Transcript of letter sent to Secretary of State by my MP regarding funding of the new Canal & River Trust

After writing to my local MP Kelvin Hopkins outlining my concerns for the future funding of the new Canal & River Trust I received this reply from him which is a transcript of the letter he is sending to Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. When he receives a reply he will write to me again.

Dear Secretary of State,

I enclose a copy of a letter from a constituent, Mr David Winter of ( my address ) who is concerned about the transfer of British Waterways to charitable status.
Mr Winter is concerned that the projected funding for the new Canal and River Trust (CRT) will be insufficient over the ten year period of the initial contract. There is no allowance for inflation and according to British Waterway's own projections there will be a funding deficit of £20m which the CRT would inherit.

In addition, BW has a pension deficit of £65 million. Mr Winter maintains that there is a large dredging backlog requiring £8-12 million per year to stabilise as well as ensuring that drainage, navigation and environmental requirements are effectively maintained. In addition the rights of those who live on the canal are under threat of being reduced. I also believe that British Waterways or its successor body should not be exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act as there will continue to be a public interest in much of the work of the successor body.

Issues such as the sale or lease of lock-keepers cottages are also of concern, as there will be no professionals on site at locks to ensure their safe use.

I would be grateful for the points Mr Winter makes which are very worrying for the future of the waterways. I look forward to a reply to my letter in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Kelvin Hopkins MP

Man Posts Letters in Dog Poo Bin for Two Years.

Pensioner Alf Spence was in for a shock when he discovered that for the past two years he had not been posting his mail through a Royal Mail post box, but a council owned designated dog dirt box.
The myopic Word War II veteran, 91, from North Yorks had lodged a catalogue of complaints with the Post Office over his missing mail, but never did he think that his letters had never been properly posted.
The mistake was eventually pointed out to him by a passing dog walker who observed Mr Spence trying to post his three-year grandson’s birthday card into a dog poo bin located diagonally opposite the post box. She tapped him on the shoulder and asked what he was doing.
Mr Spence commented to the Sunday Sport: “I thought she was going to cry when I told her. She held my hand and pointed out that the postbox was on the other side of the road.
“I’ve not got the best eyesight these days but even so, the postbox and the dog dirt box are almost identical. They’re both red, the same shape and stuck on a post.
“I bet I’m not the only pensioner to get confused. The bloody council should never have put them so close together.”
Mr Spence has acknowledge that he owes Royal Mail an apology over his accusations, while North Yorkshire District Council admitted that they erected the dog waste bin in June 2009, coinciding with the timing that his letters mysteriously disappeared.
As yet, there is no word on whether anyone has experienced the reverse problem with the post box located on the other side of the road.

Car Number Plate Thefts

It makes you wonder what is going on in this country when you have to fit tamper proof screws to your car number plate to prevent them being stolen to be used in crime.Beds Police are running a campaign to fit these screws for free  (  http://t.co/4BDQWtO6 ) so today I went along to get mine fixed.

The Toyota has the rear number plate glued on so no problem there but when the officer above came to replace the two front screws it was found the threads were too large for his replacements so unfortunately I still have a number plate that's 'nickable'.

I will now contact Toyota to see if they can provide tamper proof screws as part of their service after all we pay enough.

Hedgehogs in Decline

There are 300,000 fewer hedgehogs in Britain than a decade ago,farming practices and larger fields are reducing their natural habitat and although there is an increase in traffic the sightings of hedgehog casualties has been in decline, which suggests that their numbers have reduced dramatically.To help in the effort to preserve their numbers I have constructed a hedgehog house,see the picture below.

The entrance is 15" in length and leads to a nesting box about 2' square covered in pond liner then earth to keep out the damp.I have seen a hedgehog in the garden on the odd occasion so I hope it makes use of my effort.



Dedicated to those that pay the ultimate price so others can live in peace.

Extract from

 The Shoes of the Fisherman

By

Morris West 

….Yesterday I met a whole man.

It is a rare experience but always an illuminating and ennobling one. It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price.

One has to abandon altogether the search for security and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to embrace the world like a lover and yet demand no easy return of love.

One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will, stubborn in conflict but apt always to the total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.



Sadly and with a heavy heart Millie had to be returned to the rescue centre

As a carer for my 88year old mother who can only sit in an armchair all day and not be able to move we decided that as we used to have a much loved dog it was a good idea to get a small one which would help to alleviate her boredom and constant thoughts of pain and to enable me to get out for three half hour walks a day up the local hills.
As a continuation of the previous post Millie finally ate her food after me worrying she was not eating.
Mum was made up with her but didn't like the way Millie kept jumping up on the furniture which was no big deal to me as I just kept picking her up and putting in her new bed which was all part of training.
Come 10:00pm mums diabetic blood sugars were raised significantly along with her blood pressure which all indicated she was getting stressed and at her age that's not good.

Plans were to put Millie in the kitchen with her bed but as soon as I shut the door she started whining and scratching at the door. After half an hour of trying without success I decided to put her bed in my bedroom as all she wanted was to be with company and not be left on her own. 1:45am Sunday Millie start to whine and sat up in her bed obviously just wanting reassurance so I gently petted her and she raised her paw for me to hold and licked my arm.After a couple of minutes she settled down and not a peep was heard until I got up and let her out into the garden at 7:00am.

Normally I check on mum before getting her breakfast but had decided that Millie had to have her walk first so out we went up the local hills for half an hour which she loved and what a beautiful morning it was.Getting back I let her go in the garden and watched as she tried to jump over the pond,yes you've guessed in she went.She scrambled out and looked very pleased with herself . I got the hose out and washed her down with no problem at all,how she loved being dried with a towel.

Went to see mum and she was very bad in bed, the excitement and stress had got to her which we had not expected at all.It was at this point that I decided mums health had to come first and that Millie would have to be returned to the rescue centre.I rang them up and they said it was ok to bring her back they would find room for her.Getting into the car park at the centre and opening the boot Millie knew where she was, she sat in the boot with her head lowered in despondancy as I took her name tag off.

I'm afraid I was just choked and very dewey eyed as I handed her back as I still am.I feel I have let a lovely animal down which I have never done but I know I have done the right thing as a carer.

Mum is still in bed (Tuesday) and hope that she will improve to get back in her chair.

So if I could make a plea to anybody who would like a 6 year old Beagle called Millie please contact
http://www.appledown.co.uk/ and enquire, I think she would love to live on a narrowboat with the freedom and constant company of a couple who would give her all the love she needs and would give back double the love shown.
She has no problem with children and takes no notice of other dogs and would make a great companion for someone.It is important to stress that she does not like being left alone due to her previous owners.So if you can help please do.

Woof Woof Woof Howl Woof.Dog speak for hello I'm Millie a 6 yr old Beagle

Millie 2 hours after leaving the rescue centre.

Millie is a 6 year old Beagle that has been at the http://www.appledown.co.uk/ rescue centre for two weeks,she was owned by a couple who had to give her away due to work commitments.They had to leave her indoors all day and wondered why she chewed everything and went mad at people passing the windows,they had tried pulling the blinds down but she wrecked 3 sets as she could still hear people passing.

When I opened the car boot to take her home she jumped in and would not get out as I wanted to give her a walk around the field before we left,so I had to lift her out as she laid on her back.She was constantly pulling on the lead so I shortend it so she was level with my legs,this helped a bit but not much.It was a calm journey home of about 7 miles with a few whines from the rear.

She doesn't seem to know what a toy is and is unresponsive when her name is called so I think a bit of tender loving care is called for.We went for a half hour walk tonight so she could do her buisiness and not too far as I think her leg muscles need strengthening up as well as mine but she still has not eaten although has drunk plenty.I rang the centre and they said don't worry she will eat when she's ready,so we will wait and see.