Categories
Bus Cuts

Buses

There’s been frenetic activity by our Councillors and campaigners to try and stop the Conservatives’ cuts to local bus services. We were given only a few days between the announcement of the proposals and the final decision being taken. It looks like service cuts will go ahead on the 1, 5, 6, 6A in Winchester and the Service C in Hiltingbury and Chandler’s Ford. Most services are losing Sunday or weekday evening services. The 6A is being axed completely..

Our County Councillors have been lobbying and arguing very hard against the cuts. We also managed to turn round and deliver Focus leaflets and online websites very quickly in some wards which added further ammunition to our case. We got an amazing response to the petitions that we sent out – both via Focus – and online

Categories
Fair Trade

Black Gold – 6.40 p.m. at the Screen, Winchester – tomorrow (Thursday)

Wake Up and Smell the CoffeeWinchester Fair Trade City Group has arranged a showing of ‘Black Gold’ at the Screen tomorrow (Thursday) at 6.40 p.m.

Their write up reads:

Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

There’s an excellent website about the film at http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/ with lots of further information and ways to get involved.

You can book tickets via http://tinyurl.com/2382sf and watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeK2QqjSB1I

Categories
Environment

Coffeehouse Challenge on Climate Change

Just back from Robert Hutchison’s productive and enjoyable “Coffeehouse Challenge” for the first meeting of Winchester Action on Climate Change. It was fun session with a lot of positive energy and constructive, concrete ideas.

Most people in Winchester now agree that climate change is a problem – Robert has rightly identified that the challenge is to get local organisations and individuals to agree on action.

One opportunity is to learn from our neighbours. Eastleigh Borough Council has just installed their first Combined Heat and Power plant at Fleming Park and they’ve also put into place practical measures such as refunding the planning application fee to people who install renewable energy technology in their homes.

On a personal note, I’ve found the World Wildlife Fund footprint calculator an easy and useful tool to help me find ways to reduce my ‘carbon footprint’. It’s available online at http://footprint.wwf.org.uk

Categories
Tower Arts Centre Video

Demonstration against the Tower Arts cuts

Thank you to everyone who turned up today to the Save Tower Arts demonstration. Local pressure has meant that the decision has been deferred until September 13th to address some of the issues raised.

Not yet a victory – but a step in the right direction.

You can see some photos from today’s demonstration at http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_tod/sets/72157600880068038/

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Categories
Tower Arts Centre

Save Tower Arts protest at 9.15am on Wednesday 18th July at the County Council Offices

The Save Tower Arts campaign is organising a protest at 9.15am on Wednesday 18th July by the Pig by the front entrance to the Hampshire County Council offices in Winchester – shortly before the ‘Decision Day’ that will consider the transfer of the Tower Arts Centre to Kings’ School. They’ve asked us to bring placards and banners. We’ll be making some extra placards in the office.

Many local people of all parties and none have already been involved in the campaign and have signed the petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveTowerArts/, have written to County and City Councillors – or joined the various online groups such as the Facebook group and the mySpace group. Mark Oaten and Alexis Fall discuss the Tower campaignThe photo to the left shows ward Councillor Alexis Fall and Mark Oaten discussing the campaign.

I was at the Decision Day when Councillor Snaith made the decision to go ahead with these plans and was genuinely appalled at the disgraceful consultation process, the incompetent planning and half-baked thinking behind the administration’s decision. I can cope with ideological differences – but find incompetence harder to forgive! In essence, the Conservatives have taken the Tower Arts Centre and put in place a plan that will ‘save the tower’ but effectively end the ‘arts’ programme in the process. There will no longer be a programme director for the Tower and, as the Chronicle reported this week, there will no longer be any arts funding. The bigger the demonstration, the better the media coverage and the more pressure will be put on the County Council to reverse this decision. It would be great if you could attend!