thenotsomightyom

Thanks to Gavin Kermack and Tanya Gupta of BBC Online News for the Headline

Sad to say a piece of Heritage from the heady days of Carpet Making in Kidderminster is going to be lost. A “Carpet Museum” dedicated to recording the history of Kidderminster’s role in the industry from Domesday to most recently factories which employed thousands and meant that Kidderminster was responsible for making half the carpets produced in the UK in the period after the war and up until the 1970’s.

The most recent casualty was a Company called Adams Carpets who unfortunately went into administration this year due to immense financial pressures. They made their carpets from 80% British Wool and 20% Nylon. Imagine the skills that were involved in that.

And now the museum, with it’s two 19th Century handlooms called Victoria and Albert is now closing, perhaps due to lack of visitor numbers. It’s important and a history that we should be able to look back on. Perhaps it will be mothballed and the handlooms relocated as they are still workable and can be used by artisans interested in making cloth.(as indeed one of the volunteers has done and in the past has used both looms to make cloth) .

I hope the museum’s other treasures are not lost , books, photographs and objects that were needed to manufacture what were once the best carpets in the World. We should not throw away such treasured artefacts so easily or indeed forget the history of Carpet making in Kidderminster.

Thanks to the Swindon Advertiser and Aled Thomas for the Headline

Basically the developer as part of getting planning permission to build over 2,300 houses said that they would provide the locals with a Country Park. Interestingly enough the irregularly shaped piece of land will allow access to woodland, wetlands and wildflower meadows as well as providing a children’s play area.

The Council have washed their hands of the whole project by not adopting it as a one of the Country Parks of their own, so unless they can find volunteers to maintain and keep the area safe for users of the new Park it will likely deteriorate over the years.

The new Country Park certainly isn’t like the Parks and Land that historically have been provided in Covenants to areas of Swindon to ensure that local people had access to areas for recreation for their health. These are protected and have proved their worth for local children, dog walkers and anyone who just wanted to enjoy the local area.

It remains to be seen about this piece of land that has been designated as a Country Park Style Space and how it will be looked after and maintained or indeed used by local people.

Thanks to a UK Gov. Press Release for the Headline

This will be short and sweet. We will aim now not to put mentally ill people in Prison for safe keeping and we will try and ensure that the ratio of black people is not three times higher than other defined categories of skin colour

The reform of the outdated Mental Health Act of 1983 has been completed and there will be more self determination for mental health patients and their families.

The Police will be less relied on to deal with Mental Health Patients in Crisis.

This transition will be supported by the 10 Year Health Plan which will lead to the recruitment of 8500 additional Mental Health Workers( doesn’t say what qualifications these people will have). They will deliver more talking therapies, rolling out more mental health support teams in schools and colleges and providing better access to help through the NHS App.

So there we are Crisis Care Capacity will be increased to prevent people reaching the point of needing to be detained as we shift the focus from hospital to community.

All sounds rather nice and dandy until something really bad happens.

Deer are quite skittish animals and I suppose reindeer must be the same. Despite their fame for pulling Santa’s sled across the sky apparently they don’t enjoy it that much and would rather not get out and meet people or be part of crowded busy thoroughfares being led through streets with strange noises and unwelcome petting.

One animal expert has analysed video footage taken by an animal Welfare Charity and said that the animals are showing signs of stress, with the whites of their eyes showing and stopping and freezing behaviour meaning that they are not at all happy.

I know who they should consult for their opinion, the Sami and the Nenets who in Northern Scandinavia and Russia have looked after their herds for centuries while living nomadic lifestyles. In my mind whatever they would say about their animals been paraded in towns and cities would be factual and truthful and should be listened to.