Yeovil Express is reporting today that, among a slew of proposed cuts to the Somerset County education budget, is money to support the building of 3 new schools in the planned Key Sites around Yeovil (Lufton, Brimsmore, & Lyde Road). The slightly over-dramatised prose notes that the cuts involve:
• Axing budgets allocated to support the development of new schools in Yeovil – at Thorne Lane, Lufton and Brimsmore.
Locals will be aware that these 3 sites have all been on the back burner for a while, though goverment money for affordable housing has kick-started the Lyde Road site, but only for the first 220-odd houses. Locals will also notice that Thorne Lane and Brimsmore are actually the same site (!), and the Express has forgotten about Lyde Road. Sadly, that's been the case with that development from early days, but that's another story.
Somerset is looking to cut £40m from its annual budget, a cut of 10%, connected to a freeze in council tax. The schools cuts are part of a wider programme, with roughly half the cuts coming from capital and half from spending budgets. There's plenty of background papers for the council meeting making this decision next week, and I'm not entirely sure which one to look at (!). If this is simply putting the schools funding back a few years, that's eminently sensible: the housing isn't going to be built within the original forecast, so the money for the school won't be needed for several more years. Alternatively if the budget includes a certain amount set aside into the capital fund each year for new schools, and that's being cut back, then there won't be enough money there to build the schools when they're required.
This may be a bit of a spanner in some local work we're hoping to do in building a sense of community and belonging on the new estates. The loss (or delay) of a key focal building and gathering place will make this a bit tougher.
The wider financial picture doesn't look good - the council is looking at redundancies, attempting to balance its budget, and unsure what level of government support will be there for councils after the election. It's a fair guess that it'll be lower. One of the fruits of the debt crunch is that we may have to get used to our councils doing less for us than before, or charging more to do the same things. The latter isn't really an option in the current climate. It's going to be tough.
(Ps I note with interest that the Labour candidate for Yeovil has set up a website Somerset Conservative Watch. Not much there as yet, but it'll probably increase as May approaches.)
Showing posts with label Somerset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somerset. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Announced Today: Yeovil & Taunton on 'Eco-Town' shortlist
Thanks to Tim for alerting me to this announcement today by the Department for Communities.
Today, the Housing Minister announced that a further nine local authorities are considering plans to develop new communities to eco-town standards.
These major new developments will need to meet the pioneering green standards set out in the eco-towns planning policy statement published in July. Proposals for sustainable developments need to include 5,000 homes and demonstrate innovative ideas for how jobs, schools and services are delivered in low carbon ways that will help in the UK respond to climate change.
Yeovil and Taunton are among the new sites.
Comments:
1. These aren't strictly eco-towns. Yeovil has already been earmarked by the Regional Spatial Strategy (the regional planning document, covering the period to 2026, which looks at housing demand, transport, employment etc.) for an 'urban extension' of 5,000 houses. So the announcement means that the local District Council are looking for this development to meet the eco-towns standard. It's not new housing, just a change of emphasis for what's already planned.
2. Conservative policy is to scrap the Regional Spatial Strategies, so it's a question of watch this space. We have no idea whether these proposals will still be on the agenda in 6 months time. Given the need for new housing, it may be difficult for the Tories to say either a) we don't need the houses or b) they shouldn't be up to high environmental standards. But we'll see.
3. One of the things which will help these things work is co-operation: e.g. car pools, so a proper eco town will only work with a certain level of community spirit. That will need not just attention to the built environment, but attention to community building. That might be an opportunity for the churches, or indeed anyone else with a passion for community, to be part of the picture.
Here are the details of the Somerset sites:
Taunton
Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council are proposing detailed studies of potential eco-town development at Monkton Heathfield, a development area with capacity for 5,000 homes to the NE of Taunton. This is a proposal in the emerging local core strategy and the draft Regional Spatial Strategy driven by high levels of need and demand for housing. It will be a self-contained community, including employment, services and community facilities, well linked to Taunton by public transport and sustainable travel option.
The local authorities are committed to achieving the UK carbon reduction targets and funding from this programme could support more detailed feasibility and development work to prepare detailed proposals in areas such as sustainable transport, renewable energy, green infrastructure and masterplanning of development areas.Looking further ahead, lessons learned from these studies will be applied to the strategic urban extension at Taunton-Corneytrowe (SW of Taunton) which has capacity for 6-8,000 homes.
Yeovil
South Somerset District council is interested in assessing the potential of achieving eco-town standard in a possible eco-extension on the edge of Yeovil, consistent with the draft Regional Spatial Strategy and the Council's work on a draft core strategy which is due for public consultation next year. Funding from this programme would support more detailed studies of this option and potentially a masterplanning exercise.
Reports: BBC, Times online.
Today, the Housing Minister announced that a further nine local authorities are considering plans to develop new communities to eco-town standards.
These major new developments will need to meet the pioneering green standards set out in the eco-towns planning policy statement published in July. Proposals for sustainable developments need to include 5,000 homes and demonstrate innovative ideas for how jobs, schools and services are delivered in low carbon ways that will help in the UK respond to climate change.
Yeovil and Taunton are among the new sites.
Comments:
1. These aren't strictly eco-towns. Yeovil has already been earmarked by the Regional Spatial Strategy (the regional planning document, covering the period to 2026, which looks at housing demand, transport, employment etc.) for an 'urban extension' of 5,000 houses. So the announcement means that the local District Council are looking for this development to meet the eco-towns standard. It's not new housing, just a change of emphasis for what's already planned.
2. Conservative policy is to scrap the Regional Spatial Strategies, so it's a question of watch this space. We have no idea whether these proposals will still be on the agenda in 6 months time. Given the need for new housing, it may be difficult for the Tories to say either a) we don't need the houses or b) they shouldn't be up to high environmental standards. But we'll see.
3. One of the things which will help these things work is co-operation: e.g. car pools, so a proper eco town will only work with a certain level of community spirit. That will need not just attention to the built environment, but attention to community building. That might be an opportunity for the churches, or indeed anyone else with a passion for community, to be part of the picture.
Here are the details of the Somerset sites:
Taunton
Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council are proposing detailed studies of potential eco-town development at Monkton Heathfield, a development area with capacity for 5,000 homes to the NE of Taunton. This is a proposal in the emerging local core strategy and the draft Regional Spatial Strategy driven by high levels of need and demand for housing. It will be a self-contained community, including employment, services and community facilities, well linked to Taunton by public transport and sustainable travel option.
The local authorities are committed to achieving the UK carbon reduction targets and funding from this programme could support more detailed feasibility and development work to prepare detailed proposals in areas such as sustainable transport, renewable energy, green infrastructure and masterplanning of development areas.Looking further ahead, lessons learned from these studies will be applied to the strategic urban extension at Taunton-Corneytrowe (SW of Taunton) which has capacity for 6-8,000 homes.
Yeovil
South Somerset District council is interested in assessing the potential of achieving eco-town standard in a possible eco-extension on the edge of Yeovil, consistent with the draft Regional Spatial Strategy and the Council's work on a draft core strategy which is due for public consultation next year. Funding from this programme would support more detailed studies of this option and potentially a masterplanning exercise.
Reports: BBC, Times online.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Blogging, Volunteers, and Local Democracy
Drat, I go away for a few days break, and Somerset springs to life.
Somerton is about 12 miles north of Yeovil, nice little place, with plenty of character, and some good local churches. Last week most of the town council walked out. Why? Initial reports suggested that it was all the work of one lone local blog (Muck & Brass), and that they'd got fed up with his criticism of the council.
Some of the reportage:
Newsnight (starts about 19min in, will expire in a couple of days). Slightly patronising. The clip is reproduced on Michael Cricks blog in Youtube format.
Western Gazette (local paper). Love the 'internet blogger'. Didn't realise there were other sorts ;-)
BBC, which cuts and pastes from the Gazette.
The Mail, and Times.
Some thoughts:
1. People do get hurt, even by mild terms of abuse like 'clown' and 'jackass'. See 6.
2. It's hard to know exactly what went on as an outsider, but it seems that the blog itself has catalysed the local community to take more interest in their council. It will be interesting to see if the energy generated as critics turns into energy generated to stand as councillors. On the national stage, we're all quite happy to have a pop at MP's, but will we see hordes of people putting themselves forwards as candidates in May?
3. The blogger himself has been the target for vandalism and abuse. There's been a cost to him and his family for saying what he's said. That's pretty shocking, and if there is a link to his criticism of the council, then comparisons with the Wild West become valid.
4. Reading through Muck and Brass, there seem to be several legitimate concerns: the way the council spends money, conflict of business and council interests, freedom of information requests and transparency. These are the kind of things a local council should expect from the people it serves. Scrutiny is part of democracy - the unwritten contract is that the scrutiny should be fair, and that the elected representatives should be answerable.
5. The 'lone blogger' angle is far from the whole story. Over 100 local people attended the meeting last week where the councillors walked out. The blog has perhaps been a catalyst for this. In many ways its an online version of the letters pages of the local paper, where we get several letters a week about what the local council is up to. The fact that the blogger names himself, and goes in person to the council meetings, makes it part of a conversation, rather than anonymous sniping from the sidelines. If that can't be part of healthy local democracy, then that's bad news.
6. Volunteering itself is a complex thing: people offer their time and energy for all sorts of reasons, and holding volunteers to account it trickier than doing it with folk who are paid. Paid people at least know it's a fair cop if they're not doing their job, but volunteers are doing it 'out of the goodness of their hearts' (hopefully). They're also doing it (in many cases) because nobody else has stepped forward, and they can feel taken for granted and put upon if folk merely criticise, but don't offer any help or any constructive feedback. In a naturally critical culture like England, that's a bit of a problem, and one we experience in the church too.
Elsewhere, I notice that blogging is part of the local response to the Olympics developments in London - see Leabank Square, and LifeIsland, a blog devoted to some local allotments which were moved out to make way for the Olympic site. They're taking on a slightly bigger beast, and without the same dramatic results as in Somerton. But the blogs provide a forum for campaigning and feedback that simply didn't exist 10 years ago. Yes there can be mass, Twitter-induced hysteria, which doesn't serve anyone, but the web now has to be an integral part of local and national democracy. Having said that, it doesn't replace it.
Which makes it all the more frustrating that one of our local council sites is the slowest in the country. But perhaps I should contact them about it, rather than just whine about it here. (Just visited to check my facts, and it's actually a lot quicker than it used to be, so I emailed them to say thankyou).
Somerton is about 12 miles north of Yeovil, nice little place, with plenty of character, and some good local churches. Last week most of the town council walked out. Why? Initial reports suggested that it was all the work of one lone local blog (Muck & Brass), and that they'd got fed up with his criticism of the council.
Some of the reportage:
Newsnight (starts about 19min in, will expire in a couple of days). Slightly patronising. The clip is reproduced on Michael Cricks blog in Youtube format.
Western Gazette (local paper). Love the 'internet blogger'. Didn't realise there were other sorts ;-)
BBC, which cuts and pastes from the Gazette.
The Mail, and Times.
Some thoughts:
1. People do get hurt, even by mild terms of abuse like 'clown' and 'jackass'. See 6.
2. It's hard to know exactly what went on as an outsider, but it seems that the blog itself has catalysed the local community to take more interest in their council. It will be interesting to see if the energy generated as critics turns into energy generated to stand as councillors. On the national stage, we're all quite happy to have a pop at MP's, but will we see hordes of people putting themselves forwards as candidates in May?
3. The blogger himself has been the target for vandalism and abuse. There's been a cost to him and his family for saying what he's said. That's pretty shocking, and if there is a link to his criticism of the council, then comparisons with the Wild West become valid.
4. Reading through Muck and Brass, there seem to be several legitimate concerns: the way the council spends money, conflict of business and council interests, freedom of information requests and transparency. These are the kind of things a local council should expect from the people it serves. Scrutiny is part of democracy - the unwritten contract is that the scrutiny should be fair, and that the elected representatives should be answerable.
5. The 'lone blogger' angle is far from the whole story. Over 100 local people attended the meeting last week where the councillors walked out. The blog has perhaps been a catalyst for this. In many ways its an online version of the letters pages of the local paper, where we get several letters a week about what the local council is up to. The fact that the blogger names himself, and goes in person to the council meetings, makes it part of a conversation, rather than anonymous sniping from the sidelines. If that can't be part of healthy local democracy, then that's bad news.
6. Volunteering itself is a complex thing: people offer their time and energy for all sorts of reasons, and holding volunteers to account it trickier than doing it with folk who are paid. Paid people at least know it's a fair cop if they're not doing their job, but volunteers are doing it 'out of the goodness of their hearts' (hopefully). They're also doing it (in many cases) because nobody else has stepped forward, and they can feel taken for granted and put upon if folk merely criticise, but don't offer any help or any constructive feedback. In a naturally critical culture like England, that's a bit of a problem, and one we experience in the church too.
Elsewhere, I notice that blogging is part of the local response to the Olympics developments in London - see Leabank Square, and LifeIsland, a blog devoted to some local allotments which were moved out to make way for the Olympic site. They're taking on a slightly bigger beast, and without the same dramatic results as in Somerton. But the blogs provide a forum for campaigning and feedback that simply didn't exist 10 years ago. Yes there can be mass, Twitter-induced hysteria, which doesn't serve anyone, but the web now has to be an integral part of local and national democracy. Having said that, it doesn't replace it.
Which makes it all the more frustrating that one of our local council sites is the slowest in the country. But perhaps I should contact them about it, rather than just whine about it here. (Just visited to check my facts, and it's actually a lot quicker than it used to be, so I emailed them to say thankyou).
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fridgehenge
Just down the road from Stonehenge, a new 'monument' made from 30 recycled (i.e. second hand) fridges, put up for the Equinox as a monument to organic farming. No, I couldn't see the connection either. Full story here.
It will be taken down on 29th September, presumably to stop absent minded bulls doing themselves an injury if they try to mate with it.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Christians in a Spiritual Age - event in October.
SOMERSET CHURCHES TOGETHER AUTUMN FORUM 2009
Christians Together in a Spiritual Age
Saturday, 17 October 2009
10.00 am – 3.45 pm (Registration from 9.30 am)
Locking Castle Church, Weston Super Mare
Keynote Speakers:-
Revd. David Grosch-Miller,
Moderator, South Western Synod, United Reformed Church
Steve Hollinghurst, Church Army Evangelist
Presentations, Workshops, Displays and Resources.
For more information and booking form contact:
Robin Dixon, sctog at blueyonder.co.uk
some blurb:
This year our theme is Christians Together in a Spiritual Age and we are delighted to welcome as key speakers Revd David Grosch-Miller (Moderator, South Western Synod, United Reformed Church) and Steve Hollinghurst (Researcher in Evangelism for the Church Army). Steve is a leading national speaker and author on how, as Christians, we can engage with contemporary culture and new age spirituality.
The day offers lots of opportunities for networking and encouragement. We will set the scene of what is happening ecumenically across Somerset. We will hear stories from groups of local churches seeking to bring the gospel to people in their communities. In smaller workshops we will explore practical ideas for mission in our context. Coffee and lunch (both provided) will create welcome space to chat and meet old friends and new.
If you're in the SW and can get along, Steve Hollinghurst is well worth hearing, should be a good event.
Christians Together in a Spiritual Age
Saturday, 17 October 2009
10.00 am – 3.45 pm (Registration from 9.30 am)
Locking Castle Church, Weston Super Mare
Keynote Speakers:-
Revd. David Grosch-Miller,
Moderator, South Western Synod, United Reformed Church
Steve Hollinghurst, Church Army Evangelist
Presentations, Workshops, Displays and Resources.
For more information and booking form contact:
Robin Dixon, sctog at blueyonder.co.uk
some blurb:
This year our theme is Christians Together in a Spiritual Age and we are delighted to welcome as key speakers Revd David Grosch-Miller (Moderator, South Western Synod, United Reformed Church) and Steve Hollinghurst (Researcher in Evangelism for the Church Army). Steve is a leading national speaker and author on how, as Christians, we can engage with contemporary culture and new age spirituality.
The day offers lots of opportunities for networking and encouragement. We will set the scene of what is happening ecumenically across Somerset. We will hear stories from groups of local churches seeking to bring the gospel to people in their communities. In smaller workshops we will explore practical ideas for mission in our context. Coffee and lunch (both provided) will create welcome space to chat and meet old friends and new.
If you're in the SW and can get along, Steve Hollinghurst is well worth hearing, should be a good event.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
It Raineth Upon....
Somerset is a snapshot of English religion at the moment. And it's been raining on all of them:
- The 'atheist summer camp' at Bruton, with 24 children attending. I hadn't picked up that it was an American 'ministry' extending its reach to the UK. Less press coverage is being given to the thousands of children and young people on CPAS Ventures and Falcon camps - if you count Soul Survivor there's roughly 30,000. If 24 is a 'big following' (the Times) then I wait to see what adjectives are used of the Christian camps. To its credit, the Times has a couple of pieces on Christian summer camps too. (note to commentors: no rubbish about 'brainwashing' please, that's what happens in places like North Korea, please don't cheapen the term by applying to these camps, whichever sort it is you don't like).
- a few miles to the West it's New Wine at the moment, and tweeters have noticed the rain and mud, along with lots of other, better things. Thousands are there for worship, teaching and fun, and along with Soul Survivor NW pretty much takes over the Bath and West Showground for the whole of the summer holidays. For a flavour, the evening talks will be live on Hope FM next week (2-8th Aug)
- further along the Mendips, a witch has just been selected for Wookey Hole (local cave/tourist attraction) out of 50,000 applicants. The original 'witch' is a rock formation in the cave, but the Hole trades quite heavily on 'the witch of Wookey Hole' as a marketing snare. Some of the applicants were clearly practicing witches, rather than just folk wanting to dress up in black and cackle. Bizarrely, the job is supposed to give people an idea of what the caves were like in the Dark Ages. Erm, exactly the same, but without spotlights and handrails?
- just up the hill from Wookey Hole, the Big Green Gathering (an outdoor Green Festival, bit like a smaller Glastonbury with less music and more eco stuff) has been cancelled following some shenanigans with the police. It would have had a healing field, sweat lodge and assorted New Age stuff, along with a few of the Christians who've developed forms of prayer and outreach for New Age contexts.
- Back down from the Mendips is Wells Cathedral, which next week will be hosting a memorial service for Harry Patch, the last surviving WW1 veteran who died recently. Over 1000 are expected to attend.
So, what's the rain? Is it God's judgement on the atheists and the witches, or a trial to prove the faith of the Christians? Is it a succesful deluge to wash away some New Age claptrap, or a suitable sign of mourning to mark the passing of a generation?
Or is it just rain?
- The 'atheist summer camp' at Bruton, with 24 children attending. I hadn't picked up that it was an American 'ministry' extending its reach to the UK. Less press coverage is being given to the thousands of children and young people on CPAS Ventures and Falcon camps - if you count Soul Survivor there's roughly 30,000. If 24 is a 'big following' (the Times) then I wait to see what adjectives are used of the Christian camps. To its credit, the Times has a couple of pieces on Christian summer camps too. (note to commentors: no rubbish about 'brainwashing' please, that's what happens in places like North Korea, please don't cheapen the term by applying to these camps, whichever sort it is you don't like).
- a few miles to the West it's New Wine at the moment, and tweeters have noticed the rain and mud, along with lots of other, better things. Thousands are there for worship, teaching and fun, and along with Soul Survivor NW pretty much takes over the Bath and West Showground for the whole of the summer holidays. For a flavour, the evening talks will be live on Hope FM next week (2-8th Aug)
- further along the Mendips, a witch has just been selected for Wookey Hole (local cave/tourist attraction) out of 50,000 applicants. The original 'witch' is a rock formation in the cave, but the Hole trades quite heavily on 'the witch of Wookey Hole' as a marketing snare. Some of the applicants were clearly practicing witches, rather than just folk wanting to dress up in black and cackle. Bizarrely, the job is supposed to give people an idea of what the caves were like in the Dark Ages. Erm, exactly the same, but without spotlights and handrails?
- just up the hill from Wookey Hole, the Big Green Gathering (an outdoor Green Festival, bit like a smaller Glastonbury with less music and more eco stuff) has been cancelled following some shenanigans with the police. It would have had a healing field, sweat lodge and assorted New Age stuff, along with a few of the Christians who've developed forms of prayer and outreach for New Age contexts.
- Back down from the Mendips is Wells Cathedral, which next week will be hosting a memorial service for Harry Patch, the last surviving WW1 veteran who died recently. Over 1000 are expected to attend.
So, what's the rain? Is it God's judgement on the atheists and the witches, or a trial to prove the faith of the Christians? Is it a succesful deluge to wash away some New Age claptrap, or a suitable sign of mourning to mark the passing of a generation?
Or is it just rain?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
'Ancient-Future Worship' event in Keynsham
In my inbox today, looks like a good training event on worship, and a good quality line-up:
A major worship event in the Southwest...
Ancient-Future Worship
Saturday 22nd November at St John's Church, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2BL
3pm - 6pm Workshops (see prices below) for music leaders, worship leaders, singers, instrumentalists, all involved in creative arts, all who value creative broad worship; topics include: Ancient-Future Worship, Gospel, multisensory worship, Celtic worship, folk music, choral music
7pm - 9pm Evening Celebration - free! (with collection) - all welcome - come and experience a glorious integration of these and other worship styles and streams!
Leaders - Geraldine Latty, Rev John Leach, Richard Hubbard, Tim Martin, Rev Simon Howell, Roger Peach, Gill Trueman
Please visit the mwf website www.mwf.org.uk for full details, including on-line boooking, or follow this link http://www.mwf.org.uk/ancientfutureworship-southwest.html
Early booking deadline for workshops expires on Wed 22nd October. Prices: £10 Full price, £9 if booked by 22 October, £8 mwf friends / Associates, £6 full-time students / unwaged. For every five people booked from one church a sixth comes free.
Please help to spread the word about this by forwarding this email to anyone who might be interested. We hope you can come and join us for this very special event; early booking for workshops recommended. Thank you.
A major worship event in the Southwest...
Ancient-Future Worship
Saturday 22nd November at St John's Church, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2BL
3pm - 6pm Workshops (see prices below) for music leaders, worship leaders, singers, instrumentalists, all involved in creative arts, all who value creative broad worship; topics include: Ancient-Future Worship, Gospel, multisensory worship, Celtic worship, folk music, choral music
7pm - 9pm Evening Celebration - free! (with collection) - all welcome - come and experience a glorious integration of these and other worship styles and streams!
Leaders - Geraldine Latty, Rev John Leach, Richard Hubbard, Tim Martin, Rev Simon Howell, Roger Peach, Gill Trueman
Please visit the mwf website www.mwf.org.uk for full details, including on-line boooking, or follow this link http://www.mwf.org.uk/ancientfutureworship-southwest.html
Early booking deadline for workshops expires on Wed 22nd October. Prices: £10 Full price, £9 if booked by 22 October, £8 mwf friends / Associates, £6 full-time students / unwaged. For every five people booked from one church a sixth comes free.
Please help to spread the word about this by forwarding this email to anyone who might be interested. We hope you can come and join us for this very special event; early booking for workshops recommended. Thank you.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Magic of Shepton Mallet
Update: here's a Times piece on the archaeologist who found the original amulet, which puts the case for it being genuine. So I'm very confused now. But I still don't like the building they named after it.
A supposedly 4th century Christian amulet, found in Shepton Mallet, has been exposed as a fake. I mention this because I used to live there. The amulet was found in 1990, and is now thought to have been planted by protesters opposed to the building of a warehouse.
I was bemused by the following comment from the deputy mayor: “It’s like the magic has been removed from Shepton Mallet". Sorry? Here's a picture of Shepton
notice the nice old market stall thingy in the front, completely dwarfed by the concrete monstrosity behind it. The monstrosity was named 'The Amulet' to commemorate the finding of the historic piece. Maybe now, to recognise that it's a fake, they'll pull it down to reveal a very nice view across to Shepton's ancient parish church from the market square. That would save them thinking up a new name.
To be fair to the place it does have these very nice gardens. And a prison. And a brilliant rabbit-warren of a furniture shop opposite the 'you could be anywhere in the country' retail park, built over the rubble of the Clarks factory where I used to work. Actually, since Clarks paid people on piecework - a dehumanising and corrosive practice - the retail park is probably a nicer place to work.
It's a lovely place really, they've just not been blessed with the best town planners.
A supposedly 4th century Christian amulet, found in Shepton Mallet, has been exposed as a fake. I mention this because I used to live there. The amulet was found in 1990, and is now thought to have been planted by protesters opposed to the building of a warehouse.
I was bemused by the following comment from the deputy mayor: “It’s like the magic has been removed from Shepton Mallet". Sorry? Here's a picture of Shepton
notice the nice old market stall thingy in the front, completely dwarfed by the concrete monstrosity behind it. The monstrosity was named 'The Amulet' to commemorate the finding of the historic piece. Maybe now, to recognise that it's a fake, they'll pull it down to reveal a very nice view across to Shepton's ancient parish church from the market square. That would save them thinking up a new name.
To be fair to the place it does have these very nice gardens. And a prison. And a brilliant rabbit-warren of a furniture shop opposite the 'you could be anywhere in the country' retail park, built over the rubble of the Clarks factory where I used to work. Actually, since Clarks paid people on piecework - a dehumanising and corrosive practice - the retail park is probably a nicer place to work.
It's a lovely place really, they've just not been blessed with the best town planners.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Ok, I admit it....
The finale of Bonekickers was laughably bad. I was doing some mental maths to work out how long it would take to shuttle between Bath, Clevedon, Wells and Glastonbury on our rustic road system, compared to the impression given last night that they were all neighbours in a cul-de-sac. Never mind being able to break into Wells Cathedral and the Bishops Palace at night with a sackful of diving equipment, and the corny Excalibur moment. But it's been fun, and Hugh Bonneville has finally been given a role he can chew on. It could do without the regulation gory death per episode though.
Someone on this comments thread notes that the BBC bonekickers site has been taken down, drowned under the weight of negative comments. Not true, (though they don't post new messages between midnight and 9am, to allow moderation) but it's a conspiracy theory worthy of the series itself.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
BBC's 'The Passion' DVD due out.
Evangelism UK reports that the BBC's production of The Passion (which was very good until the last 2 minutes) is available on DVD. Not strictly true - it comes out in October, but you can pre-order it now. Follow the this link for some episode reviews and links from earlier in the year.
Staying with the BBC, I will continue to stick up for Bonekickers even though everyone else seems to hate it. Ok it's all a load of cobblers, but so are most of the books in the summer bestsellers list. Since the 'Da Vinci Code', there has been a massive splurge of 'historical religious fiction' which all combine some modern day murder mystery with a secretive medieval/early Christian sect protecting a secret which will destroy the church if it comes out. Or variations thereon. Reading the appendix of The First Apostle is nearly enough to make Dan Brown come across as a scrupulous historian.
Where was I? Oh yes, next weeks Bonekickers finale is set in Glastonbury, just up the road from here. I like the way this is moving: Hot Fuzz was set in Wells (our nephew, visiting from Singapore, wanted to visit Wells not for the Cathedral, Bishops Palace or anything else, but just to see the place where the film was set. Cue anguished wailing from heritage types), Bonekickers is now moving down the A37 from Bath to Glastonbury, so it's only a matter of time before we get a major production set in Yeovil. Or not.
Staying with the BBC, I will continue to stick up for Bonekickers even though everyone else seems to hate it. Ok it's all a load of cobblers, but so are most of the books in the summer bestsellers list. Since the 'Da Vinci Code', there has been a massive splurge of 'historical religious fiction' which all combine some modern day murder mystery with a secretive medieval/early Christian sect protecting a secret which will destroy the church if it comes out. Or variations thereon. Reading the appendix of The First Apostle is nearly enough to make Dan Brown come across as a scrupulous historian.
Where was I? Oh yes, next weeks Bonekickers finale is set in Glastonbury, just up the road from here. I like the way this is moving: Hot Fuzz was set in Wells (our nephew, visiting from Singapore, wanted to visit Wells not for the Cathedral, Bishops Palace or anything else, but just to see the place where the film was set. Cue anguished wailing from heritage types), Bonekickers is now moving down the A37 from Bath to Glastonbury, so it's only a matter of time before we get a major production set in Yeovil. Or not.
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