People's Republic of South Devon

Do you remember the first music that inspired you?

Katie Marie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:50:08 +0000

Katie Marie Photo taken by Lisa (Indigo Blue Photography) and edited by Sandra (Soul Photography)

Here’s a question for you, can you remember the first ever song you played on an instrument? Or maybe the first album that really inspired you?

Well I had yet another nostalgic week when I was turning out some cupboards at home and came across these:

Oasis, Definatly Maybe; Radiohead, The Bends; and Alanis Moresette, Jagged Little Pill.

Which are the first ever music books I bought when I was a teenager and I’ve not seen them for a good 10 years or so and they brought back lots of memories.

When I first started out gigging and writing my own music these three albums meant everything to me: Oasis, Definatly Maybe; Radiohead, The Bends; and Alanis Moresette, Jagged Little Pill.

Most of the chord shapes I play on guitar today come from these three books and the albums themselves were such a massive inspiration to me.

I’ve often spoken about my first few years learning guitar and getting into recording. I was 16 and living in a mobile home and my first real recording set-up consisted of a Fostex four-track cassette recorder and a rather crappy vocal mic that had a wired-in jack lead (like those horrible mics you get with Karaoke machines). Instrumentation wise I had a beaten up drum kit that I found in a skip, a Kay Rickenbacker copy bass, a Yamaha keyboard and an Encore Les Paul copy electric guitar. Back in those days I used to play without a top E string and just used five strings. It’s funny because there’s many chords I play now where I leave the top string open, and it’s from the days when I thought it would be a good idea not to have it at all lol.

Recording drums was always a bit of a challenge, as when I had the kit set up the only way to get behind it was by going out the front door and clambering through a side window. I came across my Fostex a little while ago and there’s a few comedy moments where I hit the record button and you hear me running out the door and climbing through the window – thankfully I don’t have to endure that anymore!

I’m so very grateful for the amount of time I used to spend practising. I had a pretty fixed rehearsal regime that lasted around seven hours a day, and most nights I’d either be out gigging or having band practise. Everyday I’d do bass, drums, guitar, keys and vocals and had a set practise list for each one. It’s funny seeing people’s reactions when I tell them how often I use to play music. They always ask me ‘didn’t you ever go out? Or have a life outside of music?’ And I guess the answer is no, I didn’t have a life. I was a musical junkie and completely cool with that.

It’s really cool when I meet teenagers or young people now who are just starting out their own adventure into the world of music. I have to say that period of my life was by far the most exciting and rewarding. Everything was new and inspiring. I was like a musical sponge – I just wanted to watch and soak up everything I heard, then go home, grab a guitar and sit there until I could play it. I had a dream, and at that time it never felt as though it was very far away because I was completely naïve and had no idea what the music businesswas all about. But I guess it’s like that saying my Mother has often said to me…’where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise’.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore what I do. It’s the bestest thing in the whole wide world. But as with the real world you experience set backs and blows that make you not quite as open as you once were. I’m certainly a lot wiser these days in many ways, but my enthusiasm back then was unstoppable and I’m so very grateful for all time I spent practising away. And if the internet had been around I would have been spending hours watching music vids on Youtube. Mind you, I’m actually very glad that Youtube, HD camcorders and the internet weren’t around back then – I’d die if anyone uploaded my first few gigs, as they were pretty awful!

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Travelling diary of a disabled artist: Dundee, a home from home

Ems Coombes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:02:40 +0000

Scottish Dance Theatre's Pathways to the Profession Symposium in Dundee

I am in my hotel room in Dundee, I have been here since Wednesday and I am so relaxed. I have had the best time ever. With so many crips here I can relax and be myself, because I am not the only spac, no one looks at you as if you’re strange… and even better than that we are all artists trying to succeed and, dare I say it, change the world!

So much has happened that I am clambering over my letters as I try to get all the ‘golden nuggets’ out in haste, but I will try to make it as clear and unrambling (a word?) as possible.

Now where did I leave you before? I was going to Manchester….

Right, I’m going to write down bullet points, and elaborate on them at a later point (bite sized chunks), and so I remember when I pass out from exhaustion!

The Frog and Bucket, Manchester
Jon and Madeleine, Leeds
The Drive to Bonny Scotland
My hotel room
The Spaccy Symposium (Pathways to Profession, Day 1)
An Evening of Disability Arts
The Spaccy Symposium (Pathways to Profession, Day 2)
Abso-bloomin-lutely knackered.… and it is only Friday!

The Frog and Bucket, Manchester

I managed to find the pub, Smithfield Hotel and Bar, but that is a somewhat of a misnomer, as it was quite old, small, and rickety, but I liked it. It had the basics, it was £20 a night and, as I soon discovered was a minute away from The Frog and Bucket, Comedy Club which was my next stop. I was tired but this was to good an opportunity to miss, I had no idea what to expect but I knew that, if I had the chance I’d be up there making a tit out of myself.

I had been told it was ‘just on the corner’, so I crossed the road and walked but couldn’t see it. I asked some young lads if they could ‘possibly point me in the direction of the Frog and Barrel?’ “ Y’ mean The Frog and Bucket? The Comedy Club? It’s reet over’t thur love! pointing to the illuminated building right across the road. ‘Cheers.’ I chirped. I was quite excited.

I walked in and discovered that the dealio was this, it’s an amateur night. There were 11 comedians (prebooked, unfortunately) who have about five minutes to wow the audience. There are three cards given to three audience members. If these three cards are held a loft during their set they are off, stripped of their dignity, but if they last the alloted time they come back at the end and the audience votes by clapping, stomping, cheering etc (not wholly reliable sometimes). It was a really good experience, I spoke to some of the comedians, asked for advice, got to watch some funny guys and also some bloody awful acts. The greatest thing is that I know some of my comedy is going to work. I talk about USP (Unique Selling Point) and how we all need to fit into boxes so we ‘belong’, ‘the nerd’, ‘the spac’ , ‘the muso’, ‘the hippy’, ‘the raver’…

We put a negative spin on ‘boxes’ but when we are no longer in them, we need another way to make us stand out from the crowd, so we jump in another box to find like minded individuals or straddle a number of boxes, why not, be a greedy box hogger.

“Stop putting me in a box!”
“Why don’t you stop moaning, put your slippers on, and make yourself at home in the box.”

The point. Know your self. Simple. (I wish!)

The guys at the comedy club were rolling in USP’s. A dwarf, a ginger, an Indian, gay, black and a transexual, to name but a few. Some of them were painful to watch and I sure as hell didn’t take a card, that’s a lot of pressure and I may meet them again one day!

But some where very good, when I saw Mark Restuccia, I found myself making notes and we talked through some of the jokes briefly at the end (when I apologised for being disabled basically, I shouldn’t do that really.) I felt like I knew what I was talking about, when did that happen?

I went back to the place I call home feeling satisfied and like I was on the correct path and now I have done another reccy. I’m feeling all warm and centred, I have a crafty one and a cuppa and go to bed.

Interval: Home is a strange concept, especially when you are on the road. I am a home bird. I love my flat. I miss my flat, my cats, my bed. I need comfort. So on this trip I am calling everywhere I stay ‘home’. My temporary home. This way it’s not that scary. BUT I am prepared for sleeping in my car if needs must. I have a sleeping bag, my quilt, a big burgandy pillow (there’s a colour you don’t here often) and a big fluffy coat but I dont think I’ll need to stay in Guinevere (that my car, she’s a Skoda Roomster, she is also burgundy and, like my mind, a complete mess!) I know it sounds strange but my mind is my home, my security, my favourite company, in fact I’d say I would rather be with myself than anyone else…which is quite handy considering this road trip, we’ve been writing a song today, my brain and I, we have a verse but the rest isn’t up to scratch.)

(First published on Ems’ Facebook Page)

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Travelling diary of a disabled artist: bidet dedication

Ems Coombes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:02:20 +0000

Ems on a bidet: "I have never been so excited about a bathroom installation in my life."

I feel a little strange saying this, but it was difficult to go, I saw little Maddy at the door as Jon helped me take my huge wheelie bag (which many have said is like an old lady bag. It is a well known fact that as soon as you have a stroke you revert to a 60 year old, I am a prime example of this. Anyway, it’s not an ‘old lady bag’, it is green and, I think, quite trendy) and she was waving at the door. It surprised me. It’s not them per say, but the situation. Another example of age creeping up. Tick, tick, tick.

The drive was very relaxing. It was longest one I’d done at five hours thirty ish. The great thing about these drives is I see some amazing sunsets, cloud formations, landscapes and stars, especially as I was driving through Cumbria, at the edge of the lake distirct, there are some photos that I took, but they were only taken on my phone so they’re not grand and don’t represent the true splendor of the moment.

I listened to Just A Minute for a good portion of this journey, I love it. The relationships between the panellists and how they try to squirm out of it so Nicholas gives them ‘the benefit of the doubt’. I can talk for England most of the time, very little of it making any sense, but I’m not sure if I could do it without hesitating, repetition or deviation. I think the key is not to think about it, it’s the other pannelists problem. Oh and (life rule ahoy) dont worry about looking like a nincompoop!

As I reached the end of the straight, about Carlisle, I stopped at a service station and popped in to their outside loo and I saw my first and last bit of anti English graffiti telling us to go back to our own country, aaahh how racist? You get ‘em everywhere.

After reaching my destination, as the lady on the sat nav says daily, I got out of my car. It was cold, unsuprisingly, its been quite chilly all the way up north but I have been using a method to stave off the cold. Another of my little philosophies (?) ‘ feel the warmth’ and your body will find the warmth in the cold… yes, odd I know, but try it, say ‘feel the warmth’ to yourself (FYI, I don’t recommend saying this aloud as you may get some funny looks), relax and bingo, you’re warmer! (The same works with ‘find the light’ in darkness!)

I entered the The Queens Hotel, Dundee, it was quite small on the outside but Tardis like inside. It’s plush décor, gold in colour, made me feel quite regal, I love it!

A man helped me take all my luggage up to my room, as I shut the door behind him, I looked around, ‘nice’ I thought. Then I opened the door to my bathroom, oh my giddy aunt, I had a bidet, yes, a BIDET… I have never been so excited about a bathroom installation in my life, to the pont that I have taken pictures, a video and told a lot of people, most of whom I do not know, about my bidet.

I ordered some food (fishy goujons, chips and a salad) and had a well deserved shower… oo room sevice, a bidet (which I spelt ‘bedet’ but was corrected by my friend, Mat Martin), I could get used to this.

I was quite tired and uber excited about tomorrow, I didn’t know what to expect but I couldn’t wait!

INTERVAL. My Bidet. Yep, im dedicating the whole interval to my bidet. I had never experienced a bidet before, sure I had seen them in pictures, tv and films, but not in person. To say I was thrilled does not cut it. I couldn’t even bring myself to use it. To be honest I wasn’t really sure how. I heard that it was for washing your bum, a replacment for toilet paper, saves getting toilet paper stuck in your crevices, but surely it would be a hinderance. As you can see from the picture the taps are at the back, so if you are washing your posterior, you would have to do it from behind your back surely, how awkward, and I dont think it would be sturdy enough to sit on, so you would have to squat, how uncomfortable. You see, as excited as I am about bidets, I can see the downfall and I love the toilet. The toilet is the place where I can, literally, let go, relax, read, plan and be left alone. All unwanted substances can be expelled without worry. No one can enter ‘the toilet zone’, it is my space. It has been like this for years. When I was growing up, even before I shared a room with meine schwester, I used to frequent the toilet to get away from people, she (my sister zoe) loves to recount the story of how she swung open the bathroom door to find me sat on the toilet playing the keyboard. Later in life when we did share a room, I found that the toilet was the place I would inhabit when she was sleeping and I wanted to write poems or diary entries, here is a little ditty I wrote on the toilet, about her

Some people like to ride horses

Some people like to ride ponies

Some people breath through their mouths when they sleep

And some people breath through their noses

Some people snore very quietly

Although it’s not often it’s true

But Zoe just snores like a tractor

Or something escaped from a Zoo

You can replace ‘Zoe’ with any name, that’s the beauty of it. So, don’t underestimate the tranquility of the toilet, is my motto, another life rule… ooo I’m so profound…oh yeah, and if you have any bidet rules then feel free to message me or write on my face book, always willing to learn!

(First published on Ems’ Facebook Page)

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Travelling diary of a disabled artist: bitesize chunks of life

Ems Coombes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:02:04 +0000

Food of the gods… Ems' favourites – Chicken Nuggets

The journey to Leeds was a doddle, very uneventful and a lot quicker than expected (NB do not take the estimated time on the sat nav as the time you reach your destination, it’s not correct) and as a result I arrived uber early and interrupted Jon’s routine. Luckily Madeleine was having her nap so we had time to talk and catch up on all that had happened in the many years since uni and, by gosh, a lot has happened.

I met Jon just before uni, on Paddy’s night at The Cooperage (The Cooperage pops up a lot in my life, hence the reason that I would like it to be mine – the accessable media hub that I have treasured in my brain and heart for years) I think it was 2001.

Unsuprisingly he was with Samual Pavey, he and Sam were inseperable and are still great mates now. I can’t remember much about the evening except the I remember seeing him while I was on the stairs (yes, the stairs have always been there, I was wrong, and they shall stay when the Cooperage is mine) in his big Paddy’s night hat and we shared a kiss. Nowt else happened between us during the time I knew him although he says that he turned me down a number of times, I cannot recall these times, I reckon he just wishes that I did, he was smitten from the first moment! We both went to Dartington College of Arts, I actually did a course he, as I discovered, didn’t. Totnes has a way of sticking you to it, like velcro on a big warm fluffy jumper, until you find a purpose and then it releases you to the world. It has been called The Transient Town and I think that is perfect, I love it there, it is my spiritual home and one day i’ll be back.

Myself, Jon, Sam, Helen, Neal and a good portion of Stacey hung out for the majority of the first year up at the Rat and Emu and in my flat, it was a great time (maybe we could of got it together but I was more interested in the lazy, alcholic, Irish cutie Neal). I don’t even know if he was doing a course and he was not interested in me at all, except for having a bed to crash in and yet I thought he was the bee’s knees and wasted all my efforts on him. Jon didn’t get a look in. (Another reasons why I don’t think I came on to you Jonathon Westwick!).

He (Jon) was a typical lad, stupid, funny, thoughtless, always made me feel comfortable about my disability and took the piss out of it (still does now, if we lose a lighter he looks in my spaccy hand first). We got on well although we drifted apart quite quickly, but that is the dealio at university.

He is now a chef in a restaurant called The Peppered Pig, after a 10-year career he has truly found his niche but like a good few people I encountered have that book, that screenplay or, in this case, that series, to get out. My advice, do it but in bitesize chunks, there’s no hurry…

He is a great dad, a single one. He and Maddy have a beautiful relationship (I warn you know that I may over use the word beautiful but it was the word du jour) she is very obedient but also has her own personality plus Jon is a hoot, he always has been, so this has rubbed off on her. She has the best facial expressions that I’ve ever seen, think Curly Sue in the film Curly Sue (a weepy comedy with Jim Belushi) with wispy black hair, absolutely beautiful and I cant get her out of my head. The relationship between them is so amazing I just wanted to bask in their ‘family’ happiness some more.

I have been a little trepidatious writing this as it has stirred up some feelings and issues that I have kept subdued for some time.

I’m quite fearful of the whole baby issue, we are talking everything past conception (I’m sure that that would be fun although if it wasn’t I’d feel awfully disappointed!).

For a start it’s very unnerving that a baby grows inside you, like a Russian doll effect, it’s like a parasite, it feeds of you, growing from a little fish thing into a little human, inside you, kicking and hitting to get out. You see it. As an outsider you look at a pregnant woman’s stomach and you can see little fists as the, yet unknown human, pounds it ‘oh look she’s saying hello’. No she’s not, she’s shouting ‘What the hell is this place? You wait til I get out, I will make your life hell for 18 years!’

Meanwhile, you are getting fatter and fatter as this human grows inside you (my friend Caroline Kemp is having twins, even scarier and fatter, no offence Caroline, x), and I know that there is a possibility that as I get fatter my, already poor mobility, will get worse and I may be in a wheelchair for a lot of it. And then there is the ‘exit-ing’ of the thing, the pain, the turmoil which we obviously must forget or else no one would have one!

The crux was a relatively recent event and was one of the many reasons I knew that Dan and I would not last. We were at a barbecue at a friend of Dan’s and there were some kids running around. As I went to the toilet a little girl followed, she wanted to go to the toilet after me but she couldn’t get on to the seat, so she wanted help.

Now, before we go on I should explain that I have limited use of my right arm, but when it doesn’t feel that it’s getting enough attention it plays up, it has a mind of it’s own, so I tend not to provoke it or someone, usually me, will get hurt. I tend to keep it by my side or behind my back if it’s moving a lot.

So picture the scene, a young child, pants round ankles and me, calmly asking her to put her arms around my neck so that I can hoist her up (I cannot risk inadvertantly hitting someone else’s child and I cannot afford a court case … ooooo melodramatic!). She takes one look at my dodgy eye, ( I am constantly looking over my shoulder with my left eye) then preceeds to cry and shout, and I have to go and find her mum. I felt like a failure. I told Dan and he told me to stop whining and not to embarrass him (he was doing a wonderful job of that himself, unsupportive git!)

This has scared me.

I understand that this will not be an issue with my kids, that they will learn, like I will learn. Madeleine stared at me for a long time when she noticed my eye, children do, and I’m used to that. Noone, adults included, know if I am talking to them cos they don’t know which eye is telling the truth. I tend to tell them not to take any notice of my left eye because it has a mind of it’s own and, once she realised that I wasn’t scary, she was comfortable again. Not only this but she was not used to seeing women in the house.

I very rarely feel broody but this little girl made my ovaries ache. Jon is lovely too, although I find that he is very much like Dan, a wounded bunny with an amazingly naughty sense of humour, I do think that he has great potential, but he tried to convince me of the greatness of Coldplay, so I have lost all respect for him. (Don’t tell anyone but I keep having repetative Coldplay songs stuck in head, I refuse to get sucked in tho!)

Pizza and Chicken Nuggets* for tea while listening to some groovy tunes (MGMT, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, The Klaxons, Jamie T, Plan B (the latter two are quite similar), Live Polics (Sam Pavey’s band, we love you Sam), Foster the People)

I also met Mr TQ, a friend of Jon’s and a nice chap, I started a picture in the evening, it isn’t finished but it was quite relaxing to start, it had a star fish in it!

My time in Leeds was chilled and thought provoking, I had a splendid time and, Jon, you are lovely, your daughter is the most beautiful little girl I have ever met, she literally made me weep thinking about her… you are very lucky and doing a wonderous job… and that series is a possibilty but you need to get something down on paper, even if it is just the characters…. BITESIZE CHUNKS, MY DEAR, BITESIZE CHUNKS!!

INTERVAL. Chicken nuggets. I love them. Talk about bitesize chucks, although goujons are two bites. I am very picky about them, but give me some chicken nuggets and im sated, I even like the ones from Iceland (mum’s gone to, rather than geezers and the like) and I’m very snobby about that. Did you know that they have chicken that you can defrost and eat straight away? I think that’s wrong, don’t you? The chicken nuggets tonight were deep fried, unhealthy, but really tasty, Jon kept thieving them. I will have none of this. They are mine. I bought him a pizza with spicyness on it, is that not enough? I will not have people stealing my chicken nuggets or the froth of my cappucino. Do so at your own risk. I reserve the right to hit you with my walking stick!)

(First published on Ems’ Facebook Page)

(image: chicken nuggets Some rights reserved by yoppy)

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Travelling diary of a disabled artist: on the road

Ems Coombes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:01:46 +0000

Ems Coombes: on a road trip from Plymouth to Dundee

The plan is to get to Dundee for a Spac Symposium or Crip conference (my words). I was planning to visit Gini Churchill and Colin Hambrook but Gini was feeling poorly and it was a bit short notice to see Col, so I shall stay over in Brighton on the way back and stop in on Gini. On my journey I shall be continuing with the ‘Artist Treasure Hunt’ which, I am hoping, will be quite fruitful as there will be a plethera of Disabled Artists up in Dundee and I shall catch them all… well maybe not all, but some.

As my plans had changed, I came straight to London to see Sushila, Lindsay, Steve and Indie. Well, I say ‘straight’, I missed the junction at Exeter to get to the A303 and it was trying to get me off the M5 all the way to Taunton where, eventually, I succumb and travelled miles and miles through the whole of Somerset, needing a wee for the majority of it and shouting obscenities at my satnav, til I reached the A303.

I have an unsettling, untrusting relationship with my sat nav, my first experience was when I borrowed my ex-boyfriend’s box to navigate around Bristol. I had gone wrong, somehow, probably from disobeying ‘her that should be obeyed’ and it was constantly telling me to turn around but I was not having that, I knew best, as always. Well I got further and further into the bad lands of Bristol and thought, maybe just maybe I should listen to the one in the know, let go.

I find it very difficult to rely on other people, especially if they are actually a robotic voice (I had to change the voice of the sat nav as she just sounded so patronising, I didn’t want to believe her!) This is why I undertook this road trip, I have little idea where I shall be from one day to the next, I have a few stops planned but I sort it out on the day… exciting, scary but I have let go… well I’m letting go.

ADVICE
Slow down
Breathe
Stay in the moment
Think of the journey as CHUNKS not as a whole entity… too scary otherwise
Feel the fear but do it anyway

Driving through London was uber scary, I passed Madam Tussauds, there were HUGE buildings with HUGE billboards – it looked like they were out of ‘Sharktale’ or some sci-fi film like Fifth Element or such like. London was big and scary (says the country bumpkin!), there was loads of traffic and everyone merging with everyone else but I am trying to control my roadrage and get over my scaredness! Ineed to push myself out of my comfort zone and I feel that I am totally doing that with this trip.

Before I left I sent an application to the BBC because they are looking for Disabled Presenters again. I told my ‘friend’ and she said ‘I don’t think you are disabled enough to be a presenter.’ I was furious about this comment and gave her a good rollicking about her attitude saying that this is the kind of attitude that I/we are trying to dispel. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that she may be right, perhaps they are looking for visibly disabled people – that’s one of the reasons that I take my walking stick with me (obviously I need it too but I find you get a different kind of ‘service’ if you are visdis (visually disabled))

Unfortunately, it’s the way it is – but it does it have to be? Well short of a backward tatoo on your forehead or a T-Shirt with ‘I’ve had brain injury, bare with me’ written in capital letters, I don’t see how we can change the attitude.

Is this the attitude that we have come to expect from ‘norms’ – actually I think the disableds are just as bad… me included, I have been known to be a little discriminatory at times, I have an issue with dwarves (people of small stature not Snow Whites buddies, although now I think about it…), I moan about everything, I jump down peoples throats before they finish their comments and I’m uber arsey but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s just not on.

Another thing, I saw it at a service station this eve, there were two consecutive entrances, the first was automatic, the second was manual – WHY? Wheelchair users etc will be able to use one but not the other.

THINK PEOPLE… actually there was a Travelodge two secs from the main entrance, am not surprised that it’s an accessable hinderance

TO COME : Tonight only, Manchester, comedy club, open mic spots… pooing my pants … stay tuned!!!!

(First published on Ems’ Facebook Page)

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Greece back on the Euro-agenda

PRSD — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:28:19 +0000

South West MEP Sir Graham Watson welcomed UK Transport Minister Norman Baker MP to the European Parliament

On Monday the governments of France and Germany held a joint cabinet meeting. This was not the first such occasion, but to give an idea of the extent to which they are committed to closer union, they discussed a plan to harmonise company taxation by January next year 1.

The Green Paper prepared by their civil servants recommends cutting company taxes but extending the tax base, or widening the taxman’s net. I am pleased to report that the UK and German governments will hold a joint cabinet meeting shortly, which I believe will be a first, but I doubt any plan of such nature will be on the agenda.

The EU is in a stand off with China over its new charges on airlines for their CO2 emissions. While the ECJ found in the EU’s favour against a challenge brought by US airlines, the Chinese government has simply forbidden its airlines to pay the tax. The International Air Transport Association is trying to bring the two sides together to agree a solution.

Greece was again on the EU’s agenda this week, for two reasons. The first is that it has started construction of a metal fence on its land border with Turkey to discourage illegal immigration. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (Sweden, LD) frostily rejected a call from Greece to bear half the cost of the construction.

The second is the ongoing debt saga. Finance ministers from the eurozone countries met in Brussels last night following an agreement on Wednesday by Greece’s three coalition partners to the second bailout plan which involves cuts in private sector wages and pensions, government spending cuts of 1.5% of GDP and cuts in civil service numbers. (24 hours earlier, when Liberal Democrat MEPs had been in Athens, such an outcome had looked highly improbable.)

Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos (Romania, EPP) came to speak to the EP’s Liberal Group on Wednesday. He outlined plans to promote exports of food products (through food quality schemes and other measures first suggested in a Green Paper last June). Though we were sceptical of spending more to support farmers, he pointed out that the EU’s agricultural exports now almost equal those of the USA, supporting over four million jobs and representing 6% of the EU’s GDP.

The European Aviation Safety Agency this week ordered checks on the wings of all Airbus A380 aircraft. Those which have flown more than 1300 flights must be checked within two months, since cracks were discovered on the wings of an A380 in this category. The checks will involve some 68 aircraft. The wings are made mainly in the UK.

I was pleased to welcome to Brussels this week UK Transport Minister Norman Baker MP, over for talks with Climate Change Commissioner Connie Hedegaard (Denmark, EPP); David Chalmers of the Kaleidoscope Trust, an international pressure group campaigning for LGBT rights in developing countries, who I took to see Development Aid Commissioner Andris Piebalgs (Latvia, officially EPP but really a Lib Dem); Jayne Bressington, a constituent campaigning for EU action on GIST cancers; and Andrew Wigley, a former staffer of mine who went on to have an illustrious career in the international business world and is now, at the age of 40 and to my great satisfaction, considering a move into politics.

Today I speak to students at Strode College in Street, to party members in Wells and to the South Somerset Climate Action Group in Ilminster. I also record an interview for BBC Bristol’s politics show (to be broadcast Sunday lunchtime, in case you are bored).

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Graham Watson promotes ‘the one number that could save your life’

PRSD — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:00:31 +0000

112 the emergency number is getting a big push

Saturday, February 11 sees the launch of 112 day, promoting the one number that anyone can use both here and abroad to contact the emergency services free of charge.

Promotion of the event is in light of a recent survey taken showing that only one in every four is aware that the number exists.

Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Sir Graham Watson has joined the campaign to raise the awareness of the 112 emergency number and said: “While most holidays and trips abroad go without issue, when an emergency does arise, is everyone aware of what number to dial?

“112 is the only free of charge number that can be used across the Europe to call for to any emergency service, be it Ambulance, Fire, Police, Mountain Rescue or Coastguard.

‘’Currently too few citizens are aware of the 112 emergency number. Yet it is the one number that could save your life!

‘’Everyone should also be aware that every mobile phone that is sold in the UK and abroad allows you to call 112 without unlocking your phone, allowing you to dial quickly if you are attacked or under duress. Similar functions are mandatory for touchscreen phones without dial pads as well.

‘’It’s the 112 to remember!’’

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Torbay Labour anger at The Bay’s shambolic budget process

PRSD — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:42:00 +0000

The Torbay budgetary process will hit The Bay's most vulnerable

Torbay Labour Party has hit out at the mayor and his ruling Conservative group after what they have described as a shambolic budget process which will lead to increased pressures on the most vulnerable in The Bay.

The party’s chairman, Councillor Darren Cowell, said: “When the mayor was elected he wanted an open and inclusive council and said he would be a listening mayor, regrettably the budget process has blown that out of the water.

“The budget papers made available to opposition councillors, and in some cases even to Tory councillors, have been unclear, lacked detail and clarity and have been the worst example of a smoke and mirrors exercise.

“I am appalled that opposition councillors have had to really scratch deep in to the flesh of the budget to identify some of the true impacts on services and my fear is that the harsh reality is still yet to emerge.”

Cllr Cowell has also hit out at the standard of debate during the five-hour budget meeting. He said: “There were 15 amendments and objections on the agenda tabled by Labour, Non-coalition and the Lib Dems, not one was passed as the Tory majority voted consistently en-bloc.

“We are told there is no whip, but it is incredibly coincidental that the Tory group tended to vote as one. The one notable and creditworthy exception was Cllr James who supported us on three occasions and spoke up for the youth of Torbay.

“What was even more alarming was that it seems many of the Tory councillors had taken a vow of silence. For many of them the only time they used their voice was to say ‘against’ when voting on the amendments.

“The amendments were about serious issues and provided the only opportunity for a meaningful debate about the thinking behind the mayor’s plans. It is very hard to have a proper debate when one side has decided not to participate.

“Supporters of the libraries told me afterwards that they were truly shocked at the poor standard of debate and disregard they witnessed. I was horrified when I heard Cllr Tyerman shout out, ‘makes you want to go further next year’ as library supporters stormed out after the vote.

Cllr Cowell concluded, “I don’t know why I am surprised at the cavalier attitude of this Tory mayor and council, he has not listened to any of the feedback during the farcical consultation process, or indeed the Overview and Scrutiny Board recommendations.

“Why would anyone be surprised when a Tory council votes against measures to protect the most vulnerable in our community; our young, our old, our unemployed, our residents with learning disabilities and instead continue to write a cheque for the conference centre without them having to make any savings.”

(from a press release)

(Torbay view from Torquay: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.)

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Occupy Exeter have moved on, but the activism continues

PRSD — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:02:45 +0000

Occupy Exeter is set to enter a new phase

Occupy Exeter has moved on.   For the last few days we have been clearing and tidying Cathedral Green, and that process finished on Wednesday, February 8.

  On Tuesday, February 7, we went to court to attend proceedings for possession by the cathedral. Summing up, the judge said “you bring credit to your cause in the way you’ve responded to these proceedings. No one can doubt the significance of your cause or your sincerity and passion”.

Bonzo the Public Repossession Clown and his posse will carry on taking new locations for Occupy to highlight the issue of homelessness in Exeter, as hubs for activism and a base for the Occupy Exeter movement.

Many buildings in Exeter are unused and rotting away to dereliction. The government is cutting housing benefits and threatens low-income families with the prospect of homelessness while at the same time homeless people often have to suffer sleeping in sub-zero temperatures on the street.

So now Occupy Exeter enters a new phase. A phase where we occupy our houses for a while. We will pop up where you least expect us. We will hold direct action on the High Street, bringing the spotlight firmly on corporate greed, bankers’ bonuses, tax dodging and the multiple failings of our economic and political system.

We will continue to hold General Assemblies (GAs) daily. Tuesdays we’ll be in the North Bridge Inn on St David’s Hill at 6pm. On Fridays we’ll be in Friends Meeting House off Magdalen Road at 6pm. On other days we’ll publicise locations on Facebook. We welcome everyone to attend our GAs, to join us in discussing, exploring and understanding the economic and political system and how we might reform it.

On Fridays we’ll continue our programme of free film showings at the Friends Meeting House at 7.30pm. This week we’re showing Zeitgeist, and A Scanner Darkly.

We are also continuing our Free University – lectures, workshops and discussions for all, with the slogan ‘Anyone can teach, everyone can learn’.

This Saturday, February 11, marks 13 weeks since we started our occupation – a quarter of a year. To mark the occasion, we will be holding an event that we’re calling Occ. Off the Green at noon. All old friends and new are welcome to come along – there will be music, fancy dress and celebrations, and we expect visits by a few special characters. After the celebrations there will be a General Assembly and maybe some Direct Action too!

It is time to refocus on the issues that brought us here in the first place – to oppose the cuts to the NHS and to the welfare system, and to make accountable the politicians, bankers, and the dangerous deregulation of the free market which has cost people their jobs, their homes, and their lives.

Economic inequality is growing faster in Britain than any other rich nation. The disparity between the poorest and the richest is the greatest it has been since 1918.   To stand for 99% is to stand for everyone who thinks that economic, legal and political equality are human rights, here in Exeter, nationally and globally. And to believe that if we act together, then we can transform this from a dream into a reality. But we must act now.

We are Occupy Exeter.

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Windpower, a cost-efective energy source?

Giles Chichester — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:21:04 +0000

Wind energy companies have received over £520 million in subsidies

I listened in disbelief to the radio as a Downing Street spokesman described windpower as a cost-effective energy source! If this is true, then why is it necessary for this Government to subsidise the construction and operation of these wind turbines?

In 2009-10, wind energy companies received over £520 million in subsidies, which came not from a special government fund but from a surcharge on our business and domestic electricity bills. This Renewable Obligation Charge currently adds £26 to everyone’s annual electricity bill and this is predicted to increase to £50 by 2016.

There could well be good environmental reasons for supporting windpower development – but in truth I am not able to think of all that many. Let us, however, not kid ourselves that it is a cost-effective source of electrical energy.

There are two major electricity generation projects proposed for the South West which bear comparison – the Atlantic Array offshore wind turbine farm and the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Each will cost around £5 billion to construct and have the capacity to produce approximately 1,500 megawatts of electrical power. However, Hinkley C has a working life of up to 60 years and capacity for electrical energy output of over 80%, while the Atlantic Array will only have a working life of 25 years and struggle to achieve 20% electricity output.

If we are seeking a cost-effective investment then it is clear that the privately-financed Hinkley C nuclear power station has the edge over the Atlantic Array which will continue to require subsidies from electricity consumers. The answer is still not blowing in the wind even if the Downing Street spokesman is adding a puff!

(image: Some rights reserved by Andre Charland)

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Privatisation of NHS set to continue

PRSD — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:51:39 +0000

NHS - apparently it's not for sale, only it increasingly looks like it is

The ~~reform~~ privatisation of the NHS is set to continue with backing by the Lib Dems and rubbish opposition from Labour (politicians eh, not worth the paper they’re printed on).

The top-down reform of the NHS has lost the support of pretty much all health professionals. (It was with a certain amount of South West pride that Totnes MP Dr Sarah Wollaston was the first to condemn the reforms – a situation which quickly changed once the reality of a life in politics kicked in.)

Surely reform of the NHS is important? But at a time of economic stress, unless the savings are significant, such a big issue seems a distraction. And the reforms aren’t about saving money. (Then again neither are weekly bin collections.)

So why think of these reforms as privatisation? The bill will lift the cap of private work carried out in NHS hospitals from 2% to 49%.

Here’s some more evidence. And here’s a story of a pensioner launching a high court appeal against the privatisation of the NHS.

Of course, all this was started under Labour.

And while you’re considering the attack on a fundamental issue of Britishness, here’s a story on Nick Clegg and David Cameron’s belligerence for ‘reform’…

(image: Some rights reserved by secretlondon123)

This article titled “No alternative to NHS reforms, say coalition” was written by Patrick Wintour and Juliette Jowit, for The Guardian on Thursday 9th February 2012 01.43 UTC

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have agreed they have no alternative but to push ahead with the planned reforms to the NHS, even though they admit they are in “a rubbish place politically” and it could take three years until the general election to persuade voters that fears about the reforms are unfounded.

Cameron endured a mauling over the issue at prime minister’s questions , and afterwards one senior minister involved in deciding how to proceed with the bill admitted: “This is a politically rubbish place to be. We can either go back, sideways or forward.” Ministers have argued there was no alternative but to plough on.

Liberal Democrats, including Baroness Williams, are in no mood to abandon the bill, even though many health professionals – at one time reconciled to the bill – have now defected.

On the day that health visitors and the Faculty of Public Health joined the long list of those deserting the bill, Labour leader Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Cameron of presiding over a “complete disaster” with the bill.

He said the prime minister had broken a pre-election promise not to have any “top-down re-organisation of the NHS” and told him: “Every day he fights for this bill, every day trust in him on the NHS ebbs away, every day it becomes clearer the NHS is not safe in his hands.”

But Cameron said Labour had previously supported NHS reform – and would not match government commitments on NHS spending: “They are not in favour of the money. They are not in favour of the reform. They are just a bunch of opportunists.”

He criticised Labour’s record on the NHS in Wales – where the party controls the Welsh Assembly – and said the coalition was cutting bureaucracy and ploughing money back into patient care.

He said of Miliband: “This is not a campaign to save the NHS. This is a campaign to try and save his leadership. I make this prediction, the NHS will go on getting better and his prospects will go on getting worse.”

Cameron also backed his health secretary Andrew Lansley, saying he would survive a lot longer in office than Miliband.

It is understood that Lansley put in angry performance at cabinet this week defending his reforms, saying they were in line with government public services reform. He has been infuriated by leaks form Downing Street blaming him for mis-selling the reforms.

Although a Downing Street source has suggested Alan Milburn, the former Labour health secretary could be drafted into Lansley’s role, Milburn himself dismissed the suggestion.

He criticised Lansley’s handling saying: “This bill has ended up as a – to be frank – a patchwork quilt of complexity and compromise and confusion. They will get the measure through in my view, they will probably win the day in parliament, but at a terrible cost. The NHS will not have either the clarity or the direction that is necessary in a period of considerable challenge where it is being asked to make unprecedented efficiency savings.”

In a sign that the government will face a tough month as the bill enters the Lords report stage, peers inflicted an early defeat over the issue of social care. By a margin of four votes, peers demanded mental health be made a higher priority. The amendment creates a duty for the health secretary to promote a health service that deals with “mental and physical illness”, rather then the original draft of just “illness”. The government described issue as largely symbolic.

All but three Lib Dem peers voted with the government, suggesting that on most issues Labour will rely on cross bench support to further amend the bill that has already been heavily altered by government to take on concerns of health professionals.

Meanwhile there was a fresh embarrassment to the reforms after part of a major risk assessment into the bill was published on the internet, suggesting that changes could lead to the financial “failure” of some NHS organisations, worse care for patients, and threats to maternity services, children’s safety and public health.

Most worryingly for the coalition the “risk register” for the London NHS suggested that problems with implementing the new system could delay improvements to patients’ health – even after a host of proposed “mitigation” measures to ensure a smooth transition.

The document, dated October 2011, was published by NHS London on their website, according to the Labour-supporting blogger Dr Eoin Clarke, who has waged a campaign to get the full national risk register published. At least nine Lib Dem MPs have also signed an early day motion organised by Labour MP and health select committee member Grahame Morris calling on the health secretary to publish the document.

Health officials have pointed out that such a risk assessment would be carried out for any major changes, but added that during the transition there was “more of a risk because of the uncertainty”.

In a statement to the Guardian, an NHS London spokesperson said: “It is our job to identify and manage potential risks to deliver safe services for patients. We are duty bound to publish this information quarterly on our website and have done since our formation.” These risks cover a wide range of services and issues, including how we manage the transition to 2013 appropriately. The more we plan for and pre-empt issues, the less of a risk they become.”

Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

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Plymouth Councillor Chaz Singh – the face of Sikhs in Britain

PRSD — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:09:37 +0000

Chaz Singh – a Sikh in Britain in the book the Sikh's in Britain

Chaz Singh has a nice face – and that’s official! But don’t take our word for it, Chaz – Plymouth’s first Sikh councillor – is featured in the book The Sikhs in Britain, and it’s all down to his dashing good looks.

The picture of Chaz – which we reckon has reached iconic status – is by Peter McMullin, and here the pair of them talk about how the image came about.

The book The Sikhs in Britain is a lavishly illustrated portrayal of the social history of the Sikhs in Britain and their contribution to British society. Peter and Chaz were at a signing in Plymouth’s Waterstones.

This cracking short film has been produced by Bill Sheikh

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