Weekend Cartoons...                                                      

Thumbs turned down...                                                   

...for IDS.  Incidentally this very week is "Peace, Friendship & Goodwill Week", "Save Your Back Week" and "Infection Control Week". No, I'm not making it up. Take your pick!

The Tories need Tadek but he will not respond!

I was talking to Pan Tadeusz (usually known as Tadek) about politics. Well to be more honest I was simply observing him. Tadek campaigns under the slogan "Eating, Sleeping, and Action not Words".

Incidentally many years ago when the national Labour slogan was "Action NOT Words" the Conservatives in Much Wenlock aspired to outflank them with the devastatingly brilliant slogan "Action AND Words". That alas is a different story.

Tadek of course is a large Abbyssinian / Tabby cross. He is urbane, intelligent, benign, good humoured, generous, charming, charismatic, affectionate and loyal. He is also thuggish, pragmatic, and utterly ruthless.

Opponents, both within and outside the "group" are dealt with principally by the deployment of disarming guile and pragmatism. If required he will, however, lead from the front and resort to brute force. Generally he prefers the threat of violence to the actual use of violence. Always he prefers the pre-emptive strike delivered from a position of strength. There is not a scratch or a mark on him.

Having dealt with any potential menace he then charms the culprit back or into the fold with charisma and bribery (ie. cat food). He would, you might say, prefer to have them in the cat basket peeing out rather than outside the cat basket peeing in. All of this is accomplished while increasing rather than diminishing his personal control and status.

Contrast poor IDS with Tadek and the conclusion is clear. The Tories need Tadek, but Tadek does not need the Tories. Tadek is of course more capable at every level than IDS. He is however used not only to more loyal feline adherents but also to colleagues possessing a more developed sense of self interest and self protection! He will not accept the call!

Refuse collection and recycling - listening to the people. Public confidence is ebbing away...

Cllr Fran Oborski reports...

Public confidence has ebbed away with the introduction of kerbside recycling and the reduction in service from weekly to fortnightly wheelie bin collection.

With over 850 responses from households in the areas of Offmore and Comberton, Greenhill and Broadwaters already affected  by the changes the trend is clear.

Rating the old weekly wheelie bin collection 41% of those responding describe the old service as “excellent”, 48% say it was “good”, 10.8% as O.K., 0% as “poor” and 0% as “awful”.

When it comes to the new kerbside recycling with fortnightly wheelie bin collection the figures are: 17.9% “excellent”, 26.8% “good”, 16% “O.K.”, 23% “poor”, and 25% “awful”

The message is clear 89% were positive about the old system and nobody was actually negative. When it comes to the new system the positive rating is down to 44.7% and a stunning 48% are negative.

A detailed study of the figures show that 16% see the new service as an improvement while 55.4% think that the new service is in fact worse than that previously on offer.

The survey has highlighted all sorts of failings and confusion. For example Elliot Walk has become the street recycling forgot! They are on the list for recycling and have been switched from weekly to fortnightly to weekly wheelie bin collection — but nobody has given them any recycling boxes. Meanwhile the residents in the flats over the shops on Offmore cannot get anyone to tell them when their bins are supposed to be emptied!

The tragedy is that there is real support for the principle of recycling.  When it comes to detailed comments in response to the survey 50% of those responding go out of their way to express support for recycling in principle. The problem seems to be with the ill thought out scheme rushed in by Health Concern.

46% want the reintroduction of weekly wheelie bin collection and 25% express concerns about health and smells as a result of the switch to fortnightly wheelie bin emptying. 10.7% doubt that the new scheme will cope over the Christmas holiday period.

37% highlight problems with actually using the recycling boxes varying from the inadequate size of the boxes for storage to the weight of the filled boxes and lack of lids.  12% feel that there is a need to extend what can be recycled. 11% have had problems with materials being recycled. 12% have problems with the reliability of the new service.

In addition 9% are concerned about the collection of garden refuse.

There are clearly issues that need to be addressed and the Council needs to face up to them and get them sorted.

On top of the issues and concerns raised by the public we need to know the impact of the new service in terms of extra overtime and soaring costs. I have already written to the Chief Executive calling for a full investigation.

There is clearly a need for a level headed review of what has been done so far in order to tackle the problems and concerns which have been identified in this survey.

Health Concern Council bosses need to take off their blindfolds, pull out their ear plugs and abandon their chant of “everything is always perfect”  and actually face up to the problems, issues and concerns of the  people they are suppose to serve and represent.

It would be absolute folly to launch into phase 2 of the new scheme, extending it to other areas in November, with Christmas coming fast and the problems of phase one still not resolved.

Fancy something different to eat?                                

Try Bigos - the Polish national dish. "All the air is fragrant with the smell..."

Loads of jobs...                                                                

The Sunday Times yesterday suggested that Gordon Brown's policies had created more civil service jobs in the last year the the number of staff employed by EU in total!

Back IDS web site launched...                                                

We say keep him! After all that's what's best for every other party! Visit here! But if it's a site "supporting" him why use a photo that makes him look as if he is fading away?!!!

Kidderminster go down to Doncaster Rovers 2:0...   

Oh heck!

We don't need the idiot anyway...                                

So Radio One motormouth DJ Chris Moyles says Kidderminster is a 'sad place where nothing ever happens'.

Moyles poked fun at the carpet town when it was shortlisted along with Inverness and Swansea in the station's 78 days to Christmas competition, with listeners asked to text votes for where they wanted him to switch on this year's festive lights.

Voting ended at 5pm yesterday and 30 minutes later Moyles revealed he would be off to Inverness, which won 42 per cent of the votes. Kidderminster came second and Swansea third.

Moyles show has lost 700,000 listeners in the past year so why do we want the jerk here in the first place?

Welcome...                                                                       

Welcome to anyone who has landed here as a result of our letter in the Local Government Association's LOCAL GOVERNMENT FIRST!

If you are interested in the idea of using weblogs as a Councillor by all means contact me direct via oborski@btinternet.com

Leafletting...                                                                     

We had a big team out this morning and delivered most of Kidderminster's Broadwaters Ward with the latest FOCUS leaflet. It is really great working as a team. That is what local politics ought to be - informing, involving and consulting at a a local level! Afterwards we all lunched at the Hare & Hounds. That is also what local campaigning ought to be - eating, drinking and talking with good people of like mind!

Latest Broadwaters Focus online now...                      

Latest Broadwaters Focus is online replacing all previous editions!

This will provide...

Planning Application...

Big Let Down!

Display The Plans...

It really is time to pause and rethink!

Papal humour...                                                               

Sadly a lot of the Pope's humour never gets translated into English. Here are two recent examples:

Replying to a bishop who commented "Your Holiness, we're getting old," the Pope retorted: "Yes, but for me it's started from the legs."

Asked about his health more and more often lately, he replies: "I don't know, I haven't read the morning papers yet."

Kidderminster beat Northampton 1:0...                        

Good result!

Action plan to help on heating...                                   

Swansea 0 : Kidderminster 0                                        

See report. Plus Molby back!

Re-engage...                                                                     

Take up the challenge!

"Changes, circles spinning, don't know the ending from the beginning" * ...

So Stourport Health Concern Councillor June Salter has deserted to the Tories! Here we go again!

Council now Health Concern 18 (19), Tories 10 (9), Liberal 7 (7), Labour 4 (4), Lib Dem 2 (2), Ind 1 (1).

One of the Health Concern Councillors tells us they may be down to just 6 seats (over pessimistic I think) next June and predicts other desertions to Tories. We will see!

* Moby Grape of course!

Kitten power…                                                                

The young tomcat Janusz and his sister Malgi (Mowgi) are adept natural politicians.

They are intelligent, observant, sensitive, aware, charming, persuasive, endearing and vocal with impressive negotiating skills and the ability to establish effective close relationships and clear objectives.

They are totally aware of the reality of power structures constantly scheming to increase their own power and prestige at the expense of others but diligently subservient to the leader (Tadek a huge amiably relaxed but thuggish tabby) and the Chief Whip a seriously minded and pedantic young orange hard case called Ryba.

They are also brutal, ruthless, self centred, pitiless and ambitious and can spot and exploit weakness and fear a mile off!

A career in the Labour Party beckons I think!

Oppose Greenhill Vodaphone mast...                          

If YOU oppose the proposal for a 15 metre high Vodaphone mast on the Greenhill Industrial Estate download the petition form here!

Telephone meltdown as thousands call in...               

Here is how Pete Carroll puts it in today's Express & Star and Graham is right...

Wyre Forest Council's telephone switchboard went into meltdown when it was "swamped" with calls following the introduction of a new kerbside recycling scheme, councillors were told.

Full District Council Meeting Tonight...                        

See below...

District Council 1

“Healthy Tory” Group…                                                 

As Health Concern and the Tories vote together all the time Fran has re-christened them the “Healthy Tory Group”!

District Council 2

Housing “ring fencing” removal threat…                    

The Health Concern decision to partially remove the “ring fencing” of Council House receipts for new housing is worrying. We face a growing housing shortage.

District Council 3

Capital & Revenue…                                                      

If not all the Health Concern Portfolio Holders appear to understand the precise difference between Capital and Revenue we are worried!

District Council 4

Public Speaking…                                                           

Council backed Liberal proposals to let members of the public speak at full Council. Well almost! We said by 2004. Health Concern said “sometime”!

District Council 5

Telephone Report…                                                       

No-one is happy after the Report on chaos on the Council’s telephone switchboard. There were still cut offs and delays today!

District Council 6

No Thought…                                                                  

Health Concern Leader Howard Martin says his group “think on our feet”. It shows – no planning!

District Council 7

No Whip, Not!                                                                   

Health Concern Leader Howard Martin says they don’t have a whip only to announce “We will not be supporting the motion....” Yes, we all understand!