NHS car parking charges in England. A tax on the sick?

I had this letter published in the Western Daily Press on January 3rd.  The editor gave it the headline "English patients face unfair 'tax on sick'."

"We supposedly live in a United Kingdom where one would assume all its citizens are treated equally, but that appears not to be the case.  NHS hospitals in England made a record £174million last year from charging for car parking, but such charges are not the same across the UK.  While car parking charges have been largely abolished in Scotland and Wales this "tax on the sick" is still levied in England.  The same situation exists with regard to NHS prescriptions; only the English have to pay. 

Since Devolution, MPs representing English constituencies seem to have entered a fog of indifference at Westminster, making them either unwilling or unable to recognise and remedy these and other inequalities.  Create a Parliament for England and its members could no doubt be just as vigorous and successful in obtaining rights, benefits and opportunities for their constituents as those sitting in the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies are for theirs."  

S,W.
Ilminster, Somerset.

St. Mary's Church, Yatton, in North Somerset. Known long ago as "The Cathedral of the Moors".

In this Boxing Day blogpost I write of St. Mary’s Church in Yatton which in more ancient times was known as the Cathedral of the Moors, due to its prominent position on the North Somerset Levels.

The village of Yatton is described, rather unkindly, by Simon Jenkins in his England’s Thousand Best Churches (Penguin Books, 1999) as: “dreary”, but of St. Mary’s he writes: “. . . but the Perpendicular church detaches itself and its churchyard from the eastern suburbs and lends majesty to Yatton Moor.”

St. Mary’s lost most of its spire in 1595 leaving it with an odd, truncated appearance, but the south porch and west front have been chronicled in glowing terms by Simon Jenkins, Arthur Mee and Edward Hutton.

Jenkins and Hutton recount the inscription on the grave of gypsy Merily Joules which reads: “Here lies Merily Joules / A beauty bright / Who loved Isaac Joules / Her heart’s delight.”  She died in 1827 and Isaac is said to have been so overcome that he pitched camp by her grave for fourteen years until he joined her in death.

Yatton sprawls alongside the B3133 between Congresbury and Clevedon with St. Mary’s handily situated near a free car park.  I have often used it when paying my respects to a great aunt who died in 1977 and is buried in the extensive churchyard.  In fact so extensive that I have yet to come across the grave of Merily Joules!        

St. Mary's Church in Yatton, North Somerset.  Most of the spire was lost in 1595.

The Parish Church of St. Mary in Bridgwater, Somerset.

This Christmas Eve post is on the Parish Church of St. Mary in Bridgwater, Somerset and its link with two notable figures of the seventeenth century.

Admiral Robert Blake, Oliver Cromwell’s General at Sea, was born in Bridgwater in August 1598 and was baptised in St. Mary’s.  Blake’s statue is just around the corner from the church at the top end of Fore Street and a museum dedicated to him is only a little further away in the appropriately named Blake Street.

The Duke of Monmouth climbed the tower of St. Mary’s to observe the King’s forces gathering around Westonzoyland 4 miles to the east.  Deciding on a daring night attack, Monmouth led his army out of Bridgwater and across Sedgemoor, through the mist and darkness, only to be soundly defeated in the early hours of July 6, 1685.

St. Mary's Parish Church, Bridgwater, in Somerset.

St. Peter's Church, Staple Fitzpaine, in Somerset. A graceful tower in the folds of the Blackdown Hills.

At this time of year I thought, once again, it would be appropriate to post about notable Somerset churches.

Tucked away in the folds of the Blackdown Hills between Castle Neroche and Corfe is Staple Fitzpaine and its village church of St. Peter. The road north from the T junction between Staple Common and Neroche falls away steadily until you reach the fringe of Staple Fitzpaine where it begins to rise.  As you drive between the hedgerows uphill toward the village the tower of St. Peter’s Church rises above the trees ahead of you.

The church stands on a ridge between a manor house, built in 1840 as a rectory, and six almshouses founded by Sir William Portman in 1643.

St. Peter's Church, Staple Fitzpaine, in Somerset's Blackdown Hills.

Describing Staple Fitzpaine, Arthur Mee in his The Kings England, Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1968) writes: “Who will see a Somerset village looking at its best, let him come to this church gate with its row of seventeenth century cottages.  It is a charming place with an old-world setting for one of the loveliest towers in the county of great towers.”

Of St. Peter’s Church tower, Edward Hutton writes in his Highways and Byways in Somerset (Macmillan & Co., 1923): “No man can desire a better, I think, for though it is not very high, it is very nobly formed and its decoration is worthy of it, crowned as it is with a cluster of tufted spears, brave and graceful.”

The tower of St. Peter's Church, Staple Fitzpaine, in Somerset.  The gargoyles appear to be in the form of a goat. 

Fascinating patterns on a frosty morning.

A frosty morning produced fascinating patterns on the roof of my old Subaru Impreza.

Fascinating patterns on a frosty winter's morning.

Welsh Football Association rule out English managerial appointment!

As a patriotic Englishman who admires the Welsh sense of Nationhood, I was saddened to read the views of the chief executive of the Football Association of Wales Jonathon Ford.  This week he was quoted on the BBC and on the website Football Paradise as saying the next manager of the Welsh team would be: “Welsh most definitely, foreign possibly, but definitely not English”.

I suspect that if the chief executive of the English FA had said the next England team manager would be “English most definitely, foreign possibly, but definitely not Welsh”, all hell would have broken loose around him!  

Here are the links to the reports:   

https://www.footballparadise.com/the-faw-rule-out-english-managerial-appointment/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42234166

UPDATE 28th December.
According to the Independent it seems that Jonathon Ford is to face a disciplinary commission over his comment that the next Welsh manager will "definitely" not be English.
Here is a link to the newspaper's report:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/faw-wales-next-manager-english-comments-jonathan-ford-disciplinary-comments-a8107341.html

"Somerset receives less funding for services than most other counties in England", reports the Chard and Ilminster News.

I was surprised to read in the Chard and Ilminster News (“Somerset receives less funding for services than most other counties in England”, November 20) that out of 37 county areas in England Somerset ranked fifth from bottom as regards Council funding received.  Furthermore, Somerset receives, at £540 per head, the least of all amongst the counties of the South West.

The County Councils Network have published figures which show that on average county councils received £650 per head for spending on the services they provide while a city or metropolitan borough receives £825 and inner London a whopping £1,190 per person.

In such circumstances it is a pity that Somerset County Council no longer exists within its traditional county boundary.  Perhaps it is time for North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset to be reunited with the rest of the County in order to give it more political and financial clout.

It seems that Somerset’s financial position in England mirrors that of England within the United Kingdom.  In a recent blogpost Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, informed us that British Government public spending, as a consequence of the Barnett Formula, is as follows: Northern Ireland receives most at £14,263 per head; Scotland a lavish £13,054; Wales an ample £12,531 while England receives only £11,297. 

We may live in a United Kingdom, but it seems all the nations within it are far from being treated equally!

Here is a link to Robin Tilbrook’s blogpost:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/updated-differences-in-uk-government.html

Iain Dale, columnist, broadcaster and former Conservative Parliamentary candidate, believes in an English Parliament.

I was encouraged to see that columnist, broadcaster and former Conservative Parliamentary candidate Iain Dale believes in an English Parliament.  In his column in Conservativehome he writes of his appearance on a panel in Norwich seeking to answer the question: “What does it mean to be English?”

It does seem a bit of a cheek to even be asked such a question!  No-one would dream of asking what it means to be Scottish, Welsh or Irish, or French, German, Italian, Russian, American or any other nationality for that matter.  In Britain it is always the English who seem to have to justify their sense of nationhood and identity. 

Be that as it may, Mr Dale spoke alongside John Denham, former Labour Cabinet Minister, who also supports the creation of an English Parliament.  Below is the relevant part of the article which appeared on Conservativehome on today (December 12).

“On Monday evening. I took part in a panel in Norwich which sought to answer the question: “What does it mean to be English?”

John Denham, the former Labour Cabinet Minister who now leads the Centre for English Identity at the University of Winchester was one of my co-interlocutors, and did a far better job of answering the question than I did.

Indeed, we agreed on so much (such as believing in creating an English Parliament, for example) that we nearly formed our own political party there and then.

The event took place at the Forum in the centre of Norwich, and there were around 120 people there. It was a very engaged audience which asked some quite challenging questions. However, I’m still not sure I answered them very well.”

Here is a link to Mr Dale’s article on Conservativehome

https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2017/12/iain-dale-trump-a-warped-narcissist-who-gives-succour-to-racists-white-supremacists-and-islamophobes.html

Charles Moore's column "No offence to sailors . . .", Daily Telegraph 26th November. Was this article fake or a mistake?

I often read Charles Moore’s column on the Daily Telegraph’s website and usually agree with his opinions.  Be that as it may, on Sunday the 26 November I was startled and amused at his reference to Penny Mordaunt, a Royal Navy reservist, as the Defence Secretary!  In fact she is the Secretary of State for International Development. Was this article fake or a mistake?

The article “No offence to sailors, but they are only guarding Buckingham Palace because there aren’t enough soldiers” bemoaned the “parlous state of our Armed Forces” and doubted that using personnel from the Royal Navy to change the guard at Buckingham Palace was an efficient use of resources.  Mentioning Penny Mordaunt, and giving her the wrong title, rather detracted from the thrust of the argument.

The mistake was corrected the next morning with Ms Mordaunt back at the DfID!  Nevertheless, it still seemed not really relevant for Mr Moore to mention her.
 

When all is said and done, I cannot see much wrong with the Navy, or the RAF for that matter, performing guard duties at Buckingham Palace.  They, and the Army, are part of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces - whether in a parlous state or not!

The statue of Admiral Robert Blake in Bridgwater, Somerset. Oliver Cromwell's "General at Sea".

I have tried several times to take a decent photo of Admiral Robert Blake’s statue in Bridgwater, but it has always been in the shade.  My latest attempt, below, is my best to date as it is silhouetted against a pleasing clear blue sky. 

The statue of Robert Blake, Cromwell's "General at Sea", in Bridgwater, Somerset.  Erected in the town centre, it was unveiled 1900. 

Robert Blake was born in Bridgwater in 1598, one of 13 children.  A graduate of Oxford University he is said to have become a merchant and travelled the continent.   He became Bridgwater’s MP in 1640.

Blake played a prominent role in the English Civil War, early on being a key figure in the siege of Lyme Regis in Dorsetshire where Royalist forces, although outnumbering the Parliamentarian defenders by six to one, were held at bay until the town was relieved.
 

As Colonel Robert Blake he commanded Parliamentary forces successfully defending Taunton which was besieged by Royalist forces from July 1644 to July 1645.  Blake famously declared he “had four pairs of boots and would eat three pairs before he would surrender”.

Appointed as Oliver Cromwell’s “General at Sea” in 1649, he set in train the expansion of the fleet to become the largest England had possessed up until that time. 

The Commonwealth built 210 new warships by 1660.  He produced the Navy’s first ever ‘Rules and Regulations’ and reorganised tactics which would become the foundation of English Naval Tactics in the age of sail.  Little wonder he was known as the “Father of the Royal Navy".

During the English Civil War he blockaded and eventually defeated the Royalist Fleet of Prince Rupert of the Rhine.  He won victories against the Portuguese, Dutch (First Anglo Dutch War, 1652-1654) and Spanish (Anglo-Spanish War, 1654-1660).

He died at sea off Plymouth in 1657.

Haven Cliff, Axmouth Harbour near Seaton in the neighbouring county of Devonshire. The southern end of the Taunton Stop Line fortifications of World War Two.

Since moving to Somerset I have come upon many remains of the World War Two era Taunton Stop Line, a line of over 400 fortifications stretching around 50 miles from Burnham-on-Sea across Somerset to Haven Cliff which overlooks Axmouth Harbour in Devonshire.  Completed in only 5 weeks during the dangerous summer of 1940, its purpose was to impede any German advance from the south west should they have made a landing in Devonshire or Cornwall.  The Stop Line makes use of canals and railways, as well as rivers and other natural obstacles including, of course, the Somerset Levels.

I have often travelled along the B3172 to Axmouth and Seaton, passing the pillboxes dotted along the banks of the River Axe as it makes its way to the sea, but it was not until I purchased a copy of Andrew Powell-Thomas’ The West Country’s Last Line of Defence (Amberley Publishing, 2017) that I learned that the most southerly fortification on the Taunton Stop Line was an artillery position beneath Haven Cliff at the entrance to Axmouth harbour.  I thought I would go and have a look!

Parking is free on Seaton seafront at this time of year so I left the car there and walked back to the B3172 and Axmouth Old Bridge.  A blue plaque on the parapet states that the bridge is a scheduled ancient monument in use from 1877 until closed to road traffic in1990 and is the oldest standing concrete bridge in England.  The bridge was defended by pill boxes on the hillside east of the River Axe; one is visible beside the private drive leading to Haven House.

Axmouth Old Bridge in Devonshire.

I crossed the bridge and went on along the road and track between the harbour wall and a row of buildings.  It was pleasantly busy with people working on their boats, happy dogs taking their owners for an early afternoon walk as well as people, like me, just enjoying a peaceful stroll in the autumn sunshine.

Below Haven Cliff, overlooking the harbour entrance was the fortification I was looking for.  What remains of the brick and concrete structure has been used as the foundation for an elevated seating and picnic area known as The Prow.  The artillery piece emplaced there would have had a field of fire out into Seaton Bay and along Seaton’s pebble beach.  From Seaton seafront, on a clear day, it is possible to distinguish Portland Bill to the east, so the emplacement at Haven Cliff could have observed enemy activity in Lyme Bay and possibly engaged any targets if equipped with a gun of suitable range.

The remains of the most southerly fortification on the Taunton Stop Line situated below Haven Cliff at the entrance to Axmouth Harbour in Devonshire.

The Prow (on the left of the photo) atop the artillery emplacement below Haven Cliff overlooks the entrance to Axmouth Harbour.

The view west from beneath Haven Cliff.  Seaton seafront is to the left, Axmouth Harbour to the right.

It was an interesting afternoon and I will no doubt do the walk again – and check out the small café tucked away in one of the harbour-side buildings!   

Mitchells Hill near Ilminster in South Somerset. A view soon to disappear?

The Council’s South Somerset District Local Plan Review for Ilminster suggests that up to 400 houses will be built on open agricultural land south of Canal Way between the Meadow’s Surgery and Coldharbour Farm.

While enjoying a recent stroll around Ilminster I took some photos from the cycle path (NCN Cycle Route 33) behind Adams Meadow.  I believe this pleasant view of Mitchells Hill will soon be obscured by housing.

So, it seems yet another corner of this green and pleasant land will disappear under bricks, mortar and tarmac in order to accommodate England’s burgeoning population.  

A view towards Mitchells Hill from the cycle path near Adams Meadow, Ilminster in South Somerset.  Soon to be obscured by housing?

 

Bristol City fans banned from displaying the English flag. Stephen Morris of the Workers of England Union reports the ban as an Anti-English hate incident.

As a former Bristolian of 60 years, and someone who followed City at home and away during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, I was astounded to read a report in the Daily Mail that Bristol City fans were banned from displaying a Cross of St.George during the recent game at Ashton Gate against Cardiff City so as not to cause upset among visiting Welsh supporters. 

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5055255/Bristol-City-fans-banned-displaying-England-flag.html

I have always admired the Welsh sense of Nationhood and the thought of banning the Welsh flag anywhere in England, or elsewhere for that matter, has never entered my mind.

It seems that the management at Bristol City has succumbed to the present politically correct attitude of going to extreme lengths to avoid even the possibility of causing offence. 

Be that is it may, Stephen Morris, General Secretary of the Workers of England Union, has reported Bristol City Football Club to the Police for perpetrating an Anti-English hate incident by banning the English flag yet allowing the Welsh flag to be flown.

Here is part of a statement from Stephen Morris:

“I read in disbelief that Bristol City, an English football club and a member of the ‘English Football League’ banned the flying of the English flag.

It appears that they were quite content to have the placards being displayed until they found out it was the English flag that was going to be shown. They were however prepared to allow the Welsh flag to be flown. Taken together, this is clearly an Anti-English hate incident. I have reported this to the Avon and Somerset police and it is now registered with them.”

A local English football team, Bristol City Football Club is ideally placed to bring the communities of Bristol, England, and Cardiff, Wales together in the name of community cohesion. Instead, they just divisively denied English people their right to express their national identity in England. If this is true, which we are waiting for the police investigation to verify, then the English Football League should apply sanctions against the individuals and Bristol City Football Club who would be guilty of an anti-English race hate incident."

If the Welsh can fly their flag, so should the English be allowed to fly their flag as well, especially in England.”

Incidentally, Bristol City won the game 2-1!

Staple Hill, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

Staple Hill in Somerset is, at 1,033 feet, the highest point on the Blackdown Hills.  It is also the site of a Forestry Commission Plantation through which passes the Staple Fitzpaine herepath, a part of the Anglo-Saxon military road network initiated in the ninth century.

The Forestry Commission has provided a spacious car park, footpaths and seating which allows visitors to enjoy some impressive views across Somerset.

There are fine views over the Vale of Taunton Deane to the Quantock Hills and, on a clear day, one can see north over Bridgwater Bay to Brean Down, Weston-super-Mare and Kewstoke with the Welsh coast and mountains visible on the far side of the Bristol Channel.

The view north from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.  At the top of the picture the Welsh coast, 45 miles distant, can be seen through the gap between Brean Down and Kewstoke.

The views to the north-east, along the foothills of the Blackdowns, encompass the Somerset Levels with Glastonbury Tor, Burrow Mump and the Burton Pynsent Monument clearly visible.  The low ridge of the Polden Hills can be seen and the Mendip Hills are on the horizon.  A pair of binoculars and a good map add to the pleasure of spotting these and other landmarks. 

Looking north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills.  Spot the Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel. 

The view to the north-east from Staple Hill on the Blackdown Hills across the Somerset Levels to the Mendips. 

A stroll over Herne Hill on the southern fringe of Ilminster in South Somerset.

On the last Friday in October I decided to go for a stroll over wooded Herne Hill on the southern fringe of Ilminster in South Somerset.  It was a bright, sunny, warm day and it seemed ideal for taking a few pictures of the autumn colours.  The hill, 361ft high, is owned and maintained by Ilminster Town Council.

Leaving the car in the pay and display car park opposite Tesco in Shudrick Lane, I turned left towards Ditton Street and then up the steep Listers Hill to the edge of town.  At the end of the last row of Edwardian terraced houses I turned west along the lane and then crossed the playing field where I picked up the footpath signposted to Greenway and Donyatt. 

Taking the tree-lined lane which goes steadily uphill I  came to a bench where a gap in the trees allowed a fine view north to Ilminster and its Church of St. Mary, built of Ham stone in the latter half of the fifteenth century and known as The Minster, with Beacon Hill on the skyline.

Ilminster in South Somerset viewed from Herne Hill.

The path became steeper and stepper until I reached the trig point at the top of the hill where another handy bench allowed a rest before I took some photos of the view east along Shudrick Valley.  The views to the south were difficult to photograph because of the low autumn sun, but I could see the tower of St. Andrew’s Church at Dowlish Wake and the hamlets of Sea and Peasmarsh.

Looking east along Shudrick Valley from the trig point on Herne Hill.

Setting off across a crisp golden carpet of Beech and Oak leaves at the top of the hill I soon came upon an intriguing tree stump inlaid with two pence pieces.  Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to create a fascinating pattern, but what it signified I do not know.

A tree stump decorated with two pence pieces on the summit of Herne Hill.

Autumn colours on Herne Hill near Ilminster in South Somerset.

Exiting the western side of the wood it was now straight downhill all the way to the old railway line at Donyatt Halt.  As I followed the hedgerow and track there were fine views of the village of Donyatt and its village church of St. Mary with the Blackdown Hills beyond. To the north-west the Quantock Hills were easily visible. 

The path to Donyatt from Herne Hill near Ilminster.  The Blackdown Hills are on the skyline.

At Donyatt Halt I rested awhile then took some photos of the substantial World War Two Taunton Stop-Line defences - that will be for a future blogpost – before walking along the cycle path, which follows the track bed of the old railway, back to Ilminster.

"I am going to curtail alien immigration and deport undesirables", said the Conservative Home Secretary - in 1924!

Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, has posted an interesting article on his blog comparing what an English Conservative Home Secretary said about immigration in 1924 to the views of today’s Tory leadership.

Mr Tilbrook reveals Sir William Joynson- Hicks, Conservative Home Secretary in 1924, said:

“I am going to curtail alien immigration and deport undesirables; we do not want to flood England with the alien refuse of the world.  I regard aliens who live in their own communities, marry within them, and speak their own language, as unsuitable to be British residents.”

The English Democrats Chairman writes:

“Of course in those days Conservative Home Secretaries were proper Conservatives and were also patriots who would be revolted by the current Home Secretary’s unpatriotic support for foreigners ruling over us through the EU.”

To read Robin Tilbrook’s blogpost in full here is a link:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/home-secretary-going-to-deport.html

Meanwhile, it seems one Conservative, Rory Stewart the Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, might have one or two thoughts along the same lines as Sir William Joynson-Hicks.

Mr Stewart, speaking of British Isil fighters, was quoted in The Telegraph saying:

“They are absolutely dedicated, as members of the Islamic State, towards the creation of a caliphate, they believe in an extremely hateful doctrine which involves killing themselves, killing others and trying to use violence and brutality to create an eighth century, or seventh century, state.

So I am afraid we have to be serious about the fact these people are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them.”

Doubtless British Isil fighters could be classed as “undesirables” but, if they somehow managed to return to these shores, could they be deported?   They are, after all, British and which nation would want to take in British “undesirables"?

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/22/way-dealing-british-islamic-state-fighters-kill-almost-every/

Funding setback for Somerset's Wellington Monument. The National Trust should take advice from Scotland.

Take funding advice from Scotland.

"You have to admire the way our Scottish neighbours manage to extract finance from British institutions.  The Barnett formula enables the Scots to obtain more funds, per head, from the British Treasury than is given to the English.  That situation is mirrored by the Big Lottery Fund as the Scots receive £14.04 per head, the English £9.32.

In such circumstances it is hardly surprising that the National Trust failed, for the second time, in their application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the £2 million required to initiate much needed repairs to the Wellington Monument, that striking landmark on the Blackdown Hills (“Fund setback for West monument”, Western Daily Press, Oct 4) .  Perhaps the National Trust in England should ask its counterpart in Scotland for advice.  The Scots certainly seem to have the knack for obtaining money from British national institutions."

S.W., Ilminster, Somerset

The letter above was published in the Western Daily Press on October 13th.  Reading it and the Daily Mail article below (see link) illustrates how our neighbours in Scotland manage to extract what could be said to be more than their fair share of UK finance.  It seems that England always comes last in the queue, behind Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland.  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4867000/Scots-win-lotto-English-charities-50-head.html

Autumn colours at Burrington Combe on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

Autumn colours at Burrington Combe on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

The Wellington Monument on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset. A striking tribute sorely in need of repair.

The Wellington Monument on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset must be one of the most well-known, if not the most well-known, landmarks visible from the M5 south of Bristol.  Over the years millions of people must have viewed it as they travelled through the Vale of Taunton Deane.  Therefore, it is disappointing that the Heritage Lottery Fund has turned down an application for a contribution to the sorely needed funds required to carry out repairs to this striking monument.* 

The Wellington Monument on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

A National Trust information board at the monument explains why the repairs are needed.  It states: “A combination of its exposed position, unique shape, varying quality of construction and failed repairs has contributed to the current poor state it is in”.

A section of stonewall halfway up the Wellington Monument.  Apparently there are voids in the rubble filled walls which presumably exacerbate the problems caused by the ingress of rainwater. 

Erected in honour of The Duke of Wellington, the victor at Waterloo, the monument has a chequered history.  Suggested in 1815, it was not completed to its present height of 174ft until 1892 due to intermittent funding and the need for repairs following a lightning strike in 1846.  It was originally planned to have a statue of the Duke of Wellington at the top of the triangular column with 24 cannons and granite lions at its base.  There was also a proposal for three homes for Waterloo veterans, who would act as caretakers, to be built within the monument’s base.  No statue, veterans’ cottages or lions were forthcoming and although 4 cannons were installed in 1910 they were removed in 1940.  Today there is only 1 cannon on site, it was installed in 1984.

The National Trust took over the monument, and twelve and a half acres of surrounding land, in 1933.  By 1966 another sixty-two acres were in the care of the Trust.  From the spacious car park it is a pleasant, level walk through an avenue of trees to the monument where you can glimpse views over the Vale of Taunton Deane with the Quantocks, Brendons and Exmoor beyond. 

  

*Here is a link to an explanatory article on the ITV News Website.

http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2017-10-03/project-to-save-wellington-monument-suffers-setback/

Paul Mason, Labour supporter and former BBC journalist, warns the first six months of a Corbyn government would be "like Stalingrad".

This is an extract from an article entitled "Jeremy Corbyn: Its right to plan for a run on the pound" published on the BBC News website on 26th September.

"Labour's last election manifesto contained pledges to bring rail and water companies and Royal Mail back into public ownership as well as a number of other large spending commitments - to be funded by borrowing and higher taxes on business and the better-off.
Speaking on Monday, Mr McDonnell said a future Labour administration would not be "traditional" and "people want to know we're ready, and they want to know we've got a response to anything that could happen".
Labour, he argued, must "scenario-plan" for all kinds of potential challenges it might face in government "bringing the relevant expertise together at every level to talk through what happens if there is such and such a reaction".
"What if there is a run on the pound? What happens if there is this concept of capital flight? I don't think there will be, but you never know.
"We've got to start work now… how exactly are we going to manage these industries when we take them back into public ownership? And let's start doing the detailed work now. Let's start doing the consultations with consumers or passengers or whoever and also with local authorities and local councils or whoever."
A Labour spokesman said: "This was an exercise not done by us but by members. The scenarios were to deal with numerous events such as national disasters and acts of terror that could occur under any government."
Speaking at the same conference fringe event as Mr McDonnell, former broadcaster Paul Mason warned the first six months of a Corbyn government would be "like Stalingrad", with attacks from the establishment." 

I had this letter commenting on the views of Mr McDonnell and Mr Mason published in the Western Daily Press on October 10th.


Would Corbyn be a Nazi or a Communist?
During the recent Labour party conference John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said that a future Labour administration should have contingency plans for capital flight and a run on the pound.  I admire his honesty and forward planning in preparing for such an economic future under Labour.

Speaking at the same event as Mr McDonnell, Paul Mason, Labour supporter and former BBC journalist, painted a near apocalyptic picture of life with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.  He said the first six months would be “like Stalingrad”.  In Mr Mason’s scenario I wonder which role Mr Corbyn’s Labour would be playing, Hitler’s Nazis or Stalin’s Communists?

S.W.,

Ilminster, Somerset

I would have thought Leningrad a better analogy for a Labour government under siege, but who am I to question someone with such left-wing credentials as Mr Mason? 
Incidentally, the title for my letter was not mine. It was chosen by the WDP's letters editor.

   

100th Anniversary of the railway accident at Bere Ferrers, in the neighbouring county of Devonshire, which caused the death of 10 soldiers from New Zealand.

100 years ago this month, on September 24th, 10 soldiers from New Zealand were killed in a tragic accident at the railway station in the village of Bere Ferrers in Devonshire.

I came across the memorial to these New Zealanders when my wife and I drove to Devonshire to spend a day with our good friends Linda and Charles who were staying in a holiday cottage on the banks of the River Tamar near the village of Bere Alston.

Charles drove us over to Bere Ferrers where we all enjoyed a fine lunch at The Old Plough Inn.  Afterward we had stroll along the bank of the River Tavy, then a walk around the centre of the village where the war memorial stands in a position of prominence. 

The memorial to the 10 New Zealand soldiers who were killed in the accident at Bere Ferrers station on 24th September 1917. 

The men killed were among reinforcements for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and were travelling to Sling Camp on Salisbury Plain.  The reinforcements had arrived in Plymouth on board the troopships ULIMAROA and NORMAN and were heading east by train.  On leaving Plymouth they were told the next stop would be at Exeter for food, but unfortunately the train made an unscheduled stop at Bere Ferrers.  Many of the New Zealanders assumed they had stopped at Exeter and consequently jumped off the train keen to find food. 

Tragically they were hit by the oncoming London to Plymouth express.  The driver of the express came around a bend in the track on the approach to Bere Ferrers station and saw the troops on the track.  Although he applied the brakes immediately it was too late to avoid disaster.  Ten New Zealanders died and are at rest in Efford Cemetery in Plymouth.

For more information about this tragedy here is a link:  

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/bere-ferrers-rail-accident

Rural crime rockets. We are at "tipping point" say Avon and Somerset Police Chiefs.

Last month the front page headline of the Western Daily Press (August 14) informed us that “Rural crime rockets” in Somerset and Gloucestershire.  Next I read Martin Hesp’s column (Western Daily Press, September 6) in which he reveals that one of his farming friends told him: “There seems to be a wave of rural crime going on . . .".  Now the Western Daily Press (September 19), reports that Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens and Chief Constable Andy Marsh warn that Avon and Somerset Police are at “tipping point” as a result of having 655 fewer officers than in 2010.  They say that resources cannot be stretched any further.

The reduction in manpower has gone hand in hand with the closure of rural police stations.  In such circumstances it is hardly surprising that rural crime has rocketed. 

In Ilminster the former police station is being converted into 7 apartments.  The building will be named, appropriately, Peel Court.  Regrettably there will no longer be any “peelers” on the premises. 

The former police station in Ilminster, South Somerset is being converted into 7 apartments.  The building will be named, appropriately, Peel Court.   

Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, gives his view of "British values" in his speech at the party's annual conference.

Here is the section of Robin Tilbrook's speech which refers to the Conservative Government's view of "British values".

"The Government’s position is now that anybody who doesn’t subscribe to their definition of fundamental “British values” is automatically an extremist. So let’s examine what you have to sign up in order not to be an extremist according to the Gospel of Mrs May. Here is their definition of fundamental British values: -


The fundamental “British values” are: - of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”


Ladies and Gentlemen let us just go through this carefully with a lawyer’s eye to analysing the definition. Obviously by definition any English nationalist such as all of us here in this room will not subscribe to fundamental “British” values.


Ignoring the point that naturally if you were a Scottish nationalist or a Welsh nationalist in Scotland or Wales it wouldn’t be suggested that you should have to subscribe to British values, since they are allowed their own Nations! We are not!

But the definition of Theresa May’s so called “British values” goes further than that. This definition means that you couldn’t even be a biblically inspired Christian because you couldn’t subscribe to these fundamental British values if you believe what Christ says:- “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” then they define you as an “extremist”."

For the speech in full here is a link to Robin Tilbrook's blog:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/my-speech-to-english-democrats.html

A visit to the County Ground to view Somerset beating Lancashire by 7 wickets.

Today I was able to visit, for the first time this year, the County Ground in Taunton to watch the end of a rain-interrupted match between Somerset and Lancashire.  The first three days of this County Championship match had been cold, wet and windy - not the best conditions for watching cricket. 

Sun and blue sky over the County Ground at Taunton for the final day's play between Somerset and Lancashire.

However, on the final day, in bright sunshine, Somerset wrapped up the match just after midday.  Craig Overton took the last two remaining Lancashire wickets then Somerset knocked off the runs required: George Bartlett and captain Tom Abell saw them home to a 7 wicket victory.

The end of the match. Tom Abell and George Bartlett see Somerset home to a seven wicket win over Lancashire.