A BUSY, MIXED AND EXTRAORDINARY DAY!

Friday - end of the week, a relaxing day before the weekend.   What's in the diary?    Blimey - got to pick up Mrs. ........ for the Vol. Car Scheme and take her to the hospital for a small operation.   What time?   pick up at 7am to be there for 7.30am  - AM????    Swallow rice crispies, no time for a pikelet!    quick slug of tea and off to pick up our client.   Arrived at her house at bang on 7am and she was ready and waiting.   Into the car and off we went.   Traffic starting to build up but no serious problems and we arrived on time.  Arranged that client would get hospital to phone me when ready to come home.  I then drove back to Penkridge and was home before 8am to sit down to pikelets and coffee.   Checked greenhouse and watered a few plants.  Phone call at just gone 11am to say Mrs. ..... ready for collection.   Off again and collected and returned her home. 

Back just before 1pm to hear from my wife that PENKRIDGE HAD HAD A BANK ROBBERY.   Well organised by the sound of it - obviously a team had been watching and waiting for the Security Van to arrive at Crown Bridge and then hey presto, the car nipped into a parking space (conveniently made available),  one of the occupants jumped out with knife and within a very short time left an empty container in the middle of the pavement as they drove off south with ..........    Getaway car discovered on a local estate.  Police are asking for any witnesses to come forward from the incident in the village centre or or any other suspicious vehicles or people seen around.   Lets hope the Street Cameras we have around the village can help identify and catch the robbers.   Anyone take any photos with their Phone cameras?

Then a visit by Bob Maddocks with proof copies of a new book that Great Marsh Publications will be selling shortly (still secret but an important historical publication that all those elderly people who went to Penkridge schools will want to acquire).   Then my plan was to take a trip round Penkridge to deliver a few items to people.   But first another check in the greenhouse but it was interrupted by my wife who said there was a man at the door asking to see me.

It was a salesman, who insisted to my wife that he speak to the head of the household otherwise he might be breaking the Data Protection Act (that’s a new selling point!).   It turned out that he was selling for Scottish and Southern Electric whereupon I said that they were not exactly my most favourite Energy Company in the country.   He didn’t ask me why but immediately said I was confusing his firm with Scottish Electricity – which I hadn’t of course.   I then got the usual speel that all my neighbours had signed up to his firm and then began actually showing me the copies of their Agreements and giving me their names.  So much for confidentiality and the Data Protection Act!   I must make a point of telling all my neighbours that this man is going round breaking their confidential agreements and they can take the necessary action.  

I have actually just signed up to Co-operative Energy and have been checking my meter readings and working out whether I am in fact making the savings I was hoping I would.   Still not done all the comparisons with other suppliers yet though, but it looks like I can beat SSE, especially if one takes into account the dividend/points that one gets as well.  (I am a part owner of the Co-op movement and all their profits are shared with their members).   Check them out if you are considering changing your energy suppliers.   Incidentally, I am also considering Solar Panels for my south facing roof.  More of that in the future but if anyone in Penkridge has already got them I would be pleased to hear of their experience.

Well, the weather today hasn't been all that I had hoped but there have been some surprises.   I wonder what tomorrow will bring!   Or even later today - the day is not over yet!

Newsman

SUPERFAST BROADBAND COMING TO PENKRIDGE

BT have announced that homes and businesses in two more Staffordshire communities will have access to super-fast fibre broadband by the end of next year at the latest.

More than 13,000 homes and businesses in Cannock and more than 4,000 in PENKRIDGE are the latest to benefit from BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out plans for super-fast broadband. They are among 13 communities in the West Midlands and 156 across the UK included in the announcement.

GYPSY SITE GIVEN TEMPORARY PERMISSION FOR 7 PITCHES, 19 CARAVANS, TWO AMENITY BLOCKS, LAYING OF HARDSTANDING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS ON LAND BETWEEN RAILWAY AND A449

A LARGE BROWN ENVELOPE ARRIVED TODAY (1 MARCH 2011) - ON OPENING, IT REVEALED THE DECISION BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE APPEAL - EXTRACT FROM THE NOTICE APPEARS BELOW.  The full letter and Report to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government can be viewed at South Staffordshire Council and at the offices of Penkridge Parish Council and on the Penkridge website.
 

FORMAL DECISION (Extract from an 11 page decision letter from Secretary of State dated 28 February 2011, sent to Mr Philip Brown, Philip Brown Associates, 74 Park Road, Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 2QX) 33. Accordingly, for the reasons given above, the Secretary of State hereby partially allows your clients' appeal and grants temporary planning permission for 7 pitches, subject to conditions. The permission is granted for a period up to 31 December 2014, and is given on a personal basis to the appellants named at condition 11 of Annex B to this letter and their resident dependants, for a change of use of land to use as a residential caravan site, including the stationing of 19 caravans, erection of two amenity blocks, laying of hardstanding and improvement of access at New Acre Stables, Wolverhampton Road, Penkridge, Staffordshire in accordance with application number 09/00809/FUL, dated 29 October 2009, subject to the conditions set out in the schedule at Annex B to this letter.

SEAN FLYNN LEAVES PENKRIDGE - BIRDS ARRIVE!

Two emails tonight, one from Sean Flynn saying he is leaving us for a few days and the other from Richard telling us of some Bird Visitors to Penkridge.
Sean is off on one of his fun and fund raising ventures in the 4x4 - read all about it by clicking on the link at the top of the Penkridge Website.

And Richard tells me that the new Bird visitors to Penkridge are:

Waxwings at Pillaton, South of the hall.

A pair of Goosanders and probably 4 in total at the confluence of the Penk and Whiston Brook over the weekend.

The Little Egret was seen on the Penk on Friday last.
A Pair of Bewicks Swans in flight over Micklewood Cottages recently.

And Tree Sparrows are coming and going from three of his seven bird boxes.

To add to the above  - Redpolls are turning up in my garden quite regularly at the moment in small numbers.  Song Thrush was singing recently as are several other garden species.    A brief view of a Blackcap (overwintering bird) in the garden recently too.

And finally, the Hazel Catkins are fully out, lots of other buds appearing and today I noticed that the Snakeshead Fritillaries have sent their leaves into the air on my front lawn.   A sad event to mark this last day of February is that the Monkey Puzzle Tree in Haling Road (The Marsh) has been felled as it had died gradually over the last twelve months.   Can anyone tell me whether we have any others in Penkridge and if so, where they are?

OIL POLLUTION STARTING TO KILL WILDLIFE

Today I have learned that the pollution incident was caused by thousand of litres of Heavy Heating Oil leaking from a large tank on the Lyne Hill Industrial Estate behind the fire station on the southern boundary of Penkridge.  Eventually, the new owners of the Industrial Estate were located and the Environment Agency and the owners are beginning to deal with the mess it has left behind in the Otherton Brook.  This brook flows northwards right through the middle of the large Vale Gardens Housing Estate, through the village centre and into the River Penk near Bull Bridge and the Riverside Old Folks Home.

Over Xmas weekend the smell and fumes has been reported from large areas of Penkridge as the very cold weather has caused the fumes and smell to hang over the lower ground.  It was particularly bad in the village centre where the brook flows under the road past the bakery and village toilets and then into the River Penk near Riverside.   Anyone walking up the footpath from New Road to Wolgarston Way and to Somerfields have also reported it as being very smelly over the weekend.   Not very pleasant and dogs and children must not be allowed to paddle in the stream until all traces of the oil have disappeared.

Wildlife damage is already being reported with the RSPC collecting an injured Heron and other dead birds being found.

This incident does not bode well for the owners of this Industrial Estate who, it is understood, intend to submit a planning application for change of use in the New Year.

OTHERTON BROOK AND RIVER PENK POLLUTED ON XMAS EVE

Diesel oil would appear to have somehow got into the Otherton Brook near the Fire Station - possibly from an Industrial Unit in the area.   The Environment Agency fixed up a Boom to try and stop it getting into the River Penk but so far this appears not to have stopped it from travelling downstream.  Late this afternoon the smell and fumes was pretty bad in the centre of Penkridge where the brook flows past the Bakery and the Public Toilets and flowed into the Penk by Bull Bridge between the Bridge House and Riverside Old Folks Home.

The EA are investigating for the source of the pollution as well as trying to prevent it from getting into the Penk.  Their staff will be working on Xmas Day because of this and we must thank them for that.   We must find out who has been responsible for this incident which as well as creating an awful smell in the community at Xmas, could also do damage to life in the brook and the River downstream.   Many farm animals drink from these water courses and farmers must be made aware of pollution incidents like this.

SEVEN ARCHES AND SEVEN TREES

Built over 180 years ago, these Arches must have been seen by many thousands of visitors to our Ancient Penkridge Market.   Many thousands must also have crossed over the River Penk by them on a Train.  However, I wonder how many knew who built them.   It was Thomas Brassey of Chester, who in 1836/7 built this viaduct and 10 miles of track as his first Engineering project.  He went on to become perhaps the most famous Railway Engineer in the world, building railway projects in many countries around the world.   Read all about him at http://www.penkridge.org.uk/folders/brassey.htm
 

But Thomas Brassey didn't plant these trees close to the viaduct in 1837 - who did I wonder!   And have you counted them?  There are 7 (seven) - the same number as the Arches!   Is that a coincidence or can anyone enlighten us further.