After my earlier post regarding a proposed development of 29 flats, I have just become aware of this new proposal.
This new proposal would place 90 new homes adjacent to the existing West of Waterlooville (WoW) development, which currently has plans for some 2.5K homes.
So another 99 homes is definitely more woe for Waterlooville residents.
I don’t intend to repeat my points from my earlier post. Since the two developments are probably less than a mile apart, my concerns are still the same.
This is just the latest in a series of proposals for developments in the centre of Waterlooville.
Once again, the focus is on residential rather than the commercial aspects of the town. Our town centre is slowly decomposing but nothing is being done to reverse the trend.
We need the town centre to become a viable commercial centre with traders offering various goods and services where our already increasing resident population can go to spend their earnings. We already have a surfeit of hair salons, nail bars and charity shops. Although some of the charity shops have closed.
Havant Borough Council (HBC) have subdivided the town by pedestrianising the centre, diverting the A3, and promoting “out of town” style shopping to the west. Free parking there, but still parking charges in town. All contributing to the isolation of the centre. They, HBC, have also used the same strategy in Havant. Just take a look at the traffic chaos that has created.
Apparently, eight parking spaces is deemed adequate for twenty nine residences.
I’d like to know where these new residents will be working to earn the money to pay their new mortgages. Where are the jobs ? Yes, many could be working from home. But, what about those who can’t. Waterlooville has direct bus services to Portsmouth, and obviously, destinations further afield are possible with changes. Similarly, rail travel is feasible for a commute to other destinations, but you have to get to the nearest railway stations in Cosham, Havant, and Petersfield. Not everyone is going to want to clamber onto a bicycle. Clearly, the most convenient mode of transport is by car, but with nowhere to park when you get home ? And what about visitor parking ?
I know, we are supposed to be giving up reliance on our cars. But, really, the infrastructure isn’t there to match the convenience of door to door.
The News article also cites the impact to local medical services. Appointments to actually see a doctor are rarer than rocking horse poo. And just try and sign up to a dental clinic.
Over the years, we have been promised changes that would create jobs, provide social and entertainment opportunities.
Where is the 60 room Hotel on the old BAE site ?
We were told categorically there would not be a McDonald’s on that same site.
So far, we have no hotel and none of the jobs that would have created. But we got a McDonald’s !!!
Similarly, we were told there would be a hotel and conference centre on the Dunsbury Park development. No sign of that or the associated jobs either.
The modified road system has provided a play area for the local petrol heads to hoon about on. But that’s the subject of a different post.
Bowling and cinema complexes have been mooted, but nothing happens. “They” say Waterloovilles’ population (approx 66k) can’t sustain these businesses. So, if we want to bowl or see movies, we have to travel to Portsmouth (10 miles), Whiteley (16 miles), or Chichester (15 miles). That’s not exactly carbon friendly.
It’s time HBC stood up and did something for the existing Waterlooville residents. Force the developers to include the provision of additional services and facilities. How about increasing local taxes on the landlords who allow their properties to remain empty. Might make them reduce the rents, attract new businesses.
Waterlooville, town centre is ripe. Come on HBC, do something really radical. Make Waterlooville somewhere people want to visit.
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?
What time do I go to bed ? Easy answer, around 02:00, sometimes earlier but very rarely before midnight. Why so late ? I’m usually watching movies, reading or listening to music.
What time do I wake up ? The answer to this is a bit more complicated. I know that I wake around 05:00 every morning for a pee. Just in time to view the sunrise from the bathroom window. Then I go back to bed and sleep for another couple of hours. However, according to my Fitbit, I have multiple wakeful periods throughout the night that I have no memory of.
This chart shows my sleep stats for last night. It shows that I was awake for 53 minutes. Well, I know what I was doing for a couple of those minutes ! What the hell was I doing for the rest of the time ?
I think, they say, you need less sleep as you get older. Not sure who “they” are. My dad used to get by on around 4 hours a night.
So, typically I get up at about 09:00 ish. So I’m getting about 7 hours shut-eye minus the mystery 50 minutes ….
Bit of a mixed day today. Hot enough, 27°C in the conservatory, so I have the bifolds wide open. Windy, with very strong gusts. Two washes on the line to take advantage of the wind. A third wash in the machine and the basket is empty. A good day’s work.
Describe your most memorable vacation.
This really is a hard task to fulfil. Over the years there have been many vacations, as a child / teenager with my parents and sisters. Then, as a family with my wife and daughters. Finally, there are those adventures with just my wife and occasionally with friends.
Each trip has featured predominantly high points and, occasionally, some low points.
So, I choose to tell you about an ill-fated camping holiday which turned out OK, more than OK, in the end.
The holiday was to be a camping trip down to the West Country, i.e. Devon and Cornwall. The plan was that Gerry and I would drive down to our friends’ home in Limpley Stoke, just outside of Bath. We would be taking the camping gear. This would be after Gerry finished work. Then, the following day, we we would head west.
However, our car, an aged Ford Consul Mk II, had other ideas. When I was ready to leave work, I went to start the car. The engine turned briefly, but not enough to start. My friend and I fairly quickly determined that the starter ring had spun off the flywheel. Well, we bump started the car, and I drove us home, taking care not to stall en route.
Things were not looking good for our camping trip.
I rang Gerry at work to give her the bad news. She hung up on me !!!
I then rang Jane and John, our friends. They decided to drive up to ours to discuss what to do. They arrived before Gerry got home from work.
Gerry arrived home in a less than happy state, slammed the front door, and headed straight to the bedroom. As she passed the door to the lounge, she took a double take as she spotted Jane and John sitting on the couch .
Her anger deflated by their presence, we settled down to discuss a new plan for our vacation.
The net result was that we would all travel down to Limpley Stoke and use their house as a base for our holiday, taking day trips out.
I feel I should explain that their house, a cottage that used to be the chapel for Limpley Stoke Manor House, the garden of which was subdivided by the local railway line. The lower garden, accessed via a private crossing, ran down to the River Avon. Jane and John had been given permission to make use of this lower garden area. This was going to become core to our vacation.
And use it we did. On numerous occasions. A lovely grassy embankment open to the sunshine but with overhanging trees to provide some shade. It was an idyllic quintessential English countryside setting where we would picnic on the river bank, chill our bottles of cider and/or wine in the cool water. John and I swam in those chilly waters, down to the weir and back upstream, much to the chagrin of the occasional angler.
As I said, Limpley Stoke is near the city of Bath. So on a number of occasions, when not enjoying the delights of the riverbank, we visited Bath, where we explored the town and its historic architecture. No visit to Bath would be complete without a tour of the Roman Baths. The city of Bath became a spa c.60AD. It had the Latin name Aquae Sulis. The Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although hot springs were known even before then. Unfortunately, when we visited, there were restrictions regarding the hot springs, if my memory serves, something nasty in the waters.
One day, we decided that a trip to the seaside was required. Weston-super-Mare was our chosen destination. So early in the morning, we pitched up and staked our claim to a patch of sand at the waters edge. Due to our early start, we all lay down to doze in the sun, but when we awoke, the sea had disappeared. John and I thought we would walk out to find the sea for a swim, but the numbers of people coming back, covered in mud, put us off.
The problem with Weston-super-Mare is that it is situated on the Bristol Channel, which has a huge tidal range. The low tide mark in Weston Bay is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the seafront. The beach is sandy, but low tide reveals areas of thick mud, which are dangerous to walk on.
Needless to say, we didn’t get our swim. I have no idea where all those muddy people went to get cleaned up. We never saw the sea return.
Although we should have been camping, the time we spent based at the cottage in Limpley Stoke was, to put it simply, gorgeous. Camping would not have been as relaxing or allowed us to chill out in the way that we did. Would we have found as nice a place as we had down on the river bank. I doubt it.
Sometimes, the unplanned, the spontaneous events turn out to be the best of times.
On what subject(s) are you an authority?
Having been retired for just on eight years, I have realised that I am not an authority on anything.
Least ways not anymore. While still working, I might have been an authority on in house processes and product safety standards. But what use is that now. It’s just a rapidly fading memory.
Now I am the very epitome of that age old saying….
Jack of all trades. Master of none.
I saw this on Facebook Marketplace.
I thought that acoustic by definition was without amplification !!!
How do you express your gratitude?
How to express gratitude ?
A simple question, but requiring varying degrees of response and application.
If someone holds a door open for you, or steps aside to let you pass, then a simple “Thanks” or “Thank You” is enough.
I’m of a generation that was taught to be polite. So much so, that if I am not extended the same degree of politeness in return it makes me angry.
If I hold a door or step aside for someone and they don’t acknowledge the act, I will say “Thank You” for them. Loudly !!
For larger acts of kindness or helpfulness I will show my gratitude by sending flowers and / or gifts.
And finally, where gifts or flowers don’t seem appropriate then I resort to my standby, a good meal at a nice restaurant.
What are you most worried about for the future?
My life pendulum has swung well past the midpoint of my life. So, most of my worries are for my kids and grandkids.
What does the future hold for them ?
The biggest concerns are the lunatics that have taken charge of their personal asylums.
First and foremost, there is Russia with Putin at the controls. He has to be insane. His actions and his total lack of humanity surely indicate insanity. I mean, does he ever hear the words coming out of his mouth, stop and think, “That doesn’t sound right, doesn’t make sense”. Single handedly he has put us right back to the days of the “cold war”.
Next, there is China with Xi Jinping at the controls. Did China protest with the rest of the world when Putin started his war with the Ukraine. No, they stood on the sidelines waiting to see how it would all pan out. Also, I believe, waiting to see what the worlds reaction would be. China has it’s own “Ukraine” in the shape of Taiwan.
So that’s two major powers who would push us to the brink of a 3rd world war.
And then we have North Korea, under the control of another lunatic, Kim Jong Un. He heads a country, home to some of the most oppressed people in the world. His posturing presents a real threat to world peace. And, for just a moment, the US installed their own lunatic, Donald Trump, in the White House. The world was forced to stand by while those two loose cannons traded tit for tat, insults like children in the school yard.
In my view, the world has never been a more dangerous place. There are so many smaller countries that could be the fuse for a bigger conflict.
And then there is Gaia, Mother Earth, our home world. The home that we have systematically trashed. Slowly, we are waking up to the enormity of what we have done. Global Warming, plastics in our oceans, toxic waste in our rivers.
Is it too late to fix our planet ? I don’t know.
What I do know is that our legacy for our children and grandchildren is a monumental challenge of global proportions.
And that is what worries me about the future. I won’t be here to see it, but I hope our offspring are successful.
All the best to my friends and colleagues in the USA
WrAnTz 