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Beware of Board Council Officials in Cheltenham

Posted by on Wednesday, 3 November, 2010
Royal Well Parking Problem

Traffic Warden Chatting With Taxi Drivers for 30 Minutes

Whilst many big businesses are struggling to make ends meet, the ‘one-man-band’ local shops and establishments are finding things even tougher, thanks to a local council’s bureaucratic stupor and Cheltenham Borough Council and their Highways Safety team.

For me, a brisk walk into Cheltenham town centre is a weekly ritual, dropping in at the barbers on my way round to grab a quick hair cut. And it’s not because I enjoy the walk or fresh air – oh no, more to do with the fact I can’t park my car near the barbers due to the amount of local private hire taxi’s parked outside their office.

And today was no exception, but when you arrive in ‘Royal Well’ to see the local traffic warden standing around and joking with the drivers of the taxi’s, it makes you slightly angry, especially when he was there from 11:05am till nearly 11:40am.

Is this what we pay our rates for, so that the traffic warden can pass jokes with drivers who are obviously parked illegally, yet for some strange reason he never issued a fixed penalty ticket which made me ask the question “are they exempt?”

And if that wasn’t enough to get the blood warm, what happened next just placed the icing on the cake…

Sitting patiently waiting to get my hair cut in Royal Well Barbers, and in walked an official looking person with a high visibility jacket on. He approached the barber and asked if he could step outside for a minute. Now, I know that wasn’t the strange part, but what struck me as slightly odd was no formal introduction or reason ‘WHY’ he wanted the barber to go outside and talk.

He finished his haircut, popped outside and then the next thing was like ‘World War III’ was about to start with the barrage of words between the guy in the green jacket and the barber.

The barber walked back in and told us that the official looking guy was infact a Cheltenham Council Official who requested he removed his sign from outside the shop as he ‘did not’ have permission to put it there and it was causing an obstruction.

Just out of curiosity, I asked the Council Official what was the problem with him having an ‘A’ Board outside his shop? “We are presently investigating complaints of ‘A’ Boards which are causing problems in the town centre” said Clive Evans, Street Safety Officer for Cheltenham Borough Council. “But I can’t see what it has to do with you, nor why you are getting involved?”

A fair point, but when you report for a News website – you have a vested interest in letting others know when something isn’t how it should be.

OK, I can understand that people do get a little upset from time to time about the size of ‘A’ Boards and how they are situated outside of business premises – but this was just outragous, a normal size ‘A’ Board outside a Barber’s Shop which measured 600mm wide x 900mm tall – tight against the wall with 2 clear metres to pass on the pavement.

Anyway, understanding that Gary Monnier (the barber) was a little annoyed with the way Mr Evans approached the situation would be an understatement, but witnessing the whole fiasco myself, I can see his point. Who does Mr Evans think he is walking into a business with customers waiting to be served, and asking the owner to step outside for a minute without an introduction?

Royal Barbers in Royal Well, Cheltenham

Business Without Offending 'A' Board

Thinking that it was all over and I could get my hair cut finished, in walked Mr Evans with a clear envelope in his hand with some A4 documents inside – outlining the ‘Objects on the Highway’ current fee’s for 2010/11 for Cheltenham Town Centre.

So I have two questions for the council, which are:

  1. “If someone reports a business for having a sign outside, does it make it better if you pay the council £175.00 administration fee (non-refundable) and £125.00 per year to keep it there?”
  2. “Are Private Hire Taxi’s exempt from being issued with a parking ticket?”

Well, we approached Cheltenham Borough Council on both counts, and so far we have not received a response after 2 hours of waiting. (Shame we can’t issue them with a ticket for exceeding normal waiting times!)

The owner of Royal Well Barabers’ point was that he needs a sign outside so people know when he is open, because his shop can’t be seen from the road due to the amont of vehicles parked outside.

Whilst we were there, we witnessed 7 private hire taxi’s parked up like they were on a ‘rank’ and littered on the kerbs on both sides – and the spaces outside Mr Monnier’s shop which are supposed to be for customer parking being hogged by 2 more.

Makes you wonder of the council have an account at the taxi company with special rates?

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Indonesian Tsunami Death Toll Rises

Posted by on Friday, 29 October, 2010

Tsunami in IndonesiaIn what was only classed as a minor Tsunami, the death toll has risen to over 400 people – which we can hardly call a ‘minor’ number.

The underwater earth shake registered a magnitude-7.7 which hit the panic button for officials last Friday, and with the death toll rising and the number of lost people not falling, fears are that the amount of survivors from the missing list will be extremely low.

It’s incredible to think that the figures published today from the National Disaster Organisation claim that nearly 13,000 people were evacuated when the disaster happened, 270 people had serious injuries and only 140 people had minor injuries – thank you to the hard work of those who helped immediately after the wave came tumbling in.

If you look back through statistic, you will see the on 26th December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the Norther side of Sumatra which killed over 225,000 people spread over 14 countries. The total count for that tsunami ended up as over 150,000 dies in over 14 countries.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho who works for the Indonesian National Board of Disaster Management said: ‘It’s been difficult to protect Indonesia’s small islands with a tsunami warning system, but most of them will be covered by February 2011.’

Local and state media cited a message from the governer of Western Sumatra stating that: ‘Mondays Tsunami had taken out or dmaged 426 homes, and that 6 out of 27 villages had been flattened on the Mentawai Islands.

The official estimation of funding needed to rebuild these areas has been estimated in the $100,000,000.00 – which may start to encourage some of the richer countries to place some finances with them in hope it starts to get things back together for the Indonesian families who now have no homes what so ever.

The European Commission has already sent in funds totalling $2.1 million to help the people hardest hit.

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Bionic Ear Show Set to Make Some Noise in Northampton

Posted by on Friday, 27 August, 2010


– Sponsored by BUPA, the September shows aim to use an hour’s performance featuring the world’s largest ear, to teach pupils about how important and delicate their hearing is and to remind them of the risks they face to their hearing from loud music, among other important educational messages about hearing.

The Bionic Ear Show has been designed to raise awareness of the dangers that many of us are unwittingly exposing our hearing to and for young people in particular about limiting exposure to loud music by turning down the volume on MP3 players. Our hearing is as precious as our sight: a fact that people only tend to recognise when they are faced with losing it. There will be demonstrations of what it sounds like to have high frequency hearing loss, plus “Guess that tune” allowing the students to appreciate how easy or hard it is for people with cochlear implants (so-called “bionic ears”) to recognise everyday music.

As well as the serious underlying message about hearing loss, the show is great fun and features among other things “the world’s largest ear!” During the show, the presenter constructs a model to highlight the different parts of the ear, which is over 22ft long and 116 times the size of a normal human ear! Through this interactive and entertaining demonstration, pupils will learn how the ear works, what can go wrong and what can be done to put things right.

Delivering the roadshow’s message into schools is an opportunity to engage pupils in these issues via interactive activities. In Northamptonshire the aim is to ensure the next generation is not faced with the prospect of preventable deafness. Developed for audience participation, the message of the show is easy to understand and no specialist scientific knowledge is required to enjoy the spectacle.

The show is currently due to appear at the following schools in Northamptonshire:

All Saints C of E Primary School, (Wellingborough), 14 September, 9.30am 11.10am

Geddington Primary School, 14 September, 1.30pm 3.00pm

“While the revolution in MP3 and phone technology has given us the benefit of music on the move, an unwelcome side effect is we are pumping up the volume into our ears and at a far earlier age than ever before,” said Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK. “The fear is many of us are unwittingly ‘downloading deafness’ and playing music at such high volume that we risk permanent deafness and tinnitus sooner than would be expected simply as a result of old age.”

The Bionic Ear Show appeals to all ages and also includes free hearing tests along with other interesting and informative demonstrations about how the ear works, and how to protect your hearing.  With the support of BUPA, the 2010 Bionic Ear Show will be taking its message and its giant ear to a town, city or school near you so please contact Deafness Research UK if you would like the Show to come to your school, community group or event. Bookings can be made by calling Laura Ganpot on 020 7679 8951 or email bionicearshow@deafnessresearch.org.uk The schedule is subject to change, but an up to date version and further information can be found on the website at: www.bionicearshow.org

“One of the key messages the Bionic Ear Show is taking to schools is not to stop children using MP3 players, but to listen to their favourite sounds safely,” continued Vivienne. “Turning the volume down slightly is such a simple thing to do and will enable today’s generation to continue to enjoy their music for years to come.”

About the Bionic Ear Show

The Bionic Ear Show continues the campaign first launched in 2006 to highlight that hearing is as important as sight and to encourage people to protect their ears against potential damage. In launching the campaign, Deafness Research UK is stressing that young people today are at far greater risk of going prematurely deaf than their parents because they are listening to mobile phones and MP3 players at far too loud a volume and far too often.

A national survey found that over a third of all 16-34 year olds listened to their MP3 players for more than an hour a day and 14% listened for more than 28 hours a week. It also showed that 54% of people did not realise that listening to loud music on an MP3 player, in a nightclub or at a concert could damage their hearing.

More than a third of people who have experienced ringing in their ears after listening to loud music listen to their MP3 player every day. Ringing in the ears, or tinnitus, is a sign of damage to the hearing system.

About Deafness Research UK

*Deafness Research UK is the country’s only charity dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for deaf, hard of hearing and other hearing impaired people.

*The charity supports high quality medical research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of hearing impairment including tinnitus.

*Deafness Research UK is entirely dependent on voluntary donations, gifts and personal legacies. You can donate online at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk , or call 0207 7833 1733 for further information on how to support the charity.

*The Deafness Research UK Information Service provides free information and advice based on the latest scientific evidence and informed by leading experts. The Information Service can be contacted on Freephone 0808 808 2222.

*For more information on research into deafness, tinnitus and other hearing conditions, log on to the website at www.deafnessresearch.org.uk where you can access a wide range of information. Alternatively you can e-mail Deafness Research UK at info@deafnessresearch.org.uk

*One in seven people in the UK almost nine million people – suffer hearing loss.

*Deafness Research UK was founded in 1985 by Lord (Jack) and Lady Ashley of Stoke.

*In January 2008, Action for Tinnitus Research (ATR) was linked with Deafness Research UK under a uniting direction order under section 96(6) of the Charities Act 1993.

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Finding the Truth about Stress Away Sprays

Posted by on Monday, 26 July, 2010

Stress Away Spray | Does it Work?
Have you ever asked yourself this question; “Do Stress Away Spray’s Really Work?”

Do you ever need to get rid of stress and depression?

Well, you have probably been asking yourself the above questions for some time, so it was well past the sell by date to look at this technique and see if it does exactly what it describes on the label.

Have you ever had that feeling of being frustrated because you haven’t found the answer to stress and depression despite the relentless research you’ve done?

You don’t have to look to far these days to see there are a lot of remedies for stress and depression. There are many different medicines available over the internet and from pharmacies, hundreds of stress and depression help books and programs, and many other self help style wives tales.

Many have been promoted as remedies for stress and depression, yet one can automatically solve the other if treated correctly.

There are medicines which I believe can help, but it is always good practice to speak with your family doctor before you decide to use something which is, or potentially could contain drug addictive content.

It is not good to be dependent on medicines, so is always a better idea to try natural remedies like maybe stress and depression help books and programs.

Due to the nature of the beast, many companies are now offering stress and depression style spray’s because the content of the product are mainly natural and do not need to be governed by health acts.

There is no firm proof or evidence which indicates that these sprays work, yet in some cases, some small psychological trigers can ease stress just because you think you have found the answer.

In clinical and medical tests where scientists tried these products on people who were thought to be suffering from stress, anxiety and mild cases of depression, it was found that the results were “inconclusive” across the board.

So, from what I can see from the research I have done is that whilst companies are eager to try and prove the effectiveness of stress reduction spray, the facts presented by scientific and medical councils still point towards products of this nature being useless for people who are in stress or depressive states.

Should you feel that you are having problems, seek proper medical advice from either a specialist within the industry, or your family health centre.

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Celebrations At Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester

Posted by on Sunday, 11 July, 2010


To celebrate the 100,000th visitor at Legoland’s Discovery Centre in Manchester, the management have decided to commemorate this by way of a presentation of an annual family pass, which can be used by them for a whole year to enter Legoland for free.. This will signify just how busy the new centre has been since the opening in March 2010.

General Manager of Legoland in Manchester, Neil Crittendon said: “This is a great prize for a LEGO fan and I am sure will make one family very happy. It will be difficult to judge the timing to ensure you are the 100, 000th family, but we are expecting they will come through the doors some time this week or next.”

With visitors saying that the Legoland Discovery Centre is like “jumping into a large box of lego bricks” – plus the interaction features which will immerse them into a completely different world where they can use their imagination, letting it run as wild and as creative as they like, using the inspiration of everything they find after every turn they make.

Featuring a whole host of exciting attractions from the LEGO City: Fire Station to an amazing recreation of the North West’s most iconic buildings, the centre provides fun for LEGO fans young and old, and fantastic educational benefits too. On entering the centre kids are taken on a LEGO Factory tour, which reveals the secrets of how the famous bricks are made.

This take even the oldest Lego fan back in time, and helps put all of those pieces together in your mind of how Lego was first introduced, what was the inspiration and how they have developed and grown over the years.

You will probably see ‘why’ Lego is such big business now, finding new and creative ways to stimulate the young mind, whilst at the same time keeping one step in front of their competition.

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