Bin and Gone

Some time ago I blogged about the bin outside my house going missing, necessitating a call to Greenwich Council to seek a replacement. I've remembered I never posted an update, so to all those readers desperately waiting for news of my household waste situation, I can confirm that after a couple of emails to the Cleansweep "Contact Centre" a new bin was delivered. It was the wrong one, however. I suggested to my flatmate that as the only difference is the colour of the lid, we should just repaint it. I believe it's now been sorted out, finally.

Celebrating St. George's Day

I've just dropped by Trafalgar Square where the Mayor's St. George's Day celebrations are in full swing. Boris deserves great credit for marking England's Patron Saint in this way, which his predecessor chose not to during his term of office [UPDATE: Commenters point out Ken did in fact hold similar events, so I retract that - although they clearly passed me by].

Ken Livingstone does however deserve credit for introducing this type of community event for Londoners. They really do help promote a sense of unity whilst celebrating the rich diversity of the city's people. In these harsh economic times a bit of free entertainment and a chance to have fun are more important than ever, and they needn't be too expensive for the taxpayer- or cost anything at all with sponsorship. 'Bread and circuses' is a cliche, but that doesn't make it wrong.

Day 3 of the Henry trail

Another day, and yes, another exhibition. Yesterday I had a day off work and spent a very pleasant afternoon at the Tower of London viewing their 'Henry VIII-Dressed to Kill' exhibit in the White Tower. Again, the local connection was much in evidence, with many of the most splendid of the king's suits of armour having been made at the Greenwich armoury.

Henry VIII and modern Greenwich

Another day, another Henry VIII exhibition. Tonight I was at the launch of Greenwich Heritage centre's contribution to the commemorations of our most famous resident's accession to the throne. It's a fascinating look at how the King's presence and his legacy shaped Greenwich, Woolwich and Eltham. A significant element is the founding of the Royal Dockyard at Woolwich which happened in 1512 for the building of Henry's flagship, the Great Harry. As readers of my Blog know, I've had the crazy idea for some time to build a new ship- the Great Harry 2, if you will- to commemorate this fact. Some laughed, but I've continued working on the idea, and I'm pleased to report my opposite number on the Labour benches, Cllr. John Fahy, is also taking it seriously. He mentioned it in his speech at the exhibition launch tonight, and I will be meeting with him and Council officers to see how it might be possible for the Council to bring together private sponsors and voluntary groups to develop a project. Imagine- the Olympics in Greenwich in 2012, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and sailing past Greenwich and Woolwich, a magnificent modern tall ship, echoing Henry's pride and joy, built not as an expression of military might, but of civic pride and community involvement. Local youth groups would be able to learn new skills and the power of teamwork, as well as local and national history. And as for the tourists... Convinced? OK, so some might not be, but watch this space.

Newsflash: The King is Dead, Long Live the King!
Ok, so the newsflash is 500 years late. Yesterday marked 500 years since Henry VII died and was succeeded by his young son, Henry VIII. For anyone who loves history it's an exciting anniversary, and I was therefore very pleased to be able to attend the launch of Dr David Starkey's new exhibition 'Henry VIII: Man and Monarch' at the British Library last night.

It is an incredible collection of exhibits, including one of the King's love letters to Anne Boleyn and the desk on which he is thought to have written it. The letter was, in Starkey's words "nicked by the Vatican from Anne's desk" and has been lent by them to be put on view for the first time. Starkey was on typically good form in his speech, managing to slip in criticism of Labour's Budget, and of some of his fellow historians.

Greenwich Borough of course played a huge role in the history of Henry's life and reign - as well as being born at Greenwich Palace, he spent much of his childhood at Eltham Palace, and founded the Royal Dockyard at Woolwich. This latter point is being explored in another exhibition at the Greenwich Heritage Centre, which I'll post a report on tonight. There are a range of other commemorative events this year, and I'll be aiming to do the whole Henry 'tour' - partly because I am chairing a scrutiny review of heritage in Greenwich, but mainly because it's so fascinating.

A Labour man with an internet plan

I haven't been blogging on the 'smear-gate' scandal engulfing the Labour party, mostly because the rest of the blogosphere has done such an excellent job advancing the story, but also because the whole thing is too depressing for words. I've lost count of the number of people who've said to me "Isn't that what all politicians do?". Well no, it most certainly isn't, and the scale of the outcry will hopefully persuade people of that.

However, I did notice this quote from Derek Draper in his interview with the Guardian today, attempting to justify the setting up of "Red Rag":

"My view was that Labour needed an internet strategy. We needed a leftwing version of ConservativeHome and that was the point of LabourList. I thought we needed a single blogger similar to Iain Dale, and I was willing to do that because there did not seem anyone else obvious to do it. And we needed something with leftwing tittle-tattle like Guido Fawkes."

Isn't that exactly Labour's problem with the internet? They just don't get it. ConservativeHome, Iain Dale and Guido are not part of a Conservative 'internet strategy' - they are independent sites, run by people with no formal ties to the Party, whose work is often unhelpful to the Party leadership. The internet, and the 'blogosphere' grows organically, from the roots up. It is not something which can be planned from above with a Stalinist plan. But that is the Labour way. In that one remark, Draper reveals exactly how he got into his present mess, as well as giving a case study in why left-wing central planning is always doomed to fail.

Oysters in the Thames

I've long believed that one of the best things there is to do in London is to cruise down (or up) the Thames. It really is the best way to see the city, and in over ten years of living in the city I've never got bored of it. It's one of the reasons I joined the London branch of the Maritime Volunteer Service, under whose supervision I recently steered a boat through the Thames Barrier and past Greenwich (and managed not to crash).

In the last few years, the Thames Clipper service between Westminster and Woolwich has provided an exhilerating high-speed link between Greenwich borough and the centre of town. Whenever I have an excuse to do so I love speeding down the river on these impressive craft, and wish I could afford to do it more often.

So it was extremely welcome that Boris Johnson's manifesto contained proposals to make better use of the river. And last week he published his 'River Concordat" between river service operators, pier owners and London Boroughs. The biggest announcement is that from November, Thames Clipper services will accept Oyster pay-as-you-go. I've known this was on the cards for some time, having discussed it with TfL and with AEG (who own Thames Clipper services) shortly after the Mayoral election last year.

Sadly, Greenwich Council adopted a rather childish approach, mounting a "campaign" for improved services and acceptance of the Oystercard, whilst fully aware the Mayor was already committed to these objectives. Our Conservative colleagues on the London Assembly, Gareth Bacon, was told by the Mayor that the Council had not even been in touch with him on these issues. Greenwich Leader Chris Roberts has since denied this, saying there have been meetings between Greenwich and TfL about this, but if that is the case, they would have known that negotiations to bring Oystercard to the Clippers were well advanced.

Anyway, such bickering aside, it is undoubtedly a good thing that the potential of the River is being more fully explored. I have suggested that we should look at a bigger role for the Thames in the Olympic travel plan, and I will be pursuing this in future, along with other ways of making sure that Greenwich (longest river frontage in London, trivia fans) makes the most of its riparian credentials.

Boris pledges to protect Greenwich Park
There has been considerable controversy locally and in the press about the use of Greenwich Park for the Olympic horseriding events in 2012. It's quite a difficult issue for me, because I am instinctively supportive of those who want to protect the park, which is one of the most splendid public spaces in London, if not the whole country. It also has a wonderful history, as the oldest of the Royal Parks, enjoyed by Tudor and Stuart monarchs.

But it is actually this history which makes me also sympathetic to the plans to hold the Olympic equestrian events there. History is not a frozen moment in time, it is the blend and sweep of events. Conserving our heritage is therefore a tricky balancing act - what to conserve? The London Olympic games will themselves be an historic event, and weaving them into the history of the city should not automatically be seen as cultural vandalism.

Henry VIII used Greenwich Park for riding and hunting, so it is not as though horsemanship is an alien concept there. With the 500th anniversary of Henry's reign nearly upon us, it could be an appropriate piece of historical symmetry. So I have taken quite an open-minded view of the concept of horse-riding events taking place in this wonderful place.

But there are real concerns. The romanticism of the image doesn't blind me to that. People are rightly concerned that the park could be closed for a prolonged period of time, that historic trees and features of the park could be damaged, and so on. My Conservative colleagues and I have had people raise these points with us, and we have a duty to take them seriously. We raised them at Council when officials from LOCOG came to brief us on the plans, and were given reassuring answers, but these of course remain merely good intentions.

Earlier this year I wrote to Boris Johnson to set out the position of Greenwich Conservatives - that we support Olympic events being hosted in Greenwich, but want assurances that these real concerns will be addressed. The Mayor replied, giving an assurance that: "I am personally determined that the hosting of the equestrian events does not result in lengthy closures and that the ecology and historic nature of the area is respected."

This gained some coverage in the local press, although in one report, the "NOGOE" campaign group remain sceptical. I appreciate there is still much to be done to ensure that concerns are addressed, and we will continue to work to make sure the strength of feeling is taken onboard and that the plans minimise any potential for damage. I certainly think the Labour council is being too dismissive of the concerns that exist, and we'll be pressing them to take them more seriously. As the local planning authority we have signficant influence, and we should use it positively.

Normal service is resumed


Rather a long break from blogging, mainly due to having no internet access at weekends, and having been busy on various other projects. So, as it's typical bank holiday weather outside, it's about time I got up to date. Stand by for some belated, but hopefully interesting, posts.