Month: April 2012

Vandals made to clear up graffiti after they went on 10-day spree – Too Right


You reap what you sow as the saying goes and it was certainly true for these five miscreants.

VANDALS who went on a 10-day graffiti spree were made to clear up their scrawlings after being caught in the act by police.

The five youngsters aged 11 to 13 defaced buildings across Havant, Hayling Island, Leigh Park and Bedhampton, with their signature graffiti signs, known as tagging.

It caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to 17 homes, underpasses, shops and car parks.

We definitely need more of this sort of punishment doled out to the perpetrators. It shows society that there are consequences for negative actions.

PC Wimshurst added: ‘These lads are first-time offenders and the best solution seemed to be putting right what they had done.

‘It offers the best compensation for those who suffered and it also helps to make the offenders realise the amount of damage they have caused.

‘I think that this will teach them more than being put in a cell and told off. It was a chance to put common sense policing to work.’

These kids will have found that they had to work harder to clean up the results of their actions. It will have given them first hand experience of what their victims would have had to endure.

They spent four days scrubbing walls, litter picking and tidying up areas across the Havant borough.

Seeing them cleaning up is also a visible indicator to society that this type of action will not be tolerated. The handing out of cautions, ASBOs etc. are all to often seen as the soft approach.

Vandals made to clear up graffiti after they went on 10-day spree – Local – Portsmouth News.

83 Additional Homes Proposed For Waterlooville


Is this the straw that broke the camels back ?

CONCERNS about traffic congestion and overdevelopment were raised as plans to redevelop a convent and its grounds went on show.

But Ian Roberts, highways consultant, said the road network could cope, with 34 vehicle movements estimated from London Road at peak times and eight movements from the Hulbert Road side.

Does that figure take into account the extra burden that is being placed on London Road by the Berewood development or the potential additional burden being placed on Hulbert Road by the proposed development at Dunsbury Hill Farm ?

Where on earth does the “34 vehicle movements” figure come from anyway ? Surely there must be an assumption of one vehicle for every home at the very minimum. I appreciate that not every vehicle will be on the move at peak times. The highways consultants must be assuming that many of the new residents will be either walking into Waterlooville town centre or hopping onto a bus to take up the employment opportunities mentioned by John O’Donovan.

John O’Donovan, the developer’s planning consultant, said: ‘I would suggest it is an ideal site for housing.

‘It’s very close to Waterlooville town centre, to employment opportunities and to the bus corridor.’

So what are these employment opportunities ?

These would be the same opportunities that the folks in Leigh Park, the new residents of Berewood and the current residents of Waterlooville and the surrounding areas have their hopes pinned on.

More than 50 residents packed into Havant’s council chamber as developers laid out initial proposals to build 83 homes on the site of the former St Michael’s Convent….

I’m glad to see that so many folks are taking an interest in their local area. We, the Waterlooville residents, have been too quiet. As a consequence the planners and the developers have had free rein and we are paying for it.

It comes as Peter Holloway, a spokesman for residents in Hermitage Gardens, said he would never have bought his house last year if he knew so many houses were in the pipeline.

He said: ‘We knew something might be built there but when we contacted Havant Borough Council we were told they would not be allowed to build any more than 57 houses and the part of the land nearest our garden would not be developed because there is an old apple orchard there, a sewage pipe running through it and it is so steep.

‘Now we’ve found out they want to build right at the bottom of our land, 26 more houses than we were told.

Sounds like the council were acting like the old-fashioned brush or encyclopaedia salesmen. Get a foot in the door with the low numbers, then jack them up once the flow of opinion is headed in the right direction.

Council officers said the land was earmarked for 57 homes in the latest local plans – but this figure was ‘indicative’.

Presumably “indicative” is the councils “get out of jail” card.

Fears raised as Waterlooville homes plan goes on show – Politics – Portsmouth News.

Two cars in Waterlooville crushed after tree topples in strong winds – No Injuries


A lucky escape for the vehicle owners but two cars were severely damaged after tree topples in strong winds.

Apparently the tree had received a lightning strike a short while ago which may have weakened it.

Two cars in Waterlooville crushed after tree topples in strong winds – Local – Portsmouth News.

Casbah provided architect with inspiration for centre – Remember The Tricorn


The Tricorn, in my opinion it was the ugliest building on the planet, although it was only rated third ugliest building in Britain.

From Wikipedia

The Casbah (Arabic: قصبة‎, qaṣba, meaning citadel (fortress)) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns.

The architect, Owen Luder,  may have had a casbah in mind when he designed the Tricorn but my memories of the reality are very mixed.

I visited the Tricorn Club on numerous occasions, even the Radio 1 club when it was held there. Most Saturdays my wife and I would visit the market. We visited the The Bell, the pub that was hidden deep in the bowels of the warren beneath the car parks. I also remember visiting the Indian restaurant.

But I have to say that the overpowering memory was of a very cold and windy structure and the stench of stale urine. A long way from a casbah.

It didn’t take very long for the structure to degrade and it looked awful especially once the water staining of the side panels took hold. I have heard it called “concrete cancer”.

All in all the Tricorn was a total disaster

Portsmouth does not have a very good record for presenting itself to visitors. There is the Centaur Street “Prison Wall” on the left as you come down the M275 then you are led round to where the Tricorn used to stand. A dismal building replaced by a bland car park. And lets not forget about Portsdown Park, the disastrous housing development that cost Portsmouth a fortune to build, maintain and then demolish.

There seems to be a bit of a theme running here.
Casbah provided architect with inspiration for centre – Remember When – Portsmouth News.

Russell Brand: Addiction is an illness not a crime


Addiction should be treated as a health problem rather than a criminal matter, comedian Russell Brand has told a committee of MPs.

The 36-year-old former heroin addict described addiction as an “illness” and said that those suffering from it should be treated with “compassion”.

He advocated an “abstinence-based recovery” approach, telling MPs this was how he overcame his addiction to drugs, which he said was caused by emotional, psychological and spiritual difficulties.

He said he thought the money spent on arresting drug addicts would be better spent on treating them, as he gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on 24 April 2012, as part of its inquiry into drugs policy.

Brand may well be right that addicts should receive treatment rather than be arrested and locked up. But that doesn’t address the real problem.

Drugs is big business and all the while it is lucrative to the criminal elements then there will be people willing to supply to the weak-willed who are willing to buy.

We still need a solution to the source and supply of drugs in this country. Only then will the cost of addiction be reduced. Whether it be by reducing the number of addicts arrested for the crimes they commit trying to fund their habit or by reducing the number of addicts that end up in our hospitals as a result of bad drugs, overdoses or drug related illnesses.

BBC – Democracy Live – Russell Brand: Addiction is an illness not a crime.

It’s A Beautiful Day


Radio Paradise just turned a dull afternoon into a beautiful one by playing Don & Dewey by It’s A Beautiful Day.

I know it’s 60’s rock but so, so good. The title refers to Rock & Roll duo Don “Sugarcane” Harris & Dewey Terry

What a blast.

Scaffolding collapses on to six vehicles in Southsea – Local – Portsmouth News


Given the winds that are battering Hampshire at the moment it’s hardly surprising that some folks are experiencing some damage to property. Having jst heard about this I am pleased that nobody was hurt.

RESIDENTS have told of their shock after scaffolding attached to a hotel collapsed and crushed six cars.

High winds tore the structure from the side of the Best Western Royal Beach Hotel, in St Helen’s Parade, Southsea, causing the scaffolding to crash on to vehicles in Alhambra Road.

Part of the hotel’s balcony also came down with the scaffolding.

Luckily no one was hurt in the incident, which happened at about 8am today. The four storey, 120 bed roomed hotel, is fully booked.

Apparently help was on hand.

A group of firefighters from across the country who were staying at the hotel for a training course were immediately on scene to see if they could be of any assistance.

Scaffolding collapses on to six vehicles in Southsea – Local – Portsmouth News.

Flying Burrito Brothers Bassist Dies


Yet another artist from the late  60’s has passed away.

Chris Ethridge, bass guitarist with The Flying Burrito Brothers, died following complications from pancreatic cancer at the age of 65.

During a long career Ethridge, in addition to playing with the Flying Burrito Brothers, worked as a session musician. During those stints he worked with such names as Judy Collins, Leon Russell, Johnny Winter, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Jackson Browne and Willie Nelson with whom he toured for many years.

It seems appropriate to play this at this time

And take a look at the full band here

http://youtu.be/BwPTYimAE7E

Chris Ethridge obituary: Bassist in Flying Burrito Brothers dies – latimes.com.


Just had my socks knocked off… Sonny Chillingworth — Moe ‘Uhane . Hawaiian style guitar courtesy of Radio Paradise

WOW !!!