Forshaw Heath & Earlswood BoD in Warwickshire

I watched the discussion on Police Chat this afternoon just because I wanted to know what it was all about. I am still disappointed that Warwickshire Police don't appear to be participating.  However I did have a breakthrough and found that the Warwickshire Police Authority are actually tucked away on Twitter and Face book but they are a bit shy in coming forward and its not quite the same as having people on the coal face Tweeting. Of course the argument quite rightly is the Police should be Policing and not spending time Tweeting. However if you really break it down the job of the Police is to prevent crime and solve crime as quickly as possible. Of course with limited resources its getting harder and harder to do. Like the rest of us a Police Person can only be in one place at one time. So what has social media got to do with it all? Whether we like it or not social media is a part of our times and it is a way of reaching many people Free Of Charge and at the click of a b...

Police Chat takes place on Thursday 31 March at 1pm. This week we are considering the impact of social media on the policing of protests, events  and major operations. Many forces have used social media including Twitter and Facebook when preparing and  running major events. This can be either as an operational requirement or to communicate  the activity. In some cases it may be about allowing the media into control rooms to do the tweeting or updates. In light of the events at the weekend and the Metropolitan Police use of social media we can look at: 1. How is social media changing the management of communication around  Events? 2. What elements can be harnessed to benefit the policing? 3. Should the concerns about social media prevent police using it for large events  or  protests? 4. How does the operational and communication use work together? http://twitter.com/pol_chat#

I am actually finding my blog quite therapeutic as I have said before I can type away until my heart is content.  Anyway since my blogging has captured my imagination kept me quiet and allowed me to ramble away to myself and the odd visitor here and there alongside keeping up to date with Twitter.  I can't help but think Earlswood and Forshaw Heath are lacking a bit in the blogging and twitter stakes. I am not talking about our Parish Council or Residents Association. I am talking about just normal people. I have found one blog Birds Of Earlswood (Feathered Variety) other than my own. Memo to ones self (I must improve my google techniques) perhaps we are all just a bit shy and don't like scribbling in public. Perhaps we just haven't got anything to say at all. Whilst Twittering I follow all those surrounding Councils, Police Forces, local business and services and have learnt quite a lot. I must say I am very impressed with West Midlands Police. The timely upda...

http://www.solihulluk.co.uk/historydetail.php?id=28903&cid=592&f=Solihull http://www.countrysidebooks.co.uk/ Forshaw Heath, just one and a half miles long and roughly one and a quarter miles wide, has had a very tranquil history.  It was in existence in the 9th century, when it was known as Foxshawe, the place of foxes. Foxshawe came within the influence of Solihull and the owner of a large moated house paid one penny a year as a tithe. The remains of the moat are still to be seen - a muddy waterway in the middle of a field.  Solihull's interest declined and Forshaw Heath, as it was now called, became part of the domain of Stratford-on-Avon and remains so to this day. There has been little turbulence known in the district.  The other large house is Forshaw Park Farm, a very beautiful, well restored place which has been occupied since 1624. The house together with its huge barn are now listed buildings. In the 1930s it was occupied by a very ec...

Try broadband speed test They tell me it's because I live quite a way from the Earlswood exchange however I am beginning to get fed up of that excuse as I look at peoples speed that live a few hundred yards away and to be honest they on the whole haven't got all that much better speeds than myself. I suspect it's something to do with many of the community dwellers are Silver Surfers (Not that I am that far off my self) people know no better and there aren't enough complaints to warrant upgrading or improving the Earlswood exchange.  The slower speed becomes the norm and acceptable and now we end up paying more for less. Now here is the thing as I said earlier 2.5 MB is quite acceptable for my self and my surfing but how hacked off would I have been if I knew no better and had got drawn into the expensive BT TV package and I just wonder how many people have! Once again its all about giving the least possible for the most profit and offering substand...

I can't believe it a week of beautiful sunshine and warmth and what happens? come the weekend the heating is back on the fleece is back out and I am cold. Just to make me feel better I yet again decided to change the blog just to make me feel better and warmer. I had so many plans for the garden as well. Never mind

BBC News reported on 8 February 2011 that the Ministry of Defence had announced the sale of Invincible to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey. Her hulk was towed from Portsmouth to Turkey on Thursday 24 March 2011 to be broken up . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Invincible_%28R05%29 How very sad is that? Surely in this day and age we could think of a better use! other than scrap. Daft ideas below. Housing (How cool to have the address HMS Invincible Floating Prison Just call it HMP Invincible instead of HMS (Save the tax payer and the environment building another prison) It is to late now it has gone been sold on an E-bay type site and on its way to Turkey. I have a question if the Turkish can buy it for scrap, they wouldn't have done so without thinking they could make money. Why didn't the British scrap it and make money. I am so so confused and really begin to wonder what will happen to the ARK Royal. Oh well another bit of British History scrapped! ...

For quite a while there has been a leak on the bridge at Earlswood Station during the cold weather I could have done with Ice Skates to cross the bridge and get to the footpath. It was very dangerous especially when at one point it seeped onto the road and froze. Anyway at long last something appears to be happening to solve the leak which is really good news. However I am perplexed, traffic lights  appeared a few days ago alongside a hole  being dug as if by magic they appeared. All week I have not seen one person working at said leak. I have been starting work later than normal and would expect to see workmen about but not once have I seen anyone starting work or preparing to go home. The work site hasn't other than the traffic lights and the hole changed.  I would love to know what is happening

Well having had a bit of time with Firefox and Internet Explorer I have now decided to try Google Chrome. I must admit I have started to tire of Internet Explorer although I know it well I decided to leave the "better the devil I know" and go and find out what other browsers had to offer. LOL here I am speaking a load of technical waffle, sometimes people just assume other people know what they are talking about. I knew what an internet browser was I just never knew how to explain it and thinking about it never bothered until now to try any other browser. Anyway my reason for trying different Internet Browsers is to see if I can surf the net any quicker than Internet Explorer will allow me to and make up for BT PPP. If you don't know what PPP is suffice to say the last P is performance. A whole new world of internet browsing. The first thing I noticed about both Chrome and Firefox was how much quicker it loaded my internet pages. Which to some extent makes up a lit...

Try broadband speed test Well it's a little bit quicker but not a lot  Why don't they sell me a package of up to 4MB I really do object to paying fo up to 8MB and not even getting half way there. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/feb/20/averageukbroadbandspeedis

Incase you didn't know an upgraded version of Firefox 4 is now available to download . http://www.mozilla.com/en-GB/firefox/4.0/whatsnew/

I must admit I am growing to quite like Twitter with its short random updates from those I have chosen to follow. When I feel brave enough I reply or re tweet. However due to twitter I have been alerted to another tool. Twit Cam or is that Tweet Cam I can never remember.  Like I was trying to find a use for Twitter which has proved on 3 or 4 occasions to be informative and helpful I am now pondering on what possible use there could be for a Tweet Cam. To all intents and purposes it appears like a normal web cam the difference being people can Tweet real time on your broadcast whilst you are broadcasting. So in short I suppose it is a revamp of video conferencing with one Twitter being filmed and their followers being able to ask questions. How good is that! I just can't think of a use for it at the moment. I expect I will do. I think the key to it is live,interactive, free and fun

It just goes to show how important it is to have an easily navigated website or Blog. Don't get me wrong I am no expert and can eventually find what I want. Primarily my blog started off as a place where I could scribble away. I added a few links of interest so they were all in one place and I could get to them easily. So that's OK I can navigate my way around my own blog. I asked my husband to navigate around just to see what he came up with. The only thing he uses the web for is BCFC web site and match dates and occasionally the BBCI Player. He failed miserably to read my blog, He missed the local links at the top of the page, Didn't know what a word cloud was! found a broken link and then asked where all the local pubs were. If he were a visitor he would like to know where the nearest watering hole was. I forget that sometimes some people aren't quite as used to the Internet as others. So it's back to the drawing board

Decommissioning  http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=15559 Ultimately I have become so cynical and quite simply think its about Money. Its not about protecting innocent people, its about protecting the fat cats and their financial interests. Whilst I am at one of my mega moans why on earth do rebels that have access to their own planes need our help?  I just don't get it.  Well in fact perhaps I do get it! almost everything we have sent to Libya has recently been decommissioned. All we are missing is the Ark Royal. Question is why would you plan to decommission something that is still proving useful and what would you have done if all the decommissioned stuff had been sold, or scrapped, then who would have gone to Libya? Interesting question really! To De-Commission de·com·mis·sion to remove or retire (a ship, airplane, etc.) from active service. to deactivate; shut down: to decommission a nuclear power plant. http:/...

On what was meant to be a quick makeover I ended up getting in a total pickle with revamping my blog. I don't know why but I decided after a few short weeks I was already bored with it and instead of curved gentle lines and water ripples wanted it straight and orderly. I have just broken one of my own rules. I get use to a website or a blog and curse when someone changes the layout and often wondered why they do it! Now I know the reason they get bored with the way it looks and works. So for now welcome to my new look blog. It isn't finished but I have now got fed up with messing around, no doubt I will have another brain wave later and change it again.

Try broadband speed test Is anyone else as fedup as I am?

An Earlswood & Forshaw Heath Bod: The Earlswood Wildlife Partnership Many thanks to the Earlswood Lakes Partnership and its volunteers see the launch of the new Tern Raft. Video provided by  Birds Of Earlswood The Feathered Variety

I know we haven't got many manned ticket offices left which I personally think is very sad.  You only have to look at the sad state of some of what were once pretty welcoming stations on the way in to Stratford to realise that without these people the stations go to rack and ruin. For the 2nd night running I noticed that the ticket office in Shirley was closed it was horrid and even at dusk was uninviting and not somewhere I wouldn't like to be by myself.  As a Tourist on the way to Stratford I would start to worry about my expensive visit having passed so many unkempt stations so near to my holiday destination. All in the name of progress. I would love to know where all the people who buy their daily weekly or monthly tickets from manned stations will que at rush hour when they get off at Snow Hill or Birmingham.When the Guard hasn't been able to collect fair on the Train.  Although LM has recently improved its ticket gates or should I say the manning and opening ...

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A TIDBURY Green man is fuming after a mountain of furniture was left piled up outside a neighbour’s home following a police raid. Mark Payton said that officers had scoured the address, in Norton Lane, a fortnight ago - removing belongings from the house. But after West Mercia Police had finished their search, carried out over several days, they left the possessions outside. A washing machine, fridge freezer and cooker were among the household items left out on the garden. <a target="_blank" href="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3ac9/3/0/%2a/i%3B235657823%3B2-0%3B0%3B59468476%3B4307-300/250%3B40946979/40964766/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D0/ff/22/ff%3B%7Efdr%3D235706767%3B0-0%3B0%3B48876659%3B4307-300/250%3B40500089/40517876/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D2/0/22/0%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://pfa.levexis.com/ancestry/tman.cgi/tmad=c&tmcampid=3&tmplaceref=1051573&tmclickref=pid_59468476-cid_40946979-aid_235657823&tmloc=http://www.ancestry.co.uk/s46861/rd....

As I made time to have a little whinge a few days ago about LM and the exit problems at Snow Hill when two trains arrived together and how dangerous it was when the electronic gates were not opened quickly enough, resrticting people from leaving the Station. Having tweeted London Midland and making them aware of my concerns not only did I have a quick response via Twitter. I also enountered once again two trains disembarking at the same time however this time the gates were open and there did not appear to be any problems in exiting the station . I don't know if it was my tweet or lots of other complaints. I don't really mind which ever way something was done about it. Lets just hope it continues

http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/8897826.Wythall_car_trader_prosecuted_for__clocked__and_unroadworthy_vehicles/ SUCCESSFUL prosecutions have recently been brought against a Wythall car trader by Worcestershire Regulatory Services for offences relating to vehicles which were unroadworthy or “clocked”. In January 2010 Christopher Davis, trading as Portway Motor Centre, sold a Porsche 944. Prior to its sale the purchaser was told that it was in excellent condition, however, a subsequent examination revealed the bodywork to be so badly corroded that it was too dangerous to drive. In October 2009, Portway Motor Centre advertised a Toyota Celica for sale on the Ebay website. The advertisement stated that the vehicle had covered 86,000 miles and on this basis it was sold to a Worcestershire resident. When the new owner decided to sell the car he discovered that the mileage had been reduced by 34,000 prior to its purchase. In March 2010, a BMW 323i was simila...

http://www.waterscape.com/features-and-articles/news/3015/good-tern-from-wildlife-enthusiasts British Waterways has teamed up with a local wildlife group near Solihull to improve facilities for visiting terns on Earlswood Lakes. A British Waterways ecologist will work alongside Earlswood Wildlife Partnership to install a tern raft at Terry Pool on Monday 14 March. The location may be just a thirty-minute drive from a major Midlands city, but it’s also popular with a variety of wildlife , including common terns, which spend the summer in Africa and come to the UK to breed each April. Although seabirds, terns often venture inland to build their nests on islands safe from predators and tern rafts provide an ideal artificial breeding habitat. Earlswood Wildlife Partnership identified the requirement for a tern raft after several seasons of common terns visiting the Earlswood lakes but not having anywhere to nest. The partnership has worked hard on the island an...

As I watch the terrifying media footage of the earthquake followed by the tsunami and now the nuclear power plant explosion in Japan. I can't help but feel for all of those people. Obviously it stands to reason everyone will be moved and saddened by such a chain of events and the death and destruction left in its wake. I feel the earth will always fight back no matter what, history shows the earth has always suffered from natural disasters. Here is a thought are we Humans the root cause of creating what appears to be disaster after disaster in short periods of time? I am no expert and I don't know if they used to happen as frequently as they appear to now or whether the fast moving progress of the human race is so fast and needy the earth just can't keep up with us. As we drill for its oil, chop its rain forests down dig holes, build and use all its resources, it can't possible replenish itself quickly enough to continue providing for us. We don't give it e...

Today Dad and I had a real Daughter Father discussion. It actually turns out we don't actually think much differently to each other. A friend of his out of the blue quite simply said the country is Fked (excuse language) In any case it started a conversation about fuel prices and some of the ramifications it will or could have in the future. Lets talk Food! Small hauliers will go out of business not be able to afford to deliver Large hauliers will put their costs up Supermarkets will put their price up to reflect the cost of delivery Car owners won't be able to get to out of town to shop(they wont be able to afford it) The petrol that is. There won't be any public transport to get them there because of cuts I know lets reinvent the wheel! Lets all open up local shops with local food, reinvent our farms and support our local shops, You know the ones Local Butcher, Local Grocery, Local Baker, Local Post Office, Local Business. All the things that have closed in th...

Today I had time to watch and listen to Stratford District Councils online planning meeting. I have to say it was sort of an eye opener but I really do think broadcasting it was the right thing to do. Not many of us can attend or support or object to many of the things that happen in our Local Communities simply because they previously haven't been accessible we don't know about them or it just passes us by until it affects us. I tell a lie yes they are accessible if you can't attend you can always read ,as these things are a matter of public record. There is nothing like actually being there to support or object an application, nothing can ever replace that. There is something near to it - being there virtually. I really think what SDC by streaming broadcasting their planning meeting was a huge step forward in people becoming accountable and responsible for their decisions, plus the General Public being given the opportunity to start to understand what actually goes o...

I have decided today I am not going to moan about anything. The sun is shining the birds are singing and guess who has a day off work. The Dog is soaking up the sunshine in the garden he has made himself very comfortable on the garden bench. Well I suppose that's better than soaking wet and muddy after a walk in the woods,  I don't have the muddy foot prints to worry about. Then again if I am totally honest with myself I don't really worry about the muddy foot prints. I am not exactly the worlds best domestic goddess. In-fact one day last year or should I say over the period of at least a couple of days I decided to join the rest of the human race and have a Spring clean. I threw so much stuff out it was unbelievable then I promptly washed everything even if it wasn't washing and to top it all iron it all. I was so proud of myself even the OH thought I had a brain transplant. How disappointed was I when I go to get stuff ready for work all organised and I find I have ...

Some of those people that were reading yesterday may of read me moan about the exit of Snow Hill station and how dangerous it is when two commuter trains arrive together and passengers try to leave the station at the same time. Yesterday I found myself stuck at the top of a moving escalator with no way forward and no way backward because the electronic gates weren't letting the flow of passengers out quickly enough. It is not the first time it has happened to me. I decided to put my new found piece of technology to use and Twitter London Midland with my concerns. I was actually pleasantly surprised to get a Tweet back at all asking me what I thought the solution was! Solution 1 Instead of keeping the gates closed for the early morning commuters putting them in danger leave them open and then try closing them after 10am until 15:30hrs. I notice when I get to work late or leave early there is no one around and the gates are open. Solution 2 Move the gates to the Glass door exi...

Here we are on the 2nd day of Spring and I feel like I have been blasted back into the depths of winter. Last Wednesday it was warm enough (just) to wear a T Shirt comfortably this evening I was scratching around for some gloves. Anyway today I started to get annoyed with London Midland again. For those of you that aren't aware at Snow Hill station they have introduced electronic gates where you pop your ticket in and the machine spits it out and opens the gate at the same time.  The trouble is there don't appear to be enough gates for people to flow through easily and the space between the gates and the escalators is questionable especially when two trains arrive together.  This is what happens people can't get through the gates quick enough and we all get packed together like sardines with people trying to get off the moving escalators.  I happened to be at the top of the escalators this morning and had nowhere to go.  How the hell this isn'...

The Ministry of Defence says the first wave of redundancies in the armed forces will be made in September. The MoD must make 11,000 job cuts and the RAF is the first service to set out where its share of 2,700 will begin. Those on operations in Afghanistan in September will be exempt, but troops due back in April could lose their jobs, it has been announced. The government says the cuts are necessary, but Labour says the handling of the news has been amateurish. The armed forces are looking to shed 17,000 posts over the next four years as defence spending is cut. A review has found that, after natural wastage, a total of 11,000 redundancies will have to be made in three or four tranches. The RAF is the first service to set out details of its plans, with the first 1,020 jobs due to go in September. Disbanded Up to 170 trainee pilots will be made redundant, although the RAF says no qualified pilots will be affected. Another 100 posts will go from the Weapons System Officers Branch, 100 ...