The Doll's Dander Is Up And She Do Agree: "Save Treloyhan Woods"

I have posted before about the pace of development in St Ives in Cornwall.... yes it may be nostalgia... but I really do think this is now beyond fond memories of the past.
I don't often write a post like this.... but an area close to my teenage-years heart is about to get the natural stuffing knocked out of it.
So I ask you to watch this film and consider contributing to the GoFundMe:Treloyhan Appeal against Cornwall Council's planning approval for 16 houses to be built in the wooded grounds of Treloyhan Manor owned by Methodist Guild Holidays Ltd. These woods form an important "green corridor" for St Ives/Carbis Bay and a stopping place and breeding ground for nationally rare bird species.
The campaign has launched a judicial appeal .... which costs money.

Greenpeace's Coastal Champion Tour Sets Off From Porthleven

The Old Man and I do go to Porthleven on Saturday to see Greenpeace launch (absolutely) their Coastal Champions Tour from Porthleven. Rather grey and brisk weather but people cheered when the boat hit the harbour water and plenty of kids were face-painted.

Local Lib Dem MP Andrew George was there to speak as were Green candidate Tim Andrewes and Labour candidate Cornelius Olivier. No sign of Tory or Ukip candidates... of course... nor of Mebyon Kernow candidate...
(Edit: Rob Simmons -Mebyon Kernow candidate- couldn't make it. See his comment below)
.... Nor of the MP for Camborne & Redruth - George Eustice - our current Fisheries Minister.

Andrew George does get out and about and pushes forward with his own campaigns and issues. You may have seen him ploughing his lonely furrow with his Private Members Bill on Affordable Housing on Michael Cockerell's BBC2 series "Inside the Commons"... being filibustered and harangued in the charming manner of this great institution.
Anyway Saturday was the start of the Greenpeace Tour taking their fishing boat Rising Tide to various ports around the country raising awareness of theirs and NUTFA's campaign to get politicians to sign up to keeping local fishing viable and sustainable.

Manners On The Lizard...And A Beach Clean...

Roused ourselves from hibernation the other day in order to march around Lizard Point a bit. And to eat a pasty of course. Walking back towards the village on a very narrow road... we do have to press in to the hedge for several cars. Their drivers waved and thanked. Then I hear the throaty roar of some grand kinda auto... immediately followed by a second.
We pressed in. They passed by.
Not a smile or wave.
I admit I do shout something sarcastic at both of the car parties.... Manners maketh nothing for some.

At the weekend we do also march along the local beach. There were the remains of what must have been a splendid firework show lying all over the sand. Rocket sticks and cylinders in plenty. Cardboard "candle" cylinders the size of Family Chicken Buckets. Red plastic nose cones all over the place. I couldn't stand it and started to gather them together. The Old Man do go one step further and start to ferry them up to a council bin on the path above. Together we manage two or three armfuls and gathered yet more rocket sticks as we walked along back to the car. All the time another couple were beach-combing near by. Perhaps for pretty pebbles? As we passed them on some steps (still clutching our armfuls) they congratulated us on our  beach clean up. They had seen the fireworks from their home some miles away. We were jolly good to pick it all up. They smiled politely and genuinely as they walked on with their carrier bag of beach-combings.
Sometimes... I be puzzled by people.

The Old Man And The Somerset Floods

He be still spitting feathers... OK... some media coverage at last but not exactly in-depth... (That do read like a bad pun in this context!) ...nor accurate... say The Old Man, who do grow up not a million miles away from the Levels or "The Moors". In fact he do grow up on a hill from where you could see for absolutely miles... but given the nature of that landscape... it be a pimple by Cornish standards.
So... where was he?
Aah! ....Nobody reporting on mainstream telly or radio, nor indeed the honchos pronouncing, seems to give due respect to the fact that this is drained wetland... (for may be a thousand years?) not rivers overflowing their banks. Paterson and his "cutting trees to block flows and re-planting..." don't apply to this fen-like place.
The Environment Agency's "Can't put the silt on the (dredged) river banks because that will obstruct run-off from the fields..." makes The Old Man apoplex. The field drainage never relied on "run-off"... cause they be pumped. The clue is in "Pumping Station" like where Paterson did look around on Monday.
I do like to think I am indeed a bit interested in the environment. The sad thing is that....in some angry and popular reactions...the Environment Agency equals "environmentalists". I don't think so. An Agency is an Agency (in this case related to DEFRA) ... not a movement of green-thinkers.

The Rain... The Levels... Paterson...

... it raineth everywhere and everyday....
Not least in The Old Man's childhood home of Somerset.
And The Old Man do spit feathers that national news seem to be ignoring the plight of the flooding on the Levels... as is the government. Today DEFRA Secretary of State Owen Paterson (grouse moor owner, climate change sceptic, the minister who accused the badgers of "moving the goalposts" after the results of the badger cull proved debatable) finally visits the flooded villages and farms. And has outraged the local people ... by not speaking to any of them according to The Guardian.
Nor do we hear anything from neighbouring MPs... not least and not surprisingly Lib Dem David Laws whose constituency borders the flooded areas. It is left to Conservative MP for Bridgwater Ian Liddell-Grainger... not always the voice of liberal views and green issues....to be the lone voice of protest on the part of his constituents. But...  he does not seem to appear to have the ear of his fellow Tory MPs.
What no photo call Mr Cameron? Actually... I am surprised.

Madame Deficit Considers Rural Life And Chilblains

Alors, mes enfants. I do love the pretty, rural life, don't you?... Peace, tranquillité, a simple way of living that do bring us connection with the earth..... Mais... How can this poor person have this "chilblains" thing? They have lived the life of a generation blessed with ease, free education, jobs and pensions. And gold-plated pensions too, yes? It is not possible that they can be cold.
After all, this kind government do agree that the cost of energy and fuel be outrageous at the moment. They do declare that the price of Gas and Electricity must be reasonable, yes? That suppliers must put their customers on the best tariff. Pouf! Naughty suppliers.
Nevertheless I agree that the government does not appear to have given much thought to the particular fuel cost problems of those who live a life of charm in the countryside. In such rural areas there is not always access to supplies of Mains Gas. People may have to use either Oil or LPG for their heating and cooking. And it appears that Oil and LPG do cost much more than Mains Gas.

So... for example... we have this particular couple... who do not run the hot water except during the couple of hours in the mornings and the evenings when the LPG central heating is on.... Even so the LPG do cost more than one hundred pounds per month. (They have already switched supplier - a choice that has become almost impossible over the years because the area's main supplier (a nationwide company) have bought up most of the local independents.) Remember also that this fuel bill is for LPG alone. There are Electricity bills to be paid on top of that. And there is no recourse to "dual fuel tariff" deals in such households. No electricity supplier includes Oil or LPG supply in such price schemes.
Alors! So...
Cold hands, cold water, un peu de fragilité... et voilà... lumpy, blistered, itchy chilblains...

I can only suggest that, if this man's hand is so cold, he can chop wood to keep it warm, non?

Madame Deficit Considers Badgers And The Sporting Life

Zut Alors!
Badgers do play football.
Quel jolly animals. How intelligent. How sportif.
It is official that they do... for the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson have said that the little beasts have "moved the goalposts" in the night-shooting exercise that is the West Country Badger cull.

Of course I know also that badgers play football.
My own joli petit potager be proof of this.

Many a morning.... as I do walk through the garden....I find that the wooden logs that mark out the vegetable plots be moved aside and be all over the place. The naughty animals have been having jolly good fun with a midnight "friendly" five-a side game. And.... not only do I find this evidence of "moving the goalposts" but I do find their "ball"..... which be nothing less than one of my precious winter squashes....

Eh bien! You can see the scars left by a set of claws. Plainly some naughty badger have handled the ball. But sadly for them... the "Hand of God" have not intervened in the deadly game in Somerset. The firm that is charged with shooting the little players have had their license to kill extended. Mr Paterson do consider that not enough badgers have been killed to prove the experiment ....which is the badgers fault for rearranging the goal posts and for being badgers.

And what if this extension is not enough? Pouf! Mr Paterson be considering gassing next. He is most certainly determined to get the little blighters, ain't he?
Tiens! Guns and gas. C'est comme la première guerre mondiale une fois de plus, non?

Madame Deficit Contemplates The Desolate North East

Ah mes enfants! The Tory Lords do express themselves again.

I know that ... when organising the rural view... one must know what to conserve and what to discount.
Clearly Lord Howell ... father-in-law of Chancellor George Osborne who recently announced tax breaks for the fracking industry.... is of like mind. For he do declare during a "Lords debate" that fracking should be carried out in the North East of England because it be largely uninhabited and desolate... devoid of natural beauty and the kind of rural environment which occurs further south and must be protected. I think that is what he more or less says... though I may be wrong. Surely I must be?

Alors! One is never sure with Lords such as Freud and Howell. But I think Lord Howell be a little embarassed at his jaw-dropper for he appears to have apologised.
Ah mon pauvre petit... quelle domage.

If you have strong doubts about fracking.... 38 Degrees is running a campaign and is looking for a bit of a pledge.

The Doll Listens To Antti Tuomainen's "The Healer"

 ......vis-à-vis the Arctic and climate change (previous post about Greenpeace oil-drilling protest).....

"The Healer" by Antti Tuomainen: narrated by Simon Shepherd: English translation Lola Rogers ; Random House Audiobooks 2013...available as a download from Audible.....

Soon it will be Christmas in Helsinki. Every day brings rain  and it is cold. This is a world where the climate is changing, the Arctic melting, the waters rising. Those who can afford to are moving further north as the streets of the coastal towns flood. In turn, the homes that they leave are taken over by immigrants from even further south, those lands and cities already under water. Finnish social structure is crumbling. The police are underfunded and understaffed. Private security firms rule the streets....

Poet Tapani Lehtinen is worried about his journalist wife, Johanna. The last call he had from her was about her search for a serial killer who dubs himself "The Healer". She was setting out, with her paper's photographer, to some kind of meeting but Tapani has heard nothing since. Her phone is unanswered and this isn't like Johanna; Tapani and Johanna keep in touch all the time. But Tapani knows that the police will or can do very little. If anyone finds Johanna - it has to be him....

For lovers of Nordic Noir with roots in societal change this book takes that change into Tuomainen's brilliantly imagined flooded future. Not a story of the cataclysmic event but a crime story set in the steady decline and disintegration brought about by climate change. But this also a love story. A tale of the lengths that a man whose faith in his love for his wife - and in his wife's love for him - will go in order to find her again. And as Tapani uncovers more about the killer, and more about Johanna, the story becomes gripping, violent, suspenseful and ultimately moving.

This unabridged reading of "The Healer" - well read by Simon Shepherd - is a great atmospheric listen. I certainly want to read/listen-to more from Antti Tuomainen

You can read another review of the book over on the Euro Crime blog.

Climbing The Shard - See How The Greanpeace Women Did It.

Remember the Save the Arctic Campaign Shard Climb?
Now you can see the video of how they prepared for the climb.

Greenpeace Women Climbing The Shard.....

Eight hours climbing... six women halfway up The Shard... tallest building in Europe.

Making a great big "Point" to Shell about Arctic oil drilling...

Edit: They made it... find out more at Greenpeace UK.

Animated Discussions: Japanese Gods: Hayao Miyazaki & Princess Mononoke

So... I must be passing through a Japanese phase.

I'm listening to a Japanese crime story on my MP3 player.... and the other evening I turn to my comfort food - animation .... in this case "Princess Mononoke" by Hayao Miyazaki.

Released in 1997 it is one of Miyazaki's greats. Gods and men battle for ownership of the land.... or should I say the earth. I like the "foreign" quality of the spirit-world in Japanese anime. Westerners love to make their gods look like human kings and queens. Anime spirits are definitely "other".

I'll leave the critical discussion to this here video clip from New York Times.

Critics' Picks: 'Princess Mononoke' - NYTimes.com/Video

Last Sight Of Shiver Me Timbers Salvo Yard At Long Rock....

Walking in Long Rock we do see the dismantling start on that wonderful reclamation landmark ...  Shiver Me Timbers..... A long battle lost.

Good news is that the stock and business is relocating to local industrial estate in nearby Crowlas.

Bad news... luxury property development taking it's place. 

Travels With My Film Life: "BathTub", Louisiana - Waters Rising

Speakin of climate change...

We do watch "Beasts of The Southern Wild" and so we be in the shanty community of BathTub, Louisiana as the glaciers melt and the waters rise and five-year old  HushPuppy have to learn how to stand on her own two feet and find her own fierceness to survive. A fantasy set in a future world.... though how far in the future?.....rooted in the struggle of a drowning community that has major echoes of Hurricane Katrina. A lot of the film's "stir" is down to the amazing six-year old star in Quvenshane Williams as HushPuppy.

Madame Deficit Considers Gove's Climate Of Opinion

Ah my darlings. Did you realise that  here in the UK our radical Secretary of State for Education Mr Gove have gone right off teaching younger children about the climate change debate? Only children studying for a GCSE in Geography may consider the subject if he gets his way.

Of course I do agree that the closest the dear things need come to environmental concerns is the annoyance of litter and whether you should recycle your tins or not. A tidy environment is a healthy one I do say. And who needs to learn about the pseudo-science of climate change when they should be learning Latin instead? Mind you I was quite keen on Latin myself.....

Alors?  Progrès, mes amis. Toujours au plaisir de regarder en arrière. (Progress, my friends. Always look forward to looking back.) But if you do not share this government's view on the merits of under-15s learning about climate change .... then 38 Degrees has a petition you can sign. As does change.org.

Madame Deficit Admires The Rural View

Oh my dears, as you know I am a lover of the countryside and all things rural... But even I do pause for thought when Planning Minister "Nick" Boles points out the "moral right" of people to have their own homes surrounded with garden. How hard it must be to be a modern Tory... straddling so many viewpoints. Presumably these "moral right" homes should only contain the appropriate number of bedrooms... (see previous post). Consequently, he do say, we must be prepared to start building on open land, tout suite!

Brush away those open fields and rural views. Don't you know that the built environment can be beautiful too? says Mr Boles. Oh but I do, Mr Boles... you can see an example of my own architectural inspiration in one of my previous posts here.

Brush away those green hills and fluffy sheep.. (Oh dear but I be so fond of the petit fluffy mouton things). Brush away the objections of those National Trust 'latter-day Luddites'. (Alors! Was not Daddy Boles a National Trust Chief Exec back in the 1970s?) Build, Build, Build.... but nothing "pig ugly", mind. We must have standards, but let us not stand in the way of progress. Fill the view with lovely, lovely buildings. I am particularly fond of those bijoux estates of houses with gardens... the ones that hunch up together for comfort? Where you can gaze out of the kitchen window at your own patch of lawn, raise your eyes... and stare into the eyes of your neighbour at their kitchen sink ten feet away. Such bonhomie.

And let us not stop there. We must be practical. Nuclear power stations. Lots of those. If we can get some poor mutt to pay for them. Let not the Luddites stand in the way of progress. Let's not mess around with wind turbines. No.. all the fuel generation can now take place where Mr Osborne prefers... out of sight and underground. Aah the joys of fracking.

Build... Build.... However.... I do be a little concerned at the prospect of more rain, Mr Boles. You know.... all those inconvenient floods we do have recently? It just may be that concreting over those useless green fields may contribute to the problem of drainage? Where do the rain waters go? Perhaps I speak out of turn. I just be a little old fluffy head brioche-eater. But.....

Better to build on stilts perhaps?

The Selfish Doll

OK. The quantity of rain that falleth on other parts of the country do chastise my selfish brain for complaining about a superabundance of snails. I do admit I am not warding off three feet of water from my threshold. Age breeds a very irritating kind of tunnel-vision for which I do apologise.

However... bees are in trouble....

and whilst we are about it... 38Degrees are warning that the powers that be are after flogging off the forests again. If you are not happy about this... you can sign their petition here. And yes I know that 38 Degree supporters are now the object of ridicule for those who don't like their opposition to plans. But it's all we can do sometimes... And Boy! do the whatsits like to come back for another try. Incinerators, hospital closures, environmental issues.... you think you've won your point and they sneak back again when they think it's gone quiet. Keep shouting. Keep making your views known. Keep an eye on the whatsits. All you can do.

The Greening of The Doll

I tell you. If it doesn't stop raining soon.....

OK. The rain is good for crops... after all that drought early in the year, but I swear that I am growing mould. Some of you may say I always is rather mouldy but...

I have had to start using a kind of slug poison to protect my vegetables, having tried every barrier method known to man and doll... to no avail. The pellets are supposed to be safe for other animals and birds, being slug specific, and it was doing some good protection. (Not for the slugs and snails of course.) But now with all this wet... When it do not rain it be mist. And I could cackle and poison to my heart's content... but I do live on the side of a damp, grassy, granity hill... so the supply of snails be endless. I plant a new squash plant the day before yesterday... put some pellets around it, clear away any lurking molluscs I can find. Next day the plant be eaten. So's my dahlias....

But apart from all of that... I am tired of the dark and gloom. I shall turn green with mildew to match the walls.

Catching up with the lady what grew the squash plants and who runs an organic market garden business selling vegetables and plants.... she do say it be awful year... some of her seed sowings refusing to germinate and others rotting off once they have germinated. Plants bolting during the hot dry spring (what should be "now" not "then") was a cause for grief with another grower.

What hurts the market lady most be another matter. When she started years ago the polytunnels be alive with the buzzing of bees. Now there be hardly any. The tunnels be silent.

I know I be just going on about taking up the art of poison myself.... but the UK still seems to be dragging its heels over banning neonicotinoid insecticides (already banned in France) which some scientists say causes neural damage to the bees, effecting their short term memory so they no longer know "what they came here for" and more importantly... can't find their way home to the hive. You may say..."So what?" But no bees, no crops. There's this little thing called pollination...

Like I say.... wish it would stop raining for a bit.... feeling gloomy.

Congratulations to Wheal Jane Solar Park

So one local development has squeezed through the Government's subsidy cut deadline for large solar installations.

This is Wheal Jane, near Truro. And not only is it local but currently it is the largest yet built in the UK. (See: UK's biggest solar farm connected to the grid )

I remember reading a column by one local Tory MP - pointing out that solar installation subsidies should be curtailed for large-scale developments.

Shortly afterwards the new Con-Dem government did indeed announce their decision to cut such subsidies. (Read a bit more from the Guardian here.)

I find this attitude bizarre coming from the Tories - who so favour the interests of business and industry usually.

(Aah. But NOT at the expense of the tax-payer, they piously intone.)

Heavens, but Cornwall - and whole of the South West in fact - desperately needs support in establishing local industries other than the great god Tourism.... and supermarkets.

I do believe that the benefit payments liable, as more and more lose their jobs in the closing industries of the South West, would also be "at the expense of the tax-payer"?

(Aah but we have plans for benefits payments too. Ever hear of The Big Society?)

Anyway, I find it totally appropriate that this ex-tin mine site be converted as part of a potential new Cornish industry - renewable energy. For those of you that don't realise it... Those charismatic, Cornish landscapes - with their ruined engine houses, and mine shafts? Yes they are beautiful. And the surrounding stretches of heather, gorse and bare soil? These are themselves the product of the toxic waste derived from the mining process. This is not a green field site. It is post-Industrial.

(Aah..just the spot for some social housing...)