I've just come back (sort-of) from the Sunrise Off-Grid Festival. It was great! You can find some pics here or below...
It's a small festie (about 1000 people or so, I'd guess) in a field outside Shepton Mallett. The nice thing about being so small is that you get to recognise the same faces around and about, there isn't an "us and them" feel with ugly security bods checking your armband all the time, and the one or two lunchouts who drink too much get politely reminded not to spoil it for everyone else.
My feeling is that small, local, and theme-focused is the way to go. The whole thing was run on solar and wind (I only heard one very quiet generator). There was plenty of space for kids to fly kites and play and dogs too!
I worked my ticket as a steward/litter-picker which essentially meant I had nothing to do, as there wasn't any litter. I spent most of my time helping people out and sorting tangled kite-strings :)
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Friday, 14 August 2009
Fake?
Amazing but fake, methinks. It's a good fake, though!
(later...) Turns out it's an ad for Microsoft Office or something.
(later...) Turns out it's an ad for Microsoft Office or something.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Obama and Google
Barack Obama posthumously awarded the assassinated Gay Rights activist Harvey Milk a very big gong. The US religious right must be foaming at the mouth, just like Big Pharma is.
I was wondering why Barack Obama would pick two major fights at once. Either he's a fool, or he's incredibly brave, or...he knows he's going to win.
Everybody knows what a bunch of loonies the right-wingers are. Sometimes they're so far out that parody would be impossible...
Big Pharma have let the attack dogs loose.
Obama's not a fool. He's been waiting for this fight for years. He's got some very tough guys around him who aren't afraid of taking the fight to the opponent, to let them flail their rabid arms around and look thoroughly stupid. One of their mouthpieces will probably suggest killing him.
The Bush years have provided him with a legal framework that allows the state to do what the hell they like as long as it's about 'Terrorism'. I think he's a decent guy who's turning nasty to get the bullies off his back and as soon as some nutcase says 'shoot him', then we'll find lots of them being outed as gays, adulterers, embezzlers, paedophiles and terrorists too. The Oklahoma City bombing and other cases of domestic terrorism will be in the news again. You get the picture.
I hope Obama knows how and when to stop a fight.
And then there's Google, They've got some vapourware, it seems. Ho hum.
I was wondering why Barack Obama would pick two major fights at once. Either he's a fool, or he's incredibly brave, or...he knows he's going to win.
Everybody knows what a bunch of loonies the right-wingers are. Sometimes they're so far out that parody would be impossible...
Big Pharma have let the attack dogs loose.
Obama's not a fool. He's been waiting for this fight for years. He's got some very tough guys around him who aren't afraid of taking the fight to the opponent, to let them flail their rabid arms around and look thoroughly stupid. One of their mouthpieces will probably suggest killing him.
The Bush years have provided him with a legal framework that allows the state to do what the hell they like as long as it's about 'Terrorism'. I think he's a decent guy who's turning nasty to get the bullies off his back and as soon as some nutcase says 'shoot him', then we'll find lots of them being outed as gays, adulterers, embezzlers, paedophiles and terrorists too. The Oklahoma City bombing and other cases of domestic terrorism will be in the news again. You get the picture.
I hope Obama knows how and when to stop a fight.
And then there's Google, They've got some vapourware, it seems. Ho hum.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
So how can I afford to take two months off?
I found this amazing website and forum:
Wild About Britain
"Wild About Britain is home to hundreds of thousands of pages about British wildlife, the Environment and the Great Outdoors; from birds, butterflies, fungi and trees to climate change, marine life, astronomy and the weather. We're also a huge online community with 30,000 members and more than 2.5 million unique visitors a year."
Good stuff!
If anyone's reading this, I suppose they're wondering how it is that I can afford to spend two months hitchhiking about without working. It's not too hard if you know how, and don't have any commitments. I have no commitments that can't handle a 10 week absence.
I've just moved as my old landlady wanted the house back - and I didn't want to stay there anyway, as she's a bit strange at times. People sometimes act selfishly when they own property (I call it The Propertarian Mindset), but she's a bit further out than that.
Anyway, I moved at the beginning of the month and knew very quickly that it wasn't going to work out, but I was in the middle of a (English to Danish) translation that was taking far longer than I'd expected. The good thing was that I'd just been paid handsomely for another translation I'd done a few weeks ago. Either I'd spend it on rent for somewhere I didn't want to live, or just go on the road for a bit.
I told the people who take care of things in this, my temporary abode, how things were and they didn't mind if I left in the middle of the month, which is what I'm doing.
Would you do a thing like that? It's funny but I don't consider it a hard thing to do: if you've got the gear and the mindset for it, and are reasonably fit, it's quite comfortable. The key is to take your time. Just forget about being busy or trying to achieve something and slow down a bit. Wisdom can be like a wild animal: if you charge around trying to find it, you'll scare it away and, more crucially, your eyes will miss the signs of its presence. If you just sit down and enjoy where you are, which is what happens to me when I'm hitchhiking, you'll find it easier to let go and tread lightly around your mind. Heavy thoughts have ruined more journeys then heavy rucsacks.
Wild About Britain
"Wild About Britain is home to hundreds of thousands of pages about British wildlife, the Environment and the Great Outdoors; from birds, butterflies, fungi and trees to climate change, marine life, astronomy and the weather. We're also a huge online community with 30,000 members and more than 2.5 million unique visitors a year."
Good stuff!
If anyone's reading this, I suppose they're wondering how it is that I can afford to spend two months hitchhiking about without working. It's not too hard if you know how, and don't have any commitments. I have no commitments that can't handle a 10 week absence.
I've just moved as my old landlady wanted the house back - and I didn't want to stay there anyway, as she's a bit strange at times. People sometimes act selfishly when they own property (I call it The Propertarian Mindset), but she's a bit further out than that.
Anyway, I moved at the beginning of the month and knew very quickly that it wasn't going to work out, but I was in the middle of a (English to Danish) translation that was taking far longer than I'd expected. The good thing was that I'd just been paid handsomely for another translation I'd done a few weeks ago. Either I'd spend it on rent for somewhere I didn't want to live, or just go on the road for a bit.
I told the people who take care of things in this, my temporary abode, how things were and they didn't mind if I left in the middle of the month, which is what I'm doing.
Would you do a thing like that? It's funny but I don't consider it a hard thing to do: if you've got the gear and the mindset for it, and are reasonably fit, it's quite comfortable. The key is to take your time. Just forget about being busy or trying to achieve something and slow down a bit. Wisdom can be like a wild animal: if you charge around trying to find it, you'll scare it away and, more crucially, your eyes will miss the signs of its presence. If you just sit down and enjoy where you are, which is what happens to me when I'm hitchhiking, you'll find it easier to let go and tread lightly around your mind. Heavy thoughts have ruined more journeys then heavy rucsacks.
I got 'moderated'...
I comment on articles on The Guardian's website now and then. They remove comments they deem unsuitable and that just happened to me. It looked like this:
====
====
Oh well.
====
Mandelson casts the Tories as the party of cuts
Is that a spelling mistake?
====
Oh well.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Tesco stuff again
Good old George Monbiot does it again:
"My town is menaced by a superstore. So why are we not free to fight it off? People know a Tesco will suck the marrow from us. Yet the decision is left in the hands of a remote and frightened council"
We've got our own Tesco planning hearing on Wednesday. Luckily the council's planning officr recommends a refusal: he says a supermarket of that size which also sells lots of non-food will be detrimental to both Glastonbury and Street. However, the council don't have to heed his advice. We're going to have to remind them that they're elected...
Monbiot points out that Tesco has the financial muscle to really hurt a council in court if they appeal. I hope that doesn't scare the councillors.
"My town is menaced by a superstore. So why are we not free to fight it off? People know a Tesco will suck the marrow from us. Yet the decision is left in the hands of a remote and frightened council"
We've got our own Tesco planning hearing on Wednesday. Luckily the council's planning officr recommends a refusal: he says a supermarket of that size which also sells lots of non-food will be detrimental to both Glastonbury and Street. However, the council don't have to heed his advice. We're going to have to remind them that they're elected...
Monbiot points out that Tesco has the financial muscle to really hurt a council in court if they appeal. I hope that doesn't scare the councillors.
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Myspace
I got myself a myspace profile: myspace.com/barefootreporting.
I like the social side of teh intertubes but stuff like Facebook, Myspace etc are such a rich source of information for snoopers - be they governments, employers or anyone who hasn't got your best interests at heart - that I believe we should think long and hard about what we reveal on them. Facebook groups for activism are just plain stupid.
Facebook only works if you use your real name so it's a gift for anyone trying to protect the status quo in these 'interesting' times. We seem to be engaged in the type of constant warfare Orwell described in the book 1984. War (in the book) was necessary to keep the vast majority of people in poverty and ignorance. Governments like our own are now using war as one part of a strategy to keep us in fear of some great disaster (terrorist, social, economic, and possibly environmental): and that if we don't give them ever greater powers to snoop on 'dangerous individuals', then all our babies will eaten or somesuch. 'The Enemy Within'; it's ground-level fascism.
What government with a surveillance agenda like our own, or the US govt., could resist the lure of something like Facebook? That's too good a source of info, and guess what, it's free and people have already made it Facebook's property - to do with as they wish.
Something I read about Facebook made me think. Normally, if someone starts a project like that, and somebody who should have had a share gets screwed - for example someone who had the idea before you, and which you just ran off and developed - then it goes to a huge high-profile court case and the media have a field day. Have you noticed how the disputes around Facebook's origins and shareholdings have been solved oh-so discreetly? Could it be that some agency or other has been whispering in their ears and applying a bit of pressure? Of course we don't know, as it's all secret.
Btw: overheard the following odd utterance in a cafe: "I don't know if we've met. Are we friends yet?" Facebook ones, y'understand...
I like the social side of teh intertubes but stuff like Facebook, Myspace etc are such a rich source of information for snoopers - be they governments, employers or anyone who hasn't got your best interests at heart - that I believe we should think long and hard about what we reveal on them. Facebook groups for activism are just plain stupid.
Facebook only works if you use your real name so it's a gift for anyone trying to protect the status quo in these 'interesting' times. We seem to be engaged in the type of constant warfare Orwell described in the book 1984. War (in the book) was necessary to keep the vast majority of people in poverty and ignorance. Governments like our own are now using war as one part of a strategy to keep us in fear of some great disaster (terrorist, social, economic, and possibly environmental): and that if we don't give them ever greater powers to snoop on 'dangerous individuals', then all our babies will eaten or somesuch. 'The Enemy Within'; it's ground-level fascism.
What government with a surveillance agenda like our own, or the US govt., could resist the lure of something like Facebook? That's too good a source of info, and guess what, it's free and people have already made it Facebook's property - to do with as they wish.
Something I read about Facebook made me think. Normally, if someone starts a project like that, and somebody who should have had a share gets screwed - for example someone who had the idea before you, and which you just ran off and developed - then it goes to a huge high-profile court case and the media have a field day. Have you noticed how the disputes around Facebook's origins and shareholdings have been solved oh-so discreetly? Could it be that some agency or other has been whispering in their ears and applying a bit of pressure? Of course we don't know, as it's all secret.
Btw: overheard the following odd utterance in a cafe: "I don't know if we've met. Are we friends yet?" Facebook ones, y'understand...
Saturday, 8 August 2009
A bit more detail about my journey
Hitchhike around and collect stories. It's a very simple idea and can be done in many ways. I'm going to do it on an absolute shoestring, and when I travel I enjoy bushcraft-style camping right in the wilds. Here's some examples:
That was on Chesil Beach in 2007. Here's the rest of the pictures from that trip.
Last year I walked a tiny portion of the Southwest Coast Path from Exmouth to West Bexington.
Here's another seaside "Basha" shelter:
So that's the sort of place I'm going to sleep. What I love about using a 'basha' rather than a tent is the contact with the open air at all times. If you use a tent you might feel safer (and stay drier - or so you might think) but the fact is that if you tuck your tarp or basha into the right place - using the natural features - you'll be every bit as dry as with a tent.
So what about safety? Look at it this way. You can't really see out of a tent, and being inside it also means you hear less. A tent has also got a clear profile and size. That makes it harder to make it vanish in the landscape.
The basha is a different proposition. You've got clear vision around you (which also means you see the wildlife in the late evenings and early mornings) and I guarantee you that if someone comes towards you in the night, you'll become aware of them long before they know you're there.
Another advantage is space: both the space you need to pitch it and the living space you get for it. You can take advantage of natural features both to conceal your shelter and to fasten it. I really enjoy the little challenge towards the end of each day of finding a nice spot and you actually need a lot less space than a tent. You don't need to find somewhere flat either. Under a tarp you've got so much more space than in a tent too. Moving around under it is so much easier too: you don't always bump into the sides of the tent.
However, my advice is to avoid pitching in the dark (unless you can't help it). Places look very different during the day!
Cooking under a tarp/basha is a breeze. Cooking in a tent is a nightmare!
Tarps are much lighter than tents. Tarps are easier to camouflage. Tarps are simple and easy to repair. Tarps are flexible.
Mine is a British Army standard issue one. My advice is to buy a decent secondhand one from an Army Surplus store. I've yet to see a new 'real' one for sale. The big difference between the real ones and the copies is the materials, the quality of construction and and the coating. The army ones are silicon-impregnated and the fabric itself is tough as old boots and doesn't absorb water, so if it's wet for a few days, it doesn't mildew anywhere near as readily. All in all, if squaddies can't fuck it up then it has to be OK.
I'm not a closet weekend warrior or anything but I do like being inconspicuous. The camouflage pattern is really good and military stuff is tough, although a bit heavier. I've got army goretex waterproofs as well for these reasons - as well as them being dirt cheap. You can get a jacket & trousers for about 70 quid. Look out for the better jackets and trousers: the jacket has pockets on the front, and the trousers have zippers on the legs, which are also double on the front from above the knee to the hem.
I'll write some more about gear later.
Ray Jardine is an amazing bloke who's taken the simple approach to the limit...
That was on Chesil Beach in 2007. Here's the rest of the pictures from that trip.
Last year I walked a tiny portion of the Southwest Coast Path from Exmouth to West Bexington.
Here's another seaside "Basha" shelter:
So that's the sort of place I'm going to sleep. What I love about using a 'basha' rather than a tent is the contact with the open air at all times. If you use a tent you might feel safer (and stay drier - or so you might think) but the fact is that if you tuck your tarp or basha into the right place - using the natural features - you'll be every bit as dry as with a tent.
So what about safety? Look at it this way. You can't really see out of a tent, and being inside it also means you hear less. A tent has also got a clear profile and size. That makes it harder to make it vanish in the landscape.
The basha is a different proposition. You've got clear vision around you (which also means you see the wildlife in the late evenings and early mornings) and I guarantee you that if someone comes towards you in the night, you'll become aware of them long before they know you're there.
Another advantage is space: both the space you need to pitch it and the living space you get for it. You can take advantage of natural features both to conceal your shelter and to fasten it. I really enjoy the little challenge towards the end of each day of finding a nice spot and you actually need a lot less space than a tent. You don't need to find somewhere flat either. Under a tarp you've got so much more space than in a tent too. Moving around under it is so much easier too: you don't always bump into the sides of the tent.
However, my advice is to avoid pitching in the dark (unless you can't help it). Places look very different during the day!
Cooking under a tarp/basha is a breeze. Cooking in a tent is a nightmare!
Tarps are much lighter than tents. Tarps are easier to camouflage. Tarps are simple and easy to repair. Tarps are flexible.
Mine is a British Army standard issue one. My advice is to buy a decent secondhand one from an Army Surplus store. I've yet to see a new 'real' one for sale. The big difference between the real ones and the copies is the materials, the quality of construction and and the coating. The army ones are silicon-impregnated and the fabric itself is tough as old boots and doesn't absorb water, so if it's wet for a few days, it doesn't mildew anywhere near as readily. All in all, if squaddies can't fuck it up then it has to be OK.
I'm not a closet weekend warrior or anything but I do like being inconspicuous. The camouflage pattern is really good and military stuff is tough, although a bit heavier. I've got army goretex waterproofs as well for these reasons - as well as them being dirt cheap. You can get a jacket & trousers for about 70 quid. Look out for the better jackets and trousers: the jacket has pockets on the front, and the trousers have zippers on the legs, which are also double on the front from above the knee to the hem.
I'll write some more about gear later.
Ray Jardine is an amazing bloke who's taken the simple approach to the limit...
Plans for the next few months
I don't know if anyone's reading this, but here you go.
I'm going to spend the next few months travelling, beginning in Ireland. I'll be doing some barefoot reporting, of course.
What i plan to do is to hitchhike around and collect people's stories. I'll film them and then put them online here for you to experience too.
What stories will they be? I have no idea. I'm guessing that Irish people still know how to tell a story or two...
I'm going to spend the next few months travelling, beginning in Ireland. I'll be doing some barefoot reporting, of course.
What i plan to do is to hitchhike around and collect people's stories. I'll film them and then put them online here for you to experience too.
What stories will they be? I have no idea. I'm guessing that Irish people still know how to tell a story or two...
Friday, 7 August 2009
Folk Against Fascism
I'm a bit of a (not that good) folkie: not the finger-in-yer-ear type though, even though I do sing some traditional songs.
Turns out those racist bar-stewards the BritishNazi National Party have been using folk music to raise money and give their poisonous message a nicer feel, and many folkies are unhappy about that. I'd be livid if they ever used anything I wrote in that way. (I wouldn't mind them slagging me off though! It's fun to hear criticism from people who just don't get it.)
So Folk against Fascism was born. Good one!
This bloke can tell you more.
Turns out those racist bar-stewards the British
So Folk against Fascism was born. Good one!
This bloke can tell you more.
Phoney excuses for a war
I was reading today about this poor bugger who's being screwed by the MoD after they'd fucked up...not only by sending him out in a vehicle which couldn't protect him against home-made Afghan land mines, but also by putting almost £50k in his bank account by mistake. Like any sensible bloke in his situation, he paid off his mortgage with it.
I don't like violence. I don't think it ever really solves anything: that being said, I have a lot of respect for decent honest soldiers. They're doing what they feel is right and I've known a fair few young tearaways who've responded positively to the kind of military discipline the armed forces provide. I've known more who've been totally fucked up by it too and come out with untreated PTSD but that's a whole 'nother story.
That's why it irks me when our sort-of elected leaders send them into unwinnable wars on phoney pretexts. The War in Afghanistan isn't really about terrorism and drugs. OK, it's logical that scumbags who want to blow up civilians in the name of a skewed interpretation of some holy book or other (and you can put Israel in that bag too) will eventually retreat to an area like the Afghan-Pakistani border if you chase them hard enough. Likewise, it's the ideal place to grow opium, which has after all been traditional in these parts since long before our civilisation was even a twinkle in Aristotle's eye. Nobody has ever been able to control that place against the will of the local people.
The real reason that this war is - peddled on a ticket of Drugs! and Terrorism! - being fought is energy. There are huge oil and gas reserves east of the Caspian and Uncle Sam needs to make sure he can get his fix without the hands of those nasty Russians or sneaky Chinese on the tap. (Of course you could always avoid that by piping it through Iran ... yeah right.)
You don't believe me? Have a read of this. And this. Hands up all of you who've seen the pipeline mentioned on the news.
And so you have some poor sod whose legs have been blown to bits getting screwed twice. Once by being sent to 'war' on a false pretext, and now by the very people who should have taken care of him afterwards.
Excuse me while I vomit.
I don't like violence. I don't think it ever really solves anything: that being said, I have a lot of respect for decent honest soldiers. They're doing what they feel is right and I've known a fair few young tearaways who've responded positively to the kind of military discipline the armed forces provide. I've known more who've been totally fucked up by it too and come out with untreated PTSD but that's a whole 'nother story.
That's why it irks me when our sort-of elected leaders send them into unwinnable wars on phoney pretexts. The War in Afghanistan isn't really about terrorism and drugs. OK, it's logical that scumbags who want to blow up civilians in the name of a skewed interpretation of some holy book or other (and you can put Israel in that bag too) will eventually retreat to an area like the Afghan-Pakistani border if you chase them hard enough. Likewise, it's the ideal place to grow opium, which has after all been traditional in these parts since long before our civilisation was even a twinkle in Aristotle's eye. Nobody has ever been able to control that place against the will of the local people.
The real reason that this war is - peddled on a ticket of Drugs! and Terrorism! - being fought is energy. There are huge oil and gas reserves east of the Caspian and Uncle Sam needs to make sure he can get his fix without the hands of those nasty Russians or sneaky Chinese on the tap. (Of course you could always avoid that by piping it through Iran ... yeah right.)
You don't believe me? Have a read of this. And this. Hands up all of you who've seen the pipeline mentioned on the news.
And so you have some poor sod whose legs have been blown to bits getting screwed twice. Once by being sent to 'war' on a false pretext, and now by the very people who should have taken care of him afterwards.
Excuse me while I vomit.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
The 6th of August should be remembered?
Do you know why? If not, click here and find out.
I remember what the 80s felt like: we were really shit scared that someone would fuck up and fumble their way to nuclear war. August the 6th always reawakes remnants of that feeling of utter dread.
I remember what the 80s felt like: we were really shit scared that someone would fuck up and fumble their way to nuclear war. August the 6th always reawakes remnants of that feeling of utter dread.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Somerset man arrested...and his goods handed to private company
If you're in any doubt that we're living in a what George Monbiot calls a "Captive State", then here's your proof.
British man arrested for role in running FileSoup file sharing website
So: An association of private companies called FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft Ltd) now sends the police to do their bidding. Copyright infringement (which is what Megacorp says filesharing is, under law) used to be a civil matter but now it appears to be in a grey area between civil and criminal law.
The guy's stuff was seized, he was released on bail (but not charged), and - get this - his stuff was handed over to FACT.
One commentator (on the Guardian article) put it well:
So what next? Extradition to the US on an allegation that you've downloaded a film? Welcome to the other side of the looking glass.
British man arrested for role in running FileSoup file sharing website
So: An association of private companies called FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft Ltd) now sends the police to do their bidding. Copyright infringement (which is what Megacorp says filesharing is, under law) used to be a civil matter but now it appears to be in a grey area between civil and criminal law.
The guy's stuff was seized, he was released on bail (but not charged), and - get this - his stuff was handed over to FACT.
One commentator (on the Guardian article) put it well:
I don't care about the rights and wrongs of the site, I care about the rights and wrongs of letting private entities breach a persons human rights. That is something ONLY the police should have the power to do. It should not be allowed for FACT to purchase a warrant or buy a prosecution.
So what next? Extradition to the US on an allegation that you've downloaded a film? Welcome to the other side of the looking glass.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Big Green Cockup og Big Green Conspiracy?
Here's a couple of interesting Guardian articles:
Is the Big Green Gathering another victim of the crackdown on dissent?
and
Protesters warned that measures from the criminal justice bill would be turned against the wider population. We were right
OK, The Big Green wasn'tscrewed closed on the background of the CJA but you can see the tendency, right?
It looks to me like any experience not mediated by some commercial exchange (preferably through some big business) is being made more and more difficult. It doesn't surprise this grumpy old cynic: after all, when big companies effectively dictate terms to the government (ever wondered why so many business regulations are "voluntary codes of conduct" these days?) then they'll use their influence in any way they can. Levels and squares, aprons and sashes...no, they don't do funny handshakes.
Is the Big Green Gathering another victim of the crackdown on dissent?
and
Protesters warned that measures from the criminal justice bill would be turned against the wider population. We were right
OK, The Big Green wasn't
It looks to me like any experience not mediated by some commercial exchange (preferably through some big business) is being made more and more difficult. It doesn't surprise this grumpy old cynic: after all, when big companies effectively dictate terms to the government (ever wondered why so many business regulations are "voluntary codes of conduct" these days?) then they'll use their influence in any way they can. Levels and squares, aprons and sashes...no, they don't do funny handshakes.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Still incompetent, just slightly less so...
It turns out that the previous post was about a silly mistake: the council employee screwed up and sent the letter out in oh-such-a-terrible hurry that she forgot to put the right dates on. Oh dear.
The meeting is on the 12th of August, not the 29th of July.
I'm not sure which I prefer: incompetence of that nature or sneaky conspiracies to disenfranchise people. Hanlon's Razor again..."Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". Ho hum.
It's bloody raining again.
The meeting is on the 12th of August, not the 29th of July.
I'm not sure which I prefer: incompetence of that nature or sneaky conspiracies to disenfranchise people. Hanlon's Razor again..."Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". Ho hum.
It's bloody raining again.
Saturday, 1 August 2009
A conspiracy of incompetence?
I've had a nice snooze (for about 7 months) and it's about time I posted something. Here's a fictional story . It's fictional, remember? Really, truly it is. Nothing like this could happen in reality - whatever that is.
There once was anice supermarket company called Tesco. In its drive for total domination of all levels of the food supply in this country, it decided to set up shop in the small town of Avalon, and submitted a planning application. It chose a plot at the other end of the Morlands site. The plot belongs to Avalon Plastics. The good bit about this (depending on your point of view) is that Avalon Plastics had already received planning permission (with conditions) for something like a supermarket on that very site. I suppose that was a major contributor to the economics of their planned move onto the Morlands site.
Anyway, word got out and people - including myself - started writing letters to the local rag, mostly against the proposed development. If you want to know why I'm against supermarkets, read Shopped by Joanna Blythman. The few 'pro' people kept going on about jobs: but Martin Caraher held a lecture recently in which he pointed out that for every 20 jobs Tesco 'creates', 30 disappear in the local area. So much for creating jobs.
Anyway, if you check out the Mendip planning website above, you can submit your comments to a planning application there...in theory. For some strange reason, it didn't work. Maybe they've fixed it now, but it didn't work then. It's also very hard to find the application itself unless you know exactly what you're looking for.
(Here's a link that will show you what the store might look like: http://tinyurl.com/l3y2m4. Be patient, it takes a while.)
Mendip District Council were shamed in the Central Somerset Gazette into admitting their incompetence and allowed people to submit comments via email - and extended the timeframe by a week or so.
My friend Jane submitted a comment or two and asked to be kept up to date with any public meetings etc and received a letter on 31st July. It invited her to a meeting which took place on the 29th of July.
OK, so maybe they're incompetent and 'forgot' to send it in time? Maybe so: but the funny thing is that they actually dated the letter 31st July. To add insult to injury, the letter states that you have to submit your comment the day before the meeting. Here it is:
So there we have it. Mendip Council could be accused of using incompetence as a tool for getting around difficult issues. You couldn't submit comments. You get invited to a meeting two days too late - and you haven't even taken the trouble to backdate the letter so it looks like it's been lost in the post. I'm not accusing them of overt dodgy dealing but it does seem rather convenient. Hanlon's Razor applies.
There once was a
Anyway, word got out and people - including myself - started writing letters to the local rag, mostly against the proposed development. If you want to know why I'm against supermarkets, read Shopped by Joanna Blythman. The few 'pro' people kept going on about jobs: but Martin Caraher held a lecture recently in which he pointed out that for every 20 jobs Tesco 'creates', 30 disappear in the local area. So much for creating jobs.
Anyway, if you check out the Mendip planning website above, you can submit your comments to a planning application there...in theory. For some strange reason, it didn't work. Maybe they've fixed it now, but it didn't work then. It's also very hard to find the application itself unless you know exactly what you're looking for.
(Here's a link that will show you what the store might look like: http://tinyurl.com/l3y2m4. Be patient, it takes a while.)
Mendip District Council were shamed in the Central Somerset Gazette into admitting their incompetence and allowed people to submit comments via email - and extended the timeframe by a week or so.
My friend Jane submitted a comment or two and asked to be kept up to date with any public meetings etc and received a letter on 31st July. It invited her to a meeting which took place on the 29th of July.
OK, so maybe they're incompetent and 'forgot' to send it in time? Maybe so: but the funny thing is that they actually dated the letter 31st July. To add insult to injury, the letter states that you have to submit your comment the day before the meeting. Here it is:
So there we have it. Mendip Council could be accused of using incompetence as a tool for getting around difficult issues. You couldn't submit comments. You get invited to a meeting two days too late - and you haven't even taken the trouble to backdate the letter so it looks like it's been lost in the post. I'm not accusing them of overt dodgy dealing but it does seem rather convenient. Hanlon's Razor applies.
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