Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone The weather is set fair for a few days, still a chilly wind but bright and sunny. Everyone in the Tourist trade are looking for a busy weekend. The railways are being their usual helpful selves and delaying journeys and working on the line.

 

Hundreds of public sector workers set to get £250 for travelling to work in the snow. This is an over the top waste of taxpayers money at this time of wage freezer's and job cuts.

 

Teignmouth I see is in the top ten for offences on the railway lines not a record to be proud of. It could get worse with the upsurge of young people in the area. They could be hit by a train, electrocuted, or caught in the rails. Apparently there is easy access from the bridges. The advice when catching a train is stand well back behind the yellow lines. 

 

Credit Card Fraud It has come to my knowledge this week the amount of fraud committed by cloning bank cards. What happened to the safety of the chip and pin which we were all told about when this was launched. 

Garages and restaurants are easy targets. Cash points can also be fixed with cameras please be alert. 

It can be very traumatic if it happens to you. Banks have a good record of refunding the money but is still a hassel Check accounts regually and inform the banks immediately

 

The gardens are stil looking very colourful. Grow your own veg is very popular. Allotments are being snapped up all over the Country. It is surprising what can be grown in a small area also in troughs and tubs. We are growing potatoes in compost bags.  Put compost in the bottom add a couple of potatoes which are already sprouting put on a layer of compost and as the leaves appear, gradually fill with compost. Happy garedening 

 

I hope you all enjoy the break whatever you are doing. Our Sunday will be Church for the morning service and lunch with the family.

 

Through the wonders of technoligy I spent a very pleasant half hour watching and listening to my grandaughter in Brisbane Australia playing her violin it was wonderful.  

 

 

Glorious Devon

Devon is looking glorious we have put the clocks forward to British Summer time. The gardens are a blaze of colour with daffodils tulips and all the spring flowering bulbs, plus all the trees in blossom. The weather is set fair and hopefully the cold wind will disappear.

Checking the figures from the Tourist board the bookings are up for this year. The holiday camps are all gearing up for a bumper year. The visitors are choosing to stay in this country instead of holidaying abroad.

 

Dawlish has been named as one of the only six  Towns in the entire Country to achieve a prestigious five star rating in the biannual Clean Britain Awards officially making it one of the cleanest towns in Britain. Run by the British Cleaning Council, the awards celebrate the cleanest and tidiest towns and cities across the UK. . Thank you to the excellent staff at Teignbridge for all their hard work.

 

I was pleased to see Gordon Brown had a change of heart and will celebrate the D.Day.anniversary Perhaps he has read my fellow councillors Blog

Dawlish Warren in safe hands

Dawlish Warren in safe hands this Summer. The lifeguard launch was held at the Teign Corinthian Yacht Club on Friday with a demonstation by the  RNLI Lifeguards.The beachs at Teignmouth and Dawlish Warren will be served  throughout the season by the RNLI lifeguards.. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives at sea 

This  high quality lifeguard service patrols more than a 100 beaches in the U.K and works alongside the local councils.

 They are highly visible with their red and yellow vehicles and uniform. They are all highly trained in full scale rescue,to treating stings from weaver fish also in giving advice to prevent accidents. 95% of their work is prevention. 

. Dawlish Warren is  a safe beach but can also have undercurrents and rip tides at certain times. Take advice from the lifeguards and have an enjoyable and relaxing holiday. Swim only between the flags.Across the water at Exmouth is the allweather lifeboat which can also be called on in an emergency.Enjoy your visit and be safe.

 

As they are a charity money is needed to keep saving lives so rely on donations and fund raising.

 

 

 

Miners Strike 25 years on

 

 

We have been back to my home County of Derbyshire this past weekend to celebrate my sisters Golden Wedding and meet members of the family I haven't seen for a long time.The weather was cold but sunny and for once no holdups on the motorways. 

 

One topic of conversation was the miners strike which started 25 years ago.That caused a lot of hardship and some families never recovered.. Arthur Scargill the then president of the National Union of Mineworkers  versus Margaret Thatcher the then Prime Minister. 20 pits were closed and only six mines remain open today. It is still a belief of many that if only some of the uneconomical pits closed we could still have a thriving mining industry and not  buying the bulk of our coal from Russia, Australia, and South Africa. Even Norman Tebbit sounds remorseful and he was a strong supporter of the government. There  were very few winners in that battle 

 

Derby is also the home of the Loco works, thousands lost their jobs with British Rail  when the government sold off the franchise. 

There is also concern regarding the Japanese firms getting the orders to build the new trains. The hope is that some of the work will be done in Derby

 

Back in Dawlish  we seem to have gone back to Winter. Lots of snow in some areas and none in others. The spring flowers are appearing, crocus and snowdrops have been lovely this year. Daffodils are appearing everywhere with their lovely nodding yellow heads a welcome sign of Spring. The mornings are lighter and the birds are bursting into song.

 

 

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Dawlish News

We hope we have seen the end of the snow for this Winter in Dawlish. The cold weather has killed some of the semi-tropical plants which we all grow. We have been complacent for the past ten years but have been caught out this winter.The snowdrops in our garden have lasted much longer. The primroses are all coming into bloom.

 

 The Darwin tulips will soon be in flower in our gardens.We commemorate 200years since the birth of Darwin this year. 

 

Work is progressing well on the new pavement on Brunswick Street. Motorist will find parking much easier along the street and pedestrians can walk along to view the waterfowl.

The new Piazza is coming along. The produce market will soon be held there each month.

Also various events throughout the year  .

 

The Beach at Dawlish Warren is still mostly pebbles much to the disappointment of the children. Some areas are still sandy, there were lots of people on the beach during half term enjoying this spell of mild sunny weather.

 We were hoping the sand would be put back on this beach before the Summer season, but I don't think it will happen. It is the usual plea of no money and who will foot the bill.

A pilot scheme is to be carried out by putting sand beyond the Red Rock Cafe and checking the flow. I am also told it has to be the right sort of. sand or it could set like concrete. 

This not going to help this seasons visitors  or the children who want to build their sandcastles 

Britain gets an unexpected Winter Holiday

In the midst of the credit crunch the Country is having fun in the snow. This takes me back to my childhood in Derbyshire. We would drag out our sled and spend many happy hours sledging down the fields around. We had to be called in for  bed by our parents and fell asleep happy and exhausted. We had no television just play and natural exercise.

 

We are having fun watching the birds in our garden enjoying the food we put out. The blackbirds spend so much energy seeing off their rivals. We have to send the pigeons packing or there is nothing left for the smaller birds. Flocks of long tailed tits arrive each day to enjoy the seeds and suet balls. Robins and chaffinch's starlings and magpies are also appearing each day. It is a problem keeping the water defrosted

 

One person who doesn't enjoy the snow is our cat. She goes out when she has to and shakes her paws with each step.The chickens don't like the cold weather but are still keeping us in eggs

 Our efforts in the garden and freezing our excess vegetables and fruit are now paying dividends we are living on the fruits of our labours.

 

One benefit of being retired we can watch all the young folk struggling to get to school and work. We are told  travel only if you have too.

We are expecting more snow showers today.Our fuel allowance is helping   towards keeping warm and enjoying the view from the warmth of our lounge window. The snow news has brought a little light relief and a change from all the normal doom and gloom in the papers. 

 

Devon County Council have been working hard throughout the night keeping the roads open. A big thank you goes to our paper boys and girls, our paper arrived at the normal time of 6.30am

 

The family in Australia and New Zealand are having very high temperatures especially in Queensland Australia Over 40degs Celsius we are lucky to get 40degs F

 

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.