Here’s a quick summary of news, events and casework for September 2007
28th – Accounts committee;
25th – “Tap the Gap” celebrates successful work experience with the City Council during summer holidays for 15 or so teenagers;
23rd – 27th – Labour Party conference;
22nd – Green transport event - "The Big Day Out" at Nottingham castle;
20th – Robin Hood exhibition opens at Nottingham castle;
19th – speak on Green technologies in the public sector at the Institute of Physics in London.
18th – Mapperley & Sherwood Area Cttee. – explore idea of bus plugs for Thorneywood Mount to deter traffic in rush hour;
18th – Executive Board - new project to help & empower young people - helping 3,500 in Nottingham;
14th – Salop's first match at the New Gay Meadow;
14th – discuss improving the railways at a joint meeting between City & County Councillors;
11th – launch of Nottingham business office in Ningbo, China;
11th – meet Minister John Healey to talk about improved regional governance;
10th – full Council - debate on crime; Nottingham has seen a 22% fall since May 2003;
Robin Hood exhibition opens
Thu 20th Sep 2007
The Robin Hood exhibition, drawn from the BBC series was officially opened in NottinghamCastle this evening.
It was opened by our current Sheriff of Nottingham - yes, we still have one - Cllr. Jeannie Packer. As the portfolio holder for tax collection in the city, I'm glad of the cover the Sheriff offers.
The series is watched by 7 million viewers.
Postscript - one response to this blog asked "who was the real Robin Hood?"
A number of places claim Robin Hood but that the tales of Robin Hood are about Nottingham & Sherwood Forest are unchallenged.
The importance of Robin Hood to Nottingham is not so much tourism as identity and recognition. At a conference last year in Chicago, a speaker spent 5 minutes describing Birmingham's location and development before starting his speech. I followed and asked 'everyone heard of Robin Hood?'; and with the immediate nods from the audience, was able to move straight on.
Recognition of Robin Hood pretty much works everywhere except for India & Pakistan where we are better known for Trent Bridge cricket ground.
Nottingham has no shortage of visitors, but our draw is much more the shopping and the restaurants (the widest choice of any British city) and the night-life - tens of thousands visit at the weekends.
Currently, our ambition for public transport (the best tram & buses in the country) and the launch of the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change (that councils can sign up to) gives us a reputation for being a green city.
One last Robin Hood story. The Anglican Church and its head, the Archbishop of Canterburycame to Nottingham 2 years ago for its international conference. The Lord Mayor and I crafted a speech celebrating the history of various christian movements in Nottingham (incl. the beginning of the Salvation Army). And we surprised the conference. Nottingham, we said, is the home of the most famous man of the cloth. (Silence.) Who? Friar Tuck. We then explained that we'd found millions of references to him on the world wide web. But we acknowledged, not one of the sites explained his theology. The Archbishop of Canterburyspoke next. I can tell you the theology of Friar Tuck, he said. "Christian Socialist." He carried Robin Hood halfway across a river and then dropped him into the water. Hard, he suggested, to think of a more dramatic example of the reversal of powers.
Further Postscript - it now appears that Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe are developing a movie called "Nottingham" that decides to take the side of the Sheriff of Nottingham. It's due out in 2009.
National Energy Technologies Institute awarded to the Midlands
Thu 20th Sep 2007
The award of the National Energy Technologies Institute to a Midlands consortium of Nottingham, Birmingham and Loughborough universities today is very welcome news.
Nottinghamshire's wealth in the past depended significantly on supplying coal and energy to the country. Now we have a chance to develop the new energy technologies, such as the next generation of wind turbines that will combine to capture of mechanical energy as well as converting the wind directly into electricity.
The total spend is £1bn over 10 years. The Science City has already helped Nottingham and that came with hardly any money at all.
Albert (Einstein) says the elements of delivering reform are well known
Wed 19th Sep 2007
Another opportunity to address a conference on climate change, this time at an event themed on green technologies.
Ready with some key messages to give, it all began to fall apart when it turned out the anonymous sounding 76 Portland Place in London, was in fact the home of the Institute of Physics. And I am a physics graduate.
Still I could have stuck to message, but then a green activist at the beginning of the conference said we didn't know how to deliver change and then quoted Albert Einstein saying we have to think outside the box.
Now Albert Einstein is a hard act to follow. In 1905 alone, he published 4 papers that changed our understanding of light, atoms, time (relativity) and matter & energy.
I remember how excited colleagues in the first year at university were about special relativity. Every weekly tutorial kept discussing it. 'Would you see your reflection in a mirror travelling away from you at the speed of light?' All enthusiasm for special relativity disappeared as fast as the mirror when we actually had to learn it in the second term.
To think outside the box at the best of times is hard to do. And counter-intuitive. So why advocate it to an audience primed and ready to learn about how we can do more to reduce our carbon footprint?
And so my speech went off track as I tried to recall how counter-intuitive quantum physics (the physics of very small things) was; and as I tried to explain how the classical model of the electron orbiting a nucleus (requiring energy to stay in orbit) was a good simile for a poor performing organisation.
It's just possible I left the audience confused. (But I'm not going as far as Ming Campbell in describing myself as a failure.)
The key message stands. Greens who are not part of the mainstream of politics and political activity, have a poor understanding of how change can be delivered, and have a poor understanding on how progress on the chosen priorities of the last decade, such as educational attainment, has been delivered.
We know mitigating climate change is a tough call. But not learning from our successes in delivering reform in the last decade is disappointing.
Leicester City show grace
Wed 19th Sep 2007
The Leicester Mercury rang me a few weeks back to say that Leicester City had drawn Forestaway in the cup and that lots of Leicester fans were going whilst Forest didn't seem bothered? Was the interest one-way? And weren't Nottingham and Leicester competitors anymore?
Beyond the football, I did explain that the rivalries between the 3 cities of the East Midlands were now less acute, partly cos we aren't expected to compete for money from Michael Heseltine anymore, and partly cos it's often to our advantage to work together to get more things done. Providing more houses and transport innovation projects being examples of these.
The journalist pushed and eventually, forced to choose, I said of course Nottingham was better. And so it was printed. (I could have backed it up with info. like the shopping in Leicester, Derby & Lincoln city centres combined still added up to less than 80% of Nottingham city's.)
The match meanwhile had not gone well. A Leicester player had suffered a heart attack at half-time and the match abandoned with Forest 1-0 up. There'd been some trouble between spectators afterwards.
The re-match was last night and the signs were not good. Leicester had since appointed a former Forest manager as their manager.
Amazing then, and welcome, the grace of the Leicester club in allowing the Forest keeper to walk the ball into the net in the first minute to re-establish the previous Forest advantage.
Some Tories propose taxes on office car parking
Fri 14th Sep 2007
Startling to hear a national Tory warn that we must act now for the sake of the planet and future generations. But it didn't take long for other Tory MPs to say that not one proposal of the "Quality of Life" report published yesterday would make it into their election address.
The Tory policy group recommend taxing office car parking. From page 349 of the report - “We therefore recommend bringing private non-residential off street parking space into the tax system and taxing it accordingly.”
Point is that anyone planning for a green future will understand that “whether or not there is somewhere to park at the end of a car journey can determine whether that journey is made by car or an alternative mode”.
And protests on taxes for office parking seem not to recognise that there are no equivalent subsidies to workers who arrive by foot or public transport.
I'd be amazed if Nottingham Tories show consideration of the report in public. Nottingham Labour is proposing a workplace parking levy and the City Council has begun consultation - see http://www.nottinghamwpl.com/ .
The full document is available at - http://www.conservatives.com/getfile.cfm?file=blueprintforagreeneconomy&ref=GENERALFILE/3585&type=pdf
Hug a Hoodie, hit young people where it hurts, caution kids playing in the fountains
Mon 10th Sep 2007
Today, we debated progress in the fight against crime in Nottingham.
Crime is down 22% in Nottingham since May 2003, but the Nottingham Tories still weren't happy, citing those elements of the crime statistics that had not shown a reduction. The Nottingham Tories discerned between the various types of crime and said less progress had been made in those elements causing most distress to the public.
This after starting the debate by expressing frustration at children playing in the new Old Market Square's water fountains. Why couldn't PCSOs do something about it!
If you've seen the new fountains, you'll know that kids can play with the water, much as they can in Sheffield's main square.
The Nottingham Tories had little to say in terms of analysis. For analysis, we must refer to David Cameron, whose change of political tack was commented upon by Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer. On Sunday, he wrote the following about David Cameron -
"A year ago, in the speech which became caricatured as Hug a Hoodie, he argued for a sophisticated approach which would concentrate as much on the causes of crime as on its effects. He invited his audience to empathise with why young people became troubled. In a arresting phrase, designed to get the headlines that it did, he said: 'We have to show a lot more love.' ...
His language this summer has been very different. ... Mr Cameron declared: 'Common sense suggests that with young people you need to hit them where it hurts.' From Hug a Hoodie to Hit a Hoodie.
So, hug a Hoodie, then hit young people where it hurts, and now Nottingham Tories say caution kids playing in water fountains.
Corduroys
Mon 10th Sep 2007
Been on holiday and read a book. A crime novel, police officers tracking down a murderer and the murders take place in my ward and part of my old ward.
Maybe I should be pleased to read about places I know and recognise but the crime isn't like it's portrayed.
Of course, such crime novels are a genre. It's more about the riddles and puzzles of the whodunnit combined with the dialogue between suspects and the detectives.
And bits of it are so unreal. A number of the suspects, and even one of the police officers wear cords. One suspect even wears a green corduroy suit. What are the chances? In canvassing thousands of people in my ward over the last 5 years, I don't remember meeting anyone wearing cords.
I'll never be a crime writer - I don't drink coffee and therefore don't know how to share in the describing of the different forms of coffee served and its quality.
Meanwhile, full Council discusses the progress in the fight against crime today.
(Last updated – 2007-10-22)
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