Papalscope December 2006

PAPALSCOPE DECEMBER 2006 .

On the evening of Wednesday the 13th.December 2006. The Salisbury District Cabinet accepted the Hindon Lane Planning Brief unanimously.

This is no sort of a Planning Permission. The whole issue may well remain on the shelf for many years to come, or there is the possibility that an Application to build on the site might be forthcoming in the immediate future.

It is entirely understandable that neighbours of any such development, feel concern for how it will affect their own ambiance. Some of their effective observations have now been incorporated into the Planning Brief.

With great respect to the views of all those who have so far opposed this application; Much of their overall argument lost coherency somewhere down the line. Inexplicably the term ‘Stag at Bay’ comes to mind.

One objector advised that three planning applications on the site have been turned down previously. This is not so the information is erroneous. Another tells of a lack of Employment in the Village, thus the danger of Tisbury becoming a ghost town during the day. This objection ends with the comment ‘Build on the Parmiter Site’. Another Objector mentions that Estate Agents already have vacant work units elsewhere. I am sure they have, probably that because they are wrongly located, and too expensive for the Market. Employment is needed locally. The Village has no call for new Commuters or more of my fellow Retirees, especially any with an I’m alright Jack attitude. One needs generosity of fore sight beyond ones own immediate convenience. ‘ Après moi le Deluge’ (Louis xv) just isn’t good enough. One might go on taking pot shots at many similar undoubtedly sincere individual comments .

The TisVis Parish Planning Group treated us to the information that 90% think that Tisbury should not expand beyond its current Housing Boundary. What sort of an objection is that? Hindon Lane is within the building Boundary, The Station Works site well beyond it. Is this Planning Group aware of that basic fact? Heaven help the Village if such a Quango is to have any influence on future development. The ambiguity of the TisVis Questionnaire was bad enough. This statement is but another nail in its credibility. (yes the writer was on the TisVis committee when the Questionnaire was formulated, but not on the sub-committee that produced it.)

The proposed builder of houses at Station Works objected to the approval of this Planning Brief. ‘Well he would wouldn’t he’ to quote that famed ‘Mandyism’, her not him.

There are genuine expressions of concern over this proposed development, but it is an undeniable fact that most of the points raised are equally applicable to any alternative housing development at the Station Works site, or elsewhere come to that. Unfortunately Tisbury is to have a large Estate somewhere, it is no longer a matter of WHETHER we are to have one. Narrow roads will not affect the situation. As for the objection from Ansty Parish Council concerning an increase of Traffic through their Parish. Are they aware that if there is no building at Hindon Lane, more probably than not there will be sixty plus houses on their doorstep at Station Works?

It may so be that local Management made a fundamental error when dividing Village Opinion at the outset . For it set those who wished to see Station Works redeveloped as a Worksite, against the residents of Hindon Lane who hoped it could be redeveloped with houses. Houses that otherwise would be built on Hindon Lane. I recall that one of our current Parish Councillors wrote to Western Area Planning on the lines that ‘they had exhibited a lack of skill’ .Would not such comment be more applicable to some in our Village?

Neither site affects me personally. However from the very outset I have been against the Village losing Station Works. I have written every letter that seemed appropriate, even done door to door mail shots. I attended every appropriate Parish Council and District Council meeting that was at the time considering the matter. Well all except one when I was in hospital. ( I don’t think there was a plot to send me there)

I have found Current Forward Planning Officers amenable to consultation. I am unaware that they are driving the Councillors’ Agenda, nor see any need that some have abused Officers personally. Both Western Area and the Cabinet Committees have listened patiently to either side of the various arguments.

I regret to say that I found no such forbearance when making representation to the Tisbury Parish Council. Any time I have availed myself of their open invitation to address them prior to a Parish Council Meeting, the ‘Vibes’ seemed to indicate that I might be saying things, some had no wish to hear. On one occasion I was interrupted by the Chair in mid-spiel with the information that my time would soon be up. As it happened I was reading what I had to say, and had duly timed it before hand. Irrespective of that even if I had needed to run overtime, it would not have been inappropriate to stretch the ‘Three Minutes’ allowed on these occasions, since mine was the only voice defending the Status Quo of Station Works. Whilst mentioning that matter, would it not be more appropriate if we were invited to address the Parish Council immediately before the appropriate Agenda item, rather that at the start of the meeting?

I shall never understand how it was that the then Tisbury Parish Council saw fit, to all but wave through the initial planning application to build houses on Station Works. This application must surely have been the most important to have become before our Council in years. There was no discussion, other than that one Parish Councillor enquired whether the letter I had written to the Meeting might be read out. How on the earth can the effective loss of such an important work site, merit such a dismissive attitude?

Things were no better when the second application was submitted. A Parish Council is in office to reflect ALL local opinion. THEY are not a Planning Authority, nor is it their job to dream up new pedestrian bridges over the Nadder. In fairness to those Parish Councillors then holding Office, two have made representation to Western Area and the Cabinet supporting the Hindon Lane Brief. Our former District Councillor Roy Frankland too, he being the leading proponent concerning the retention of Station Works.

NOBODY MAKES ANY SUGGESTION THAT SOME FIRM IS LIKELY TO COME ALONG AND RENT OR BUY STATION WORKS AND USE ITS CURRENT CONFIGURATION. Of course it is not viable. Some years back the Village was invited to visit the premises, see it at work. Even then one wondered at its viability. This Premises is now owned by one of the big players in the property game. If, probably when, they receive Planning Permission on the site, they will be converting a modest cost into a relative fortune. Government legislation may well enable this to happen. However losing Station Works is not in the better interest of Tisbury as a Community. Neither is it in the interest of those who follow on.

It is not ‘Our’ job to aid and abet the legitimate interest of the share holders in the St.Modwyn Group. It would be better for the Village if the site was levelled and rebuilt with the smaller units that meet the demands of local employers, and needs of the Tisbury Working man and woman. This site is an irreplaceable planning anachronism. I am sorry if its retention as a workplace, is a financial burden on the profits of its owner.

Even so I fear that Tisbury may, in the not too distant future find itself hosting not one Estate of sixty plus houses, but two. That would not have happened had the Parish Council been supportive of the legitimate needs of the Tisbury Workforce, and thereby the expansion of local services.

One needs to bear in mind that the fact one holds an opinion does not necessarily mean that one is right. But it is always easier to run with the seemingly common cause, than oppose it. As John Wayne said in Stagecoach .‘A man got to do, what a man got to do’ . Maybe he was right doesn’t Stagecoach now run our railways?

Possibly the matter was better expressed in lines ‘3&4’ by the son of a one time Tisburian. I Give the rest too.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling.

PAPALSCOPE DECEMBER 2006

Papalscope December 2006.

Last week the Tisbury Nadder Hall hosted it’s first meeting of the Salisbury District Council Western Area Planning Committee, since that Hall’s refurbishment.

The well attended Meeting ran overtime. Much of the large audience was there because the Planning Brief for the Hindon Lane Site was up for determination.

Several members of the Public spoke. Objectors to the plan again over spilled their allotted time of ten minutes and even came back for ‘Seconds’ later. The Deputy Chairman of the Parish Council reiterated its conclusions on planning detail.

Three others spoke in support of accepting the Planning Brief. Former Tisbury District Councillor Roy Frankland stressed the need for more housing and also the need for the Station Works Site to be retained for its current use as a work area. Ms. Corp pointed out that the percentage of dissenters referred to, were mostly residents of Hindon Lane. This speaker’s late mother served as our District Councillor for many years. The third speaker merely commended his Representations nos. 25 and 78 as attached to the Agenda. These suggested to the Forward Planning Department that he had no wish for large scale development anywhere in Tisbury, but that if we have to have it, he would be prepared to see it anywhere other than at Station Works. Another suggestion he propounded was that there was little necessity to have B1 work places on the Hindon Lane Site, as all such work area would better be located at Station Works.

There was a letter objecting to the proposed Development from the Ansty Parish Council. Surely that Village would not prefer the sixty houses to built at Station Works?

Western Area was very sympathetic to the circumstance of Hindon Lane Residents, as are we all. The matter was intensively discussed. The Forward Planning Officer frequently had to explain that no one was granting any sort of Planning Consent, nor would the draft become any sort of precedent either for this site or at any other in the Salisbury District Council area. Even so hypothetical details remained debating points for some. Apart from the matter of a roundabout, there was the problem of the three story buildings, or are they two and a half story? Nobody wanted them on the skyline. There was also reservation made concerning the ‘siting’ of some B1 work units, and the unacceptability of a swimming pool.

A very worthwhile Contribution to the Debate came from Councillor Anthony Brown-Hovelt of Wilton. I believe he evolved the suggestion that if one had fewer B1 units then one might have more houses and so be able to reduce the height of some. Further more I believe that it was he who pointed out that the planning aspect of Hindon Lane was done and dusted. He suggested that the proper time for many of the arguments currently voiced, had been when the Salisbury District Plan went to Appeal.

Both these points had previously been made by Papalscope.

Where were the Hindon Lane Residents then, did they make representations, did their Parish Council do so? I think not, I recall that the Fonthill Estate did, and some chap in Upper Chicksgrove did, because he was aggrieved that ‘his’ patch had been excluded from the Plan.

‘There is a season unto everything in life’

Was the plan; that one way or another cost you and I unquantifiable hundreds of thousands of pounds, draw up solely by the oft criticised Forward Planning Department of the Salisbury District Council ? I think not, input to it was far more local than that. Seemingly our then sole District Councillor does not now approve of this proposed Development. Maybe we might enquire which Councillors’ names appeared as Parties to that part of the plan that affected Tisbury?

The Current Forward Planning Officer confirmed that the site had been to Appeal, and that the Inspector had recommended it as suitable for a mixed development such as is now proposed. As I understood the situation, the Planning Office will now take all points raised at the meeting, back to the Proposed Developer.

Thus the Planning Brief eventually received the support of Western Area, with reservations. It is due for consideration by the Cabinet, at their Meeting to be held at The City Hall Salisbury, on the 13 December 2006. That meeting commences at 4PM. And is open for members of the public to attend .

It must have been encouraging for Councillors to see so much local interest in their deliberations at the Nadder Hall. My immediate neighbour there, was impressed not only by the complication of their work, but too the amount of careful consideration given not merely to this Planning Matter and another locally, but to the problem that Dinton has got concerning the parking of Trailer Containers on the former MOD site. Seemingly we are becoming more urbanised by the day. Will RAF Chilmark befall a similar fate ?

‘PALONIAN-ISMS’
(you read the word first here)
‘ And this above all, unto thine own self be true, and it shall follow as the night the day, thou cant’s not then be false to any man.’ William Shakespeare.

Next May, Salisbury is to have a District Council Election, and hopefully Elections for each of the Tisbury Parish Councils. I believe that at least one of the Tisbury District Councillors will be standing for re-election. Fortunately Tisbury does not suffer the stranglehold of any inadequate Political Party. It is still possible here, to remain an Independent and be elected to the Office of District Councillor. It is thereon in, that one is disadvantaged by the Party Political System. Everyone of us has a right to stand, providing one can get a handful of locals to sign ones Nomination Paper. One does not have to seek any other sort of Approval, nor attach oneself to any particular Group.

WELL IS IT YOUR TURN NOW ? Very probably it is . Why not stand as a candidate in the Local Elections next May either to become a Parish Councillor, or a District Councillor ? There is no deposit to be paid or lost, no ignominy in apparent failure.

I have long been interested in local Government, having stood on two separate occasions as an Independent Candidate for Election to the New Forest District Council. (It was there on the day of Mrs Thatcher’s famous Victory that the support I received from 52% of a Ward Electorate, failed to win me a Council seat). My interest in local affairs precedes May1979. And has remained something that I have never been able to shelve. Those two vain attempts to become a Councillor did not arise through any sort of plan so to be. Some had suggested that

‘I either put up or shut up.’

So it was that I became a last minute Candidate in a 1978 By-Election in a ward other than my own. My nomination Paper was signed by the Chairman and other members of the Parish Council, they encouragingly did so again in 1979. On that latter date the two Conservatives standing received more votes than I, and were duly elected. Not sure what happened to them, but the Ward had a high turnover among its Councillors, and has since been abolished as a separate entity.

One moans a lot that Tisbury has not elected a Parish Councillor in the last twelve years. There was a District Councillor in the New Forest who had been in office for twenty or so years, and had never ever been elected. Excellent chap I understood he arranged the annual Budget every year. On his retirement another Councillor was rustled up by the Conservative Party and he too was returned unopposed. The following year that same Man became their unopposed County Councillor. Not sure what became of him, he was not around for long.

There are Wards where Political Party Management seems , willing to back just about any Candidate willing to stand in their name.

Regrettably, too often some allow themselves to be all but drafted onto Councils, even though they have never had particular knowledge of, or interest in local affairs. I know of one New Forest Councillor elected on the say so of his Branch Committee, whose first action when Returned, was to ask his Branch Secretary if a District Councillor was expected to do anything? That gem came to me via the Branch Secretary.

If one has no aspirations to be effective on a Council, or anywhere else come to that , maybe it would be better not to get involved. It really isn’t good enough just to ‘dip ones toe in ’ to see how one likes it.

Contrary to popular opinion, I think that young people are interested in all manner of activity. They may fail to offer their services as they have no wish to be ensnared by the near incestuous* ‘Status Quo’ that tends to persist way beyond its sell by date. I have never been in charge of much in life, but have ever found that young people are more than just willing to help if invited; albeit that they do not presume to put themselves forward, nor would wish to do so if all that is required of them was that they become doppelgangers of the powers that be. (*def. interconnected, especially so as to exclude the involvement or influence of others Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. )

When standing in an Election one needs to be to reconcile oneself to the seemingly haphazard entry of those afore mentioned Councillors, arriving by default. In fairness one must acknowledge that it is easier to get oneself elected, if one has never professed any interest in local politics what so ever. Possibly some of these ingénue of either sex, if such is a grammatical possibility, just felt it wiser to keep their powder dry ?

One could of course adopt an entirely cynical attitude. I recall a Conservative District Councillor down in the New Forest; one of three such Councillors also sitting as a Party sponsored a Hampshire County Councillors; telling me in front of the assembled New Forest Conservative Association, that ‘yes’ her Office was attributable to the Party Machine, but as a Councillor, she voted as she saw fit. I suppose that of itself is as it should be. However I never reconciled myself to stand other than as an Independent. Having done that in the midst of ‘Blue Riband’ area having a Conservative Parliamentary Majority of some 26,000, was unhelpful. Seemingly the inadequacy of Thatcherism is now also recognised by the New Conservative Party. Bit late for my cause.

Writing with all the shameless senility of a Septuagenarian, I am none too proud of the socio-political mess the span of our generations have bequeathed to those that succeed us. If fault attaches to any of us as an Individual, it is not usually on account of anything one did, nor with one exception on account of anything one didn’t do, because few have the opportunity to make meaningful contributions. The point I reserve is that too often one has kept ones own counsel, or just made be-frothed rhubarb noises into a beer glass instead of speaking out when one should have spoken out. I trust this paragraph smacks more of Burke, than Piety. Regrettably Religion is much of the problem, at its best its become an apologetic placebo rather than any sort of a cure.

THOSE TISBURY PARISH ACCOUNTS.

Mentioned in my last PAPALSCOPE update. I have indeed been digesting them ever since. I do not understand why the affairs of Tisbury Parish Council, which is financed by the local Community Charge payer, are intermingled with the accounts of TisVis which is financed by European Funds. It was my understanding that TisVis was a separate entity, whose banking was to be handled by the Tisbury Parish Clerk. Seemingly in the relevant period, TisVis received an amount of money. Was it £2000 or £4000? Whichever it was , it was lumped in with other money, the property of the Parish Council, so to make a gross amount of £7,625.00. Helpful no doubt to the joint cash flow. Out of this amount TisVis spent £1,880.36. This largely comprised the balloons, Stationery including envelopes, the printing of the green book of statistics, and the Questionnaire. Hire of Hall etc. Further expenditure fell outside the remit of last year’s Accounts.

I have since been advised that the Internal Auditor has requested that in next year’s accounts balances held on behalf of TisVis should be separately identified. It really makes one wonder why the Parish Council needs to have such a glaringly obvious matter pointed out to them?

THE LRG PROJECT.

Is this an acronym for ‘Local Recreation Ground ?’ I am not sure where that stands at the moment but it astounds me that on the 7th of March the Parish Council paid out a cheque for £2,391.00 to one particular local residential creditor. My enquiry revealed that this amount was comprised of payments to a Project Manager that related to:

‘ROSPA report liaison, Technical drawings and specification, Site meetings with contractors, Discussion with the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Wild Life Trust, Electricity Board, Highways Authority, Local Clubs, e.g. Football, English Heritage / Salisbury D.C. re planning application for ramp to bridge.

Well that no doubt explains the matter for some, if not to me.

One is advised that such expenditure was approved by Salisbury D.C from R2 funds. I was recently attended an apposite Committee meeting when our current Application for R2 Funding was submitted . There was then a particular request that approval be given for an amount of money be paid to a Project Manager. This application was being considered many months after that cheque for £2391.00 had been paid out. I recall that the matter of payment due was to be discussed at a Parish Council Meeting earlier this year. Were Parish Councillors cognisant of the size of the bill they had been running up by outsourcing their responsibility for overseeing the project ? It would surprise me to hear that they were. If they were, would it not have been good practice to advertise for the services of a Project Manager?

THE ALLOTMENTS

Parish Expenditure on the Allotments amounted to £588.18 including the water rate.( The outgoings for the previous year were £270.50.) . On the face of it, costs rose by 317.68p. Our income of £276 was £45 less than the previous year. Possibly either allotment rents should rise or the water might be supplied through a pay per flow meter. It is excellent that we have allotments, but the trend is that the rest of us pay our water on a cost per-litre-used basis. Maybe the Allotment Holders should do likewise?

Does West Tisbury have an interest in the Allotments we hire from the District Council? I have no idea whether the Joint Burial committee is financed by the District Council or by one or both Parish Councils?

CREDITS PAID TO US BY WEST TISBURY. Seemingly concern a contribution to the maintenance of the Stubbles area on their behalf. One appreciates that Tisbury and West Tisbury are theoretically separate entities. However there is no good reason that it remain so. I see no proper cause that Tisbury should subsidise ‘our twin’ Parish West Tisbury. It would be beneficial if the two Parishes amalgamated and so put an end to the current nonsense of two Parish Councils.

When given the opportunity to express their opinion on amalgamation Tisbury Parish Council saw no cause so to do. However they recognised that the extensive West Tisbury Housing Estates might be better within our Parish Boundary. Goodness me what on the earth do they think the issue is, if not that ?

GRANTS

Come under the same heading as does,

‘There is no such thing as a free lunch’.

European Money, R2 Funding, Grants for Compost Heaps, all such money, one way or another comes from our pockets, be it directly or however indirectly. I do hope that The Parish Council maintains a careful watch on all expenditure. There was a meeting last week to discuss next year‘s Precept!

I give little credibility to that bit in the TisVis questionnaire (Q61) advising that 52% of the Village would be prepared to pay more Parish Council Tax to support the running cost of Village facilities. I am of the 49% who are less enthused. Maybe this mis-addition is but a manifestation of synchrony between the West Tisbury Parish, and others whose facilities are seemingly subsidised by the rest of us. How on the earth can one ask the same question of two separate Parishes whose financial commitments are so different ? I used to be on the TisVis Committee, and know we tried hard, but our Committee was no different to any other. What was that definition of a Camel?

Compensation for the Slave Trade? Here we go again. One might bear in mind that the Slaves were traded not only by Sea Captains, Plantation owners and others, but were rounded up and sold off by their Kith and Kin, not to mention Arab Traders. Let us not be deluded by the mores of Political Correctness. In those times, things were none too good for the indigenous Briton either, the majority of whom were equally enslaved by their circumstance. Liberty should indeed be highly prized but let us not weep crocodile tears, for if all one hears is correct, Slavery is still extant in the World today.

Why does not Government show more Leadership, be more effective over issues currently within their remit, and ignore the side shows of a World Time that none of us share responsibility for. I do not doubt many acquired wealth in Africa and India, in much the same way as currently some attain it from Russia and the Petroleum Countries. Until recently I had the business records of my family that spanned two hundred years. It was a relentless six day a week grind, and I speak of the re-prospering Middle Classes. Some members of our Family decided to emigrate and made a success of it. George Washington shared my Ancestry, as too a ‘Father of the Confederation of Canada’ whose son and daughter were respectively a Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island, and the First Superintendent Matron of the Canadian Armed Forces. I suppose one either has it, or doesn’t. At least I know where mine went!

If one sees cause for compensation surely the West is continuously pouring aid into the Third World Government. Further hearsay is that much of that aid gets siphoned off for personal gain. Which thought brings one back to the duty we all have to pay greater attention to Public Affairs. JBP. Monday, 27 November 2006.

( for something entirely different, see this)
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/coftsht.html

PAPALSCOPE REMEMBERS

2006 Proposed new War Memorial in UK.

‘War memorial attracting interest Funding for a war memorial honouring the 16,000 UK servicemen killed in duty since 1945 is reported in last Saturday's papers - two of which attempt to claim the credit. for The decision to spend £2m of lottery funds on the memorial was reportedly taken after Chancellor Gordon Brown changed spending rules. Both the Sun and Daily Mail claim the credit for the decision. The Sun launched a campaign on the issue last year - and the Daily Mail started one this week.

PAPALSCOPE Makes no associated claim, except that it may so be that the Chancellor and the Sun and the Daily Mail and the Principals involved in the Proposed Memorial are all readers of our web sites. This matter was more recently mentioned by Papalscope in both August and October 2006.
Please find below our original publication first published over two years ago.

NOVEMBER 2004 PAPALSCOPE UPDATE.

FLANDERS FEELING.
'But pleasures are like poppies spread, you seize the flow'r, its blossom is shed'
(Tam o Shanter Robert Burns 1791)
Poppy day is an acknowledgement of a debt owed not solely to the dead; but too to the bereaved they left behind, for it is they and the wounded who have to pick up the pieces of their own lives. A Widow, Widower, or Partner was possibly deprived of the opportunity to have children of their own; or may have left Children who have few close family relationships. For a parent lost may also deprive them of brother or sister, whilst an uncle or aunt gone, deprives them of cousins, and so on. Tragedy spreads through the missing generations. In 1914/18 and 1939/45 every one of us was at war be it at home or abroad. It must surely be more difficult to go to fight now, when everything at home appears to be relatively normal. War Memorials mostly commemorate those amateur soldiers who lost their lives in both World Wars, but fail to mention all the others we have lost since then, be they National Service or Professional. Maybe they too should be commemorated on Memorials. There are too many names to acknowledge individually, but collective recognition would remind others that Poppy day isn't the preserve of ageing men and women, but remains as relevant today as it ever was. Tisbury has a recently placed plaque on our war Memorial acknowledging the ubiquitous presence of American Allies in 1944. It would seem a good idea to have something similar in acknowledgement of those other soldiers sent to fight Wars in our name.

Papalscope November 2006

PAPALSCOPE NOVEMBER 2006

Latest Surprising News from The Village
VACANCY ON PARISH COUNCIL. Guess what yet another has flown the nest ! Doubtlessly an unavoidable circumstance, and only six months before an election is due. Are we to have yet another co-option, possibly it is only necessary so to do, if there is any call for one. After all the probability is that Tisbury Parish Council is to be culled of four members next May. This might be a good time to start the process. I have no knowledge as to the cause of the recent resignation, but what is it that causes so many other of our Parish Councillors to resign? Surely this is not merely a matter of Natural Wastage. Why do the bright eyed and bushy tailed fall by the wayside? Can it be for the same sort of reason that caused me to resign from TisVis ?

Veiled innuendoes.
One is indebted to the author Nigel Cawthorne for his research into ‘The Strange Laws of Old England’ many of which are extant. Some of these laws have greater relevance than others. He reminds us that there are prohibitions against either Jews or Catholics being allowed to advise over any appointment to an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England, or even that of Ireland or Scotland.

This is an abomination of Religious prejudice, bigotry of the worst kind, it should not be allowed. Apparently.

‘no such act(s) prohibits a Prime Minister who is a non-conformist, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Sikh, or even an Atheist picking the next Archbishop of Canterbury’.*

I suspect that Jews , Catholics, and Protestants are likewise prohibited from advising members of the Islamic Faith over their appointments too. Quite shocking, these irregularities should not be allowed to persist.

I am told that Catholics are once again permitted to live in the Cities of London and Westminster, and are even allowed to be the Freeholders of Property where so ever. Seemingly we are now a multicultural society, and Catholics have been reintegrated .Their Nuns have abandoned the veil, so that all may look them in the face and so can judge whether or not their eyes are set too close together. By this and in other manner, all are able to recognise our common fellowship, ‘birds of a feather and all that’ What?

Maybe others would do well to learn from the History of this Country.

*{ISBN 0 7499 5036 6.}

DEFENDER OF FAITHS ?
Whilst considering Religiosity what is all this business over the Fid. Def. title? Surely Fidei Defensor was an approbation given to King Henry V111 by Pope Leo X for defending the Roman Catholic Faith against Protestantism. This prior to the great schism. Retention of the title smacks of breaking off the engagement, and keeping the ring.
‘Latin for the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’ (still retained by British sovereigns) conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII of England in 1521 to reward his writing of a treatise against the Protestant Martin Luther.’
Brief biography with links to information about him and his career and to his writings.http://www.blogger.com/Brief%20biography%20with%20links%20to%20information%20about%20him%20and%20his%20career%20and%20to%20his%20writings.Sixteenth century religious movement led by Martin Luther.

www.newadvent.org/cathen/12700b.htm -

Education, Education, Education.
Even when written just once it is a long and hard word to spell, but the trusty spell check found it no problem .

Thank goodness that someone in Government recognises that all this ‘Course Work’ for exams is a nonsense. I find that if one enquires from the Google Search Engine about it, the first of much more that appears on the screen is as follows:

Sponsored Links110,000 Essays On Sale www.essayfinder.com Instant access! Read Free Examples. Low Cost. No Membership Required
Coursework is generally popular with teachers, who argue it allows pupils to show a wider range of skills and knowledge than traditional, timed exams. ...news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5385556.stm - 44k - Cached - Similar pages

GCSE Guide - GCSE revision, exam papers, coursework

Who is kidding whom ? I keep referring to the work of others in Papalscope but make no pretence that the work of others is my own. It is absurd that both teachers and examinees have been allowed to get away with such nonsense for so long. Every year one hears that this year’s results were the best results ever, and that the progeny of dishonesty will go forward to some sub red brick university or another. There they will obtain a modular degree in media studies (Also available over the web) which they hope will get them into Television or whichever. I was chatting to someone recently retired from a life time in Television. In his opinion such degrees are entirely useless when it comes to employment. Seemingly you either have a talent, or have friends already in the trade. I suppose it is a bit like Government in that respect.

We can all look things up on the Internet, one of the best bits about a Traditional Education was that it taught one where to look them up, well seemingly the modern pupil knows that, so it is not all bad news.

A couple of years back I referred to a scheme the Government had introduced to provide us with more Science Teachers. I believe that those who stayed on for another post graduate year at University would receive a grant, providing they were to become Teachers of Science. Was it something like £6000? My sceptical comment was that Students would elect to stay on that extra year just for the pleasure of it. I wonder how that worked out ? I only met one such Graduate. He has since retrained as an Hospital Nurse, making a great success of it too. At least the grant bought time and we all have a seemingly skilled new Nurse. Pity that he had been working on his Thesis, might have been a Doctor.

Polish Plumbers, German Doctors. Maybe Rumanian Toy Makers soon? Ten Thousand Polish Nationals have settled in Reading in the past year. That Town recently re-published the local paper in Polish. Apparently we need their skills. Why though is our country short of skills?

There is no call to be invidious concerning the newcomers we have welcomed into this country, but is it not another nonsense that Governments, not merely this Government has courted and brought upon us? What is wrong with being a Craftsman, or Tradesman, call it what one will; that makes such work no longer acceptable to the indigenous population. Earlier Generations worked hard for very little return. They became Unionised bettered their circumstance, and now that the rewards for their industry are available to their descendents, we have allowed the benefits to be distributed across the wastelands of Europe. Who deluded so many of us that we were all God’s Intelligentsia.? Now the Taxpayer will have to extend the Welfare State to these new workers, and do so without reservation. Few will ever go back to Poland or whence they came, most will marry here and raise families. That is fine by me but let us not delude ourselves.

HSBC SALISBURY BRANCH. We have had a lot of hoo-ha in Tisbury concerning the loss of the Barclays Bank Branch, then there was that recently filled need, for a Wall Till Cash Point. Now one hears of the vulnerability of Village Post Offices and along with that, the Services they provide

HSBC Salisbury Branch should surely be the most important Bank in the area, of which ever denomination? What good are only two Tellers and a broken down Statement Point in a city the size of Salisbury? Being as I am, I interviewed the queue of customers, there was not one who was satisfied with the Service they were receiving. No blame attaches to the Clerks; it was on their account that none of the others complained, claiming there was no one else to complain to. Even the man with the clip board had disappeared.

The Banking Service one gets seems to be entirely unacceptable. I did the ‘Sub Continent’ thing yesterday. The system failed each time one tried to key in code numbers. If I want to do business with an Indian, there is no need to do transactions over the phone.{ If ever Mr Amos our Sub Postmaster starts ‘out-sourcing’ his services to the sub continent, he might as well throw his towel into the ring}.

Maybe others will disagree when I contend that Standards in Banking and other Financial Services have fallen. Let us deplore all these Call Centres. I am told the National Westminster, or what ever it is calling itself at the moment, has an actual Branch Telephone number one can ring. An email address would be a tremendous advantage to gain access to any Bank in these days of comparatively exorbitant postal charges.

Apparently we are all supposed to be doing our banking over the Internet. It would be a good thing in this electronic age if one could hand cash in over a Bank Counter and have it immediately available for use , but one can not. Hole in the wall machines here or abroad provide immediate cash. Why do not the actual branches function as efficiently?

THE VALLEY NEWS.
dated 1st.October 2006 has given Tisbury good coverage. There is an article concerning Housing Issues and other village matters. It is excellent to have such a relevant publication, the more so that it is available free of charge. One commends local business to support it with their advertisements.

It was interesting to read that one of our two District Councillors is reported to tell that SDC Officers are driving the Council’s Agenda. This remark seemingly coupled with the proposed redevelopment of Station Works. At a meeting I attended, Councillor Hooper’s only support came from the District Councillor for East Knoyle. Further more according to TisVis only 26% of the Questionnaire’s respondents agreed that there should be mixed development at Station Works, Tisbury. Only 9% of them, held that view ‘strongly’. As for the suggestion that West Tisbury Parish Council should have a finger in our pie, one can but wonder why it should? Individual opinions are important whence ever they come, but this is a Tisbury matter. If West Tisbury be consulted, why exclude Ansty and Swallowcliffe? I hear that some there are less than enthusiastic at the prospect of the traffic generated by the proposed sixty new houses, belting through their villages to the A.30. The outcome of this application will affect them far more than it will affect West Tisbury.
When the next application comes to hand, how many of the Tisbury Parish Councillors will be free to discuss that matter at all? For it has been overtly linked to the Planning Application at Hindon Lane. Certainly it would seem improper that any Parish Councillor who is party to ‘Tisbury Action’ should either speak, or even remain in the room whilst the matter was being considered. Similar restrictions would apply to any Parish Councillor who may live adjacent to the Hindon Lane Site. Such persons would have to declare an interest, and so become disqualified.

TISBURY PARISH ACCOUNTS. The Parish Clerk recently provided me with the Parish Accounts for last year. I thank her for her trouble and hope to get back to her when I have digested them. I am given to understand that a ‘Summary’ of the Accounts was on the Parish Notice Board. Well I did not see it. I did see a notice to the effect that the Accounts had been produced, and that they and the dockets were available for inspection at the Parish Clerk’s Home in the Donheads. It was because I sought the accounts on the Parish Board, and failed to find them there that I first enquired concerning their well being. I did mention previously that there had been an unattached copy of the Resume, and the names and addresses of our Parish Councillors ,slipped into the minutes book at the Tisbury Library.

Where is the problem about displaying Parish Accounts? How many of us in the Village saw that Resume on the Parish Notice Board? Why such a ‘now you see it and now you don’t’ sort of a presentation. We are interested to know how our money is being spent. Seeing such accounts would let everyone know what the work of a Parish Council entails, might foster interest in the Council itself.

Papalscope Extra October 2006

Make me the Hundred and First

I am sure I was not the only one to see this report by Simon de Bruxelles in the Times Oct 7 2006. My acknowledgement to the publisher for presuming to reissue it.

'Gay animals' councillor quits

By Simon de Bruxelles

A CONSERVATIVE councillor has paid the price for joking that a modern Noah would be forced to find room for gay animals on his Ark. David Clutterbuck, who made the comment in an e-mail, was suspended from two key committees, then resigned from the Tory party, saying that he would stand in future as an independent.

Mr Clutterbuck, 72, was told that his comment was unacceptable and had offended Bournemouth's large gay community. The joke was made in response to a tongue-in-cheek e-mail about all the bureaucratic problems that Noah
would encounter if he were building the Ark in 2006.The e-mail said that he would have to ‘obtain planning permission, abide by building regulations, carry out an
environmental impact study, install a fire sprinkler system
and seek advice from the RSPCA’ .

In his reply Mr Clutterbuck said: "I imagine now it would
be illegal to only have animals of the opposite sex!"

His comment was then sent to all the members of the
Liberal Democrat-run Bournemouth Borough Council, which had been on the e-mail's original mailing list. They demanded that Mr Clutterbuck apologise and that he undertake compulsory equality training. However, it was Mr Clutterbuck's own Conservative group that took action against him yesterday.

Stephen MacLoughlin, the leader of the council's Tory
group, said: "In the light of derogatory comments made by
Councillor Clutterbuck regarding gay people, we have taken immediate action. His statements have caused offence, particularly in Bournemouth's gay community. They are contrary to the council's equality and diversity policies.

"His comments are unacceptable, especially from someone who deals with personnel and community issues. I hope he thinks seriously about the offence he has caused, and that he will act appropriately."

Mr MacLoughlin said that Mr Clutterbuck had been sus-
pended from two committees on which he sits. But Mr Clutterbuck said yesterday that he decided to resign after being told he was being suspended.

Mr Clutterbuck, who has been a councillor for 19 years,
said: "I stand by my comments and I haven't done anything
wrong. I am not homophobic and sent the e-mail as a joke."
He claimed to have received more than 100 messages of support, many from gay people. From John B. Pope







If the detail of this report is correct. The reaction of the Conservative Group on the Bournemouth Council well illustrates why so many Conservative Voters have left the Party. So far as I read it David Clutterbuck’s alleged remarks were both witty and amusing. I for one applaud such a humorous contribution to the Public Debate.
Bournemouth Conservative Voters were lucky to have a man of Mr. Clutterbuck character representing their interest. Such is the trouble with the Conservative Party. They do not want Councillors at any level who exhibit qualities of originality or leadership. Why will the Party not realise that the recurring crises at the top of the Party, stem from the inadequacies in the management of local branches. Councillor Clutterbuck would still have my vote
Were I living in his ward, for I have voted Independent in Council Elections for the last quarter of a century.
I have a further quote . Harold Macmillan’s Diaries 1954.
‘ The Whips want safe men, as they always have done in every Party. But they don’t make the future leaders of a Party. I reminded Winston again that it took Hitler to make him PM, and me an under-secretary. The Tory Party would do neither.’
The Gay Community are entitled to their views, so too the
Liberal Party. This incident makes one wonder what the Conservative Party stands for, and whether its leadership is fit for purpose. If this nonsense is anything to go by, seemingly the Bournemouth Branch favours three in a bed.

Papalscope October 2006

PAPALSCOPE October 2006.

TISBURY PARISH COUNCIL’S

PRESS RELEASE FOR SEPTEMBER

Parish Council supports return of those Stone Lorries through the Streets of Tisbury S.06.8014. Well of course they did not quite put it that way. I cut and paste this report in Focus.

Planning Applications

Councillors resolved to accept the following planning applications:

S06.8014 – Chicksgrove Quarry – Retention of a replacement saw (retrospective)

S 2006 1672 – O/L – Station Yard Industrial Units – new office development

Councillors thought that this scheme represented good use of new technology.

Yes this application does concern retrospective permission for a replacement saw. However a subsidiary permission sought is, that the existing restrictions on a previous application be lifted. The relevant restriction imposed limits on the importation of stone INTO the Quarry for processing.

Is the Parish Council aware that what is asked is that Tisbury again hosts all those stone lorries coming down, Hindon Lane, Cuffs Lane; and the Chicksgrove Road in either direction. What would the Village do without its Parish Council? Indeed,

HOW MANY PARISH COUNCILLORS DOES IT TAKE TO?

Last month The Regulatory Panel of the Salisbury District Council recommended that the Tisbury Parish Council membership be reduced from fifteen to eleven. Since then that recommendation was put to the full District Council. The proposal was comprehensively endorsed. It now goes to the Minister, who will most likely so order. Hopefully next May Tisbury might have a better opportunity to elect its Parish Council. Something we will not have done for twelve years. Maybe elected Councillors might then reconsider the amalgamation of the village’s two Parishes, for there are still far too many cooks.

COMMUNICATIONS STILL OUT OF FOCUS?
One is indebted to our TisVis Questionnaire (Q2 ) for this gem on incomprehensibility

‘The Village notice boards and The Parish Magazine, Focus, are insufficient for finding out what is going on in Tisbury.’ (Its only clarity, being its ineligibility to receive a ‘Crystal Mark’ {‘Res ipsa Loquitor’} )

Is it that 57% of us were unable to agree that communications are good? This is probably a correct reading. Try typing ‘Tisbury Parish Council’ into the Community Web Site, one merely gets ‘Papalscope’ for this site is the only one that makes any reference to Tisbury Parish Council .

If one searches by ‘Parish’ and clicks ‘Local Councils and Public Services’ there is no mention of Tisbury Parish Council there either. It would be helpful if there was at least a hyperlink to the location of the actual site.( http://www.nadderfocus.com/tisbury/index.html)
Now one apparently has to search for the Patronage of ‘Nadder Focus ’ and at the tail end of that Home Page there is a link inviting one to view the ‘Web Site’ This constitutes a very pretty map, and if, as invited one ‘clicks on Tisbury’, one arrives on the Tisbury Page. Just one more click gets one to the Parish Council. Why does one have to do all that through the Church Magazine, even though the publication is well known for it’s comprehensive advertising.

THE VALLEY NEWS

Informs you for free

It’s a local secular publication, that might well turn into something akin to the Blackmore Vale Magazine. The September Edition is but its third, for it is an amalgamation of the ‘Wilton World’ and the Dinton Teffont and area Times. It is distributed free in Tisbury and deserves to be a success. We need a freebie. ‘Papal scope’ {Which has now 28/9/06 Blogged 3,324,800 hits since July} wishes it well. )

COMMUNICATION is important. This month ‘Papalscope’ received an invitation to attend an exhibition in Brazil. It was written in Chinese but translated easily enough. Receipt of it endorses that there are readers out there.

VOICE & CHOICE is an initiative by the Salisbury District Council’s Democratic Services Team. They are forming a panel to listen to Public Opinion. You should have received an ‘application to join form’ in with your Electoral Voting Registration Form. I have ever found it more effective to ‘Tell’ the District or County Council direct, rather than go through unelected or often enough elected Councillors, or even an MP. None with great respect can speak with two tongues and have to come down one side of the fence or another, or possibly have to toe a ‘Party Line’ . Tisbury is fortunate that both our District Councillors now sit as Independents.

OUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR .It would be nice if the Village saw her here more frequently. She having failed to turn up that time with Robert Key. I for one have never yet set eyes on her. As mentioned previously our house did not even get her manifesto through the door. There is only another three and a half years to go before the next County Council Election. How is her Quixotic campaign to destroy Wind Farms going? Please let your people know. The National Trust seems to favour Micro generators.

THREE SUGGESTIONS.
1. BECOME A MAGISTRATE.
Well have you ever thought of applying to become a Magistrate?
http://www.magistrates.gov.uk/candidates/index.htm.
-Current vacancies for magistrates
© Crown Copyright & Disclaimer

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF BECOMING

2 PARISH COUNCILLOR, OR

3 A DISTRICT COUNCILLOR Or even being both at the same time? Some do.

Next May 2007 there should again be an Election to each office. It achieves little if anyone with interest fails ‘to have a go’. You can stand as an Independent, or even stand with the patronage of your chosen Party. Tisbury has been consistently let down by the Conservatives. They failed again to field a Candidate for the District Council (but did once manage to produce a chap from the other side of Salisbury). At the last Year’s County Election, according to a bit in ‘Focus’ they were still seeking a Candidate at the twelfth hour. See

http://www.salisbury.gov.uk/council/councillors/district-councillor.htm

بابالسكوبي يرسل تحيه الي القراء العرب. هذا الموقع هو احد في شخصيه الانسان دونما عمل علي حريه التعبير. و

PAPALSCOPEは日本の読者層に挨拶を送る。 この場所はuncensored自由な表現のための1つの人の個人的なプラットホーム。である、

Papalscope发出慰问中文读者. 这个网站是一个人的个人论坛,未经言论自由. ,

PAPALSCOPE는 그것의 한국 독자층에 인사를 보낸다. 이 위치는 uncensored 자유로운 표정을 위한 1개의 남자의 개인 플래트홈.이다,

PAPALSCOPE schickt seiner Deutschen Leserschaft Grüße. Dieser Aufstellungsort ist eine persönliche Plattform des Mannes für unzensierten freien Ausdruck.,

PAPALSCOPE envía saludos a su número total de lectores Español. Este sitio es una plataforma personal del hombre para la expresión libre no censurada.,

PAPALSCOPE emite cumprimentos a seu Readership de Portugese. Este local é uma plataforma pessoal do homem para expressão livre uncensored.,

PAPALSCOPE trasmette i saluti al relativo Readership Italiano. Questo luogo è una piattaforma personale dell'uomo per l'espressione libera non censurata.,

Should any wonder what all that too is about. Hopefully it tells our Arab,Japanese,Chinese,Korean,German,Spanish,Portugese and Italian Readers…..

PAPALSCOPE sends Greetings to its Readership. This site is one man's personal platform for uncensored free expression. Unfortunately Google has no translation for Uncensored in either Chinese or Korean, nor Readership in Italian or Portugese.

This should send the ‘Hits Counter’ through the roof!
John B. Pope.