you change the rules according to circumstances. I know a
marina on CaRT waterspace where the lessee was told five years ago to
deal with coping stones that were falling in the water and a hazard
to moorers. Today they are exactly the same. So much for equal
treatment. I know hire firms who ignore mooring rules and obstruct
the canal with nothing done – and these are firms that have the
staff and knowledge to deal with CaRT.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Danny is a one-man
band trying to keep his family afloat and CaRT's attitude to him is a
touchstone of where the charity is heading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">I would ask you to
stop this witch-hunt in its tracks. Rather than protect your senior
estates manager, grab him by the ear and take him down to Audlem to
discuss this with Danny and his many supporters - and sit down with
him until you find a solution. That should be so much easier now that
hundreds of pounds are pouring into the online fund to assist him to
purchase the building needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">CaRT would get kudos
and support for acknowledging that part of the function of a charity
like ours is to help small businesses that enhance and boost the
waterways – and George's Pork and Poultry does that – everybody
would be able to say CaRT are reasonable people after all, at least
they stopped before they destroyed the income of this young family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">It would be even
better for the reputation of the Canal and River Trust if you could
assist Danny, perhaps, with some key issue like electricity supply?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">The alternative is
that CaRT's reputation gets dragged down again. Just imagine what
would happen if you persist in this eviction. Danny, desperate to
save his family, refuses to move. You bring in the bailiffs. The
boaters and locals blockade the canal to turn them away – for make
no mistake we are on his side, not that of your officials.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">CaRT would be facing
scenes similar to the protests against BW in the heyday of the young
IWA. What an irony that the body those campaigners were trying to get
set up is finally in place and finding itself the focus of boaters
protesting against its lack of vision and inhumanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Everyone tells me you
are one of the good guys, and I believe you are at least amenable to
commonsense. CaRT's persecution of Danny George, for that is how it
is widely regarded, needs to be wiped from the public perspective.
You need to demonstrate some charity, understanding and compassion
and lead your officials to a solution that does not involve this
young family being made destitute at the behest of the Trust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">I would beg you to
live up to that reputation as one of the good guys and use your
influence to end the nastiness currently coming out of CaRT's PR
department, halt the eviction and work to a solution that reflects
some credit on the charity of which you are a trustee, rather than
plunge it further into disrepute.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;">Peter Underwood</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-4073010433468554582013-02-10T15:53:00.001+00:002013-02-10T15:55:06.646+00:00The Battle of Audlem Locks<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
David and Goliath battle between one of the country's biggest and
newest charities and a young father trying to establish his business
and provide for his family seems about to be settled with the charity
doing everything in its power to crush the young man.</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
charity is the Canal and River Trust, the first and only fruit of
David Cameron's Big Society, which was created to take over the
former British Waterways and look after the UK's unique canal system.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
young family man is Danny George, father of two, who gained the
former British Waterways' permission to establish a small shop beside
a canal lock at Audlem to sell his local reared pork and poultry and
to grow vegetables on the waste land by the lock.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From
the start a couple of years ago passing boaters and people in the
village were delighted at this innovative and sensible use of a piece
of waste land and a tatty brick-built lock shed and Danny's business
grew. He eventually needed more space and created a wooden lean-to
addition to the lock shed and expanded his vegetable beds to take in
more of the waste land.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
that was when he upset the mandarins of the Canal and River Trust
(CaRT), who started to try to close him down.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
petition on the Internet, signed by hundreds of boaters, gave them
some pause for thought and CaRT promised to do everything in their
power to ensure Danny could remain by the lockside and keep his
business.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">According
to boaters and others who have been giving their time to help Danny
negotiate with CaRT, they exhibited little understanding of the fact
that they were dealing with a young man starting out in business
rather than a big company. However, just before Christmas everyone
was convinced Danny and the CaRT had finally agreed a deal that would
involve him replacing the the lean-to shed with something better.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CaRT
had suggested a Portakabin, despite claiming to be concerned about
the 'heritage value' of the lockside site. Danny wanted to put up a
temporary building more in keeping with the wooden constructions used
by CaRT itself to house canal stop planks.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">However,
he indicated that it would take some time to put the money together
and that seems to be when CaRT lost patience and decided George's
Pork and Poultry was the the chop.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Trust obviously knew that the decision would bring the wrath of
boaters and local people on their heads and briefed their public
relations spin doctors who operate on Facebook and Twitter to make
their case.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
CaRT decided to issue Danny George with notice to quit – a decision
which will not only destroy his business but also make it even more
difficult to care for his two children </span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">who,
he says, are about to be formally diagnosed as autistic.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Despite
this the Trust, led in this instance by </span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Wendy
Capelle the Waterway Manager for<br />North Wales and Borders,</span></span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
decided to have a go at Danny, all guns blazing. </span></span></span></span></strong>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
special briefing document and in emails they asserted that not only
had he not submitted plans for changes on time he had grown
vegetables waste land not authorised by them and had gone outside the
lease agreement.</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CaRT
complained Danny's lean-to and subsequent building designs were out
of keeping with the heritage value of the existing hut.</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
also played the health and safety card, claiming to be concerned
about people having to cross the lock beams to buy their vegetables.
That was laughed out of court as boaters from across the country
pointed out that thousands of of them cross lock beams every year and
that, within 200 yards of the business there are locks that have to
be crossed from the towpath to reach moorings on the offside and
there is another canal-side shop by the top lock at Adderley where
buyers have to cross the lock beam to buy eggs and cakes.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Wendy
Capelle first distanced herself from the heritage excuse for closing
down Danny's business. In an email to me she said: “With respect to
the suggestion of a Portacabin </span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">we
were simply trying to put the point across to Mr George that any
proposals would be considered, he simply did not provide anything up
until the end of January, having been initially asked in May 2012. It
was used in the context that there are some available which have
water and WC facilities integrated which were one of Mr George’s
requirements.”</span></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">So
much for heritage then, but what about the flawed health and safety
argument ?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">I
asked Wendy Capelle: “Just how is it safe for the public to cross
locks on the same flight carrying their shopping back to CaRT offside
moorings, or to carry food across from the shop on Adderley locks but
not safe for Danny's customers?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Ms
Capelle's response was to back away from that argument and pass the
buck to the estates department. She e-mailed back: “The decision to
serve notice was due to the non-compliance of the terms of Mr
George’s current licence, rather than any health and safety issues
regarding people crossing the locks.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">So
everything her PR people had been telling online protestors and the
media about health and safety is now admitted to be a smokescreen and
nothing to with their decision to evict Danny.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Then
boaters in Facebook forums offered to crowd-fund Danny's new
building. Would Ms Capelle halt the eviction to allow that to happen?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">The
only answer was more buck-passing: “I will forward your email onto
my national colleagues who are dealing with the tenancy.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Meanwhile
the anti Danny George campaign by CaRT's online team had escalated a
further step. One Anja – no surname supplied – had taken to
sending private messages on Facebook that can only be described as
part of a smear campaign.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">She
claimed: “You
must understand that we have really tried to help him again and
again, this is not our fault.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Saying
she didn't 'want to slander Danny' she went on to label him as
abusive and aggressive claiming 'he is not an easy person to work
with'. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">She
also claimed, in obvious outrage: 'he started planting vegetables all
over the place without our permission.' </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">It
is not clear whether this hate campaign was authorised not at what
level permission was given to CaRT's spin doctors to destroy the
reputation of a small businessman working hard to provide a living
for his young family.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">The
fact that such tactics are being employed by a large and powerful
national charity must be disturbing to everyone who loves the canals
and wants to see them thrive and prosper with a wealth of innovative
small businesses like Danny George's popping up everywhere.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">I
would suggest this shows an organisation out of control and the
elected and non-elected members of the Canal and River Trusts'
Council need to be asking some serious questions about the motives
and tactics of their paid officials.</span></div>
Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-36944050239773082692013-02-06T10:20:00.003+00:002013-02-06T10:24:30.821+00:00Don't Close George's Pork and Poultry at Audlem<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">To:
Ms </span><span style="color: #3d362c;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wendy
Capelle (wendy.capelle@canalrivertrust.org.uk)</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #3d362c;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">North
Wales & Borders Waterways<br />Canal & River
Trust<br />Navigation Road<br />Northwich<br />CW8 1BH</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d362c;">Copies
to: </span>
<br />
<span style="color: #3d362c;">Crewe
Guardian (<a href="mailto:crewe@guardiangrp.co.uk">crewe@guardiangrp.co.uk</a>);
</span>
<br />
<span style="color: #3d362c;">Crewe
Chronicle (</span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Editor:</span></span></span></span></strong><span style="color: black;"> Michael
Green </span><strong><span style="color: #003366;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="mailto:crewe.news@cheshirenews.co.uk">crewe.news@cheshirenews.co.uk</a>);
</span></u></span></span></span></strong>
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #003366;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Shropshire
Star (<a href="mailto:newsroom@shropshirestar.co.uk">newsroom@shropshirestar.co.uk</a>
); </span></u></span></span></span></strong>
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #003366;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Audlem
online (<a href="mailto:editor@audlem.org">editor@audlem.org</a>)</span></u></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dear
Ms Capelle</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
was appalled to learn that, despite a petition of support from
boaters and local people you have decided to pull the rug from under
a thriving canalside business in Audlem.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">George's
Pork and Poultry, situated beside the bottom lock at Audlem has
became a feature of the canal scene and is regarded as a valuable
resource by boaters like myself and local people, having transformed
the derelict lock-side land with beds of delicious vegetables as well
as providing local meat. It is just the sort of local family business
the modern canal system needs.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Despite
that – and promises to ensure the business survived – you have
decided to withdraw his lease and the clearly pre-prepared excuses in
your press release and being made by your public relations staff in
online forums are pathetically inadequate.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Your
excuses for closure seem to centre around the modest shed Danny
George has erected alongside the existing brick-built hut. You
complain it is out of keeping with the heritage value of the hut yet
you have suggested a larger, uglier, portacabin as an alternative.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
that clearly isn't adequate as an excuse to put a family out of
business you also play the health and safety card, claiming to be
concerned about people having to cross the lock beams to buy their
vegetables.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
is, indeed, curious as tens of thousands of boaters cross lock beams
like these every year. Within 200 yards of the business there are
locks that have to be crossed from the towpath to reach moorings on
the offside and there is another canalside shop by the top lock at
Adderley where buyers have to cross the lock beam to buy eggs and
cakes.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Overall
your excuses for closing down this business are entirely inadequate
and will damage the public and boaters' attitudes to the new Canal
and River Trust as it attempts to persuade people to support it
financially and by volunteering. Who would want to give cash or time
to an organisation that acts in such a high-handed manner with an
innovative waterside business, established with a great deal of hard
work by Danny George and his family.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
ask you to rescind this nasty, short-sighted decision immediately
and, instead of seeking reasons why this business should close, do
everything in your considerable power to keep it open and demonstrate
that the Canal and River Trust will support waterways businesses and
help them top thrive.</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yours</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Peter
Underwood</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica 55 Roman, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">nb
Blackberry Way, </span></span></span></span></strong>Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-71696449945477565862013-01-21T14:49:00.001+00:002013-01-21T14:49:33.500+00:00Perspective<p>Sometimes your perspective changes, snaps into a different view leaving you wondering why you hadn't seen things that way before.<br>
It happened to me a few days ago when my youngest brother, Adrian, found some pictures in the Imperial War Museum archive of my home village, Orford on the Suffolk coast, in 1941. In a series called 'Invasion Village' they reflected life when Britain expected to be invaded by Hitler at any time and, because Orford was on an east coast estuary it would have been a prime landing site.<br>
In fact, I recalled my mother explaining that the whole village spent the war under military control, with the coast for several miles inland playing host to our front-line defensive forces.<br>
The pictures featured some of the people I had known as a child, but - as I was only born eight years after they were taken - I recall them as old, sometimes elderly, individuals.<br>
Yet there they were on the front line of a genuine national effort to survive the Nazi threat - not some ersatz crisis with a PR catchphrase like "We're all in it together" which most recognise to be simply untrue.<br>
My father would have been training as an RAF dispatch rider elsewhere, my mother a teenage girl soon to join the Land Army. One grandfather was in the Home Guard and another the village milkman.<br>
All were in a way on the front line - genuinely expecting a landing just a few hundred yards from their village homes. Those pictures showed the District Nurse I later knew as a stern old lady on the village Invasion Committee, along with the old policeman who failed to catch us scrumping apples and plums from one of the big houses.<br>
With all the arrogance of youth these were the people I regarded as boring old farts while growing up and had thought little about since. <br>
Oh, I loved my family and was proud of my Dad doing his bit as a Despatch Rider in Europe after D-Day, even if I only learned about that many years later from his diaries, but all those old village inhabitants were boring, rural and unappreciative of the needs of my generation.<br>
In a way, I became older and wiser but I moved away and my memories of the older Orford people I knew as a child became preserved in aspic, as did my attitude towards them.<br>
Then I looked at those black and white pictures capturing those same people, 20 years younger, and facing the stark realities and choices of a country at war, currently losingthat war and under threat of invasion.<br>
Theirs was not some fake, political, 'war on terror' but a genuine threat to their homes and lives. They dealt with it by co-operating with each other, volunteering to do what was needed and attempting to preserve as much of their own lives as possible.<br>
And they saw it through to victory. Suddenly boring old farts have to be seen as something more, as ordinary heroes, working class and middle class people willing to go beyond their own concerns, stand up and be counted.<br>
It was a salutary experience to have to rethink attitudes born 50 years ago, and very worthwhile.Thanks Adrian for finding that glimpse of Orford in 1941.</p>
Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-14054998078847620772012-04-18T09:40:00.001+01:002012-04-18T09:40:58.582+01:00Death of a lovely man<div><p>We have only known Ken Maynard for a couple of years but we knew within days that he was going to be a real friend, a mate. When Chris told us of his tragically early death this morning we both sat and cried. But Ken was the perennial joker, always cheerful, always tolerant, a great family man and a great boozing mate at canal festivals all over the system.<br>
Ken was a boater and he and Chris enjoyed exploring new waterways and living their lives on Blackbird, the boat they loved.<br>
That we shared many a lock and travelled many miles with Ken and Chris was a privilege and a great pleasure. We will always remember joining him at a mooring on the Llangollen where he waved us into a spot with signs warning of wasps' nests. "It's OK I put them there to save you a space" he announced, with a beaming smile.<br>
Ken would always help another boater, or anyone else for that matter. He was a loving, generous man who gave his friendship freely. He was open minded - I even managed to convert him from cider to real ale - and enthusiastic about life.<br>
His loss leaves an empty space in our lives. Rest In Peace mate.</p>
</div>Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-76844261624317306092012-03-26T20:40:00.001+01:002012-03-26T20:42:01.007+01:00Joy of solar panels for full time boaters<div><p>With today's sunshine our solar panels have been producing more than our 6 110amphour batteries can store.<br>
Our system is very basic - cheapest reasonable wattage panels on ebay. Two 80watt for £380 two years ago, so we bought 4 panels. These days they are cheaper still. Buy a bigger regulator than you need, ours cost £30 or so. They are all wired into the regulator with two cables from there to battery bank. Our 4 panels are bolted flat on the boat's roof for simplicity but other tilt and turn mountings are available if you have the patience to fiddle with them.<br>
Our 320 watts will produce 18+amps per hour throughout a day like today and 4-6 amps even on a dull day. Length of the day is the real key and from now until October we can moor for days without charging with the engine. We have the usual fridge, watch a bit of telly and run the laptop a lot. In addition I run my CPAP breathing machine on our mains, supplied by an inverter, for 8 hours every night ( I suffer from sleep apnoea ) and the panels keep up with all those demands. We don't use electric kettles, microwave, dishwasher or other power hungry items.<br>
Without the panels I would need to run the engine 2 hours most days so that's a couple of litres of diesel or £1.60 a day even Norbury's 79.9 price.<br>
Work out the figures yourself - £11.20 a week or £290 or so over 6 months plus the winter contribution when it can cut your running time by an hour a day. Say its saving you £350 a year in diesel - and that's at the lowest price. Add in the saving on engine wear and servicing costs and you can see how my £800 has come back to me. The panels are guaranteed for 25 years so they will continue to contribute to the beer fund.</p>
</div>Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0Audlem, Audlem52.982018 -2.5022156tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-19746816598280075362012-03-07T20:04:00.001+00:002012-03-07T20:05:20.720+00:00Tories punishing the disabled shouldn't surprise anyone<div><p>Don't be shocked by the Tories throwing thousands of disabled people out of Remploy factories.<br>
Whatever gave you the impression that slick Tory millionaires would give a toss about the poor, sick, jobless, disabled, NHS or anything else that matters to real people?<br>
They just want to open the doors so that their greedy rich supporters and providers of funds can exploit and buy up the health service, the police etc and exploit young unemployed by getting them to work for no pay for firms like Tesco. <br>
Idiots who buy the 'Labour spent it all' line don't have the intelligence to ask why countries like the USA are suffering the same problems - or to see the common factor is out of control bankers, hedge funds etc. <br>
Uncontrolled capitalism will always descend into greed and punish those like the disabled who can't fight back. </p>
</div>Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-59413053395391910712011-11-21T11:52:00.001+00:002011-11-21T11:56:21.538+00:00How the Boaters' Manifesto happened<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Find something positive to say about the Canal and River Trust was the
challenge thrown down by former canal magazine editor Kevin Blick– and I
responded like a dog chasing a bone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My trust in BW, at least at senior management level, had evaporated and - as much as I believe the waterways should be cared for properly by the taxpayer - I was reluctantly having to admit that the current bunch of right wing
ideologues in government were unlikely to abandon their cost saving plan of
tossing the waterways away to save a few quid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That left the Canal and River Trust and I could see that boaters, and
especially those who live on the system or spend much of their lives on the
water did need to face the new reality of the Trust and tell those creating it
what was needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So was born the Boaters’ Manifesto. I asked for contributions online, some
of you may have seen my requests on a whole variety of Facebook pages, or on
Twitter and then I put them all together. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Everyone looked at it again and we fine-tuned it before the manifesto, created
by a group of boaters, was sent to the Transition Trustees, the IWA and the
members of the parliamentary waterways group. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It is now being discussed by the IWA and members of the parliamentary group
and a direct meeting is planned with the Transition Trustees of the proposed
new Canal and River Trust.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I think the
manifesto is a worthwhile document and gives a voice to real boaters – well I
would, wouldn’t I?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Getting it together
has been interesting, especially as the contributions have all been made online
and opinions vary according to perspective, with everyone, including me, having
their axes to grind. I am pleased that we have got agreement from such a
disparate bunch on a simple set of demands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If the Transition
Trustees can move some way towards us there is a tremendous reward in sight for
the new charity because experienced boaters who spend much if not all of their
lives on the system have already got a great deal of personal and financial
capital invested in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We need to see a successful
organisation running our waterways and doing so in a way that allows our
investment to remain worthwhile. If the Canal and River Trust can convince us
they are the people to do that there is a great wealth of enthusiasm,
commitment and knowledge amongst boaters that can be tapped in a way that BW
could never manage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My next task is to
put together a team to present the Manifesto to the trustees from amongst
boaters I have only met electronically, each speaking on a section of the
manifesto and possibly doing so from a variety of BW regional offices on a
video link.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Remind me again why
I started this?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-66773259940950254822011-11-10T11:41:00.000+00:002011-11-16T10:04:33.410+00:00Boaters Manifesto<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>This manifesto was
compiled as the result of responses to a request made on half a dozen boaters’
groups on Facebook (total membership around 2,500) and through various individual
boaters’ Twitter networks and discussion groups.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Boaters were asked
to let the transition trustees know what they actually need from them so that
they can respond to the new charity with enthusiasm and commitment</i>. <i>A first draft was produced and offered to boaters
for further amendments and additions and this is the final result.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Key Points</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Waterways are about boats and boaters and the Canal and River Trust needs to listen to boaters more closely and have more representatives on the board.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Before the Canal and River Trust accepts the legal burden of running the waterways it must ensure proper funding to keep all waterways open, navigable and properly maintained, otherwise it should refuse to do so.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Boaters have lost faith in the most senior management of British Waterways and believe that the government should accept the cost of making them redundant to give the Canal and River Trust a fresh start.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. The Canal and River Trust must develop a system of working that values full time paid staff and their skills above the expediency of using cheap contractors in order to maintain the skilled workforce the waterways require.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. The Canal and River Trust must enforce a simplified set of mooring rules across the entire waterways system without fear or favour.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. The Trust must make it a priority to ensure non-boating users of the system make a financial contribution to its upkeep and that their use of the system does not impinge on its primary purpose of navigation.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. The Canal and River Trust must ensure it is open to Freedom of Information Act requests and operate in a totally transparent fashion if it is to earn and retain confidence.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8. Those for whom the waterways are a home have a special interest in and value to the Canal and River Trust and should be clearly represented at board level and consulted on all navigational issues.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Why the Canal and River Trust should listen to boaters</b><br />
<br />
Navigable waterways were not only created for boats, they are only still with us today because boats and boaters found a new use for them as commercial traffic came to an end.<br />
It has been boaters – not cyclists or walkers or fishermen – who have fought to reopen neglected canals in the face of official opposition; with British Waterways only jumping on the bandwagon in recent years.<br />
Canals without boats don’t last very long for other users as there is no longer a reason to keep the unique industrial heritage in working order, the structures crumble, the water silts up and little is left. Waterways need boats as much as boats need waterways.<br />
Boaters are the only group that has already made a substantial financial and personal commitment to the waterways as well as the only collection of individuals that pays substantial annual fees for their upkeep.<br />
Boaters, especially those with many years of experience and those who live on their craft and travel widely on the system have a wealth of expertise that has been largely ignored by British Waterways and those who helped to compile this manifesto fear that the Canal and River Trust may continue this policy.<br />
Most of all we would like to see many more experienced boaters, proper users of the system, taking a role at national and regional level than the current proposals suggest. Just five out of 35 (7 if you include boating business representatives) at a national level is simply inadequate. It is vital that many more than the proposed 50 per cent are elected by people concerned with the function of the waterways, primarily boaters.<br />
<br />
<b>Navigation</b><br />
<br />
Boaters need to be assured that all existing navigations are sufficiently well maintained to enable the vessels designed to use them to travel the whole length of those waterways at all times of the year and operate locks and other equipment with relative ease and safety.<br />
Waterways must not be allowed to deteriorate through lack of maintenance and the Canal and River Trust must have sufficient contingency funds to deal with a major breach – on the scale of those on the Shropshire Union Canal the Monmouth and Breconshire Canal in recent years - without delay.<br />
This means that sufficient government funding is a prerequisite for the Canal and River Trust and if the levels of funding do not fill the massive gap identified by the IWA, and the specialist waterways MPs group, the trustees should refuse to sanction the creation of the charity. It will not be enough to depend on optimistic projections of future charitable income and would be dangerous to do so.<br />
We believe some of the financial projections offered by British Waterways and Defra are simply wrong as they do not model the true cost of creating a well maintained system and accept the projections of a ‘steady state’ with a massive maintenance backlog and need to be tested far more critically than seems the case at present.<br />
If the funding is not adequate to keep all waterways open, navigable and well maintained the Canal and River Trust should refuse to accept the task of running the waterways.<br />
<br />
<b>Management</b><br />
<br />
<i>Executive management</i><br />
Boaters and many others have completely lost faith in the most senior levels of British Waterways’ management in recent years and almost all those who contributed to this manifesto want to see the current directors removed before the Canal and River Trust begins to run the system. It is our belief that government should bear the cost of making these people redundant as the new charitable role is essentially different. Our concern centres on the enormously expensive pay, pension and perks packages of the most senior directors and their willingness to grab bonus payments when staff are being penalised by pay rise well under the rate of inflation and we believe that their continued presence will make it extremely difficult to create any trust among boaters in the Canal and River Trust. That is especially the case as many of the commercial ventures in which they are supposed to be experts have failed to produce promised results.<br />
Boaters do not believe the Canal and River Trust should be willing and will not be able to pay such large scale remuneration and feel that the removal of a group of directors who have little understanding of waterways or boats would do more to give the Trust a fresh start than any new logo.<br />
<br />
<i>Middle management</i><br />
British Waterways’ workforce has become disconnected from the system it looks after. This is due to attempts to farm out much of the bankside and construction work to the cheapest available contractors, along with a policy that obliges the workforce to work in teams covering large areas.<br />
Boaters would like to see visible individuals responsible for a particular stretch of waterway, with clear responsibilities and accountability in the event of failures. <br />
We believe the skills of the workforce should be valued, encouraged and passed on, especially as caring for a 200 year old artefact requires special expertise. We would like to see work brought back in house and apprenticeships encouraged along the lines of those provided by the National Trust.<br />
<br />
<b>Mooring</b><br />
<br />
Whatever else the Canal and River Trust does it will achieve most with most boaters if it applies the same rules on mooring to all parts of the waterways system and enforces them without fear or favour.<br />
This does not exclude setting up special rules in hot-spot areas; but they should then be available for all hot-spots in the country that want to adopt them. We do not believe there is anything wrong with the current mooring guidelines but feel they must be applied equally and effectively across the country. Don’t make rules the Canal and River Trust can’t enforce.<br />
<br />
<b>Towpath issues.</b><br />
<br />
Boaters do not mind sharing the towpaths with fishermen, walkers, cyclists and dogs – although we draw the line at motorised vehicles and horses, other than those used to tow boats.<br />
We do believe it is essential the Canal and River Trust finds ways of ensuring all those users contribute to the costs of upkeep and abide by a national set of rules.<br />
Once again enforcement will be the key to stopping dog fouling, rubbish and speeding cyclists putting lives at risk.<br />
We would encourage the new Trust to get into schools, angling clubs, cycling, ramblers etc and educate them about the policies on the towpath, and about canals and waterways in general so we can all enjoy them<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>An open society?</b><br />
<br />
The Canal and River Trust needs to be completely open with boaters and other supporters and we would urge Trustees to stop avoiding the inclusion of the charity in Freedom of Information legislation.<br />
Given the sensitive existing issues over directors pay, commercial operations such as BWML, pub chains and property development it is essential that the Canal and River Trust’s supporters are able to assure themselves that the murky goings on under British Waterways are brought out into the open and that complete transparency is the rule as soon as the charity begins business.<br />
The Canal and River Trust is vitally important to boaters. Other users can always find what they're looking for somewhere else, if the new trust is not up to scratch, their stake is minimal. If the canal system crumbles then where are all the boat users going to go? <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Liveaboard boaters</b><br />
<br />
The Canal and River Trust should endeavour to help those who live on their boats by the provision of more residential moorings where needed and perhaps usable postal addresses (BFPO can do it for the forces), recycling facilities, more potable water and sewage disposal points.<br />
Those who live on the waterways system, several thousand people, should have specific representation on the board of the Trust.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-40557106430960187412011-11-10T10:57:00.000+00:002011-11-10T10:57:22.696+00:00Transition Trustee responds to Manifesto's first draft<br />
People may be interested to know that one of the eight transition trustees, John Dodwell has written a commentary on the first draft of the Boaters’ Manifesto and defended many of the actions the manifesto complains about.<br />
I find it somewhat condescending in parts but this needs to be an open discussion so I have decided to post it here.<br />
John seems to feel that the existence of the manifesto means that boaters support the Canal and River Trust and the only point I would make is that most serious boaters feel the charity has been foisted on them by a government that is refusing to take financial responsibility for a great national asset. We are trying to mitigate what we fear will be a disaster.<br />
It is also worth noting that his response has already drawn criticism from those who feel he should be more aware of the funding gap and from those who feel his defence of retaining the current BW directors is misguided.<br />
<br />
Here is what John Dodwell said...<br />
<br />
Your draft Boaters’ Manifesto interests me as I am one of the eight Canal & River Trust trustees. I also have a longstanding interest in the waterways (e.g. IWA General Secretary in the 70s) and 10 years ago finally bought a boat – a 51ft long 3 ft draft BCN historic tug. I’m not the only boat owning trustee – so is Lynne Berry (recently retired from running the WRVS – 65,000 volunteers).<br />
I agree with you that waterways need boats as much as boats need waterways. The role of boat owners and others in saving the waterways is undisputed. I am sure the Trustees will want to read the final version of the Manifesto but I thought it might help if I made a few comments so the Manifesto can’t be faulted on its facts. <br />
And as I want to do justice to your draft, I want to respond in detail. <br />
THE COUNCIL<br />
The Trust’s Council – the top level in the Trust’s governance - needs a good representation of passionate and knowledgeable boat owners. Boat licence holders will have the biggest user representation (elected by licence holders). With two from boating businesses, boating representation on the Council will be seven – 20% of the 35 members. Another 13 will be the chairs of the Waterways Partnerships from around the country – and if you look at the people on the first Partnerships, you’ll detect about half have links to boats. The remaining 15 places include people from the Waterway Recovery Group, the Railway and Canal Historical Society and four in aggregate from walkers, anglers, cyclists etc. The composition of the Council will be reviewed after 3 years and there is a commitment to move to 50% being elected.<br />
In addition, there will be a Navigation Committee to help the Trustees and the executive staff. And I encourage boat owners to get involved with the Waterway Managers and let them know – nicely! – when they find things are not right. <br />
And I wonder if you are aware of the meetings between BW Executives (and non-executive directors) and the British Waterways Advisory Forum, made up of various national waterways groups; or of the Waterway Users Special Interest Groups meetings and meetings with the boat trade where views are exchanged?<br />
MONEY<br />
The Trustees are currently negotiating hard to get the right financial deal with Defra; this means increasing the £39m p.a. on offer. But Defra isn’t the only source of money. About £100m p.a. comes from other sources – split roughly equally between property rents; income from cables running under the towpath and water sales; and boats. Personally, I can’t see that the Government will fill the gap to the extent that everything is perfect and there is then no need to seek donations etc. Donations also need to be seen in context. If we were lucky enough to get to £7.5m p.a., that’s about 5% of the current £150m p.a. spent on the waterways. I know people say users who don’t pay should contribute – I see generating donations from the wider public as a way of spreading the load to some of the other 13m or so people who enjoy visiting the waterways. <br />
You say you believe some of the financial projections are wrong. Can you help me by saying which ones you thinking of?<br />
MANAGEMENT<br />
Sorry but getting rid of the current directors now – in the midst of much change – doesn’t make business sense to me. Let’s get the handover to CRT completed first! <br />
As CRT is taking over all the obligations and duties of BW, it will take over the existing pay contracts of all staff (and anyway TUPE applies). Although you suggest tearing up existing contracts, I wonder how you’d feel if you were transferred to a new employer who changed your pay terms? So getting to the desired level from the existing level will need careful thought.<br />
You know the background of the new trustees – one from Oxfam, one from the WRVS, one from the Ramblers; another from English Heritage. They know what is paid in those organisations and in other major charities. <br />
I began looking around and came across “Charity Finance” magazine whose September 2011 issue carried a survey of CEO pay levels (including bonuses) of the top 100 charities (by income). These ranged from £710k at Nuffield Health via £400k (Welcome Trust) to under £50k (Salvation Army). Many were in the £100k-200k range.<br />
I think the start point on pay levels has to be to consider what level does CRT have to think of offering when it next needs to recruit?<br />
Having got the other CEO information I mention above, I tried to compare these charities with CRT – and hit a problem. With what do I compare CRT? National Trust (CEO £160-170K) has historic buildings but nothing like the same engineering problems – nor the question of keeping potentially dangerous water in the right place. Network Rail? Not a charity; larger than CRT; also has an old infrastructure and a big network – but again no “nasty” water; their CEO is on £560k. Oxfam (CEO £110-120k) has no similar infrastructure or commercial assets to manage. Unlike many charities, CRT will have very substantial non-donation income – see above. CRT needs to employ the right people to maintain that income.<br />
You can, I hope, see the problem. So you won’t be surprised to hear that outside consultants have been brought in. Their report is being considered by the Trustees – Tony Hales (Chair) said at the Birmingham annual meeting last month that performance related pay in the charitable sector is awarded more by exception and then at lower levels than those currently applying in British Waterways. Tony Hales has also said that the Trustees will make public the advice they receive from the specialist consultants and will make a clear statement of future policy on executive pay before CRT starts in April. You might like to bear in mind that in pushing for the charity idea, BW directors knew it would mean pay changes.<br />
You mention middle management. Please do talk to the Waterway Managers. Invite them on your boats. Email them with problems you find – if you don’t, will they know? Bear in mind that central contracts mean using bulk buying power to reduce costs. They provide flexibility. For example, this winter there will be a large tree cutting programme. Instead of diverting staff from stoppages etc or taking on more staff for a short life project and then laying them off, tree cutting contractors will be brought in The reality is that efficiencies have bought around proportionately more maintenance for the reduced money available. That’s certainly not to say that the waterways don’t need considerably more maintenance – see my point about striking the right deal with government. <br />
MOORING<br />
I understand BW’s enforcement team has been concentrating on driving down licence evasion – with quite some success. I agree that the Trust must also tackle mooring abuse and I understand that it is next on the enforcement team’s agenda. And you know from the Trustees’ October announcement that moorings and residential boating are on the list of policy matters to be reviewed.<br />
TOWPATHS<br />
Boat users already share the towpath. Like others, I’ve suffered from noisy motorbikes, etc. But how to control them – and dog fouling? I’d welcome ideas. We can’t afford towpath rangers all over the place. Barriers don’t seem to work. I’d welcome people taking up your suggestion of going into schools etc etc and helping us to talk to angling clubs, cyclists and walkers about the etiquette of the towpath.<br />
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT<br />
Defra have just closed their consultation of whether this Act should apply to the Trust – and I hope you all sent in your views. At one level, the charity world is worried that if the Act applies to this Trust, then it will affect other charities; not being Government agencies, charities are not generally covered by the Act. At another level, the Trust would anyway follow closely the spirit of the Act. Defra’s 12 September consultation paper set out how this might be done. Let’s wait and see the outcome of the consultation. BTW, it’s already been decided that the Ombudsman scheme should continue.<br />
LIVEABOARD BOATERS<br />
Yes, they are part of the waterways scene – as are continuous cruisers and unrestricted travelling. I’d just ask that people obey the rules and don’t overstay in wrong places. More residential moorings are on the cards - subject to the planners’ views. Some people already have arrangements with the post office. As to more boating facilities, please help me and let me know where you’d like them – there’s quite a lot already available for the general boat user. Not sure whether liveaboards should be singled out from other boat owners when it comes to Council representation but give me the arguments – or put someone up for election! Bear in mind RBOA have an open line to BW/CRT.<br />
It’s good that you want to make the Trust a success – we need all the support we can get. I’d welcome the opportunity to meet you and others and discuss this further. And do make sure you finish the Manifesto and send it to the Trustees.<br />
<br />
John Dodwell <br />
john.dodwell@rolandon.com<br />
07802-961485<br />Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-65803849559010512832011-10-30T15:59:00.000+00:002011-10-30T15:59:23.317+00:00Boaters' Manifesto<b>Boaters Manifesto – 1st draft</b><br />
<br />
<i>This manifesto was compiled as the result of a request made on half a dozen boaters’ groups of Facebook (total membership around 2,500) and through various boaters’ networks on Twitter.<br />
Boaters were asked to let the transition trustees know what they actually need from them so that they can respond to the new charity with enthusiasm and commitment.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Why the Canal and River Trust should listen to boaters</b><br />
<br />
Navigable waterways were not only created for boats, they are only still with us today because boats and boaters found a new use for them as commercial traffic came to an end.<br />
It has been boaters – not cyclists or walkers or fishermen – who have fought to reopen neglected canals in the face of official opposition; with British Waterways only jumping on the bandwagon in recent years.<br />
Canals without boats don’t last very long for other users as there is no longer a reason to keep the unique industrial heritage in working order, the structures crumble, the water silts up and little is left. Waterways need boats as much as boats need waterways.<br />
Boaters are the only group that has already made a substantial financial and personal commitment to the waterways as well as the only collection of individuals that pays substantial annual fees for their upkeep.<br />
Boaters, especially those with many years of experience and those who live on their craft and travel widely on the system have a wealth of expertise that has been largely ignored by British Waterways and those who helped to compile this manifesto fear that the Canal and River Trust may continue this policy.<br />
Most of all we would like to see many more experienced boaters, proper users of the system, taking a role at national and regional level than the current proposals suggest. Just five out of 35 at a national level is simply wrong.<br />
<br />
<b>Navigation</b><br />
<br />
Boaters need navigations that are sufficiently well maintained to enable the vessels designed to use them to travel the whole length of those waterways at all times of the year and operate locks and other equipment with relative ease and safety.<br />
Waterways must not be allowed to deteriorate through lack of maintenance and the Canal and River Trust must have sufficient contingency funds to deal with a major breach – on the scale of those on the Shropshire Union Canal the Monmouth and Breconshire Canal in recent years - without delay.<br />
This means that sufficient government funding is a prerequisite for the Canal and River Trust and if the levels of funding do not fill the massive gap identified by the IWA, and the specialist waterways MPs group, the trustees should refuse to sanction the creation of the charity. It will not be enough to depend on optimistic projections of future charitable income and would be dangerous to do so.<br />
We believe some of the financial projections offered by British Waterways and Defra are simply wrong and need to be tested far more critically than seems the case at present.<br />
<br />
<b>Management</b><br />
<br />
<i>Executive management</i><br />
Boaters and many others have lost faith in the most senior levels of British Waterways’ management in recent years and almost all those who contributed to this manifesto want to see the current directors removed before the Canal and River Trust begins to run the system. Our concern centres on the enormously expensive pay, pension and perks packages of the most senior directors and their willingness to grab bonus payments when staff are being penalised by pay rise well under the rate of inflation.<br />
Boaters do not believe the Canal and River Trust should be willing and will not be able to pay such large scale remuneration and feel that the removal of a group of directors who have little understanding of waterways or boats would do more to give the Trust a fresh start than any new logo.<br />
<br />
<i>Middle management</i><br />
British Waterways’ workforce has become disconnected from the system it looks after. This is due to attempts to farm out much of the bankside and construction work to the cheapest available contractors, along with a policy that obliges the workforce to work in teams covering large areas.<br />
Boaters would like to see visible individuals responsible for a particular stretch of waterway, with clear responsibilities and accountability in the event of failures. <br />
We believe the skills of the workforce should be valued, encouraged and passed on, especially as caring for a 200 year old artefact requires special expertise. We would like to see work brought back in house and apprenticeships encouraged along the lines of those provided by the National Trust.<br />
<br />
<b>Mooring</b><br />
<br />
Whatever else the Canal and River Trust does it will achieve most with most boaters if it applies the same rules on mooring to all parts of the waterways system and enforces them without fear or favour.<br />
This does not exclude setting up special rules in hot-spot areas; but they should then be available for all hot-spots in the country that want to adopt them. We do not believe there is anything wrong with the current mooring guidelines but feel they must be applied equally and effectively across the country. Don’t make rules the Canal and River Trust can’t enforce.<br />
<br />
<b>Towpath issues</b>.<br />
<br />
Boaters do not mind sharing the towpaths with fishermen, walkers, cyclists and dogs – although we draw the line at motorised vehicles and horses.<br />
We do believe it is essential the Canal and River Trust finds ways of ensuring all those users contribute to the costs of upkeep and abide by a national set of rules.<br />
Once again enforcement will be the key to stopping dog fouling, rubbish and speeding cyclists putting lives at risk.<br />
We would encourage the new Trust to get into schools, angling clubs, cycling, ramblers etc and educate them about the policies on the towpath, and about canals and waterways in general so we can all enjoy them<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>An open society?</b><br />
<br />
The Canal and River Trust needs to be completely open with boaters and other supporters and we would urge Trustees to stop avoiding the inclusion of the charity in Freedom of Information legislation.<br />
Given the sensitive existing issues over directors pay, commercial operations such as BWML, pub chains and property development it is essential that the Canal and River Trust’s supporters are able to assure themselves that the murky goings on under British Waterways are brought out into the open and that complete transparency is the rule as soon as the charity begins business.<br />
The Canal and River Trust is vitally important to boaters. Other users can always find what they're looking for somewhere else, if the new trust is not up to scratch, their stake is minimal. If the canal system crumbles then where are all the boat users going to go? <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Liveaboard boaters</b><br />
<br />
The Canal and River Trust should endeavour to help those who live on their boats by the provision of more residential moorings where needed and perhaps usable postal addresses (BFPO can do it for the forces), recycling facilities, more potable water and sewage disposal points.<br />
Those who live on the waterways system, several thousand people, should have specific representation on the board of the Trust.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ANYONE WANTING TO SUGGEST AMENDMENTS CAN DO SO HERE OR ON THE BOATERS’ MANIFESTO PAGE ON FACEBOOK OR THROUGH EMAILING ME AT PETERUNDERWOOD2@GMAIL.COM <br />Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-48658447699811532792011-05-02T15:40:00.000+01:002011-05-02T15:40:41.142+01:00Why is this bridge being demolished?We have just hurried past bridge 15 on the North Oxford as BW are closing the canal for ten days from May 9th to allow Punch Taverns, who apparently own the bridge, to pull it down.<br />
That gives rise to many questions.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXfA1n5vL8-DgaDLU6rRCsqfdYwA4Djn5RiZi0K8iynuCn_g_8A9YORMxCRhvG5dBE7E0Pg2LtHwriU2oDNFWD5G7bFitgz-jldSjY-zBQUww9B01qcl0X2rC-OzbxVGe7ZTN-n91g48/s1600/NOxfBr15B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXfA1n5vL8-DgaDLU6rRCsqfdYwA4Djn5RiZi0K8iynuCn_g_8A9YORMxCRhvG5dBE7E0Pg2LtHwriU2oDNFWD5G7bFitgz-jldSjY-zBQUww9B01qcl0X2rC-OzbxVGe7ZTN-n91g48/s320/NOxfBr15B.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>How does a pub company come to own what looks like a normal canal bridge and, as such is part of the historic structure of our canal system?<br />
Why are they allowed to pull it down - shouldn't it be protected as an historic structure?<br />
As BW admits it has been in a bad condition and dangerous for some time why have BW bosses allowed it to get to the stage where destruction is claimed to be the only option?<br />
Even if that is the case, why wasn't this done in the stoppages season and why is a third party allowed to close a busy canal in the boating season - and for 10 days?<br />
Why haven't BW insisted this bridge is repaired? Could it be because they have problems looking after other bridges on the same canal?<br />
This is bridge 80 on the same canal and it has been in the same state for several years.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAQ9GTKKwRthCbJx67qnV87RUd1B0KvKTQ-safWegPbEj9Lklsse4rzxafXZ3AzaYezwzLEvVvabkluyti0E5mOW-CWlWJW54YsRvwBGf8ojgC0_3y11RD3JClh-y839fJAGKGx_JCBY/s1600/NOxfBr80B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAQ9GTKKwRthCbJx67qnV87RUd1B0KvKTQ-safWegPbEj9Lklsse4rzxafXZ3AzaYezwzLEvVvabkluyti0E5mOW-CWlWJW54YsRvwBGf8ojgC0_3y11RD3JClh-y839fJAGKGx_JCBY/s320/NOxfBr80B.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Any chance of some answers?Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-33714182603881285972011-03-16T14:37:00.000+00:002011-03-16T14:37:02.807+00:00Has tolerance gone out of the window?<b>Think canals and you think 'laid back,' 'chilled,' and 'relaxed.' You don't think obsessive, narrow-minded, intolerant and bossy.</b><br />
When I started boating it was because I wanted something that forced me to slow down and stop becoming irritated at the unimportant and the British canal system has delivered that. Most of all I have had great enjoyment from the idiosyncratic population of the waterways, the characters who use, inhabit and deal with the problems of boats.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0EBOGtqCmfqGAXVpyg4YMPuwt6qVSoRzldAfOournvCBkH5jOT_ECUQYN6di5jXv-HL1euaYpp8wSL8kVseZES8ntuMKWnEeu9AdOtc19d1TNKJy24duTwVmGjDFfw2YmRPxaG5jUds/s1600/NSGUliveaboardLR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0EBOGtqCmfqGAXVpyg4YMPuwt6qVSoRzldAfOournvCBkH5jOT_ECUQYN6di5jXv-HL1euaYpp8wSL8kVseZES8ntuMKWnEeu9AdOtc19d1TNKJy24duTwVmGjDFfw2YmRPxaG5jUds/s320/NSGUliveaboardLR.jpg" /></a></div><i>Boats with character on the bottom end of the Grand Union</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now I hear a lot more complaints about almost everything. Some people are as disparaging and unpleasant about continuous cruisers and live-aboards as others, in earlier times, used to be about Jews or immigrants, and with little reason other than either jealousy or bigotry.<br />
Others complain about the number of boats moored on-line because it means they can't rush past in their hurry to get somewhere. I always assume these are the people who can afford the fees charged by marinas and think every canal user has the same resources.<br />
Surely the whole point of boating on the canal system is the slow pace? What does it matter if it takes you an hour more to get somewhere?<br />
Now we have the row over moorings on the River Lee in London. BW claims they are not carrying out social cleansing because of next year's Olympics when they decide to crack down on the people who use boats on the river, threatening large fines and making extremely aggressive noises through their inaptly titled Head of Boating Sally Ash.<br />
I would like to know whether any of the local towpath users or visiting boaters are upset by these people? Certainly different rules seem to apply to mooring limitations in London as a whole, but in my time there I have not felt excluded by the presence of a floating population. They are part of the scenery and usually pleasant and sometimes fascinating individuals.<br />
Of course, you actually have to be travelling slowly enough to get off your boat and meet and talk to people to appreciate that.<br />
Unfortunately British Waterways senior managers rarely talk to anyone, never mind real boaters, and are sadly out of touch. If they were not they would realise just what most boaters actually feel about them retaining their grossly inflated salaries whilst sacking far to many real workers on the bank.<br />
And if you think this attack on boaters is limited to London and the Olympics, think again. BW has just announced plans to set up more @local Waterways Partnerships@ in the Midlands and North West following on the one on the Kennet and Avon where Sally Ash managed to become heartily disliked by boaters and local councillors.<br />
These partnerships aim to give a say to local councillors, and other parts of the 'establishment' in the running of their local canals. You can bet your life there will not be a live-aboard boater, a continuous cruiser or anyone who actually uses and knows the canal system represented on such boards. <br />
Headed by BW's regional managers and, I suspect backed by the wealthy, shiny boat brigade as well as the sort of people who want to live by canals without the inconvenience of having real boats on the water, they are likely to focus on making life as difficult and expensive as possible for those who have made the canals their way of life.<br />
Expect more restrictions, more fines and more attempts to make canals fit for the denizens of expensive marinas when they bring their boats out for the annual airing.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-9375015992722516992011-03-10T13:52:00.000+00:002011-03-10T13:52:14.759+00:00How not to make friends for the waterwaysSally Ash strikes again! The poorly titled Head of Boating for British Waterways has acquired a reputation as something of a pit bull when it comes to dealing with boaters. <br />
She seems to find it difficult to relate to boaters in any way and usually fails to understand how valuable boats are to the waterways. Many report the feeling that her ideal is a canal and river system with all the boaters neatly penned in marina.<br />
Now, as the Guardian reports, she is using the Olympics as an excuse to hound live-aboard boaters off the River Lea.<br />
If British Waterways is to become an effective charity it will need something more than local councils and the 'great and good' to enable it to keep the canal system going. Most of all, it will need the support of those people who know the canals and rivers best, the people who spend most of their lives on boats on the system.<br />
Sally Ash has done little in her time in office but alienate not just boaters but several of the voluntary organisations linked with the waterways. I wonder if she hasn't become more of a liability than an asset at a time when British Waterways needs friends like never before.<br />
Two things would help - the departure of Sally Ash and the over-paid directors like Robin Evans halving their enormous salaries.<br />
<br />
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/09/houseboaters-socially-cleansed-olympicsPeter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-19456818590111252982011-02-21T16:34:00.001+00:002011-02-21T16:44:15.452+00:00The myth of contracting out workIt was the Conservatives under Thatcher who first persuaded us to believe as a country that when any sort of work or service went out to the private sector for tender we were in some way saving money.<br />
That was the same belief that led to the selling off of our railways, coal mines, water, electricity and gas industries to say nothing of our steel and even our airports and ports.<br />
We see it now in every organisation that has any link to government and British Waterways has been a prime example. In order to tick the box of competition they not only use contractors to repair the canals and canal structures they even brought in the ludicrous moorings auctions before distorting them by setting ridiculous reserve prices to avoid boaters getting a mooring for £10.<br />
The results are also all around us. We no longer have a coal industry because it was not sufficiently profitable for the private owners and we now import coal and are having to pay ever-increasing prices as we compete with the Chinese and Indian markets.<br />
Our multitude of railway companies are interested solely in profit and, in addition to rising fares whenever possible also fail to invest in their rolling stock. In stead of the entrepreneurs we were promised we have companies who treat rail franchises as cash cows.<br />
If we still owned the water and power companies then at least their enormous profits would be going into the public purse and there would be more of that invested in green energy.<br />
As for contractors on the canal system, it still seems that BW and others have a problem with some simple arithmetic. Contractors employ staff on the lowest possible rates and use the materials that give them the biggest profit margin.<br />
If British Waterways used their experienced staff, who are not paid much more than basic rates, and utilised their expertise they would not be paying the contractors' profits and would get a better job from staff who would know they are valued.<br />
The same is true throughout the system but now we have Cameron wanting everything to be up for grabs by private companies so the taxpayer can pay for their profits - including the NHS, education and any other service the poorest of our community needs.<br />
That will not be cheaper for the taxpayer and it certainly will provide a lower and nastier service, ruled by the profit motive, for every user of every school, hospital or even job centre.<br />
That will take us to a grubby commercial world in which the spivs and cowboys of business, especially those who donate most to Tory party funds, controlling every aspect of our lives, with the government able to wash its hands of any responsibility. "We will, of course, investigate whether the private firm concerned has been ripping you off," they will promise and, of course, nothing will happen.<br />
If we allow this we deserve to be taken to the cleaners - and we surely will be.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-40419928745198413622010-08-31T12:23:00.003+01:002010-08-31T12:37:05.414+01:00When ecology meets commerce on the canalsA developer is aiming to put a 90 berth marina on the Montgomergy Canal, which will eventually link Britian's busiest canal - the Llangollen - with the pretty Welsh border towns of Welshpool and Newtown.<br />The marina, at Queen's Head near Oswestry, seems to have the backing of the local council and British Waterways but it will prove to be a headache for the naturalists and ecologists who see the canal as some sort of linear nature reserve rather than a navigation for narrowboats.<br />Currently there are severe restrictions on the number of boats able to use the canal and parts of it are within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Rare plants and insects thrive in the weedy margins of the seven mile stretch of canal currently opened and boaters are limited to speeds as low as 2mph in places with one-way traffic in some sections.<br />It is difficult to see that limit, or the current limit of a few hundred boats a year surviving the influx of a large marina.<br />It may well improve the prospect of opening the currently closed section with another 11 mile stretch around Welspool which is already re-opened. If that happens, the number of boats will increase dramatically as Welshpool will become as popular as Llangollen as a destination.<br />It is difficult to see the harmony of plants insects and boats surviving the return of the Montgomery canal to full working status but both the local councils and British Waterways need the extra income.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-30021770116046468422008-11-20T13:07:00.001+00:002008-11-20T13:12:41.564+00:00Time to turn our back on Thatcher's legacyhref="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">IT has become a cliché to blame Margaret Thatcher for the current ills of our society but I am increasingly convinced that we have to turn to the mad old cow (as I like to call her) to explain what is happening to us today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was the Thatcher regime that decreed public sector was bad and private good – and then<span style=""> </span>went on to sell off, mostly to Tory supporters, the railways, British Telecom, the electricity and gas companies and the coal and steel industries.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">All, we were assured would be much more efficient run for profit in the private sector.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">She also brought in what has become a touchstone of national and local government and every public institution from schools to hospitals – the idea that better value comes from contracting out ( or outsourcing as the modern terminology has it) as much as possible. Once again, market forces would be the solution to all our problems.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thirdly she began the process that removed almost all public oversight and regulation from the banking sector, allowing them to go their own way in the name of ever bigger profits and bonuses.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The results are all around us. As the financial sector collapses from an overdose of greed and stupidity, the UK is left without any substantial manufacturing industry because it has been flogged off and then sold on to foreign buyers before being closed as ‘uneconomical’</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most people are suffering financially because the privatised energy industry is focused on profit and refuses to pass on falls in wholesale prices while it can feather its own nest with increased income.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the public sector, private contract and private contract either fails to deliver – like the schools payment firm which has just been fired – or costs twice as much as originally planned, as can be seen from virtually every IT contract the government has let.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The result is that we are suffering from an overdose of private greed, disguised as ‘market forces’ and even the Labour Party has been unable, until now, to utter the heresy that market forces are not the answer to every problem.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thatcher created a demon out of those ordinary people who worked for British Steel, British Rail or cleaned hospitals as employees rather than exploited contractors. She told us it was wasteful to employ people directly and much better to have the flexibility of contractors you could fire when necessary.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now is the time to question that dogma in every sphere. If we had a regulated financial system we wouldn’t have bought bundles of doubtful debt from America. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">If we had nationalised power companies we would not only be able to smooth out the price hikes they have demanded but their profits could have gone into the public purse to pay for the renewable energy development we now need.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Almost every public institution would be better served by direct employees who developed loyalty and understanding as a result of being paid and treated fairly – to say nothing of having a proper pension to look forward to. Who doubts that hospitals were cleaner when the workforce was not provided by dodgy ‘hygiene’ firms?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mantra of capitalism that private ownership and competition results in the best of all worlds is being proven to be a big lie across the world and in our own back yard. The Labour party under Tony Blair repeated that mantra at every possible occasion to reassure the middle classes but that doesn’t make it right and there is no longer a need to do so.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Thatcher revolution has ground to a halt amidst debt and bankruptcy because it never took account of the nature of those who ascend to the top of a system based on greed that allows the terminally stupid to control the future of others.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is time to turn back to the concept of public service, loyalty, fairness and stability that was inherent in our system when the major elements of our economy were owned and controlled by all the people of this country, not just by a few rich individuals, many of them without any real ties or loyalties to Britain.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If it makes you nervous you don’t even have to call it socialism – let’s have a new creed of pragmatism that says never again will we let the greedy bastards take control of our work, health, education, homes and money.</p> Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-79442385072562640712008-10-22T15:22:00.002+01:002008-10-22T15:36:14.307+01:00A car-free life<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="header"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="footer"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="Hyperlink"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">MY inner miser grudges handing money over to oil companies, multi nationals and governments and, having been brought up in the village where the high-priest of self sufficiency, John Seymour, learned many of his country skills I have always liked the concept of not being dependent on the system. That’s why a car-free life has real appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">On the other hand, since my first Morris 8 Series E rattled around the Suffolk Lanes 40 years ago I have also been in love with the ideal of freedom that you always hope driving a car will bring you, that ability to go wherever you want at the drop of a clutch – and that means I have been a petrol addict most of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Miracles do happen - and for the past five months I have been virtually car free – and now I don’t want to go back to my addiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Over the years that myth of freedom on the road – when experience says the reality is delay, frustration and expense - has resulted in a wide variety of vehicles passing through my hands, among them a glorious Humber Hawk, a rusting Fiat 127, a new Land Rover Discovery V8 and an almost new Jaguar Sovereign and several less memorable ones in between.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Sometimes life smacks you in the face and insists you re-assess things and for me it was a heart attack at 50, followed by a by-pass operation. Millions go through it, but it brought me up short and we moved out of running a pressurised business, downsized our lives and decided to turn our narrow-boating hobby into a lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">For the past five years we have enjoyed the freedom of living on our narrowboat on the English canals, able to slip the mooring and head off at a steady three or four miles an hour whenever my journalistic work allows. It has been the beginning of a withdrawal from the addictions of modern life such as TV.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">But we had still not shrugged off the tyranny of the car. Having realised (belatedly for me) that it isn’t what you earn but what you spend that decides the quality of your life, I was willing to accept that older, smaller and cheaper cars were necessary to help achieve that financial balance. For some time I ran an ageing Citroen Xantia and my wife an even older Fiesta.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">One of the children needed a car and we realised that we could – probably – cope with just the one, especially as I was writing more and more from the boat . We became a one-car couple.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">That wasn’t too difficult but, even at the bottom end of the car market you can indulge yourself and I persuaded myself that as I was not longer driving 30-40,000 miles a year I could buy an old, N-reg, Volvo 850 estate – ideal for shifting bags of coal and wood for the boat’s stove and for grandchildren – as well as being big and a bit luxurious in an old fashioned way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">If virtue has its own reward so does economy and I was really pleased to have spent just £1,000 on the Volvo and proud of selling the old Citroen Xantia for £400 – giving me a £600 car – in fact, I boasted about it. But it did mean we were moving further and further away from that obsession with personal motor transport, almost without noticing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Then the opportunity presented itself to spend several months out on the canal system in our boat, as all my work could be done with the aid of a mobile broadband modem attached to the laptop.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">We travelled up to Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales for several weeks, leaving the Volvo at the marina and, on our return, moved our home moorings to Derbyshire, taking the car an hour or so by road before spending over a week doing the same journey by canal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Within another week or two the car was again abandoned, at its new home, and we headed off again, finally remembering to declare it off-road with the DVLA a month or so later.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Our journey meant we would have to shop on foot and travel by public transport from wherever we moored for the night and over the weeks we travelled around the Midlands, Birmingham, Shropshire and the borders Wales.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">After 40 years as a driver, never without a vehicle for more than a few days, could we cope? I even bought a folding bike on e-Bay, in brilliant yellow, from an IKEA employee who had been given it by the company as a way of establishing green credentials.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">The bike hasn’t been used much, one trip down the towpath ending in a puncture as my substantial weight on top and a large rock with a sharp edge beneath proved too much for the tyre.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Instead we have covered more ground on foot than at any previous period of our lives and walking shoes and rucksacks have become the necessary accessories of our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Mostly we have shopped in small stores in the villages and towns through which the canal took us and it has been a delight. We shop more often; there is a limit to what you can carry in a rucksack, even if you fill the two foldaway bags that are always stored within it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Not all small shops are delightful and not every local butcher has a supply of wonderful meat – but enough of them are and do to make it worth finding out. Of course, it costs more to shop like that and we didn’t abandon the supermarkets completely.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">When we arrived near a small town, like Market Drayton on the delightful Shropshire Union canal, we might well gather all our shopping bags – about half a dozen – trudge the mile and a half into town and raid the local Morrison’s before getting a taxi back to the boat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">And public transport is not wonderful in rural areas, although it was fairly cheap and simple to get a train from Staffordshire into Manchester when I needed to visit an office on business.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Five months later we are back at our Derbyshire marina and rather pleased with ourselves as we have walked further than ever before and enjoyed not having the car. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">The freedom means you can stop at a pub for a drink and not worry about the breathalyser, you can see so much more as you walk, as well as hear and smell the world around you, and you are not handing large lumps of money to government and those big businesses on a regular basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">We have complained at times about the cost of taxis, buses and trains but the biggest shock came when we looked after our daughter’s house for a week, borrowed her fuel efficient modern car - and spent £65 for three-quarters of a tank of diesel.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">And now we are back, are we going to stay car-free?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">We have thought about it, and we would really like to, but the reality is that our children are between an hour and two hours away in three different directions, to say nothing of grandchildren, and making those journeys on public transport would be expensive and time consuming. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Those may just be excuses, but our cowardice means that we have put the Volvo back on the road. It was an exercise that cost well over £500 without any fuel, as it needed work done to pass an MOT.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">The irony is that, after complaining about train and bus fares, we did it without thinking twice about the costs of car ownership. On top of that £500 there is another £400 for insurance, a further £100 for the second six months of tax and probably £600 at the least for petrol in coming months.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">That is £1,600 – cheap motoring by many people’s standards - but it would buy a lot of train fares, to say nothing of new walking shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Perhaps we will be a bit braver in a couple of years’ time when I hit 60 and the free bus pass makes the economics even more compelling. I know we could do another car-free six months next year – and maybe we can manage longer as our new base marina is in a small town with two rail stations, regular bus services and even reasonably-priced taxis.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">At present we still walk when once we would have driven and we still like to get trains. One on our doorstep takes us into delightful Buxton in the Peak District in less than half an hour and Manchester city centre is the same journey time the other way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">We constantly measure the fares against the cost of taking the car. Most of the time it is more expensive for two to take the train than for two to use the petrol – but we don’t allow for the fixed costs of the car.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Longer journeys can be either dramatically cheaper or more expensive, depending on the whims of the ludicrous train pricing system that day, but they almost always take considerably more time – seven hours to wonderful Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast, rather than three in the car.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Once the car has gone, of course, we can measure our total spend on public transport against what the car would have cost us over a year and the sums may make more sense, they certainly will once we both have our freedom passes and senior rail cards.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Copyright: News Services Ltd 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">
<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-79753385344460827592008-10-22T15:19:00.000+01:002008-10-22T15:21:46.036+01:00Ask your granny<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="header"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="footer"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="Hyperlink"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="" lang="EN-US">PEOPLE are queuing up to take money from us in order to tell us how to run our homes in hard times – and it’s understandable when you consider what a throwaway society we’ve become - <span style="color:black;">the average household throws away between £15,000 and £24,000 worth of food in a lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">Although it’s almost certainly very annoying, the truth is that anyone over a certain age has a great advantage in dealing with even a short and minor recession. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">If you were brought up in the decade after World War 2 you will have had drummed into you that nothing must be wasted, from patching clothes to making bubble and squeak.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">My late mother would have been horrified at the idea that food is just thrown away because we can’t be bothered to do something with it before the sell-by date (not that they had any such thing in those days).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">Most of the baby-boomer generation – at least those with parents on a working man’s wage - were brought up to enjoy slow-cooked cheap cuts of meat, eat offal and not turn their noses up at a suet pudding.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">It is ironic that the combination of the threat of a recession with a new consciousness of our ever-increasing impact on the climate and resources of the world has brought back to our homes a sense of frugality.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">Today’s generation of parents have not been informed by a decade of rationing and war and have been trained to get their information from the web or some sort of expert.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">This brings us back to people selling economy and frugality. Just on the market is a £12.95 tome called The Use-It-All Cookbook, in which Bish Muir offers over 100 recipes and ideas for using your leftovers, and using up that sad-looking carrot or half tub of yoghurt at the back of the fridge. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">Soups, stews, pies, and risottos sit alongside the information to transform leftover bread into bread and butter pudding, treacle tart, and make a chicken go from roast dinner into stock, soup, risotto and a sandwich
<br />There is also advice on planning your shopping, storing your food, basic tools for the kitchen, and essential ingredients for the store cupboard; and each recipe features the comparative average cost if bought in the supermarket.
<br />The book’s publicity clams that changes in people’s shopping habits and fears over food hygiene, means food wastage is increasing at a rate of 15 per cent every decade – so take that to its logical conclusion and we will soon be throwing away more than we buy. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">I can make one money-saving suggestion of my own – you could save £12.95 by going and talking to your granny or anybody old enough to remember what true poverty and food shortage was really all about.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;">Collect a few of their recipes and tips and you may well make some real savings.</span></p> Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-5572446051265639872008-10-22T15:15:00.001+01:002008-10-22T15:18:11.390+01:00Money lenders still money-grabbing<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="Edit-Time-Data" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_editdata.mso"><!--[if !mso]> <style> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} </style> <![endif]--><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="address"></o:smarttagtype><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="header"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="footer"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="Hyperlink"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Swis721 BT"; mso-font-alt:Arial; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 0 0 0 27 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-link:"Header Char"; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:center 207.65pt right 415.3pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-link:"Footer Char"; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:center 207.65pt right 415.3pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-unhide:no; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} span.HeaderChar {mso-style-name:"Header Char"; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Header; mso-ansi-font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} span.FooterChar {mso-style-name:"Footer Char"; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Footer; mso-ansi-font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:96.25pt 46.3pt 72.0pt 45.0pt; mso-header-margin:27.0pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">MORTGAGE lenders – having promised government to return to 2007 levels of business – are still lending substantially less than last year and charging substantially more than necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports gross lending totalled </span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">£</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">17.7 billion in September, 10 per cent lower than in August and down 42 per cent from September last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The bankers and building society bosses insist the mortgage market remains open for business, but claim weaker consumer demand and ‘continuing funding constraints’ will dampen monthly lending figures for rest of this year and the first quarter of 2009.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">In fact, gross lending will be substantially lower than the 2007 total of </span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">£</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">363 billion, and is expected to reach around </span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">£</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">255 billion in 2008.</span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The lenders are also failing to respond to the dramatic Bank of England interest rate cuts. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">Darren Cook, mortgage expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">Two weeks after the Monetary Policy Committee announced a shock 0.5 per cent cut to the base rate in unison with key central banks around the globe, more than three quarters of all UK lenders have yet to pass on this reduction to their ever growing number of standard variable rate mortgage customers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">With mortgage approvals falling to rock bottom levels and house values continuing to fall to unseen troughs, it is unlikely that mortgage lenders will soon regain their appetite to lend at reasonable levels in the short term. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“Unfortunately, within this increasing turmoil, the majority of customers currently have no alternative but to switch to their lender</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">’</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">s standard variable rate (SVR)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">Some lenders have announced a reduction in their SVR and have reduced their rate by the full amount. However, a growing number have chosen not to do this and only passed on a proportion of the cut or none at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">A mortgage that was previously known as only a revert rate, due to circumstances, has become a prime product that could be adversely priced at will.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">With more base rate cuts on the horizon, which in part are intended to reduce the burden of household finances, we could find ourselves in situation where future MPC decisions on a rate cut will have little or no bearing on the majority of current household</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">’</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">s mortgage outgoings and could ultimately result in an increase in repossessions.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The CML acknowledges more borrowers are facing long-term unemployment and other financial difficulties are at risk of losing their homes.</span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The lenders fight shy of taking any responsibility for dealing with the situation and want </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">government action to ‘build a more comprehensive safety net of support for home-owners in difficulty’.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">Instead the CML is attempting to set the tone for the post-crunch debate when it predicts policy and regulatory initiatives will have an impact on the number and types of households that are able to enter </span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">–</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> and sustain </span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">–</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> home-ownership.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">In a ‘think-piece’ on its website it says: “While we recognise the strength of aspirations to home-ownership and the many benefits it delivers, we also acknowledge that it is not the tenure for everyone all of the time.</span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">The real challenge is deliver a healthy balance of tenures, providing a choice of affordable housing options.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“One response to balancing aspirations to home-ownership with risks for more marginal borrowers may be more widespread availability of an intermediate tenure.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">In the longer term, we see a potential for expanding low-cost home-ownership and for households to be able to lower or raise their level of home-ownership according to their changing personal circumstances.</span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">That would be one way of managing the higher risk profile of mortgage lending as a result of extending home-ownership lower down the socio-economic spectrum.</span><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);">”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; color: rgb(13, 13, 13);"><o:p></o:p></span></p> Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-37952321009433268052008-10-22T15:07:00.000+01:002008-10-22T15:14:24.036+01:00Bankers refuse responsibility<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPETERU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-priority:1; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Helvetica 55 Roman","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">BATTERED bankers are getting defensive about suggestions that – despite the billions of taxpayers’ cash being poured into their coffers – they are behaving as badly as ever and penalising members of the public caught by their policies of lending too much to people the lenders should have known would be at risk in anything other than a booming economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">After suggesting the Chancellor wasn’t really serious when he spoke of the banks committing to a return to the 2007 levels of borrowing as part of the bail-out package, the mortgage lenders now appear to be retreating from the pledge to do everything possible to help borrowers with problems stay in their homes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="">Following figures showing very clearly that the nationalised Northern Rock was leading the charge to repossess more and more homes, but still failing to sell them on, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has issued what it describes as a background briefing, which claims ‘<span style="color:black;">media coverage of repossessions in general, and at Northern Rock in particular, could have the effect of creating a misleading impression’.
<br />It seemed to think that journalists couldn’t tell the difference between figures showing the flow of properties being taken into possession, and the stock of properties in possession, when comparing Northern Rock’s figures with the wider market. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black;">The CML publishes a figure showing the number of properties repossessed during a period and a stock figure which is a snapshot of the number of unsold repossessed properties held by lenders at the end of the same period. Those figures for the first half of this year showed clearly that the number of homes taken from their owners and the number unsold were identical.
<br />In effect this means that the bankers are simply taking away people’s homes and keeping them empty when the government, local authorities and the public are saying very clearly that it makes sense to keep people in their homes; rather than create more homelessness and over-burden a social housing system which simply cannot cope with demand.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black;">Observers find it particularly worrying that Northern Rock, a bank owned by the taxpayers, is repossessing homes at three times the rate of other lenders , with a repossession rate of around one per cent rather than the 0.38 per cent the CML insists is the national average.
<br />If the government cannot even bring a bank in which it has a controlling interest to pay more attention to the needs of customers and the country as a whole, what hope is there that other bankers, who have already proven themselves to be greedy and irresponsible, will be any better, despite the cash handouts they are being given?
<br />Overall, the CML claims it still expects a total of around 45,000 families and individuals to be thrown out of their homes this year as the banks take possession. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black;">It claims this is a ‘ very modest’ repossession rate out of 11.7 million mortgages, and that 98 per cent of borrowers continue to pay their mortgages in full and on time, and where arrears occur these are usually because of changes in the household’s circumstances such as unemployment or other loss of income.
<br />It is difficult to see how these figures can continue to be anywhere near accurate as unemployment rises towards two million and some predict it could hit three million before the current problems are over.
<br />The bankers are anxious to point out that all lenders are bound by the Financial Services Authority rules on arrears management and repossessions and the CML says there is no logical rationale for a difference in approach for different lenders based purely on their ownership structure. It also admits, however, that all lenders should be making best efforts to avoid repossession except as a last resort, as required by those rules.
<br />The bankers also say they support the mortgage rescue scheme currently being developed through local authorities and housing associations to help some households to stay in their homes on a shared equity or rental basis, but there has, so far, been no sign of that having an impact on the number of repossessions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black;">In the final analysis, as this briefing note shows, the lenders seem to regard those who have got into difficulties as feckless individuals who have over-stretched themselves – nowhere is there an acknowledgement that the banks’ and building societies’ policies of lending too much money to people they knew couldn’t afford it has any role to play.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color:black;">Instead the CML simply notes that ‘borrowers gain significant protection too from the court process, as well as from the Financial Ombudsman Service,’ as they wash their hands of any responsibility.</span><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-45380948833398047272007-04-25T07:53:00.000+01:002007-04-25T07:54:57.817+01:00Kick out all religionHOW would it be if all religions were banned from taking any part in public life – if religion was limited to something done in private between consenting adults?<br />Don’t get me wrong; I would not want to tell people what to believe or not to believe. Whether you want to put your faith in crystals or Christ, Mohammed or the moon goddess, Wicca or Wesley, Moses or the Moonies, should always be a matter between you and your particular level of gullibility.<br />What faith should never be able to do is influence public policy, because as soon as that happens decisions cease to be taken that deal with the proven needs of real people and they are, instead, based on the beliefs of those in power.<br />At its most frightening this is seen in America where a President can say that God told him to invade another country and not only does he escape being certified, he is allowed to remain in power, despite 650,000 civilian casualties in Iraq<br />Other religious fanatics were equally sure that God told them to fly aircraft into the Twin Towers and those caught up in that particular set of superstitions felt it acceptable to kill more innocents on London and Madrid’s public transport systems.<br />And all based on nothing more than belief, faith without fact, the breeding ground of the bigot and the bully.<br />Belief without any proof - other than a wide range of ‘holy’ books and scriptures that also lack any scientific credibility – is what has given us the Christian support of slavery, the Muslim jihads and the Inquisition.<br />Today we can list other crimes; the Vatican assisting the spread of AIDs in Africa and elsewhere by insisting that condoms did not act to prevent transmission of the disease and the persecution of Muslims in Palestine by a religious government in Israel.<br />Yet we still allow religion to play a part in public life. Does anyone doubt that even the modest reform of insisting that new faith schools should take a quarter of their intake from no faith members was abandoned because of the private religious beliefs of Tony Blair and his cabinet ministers like the arch Catholic Opus Dei member Ruth Kelly?<br />Blair puts his faith in faith schools when all the evidence is that they perpetuate division and lack of understanding – and that applies to the all-white rural Church of England primary and the Muslim ghetto secondary.<br />Why does he do it? Because he is a man with the ability to have faith and apparently keeps a bible by his bed. That is another way of saying he can believe in things that are not proven or provable by science – ranging from Christianity to weapons of mass destruction, apparently.<br />What would we lose if religion and superstition were banned from public bodies? No faith schools would mean the taxpayer forking out bit more, but the end of religious assemblies and religious education would give more time for real subjects.<br />It would mean dumping all that ‘defender of the faith(s)’ stuff from the titles of monarchy and probably the loss of Songs of Praise.<br />There would be no need for blasphemy laws, we would all be able to be as rude about each other’s religions as we liked, and our lawmakers and judges would be able to make and enforce laws without the intrusion of religious belief.<br />Of course, we might have to get the politicians, teachers and judges to swear an oath that they would not allow their personal belief system to affect their work – and the efficacy of that oath would depend on their level of personal belief and honesty.<br />On the plus side every cleric or believer who complained about insults to their faith, be it Jerry Springer The Opera, a play set in a mosque, the wearing of religious symbols or clothes or the lack of broadcast time for witches, could all be told the same thing – none of our business.<br />Squabbles between believers and non-believers should be relegated to those arenas attended by those interested in such superstitions, not given the gravitas of public policies.<br />In this country the superstitious have even gained a foothold in the science of medicine, where so-called alternative therapies are getting credence in the NHS without the same strict testing that proper medical procedures and drugs have to undergo.<br />Why? I suspect it is because the politicians are afraid of alienating the crystal gazers and acupuncturists just as they are of upsetting believers in other spheres.<br />The sad fact for such people is that believing in something doesn’t make it so. In our public life we ought to have a simple motto to deal with such beliefs – Prove it or we will ignore it.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842956579584094514.post-18187480699785976872007-04-25T07:49:00.000+01:002007-04-25T07:52:46.690+01:00Canal threat to regenerationREGENERATION schemes across Greater Manchester worth hundreds of millions of pounds could be damaged - thanks to what one Labour ex-minister describes as ‘an almighty cock up’ and ‘criminal irresponsibility’ by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs over the handling of subsidies to farmers.<br />The link between a rural scandal and a threat to the rebuilding of depressed city areas comes because Defra has decided to raid the grants it makes to its client organisations.<br />One of those is British Waterways which faces seeing £70m ripped from its budget to help make up for Defra’s £200m shortfall - caused by what Labour MP Michael Meacher says is ‘criminal irresponsibility’ over the handling of £1.5bn of European farm subsidies.<br />As a result, hundreds of miles of canals are now facing neglect and possible closure – especially the recently re-opened Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals as well as the Ashton and Peak Forest canals.<br />In Manchester those canals are key to major regeneration schemes including hundreds of millions being spent in East Manchester where canals are so important they have even built the first new one for 250 years – a short stretch linking the Rochdale and the Ashton canals.<br />Despite intense pressure for silent compliance from Defra, British Waterways will unattributably brief anyone who will listen that the budget cuts will leave them unable to keep canals maintained and a catastrophic incident could soon close vulnerable canals completely, as they would no longer have the money for repairs.<br />The Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals are particularly susceptible as they were reopened on a shoestring and are in a fragile state. The Rochdale has only recently reopened for a second time after a £2m, 18-month long, repair - just the sort of problem that could close it completely in the future.<br />Defra’s decision has left many of the region’s MPs fuming and Michael Meacher, who has the Rochdale Canal passing through his Oldham constituency is organising a deputation of regional MPs to Barry Gardiner the junior minister who has responsibility for waterways at Defra.<br />Tony Lloyd, the Labour MP whose central Manchester constituency includes the massive East Manchester regeneration area describes the canals as the ‘blue lung’ of the city.<br />“If this goes ahead we are likely to see the canals become inadequately maintained then restricted or closed. That is just not a direction we ought to be going in.”<br />He believes such a development would ‘tarnish the regeneration effort’ making it less than it could be.<br />“It is not just New Islington that needs the canals, it is the council estates further out. I don’t want to go back to the days when people were afraid to walk along the canal bank.<br />“The Manchester canals are some of the jewels in Defra’s crown and it doesn’t cost much to keep it polished.”<br />Tameside Labour MP, David Heyes said: “I have four canals in my constituency. It really makes no sense to have invested so heavily in refurbishing all these canals in recent years and for that investment to be - potentially - at risk.<br />“Many of the economic development aims for the constituency are being promoted and marketed around the attractions of their waterside locations. This is certainly true in Failsworth, Hollinwood, Droylsden and town centre Ashton.<br />“To lose those benefits in some of our least prosperous urban locations would be a real irony if it is to compensate for a cock-up in paying farm subsidies to what are often the most prosperous rural areas.”<br />There is cross-party support and Rochdale’s Liberal MP Paul Rowen is demanding a meeting with Defra Secretary of State David Milliband, “to discuss exactly why British Waterways have had their grant cut and I want a firm assurance that Rochdale Canal will not be under threat. <br />“It is not acceptable that one of the jewels in Rochdale’s crown is threatened in this way.”<br />Michael Meacher wants to know why the Defra has not sacked the civil servants responsible for the “almighty cock-up” over subsidy payments.<br />He said: “It is not acceptable there should be any cuts in British Waterways budget. It is completely indefensible and inequitable that our flagship policy of urban regeneration around canals should be affected.<br />“This is vandalism and I will be asking Barry Gardiner to accept a delegation of MPs from the areas affected and asking him to explain himself.”<br />In Tameside, Labour councillor Kieran Quinn, who has responsibility for regeneration, said: “Stalybridge has been transformed from a sleepy town to an exciting commercial centre by regeneration around the canal and we know that a living canal brings social regeneration as well.<br />“We also see the same thing happening at Droylsden where a whole redevelopment is to happen around the canal. If we don’t have a open and useable canal people will look at the whole scheme differently.<br />“We support British Waterways to retain their grant in full and we will be lobbying Defra and the Treasury.”<br />Leader of Oldham Council, Councillor David Jones said: “We see the Rochdale Canal as central to the continued redevelopment of Chadderton and Failsworth centres. We will be seeking an urgent meeting with British Waterways to discuss the current situation and to try to resolve theses issues.“<br />It is ironic that just a few weeks earlier John Prescott’s farewell speech in the Labour conference in Manchester hailed the fact that the canals in the city has ‘become major engines of urban regeneration’ as one of the successes of his reign at the top of Defra.<br />Now Defra is hacking £9m from the already allocated British Waterways budget for this year and telling Chief Executive Robin Evans that he has to budget for cuts of £12m a year for the next five years under the Comprehensive Spending Review being considered by Cabinet in the coming months.<br />The draconian cuts this year have already meant vital maintenance work for this winter has been cancelled on British Waterways’ 2,200 miles of navigable canals and rivers. Eugene Baston, of British Waterways, said: " If we can't maintain the waterways, we can't keep them open.”<br />Bolton based John Fletcher is National Chairman of The Inland Waterways Association and heads up the efforts to reopen the disused Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal – planned to be a vital catalyst in the regeneration of much of Salford.<br />He said: “The next few years could reverse all the progress of the last ten years and the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals are especially vulnerable because they are fragile and there will be no funds to repair and re-open them if something expensive goes wrong – and that could happen tomorrow.<br />“British Waterways and the other partners could even be compelled to repay the lottery grants if the canals are not kept open and that could bankrupt the whole organisation.<br />“It is ridiculous that this should be put at risk because Defra cannot pay farmers on time. It seems that they are less fit for purpose than the Home Office.”<br />Restored canals are now seen as the engine of regeneration. Much of the redevelopment of inner city East Manchester is built around the canal system, with Urban Splash’s remarkable new CHIPS building to be constructed along side a new canal, linking the Ashton with the Rochdale soon after they split, rising out of the city centre.<br />The reopening of the Huddersfield Narrow and Rochdale canals has already brought new development in places like Stalybridge, Failsworth and Mossley, with more to come.<br />There seems no limit to the investment that working canals can attract.<br />Work has started to build a new £25m canal-side marina in Greenfield, in Oldham featuring luxury homes, offices, shops, restaurants and bars.<br />It is in East Manchester that Urban Splash is a key player in the New Islington development and Nick Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive, said: “I don’t think it will affect the decision to go ahead with the East Manchester regeneration, but I am disappointed.<br />“It is very frustrating if the effect is to close parts of the waterways down. Fully 85 per cent of our developments are next to water because we believe that brings something quite special.<br />“The whole concept of New Islington has been built around creating a community that includes people living on and working from boats.<br />“If the canals are closed we lose one of the dimensions of the development at New Islington which is important to the whole regeneration.<br />“It is rooted in tradition and the canals are part of rebuilding a sustainable community.<br />“Government sometimes don’t understand what makes a regeneration sustainable and living, moving canals are part of the whole picture.”<br />Tom Russell, who heads up the New East Manchester Urban Regeneration Company, is reluctant to discuss what he believes to be ‘speculation’ about possible canal closures. Of course, he also looks to the Treasury for some of his funding.<br />British Waterways initial response to Defra’s demand for £60m more in budget cuts has been to come up with a package offering cuts of £5m a year rather than Defra’s £12m – but even that it means losing 180 jobs by April as well as cuts in essential canal maintenance.<br />The additional £7m a year being demanded by Defra would certainly impact on vulnerable canals according to the experts inside and outside the organisation.<br />So far the junior minister responsible for waterways, Barry Gardiner, has refused to address the potential problems faced by those trying to regenerate inner city areas using the canals.<br />His spokesman would only offer a bland general statement issued to all journalists, which praises the past successes of British Waterways and goes on to say: “… whilst Defra wishes to do everything it can to support the vision of British Waterways' board, they are aware that Defra is now operating within a very tight fiscal regime.<br />"We are grateful for the constructive way British Waterways has engaged with the department to identify efficiency savings and remain confident that British Waterways will continue to deliver real public benefit and regeneration in the future."<br />Within the region the only MP willing to stand up for Defra’s attempts to cut the waterways budget is another government minister, Phil Woolas, also representing Oldham, who has responsibility for local government and community cohesion – including neighbourhood renewal.<br />He said: “I am not convinced of British Waterway's case. I do not have the information yet but I am wary of such press reports, particularly when they play politics in the CSR period. To say that the waterways are being cut because of a ‘Defra cock up’ is presumptuous. The future financial allocations are not yet known and it is out of order for British Waterways to lobby in this way.” He failed to answer follow-up questions about his curious stance.Peter Underwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16234372106126330413noreply@blogger.com0