A few thoughts for the end of the week.
John Bolton
John Bolton will not be joining us in Bristol for the Ideas Festival. The Indymedia crowd reckon it was them wot won it, although it would seem more likely he was enticed away by the Guardian's Hay Festival. That particular gathering is not what is used to be, though: they've got a big screen telly to show the Cup Final and they can't spell "Correspondent" (maybe that's the Grauniad's influence).
Eton Rifles
Bristol East's Virtual MP, fresh from her campaign to end Seal Hunting in Eastville, points out an article in the New Statestman by Paul Weller, in which the ex-Jamster gets very grumpy about David Cameron liking his song "Eton Rifles". Difficult thing, art - people tend to make their own interpretation of it, rather than constraining themselves to what the Artist wanted them to think.
Your Councillor - Missing In Action
Kerry also reports on a Bristol Councillor being flown in from America for vital votes. I wonder who that is? Not being in with the in-crowd, I'm not privy to the name of the transatlantic representative. From the hints in Kerry's article, and looking at a timetable of future elections, possible candidates are:
- Mary Sykes, Hengrove
- Clare Campion-Smith, Henleaze
- Sylvia Townsend, Redland
Anyone seen them lately? Are they looking tanned? Were they wearing a Stetson? Let me know if you've got further info.
### UPDATE ###
We have an official identification! Our transatlantic telecommuting councillor is Shirley Marshall, representing Ashley Ward. Representations have been made to the city clerk, but it would appear that the "six month rule" after which her office would be deemed abandonded has yet to be invoked. No news on whether Ms Marshall plans to voluntarily stand down, or whether she will keep jetting in for the next 3 years until she fights the next Ashley ward election in 2011.
Councillor Marshall was elected in 2007 by a narrow margin of 110 votes, and is also - by phone, presumably - a School Governor at Cabot School, a member for St Werburghs Community Association
Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). At Cabot School, she is in fact the "Looked After Children Governor" which is supposed to be responsible for keeping an eye on those particularly vulnerable pupils who are in the care of the state. Perhaps she does that by email.
History and Heritage
An excellent post at the Ideas Festival by "Tetchy Steve". The mysteriously-not-in-Burma-yet Bristol Blogger has posted a copy on his site. My favourite bit:
The historian does not go to work each morning to make us all feel good about ourselves by suggesting that all voices are equally weighted and equally valid.
Our City - Capitalising on Letters
The Draft Corporate Plan 2008-11 for Bristol is before the Oversight and Scrutiny committee this week. And for reasons known only to the shocked political leadership and the officer in the role of Head of Policy, Performance and Equalities, it's full of references to "Our City". But who needs grammar?
It is an exciting time for Our City. Our aspiration is to drive Bristol’s economy so Our City can contribute to and benefit from the global economy and fulfil our potential as a top European city.
Here's a thought: cut the council tax. And collect the rubbish every week while you're at it. More in-depth quoting to follow, as it's all priceless stuff. My favourite bit so far is from the section entitled "OUR CITY: TOGETHER" on Page 21:
Bristol has a changing, diverse population. New and growing communities are settling in the city, bringing many advantages as well as new challenges around cohesion and integration.
Our aim is for residents to have a shared sense of ownership and belonging and for cross-community benefit from better services. We are committed to strong leadership on community cohesion. This means building strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds and circumstances in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods. Like many of our priorities, it is an on-going long-term challenge.
I'm not sure where to start. "Strong leadership on Community Cohesion". I know what all these words mean in isolation, but what do the mean together? What is Community Cohesion? Why does it need leadership? What does strong leadership look like compared to weak leadership? How can I tell if a community is cohered? Are they sticky to the touch?
Again the author takes an aggressive - some might say brutal - approach to English composition, and we learn more of the priorities that will be delivered. But how do you deliver a priority? Aren't priorities things that you possess?
In the next 3 years we will delivery this priority by:
• Building cohesion within our communities. We will strengthen the information we have on the changing nature of our city so that we can target our actions and resources more effectively for the benefit of all. We will deliver a 3 year programme of work with faith communities and extend our Building the Bridge work with Muslim communities to encompass all communities across the city.
• Tackling inequality. We will work to ensure that all our services are sensitive to the needs of different communities. The independent Legacy Commission will oversee a three year programme of work to tackle inequalities in services, for the benefit of all communities.
Ok, so cohesion is something you build. But how does one strengthen information? Is that the same thing as gathering information? Building the Bridge was the title for the "myth-busting" booklet and events which achieved...what? You can hear last year's Deputy Lord Mayor, Peter Abraham talking about it here. It sounds very worthy, but what was the specific tangible outcome? I don't wish to keep harping on about this, but I'd be willing to be that all the communities of Bristol could be persuaded to unite for the benefit of all on a policy of lower taxation.
The UK School Games
Bristol and Bath are due to host the UK School Games on the 28th-31st August. These won't be a money-pit of the same magnitude as the 2012 Olympics, but I'd like to take this opportunity to let Boris Johnson and the people of London know in advance where they can go if they need any extra funds.
Portsmouth F.C.
I don't want to get into the habit of commenting on Football - it being, as I have previously stated, a Girls' Game - but I took the attached photo on a recent trip to Portsmouth and it made me smile.
"Quaility Food at it's Best"
