Well, here we are in 2006 and just a few weeks after Buncefield went ‘bang’, Tony Blair said ‘I honestly believe......’ for the umpteenth time, the Conservatives have a new leader, the Lib-Dems will have a new leader and New Labour might have a new leader.

Enough of my thinking out loud, let’s get things going for this year - unless I get waylaid, of course.

As part of my activities with the Citizens Association, I seemed to have been volunteered as the representative on the Dacorum Environmental Forum.

As you all know, I’m a great believer in something or the other, so why not the Environment?

I went to my 1st meeting in the summer of 2005, managed to miss the October and January meetings, but will make the effort for April - having been given 3 months notice - unlike the others which amounted to a matter of days.

The minutes of the October meeting arrived in my mailbox earlier this week and interesting reading it makes too!

Apparently:
The Council will now concentrate on re-cycling rather than waste collection, although the problem of maggots and flies during the summer period has yet to be resolved.
Over 3 tons of stuff discarded from cars are collected EVERY DAY.
There is a problem with takeaways and their link with Secondary Schools.
Dacorum Little Volunteers have been going for over 10 years and have set up a web site for more information.
Dacorum Cycling Forum now meets, but needs more people from the South of the Borough and Markyate. See I just knew they didn’t know about the hills outside Hemel Hempstead!
The Local Plan identified the land to the east of Hemel Hempstead is not for housing.

There is an action plan being prepared for creating a cleaner and healthier environment in Dacorum.
This rocket science document comes out with things such as:
Public transport should be improved - then later comes out with this classic”Although covered in the 1st point we need to be realistic - the public transport debate can stray into the realms of flogging a dead bus all too often”.
Go on, read it again!

Other classics include children walking to school will mean fewer cars on the school run; eating local fresh food will make you healthier and help the local economy; the New Ground pumping station has now been closed and thus more water available to the River Bulbourne.

You will all be pleased this is the 3rd action plan being developed, so I suppose it keeps quiet a few people out of mischief.

I think I’ve discovered where the government gets all it’s good ideas from.

You have to admit that never a day goes by without some announcement being made about this, that or the other.  
We currently have education, religious activities, immigration, health, housing, ID cards, war, climate change, education and almost everything you can think of going through parliament - and it’s only February.

OK, I’ll put you of of your misery. He watches ‘Yes Prime Minister’, honest. I just can’t think of anything else, even the ideas are pinched. I was watching one about education a couple of weeks ago and the same ideas that the education minister was talking about in Parliament were being discussed between ‘Jim Hacker’ and ‘Sir Humphery’. What convinced me was the one about the health service.
As has been said, you really couldn’t make it up if you tried, could you?

Locally, I was working in Chapel Street this week and looking out of the window just after I’d carted my tools up the stairs, I was struck by the number of cars filled with young men driving around looking for parking spaces. After they found them, it turned out to be pupils of the boys school and I now know why they can’t walk - it’s so they can pop out during lessons for a quick ‘fag’ and chat. So it looks as though Castle Street gets occupied by commuters and then Bridge Street, Priory Gardens, Three Close Lane and Chapel Street gets school children. I’m still convinced it would not be rocket science to give the streets back to the residents, you know.

As I write, the ‘good and great’ are going to hold a meeting in Welwyn Garden City, in early February, to discuss how to reduce anti-social behaviour in young people. At the same time a London Borough have discovered that by introducing better sports facilities for the young, street crime has fallen.

More rocket science, I’m afraid. They really don’t seem to have grasped the simple theory that says if you find people something to do with their spare time, they don’t have time to get up to mischief.
Sorry, but it really must be just me being very thick as it seems so obvious.

Finally this month, the Borough Council have decided to increase parking charges in Hemel Hempstead. The main reason being is that only one person objected. Come on people, I can’t do everything for you. You really must find out what is going on and give your opinion.

I know I’ve been a bit lax lately, but if you give me more feedback, I will be spurred on to make waves and keep you a all up to date. After all, who else will? They all want a quiet life and that’s not democracy, is it?