Loads of stuff to run through, what should be a quiet time is anything much so I’ll keep everything brief. First, a Wilkos update.
The store is definitely closing in April and won’t be reopening instantly. I’ve been assured that sites are being looked at and everyone is committed to Wilkos future in Beeston, but I’m still amazed at the incompetence exhibited by all involved, a dereliction of duty that impacts on Beeston more than they seem to have realised.
The 56 workers there have been told they will be split around seven local stores in the area in the hiatus: hardly an option if you’re a minimum wage part timer who only puts in the odd shift. The closest seven stores to Beeston are the two in town, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Sherwood, Bulwell and Clifton. Most of these cannot be reached on a single bus, so getting to work will make it economically unfeasible to turn up
. So, is there a site that can be temporarily used for the time being? Two suggestions mooted are the Betel/McDonalds site that was recently vacated, and the Peacocks site (Peacocks announced there plunge into administration this week). Unfortunately, both are too small to ensure continuity, but maybe as a compromise? Of course, the other option is to simply pay the staff their full wage throughout the ‘retail pause’. This retainer may create some urgency at Wilkos head office, and put a rocket up the council. Its certainly an issue all political parties have identified as important: councillors from all parties have backed the campaign and for that I’m grateful. Particular props go to Janet Patrick http://www.janetpatrick.org.uk/, who looks after the ward Wilkos is in, and has been very helpful in getting signatures together and the word out.
I’ll be presenting the petition at the next full meeting of Broxtowe Borough Council, which isn’t, unfortunately, until late February. I’ll be back out collecting signatures on the street before that, but if you want to make your voice heard right now, go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savewilkos/ and sign online. Then tweet it, Facebook it, climb a high roof and shout about it.
Thanks also to all the people who responded to my call to be willing to give a quote to the Post in Monday in regards to a story they were planning to run as an update on the campaign…seems it wasn’t needed as the piece has either been dropped or postponed.
___________________________________________________________
It’s rare that we see much of political heavyweights in Beeston outside election time. So, whatever your political hue, this is worth a look come February:
Former cabinet minister David Blunkett is to visit Chilwell for a public meeting where he will talk about Labour’s alternative to austerity and the challenge of a post-Coalition Britain. In addition he will reflect on his experiences in public life over the past 40 years. The meeting will be chaired by Nick Palmer, Broxtowe’s former MP and now Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesman for the constituency, and is open to members of the public, who will have the opportunity to put their questions to Mr Blunkett.
As well as talking about Labour’s plans, Mr Blunkett – who served as Home Secretary, Education Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary in Tony Blair’s Government – will share his views on the performance of the Coalition and about Labour’s task in rebuilding trust and support.
Nick Palmer said: “A great many voters are already disillusioned with the Coalition Government but it’s not enough just to oppose. Voters want to know what Labour’s alternatives are, and we’ve asked David Blunkett as one of Labour’s leading national figures to talk about Labour’s strategies and respond to questions. I’m looking forward to chairing the meeting and contributing my own comments on the way forward. “Broxtowe is the 10th most marginal Tory seat in Britain – and in 2010 the Tories won partly by throwing huge amounts of money into the seat. It’s important that we can compete on a level playing field, so this meeting is also a fund-raiser to make sure that we have a fair chance to put the alternative case to voters.”
The meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd February at Inham Nook Methodist Church in Pearson Avenue, Chilwell, Nottingham. Suggested donations are £5 for the waged and £2 for the unwaged.
_____________________________________________
I’m writing this post on the day that every blogger’s best friend, Wikipedia, is down, and that other source of wonderful knowledge, Beeston library, is closed. Thankfully its not become a victim of swingeing cuts (well not yet anyway) but is having a refurb and should be open again on the 13th February even better than before. ______________________________________________
The library closing means I can’t pursue one of my favourite time-squandering hobbies: trawling the Nottingham archives for odd stories. If you have an hour or eight to kill it’s a fine way to whittle the hours away. I think it must be akin to fishing, a ‘sport’ I’ve until now seen the point of. You sit in quiet stillness for ages, until something grabs your attention and breaks the semi-meditative state you”d drifted into. With anglers, it’s a trout, with archive-readers it’s a report on Nottingham having the riot act read to it again (it seems that our ancestors saw rioting as the norm during the early nineteenth century, they’d riot about anything. A toast to the Monarch suggested at the theatre? A riot ensued. Bread prices raised? A riot ensued? News that Prime Minister Spencer Percivel had been assassinated? Celebrations in the city reached such a pitch a riot ensued).
The angler will examine his catch, and depending 0n it’s quality, and either chuck it back or take it home to mount in a cabinet. So forgive me while I relate the following to you: it’s the eqivalent of me landing a whale-shark from a perch on the Erewash. In 1754, to curry favours with voters, wine was made available to the electorate in Nottingham, but only AFTER they had voted, due to their propensity for forgetting to vote after a few gob-fulls. Better still:
‘in order to prevail upon that debauched borough, Newark, £1000-£1500 had to be expended… such was their thirst… (a) number of the guests had the misfortune to take too much of the wine, and die soon afterwards’
Now, we have a real problem in 21st Century Britain getting the electorate out every few years so….. I’m just planting seeds.
_________________________________________
And finally, I’m going to plug myself by telling you the newspaper I edit and publish, The Beestonian has just reached Issue 5 and available in the usual outlets. Big thanks in particular to our sponsors Belle and Jerome and The Treasury If you’d like to stick an advert in Issue 6, we’d be more than welcome to have you on board: get in touch by emailing mattgoold23@hotmail.com and we’ll sort something out.
________________
I’ve just glanced down at the notes I made for the little piece about the Nottingham Annals, and can’t publish this post without first mentioning the fact that around two hundred years ago, Nottingham rioted against ‘unscrupulous cheese-makers’. I’m so proud to live where I live.
An unscrupulous cheese-maker, yesterday.
Beestonia 