Green Shoots of Recovery

The only green shoots of recovery I have seen are in our garden, where the snowdrops are a welcome sight and heralds of Spring.

 

Our Prime Minister tells us in Sunday's paper not to look on the gloomy side. Tell that to the steel workers who are  to be made redundant 6000 in total.Will this industry be offered the same support by the government as the banking industry  We read that the Country is officially in recession for the first time since 1991 What has happened to Mr Brown's 2007 promise to deliver 'British jobs for British workers' It made good headlines at the time.

I still cannot see how borrowing from the public purse is going to get us out of trouble.

 

In Dawlish at long last the work is starting on the new footpath at The Brunswick . Motorists will be able to park alongside the  footpath without getting caught by the brambles or getting stung by nettles

 

We hold our Church Community lunch on Wednesday A two course meal for £3.50. Everyone is welcome this is our contribution to   the Credit Crunch.

 

I am still getting letters complaining about the new route for Stagecoach buses. A lot of the elderly people have to walk much further to catch the bus.

A new bus stop has appeared on the A379 just outside Dawlish beside the new car wash. If the wind is in the wrong direction it could cause a few problems. Who sits in their office and decides these things.

 

What will this year bring?

Again we hear the sad news another young Royal Marine killed in Afganistan. When will it end and are we gaining anything by our troops being out there. Mr Brown tells us the soldiers will be coming home this year. I hope and pray they will.Since the time of writing two more soldiers have been killed in action.
The government have announced extra armoured protection for vehicles in Afganistan We hope this will help to save lives out there.

Dawlish may lose Black Swans

The Enviroment Agency the water quality watchdog has received complaints from a member of the public in Dawlish that the Town Council does not have a proper disposal system to deal with water from the pond in the waterfowl encloseur at Brunswick Place in Dawlish
The results of an impact study by a public analyst laboratory gives the opinion that the waterfowl pond is not having an adverse affect on the bacteriological quality of the water in the Dawlish Brook

Dawlish Town Council will consider carefully suggestions for disposal of waste water from the compound and hopefully a way forward will be found.

The Town Council is justly proud of the black swans and other ornamental waterfowl which are an important tourist and educational attraction for the seaside Town and throughout the world.
Councillors fear the costs of disposal of water from the enclosure, currently estimated at around £30.000 per annum will be so high that keeping the waterfowl will prove uneconomic unless sponsership can be found to alleviate the costs

The black swans are a familier sight in the Town and local businesses have the Blacl Swan insignia in their logos and promotional material Records show Black Swans being on the Brook in the early 1900's
The flock has increased . from 8 to 13 through careful management by the Waterfowl Warden.
It would be devasatating to lose this well loved asset to our town.

Tourism in Devon.

Dawlish relies heavily on Tourism, It is hoped the state of the euro will bring more visitors to Devon instead of visiting destinations on the continent. After two wet Summers and a very cold Winter we are looking for better weather this year.

Welcome to 2009

I hope you all had a good Christmas.We had a very pleasant time with friends and family.Thanks to the wonders of  technoligy we were able to watch our grandchildren opening their presents in Brisbane Australia. We were able to link up with our son in New Zealand at 9.30 our time Christmas Eve which was 10.30 am Christmas morning in Auckland .and 7.30 am in Brisbane Australia which helped to bring us all closer as a family

 

One of our presents from the family was a bird feeding station  

.The weather has been so cold we need to feed the birds and also leave water out as the ponds are frozen over  We have seen a varitey of different species. Lots of blackbirds, pidgeons, bluetits, longtailed tits, robins etc  We have also seen a bullfinch they are so brightly coloured and stand out on the bare branches of the trees.We normally don.t see them until the buds are appearing on the trees.We have spent some happy hours watching all the birds coming and going.

The decorations and lights are now  put away in the loft for another year and we look forward to 2009.

 

 This Winter so far has been the coldest since 1996 and bought chaos on the roads

 Is it all doom and gloom for the coming year. In Dawlish it is sad to see the closing of the Woolworths store. This will leave a large empty space on The Strand. Who will take over these empty premises, and will the staff be able to find jobs.

 

We also hear that Wedgewood and Waterford Chrystal .are closing. Most households have items from Wedgewood some where on a shelf .Marks and Spencer are laying off staff

 

Is our Prime Minister going to help low-paid and part time staff cope with the financial crisis by scrapping tax for people earning less than £10.000 per year, time will tell.There are still half a million workers who are paying more in tax than they were bef