pilgrim

Seriously ... check the Journal archive for 27th June 2014 re the swallow family business in Seahouses,  comments on it. There are huge amounts of restrictions now on the inshore waters. DONT even thing about doing anything where there is eel grass and yet there are common law rights and ancient privileges which transcend those regulations!!! and of course the regime wants all SSSI's closed to everyone except their own bobble hat brigade.

Another 5 beach areas have been designated 'dog free' - try finding the legislation!! the only usual indicator is that the dog waste bins have been removed but no advisory signs have been put up!! (how to criminalise the populace - and bang out a few fixed penalty tickets -- its a pity the authorities forgot the basic tenet of 'mens rea' )

not looking -- been scared enough....

I think that is the way forward - integrate with the regional network

ah right -- that would be --sometime never??

have just glanced back over this thread and have to admit - haven't read all the posts - s0 feel free to shoot me down -- but - regards the 'in bloom' thing- it cannot be denigrated -- in this 'modern' world we live in - folk come out of the house get into a car and go to work - come home and into house - the in bloom is more than 'tartifying' the area - its about actually getting folk to engage and talk to each other!!

I was astounded after working on the 'in bloom 'thing for several years how much difference it made to folk actually talking to other folk on the street - it generates a structure of belonging and a feeling of ownership and responsibility through all ages and backgrounds and can only be a good thing - we only dropped out because we had peaked and needed to consolidate on what we had - otherwise it becomes a competition.

3g -- I will never forgive you --I clicked on that link!!!

done a Barbie on her????????????? is that some sort of triple x rated vid??

well ... all I can say is ..as an impressionable youth I always like the lassie on stingray ..marina??

Kippers should always have a capital K as there is no finer breakfast!!!

proper kippers can be obtained from Craster ---- although regulations state that herring cant be landed on the north east coast so they all come from out our waters but have to be landed in Scandinavia and the shipped back here -- now how is that right?? errr - did I get the wrong meaning of kippers??

we are all becoming isolated - I look forward to seeing the follow up to Bladerunner .............

that can only be a good thing - but I have the sense that this was a major work in progress that could have provided a lot of work locally - it may have been done - and also many local firms cannot take on major contracts - but it is perhaps something the 'county' should look at 

totally agree (we must stop doing that!!) but I had to laugh when the other half (her most expensiveness - she who must be obeyed etc.) pointed out a site which highlighted what had been substituted by the shop when orders were put in -- was good for a laugh!!! 

although I do have some trepidation about the whole online thing -- yes its can be much cheaper - but at the cost of delivery and returns - what cost to the environment? - we use a lot of online services -- because we are very rural and it has become the saviour of many rural communities but possibly at the cost of local business and that thing which is so hard to assess - the actual interaction of local folk in shops? the world is changing - but all changes have a price --

mercuryg -- wasn't there a plan to include Bedlington on the metro network?? ooo don't get me started about NIMBYs!!!! - and isn't that a terrible idea - upgrading the rail network and the local roads, and Gawd forbid that there should be an upturn in folk wanting housing in the shire  and actually having a surge in employment!!! absolutely disgraceful!!!

They are building a  new hospital at Cramlington (had to be done) but from the number of cars in the compound (as I spent some time down there sorting out my mothers property etc.) I am wondering how much employment was contracted out locally?? I would suggest it was all done by 'inworkers' - maybe the county should insist on a  %  of  local contractors when they embark on such major works??

mercuryg -  it was her last time we spoke - met her at an annual in bloom meeting Guisborough way and got chatting - she took time out to visit us and advise on what we could do - not her remit but was nice to see someone with a real dedication to her work and capable. I never realised she was a local lass, but she struck me as very dedicated and professional and I do hope that the 'county' realises what an asset they have there and she is not subject to any 'cost saving' ventures. I know that 'essential' services have to be a priority, but how do you put a price on the smile that visitors to the area have when they can visit the likes of Carlisle Park etc.   

No easy answers - and it is happening throughout the country, but at really basic level there is a huge financial imposition on anyone without a car wishing to access even the most basic of services. The glib answer these days seems to be 'do it online' - all very well but they seem to forget the obligation to have a several hundred pound PC and paying a broadband package. I seem to be able to see a similarity in the rural areas of the same thing happening after the 'black death' and the enclosures acts. - the lost villages of England, many small communities disappeared because of lack of work or facilities. I have posted elsewhere about the potential of a distribution hub, but that might not be feasible or even within the interests of those in authority. The 'Shire' itself seems to have been overlooked for many many years. I think part of the problem is the size, it is neither big enough to be self sustaining or small enough to be a 'village', although I know of many villages where none of the original 'village' buildings are still used for their original purpose and have been turned into housing whose owners have no interest in the locality. Is it too late??

I just picked that up -- how sad - but at least Harrison ford is doing a sequel to blade runner

re the in bloom thing -- we had a few gold's - but dropped out as we had nowhere to go to 'move forward'- but it was nice to see Morpeth getting many awards -- but!!! county sponsored.. say no more. Although the lass that does Carlisle park is very approachable and very professional. Best wishes for your entry. 9and it does make a difference -- house prices go up - there is a sense of 'community' and also people will visit.

I seem to recall that a positive and a negative cancel each other out ( I remember that from Star Trek ) leaving you with nothing. 'Its life, Jim, but not as we know it'.

maybe graphene is the way forward -- I would rather smear that on my face than the other forms of the most basic atom (this is getting very surreal)

One thought did strike me after reading a post on a different thread about 'isolationism' etc. perhaps the shire is actually placed in an ideal situation to be a major distribution hub. it is central to the south east Northumberland plain, has access to Tyne Dock/Scandinavia/ Blyth Dock and close enough to the A19 and A1 to act as a 'nodal distribution point'. the land is available (and relatively cheaply!) and there is a large local population which could service the industries and point of sale areas of the Tyne Valley and Newcastle and also act as a staging post for access to 'over the border' as it is ideally placed between the Teesside conurbation and Edinburgh/Glasgow (bear in mind drivers hours etc etc.). It would provide local work, albeit in a 'service' industry but could actually mean that the shire would be a major player in the European transport network. (daft or what??) 

Has anyone actually pinpointed when the demise started and how it came about?? - yes the mines closed but that was way before any of the closures post Thatcher etc. Did the 'county' or local authorities put anything in place then for the future? and did the shire actually get any of the huge amounts set aside after the demise of the NCB or was it excluded because the mines had already closed?? - that was a serious question as I have no idea of the timeline. it is something which has happened to many small communities but Bedlington was once actually quite a major centre, and for many 100's of years, with steel and railway development and the mines.

sorry Malcolm - it was the voices that made me type that......

Some local and relevant employment would be nice, rather than building empty industrial units. I have mentioned it before, if this was some eastern Baltic state, or the sub Sahara zone, the UN would be flying in aid because of the 'ethnic' cleansing regime facilitated by the withdrawal of local facilities and public services.

 Maybe we should look at turning the huge swathes of land around the area into a tobacco plantation, as I noticed that a 'local' representative of the people has many entries in the parliamentary declarations of interest and funding allied with that noble plantation trade. We could then turn back the clock to the 1700's and put those damn uppity workers back in their place.

or maybe everyone in the 'Shire' should form a lottery syndicate and hope - after all the odds of the 'big win' are only 14 million to one - far better odds than anything actually being done!!

can I sign as having a relevant interest~?? I live wayyyyyyyyyyy up north in the county (in the bit without streetlights) now but still own a house down there. would not want to devalue the 'cause' as seeming to be an outsider.

oooo don't do weight scoring or Greggs will never open again!!!! ... Al Murray with a pencil factored in .. where did he come on the poll??