Posts

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How Many Activities?

I’ve spent the last couple of days writing a newsletter for the parents of our Beavers, Cubs & Scouts. I got landed with, er, volunteered for the job at our Group Executive last week.

Now I’ve finished it (just a load of printing to do now), I’ve realised what a lot of activities we’ve put on for the young people in our Group over the last year. Even though it’s nearly the end of the year there’s still activities to come. The Scouts even had a martial art demonstration last night in which they all participated in as part of their fitness challenge.  In fact we’ve got loads planned for next year as well.

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Warley MRC Exhibition

Dad and I went to the NEC on Saturday to visit the Warley Model Railway Club’s annual exhibition.

Very good it was too. It was absolutely packed as usual. Strangely they only seemed to use 3/4 of the hall, but there was as much stuff there as normal. Trouble was the hall was a bit badly laid out in places so there were a few crushes.

The 12 inches to the foot ‘models’ this year were a couple of industrial Hunslets.

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This one was built in 1971 (a very good year!) and the other in 2005.

I ended up with some Triang TT stuff and a couple of Video 125 DVDs. Good day out really!

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End of Centenary Celebrations

Yesterday I attended a service of thanksgiving for 100 years of Scouting at Lichfield Cathedral organised by the County. It was a nice way to end the year’s celebrations on a slightly more formal but relaxed note. This compares with the camps and other events we’ve been on!

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The Cathedral at 16.30

Here’s to 2008!

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Scouting Blogs

I’ve been reading the blogs of the three Scout Leaders linked on the right for a while now and very interesting they are too. I can’t remember how I found them initially, but they are worth a read. The only thing is, I can’t seem to find comparative blogs from UK Leaders. Now, the three Scouters in the States only talk about their Scouting on their blogs, where as I go on about anything that comes to mind, but still I can’t find anything comparable in this country.

I do find it interesting to see the US perspective, but I would like to see what my fellow Scouters in this country have to say!

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New toys from Microsoft!

Instead of writing this directly into my blog or using the Firefox plugin Deepest Sender, I’m using one of the new Widows Live tools, Windows Live Writer. And so far, I’m impressed!

Microsoft have released a whole load of tools under the Windows Live banners – Mail, Messenger, Photo Gallery, Writer, Toolbar and OneCare Family Safety. Best of all, they’re all free. Now that’s quite impressive from the company often known as M$! A lot of their products can be quite pricey at the best of times! Well done MS.

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Different Country, Same Problems!

I’ve just been reading this article (sorry it’s been removed) on the CBC website about the joys of ringing call centres in Canada. Now considering they’re at least 3000 miles away, it seems that they have exactly the same issues as we do.

What is worrying is that despite being two separate countries, with different companies and an ocean apart the same problems happen! Don’t these companies realise that holding on the phone for yonks is the best way to upset your customers?

There is a story on the BBC today of a man who had an issue with BT. It took months for him to get nowhere, so he posted a video on YouTube, told BT and hey presto, the issue was sorted! Companies don’t like bad publicity.

Another trick is to write directly to the chief exec of the company and demand a personal reply (you wrote to them so why get a customer service assistant’s reply?). That normally works! So, Mr. Dunstone, I’m waiting!

Another trick is when the company offers a phone number that costs you for the privilege of being on hold, use the Say No to 0870 website to find a free number. Make them pay to have you on hold!

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Remembering

After the Remembrance Day service at Church on Sunday, which, incidentally was quite well attended by the Beavers, Cubs & Scouts, I got home and after lunch got a phone call from our Assistant Cub Leader.
His Dad had shown him some photographs of some old Porthill Scouts, who were distant relatives of his, and were not mentioned on the Church's war memorial. It seems that our Troop had, in effect, two Troops. Our Church had a daughter church at Longbridge Hayes and the Troop had a patrol, Bulldog, based there. The two brothers in the photograph were both in Army uniform. One was killed in 1916 and the other in 1918. From what I've been told so far, all the members of Bulldog Patrol died in the Great War. All their names are listed on the old Church's war memorial and this still survives. If fact, I believe that the names of the dead are listed in the Book of Remembrance that is displayed in our Church.
As the Beavers & Cubs are meeting at Church tomorrow night, I think I will pop in and see if I can borrow the book. I'm pleased to say that I've found the two who have been brought to my attention on the Commonwealth War Graves website, Once I've found all the info on Bulldog Patrol, I'll be adding them to the Scout's Remembrance website.
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Remembrance Day

In Flanders Fields

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.
 
 
poppy11.gif
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Old Camera

While Mum & Dad were in China they took my digital camera! So on the day we went to Blackpool I didn't have a 'proper' camera to take with me (I have one on my mobile phone which I did use, see Blackpool post, but that doesn't count!).
Luckily I'd been clearing out some of my stuff at Mum & Dad's and found an old Kodak Retina 1 camera that used to belong to my Grandad. It's a pre-war design, although I think mine is post war, is manual focus, manual appature settings and you even have to set the shutter! 
However, I used it at Blackpool and at Kibblestone last weekend and got some good photos. Luckily when I guessed the settings, I nearly always got them right!
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Camping with Cubs

Just back from a weekends camping at Kibblestone with our Cubs and those from 99th Berry Hill. We stayed in the Cub Lair (it’s too cold for Cubs to sleep in a tent at this time of year) which I haven’t been in for years. I managed to go in the sleeping / activity area before the kids arrived and it smelt like it did when I was a kid of 3 when Mum & Dad took me to District Cub camps! Can’t beat a good wooden polished floor!

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The classic Cub Lair in the Autumn shot!

We had a good weekend and the kids were a good bunch and generally well behaved, well as much as 28 Cubs can be! The only exception was that they didn’t go to sleep properly until 3 am on Friday night! No such problems on the Saturday night though!

As we had a bit of a past, present and future theme going on, I finally got to wear my original 1930’s Scout hat I bought earlier this year.

Me in Scout hat

I had been feeling a bit jealous of BuffaloEagle, the Lone Star Scouter from Texas in the USA, as I’d been reading his Blog last week and in all of his photos there is a clear blue sky! All the times I’ve been camping this year, it’s rained! So of course as we were sleeping indoors this time, the weather was lovely, clear and not a drop of rain. It was a bit chilly, bit it is November after all! See here for all the photos.

There was a ceremony at the camp to commemorate an old District Treasurer that I went to while we were at camp. The District had donated some money in his memory to do up the archery area. Very nice it was too. While I was there though, I saw one of my old primary school teachers and his wife. I haven’t seen him for a good few years. He was taught at school by my Grandpa, he taught me and my sister and then some years later moved into the house next door to my other Grandma and Grandad! Small world really!

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Paul McCartney

We'd planned to spend part of last week in London at my Uncle's. On Tuesday, I got an e-mail telling me that more tickets to Paul McCartney's gig at the Roundhouse as part of the BBC's Electric Proms season were being released. Not thinking I'd get them I applied. I got 2 tickets!!!!!!
We had to go in the morning as the tickets were actually wristbands that had to be put on your wrist there and then.
 
Anyway we got there in the evening and went straight in. At just after 8.00 pm, there was the great man himself!!!
 

Paul

 
He played the following setlist – 
* Magical Mystery Tour
* Flaming Pie
* Got To Get You Into My Life
* Dance Tonight
* Only Mama Knows
* C'Moon
* The Long And Winding Road
* Follow The Sun
* That Was Me
* Here Today
* Blackbird
* Calico Skies
* Eleanor Rigby
* Band On The Run
* USSR
* House Of Wax
* I Got A Feeling
* Live And Let Die
* Hey Jude
* Let It Be
* Lady Madonna
* I Saw Her Standing There
* Get Back
 
Paul
 
The photos aren't great, but you get the idea.
 
The gig was great and it was really amazing to be able to see him in such a small venue! A 'splendid time was had by all' and we had a' fab' time!!!!!
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Local Rail Services 2

After I'd received the reply to my e-mail from East Midlands Trains , I thought I'd reply –

Thank you for your reply.

I have to say that I'm not over confident that the Crewe Derby route is going to be treated as a priority. You talk about the fact that ‘We will link stations progressively over the next few years and this will enable passengers to speak directly to an information controller….' Being cynical and based on the fact of the lack of investment and interest in the route by previous companies, I feel that the Crewe Derby route stations will be amongst the last to receive these improvements!

Of the 70 ticket machines you talk about, will Longport be included?

I also hear on the grapevine, and please correct me if I have misheard, that you are to run the single coach Class 153 units on the route, thereby reducing the seating capacity and moving the two car units to other areas.

My final worry is that you are expecting local authorities to pay for the upgrading of your stations! Why should they pay to improve your facilities when it is in your interests to improve services etc. to increase passenger numbers?

I'm sorry if this all seems a little negative, but local train services in North Staffordshire have been eroded away over the last 15 years or so and your predecessors seemed to treat this area as an inconvenience!

Yours sincerely

And the reply –

Thanks again for your email.

We will not be installing ticket machines into the Longport station.

We are proposing to run single coach Class 153 units on the Crewe-Derby route from December 2008, however, this has not been finalised. We are currently consulting with stakeholders on our proposed December 2008 and their feedback may have some bearing on this decision.

We do have funds to undertake station improvements however, we are also looking to local authorities to assist. We will be looking to invest in stations where we can make a valid business case for it.

Kind regards
David Horne
Mobilisation Director
East Midlands Trains

That reply doesn't exactly instil confidence does it? The trouble is that it's an East Midlands franchise serving the West Midlands / North West. Time will tell I guess, but I'm not holding my breath for improvements.

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Local Rail Services

I e-mailed East Midlands Trains last week to find out what they were planning with regard to our local train services. Here is the e-mail I sent –

Dear Sir,
I would be interested to hear what your company is proposing to do to improve the Crewe to Derby service and the stations along this line.
As the majority of this service is in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area, I am somewhat surprised that it is being run by a company whose main area of focus is the East Midlands. In the past, Central Trains and to a degree Regional Railways treated this service and its stations as an inconvenience and little or no investment has been made in the route. A lot of people in the North Staffordshire area aren't even aware that there are open stations at Longport or Longton!
In fact, one of the stations, Etruria, was closed two years ago. It is also noticable that the majority of stations currently operated by Central Trains (the exception being Kidsgrove) are unstaffed. Most of the stations are in a poor state of repair, although some new shelter facilities have been installed at Longport, but this was not financed by Central Trains! The stations do not provide a welcome to the travelling public – your potential customers!
 
Can you reassure me that the level of service you will provide, the state of the stations, the staffing of the stations and the publicity of the route will be improved when you take over the service?
 
Yours faithfully

And this is the reply –

The level of service will be broadly similar to that operating today, but from December 2008 there will be some changes to train times in conjunction with major timetable changes across the country. We have been told exactly when our trains can operate throughout the day by Network Rail.

East Midlands Trains (EMT) intends to deliver improved ambiance at all stations by investing in deep cleaning, painting, improved CCTV Help Points and signage.  The CCTV and Help Points will be connected to a new Information and Security Centre collocated with the new integrated control at Derby.  We will link stations progressively over the next few years and this will enable passengers to speak directly to an information controller to obtain accurate and up to date information.

 Further enhancements may be possible if local stakeholders are able to provide additional funding and a number of local authorities have already stated that they wish to join with EMT to improve stations.  

 We will also be installing over 70 ticket vending machines across our network.  Staffing levels will remain as now but our management arrangements will be developed to ensure that stations are kept clean and provide a welcoming environment for passengers.

Regards

Hmm, can't say I'm too reassured to be honest. I've got a copy of the new proposed 2008 timetable 😉 so I'd better take a closer look to see what's planned!

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Hospital Superbugs

I notice there is a lot in the news at the moment about superbugs in hospitals. This is quite a simple and easy problem to solve – clean the hospitals properly!
It seems the hospital trusts and their chief execs seem oblivious to this concept. As long as they can cut costs left right and centre and keep their huge salaries and benefit packages then it's 'I'm aright Jack'. But the best bit is that the high ups seem to make an utter pigs ear in one area, then move on to another and do the same. What are they and the people who employ them thinking?????