I tell you I’m a Hobbit!

I read in the news (The Telegraph – Middle Earth protest as New Zealanders take to the streets over Hobbit plans) that Peter Jackson was considering moving the troubled production of Tolkien’s Hobbit out of New Zealand.  Outraged Antipodeans protested with banners stating “New Zealand is Middle Earth”.

This made me smile because I consider myself a bit of a hobbit, albeit a six foot tall hobbit.  Why? Well, truth be told, I’m from “the shire”, you see.  So here are some well known (and some not so well known) facts about Hobbits and their creator:

• Tolkien lived in Warwickshire and the village of Sarehole provided the inspiration for Hobbiton. (BBC Coventry & Warwickshire – Tolkien’s Warwickshire connection)
• Tolkien was a fire warden during World War 2 and spoke of watching Coventry burn on the horizon (Google Books – J.R.R. Tolkien encyclopedia: scholarship and critical assessment. by Michael D. C. Drout). This provided inspiration for the fiery destructive depths of Mordor.
• Hobbits are known for their frequent meals.  This is no surprise to someone from rural Warwickshire where the day’s eating opportunities can number six different meals and countless cups of tea in-between!  If you don’t believe me, here’s the list:

1. Breakfast
2. Elevensies
3. Lunch
4. Tea
5. Dinner
6. Supper

So, seeing as I was born and bred in Warwickshire and have hairy feet, I put it to you that I’m a Hobbit!

Warwickshire Fire Service Closures

The Telegraph is reporting that Warwickshire Fire Service is to close 7 stations and retire from service a third of their fire engines with a loss of 100 retained firefighters.  The Telegraph – Warwickshire fire service ‘to close stations’

So what does this mean if you live in Warwickshire?  Well for a start it means that the number of fire stations in the county drops from 19 to 12 and as Mark Rattray, the FBU’s Warwickshire brigade secretary, is quoted as saying:

”The removal of fire engines from these stations will greatly increase the risk to the public and to firefighters.

”If they go ahead we could see towns and villages being left without any effective emergency rescue cover.

“This will impact on all the work we do in every part of Warwickshire, not only in the areas close to these stations.

”The result of these cuts will be far fewer firefighters spread much more thinly across the county.

These are needed stations, their need seen only two days ago when 5 engines from local stations attended a serious blaze in Studley, one of the locations marked for closure: BBC News – Crews tackle portacabins fire.

The following map is an updated version of that found on the Warwickshire County Council website but this version shows the closures marked with a black “X”.

Fire station closures are marked with a black X

The fire authority spokesperson said no comment would be made before a press conference later today.  Expect an update then.

Mark Rattray, the FBU’s Warwickshire brigade secretary, said: ”The removal of fire engines from these stations will greatly increase the risk to the public and to firefighters.

”If they go ahead we could see towns and villages being left without any effective emergency rescue cover.

”The modern risks we prepare, plan and respond to go well beyond dealing with fires. This will impact on all the work we do in every part of Warwickshire, not only in the areas close to these stations.

”The result of these cuts will be far fewer firefighters spread much more thinly across the county.

Middle Quinton’s unsupported claims

Looks like St Modwen and The Bird Group of Companies have been at it again, stretching the truth about the poorly planned Middle Quinton “eco-town” site (BBC News – Eco town advert misled public).  This time their fanciful marketing has been dragged before the Advertising Standards Authority.

In a local press advert St Modwen and The Bird Group claimed:

the town would create 4,700 jobs and 6,000 homes.

However the ASA decided these numbers were unsubstantiated, and the advert must never be rerun until supporting evidence for these claims can be provided.

In addition the ASA objected to the developers describing the site as “brownfield”, which implies unused land normally reclaimed from previous development, when in fact the development plan includes  agricultural land, rivers, and woodland.

I’m not surprised though, the entire plan has been sold under false pretences from the start, and as the BARD campaign continues to grow in voice it seems inevitable that this short-sighted and poorly planned development is doomed to fail!

It is a shame that the government has failed to perform a U-turn on this ridiculous eco-sham.  I wouldn’t expect anything intelligent from the Department of Communities and Local Government right now though, especially with Hazel Blears facing a vote of no confidence from her own constituency party (Manchester Evening News) due to the continuing fallot from her mis-use of MP’s expenses!

McCann Erickson – world class stupidity

In a move fitting of the stupidity we’re used to seeing from the World Class Stratford muppets, the Government created Advantage West Midlands have managed to create and air a commercial for Stratford-upon-Avon that was filmed not just in a different town, but in a different county!

Advantage West Midlands enlisted the advertising skills, and geographic idiocy, of McCann Erickson, a global (read expensive) advertising agency whose clients include Sony, Shreddies, Staples, Mr Kipling, and Heinz.  As their hip and thrusting website suggests, this is a firm that is going places.

Unfortunately where they are going is to the bank with £140,000 of tax payers’ money that they were paid to make a commercial about Stratford-upon-Avon.  Now some of you may already know Stratford, birthplace of William Shakespeare, a historic market town in the south of Warwickshire.  Again unfortunately McCann Erickson do not appear to know Stratford, and so filmed a very nice advert in the grounds of Stokesay Castle, near Ludlow, in Shropshire – 66 miles and two counties away.  They did manage to open with a shot of Holy Trinity which is in Stratford, but they then seem to have wandered off the plot considerably.

Unfortunately neither McCann “Where are we?” Erickson or (Dis)Advantage West Midlands feature this debacle on their website, and it doesn’t appear to be on YouTube either, but if you can find a link please post it in the comments.  Oh, and if you represent McCann Erickson or Advantage West Midlands, please contact me to let me know when the money gets refunded!  I’d love to post about your efforts to correct this piece of location selection idiocy.

For more details see The Telegraph – Stratford-upon-Avon tourism advert filmed 60 miles away

Proactive Posting

I’ve been thinking about the blog a bit lately.  I’ve noticed that many posts have become reactive, listing my response to some detail in the news.  Frequently I’ve been ranting about the chaos of Middle Quinton or the disaster that is World Class (my arse) Stratford.  So I’ve decided to do something about it for a change and just post a stream of conciousness and see what happens.

It has been a week starting with two Mondays.  Now I hate the whole “I hate Mondays” attitude since the day serves and important purpose, moving us from Sunday to Tuesday.  This week though has been different with a couple of work issues creating havoc to reign on my desk.  My status on Facebook accurately depicted my struggle with the black dog but then I realised that many of the folks who see me on facebook might not understand what a black dog day is.  For those still not in the know check out this wonderful Wikipedia Black Dog reference which explains why I refer to day long run of bad luck as a “black dog day”.  Why do I have that term spring to mind?  Well, having spent many afternoons in the shadow of Meon Hill I know a tale or two about witchcraft, murder and black dogs.

Even sat now on a warm August evening in Virginia just mentioning Meon Hill makes my spine tingle.  It is one of “those places” that to me “just doesn’t feel right”.  This might just be a case of popular mass hysteria since the story of Charles Walton’s murder is well known, a popular (if not talked about) local ghost story even.  That being said the hill is very recognisable and I could see it from the pathway that started behind my home in Stratford.  It looms over the village of Lower Quinton where a good friend of mine used to live, and has to be journeyed around (no roads or footpaths go over the top of the hill itself) to get from my house and my parent’s house to the homes of my best friend’s family, his brother’s house, and the homes of several other friends.  That crouching mound has shimmered with horror on many a moon lit drive home, and in full sunlight there is something not quite seen about the place.  It is said to have provided inspiration for Tolkien‘s ‘Weathertop‘ from The Lord of the Rings.

Meon Hill, viewed from The Cotswold Way heading towards Dover's Hill

I could ramble on about my own supernatural experiences in the Warwickshire countryside but I think I’ll save that for another day.  I reckon we got here because of my “black dog day” and me mentioning Middle Quinton up above, it explains the topic but I’ll wrap this up before I give myself nightmares.  Sleep well!