Health Warning . . . whilst I use this blog to talk about Mayoral duties this blog is still my own and the opinions I share here are mine and may not be attributed to any authority of which I am a member.
Today 2 of my 4 school age children are in school 2 are not. In the extra hour the 2 have been at home they have had 30 minutes of PE (or trampolining) and are now improving their co-ordination and geography skills exploring Donkey Kong country through the use of technology (Nintendio Wii). So at least they are destined not to missed out on a days education??????
I have often wondered what the impact is of public sector strike action and who is affected. I do think it should be remembered that regardless of what sector people work in there are some very hard workers in Britain and some massive challenges facing all. I do find it interesting that some people today are bashing the public sector over teachers strikes but have not recognised that teaching staff in independent schools may also have their pensions effected be changes .
So what has the strike achieved ?
Its caused me a problem with having my kids off.
made me aware that there are changes in education (OK I knew that any way but not everyone did)
given the message to my kids that if you don't like something you can just refuse to work
increased the respect I have for the teachers that have gone into work.
OK a little tongue in cheek, but today's strike action has not reduced the amount of widgets made etc so apart from raising awareness and having wandering blogs written about it there is little impact to the public at large its merely a way of getting a message across to and it's certainly got our collective attention.
Will it work? Not sure
Is it right? I never support strike action, my family suffered financially during my childhood and I remember being told off for eating the last slice of bread in the house whilst my father struggled on reduced hours caused by strike action.
Are there any good points? Yes Drayton Manor have a strike day offer 2 for 1 I believe
My message you can make your point in a number of ways and the best one is through hard work and discipline and dedication to others especially when the sun is shining in June.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
Speed Indication Devices for Amington
Following requests from the public and the matter being raised at PACT I have requested that the section of Tamworth Road Amington near to Florendine school recieves a set of temporary Speed Indication Devices to slow traffic down.
These will be in for a 3 month period from September to December and will light up to display whether or not a car is speeding as they aproach, these devices also record vechile speed which i will be looking at after the period. the great thing is even when the illuminated signs are turned off they are still recording speeds of cars etc.
I will Publish more information on this when I get it but in the mean time SLOW DOWN
Coton Green Pre-school Garden opening
This morning I was asked to open the new pre-school garden at Coton Green, It was great there was not only a load of space for the kids to play and learn but with the help of volunteers and fund raising they have a great sensory garden and wild flower bed.
Some of the funding for this project including the wooden bridge and bench was supplied by County Councillor Ben Adams' community fund which is available to community groups from their county councillors. This i felt was a great use.
There was a sense of pride in the kids there today who once opened walked round the garden watering plants with their watering cans, some sat on the bench and read books not forgetting to take a plastic frog along to listen too.
A little oasis in the middle of the community
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Rawlett Sports Celebration Evening
Had a wonderful evening at the Coton Centre last night attending the Rawlett Community Sports College Sports Celebration Evening. As I type this I am trying to think of anything missing form the evening, I know that sounds negative but the evening had the lot, an aspirational guest speaker -Craig Heap, a celebration of sporting success for the schools teams, awards and accredited qualifications for sporting work, celebration of individual's achievements in and out of school, dance/martial arts/gymnastic displays and even teachers being put on the spot. So it had everything i could have possibly wanted in the evening.
There were a fanastic amount of certificates given out to a variety of sports people and these included accredited Sports Leader Level 1 awards. These are not just about being good at a particular sport but are also about organisation skills coaching etc etc and not only take good performance on the pitch into account but also require a significant amount of classroom based work to achieve. As I sat and watched these being handed out i thought about the life skills that will be falling out of these achievements and that will stay with these young people for the rest of their lives. One phrase that was heard a few time was "sport changes lives" even one small steop at a time I feel it can and these awards can clearly be linked to that phrase.
Throughout the evening there was a sense of enthusiasm and achievement not only from the young people but also the staff and rightly so. The sports leader level 1 awards given out last night menas Rawletts have double the national average for a school, what a fantastic position.
There were 3 displays last night including karate gymnastics and boys dance. The great thing for me is that through the schools celebration of sports and performance arts a group of boys were able to perform without the stygma that I remember boys being subjected to when I was at school. The karate not only involved a huge range of moves but this was also done to music and perfectly in sync. For those who know me I am fond of gymnastics and really enjoyed the dispaly we saw last night which included gymnasts from all years of the school and involved a very much acro style, it was fantastic to see so much going on on stage at teh same time.
Afterwards I spoke to Mr Bassett and Mrs Middleton as I felt I had to say how impressed it was that the school also celebrated the sports success of it's students outside of school. We saw certificates presented and well as hearing stories as to what they had achieved on a county, regional, national and sometime international level. This for me was great as it not only celebrated their success but also rasied awareness of some of the sports including crown green bowling horse riding, snow boarding and ice skating. One that did stand out for me is the success of a student Claudia Walker who plays Girls Football for the girls England squad, not only this but she also travels to leicester every weekend to do coaching and training of others. she came across as well presented and polite, she was a pleasure to meet but more importantly she must be a huge inspiration to the other students there and across Tamworth.
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In the above photo you can not only see Claudia Walker but will notice she is also wearing Craig Heaps medals. Craig was last nights guest speaker and was invited as a British Olympian competing in the 2000 Sydney games. This blog entry is getting a bit long and i would not do Mr Heap justice but i will say he made a fantastic inspirational speech about starting from nowhere to achieving a dream and daring to try. He started gymnastic as a 9 year old bouncing around the house and then went on to have 2 golds at commonwealth and compete in the Olympic games, yes he is talented but he also knew what he wanted and worked for it. great inspiration to us all.
Fantastic evening I know i have missed a lot of what I wanted to say but there was just a huge amount of stuff going on.
There were a fanastic amount of certificates given out to a variety of sports people and these included accredited Sports Leader Level 1 awards. These are not just about being good at a particular sport but are also about organisation skills coaching etc etc and not only take good performance on the pitch into account but also require a significant amount of classroom based work to achieve. As I sat and watched these being handed out i thought about the life skills that will be falling out of these achievements and that will stay with these young people for the rest of their lives. One phrase that was heard a few time was "sport changes lives" even one small steop at a time I feel it can and these awards can clearly be linked to that phrase.
Throughout the evening there was a sense of enthusiasm and achievement not only from the young people but also the staff and rightly so. The sports leader level 1 awards given out last night menas Rawletts have double the national average for a school, what a fantastic position.
There were 3 displays last night including karate gymnastics and boys dance. The great thing for me is that through the schools celebration of sports and performance arts a group of boys were able to perform without the stygma that I remember boys being subjected to when I was at school. The karate not only involved a huge range of moves but this was also done to music and perfectly in sync. For those who know me I am fond of gymnastics and really enjoyed the dispaly we saw last night which included gymnasts from all years of the school and involved a very much acro style, it was fantastic to see so much going on on stage at teh same time.
Afterwards I spoke to Mr Bassett and Mrs Middleton as I felt I had to say how impressed it was that the school also celebrated the sports success of it's students outside of school. We saw certificates presented and well as hearing stories as to what they had achieved on a county, regional, national and sometime international level. This for me was great as it not only celebrated their success but also rasied awareness of some of the sports including crown green bowling horse riding, snow boarding and ice skating. One that did stand out for me is the success of a student Claudia Walker who plays Girls Football for the girls England squad, not only this but she also travels to leicester every weekend to do coaching and training of others. she came across as well presented and polite, she was a pleasure to meet but more importantly she must be a huge inspiration to the other students there and across Tamworth.
Fantastic evening I know i have missed a lot of what I wanted to say but there was just a huge amount of stuff going on.
Monday, 20 June 2011
End of road works gets moves closer. with Road Closures
So after weeks of mild irritation and only one complaint the road works around Ventura feel like they have always been with us but as you drive round you can see the signs of progress. Curbs have been moved, signal heads are up and holes are beginning to fill back up. It is no difficult to see the extra width and more tarmac that is going down as well as better pedestrian crossing points some with signals too.
Progress have been rapid and despite a few moans about the early start time the overnight working has been successful.
This week there will be a significant change to the retail park and we will all be struggling with overnight road closures, these are needed so that the roundabouts can bee resurfaced properly and efficiently.
Later this week the road between the large (sainsbury's roundabout) and Banatynes Gym will be closed over night with temporary traffic lights on the roundabout. this will allow for the roundabout to be closed a third at a time to be resurfaced overnight. so some nights traffic will travel the wrong way around the roundabout. there will also be diversions along the dual carriage way of Riverdrive including using using both sides for two way traffic.
so that's as clear as mud for you,
Basically the Bonehill road A453 will have overnight closures between Tame drive/Bittescote drive and Venura Park road.
If i can get a map i will share it here
As I write this I do not have all the details and what I get more I will update this blog.
Progress have been rapid and despite a few moans about the early start time the overnight working has been successful.
This week there will be a significant change to the retail park and we will all be struggling with overnight road closures, these are needed so that the roundabouts can bee resurfaced properly and efficiently.
Later this week the road between the large (sainsbury's roundabout) and Banatynes Gym will be closed over night with temporary traffic lights on the roundabout. this will allow for the roundabout to be closed a third at a time to be resurfaced overnight. so some nights traffic will travel the wrong way around the roundabout. there will also be diversions along the dual carriage way of Riverdrive including using using both sides for two way traffic.
so that's as clear as mud for you,
Basically the Bonehill road A453 will have overnight closures between Tame drive/Bittescote drive and Venura Park road.
If i can get a map i will share it here
As I write this I do not have all the details and what I get more I will update this blog.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Tina McBain's Coffee, Chocolate and Chat Morning
The morning was relaxed and enjoyable with a variety of different people coming through the door top support Tina and also the RNLI. The picture we are holding was Lent to us by the local branch of the RNLI who have recently raised the money to buy the D-Class lifeboat featured in the pic. Some of the money i will raise this year will go to keeping that lifeboat running.
During the morning a raffle was ran along with guess the weight of the cake, these raised over £100 on the day and tickets for the raffle are being sold until Friday 24th June so final totals are not in yet.
It was a really good morning in a nice venue looking out at Tamworth Town Hall.
Big Thank you to those who donated including Cabury's Tk Max Asda and many more. also thanks to Nicola Oates for her support. Finally we must all Thank Tina and Ian for putting this fundraiser on and kicking off a year of raising money for the RNLI.
Don't forget you can still donate via http://www.justgiving.com/Christina-Gibbons
Saturday, 11 June 2011
St Peter's Church AGM + Gala Day
Saturday 11th June 2011 and I attended an open morning at st Peter's church right in the middle of the Silver Link loop. This building is now 7 years old and is not only place of worship but also a set of community rooms both small and large.
The open day kicked off with a display from the Dance group that uses St Peters and we were treated to ballet displays and street dance displays, through out the day the fire service had an appliance on show and there were many other activities such as face painting and origami to get stuck into. There was a great sense of community and a sense of worth.
What I felt was clearly on display was that whilst anew big building may be a catalyst to changes a community facility can not become that purely by having a new building it's the people that make it a community facility. There are a number of groups who use the church which may otherwise be empty or closed during those hours. these groups are sometime small groups of interested people who meet in a relatively informal environment whilst others are structured classes like the dancers or Zumba groups. But if it wasn't for the drive of individuals these groups would not exist.
I was told the prior to the church being built the old community centre only had one group using it now there is something going on most mornings and evening at st peters church so the building has given an opportunity to do something that wasn't there before but the people the ones that make it happen. I got a real sense of that when I visited. the sense of community was certainly healthy and reaching into the area. A great success for all involved.
The open day kicked off with a display from the Dance group that uses St Peters and we were treated to ballet displays and street dance displays, through out the day the fire service had an appliance on show and there were many other activities such as face painting and origami to get stuck into. There was a great sense of community and a sense of worth.
What I felt was clearly on display was that whilst anew big building may be a catalyst to changes a community facility can not become that purely by having a new building it's the people that make it a community facility. There are a number of groups who use the church which may otherwise be empty or closed during those hours. these groups are sometime small groups of interested people who meet in a relatively informal environment whilst others are structured classes like the dancers or Zumba groups. But if it wasn't for the drive of individuals these groups would not exist.
I was told the prior to the church being built the old community centre only had one group using it now there is something going on most mornings and evening at st peters church so the building has given an opportunity to do something that wasn't there before but the people the ones that make it happen. I got a real sense of that when I visited. the sense of community was certainly healthy and reaching into the area. A great success for all involved.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Landau Forte 11- 16 centre New Build
Years of discussion & years of debate as to what is the best for the young people of Tamworth in regards to their education and for now i am not going to talk about governance etc of schools but I am going to talk about the new school being built at Amington.
I had the opportunity to visit the site back on a cold windy morning in February issued with a pair of black wellies, Hi-viz vest & hard hat, this visit was really a building sites, the floors were not in, many walls were missing and no sign of windows.
Now in June i have had the chance to walk around again with some local residents as well as site staff. The building have progressed well and the building almost feels finished except for final fit electrics and furniture etc. The think that really struck me was the brightness and level of natural lighting in the building along with the feeling of open space. really wide corridors with large glass walls at the end and widows around the top of the walls flooding in loads of light.
For a feel I have included this video, and the actual build is very similar it's almost confusing as to which is reality.
The new building is a fantastic new start for the school and is happening at the same time as so much in Tamworth including the post 16 centre, new fire stations and other development, it's quite an exciting time for Tamworth.
This is a real iconic building with a university feel to a high school.
I had the opportunity to visit the site back on a cold windy morning in February issued with a pair of black wellies, Hi-viz vest & hard hat, this visit was really a building sites, the floors were not in, many walls were missing and no sign of windows.
Now in June i have had the chance to walk around again with some local residents as well as site staff. The building have progressed well and the building almost feels finished except for final fit electrics and furniture etc. The think that really struck me was the brightness and level of natural lighting in the building along with the feeling of open space. really wide corridors with large glass walls at the end and widows around the top of the walls flooding in loads of light.
For a feel I have included this video, and the actual build is very similar it's almost confusing as to which is reality.
The new building is a fantastic new start for the school and is happening at the same time as so much in Tamworth including the post 16 centre, new fire stations and other development, it's quite an exciting time for Tamworth.
This is a real iconic building with a university feel to a high school.
Official Opening of Belgrave Community Fire station.
Guests witnessed a fantastic display of a rescue from a 2 storey property, The display took place in the training facilities built at Belgrave Community Fire Station.
My views are included in the start of the this video
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Success announced and Scouts District AGM
Scouts are one of the most recognised uniformed organisations for young people in the world and here in Tamworth the District held its AGM last night. In the last 5 years their numbers have increased by 44%, that's over 1070 young people involved in scouting in Tamworth.
This is fantastic and the benefits of the scouts to Tamworth and the young people of Tamworth are tremendous. Providing a sense of self worth, pride, value, leadership, community and so much more really shapes an individual for the rest of their lives and performance in the workplace.
There are some great people involved in youth provision in Tamworth and the Scouts cater for young people from young through to 25 yrs old with a huge array of activities including camps trips and even this year 4 people from Tamworth will be spending 3 weeks in Europe at the international jamboree.
Great work
This is fantastic and the benefits of the scouts to Tamworth and the young people of Tamworth are tremendous. Providing a sense of self worth, pride, value, leadership, community and so much more really shapes an individual for the rest of their lives and performance in the workplace.
There are some great people involved in youth provision in Tamworth and the Scouts cater for young people from young through to 25 yrs old with a huge array of activities including camps trips and even this year 4 people from Tamworth will be spending 3 weeks in Europe at the international jamboree.
Great work
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
DMS Whittington Field Gun Display
And They Let Me Have A Go
Wonderful afternoon today at Whittington Barrack for the first ever Navy Field Gun Run in Staffordshire. We were treated to a walk through demonstration of the field gun run followed by a full real time run involving 18 personnel taking about 90 seconds to put it together move it take it apart put it back together fire 3 rounds, move it again fire another 3 rounds swap the wheels whilst holding it all in the air and run it to the finish. a massive amount of detailed jobs to do in a tiny amount of time. I have made this sound a lot simpler than it was and have probably missed whole sections out.
The team, we saw today competed last weekend and have trained outside their normal military medical work, during lunch breaks and after work.
The history of the field gun run dates back to the Boer War and particularly the 119 day siege of Ladysmith, where defenders were helped enormously by the arrival of a Naval Brigade of 280 personal four 12 pounders and two 4.7inch guns. All of which traveled there by land having moved these guns over a number of physical barriers. All of the carriages and mountings had to be improvised there and then. Today we saw a display of the most recent type of race in which the gun is moved along a 85 yard track and then back again. To say is was amazing is an understatement, it was a fantastic display of precision and physical ability.
And to finish the afternoon off they let me and around 70 school children from the local primary school fire the gun, each having a turn. Notice the big grin on my face .
Wonderful afternoon today at Whittington Barrack for the first ever Navy Field Gun Run in Staffordshire. We were treated to a walk through demonstration of the field gun run followed by a full real time run involving 18 personnel taking about 90 seconds to put it together move it take it apart put it back together fire 3 rounds, move it again fire another 3 rounds swap the wheels whilst holding it all in the air and run it to the finish. a massive amount of detailed jobs to do in a tiny amount of time. I have made this sound a lot simpler than it was and have probably missed whole sections out.
The team, we saw today competed last weekend and have trained outside their normal military medical work, during lunch breaks and after work.
SPRINT The field gun competition at the HMS Collingwood Open Day. Picture: Steve Reid (112037-884)
The history of the field gun run dates back to the Boer War and particularly the 119 day siege of Ladysmith, where defenders were helped enormously by the arrival of a Naval Brigade of 280 personal four 12 pounders and two 4.7inch guns. All of which traveled there by land having moved these guns over a number of physical barriers. All of the carriages and mountings had to be improvised there and then. Today we saw a display of the most recent type of race in which the gun is moved along a 85 yard track and then back again. To say is was amazing is an understatement, it was a fantastic display of precision and physical ability.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Fund Raiser
Bolehall Manor club play host last night to a fund raising event for Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, the place packed it was fantastic to see so many people supporting this cause.
The RCDM provides immediate care and surgery to our injured soldiers and continues to provide rehabilitation care for all those injured in conflict and war. These nurses, surgeons and medics not only put our soldiers back together on the "front line" but they support them back to health on their return to the UK at Sellyoak. they are often the unsung heroes whilst the the media is full of pics of events in far flung lands. These people of performing some of the best medical work in the world.
We all owe a debt of Thanks to these medics and also our thanks to the people in the room last night organising events and raising funds. Often these specific charities are over shadowed by larger campaigns who also do fantastic work but often get the lions share of fund raising.
It was a privilege to meet some of the team last night and listen to some of their stories and here of some of the patients they have dealt with either in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the world as well as back in the UK at Sellyoak.
Great job being done.
The RCDM provides immediate care and surgery to our injured soldiers and continues to provide rehabilitation care for all those injured in conflict and war. These nurses, surgeons and medics not only put our soldiers back together on the "front line" but they support them back to health on their return to the UK at Sellyoak. they are often the unsung heroes whilst the the media is full of pics of events in far flung lands. These people of performing some of the best medical work in the world.
We all owe a debt of Thanks to these medics and also our thanks to the people in the room last night organising events and raising funds. Often these specific charities are over shadowed by larger campaigns who also do fantastic work but often get the lions share of fund raising.
It was a privilege to meet some of the team last night and listen to some of their stories and here of some of the patients they have dealt with either in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the world as well as back in the UK at Sellyoak.
Great job being done.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Tamworth Fitness Festival
Throughout today (4th June 2011) Tamworth Castle Grounds played host to the first Tamworth Fitness Festival, this was a community organised event which attracted thousands of spectators join in, watch and meet over 40 local groups and fitness companies from Tamworth.
The thing that continues to get me about Tamworth is the massive diversity of activities that are available.
I was there in the later part of the day as Mayor of Tamworth and managed to watch dance displays including a Zumba session (keep an eye out or the Mayors Charity Zumbathon coming soon). I also managed to meet some of the activity groups in Tamworth and some of the commercial club/gym operators, one of which is a fantastic story of achievement. LDFitness, a local firm owned and ran as a new family business starting in 2005 as a personal fitness training instructor now has a gym at Tame Valley and is looking to expand. certainly bucking the national trend.
With all these events and groups in Tamworth there is no excuse not to get involved, we all need to shout about them and look at ways to find them online etc.
Today was a great event that showcased what Tamworth has to offer and also a credit to the community members who put it together with the support of Tamworth Borough Council's events and sport development staff.
Well done to all
The thing that continues to get me about Tamworth is the massive diversity of activities that are available.
I was there in the later part of the day as Mayor of Tamworth and managed to watch dance displays including a Zumba session (keep an eye out or the Mayors Charity Zumbathon coming soon). I also managed to meet some of the activity groups in Tamworth and some of the commercial club/gym operators, one of which is a fantastic story of achievement. LDFitness, a local firm owned and ran as a new family business starting in 2005 as a personal fitness training instructor now has a gym at Tame Valley and is looking to expand. certainly bucking the national trend.
With all these events and groups in Tamworth there is no excuse not to get involved, we all need to shout about them and look at ways to find them online etc.
Today was a great event that showcased what Tamworth has to offer and also a credit to the community members who put it together with the support of Tamworth Borough Council's events and sport development staff.
Well done to all
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