David Allen, English Democrats' Mayoral Candidate, excluded from Sheffield City Region Election Hustings.

David Allen the English Democrats' candidate in the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Election was one of two candidates excluded from an election hustings organised by Sheffield for Democracy – a name which seems rather inappropriate in the circumstances!

According to a report in The Star hustings event co-ordinator Vicky Seddon said they had “nothing to apologise for” and the move was “perfectly legitimate”.  She said the candidates from the respected (sic) parties were chosen on the amount of councillors and prospective candidates standing in local elections in South Yorkshire.

Oh well, that’s democracy in Sheffield for you!

Here is a link to the story:

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/sheffield-city-region-mayoral-candidate-felt-discriminated-against-after-snub-from-hustings-1-9135753

For readers interested in David Allen’s views and policies, the words below were taken from his Election Address in the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Information Booklet.

“I was born in Doncaster and have been based here all my life. I have an engineering and sales background and I am married with two daughters. I am a proud Yorkshireman but even prouder to be an Englishman. I campaigned and voted for England to leave the EU, just like majority of the people of South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire in particular and also Yorkshire as a whole would be better served by an English national parliament that could fairly distribute taxpayer’s money. The British government's various devolution arrangements for the UK have granted a national parliament for Scotland, and effectively the same for Wales and Northern Ireland. British establishment Remainers who hate the very idea of England, instead intend to break England up by forced ‘regionalisation’ against the will of our people. If elected I would do everything in my power to prevent the implementation of an EU Region by the anti-English Remainers within the British State and by local MPs!

Vote for me and I shall be a strong voice for England and I shall block the creation of a new tier of "Regional" government for the bogus EU Region of "Yorkshire and the Humber" - which includes part of North Lincolnshire and excludes parts of our traditional county!

The people of South Yorkshire voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. I guarantee to represent the democratically expressed wishes of the people in our desire for a meaningful and swift exit of the EU and regaining control of our borders, our laws and ending mass immigration.”

The Labour Party's reluctance to talk about England makes it sound "out of touch with millions of voters".

In a recent post on his blog Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the English Democrats, drew attention to an article by John Denham, former Labour Cabinet Minister and now the Professor of English Identity and Politics at Winchester University.  In the article entitled Why does our Labour Party refuse to talk about England?  Mr Denham bemoans the fact that the Party appears extremely reluctant to even mention the word “England”.  Below are a couple of paragraphs from the article:

“The 1997 Labour government did not make a serious attempt – despite John Prescott’s best efforts – to shift power and resources out of London. England saw no constitutional change (except, ironically, in London). England needs devolution today because the last Labour government, of which I was a part, failed. Labour members should be asked about the governance of England as a whole: how power and resources will be devolved, how laws for England are made, and about England’s relationship with the rest of the UK.

The party must stop talking as though England and Britain are the same thing. This lazy confusion feeds nationalist propaganda in Scotland, discourages party members from thinking about England’s needs and makes us sound out of touch with millions of voters.”

Here is a link to the entire article:

https://labourlist.org/2018/04/john-denham-why-does-our-labour-party-refuse-to-talk-about-england/

After reading the whole article I am tempted to think that nothing much has changed in the 78 years since George Orwell wrote the following words in his essay The Lion and the Unicorn: 

“In left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution, from horse racing to suet puddings.  It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during ‘God save the King’ than of stealing from a poor box”.

Margaret Bondfield first woman Cabinet Minister. Commemorated on a Blue Plaque in Chard, Somerset.

All the recent media reporting of bullying and harassment of women staff and MPs in Parliament reminded me of a Blue Plaque on a wall next to the entrance to The Guildhall in Fore Street in Chard, Somerset.  It commemorates Margaret Bondfield who was born in Chard and became the first woman cabinet minister.

The Blue Plaque next to The Guildhall in Chard commemorating Margaret Bondfield, the first woman Cabinet Minister.

Margaret Grace Bondfield was born on 17 March 1873 in Chard, Somerset.  She was the tenth of eleven children born to William Bondfield, a foreman laceworker, and his wife Anne Taylor.  She became a shop assistant working in Brighton at the age of fourteen and joined the National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks and progressed to hold prominent positions in the Trade Union Movement.  She was elected as MP for Northampton in 1923, after two previous attempts, to become one of the first three woman Labour MPs.  She failed to retain her seat in the 1924 General Election but returned to Parliament after winning the Wallsend by-election of 1926.

After Labour’s 1929 election victory she became Minister of Labour, the first woman cabinet minister and privy councillor, a position she held until 1931.  After losing her Wallsend seat in the 1931 General Election she never returned to Parliament, but continued to play an active role in public life including undertaking speaking tours in North America for the British Information Service between 1941 and 1943.

Feeling “no vocation for wifehood or motherhood”, she devoted her life to the Trade Union Movement and died unmarried in 1953.

The Guildhall, Fore Street in Chard, Somerset.

Margaret Bondfield must have been a remarkable woman having succeeded in public and parliamentary life long before “women-only short lists” and “gender equality” were ever thought of.  

Source:

https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/31955

Rooks nesting high in the trees alongside Donyatt Cutting in South Somerset. A sign of a good summer?

Following another two weeks of wet, windy and miserable weather yesterday was a sunny day – a chance to get out and about!  Back in March I was told the rooks were building their nests high in the trees, a harbinger of a good summer.  I decided on a walk through Donyatt Cutting on the old Taunton to Chard railway line to check out the rookery there.

The rookery at Donyatt Cutting in South Somerset

The rooks did indeed seem to have built their nests high despite the very frequent strong winds we have had so far this year.  After walking through the sheltered tree lined cutting, now a footpath and cycleway, I reached Donyatt Halt where I stopped for a rest on one of the convenient benches on the restored platform.  Enjoying the view over toward the village of Donyatt, I noticed the field on the bank of the River Isle was waterlogged – another consequence of the recent dismal weather.

The view on April 18th 2018  from Donyatt Halt toward the village of Donyatt in South Somerset.

After five months of gloomy weather I hope the folklore regarding the rooks is accurate.

Farm animal welfare. Government moves on live exports positive, but more needs to be done.

The National Farmers’ Union estimates that in 2017 20,000 live sheep, but no live cattle, were exported to the European Union.  However, British Veterinary Association President John Fishwick has said: “Animals should be transported on the hook, as meat, not on the hoof, as live animals”.  Therefore the statement from Michael Gove that the Government is considering a ban on the live export of animals is welcome.

Be that as it may, in September of last year Farmers Weekly reported that, according to the British Veterinary Association, animal welfare standards are being unnecessarily lowered by a sharp rise in the slaughter of non-stunned animals. Gudrun Ravetz, BVA Senior Vice President, was quoted as saying: “This huge increase in the number of sheep, goats and poultry that are not stunned or not stunned effectively before slaughter is a grave concern to our profession.”  She went on to say that the number of halal slaughters had outstripped demand from the religious sector and is being sold to the general public unlabelled.

Obviously Michael Gove is moving in the right direction on farm animal welfare, but he should go further and ensure farm animals are effectively stunned before slaughter.  If he does not, at the very least he should ensure that religiously slaughtered meat is labelled as such.  When buying meat products consumers may wish to consider how it was prepared, and make an informed choice in the same way as they are able to do regarding organic food.

In a field in Dorsetshire during April.

Incidentally, as far as I am aware, the only party manifesto calling for an end both to farm animals being exported live and being religiously slaughtered is that of Anne Marie Waters’ For Britain Movement.  I somehow doubt that the Conservative or any other ‘liberal’ establishment party has the inclination or will to go that far.  

A view of the Dorsetshire countryside in April.

The English Democrats' David Allen stands as candidate for Mayor of Sheffield City Region.

At the moment there is not enough electoral activity going on in Bristol and Somerset to galvanise the interest of any members of the English Democrats Party in the area.  In such circumstances it is little wonder that, as far as I can tell, the Party in The South West seems to be in a state of hibernation. 

Be that as it may, there is action in The North!  Yorkshireman David Allan, a stalwart party activist, has stepped up to the plate again as the English Democrats’ candidate in the forthcoming mayoral election for Sheffield City Region.

After the recent set-to in the law courts between the English Democrats and the Electoral Commission over the form of words allowed as a registered party description on ballot papers, for this election the English Democrats will be highlighting their core policy and USP.  David Allen is using the description English Democrats – “A Parliament For England!”  A good choice I reckon - keep it clear and simple!

This is from an English Democrats’ press release:
"David will be standing against Labour’s Dan Jarvis.  David is a real Yorkshireman, born and bred in Yorkshire and has an established track record of standing in elections in South Yorkshire, where he was one of only three candidates who saved his deposit in the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Mayoral election in 2012 and came second in the first South Yorkshire Police Commissioner election.  David is also the Yorkshire General Secretary of the Workers of England Trade Union.

David aims to offer the electorate of South Yorkshire a proper English nationalist and Leave supporting candidate as the only realistic opposition in South Yorkshire to the Internationalist and Remain supporting Labour candidate.

David Allen said:-  I believe that if South Yorkshire is to have a directly elected Mayor, which the British Establishment parties have decided is going to happen whether the people of South Yorkshire want it or not, then the people of South Yorkshire do at least need to be able to vote for a patriotic, South Yorkshire born and bred patriotic English candidate, who reflects the democratic will of the people of South Yorkshire to Leave the EU and to get our country back, not only from the undemocratic EU, but also from the undemocratically minded British Political Establishment “Cartel Parties” that are hell-bent on trying to undermine our traditional English communities and Nation.”

The loss of the destroyer HMS HUNTER during the First Battle of Narvik. One of her officers is remembered in Ilminster cemetery, South Somerset.

I have taken many a walk over and around Beacon Hill on the outskirts of Ilminster in South Somerset.  There are views to enjoy toward the Blackdown Hills to the south-west, the Quantock Hills beyond Taunton, and the Mendip Hills to the north.  I sometimes take the footpath alongside the B3168 toward Ilminster which passes the town’s cemetery on the western slopes of Beacon Hill.  Close to the railings which border the cemetery is the grave of members of the Maidlow family, the headstone has a number of memorial inscriptions one of which reads:

 ‘H.R.M. ‘Dick’ / Lt. R.N. / killed at Narvik / 1917-1940’

A little research revealed that this intriguing inscription was in memory of Henry Richard Mundon Maidlow who was killed while serving as a Lieutenant on board the destroyer HMS HUNTER during the First Battle of Narvik.

HMS HUNTER was an ‘H’ class destroyer of 1,340 tons built by Swan Hunter and completed in the autumn of 1936.  She was capable of 35.5 knots and had a main armament of four 4.7in guns and eight 21in torpedo tubes.

Having already been active in the Norwegian Campaign, HUNTER took part in the First Battle of Narvik on 10 April 1940.  The action commenced at 0430hrs.  Opening fire and launching torpedoes, HUNTER and 4 of her sister ships from the Second Flotilla attacked German destroyers and merchant ships in the port of Narvik on the shores of Ofotfjorden.  Six merchant ships were sunk, as were two German destroyers with three further destroyers damaged.  As the British ships withdrew, the remaining German destroyers fought back damaging HMS HARDY so severely she had to be run aground whilst HUNTER was hit by gunfire and then collided with the also damaged HMS HOTSPUR.  HUNTER subsequently sank while HOTSPUR managed to escape with the help of the other two destroyers HMS HAVOCK and HMS HOSTILE.  As the British ships withdrew they came upon the German ammunition supply ship RAUENFELS which was engaged and sunk. 

Of HUNTER'S crew of 145, 107 men were killed, the survivors being rescued from the freezing waters by German destroyers; 5 more men died of wounds later.  Amongst those lost 78 years ago today was Lt. Maidlow.  He is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial and also in Ilminster’s Church of St. Mary, together with 29 others, on a memorial tablet with the words “ILMINSTER ROLL OF HONOUR.  THIS TABLET IS ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THE SONS OF ILMINSTER WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES ON ACTIVE SERVICE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945”.

The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack on The Esplanade overlooking Watchet Marina on the Somerset Coast.

It was a pleasant April day – pleasant days have been a rarity so far this year – so my wife and I decided on an afternoon drive up the A358 toward Watchet on the coast of Somerset.  The road was not very busy at all so it was an enjoyable saunter to Williton viewing the Quantock Hills to our right and the Brendon Hills to our left.

In Watchet we left the car in the spacious car park off Market Street and headed, in welcome sunshine, for The Esplanade.  The splendid life size statues of The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack, both by Scottish sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, are in proportion to their surroundings and are an asset to the area overlooking The Marina.  Another pleasing sculpture was Watchet’s war memorial, next to the Library, which has a cross and inscription panel supported by a pier of sandbags – an unusual, but somehow fitting design.  After enjoying the view from The Esplanade we spent some time in the small, but extremely informative and well-presented Museum before heading out along the harbour wall to the lighthouse.

By the time we reached the lighthouse it was beginning to get a little chilly so as we headed back to the car we decided to search for something to eat.  On turning into Swain Street from Market Street we found Sam’s Deli, and a couple of warm sausage rolls served by a friendly and obliging young woman and man.

After a very agreeable afternoon in Watchet we headed on along the B3191 to Blue Anchor to re-join the A39 for Williton, then home to South Somerset.  

 

The statue of The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade overlooking the Marina and Harbour at Watchet on the coast of Somerset. 

The Ancient Mariner.

The words on the plaque at the base of the Statue tell the tale.

“This statue was commissioned in 2002 by the Watchet Market House Museum Society.  It was sculpted by Alan B. Herriot of Penicuik, Scotland and erected in 2003 as a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

This renowned poet resided for some years at the nearby village of Nether Stowey.  In 1797, whilst on a walking tour, Coleridge visited Watchet.  On seeing the harbour he was inspired to compose one of the best known poems in English literature, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.”

The statue of John Short ("Yankee Jack") on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

Yankee Jack.

An information board on The Esplanade tells the story of the life of Yankee Jack.  Here are a few paragraphs from that story.

“JOHN SHORT (“YANKEE JACK”), 1839-1933”

"The adjacent statue was erected as a tribute to John Short, Watchet’s famous shantyman.  For over 40 years as able seaman and later as bos’un he sailed the world in a great variety of sailing ships.  In the 1860s some of John’s ships ran the blockade in the American Civil War and because of this he was affectionately awarded the nickname of “Yankee Jack” by Watchet townsfolk.

It was a tradition aboard large sailing ships for sailors to sing sea shanties.  This assisted them to work together when hoisting sails or walking around the capstan etc.  John Short’s strong and tuneful voice often led him to take the role of solo shantyman, and over the years he memorised the words and tunes of dozens of shanties, including the well-known Rio Grande, Shenandoah, Blow the Man Down, A Roving and Spanish Ladies. 

In 1902 he was appointed as Watchet’s Town Crier and later took charge of the town’s fire brigade.  He continued to sing with other sailors around the harbourside and occasionally at local concerts.

In 1914, at the age of 75, he was introduced by the Reverend Dr. Allen Brockington, of nearby Carhampton, to Cecil Sharp, an eminent collector of folk songs and shanties.  Sharp was very impressed with the old sailor’s singing and declared that “John Short’s rich, powerful, yet flexible voice would excite the envy of many a professional vocalist”.   

Later Sir Richard Terry, another distinguished collector, visited John to gather and publish yet more shanties from his repertoire.  Had these two renowned gentlemen not met “Yankee Jack” many delightful old songs of the sailors could have been lost for ever."