Not yet home and dry

A very useful catch-up meeting with the Cutty Sark Trust this afternoon. The extra Lottery funding today is a huge boost, but the project isn't yet home and dry. I'm told there was some champagne opened earlier, but then it was back to work. The fire caused huge delays and added millions to the budget, of which insurance money will cover just a fraction. So the fundraising goes on. A further thought on this: The Trust's staff are too polite to mention it, but astonishingly, whilst Mayor Livingstone's 'piggy bank' the LDA is happy to shell out millions to dubious projects all over the capital, the Cutty Sark has received not a penny. Another reason why King Ken-newt needs to be deposed from his throne.

Cutty Sark gets fresh wind in her sails!

BBC news are reporting that the Cutty Sark is to receive an extra funding boost of £10 million from the Lottery. I don't know the details, but if this is accurate, it is terrific news. The fire left a £9 million shortfall on top of the existing £6 million gap, so this will help enormously.

I already had a pre-arranged meeting with Richard Doughty of the Cutty Sark Trust tomorrow afternoon, and am glad there will now be some good news to celebrate. More details as I get them.
(Above: On a visit to see the fire damage last year: L-R, Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey MP, me, Cutty Sark Trust Chief Executive Richard Doughty)

Charlton lights up

A pleasant evening at Charlton House tonight for the switching on of the building's new floodlights. Well, I missed the actual switching on ceremony by a few minutes, but the building looked very good, as this photo shows. I was however in time for the drinks reception in the old library, where someone involved in the project told me the work was done by the same firm who lit up Buckingham Palace a couple of years ago. I suppose it's a fairly specialised market, but good to know Greenwich has another Royal link to add to our countless others. (PS- in case anyone is concerned about the environmental impact, there are apparently solar panels fitted to the roof to power the lights. Well, not at the same time, you understand...)

The Great Chinese Take-Away

The Great Leader in the People's republic: Cllr. Roberts looking very much at home in a proper communist state. This picture is of course from the 'fact-finding' visit our dear Council Leader and Cllr. John Fahy undertook on behalf of the Borough to Beijing, to look at Olympic venues and see how they are preparing as host city. The Greenwich delegation certainly didn't slum it - according to reports from one who accompanied them, there were 'guards of honour saluting at attention to greet us at a couple of events' and 'we were treated to a full banquet of genuine Chinese cuisine each day in stunningly beautiful restaurants.'

Time will tell if this experience has a lasting effect on Comrade Roberts' ego, but there is a serious point to this. Was sending Councillors and officers on this trip really the right use of taxpayers' money given the current round of cuts that are being implemented to services? Particularly as one of the victims of those cuts is none other than Greenwich's Chinese Community School, whose head teacher made an impassioned plea for help at the last full Council meeting. Oh, the irony.

As an Olympic host Borough, we clearly have things to learn from other cities who have hosted or will host the Games, and I am not against the Council funding visits abroad - we have good twinning links with other Boroughs for example, and I have myself been on such visits.

But appearances are very important, and I think the cost of this trip falls into the same category as the cost of hiring a corporate box at the O2 - whilst it may just be possible to make a case for the expenditure, it hardly looks like a politically sensitive use of taxpayers' money, does it? We know it was controversial in Labour ranks too, and was allegedly the subject for much debate at their Party group meeting before it was agreed on. I doubt if the above picture will be comfortable viewing for many of the Leader's colleagues.

A sad beginning to 2008

I was informed earlier today that one of the victims of yesterday's car crash in Charlton, a 16-year-old girl, was a constituent of mine in Eltham North. A tragic beginning to the New Year, and my thoughts are with her family and those of the other victims.