Sdapeze's Colchester

Our Boys!

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:15:03 GMT

We have lost three more of our brave Colchester soldiers this week. When are we going to bring them all home where they belong? What on earth are we doing imposing our will on the moslems? Has history taught us nothing? Those people don't want democracy. They think differently to us. They view the lives of individuals (especially women) very differently to us and who are we to say they are wrong? So what, if poppies are grown to make drugs? Let's legalise drugs and give people a free choice as to whether they use them or not. Blair went into Iraq believing British based intelligence that there were weapons of mass destruction. There were not. He was misled. Our boys have done their job well and they should come home now. Bring them all home now!

Tags: soldiers home now

The Brass Banana

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:55:21 GMT

When is the nightmare to end? We have had a ghastly edifice forced upon us in our historic town centre. An outsider has designed the thing, further outsiders have chosen the thing, even more outsiders have brought it to a near conclusion. The general public, those who will have to fund it for the next many years, had no say in the matter. It has resulted in the loss of our bus station - with no replacement site agreed. It has no relevance to our culture whatsoever. It is an eyesore pure and simple and currently stands unfinished, surrounded by all the trappings of a building site, nothing going on and with no explanation of why! The Brass Banana, the VAF, Firstsite:Newsite, new art gallery, whatever you want to call it, is a piece of folly, foisted upon us, against the will of the people, with no clear completion date known nor any explanation of why work has stopped - leaving us all to conclude that the money has run out, paid to incompetent designers and constructors, a deficient contract signed with no clause to protect us against shoddy workmanship. If it does ever get completed, we will have to grin and bear it and put on a brave face to our visitors, who might come to experience Colchester's history and heritage but will leave wondering why such a thing was built. It reminds me of the obvious discomfort that the deans and chaplains of the cathedral in Coventry, the one that replaced the medieval one destroyed by the Germans in 1940, when trying to make the best of it to their visitors.

It's not the end of it either. Just wait until they start on the St Botolphs development!

The Mercury Theatre

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:56:22 GMT

My lady and went to see 'Iph' at the theatre last week. Wow! The intensity of the performance was incredible. How the company manages to pull off, time after time, such superb productions, I cannot but guess. Who needs to go to London when we have such excellence on our doorstep?

Tags: mercury theatre, colchester

Bike Week

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:18:19 GMT

Bike Week is upon us again with cycling events all over the town. We moved our business out of the Hythe due to horrendous traffic on the roads. We came to a village on the outskirts of the town, where we can cycle to and from work with ease. No traffic jams. Brilliant. So what has happened in Colchester? Has the town centre been closed to traffic but with cycling access? I don't think so. The car driving is still the king in Colchester. Are there dedicated cycle lanes in Colchester that cars cannot park on or drive over? I don't think so. The car driver is still king in Colchester. Is cycling safe in Colchester? I don't think so. Bike Week is a great idea but why not ban the car from the town centre at the same time? Now that really would be a worthwhile event that would inspire people to use their bikes. Of course it will never happen, because the pseudo tree huggers in the Town Hall who come up with these bright ideas to save our planet, all use a car and have no intention whatsoever of not using it. Bike Week is a gimmick, sadly. It does nothing to address the issues of traffic congestion in the town, sadly.

Tags: bike week, colchester, cycle lanes

Colchester's Roman Circus - again!

Fri, 30 May 2008 10:37:59 GMT

I was pleasantly surprised last night when I attended a planning meeting that was to discuss the future development of the former Sergeant's Mess on the Abbeyfields development. Far from the indifference that I expected, several councillors voiced their concerns about the plans put forward by Wimpey to 'allow' the public two whole days of access to 'our' Scheduled Ancient Monument. What they want to do is to section off the starting gates of the circus so that their tenants can enjoy a nice private garden area. What I want is for the starting gates to be completely open to the public and in public ownership, with a view to future interpretation options. A pat on the back is due, I feel, to our planners who seem, at last, to have recognised the importance and potential of this unique archaeological discovery for Colchester.

Poor Old Cod!

Fri, 30 May 2008 09:50:01 GMT

Reading in the newspaper today I see that people are annoyed about discarded fish being washed up on Mersea beach. I further learned that our fishermen are angry at the quotas they have been given and that it is threatening their livelihood. Their overfishing results in them inflicting this wastefulness on us to make their point. In contrast, my lady and I enjoyed a superb cod and chips at our local pub last night, presumably a product of these British fishermen's labours. So, is there a shortage of cod in our shops and restaurants? I don't think so! Is there sufficient supply of cod in our shops and restaurants? I think there is!. So where is the problem? If the supply is sufficient, the quotas must be right and the Mersea beach tragedy is an example of bloody-mindedness of fishermen who would happily kill perfectly healthy fish to justify their false claims. To my simple mind, unless there is a shortage of fish in our shops and restaurants, there is no problem. Poor old cods!

Tags: overfishing, mersea, fish quotas, colchester

Garrison Church

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:26:57 GMT

Good news indeed that the Garrison Church (also known by some as Camp Church) will continue as a place of Christian worship. I never knew that we had so many Russian Orthodox worshippers in the area but good for them on winning their bid. Society is in decline through a lack of traditional values and to have these people in our midst can only be for the good, in my opinion. Of course it must have been a disappointment for the other groups who wanted to use the building in other secular ways. However, I have seen some of the things that go on in St Mary at the Walls church, now used as a so called arts centre, and am thankful that the Garrison Church will not have to endure such profane activities. May their tenure be a long one.

Tags: russian orthodox, german legion, colchester garrison church

The New Cabinet - Lib-Lab-Indy

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:08:15 GMT

Wow! Who would have imagined this would have happened? An alliance of the LibDems, Labour and Independents are now running the show in Colchester - with not a single Tory in sight. It was clear that the Tories have not only let down the people of Colchester but have also let their own party down, big time, in Colchester, being the only Tory led borough council in the country to have been booted out of overall office. Whatever they say to defend their corner, the Tories got it wrong and the people have had their say. Just imagine the trouncing that they would have got had 60 seats been up for grabs! So now the Tories can sit back and wait for the inevitable squabbling to begin. How long will it take do you suppose before they are at each others throats?

Tags: Colchester election, squabbling politicians

Our Money used for Huge Pensions

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:00:24 GMT

Is it fair that Colchester's community tax payers should have their money used to provide a final salary linked pension to council employees, when that money could be far better used to provide better services in our town? I don't have the security that such a pension offers and I don't see why anybody else should, when I am funding it for them. These pensions were agreed at a time when this country's insurance and pension industries were going well. Nobody asked me whether I minded such a deal being agreed with my money. Meanwhile, the grey men are selling off our assets to make up for the money shortfall and our services are getting worse and worse. Not that they would accept that!

Tags: colchester, pensions

Election Results

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:27:42 GMT

The results of the local council elections are in and the Tories have lost overall control of Colchester Borough Council. There are a couple of them that I was sad to see go but the overall situation can only be good for Colchester. At least now the different political parties will have to work together for the common good - won't they? The people have rebelled against the horrendous amount of tightly packed soulless, gardenless high rise rabbit hutches that have been built in the town, with no attention to the provision of better roads, schools, drainage, car parking, etc. to accommodate this massive increase in people coming to the town. Labour have received their usual poor support, beaten by the BNP, and could surely do with a change of leadership. Exciting times ahead?

Tags: bnp, colchester, elections