by Paul Scully | Aug 27, 2008 | News |
Much has been said about the amazing success of Team GB at the Beijing Olympics. I rediscovered a quadrennial passion for Yngling sailing and the Keirin (greyhound racing on bikes where instead of chasing a hare, the cyclists chase what looks like a pizza delivery bike), as well as the more commonly known sports.
I was caught up in the moment cheering on every one of our medallists and look forward to the sport in four years time. There is a long way to go and I suspect that I won’t look forward to the bill for the games but that is for another post. In the meantime, have a look at the video and watch Boris at the handover party looking forward to London 2012 as only he can. Now where is my ox?
by Paul Scully | Aug 17, 2008 | News |
Now my computer is just about back to normal, I ought to catch up with the events of the last week or so.
I was invited to the attend the final and closing ceremony of the Carroms European Championships held at Sutton High School. If you haven’t heard of the game before, have a look at the Wikipedia entry and this simple summary of the rules. Essentially it is similar to pool but played on a board with counters which are potted by flicking a ‘striker’ instead of hitting a cue ball.
The great thing about the game is that it is easy to get into, costs very little to start and can be played by young and old, male or female, fit and unfit. My grandfather made my father a board over half a century ago, which my family still pull out and play on every now and again. Being accessible is only one test of a great game. Longevity is the other. The final was three hours of enthralling play. The skill and concentration shown by the two finalists, both from the UK was remarkable and the time flew by.
Vijay Sharma of the UK Carrom Federation was a terrific host with contestants from Italy, Holland, France, Germany and Poland amongst others. It occurs to me that with a bit of a helping hand from the Council, Vijay and his colleagues could organise some demonstrations of this compelling game in Sutton schools and encourage a few young people to take up the game. Young people often talk about not having anything to do. We respond with youth provision without truly understanding whether youths are interested in what is provided or not. Offering a choice can only be a good thing and carrom is easy, cheap and different. Well worth a crack in my book.
by Paul Scully | Aug 7, 2008 | News |
Iain Dale reports that he is having to bring the deadline forward for voting in the blogging awards to this Friday. I’ve covered how to vote and what it is all about here.
If you’re feeling generous and would like to help me reach even loftier heights than 155th, please send your top 10 blogs (preferably with me in it) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com.
Apologies for the lack of posts. My hard drive has died and it is taking sometime to get my data back. More soon.
by Paul Scully | Jul 29, 2008 | News |
A couple of weeks ago, an eagle-eyed resident from Clockhouse saw a truck emblazoned with the Sutton tree logo tipping cuttings onto an overgrown area near Corrigan Rec. He took a photo of the truck as it left and reported it at a residents’ meeting attended by Cllr Tim Crowley. Further investigation showed that this wasn’t the first time that this had happened and that the rubbish was being dumped over the borough boundary into Banstead & Reigate.
It is not acceptable that we are lectured on fly tipping when the Council takes a different line for its own actions. Although we were told that there was nothing to worry about, the waste was hurriedly cleared up by several employees and a couple of tractors on a Sunday, presumably at double pay. Whilst the political administration continue to attempt to ‘contain’ the issue, Council officers seem to taken action, holding their hands up and started an investigation to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
by Paul Scully | Jul 27, 2008 | News |
I’ll write separately about last week’s full council meeting where Colin Hall survived my call for his resignation via a no-confidence motion. Although he has now gone away for four weeks, the fallout from the unpopular £35 green garden waste charge continues.
The Council bought 38,000 bags. However as of the 24th, only 4,466 had been sold to 3,864 households. That’s a lot of little jute bags hanging around in store. Some people have told me that they bought one reluctantly feeling that they had no choice. Others, like the constituent mentioned in the video, simply cannot or will not buy the bags. Tim Crowley got rid of some bags of rubbish for one of his constituents. She had four composters in her garden so she cannot be accused of failing to do her bit.
We know that the policy will change in September following a ‘consultation’. The retreat is being carefully stage-managed throughout six weeks of summer when people are doing a lot of gardening.
![I Need Your Vote]()
by Paul Scully | Jul 23, 2008 | News |
Last year, I was place 155th in the Top 500 political blogs. This year, Iain Dale is
publishing a new book including the top 100 blogs. If you have enjoyed reading my witterings, then it would be great if you would spend a few moments voting for me. I’ve reproduced the rules below:-
“We’re asking for your votes to decide the Top 100 UK Political Blogs. Simply email your Top Ten (ranked from 1 to 10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com. If you have a blog, please encourage your readers to do the same. I’ll then compile the Top 100 from those that you send in. Just order them from 1 to 10. Your top blog gets 10 points and your tenth gets 1 point.
The deadline for submitting your Top 10 is Friday August 15th. Please type Top 10 in the subject line. Or you can of course leave your Top 10 in the Comments on this post.
Once all the entries are in a lucky dip draw will take place and the winner will be sent £100 worth of political books!
The rules are simple:
1. Please only vote once
2. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible
3. Votes must be cast before Friday 15 August
5. You must send a list of TEN blogs, ranked. Any entry containing fewer than ten blogs will not count.
6. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
