Greenwich Mean Time is back

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks back one hour last night after British Summer Time ended. We are, of course, now on Greenwich Mean Time until 27 March 2011.

Coincidentally, I found myself in Greenwich today and, as pictured, stood on the Prime Meridian. These days, as well as a brass strip showing the line of 0 degrees longitude, there is also a green laser beam that shines into the night sky towards the O2 dome, which is visible for about 15 miles.

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is well worth a visit and of particular interest are the time pieces on display of John Harrison, who solved the longitude problem (the basis of the Channel 4 drama "Longitude" in 2000).

"Oxford time" is 5 minutes later than GMT. I gather that the Great Tom Bell at Christ Church College is rung at 9:05 pm (9pm on Oxford time) every evening for this reason. However, I have to admit that I have never witnessed and confirmed this myself.

Planning Grove Airfield: Commenting Effectively

This is the title of a forthcoming event happening next month which I hope members of the public will be able to take part in. Here are the details:

Tuesday 9th November at 6pm at Grove Church of England school, North Drive in Grove.

To register and book a place either telephone Julia at 01865 798673 or email: sosupport@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk

This event is supposed to help find out what has happened so far and what happens next, what we can and can't comment on and how to make comments more effective!

Sounds an interesting evening....

Street Pastors First Birthday Celebration

Last night I attended the Wantage and Grove Street Pastors First Birthday celebration at Wantage Parish Church. There was a large crowd there all keen to share what has been a hugely successful year for the community. Reverend Les Isaac, founder and director of the Ascension Trust gave us all a rousing address - he was the catalyst for the whole movement which began in East London and has been rolling out all over the country.

The Mayor, Chairman of Grove Parish Council, Thames Valley Police and many others were all there to give our support to the many volunteers who patrol our streets regularly on Friday nights. Crime figures we hear are very low in the Vale and we believe it is testimony to the fact that we are actively reducing crime in some areas due to this initiative. Long may the good work continue! If you want to find out more visit the website.

Changes at the County Council

At yesterday's Cabinet meeting at County Hall, I spoke on a number of items. There are to be some changes to full Council meetings with the end of themed debates after a year of giving them a try. We felt that our debate on 'Breaking the Cycle of Deprivation' was a success, but unfortunately some of the themes put forward by the ruling group have not really grabbed the public's attention... congratulating Oxfordshire's newly elected MP's after the last general election was one! Council meetings are due to end at 3.30pm, but will the earlier time just cut short debates on motions? We shall have to wait and see. I suggested we may use the extra time for useful briefings and training. I attended a training session for safeguarding children on Monday which was attended by a total of 5 councillors out of the potential 74! Perhaps if training sessions were timed to coincide with councillors being in for the day then attendance would be better.

Another change is the end of 'Oxon News' the magazine which is delivered to every household in Oxfordshire with an OX postcode. £240,000 saving will be made. In opposition we welcome this saving as we have been saying for a long time that the Council should cease spending public money on glossy publications which are basically propaganda for the ruling group. I suggested that perhaps there may be savings made in the media and communications department as a a result.

With the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement today, much is being made in the news about cuts in Oxfordshire's public spending. We shall have to wait and see as the days unfold about how this will effect services.

Road closure update

I have received a reply from the County Council regarding why the road closure has been cancelled. To quote:

"The closure has been cancelled due to the high costs associated with the disposal of tarbound material discovered within the existing road construction." Make of this what you will. I have been promised a fuller explanation!

Road closure cancelled

This is to let residents know that unexpectedly the road closure scheduled to take place this week on 18th October has been cancelled. This had been to undertake carriageway works on the A338 Grove Road near to Wantage. I do not yet know the reasons for this and will try and let you know as soon as possible.

The Rose of Hungerford

The Rose of Hungerford (below).

Yesterday I had the pleasure of travelling on this narrowboat. I attended the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Forum in Hungerford and after the meeting we were all given the option of travelling on the Kennet canal in the Rose of Hungerford. The weather was fine and we all enjoyed the trip.
The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust do a huge amount of work restoring our canals and waterways. If you wish to get involved then do visit their website.

Is Oxfordshire's Big Debate Over?

The last of Oxfordshire's Big Debates about how the national financial crisis will impact on the county council and the potential budget cuts was held last Thursday evening in Abingdon, so I went along to hear what people had to say. The Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive plus officers and cabinet members were there to answer questions. It was hosted by Radio Oxford presenter, Bill Heine.

Everyone was told that the county council has a turnover of around 1 billion pounds a year and needs to save £200 million over the next four years. Members of the audience asked many questions varying from social services, youth services and help for carers. A few suggestions were made, but most people used the opportunity to air their concerns about where the axe may fall. However, the crunch will come when we hear the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review later this month (20th October) - I will keep you posted!