Richard Stay

Daily Telegraph review of Luton Hoo, in Hyde

2012-01-27T13:35:00.002Z

Excellent review of one of Central Beds finest hotels & stately homes - click photo read review

May's war on metal thieves

2012-01-27T11:13:00.002Z

Not before time Mrs May, but it will be a longtime before this becomes statute

Probably true for most politicians!

2012-01-27T10:08:00.003Z

A farmer named Sid was overseeing his stockin a remote moorland pasture in North Yorkshire when suddenly a brand-new BMWadvanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.

The driver, a young man in a HugoBoss suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out thewindow and asked the farmer, "If I tell you exactly how many cows andcalves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"

Sid looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazingstock and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Apple Macbook, connects itto the broadband cloud, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where hecalls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he thenfeeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolutionphoto.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it toan image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany .

Within seconds, he receives an email that the image has been processed andthe data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connectedExcel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes,receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the farmer and says, "Youhave exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," saysSid.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusementas the young man stuffs it into the back of his car.

Then Sid says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what yourbusiness is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, whynot?"

"You're a Member of Parliament ", says Sid.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guessthat?"

"No guessing required" answered the farmer. "You showed up hereeven though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I alreadyknew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of pounds worth ofequipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don'tknow a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for thatmatter. This is a herd of sheep. ... ..........Now give me back my dog."

Heathfield School - Caddington

2012-01-26T14:25:00.001Z

Useful update on the future use of the former Heathfield school site in Caddington with property team at Central Beds.

Aplication for the site to be used for other purposes with Sec of State for Education has sat there for months - I am writing to the Minister to chase!

Progress on future use of the site once this issue has been resolved & principle of retaining part of the site for community use accepted.

As part of the development of the Neighbourhood Plan we expect views on what locally we want to see - these could include older people accommodation, an American style (upmarket) campus of retirement homes, social housing and many other options are on the table for debate.

Target date for agreed solution is 2014.

Manshead exam results

2012-01-26T14:07:00.001Z

Manshead Upper School exam results - up 10% & 6 pupils offered places at Oxford & Cambridge Universities - fantastic result & a huge well done!

EU Summits

2012-01-25T08:43:00.000Z

Returningfrom another recent EC summit in Rome, various European leaders were forced totake the train due to a strike by Swiss ATC controllers.

Sitting togetherin the same compartment, travelling through the Swiss Alps, were Sarkozy,Cameron, Merkel and the young and very attractive female Irish foreignminister.

The train goes into a dark tunnel, a few seconds later there isthe sound of a loud slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, Sarkozy has abright red, hand print on his cheek. No one speaks, everyone is extremelyshocked and embarrassed.

Angela Merkel thinks: Must have been Sarkozy, not able to helphimself, he must have groped the Irish girl in the dark, and she slapped hischeek.

The Irish girl thinks: Sarkozy, not able to help himself, must have triedto grope me in the dark, but missed and fondled Merkel and she slapped hischeek.

Sarkozy thinks: Why me? That perfidious Cameron must have gropedthe Irish girl in the dark knowing that I'd get the blame for it and sheslapped me...the English.......

And Cameron thinks: I can't wait foranother tunnel, so I can smack that little Frenchman again.

How does expecting people on benefits to potentially share a bedroom equal homeless?

2012-01-23T14:09:00.000Z

I am confused why a cap on benefits payments should be opposed by those who say its OK for benefits payments to equal or exceed the equivalent of salaries approaching £50k per year?

It is extraordinary how anyone can think its morally acceptable for the state to provide benefits which equate to a salary nearly double the national average wage?

One Bishop this morning claimed that cutting benefits to the extent that some children in families in receipt of benefits might have to share a bedroom equates to making those families homeless - what arrant nonsense.

Bishop John Packer, Bishop of Ripon & Leeds

The state benefits system is there to provide a basic safety net for those unable to look after their families, not as an alternative to gainful employment.

Ian Duncan Smith has it seems got the right balance between an appropriate safety net for those that need support & doing away with the benefits culture which afflicts some families who have depended on the state for support over generations:

'It's not about punishing people but about fairness': Duncan Smith launches last-ditch appeal to bishops not to derail plans to impose benefits cap of £26,000 a year
But it seems that the plan could be derailed by the House of Lords.

John Prescott for Police Commissioner - its a strange world!

2012-01-23T12:32:00.001Z

I see from the press that John Prescott is thinking of standing for the forthcoming Police & Crime Commissioner role in Humberside.

I can kind of see him as a Kojak figure, but that ignores the fact that the PCC roles are not operational Police Officers.

Metal Theft

2012-01-19T15:55:00.001Z

At Central Beds we are debating the possibility of a local licencing regime to regulate scrap metal merchants - should an interesting discussion

Petition to stop Dunstable becoming part of Luton North

2012-01-18T17:48:00.003Z

An online petition on the No 10 website can (and should) be signed at

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26873

Luton Airport announce expansion plans

2012-01-18T17:28:00.001Z

Click picture for link to plans annopunced today for a near doubling of air traffic from Luton Airport within the current footprint of the airport & on the existing runway

No cartel here!

2012-01-18T15:00:00.000Z

The good, the bad & the (I forget the rest) of public sector recruitment & head hunting specialists - representing Odgers, Penna, SOLACE & Veredus.

An influential bunch!

Incredible picture of the Costa Concordia from space

2012-01-18T13:50:00.002Z

Quote of the day

2012-01-18T12:57:00.001Z

From the Evening Standard:

"The Tories must be rubbing their hands with glee"

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary, refering to the volte face made by Labour on its economic policy

GMB & Labour fall out

2012-01-18T12:55:00.002Z

What fun - Paul Kenny, Head honcho at the GMB union, has given Labour a warning over funding. GMB funds Labour to the tune of £1 million plus per year & they are most upset with Ed Miliband recognising reality & accepting that pay restraint in the public sector is necessary, in addition accepting that cuts in public sector are essential.

So Labour now seem to back the austerity package put in place by the Conservative led Coalition. Kind of makes you wonder what they are going to do next. They were after all in power when the brown stuff hit the round revolving thing.

Its good to know that the Brothers still have some principles.

One rule for protesters & another rule for the law abiding majority

2012-01-17T00:34:00.000Z

This evening I have been at the House of Lords for an event to mark 25 years of service for a colleague - appalled to see a group of scruffy oiks being guarded by 30 of the Met's finest outside Parliament for some hours.

What was even worse was the cloud of cannabis smoke that hung in the air, with people openly smoking joints in front of uniformed officers - I asked why no action was being taken?

I was told that this was a delicate situation & that some people regarded cannabis as being a legal substance - what the hell is going on in the Met??????

This would not happen in Bedfordshire

Labour really are flip flopping!

2012-01-15T10:54:00.001Z

So we have had 2 1/2 years of Balls / Miliband telling us that the Tories are cutting too fast and too far - it now appears Labour are signed up to the Tories Plan A, which thus far is working.Miliband is odds on favourite to step down before the next election and you have to assume he will take his mad Shadow Chancellor down with him?Perhaps opportunity knocks for the next generation of Labour MP's

Neil Kinnock is 'mentoring' Ed Miliband

2012-01-14T08:17:00.001Z

Now that would really worry me if I came from the Red corner!It is akin to taking advice from Del Boy on how to run a business - I can just see the paternal Kinnock arm around the shoulder 'Ed my boy this time next year you will be Prime Minister'The chances are probably about the same as the Welsh Wind Bag winning against Thatcher!

Consultation on Superfast Broadband

2012-01-11T21:57:00.001Z

Central Bedfordshire is consulting on plans to 'fill in' the gaps where commercial providers can not or will not justify providing Superfast Broadband up to 100 Mb/s through fibre optic cable.

If you live in Central Beds & would like to support the plan it would be hugely helpful if you could click on the link below & answer the questions (and pass on to all your friends)

Central Bedfordshire consultation on broadband

Central Beds signs new covenant with Military

2012-01-11T12:38:00.000Z

Cllr Trcia Turner & Brigadier Mark Hallas (Commandant at Chicksands) sign the new covenant!

Central Bedfordshire is home to two military camps, RAFHenlow and Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC) Chicksands, whichtogether have some 290 military families split between the two sites. Insupport of these sites the council signed the covenant as a member of CentralBedfordshire Together, which comprises members of the area's police, fire,health, business, education, town and parish councils and voluntary andcommunity groups.

Great news on the HS2 High Speed Rail link!

2012-01-10T17:58:00.001Z

Government announces route of HS2.

Central Beds moves to hand control of local markets to Town Councils

2012-01-10T14:07:00.001Z

A long standing sore locally has been the management of the markets in Dunstable & Leighton Buzzard - this morning Central Beds Executive decided to pass the management of these two markets over to the two Town Councils, where they rightly belong.

After a debate as to who had the oldest charter - I think we got back to Henry I - a very sensible decision was taken to help the towns revitalise their markets.

Dunstable market back in the 1970's - let's hope it can regain its former glory!

Central Beds seeks action on metal theft

2012-01-10T13:50:00.000Z

The brass neck of the scally-wags who pinch metals from the UK's infrastructure needs urgent attention.

This morning Central Beds Executive passed a resolution to support proposed action by government, or alternatively act locally. The resolution will iron out any hurdles to swift action locally. There has been without doubt a leaden response on this matter for many years - but we do not need a gold or even a platinum plated solution, just urgent action against the toe rags that cause huge cost & disruption to UK organisations.

But this issue may have a silver lining, it may bring some sort of order to the scrap metal market. We can wait for a copper-bottomed solution, but government needs to act now to stop the appalling theft of war memorials & essential equipment - including catalytic converters which contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium - pods of precious metal.

We will steel ourselves against future problems, as any solution will take sometime to implement!

Esther Rantzen

2012-01-08T15:25:00.000Z

Spotted this in the Independent on Sunday! It would indeed be a surprise if Miss Rantzen re-entered politics on the Labour side, particularly given her supportive comments to the Conservative candidate in Luton South after the elections in which she lost her deposit.

Watch out – Esther Rantzen could make a return to politics. Far from being put off by her defeat in the last election, the TV presenter and ChildLine founder tells me she would like another stab, and this time could run for Labour. In 2010, she did a Martin Bell by standing as an independent in Luton South, the seat vacated by Margaret Moran after her exposure as an expenses cheat. But despite a high-profile campaign, Esther secured only 1,872 votes, 4.4 per cent of the total. Now she says she has had encouraging noises from Labour. "I would try somewhere else next time," she says. "I have to say I was shocked by what I found in Luton," she adds, describing the constituency as "riven with factions". Meanwhile, Esther is busy launching an equivalent to ChildLine for the lonely and elderly, to be called SilverLine. Sounds like a ferry service.

Caddington surgery this morning

2012-01-07T07:44:00.001Z

Advice surgery at the former Heathfield School site from 10:00 - 12:00 this morning

Bedfordshire Race Equality Council

2012-01-06T18:10:00.002Z

I met today with the Chief Executive of BREC today, our view of life has a remarkable amount in common.

One of the problems with the equalities agenda is that it has generally been linked to race issues. That ignores the whole agenda, which yes includes issues of racial discrimination, but also includes issues like rural depravation & a lack of public transport in many small communities.

Do we have too many small, fragmented bodies in the county looking at different issues around equality - perhaps we need one well resourced body focussed on the whole equalities agenda, because I want to see everyone able to access the services they need regardless of skin colour, creed or religion.

Some thought needed here I think & some rationalisation of the voluntary sector.

What is the world coming to?

2012-01-06T16:51:00.000Z

Schools bribing unruly kids to stay at home when the inspector comes to call, whatever next?

Diane Abbott

2012-01-05T08:31:00.002Z

Diane Abbott's twitterish comments are being discussed on BBC R5 Live after 09:00 & I am joining the discussion!!

With friends like this, who needs enemies

2012-01-05T05:55:00.000Z

You would never have thought that Ed Miliband nominated Lord Glasman for a peerage!

Interesting to note that there is now in place a group called DUEMA (Dont Unseat Ed Miliband Association)

Diane Abbott's Tweet

2012-01-05T05:11:00.000Z

Not entirely sure that Diane Abbott's Tweet is either wise or legal. I suspect if I made a similar rude comment about an entire racial group I might get into trouble!

Racism works both ways, just because Ms Abbott is insulting the entire White population does not make it any more acceptable than insulting the entire Black population!

She might wisely apologise & withdraw the comment, particularly as Ms Abbott is a Shadow Labour Minister.

Father Christmas visits

2012-01-04T11:23:00.001Z

Probably one of the more incongruous sights seen on Christmas Day.

Central Beds response to the sale of alcohol to minors

2012-01-04T09:24:00.000Z

Back in the summer last year we received a number of complaints from Caddington residents about drunken youths causing a nuisance in the village. It was obvious that alcohol was being sold to them & I asked that Central Beds Trading Standards carried out an investigation.

This was carried out with test purchases from the 3 shops licenced to sell alcohol in Caddington over a number of months, which resulted in the alcohol licence for the Caddington Post Office being withdrawn & a potential prosecution. Central Beds issued the following press statement on the 16th December:

Caddington off licence loses right to sell alcohol

A Caddington shopkeeper has been stripped of his licenceto sell alcohol by Central Bedfordshire Council's Licensing sub-committee afterstaff repeatedly sold restricted products to children.

The committee heard that Adrees Latif, who runs thePremier Store in Manor Road in the village, had previously been warned 12 timesby Central Bedfordshire Council's Trading Standards officers about sellingcigarettes and alcohol to young people. He had been given advice about settingup procedures to make sure staff are refusing sales to children, and alsomaintaining records of when such refusals had been made.

But, following no fewer than four test purchase exercisesinvolving 16 year-olds in the space of just a month over the summer, staff werefound to be repeatedly flouting the law.

Staff sold cigarettes and a large amount of strongalcohol such as vodka and other spirits to the young people who had beenselected to make the test purchases. Andwhen the shop's paperwork was examined, it was discovered that very few recordswere kept. Staff also claimed not tohave had any training on selling products to underage youngsters.

Officers interviewed Mr Latif and he acknowledgedreceiving the advisory visits from Trading Standards. He claimed that aftereach of the sales he had spoken to all the staff reminding them not to sell tounder 18s.

He gave no explanation as to why none of the staffrecalled this on each occasion asked. He produced a signed training recordsingle sheet of paper for all the staff but he failed to bring the trainingmanual and workbook that the staff signed to say they had completed theirtraining.

Councillor Brian Spurr, Executive Member for SustainableCommunities Services, said: "This sort of behaviour is absolutelydeplorable. As a local councillor and asa father and grandfather I feel very strongly that we must take a strong stanceagainst people who seek to profit by selling harmfulsubstances to children.

" Selling high strength alcohol to young people isnot only illegal, it is immoral. Hadthey all that they had bought, they could have have been caused seriousharm."

New gritter for Caddington & Slip End - Dunstable Gazette coverage

2012-01-04T08:49:00.002Z

Following the events of Christmas 2009, when Caddington suffered gas, electric & water cuts, work has been done to improve services in the two parishes of Caddington & Slip End & the purchase of a small towed gritter to cover areas of the road network not covered by Central Beds is one of the initiatives brought to a successful conclusion.

Congratulations to the two Parish Council's

Standards for England

2012-01-03T13:07:00.000Z

Standards for England is to be abolished & closes on 31st March, joyous news for the New Year, but the whole standards regime set up by Labour is not finally buried until 1st July.

A small glass will be raised in celebration.

The sheer cost of maintaining this crazy system is eye watering, it is hugely undemocratic & widely abused by people seeking to either score political points or make petty complaints.

The legal basis on which the Standards regime was set up is swept away under the Localism Act & is to be replaced by locally agreed codes of conduct, which will not have the power to suspend elected Members.

I have never had a problem with the implementation of a code of conduct to ensure that there are high standards in public life, but I would love to meet the person whose idea it was to set up Standards for England, it would be a very short conversation.

Not sure of the exact figure, but an incredibly low number of the dozens of complaints made in Central Beds have been upheld.

All in all a complete waste of a lot of peoples time & effort.

Margaret Moran - will she stand trial?

2012-01-03T11:29:00.000Z

It would be a complete travesty if Margaret Moran managed to avoid her trial at Southwark Crown Court, but if her defence lawyer has his way the case will be dismissed.

The case is of sufficient public interest for it to be heard under almost any circumstance.

Review of the year: 2011

2012-01-01T15:22:00.000Z

Luton on Sunday's Review of the Year includes the photo opportunity that I arranged at Luton Hoo Hotel with local MP's Andrew Selous, Gavin Shuker & Kelvin Hopkins to show a united front against the silly AV referendum promoted by the Liberal Democrats, which proved to be a real vote loser when it was put to the electoral test back in May.

Remaining in in the festive spirit I will say that on a personal level I have considerable respect for all 3 local MP's, of course politically the Labour Party has to carry a considerable responsibility for the financial mess which is the last government's abiding legacy, but to both Gavin Shuker & to Kelvin Hopkins I wish them a very happy and peaceful New Year.

I count Andrew Selous as one of my constituents, so of course I also wish Andrew & his family a very successful and rewarding 2012 & I trust that during the year the Prime Minister will recognise that his government is missing out on a considerable talent and elevate Andrew to the ministerial ranks, which is where he would have been had there been a Conservative Parliamentary majority.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T14:57:00.001Z

2011 has been an interesting year, with many highs & a few lows, but we enter 2012 with optimism and I wish you a very happy and successful year.

St Stephens Cathedral

Margaret Moran going for the 'I am too ill to plead' line

2011-12-15T17:18:00.000Z

Southwark Crown Court is to hear a bid from Margaret Moran's lawyers that she is too ill to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to umpteen counts of fraud & false accounting.

If the the Judge accepts that she is too ill to enter a plea then the Jury may be asked to come to a conclusion on her guilt in any case.

Either way I know there are many people who want to see justice done & be seen to be done.

On BBC 3 Counties politics show this evening

2011-12-15T15:45:00.001Z

The roundtable politics show at 18:00 this evening on BBC 3 Counties along with a Lib Dem and a Newspaper editor.

Should be fun (gently) teasing Cllr David Franks about Nick (he is not as though he is my brother) Cleggy

Poor old Nick Clegg - nick-named the Duke of Plaza-Toro

2011-12-13T10:08:00.000Z

Duke of Plaza-Toro
In enterprise of martial kind,
When there was any fighting,
He led his regiment from behind
(He found it less exciting).
But when away his regiment ran,
His place was at the fore, O-
That celebrated,
Cultivated,
Underrated
Nobleman,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
In the first and foremost flight, ha, ha!
You always found that knight, ha, ha!
That celebrated,
Cultivated,
Underrated
Nobleman,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!

A case involving one of my own constituents

2011-12-12T13:25:00.000Z

From the Evening Standard.

The pinnacle of my political career

2011-12-12T12:19:00.001Z

I have been appointed to the Rookery South (Resource Recovery Facility) Committee - which surely must be in competition for the most baffling name for a public committee anywhere.

It is a committee which meets for the first time tomorrow, in public, to discuss Central Bedfordshire's position following the decision by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) (see blog passim) to approve the Covanta Waste to Energy Plant at the Rookery South Pit in Stewartby, Beds.

In a hugely controversial bid, Covanta plans to build what is in effect a power station that could take almost 600,000 tonnes of waste per year & covert it into energy.

Central Beds needs to resolve its own position on the application & consider if a petition to Parliament (who are the only body capable of over turning a decision by the IPC) is appropriate.

In effect Central Beds has established an ethical (formerly known as a Chinese) wall between deliberation on it's own BEaR Project, which is examining the best long-term solution for waste management over the next 25 years & its response to the Covanta proposals

Courtesy of Flickr

No Nativity Play in Brussels this year!

2011-12-12T10:58:00.000Z

TheEuropean Parliament has regretfully been forced to rule that there cannot be a nativity play in Brussels this Christmas.

This isn't for any religious reason. They simply have been unable to find three wise men across Euroland.

The search for a virgin continues, though hope of success is fading.

Central Beds Chairman's Civic Service

2011-12-12T09:12:00.001Z

Attended the Chairman of Central Beds Civic Service at Priory Church Dunstable yesterday afternoon.

A few surprising faces & a few surprising absentees as well - no MP's, no High Sheriff & no Lord Lieutenant.

Cameron - a tale of two days

2011-12-12T09:03:00.001Z

So are we to have a General Election in 4 weeks time? Possibly, but doubtful unless the Liberals walk away from the Coalition. But where would they walk to?

Cameron is now a hero in his own party & a villein in Europe, that's life!

Click to read full story

The first UK Prime Minister that had the cojones to say non to the EU

2011-12-10T14:52:00.001Z

48 hours after the event, the true impact of David Cameron's refusal to sign up to a new EU treaty hits home.

The Prime Minister is the first ever UK Premier to use Britain's power of veto & boy did he use it with effect. My sense is that Mr Cameron has grown up - he walks tall in the party & I must admit I had doubts as to his true metal when the brown stuff hit the round revolving thing.

Those doubts have gone & this is I suspect a long goodbye to our close engagement with the bloated, self serving anti-democratic fiefdoms of Brussels.

Well done Prime Minister - finally a PM who puts Britain's interests first in Europe

And it will be interesting to see how the largely pro-European integrationist Lib Dems react, once they have finished sobbing over their organic herbal tea.

Caddington & Slip End Parish Councils sign ground breaking agreement to salt roads

2011-12-09T16:20:00.001Z

This morning the Parishes of Caddington & Slip End signed an agreement with Central Bedfordshire, which will see additional road salting operations take place within the Parishes.

Acting as Caddington & Slip End Action Zone, the 2 Parishes will use a small towed gritting unit to apply road salt on estate roads and in areas not covered by Central Beds. Run on a voluntary basis this new service will be able, on an ad hoc basis, react to local demand.

It will not be an answer to every slippery road in the area, but will provide a huge additional benefit over & above the road salting operation run provided by the local authority on the main roads (see map on blog item below).

It is a great example of local communities taking advantage of the localism agenda - it has taken a long time to work through the complexities, legalities & insurance issues, but we are now there!

Cllr Ken Crossett & Cllr Tony Hansen, representing Slip End & Caddington Parish Councils
sign the delegation agreement with Central Beds

Our relationship with Europe is changing!

2011-12-09T07:24:00.001Z

History will judge, but it looks like a seminal moment for our EU relationship.David Cameron has quite rightly refused to sign uqp to a treaty change which would have deepened our relationship with Brussells.The Eurozone will obviously do it's own thing now - perhaps an opportunity for the UK to slacken off the shackles of EU regulation?EU countries who wish to effectively form a single European state are quite entitled to, but Cameron should be applauded for standing up for Britain's interests!!

Which roads are salted locally?

2011-12-08T15:53:00.001Z

Below is a map of the roads within the Caddington Ward (the Parishes of Caddington, Hyde, Kensworth, Slip End, Studham & Whipsnade) are on the Central Beds salting routes.

Apologies for the poor picture quality, but locals will know the roads.

Which occupation is easier to operate on?

2011-12-08T15:45:00.001Z

Five surgeons are discussing who were the best patients to operate on.

The first surgeon says, 'I like to see Accountants on my operating tablebecause when you open them up, everything inside is numbered.'

The second responds, 'Yeah, but you should try Electricians! Everything insidethem is colour-coded.'

The third surgeon says, 'No, I really think Librarians are the best; everythinginside them is in alphabetical order.'

The fourth surgeon chimes in, 'You know I like Construction Workers. Those guysalways understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the jobtakes longer than you said it would.'

But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed, 'You're all wrong.Politicians are the easiest to operate on. You see they have no guts, no heart, no balls,no brains, and no spine, and there are only two moving parts - the mouth andthe a***hole - and they are interchangeable'

This did make me chuckle

2011-12-07T22:19:00.001Z

From Guido Fawkes

Who said:

“The intent of the government to help the UK balance its budget deficit and maximise the country’s position both at a European and global level is very sound.”

Guido will give you a clue, he’s going to be sleeping on the sofa tonight. That would be Sushil Saluja, the husband of Labour’s Heathrow by-election candidate Seema Malhotra, speaking to Management Today. Not only does she live in a £3m house, not only has she dropped her double-barrel name, but it seems her husband is a member of the reality based community

House prices in Beds 10 x average salary

2011-12-07T17:26:00.001Z

Where the most benefit claims come from!

2011-12-07T16:54:00.001Z

Most of these areas do not come as a great surprise, but the North West area hits top spot for the number of benefit claims in England & Wales!

Education in Central Beds is evolving

2011-12-07T15:25:00.001Z

Central Beds is one of the last remaining local authorities with wholly 3 tier schooling.

A number of schools in the Dunstable area have now decided that they wish to change the age range of children that they serve and become Primary or Secondary schools, as opposed to Lower, Middle or Upper schools.

Caddington Village School successfully emerged as a 'super' primary serving a 3 to 13 age range a few years back & became the only Central Beds state school which merged the age range previously served by Lower & Middle Schools.

Several Lower Schools in the Dunstable area are now being recommended by the Exec Member, Mark Versallion, for further consultation to become 3 - 11 year Primary Schools.

I have never been a fan of the 3 tier school system & I welcome the pragmatic approach being taken to finding different solutions to different local needs - so what might be right for one area may not be right for another!

Newlands Rd planning application withdrawn

2011-12-07T14:46:00.001Z

Common sense has prevailed in the form of a withdrawal of a planning application for land in Luton which abuts the Parish of Caddington. The application was for around 230 flats & houses on a very small plot, it carried no S106 (planning gain) proposal, no improvements to transport infrastructure & no new community facilities. It was clearly a speculative application.

The application by a Mr Stephen Doyle, one of the Director's behind the Bushwood proposal, was due to have been discussed this evening by Luton Borough Council has been withdrawn after being recommended for refusal. If this is their idea of sustainable development, it is a relief that the Bushwood proposals have yet to leave the drawing board.

This proposal may of course come back in a revised form & we will assess any new proposal on merit, as will Luton's Planning Dept.

Block Plan of proposals for development in Newlands Rd, Luton

Strike impact in Central Beds

2011-12-04T13:03:00.001Z

Central Bedfordshire has relatively low union membership and as expected the impact of last weeks one day strike was minimal.

Disruption to schools was more significant, but 55% of schools in Central Beds were eitherfully or partially open. In total 55 schools wereentirely closed as a result of the action.

Managers have been asked to confirm who was on strike last week & out of 1410 returns so far we know only 112 staff took industrialaction. All staff who were engaged in industrial action will not be entitled to pay for the period that they were away from work.

So if this is relfected in the final numbers, less than 10% of staff went on strike last week.

Luton on Sunday

2011-12-04T08:36:00.001Z

UK set to agree rise in foreign aid!

2011-12-04T08:08:00.001Z

Britain has a long & proud history of international engagement; the UK remains one of the largest economies in the world, it has a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and is undoubtedly a player on the world stage.

It is right that we back these obligations with foreign aid, but and there is a big but, at the moment when an axe is being taken to public service expenditure at home and unemployment is on the rise surely it is simply immoral to consider maintain an aid budget of £8,000,000,000 per year, let alone consider legislating to make 0.7% of GDP a mandatory level of foreign aid!

I don't doubt the motives of Ministers who want to maintain the aid budget, I am certain that there is a huge amount of good that results from this huge investment and I understand the argument around influencing areas of the world where there is the potential for terrorist threat to the UK.

But the morality of slashing UK public sector budgets at a the same time as promoting a change in the law around the aid budget is not sustainable or morally justified.

Let us put the international aid budget in context. Central Bedfordshire spends around £200 million per year on goods and services - it has had to examine every penny it spends and balance expenditure to ensure that those that are most vulnerable are supported, inevitably that means difficult decisions have to be made.

Just 0.1% of the UK overseas aid budget would transform services to vulnerable adults & children in Central Beds!

The tweeting twit of Waveney

2011-12-04T08:00:00.001Z

Well done St Albans!

2011-12-03T16:35:00.001Z

It was a pleasure to visit St Albans District Council to present their Member Development Charter.

I am of course a Member of Central Bedfordshire Council, not Bedfordshire County Council!

Caddington Christmas lights switch on

2011-12-03T10:55:00.001Z

Tomorrow at 3:30 on the Green in Caddington - mince pies, mulled wine & hot chocolate being served, before the xmas light switch on at 4:45

Congrats to Tesco for stepping in at the last moment to support this festive event for the village & a promise of continued support next year.

Honour crime has risen by 40%

2011-12-03T08:44:00.001Z

Figures released this week show that there has been an estimated 40% increase in the number of 'honour' crimes committed in the UK.

The killing, beating and mutilation of women is unacceptable in any circumstance, but for it to happen in the context of a family member taking the law into (usually) his hands is shocking & for it to happen on the scale it does reveals a dark and hidden side to family life in some communities.

I do not understand how a father or a brother can even contemplate killing or mutilating his daughter or sister because she falls in love with someone the family does approve of - it is the perpetrator of the crime who brings shame not only on his family, but on his community and the country he lives in.

There are many stories telling how young women, beaten by their husbands who flee the marital home are hauled back & assaulted or worse by their own families for bring 'shame' on the family name.

It is a barbaric custom & worthy only of people whose view of women is rooted in the middle ages.

Banaz Mahmod - murdered & buried in a back garden for leaving her abusive husband & falling in love with another man.

Biggleswade Comet

2011-12-02T16:36:00.001Z

Sign the petition to fight metal theft

2011-12-02T16:20:00.001Z

The following link to the No 10 e-petiton page carries a petition seeking changes to the law which tighten up the rules relating to how scrap metal is sold & disposed of:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

We are nearly halfway to getting parliamentary airtime, it requires 100,000 signatures for it to be discussed by MP's.
.

You have to laugh

2011-11-30T21:04:00.001Z

Jeremy Clarkson on today's strike!!

Locally there were schools that did not penalise school kids today!

2011-11-30T19:06:00.001Z

Not a complete list of Central Bedfordshire schools that were open today, but a list of places of learning where the students were not deprived of a days education.

The schools that were closed as a result of strike action are I hope suitably ashamed.

In the Caddington Ward it would appear that only Studham school remained fully open - congratulations to the head & staff!

There was no excuse to close a single school & where I am able I will be making that point forcefully. Even schools that were partially open caused huge problems for working parents - not acceptable and Head's ought to be suitably red faced!

All quiet on the strike front

2011-11-30T10:50:00.001Z

I visited the Central Beds offices in Dunstable this morning, aside from two elderly gents on the drive with little placards there was not much sign there was a strike on, most desks seemed to be filled & business largely as per normal.

On arrival at our Chicksands offices I was accosted by a lady from Unison & a lady with a GMB armband on & offered a leaflet. I was informed that they were entitled to a pension - not sure anyone was suggesting that they were not.

Half our later said ladies were settled into to the coffee shop enjoying a warm drink.

BBC Three Counties radio ran a phone in this morning on the strike & commented that most of the callers were in favour of the strike, what did they expect? Most people not in favour on the strike were either at work or not that interested.

So aside from the 1000's of parents who has to make alternative childcare arrangements where schools were closed, it does not appear even airports are suffering unduly.

What a waste of time, but I might just ask how much Central Beds saved on payroll today.

I just don't get it!

2011-11-29T22:33:00.001Z

So Britain is now forecast to borrow circa £79 billion in 2014/15, not great, but we will still be spending approx £10 billion on overseas aid.We are cutting public services, taking a serious haircut in all sectors and paying large amounts of wonga in interest every year just see a large chunk of it vanish abroad. I am sure much of it is well spent and goes to worthy causes, but surely it is a matter of priorities!!Not sure I can provide a convincing argument to hard up families locally for this level of largesse in tough times!!

A sensible stance for a school to take, that does not penalise students

2011-11-29T09:40:00.001Z

This note was sent out by one school locally to parents in advance of the public sector strike tomorrow. A pragmatic & sensible approach, for this one day strike will achieve absolutely nothing other than chaos for working parents & people who need to access public services.

More schools should behave like this!

University of Bedfordshire

2011-11-28T17:39:00.001Z

A visit to Bedfordshire University today - with a tour around the new student accommodation & facilities - I have to admit to being very impressed with the new buildings which are now local landmarks.

The University has gone from 8,000 to 24,000 students in just a few years & clearly knows what it is doing.

Very ambitious plans afoot to expand further!!

Les Ebdon the Vice Chancellor has done a grand job creating a very impressive seat of learning which is light years away from its former life as Luton Poly.

Wednesday's strike

2011-11-27T10:58:00.001Z

Fact - public sector pensions need reform!

Fact - public sector pensions on average are considerably more advantageous than those available in the private sector

Fact - Britain can not afford to continue with final salary pension schemes

Fact - Wednesday's strike will make not a jot of difference to Government policy

Fact - the only people who will suffer are those who lose a days pay, school children who lose a days education and passengers who can not get through airports

Fact - while private sector pay and terms & conditions have reformed, public sector pay has yet to reflect reality

Locally schools will close & I find it hard to understand how or why well paid, highly motivated & professional teachers can simply leave the school gates locked - I do hope that they walk out with (at the very least) their heads hung in shame, as working parents are forced to take time off work.

Luton on Sunday - No to Bushwood letters

2011-11-27T10:53:00.001Z

Oh what a hoot!

2011-11-27T10:30:00.001Z

The Mail on Sunday has been leaked documents from the Lib Dems exercise in navel gazing, or in other words understanding why they are so unpopular.

Some bright spark in Cowley Street came up with the cunning plan to make the Lib Dems more like Oxfam - the problem is Mr Clegg that is exactly how people do think of your party now.

Quote of the day

2011-11-26T07:40:00.001Z

We have forgotten that we all have a responsibility to fight crime in the interests of our towns, villages, hamlets, neighbourhoods and estates. It is not a responsibility we can or should delegate solely to Police Officers.

Basil Jackson

2011-11-25T17:19:00.001Z

This will only be of interest to anyone who knows him!

Basil Jackson is the much loved (in a caring kind of way) Assistant Director for Highways at Central Beds, I am not sure this pic does much for his blokey image! I fear it may haunt him in later years, or his retirement party - which ever comes first!

LGA Chief Exec still making headlines, even though he is retired

2011-11-25T15:16:00.001Z

John Ransford, who retired as the CEX of the Local Government Association this week, is still making unfortunate headlines about his pay packet.

His mistake was getting on the wrong side of Local Government Ministers & displaying his irritation when he got publicly criticised.

Central Bedfordshire Council

2011-11-24T22:56:00.001Z

This evening we had a meeting of Central Beds Council, where the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) was discussed. The IRP are the people who make recommendations on what Councillors allowances should be for the year ahead. It is not always entirely comfortable having to discuss your own allowances, but that is the way the system works!

The report was heading for agreement in full, except for an amendent on my own Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) as Executive Member for External Affairs, which proposed an increase from the recommended £6.2k per year to £10.6k to equalise it with that of the Executive Member for Economic Partnerships. I of course declared an interest & left the chamber, but before I did I advised Council that regardless of their decision I would not be claiming more than that recommended by the IRP.

Council in my absence agreed the amendment, which placed a value of £10.5k on the Executive post I hold, but I shall in future be claiming only the amount recommended - £6.2k

Now we have a new, youngish Member of Council, one Adam Zerny, an Independent from Potton, who will I am sure in time learn the ropes and perhaps understand what Councillors actually do - and probably most importantly learn not to throw stones when living in the proverbial greenhouse.

Mr Zerny quite regularly has a go at me. Fair enough, but I thought I would do a quick calculation of the number of meetings that Mr Zerny has attended since May (according to the CBC website it is 4 to be precise) for which he receives an allowance of £10,995.60 - given we are 7 months into the year that equates to (roughly) £1.5k per meeting.

In the same period I have attended around 97 diaried meetings at or on behalf of Central Bedfordshire & that excludes many more related meetings where I am not strictly speaking representing Central Beds - so £17,595 divided by 97 meetings equates to a cost to the tax payer of £181.00

I leave it to others to judge the relative value with both examples.

Now I know part of the basic allowance covers constituency work, stationary, attendance at Parish meetings, School Governing Bodies etc. and I am sure Mr Zerny is as diligent as I am in that respect.

Mr Zerny then had the audacity to second an amendment moved by Cllr Julian Murray (Ind) proposing that the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee be increased to £10,654.72 - now I am Vice Chairman of that Committee, which does not carry an allowance, and I am only to aware of the relative workloads - it bears no comparison to that of an Executive Member - with or without a Portfolio.

The only acceptable outcome here was a withdrawal by Cllr Murray of his amendment, which he sensibly did.

The mysterious Mr Huhne

2011-11-24T13:20:00.001Z

Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem Cabinet Minister, is something of an enigma to me. Clearly bright, perhaps cunning, his political teeth were cut in University, where he advocated the most underhand and sly tactics to gain political advantage. Clearly worked for Mr Huhne!

Aside from his current difficulties with his ex-wife as to who was driving when his car was clocked for speeding, my question is much more serious!

I listened to Mr Huhne on Newsnight last night when he extolled his solution for our future energy needs. Everyone now pays about £220.00 per year in 'Green Taxes' - apparently by forcing down our energy consumption we will actually end up with smaller energy bills.

I hope I am not the only one who is bemused by this argument, which seems to say we will push your bills up so much that you will have to use less energy & therefore your bills will come down.

He not a man I warm to (I can probably no longer afford to warm very much) and he is certainly not doing the Coalition any favours right now.

Then we have the matter of his girlfriend writing quite immature e-mails seeking employment as a public relations professional, quoting Mr Huhne as a key contact.

He must have some redeeming features somewhere?

How should political parties be funded?

2011-11-23T09:52:00.001Z

The age old question of how political parties should be funded is again in the headlines.

Sir Christopher Kelly is running an investigation into the funding of political parties & has come up with the proposal that we the tax payers should fund political parties out of our taxes - it works out at around 50p per elector.

I object to my taxes being used to support the party that I am a member of, let alone those parties I have spent the last 2 decades campaigning against.

No system of party funding is ever going to be perfect, but surely state funding for political parties is the worst possible option.

Sir Christopher is an experienced player & I would not accuse him of naivety, but it does not look like this plan will get the (essential) backing of the main political parties. This esteemed Knight of the Realm believes it is only a matter of time before we have another scandal of the scale of the cash for honours saga, maybe, but that is no reason to turn independent political parties into organs of the state, funded out of tax income.

The GMB is certainly poorly served by its officials locally

2011-11-20T11:25:00.001Z

Now if I were a paid up member of the GMB union I would be less than impressed with the service provided by some regional officials.

It is probably an honour to be insulted by such people, but there is a tenuous link between some of their public statements & reality. Some might call it spin, others might be rather less charitable.

The unfortunate case of LuDun is an example (LuDun was a sheltered employment facility set up nearly 50 years ago). The clue is in the name - Lu (Luton) Dun (Dunstable) - Luton Borough Council walked away from this facility some time ago, despite a number of employees being Luton residents. Not sure I have heard a great deal of comment on Luton's position from the Brothers?

The annual LuDun budget was of course a factor, but the principle concern was that the facility was no longer fit for purpose, it required major investment & however difficult the decision to close it was, it should have been made many years ago.

Until this issue arose I doubt many of the employees had had a great deal of contact with the GMB, who jumped on the passing band wagon with alacrity.

But lets face it the union barons now 'own' Ed Milliband and have been caught red handed writing questions for Shadow Ministers who need to ensure they are in line with their union pay masters. That is not democratic and does I think demonstrate perfectly the attitude unions take towards life in general.

I at least have a modicum of democratic legitimacy when I am critical of e.g. union officials & I will for sure expect to be chucked out of office if I ever forget who I serve.

Unions have a role to play & I am not one to advocate closing them down, but for major disruption to be caused in schools & other key public services on the basis of 22% of a union membership voting for strike action is highly questionable.

Also interesting to note that the GMB appear to have become supporters of another bete noire, Bushwood, I wonder if that is now union policy?

Friends of Chris Bryant MP

2011-11-19T22:35:00.001Z

I happened to express my iritation at the behaviour of one Labour Shadow Minister, Chris Bryant, the other day.

Now I don't give two hoots what his sexuality is, but I do get really annoyed by his childish behaviour in & out of Parliament.

After I blogged on this character I received a number of very abusive comments from pals of Mr Bryant, who had tweeted my comments.

Mr Bryant is in my opinion not only a supremely light-weight MP, but he also has a very thin skin to go with it.

Well said sir!

2011-11-19T22:26:00.001Z

This debate will run & run & run............!

2011-11-19T21:52:00.001Z

Perhaps the true feelings of our European neighbours are revealed in this latest spat over the future of the Eurozone. One thing is certain though, Britain is not joining anytime soon.

Perhaps it is time to consider where our future lies - in or out of the EU! It would be a momentous decision to withdraw, but that it is the question that will have to be faced at some point.

But I must admit if I were in German shoes I would feel some irritation on being lectured by Britain, who is obviously & openly hostile to many European integration matters!

Resolution to a long running dispute!

2011-11-18T15:25:00.001Z

The cost of furnishing appropriate security for Luton Airport has been the cause of much debate in Bedfordshire, with understandable angst across the county when disproportionate resources are absorbed in to making sure the airport is secure.

Beds Police & Luton Airport have reached agreement on the appropriate level of funding for Police resources allocated to the airport - congratulations to both Peter Conniff, Chairman of the Police Authority & Glynn Jones, MD of London Luton Airport Ltd!

Chris Bryant - Welsh Labour MP

2011-11-16T15:47:00.001Z

It takes all sorts I guess, but a particular source of intense irritation on the Labour Front Bench is the MP for Rhondda, Chris Bryant. He pulls more faces than Ed Milliband and is an incredibly tribal political operator. Not sure he does much for the reputation of his party or come to think about it the House of Commons.

Of course his rather more infamous pose was in underpants on a gay website.

The relationship between the GMB Union & Labour is murky

2011-11-16T15:27:00.001Z

Given the fact that the Labour Party Leader is only in post because the union movement swung in behind him it is hardly a huge surprise to discover that the the unions are pulling the strings of the Labour Party.

I am sure at a local level the GMB have many hard working & dedicated people who support their members, but the further up the tree you go it all gets a bit murky.

The local 'Regional Organiser' (see blog ad infinitum) is the son of the GNB General Secretary Paul Kenny. Our relationship is of course all sweetness and light.

ANPR parking enforcement

2011-11-16T15:09:00.001Z

Apropos blog item below - this is a picture of the actual vehicle that will be used to catch people parked e.g. on zig zag lines outside a school.

Pictured with Cllr Brian Spur

Labour Party caught out asking questions for their union paymasters

2011-11-16T14:36:00.001Z

Nick Clegg biffs Shadow Justice Minister on the nose as he asks question
"written by GMB"

Apparently the union writes parliamentary questions for their Labour chums.

Support for the anti-Bushwood campaign

2011-11-16T14:18:00.001Z

Mind you I was a little worried when I read the first paragraph!

GMB are busy in Central Beds

2011-11-16T10:47:00.001Z

Walking through Central Beds offices earlier this week I espied a meeting room booked out to our local GMB organiser where lots of earnest conversation was taking place. Post it notes & highlighter pens seemed to be very prominent.

We remain uncomfortable with the fact that a number of full-time Central Beds employees are solely engaged on union activity, a situation that is unfair since the majority of our employees are not members of a union.

That is a £150k wage bill which I have some difficulty justifying.

Luton's bid for city status

2011-11-16T10:35:00.001Z

Now I have been accused of just about everything short of treason when I questioned some of marketing tactics employed by Luton in their quest for City status.

Pointing out that the rather fine 5* hotel & spa at Luton Hoo is in fact in the Parish of Hyde is a perfectly reasonable thing to do & I have had a note from the Chief Executive of Luton Borough confirming the blindingly obvious, Luton has no plans to take over Hyde, yes I know that Trevor, not really my point.

I never accused them of seeking to do so, but I did suggest that there were many things within Luton that they ought to be promoting & should be proud of.

I have been asked to co-sign a letter of support for the Luton City bid that will go to Greg Clark, Minister of State at CLG - I am very happy to do as a Conservative & as a elected representative from a neighbouring authority.

Another view on the Boundary Commission's d(r)aft thoughts on Parliamentary boundaries

2011-11-16T10:13:00.001Z

As my MP, I have to say that Labour's Gavin Shuker is a vast improvement on his predecessor, who is currently scheduled to appear before Southwark Crown Court in April, but I am not sure we would see eye to eye on the advantages of the draft proposition from the Boundary Commission which would see the whole of Dunstable added to a new Luton North & Dunstable seat.

The proposals do kind of fit with the local Labour Party's view that Luton & Dunstable (and Houghton Regis) are one place & of course therein lies the problem, neither Dunstable or Houghton Regis see themselves add-ons to their larger neighbouring town.

From a Tory perspective of course it would make it winning a Luton North & Dunstable seat a much more realistic proposition, given that the only Labour Ward in Dunstable was won by a margin of 6 votes.

Pensions reform

2011-11-15T18:02:00.001Z

What a myopic world some people live in.

When access to state pensions was set at 60 for women & 65 for men many moons ago most people were lucky to reach that venerable old age. Today it is not uncommon for people to enjoy another 20 years of active life after retirement.

For the public sector unions to pretend that pension reform is not just necessary but essential is a little naughty - who ever had won the last election would have faced a double whammy of massive government debt & an aging population with a shrinking population of working age to pay for their pensions.

So unions like Unison & GMB are set for industrial action later this month - it will not achieve anything other than the loss of a few days pay for their Members.

Only a very cynical Finance Director might factor in these savings for budget purposes.

But hey ho, reality might just hit the more Jurassic end of the union movement at some point.

Lets Talk Together event for Dunstable, Houghton Regis & Rural areas - 29th November

2011-11-15T14:49:00.001Z

To be held at the former Heathfield School site in Caddington on 29th November

New Lord Lieutenant for Bedfordshire

2011-11-15T14:05:00.001Z

New parking enforcement scheme in Central Beds

2011-11-15T11:18:00.001Z

Beware - if you park on yellow lines outside schools or in a dangerous place a new scheme is coming into operation in Central Bedfordshire which uses cars equipped with ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras which can record offending vehicles without having to stop & issue a ticket!

So for parents who regularly park on hatched areas outside schools at the morning or evening pick up times you will get a ticket!

People who park dangerously now stand a far higher chance of collecting a penalty notice with the 3 new ANPR cars coming into operation in Central Beds.

Good idea!!

2011-11-14T11:21:00.001Z

From the Daily Telegraph - click to read

Paying our respects to the fallen

2011-11-14T08:52:00.001Z

At the War Memorial in Caddington yesterday
(photo courtesy of Clive Mears)

In Flanders Fields

2011-11-13T13:06:00.001Z

The poem I was privileged to read at the service of remembrance this morning. Written by Major John McCrae, a Canadian Army Doctor & Artillery Officer, on the eve of the burial of his comrade Lt Alexis Helmer in the early days of the 2nd Battle of Ypres on the 2nd May 1915.

The service and act of memorial was overseen by Terry Oliver, in his usual efficient manner. In the absence of our Vicar, Ruth Pyke, who is on a sabatical, the service was conducted by a visiting Vicar.

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Today is an opportunity to remember

2011-11-13T09:21:00.001Z

On Remembrance Sunday we are able to honour the many that gave their lives in many wars, not least the First & Second World Wars.

Today Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen are still falling in far flung war zones, today is also an occasion to record our gratitude and respect to them for all they do.

I will be attending All Saints in Caddington to give a reading after the laying of wreaths on the War Memorial at 10:45 this morning.