Cell Block South

South Seafront Felixstowe

Many of us mourn the loss of the Herman de Stern last Sunday, but that fine building may yet bring us all we desire: a community centre for Felixstowe South.

I have examined the plans, as displayed by Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) at the public consultation at the Leisure Centre, Felixstowe on Saturday 24 to Monday 26 September, and have raised the following points for consideration, following my meeting with Cllr Ray Herring on Monday 26 September;

1.The press release for this consultation period was not released until late on Thursday evening, 22 September, which was too late for any of the newspapers and magazines to carry the story. The local radio and TV stations did not mention the consultation. That's a poor example of SCDC's stated policy of increased public consultation.

2.The full set of plans appear only to be available at SCDC offices in Woodbridge, a return journey of 60 miles for Felixstowe residents. Cllr Ray Herring said there would not be another public consultation, insisting that there had been consultations over the last two years. I appear to have missed them all.

3.This application should not be proceeded with as it is not a fresh application. The previous application made by Bloor Homes (Sudbury) Ltd was rejected on five clear grounds. This is a new application, and should not be considered as a revised scheme. To do so allows the SCDC to push through approval without sufficient local involvement. This scheme is radically different from the previous application. It is not clear how this new plan addresses the five objections. There is no statement that deals with each of these objections in turn.

4.Cllr Herring refused to reveal details of the financial contract reached by SCDC with Bloor Homes. No clear reason was given by the councillor but an unnamed official said, 'if Bloor Homes do not proceed' the Council will then be in jeopardy with a new partner.' That raises two questions:

If that contract is not the best the Council could obtain, then why are we proceeding? Surely better terms should be obtained?

Does the Freedom of Information Act not apply to SCDC? This is our land, our money that is about to be wasted. We should have a right to that information. SCDC are prepared to ignore the law that gives us that right. The only grounds they use seem to be that there may be another partner in the future. These are spurious reasons, without foundation. This is a committed partnership, and we must be told the contractual conditions. Consultation without knowing the facts is a sham.

5.The design is poorly conceived, and will not produce a scene of which we can be proud. It is the worst of architecture, with the poor architect leaned upon to squash in as many dwellings as possible. It has no imagination, appears to be constructed of poor materials (although the full specification has not been made available), and will remain a blot on the landscape for too many years. Surely no architect will willingly admit to have conceived such a dreadful set of buildings.
This scheme could have been a delight, it could have been used as an example of what can be done when an architect is given 17.5 acres of land – a rare event. Instead we have tired design, that will look tawdry within months of being built.

6.No details are available of what is included, but we are promised that £2.4 million of amenity provision will be provided by the Council. We need to know exactly what is included. From the plans there is nothing like that sum being spent. The few play area toys, the water feature and the landscaping cannot amount to £2.4 million. The previous scheme added service provision as part of the amenity, which was clearly misleading.

7.The new homes do not have any private space, apart from car parking (and then just one space per household). If, as Cllr Herring insists, these homes are to be used by incoming workers to the new dock development they will have children, many of whom will not be safely allowed to play in the open space without supervision. They will not have any open space of their own to enjoy, nor will their parents.

8.The value of the five acres of prime residential land is important. We need to know what value is placed upon that land, and that SCDC are to be guaranteed to obtain that sum before work commences, with interest payments accruing thereafter.
9.The vague promise of profits from the scheme being granted by the developer is insufficient security to allow this to continue. Many of these schemes fail to make a realised profit,as many factors arise that are not envisaged at contract stage. Any such risk should not be taken by the taxpayers of SCDC. It is a commercial risk that should be left solely in the hands of the developer. We own the land, they want to use it – then they should pay for it.

10.No firm costings of the scheme are available, making it very difficult to make a reasoned judgement. It is estimated that 142 commercially-sold dwellings in this location will raise £42 million. The construction costs, including amenity provision, will amount to no more than £20 million. A profit of £22 million is achievable. That equation was not dismissed by Cllr Leighton when I put it to him. SCDC should be demanding at least 70% of that profit, or selling the land to the developer at market rates. The SCDC seem prepared to let it go for nothing.

11.Amenity provision mixed in with commercial development is a recipe for exploitation. The taxpayers will lose money in the end.

12.No strategic planning has been included in the scheme. Felixstowe is a resort town, and a thriving port, as well as being a reasonably-sized residential town, with attendant businesses. At only ten miles from Ipswich, served by the best road in the county it is strategically important, for for both business and leisure. This land is at the focal point of what could be a new regional resource. The surrounding developments are either of very poor quality or reaching the end of their useful lives. The resort facilities along Sea Road are of hardly inviting and need to be rejuvenated. An East Anglian in the Eden Project style, perhaps with a maritime theme, would be very possible. Once these 17.5 acres are developed this opportunity will be lost for several years.

13.The artists drawings displayed gave a very wrong impression, with incorrect dimensions that suggested there was to be far more open green space than is really the case. Proper plans should be displayed at such consultations.

14.The species mix of plants and shrubs will not withstand the maritime environment when combined with the level of human pressure envisaged. In the recent past there have been winters when the water table – of saline solution – has broken the surface on this land. The soft landscaping will not survive, and in a short period the whole area will look unattractive.

15.When questioned none of SCDC representatives had seen the proposed play equipment, all of which will be prone to vandalism. Cllr Herring insisted that there will be no vandalism, a strange statement for anyone to make the day after the Herman de Stern building on the site had been destroyed by an arson attack.

16.A water feature will create many dangers. Young children will drown in this water. It will encourage vandalism, and broken glass and other objects will pose dangers. The cost of maintenance, which Cllr Herring says will be borne by SCDC taxpayers, will be considerable. In every scheme that I've been involved in that included a water feature the maintenance cost has been too high.

17.There is no evidence to support the contention that play features of this type are required. There is a need for a proper playground, for a football-style pitch, for a skateboard park. None of these are included. The area is developing a reputation for vandalism and disruptive behaviour by young people. That is because they have nothing constructive to occupy their minds. None of this play equipment will be of any interest to teenagers. They need our encouragement and support.

18.The cycle path does not link to the European network, which supposedly runs alongside the eastern edge of this development. At present it starts nowhere, and goes nowhere, and so serves no real purpose.

19.Placing ten three-storey properties directly in front of Manor Terrace houses is a spiteful snub at these house owners, probably because they have opposed previous plans. There is no reason why these properties could not be placed in the planned car park, and the car park be moved in front of Manor Terrace. All parties would then achieve their wishes, and the plans would gain much more support. It would appear that Bloor Homes are arranging these highest value properties in this location so that everyone of the new houses has a sea view. At the same time SCDC are saying that no-one, especially Manor Terrace residents have such a right, even though it is one they have enjoyed for over 70 years. This is a change that must be made, for it will show that the Council are indeed sympathetic to the needs of local residents and not just meeting the demands of a private developer.

20.Moving the car park to the land behind the beach huts, in front of Manor Terrace, will have many advantages:

Objections from local residents will be substantially reduced.

Beach hut users will be able to park close to their amenities.

Car park users will be encouraged to walk through the new amenity area, and take advantage of its maritime theme (although that is hard to identify).

Visitors to the caravan parks nearby will be able to park more easily.

21.Housing Associations are only to receive 10% of the housing stock. Yet the government recommendation is for 30%. When asked Cllr Herring had no idea of the housing needs in Felixstowe, except for a vague suggestions that new workers at the docks will need houses. There is no evidence that should be the case.

22.The new houses are not to have any building control, of the type imposed upon the social housing, where buildings are built to last, have wide corridors, doorways, lifts for wheelchairs etc. As this is a joint development then SCDC should be insisting on such measures, particularly as available evidence suggests that these dwellings will be purchased by older people, as they have the funds required.

23.At present most dock workers, by a large percentage, choose to live outside Felixstowe. That is probably because Felixstowe is not an attractive place to live, there are few facilities, with hardly any leisure pursuits; 10% of Hamilton Road shops stand empty, 10% are used by charities, and a large percentage are used by estate agents – all with full windows advertising houses.

24.In recent times two estate agents have left the town, and most streets and roads carry advertising boards for estate agents. The real housing need is for cheap, easy to maintain, 2-3 bedroomed homes for young families, that is the need broadly classified as social housing. This development will not provide enough of such accommodation, even though it is a government requirement.

25.The Herman de Stern was purchased by SCDC for £50,000 in 1979. Since then it has been used for several purposes. At least three tenants have been given a right to buy, yet details of these agreements remain patchy and have not revealed by the Council. On Sunday 25 September 2005, the day after the plans went on display, the Herman de Stern building was the subject of an arson attack. We presume the building was insured against such a risk. We now have an opportunity to rebuild the Herman de Stern to create a much-needed community resource, that will generate income, and attract more visitors to the town.

26.The area does not have a doctor's surgery, a dentist, a pharmacy, a post office. SCDC paid for plans to be prepared to convert the Herman de Stern, to include 184-seat theatre, a bar/restaurant, meeting rooms and four apartments. There is still a real need for these facilities in the area, and with an extra 500 people living nearby there is an even greater requirement.

27.The whole of lower Felixstowe, broadly along Langer Road, is a high-flood-risk area. 39 people lost their lives in 1953, and this land will flood again. In many respects it is best that it is allowed to flood again, as it will act as a release valve for elsewhere. That means we must take proper precautions. More questions are therefore raised.

28.This Bloor Homes plan relies upon the planned improvement to sea defences, a plan for which has just been submitted by the Council.

After the new sea defences at Cobbold Point we saw the beach erode by at least 5 metres in several places. New works were required, scouring greatly increased, and in same places there was more erosion than before. It is no longer easy to get round Cobbold Point on foot.

The first stage of the sea defence plan only covers zones 2,3 and 4, from the pier west towards Languard Point. No real consideration seems to have been given to the beach from Cobbold Point west to the Pier (zone 1). That could be in serious danger, causing even greater problems if the cliff face is rendered unstable.

Given the experience of Cobbold Point shouldn't we wait to see if the coastal defence plan does actually work? If it doesn't then this new development will pose additional unforeseen problems.

29.Increasing the concrete coverage in a high-risk flood area brings great danger, not just to the residents of the new houses but to everyone living in lower Felixstowe. We should not take that risk, not when there are far safer and more desirable uses for that land.

30.Eighteen years ago SCDC removed 600 beach huts from this site. As a result we have lost an estimated £5.4 million in lost rental revenue, let alone the loss to the town business community in lost custom. In addition we have lost the revenue from letting the Herman de Stern, from which all tenants were evicted five years ago. That has been a criminal waste of taxpayers money. In many other countries local councillors and officials responsible for such a debacle would be brought to account.
It is tempting to continue, but enough points have been discussed to show that this is a poor value scheme that does nothing to assist the people of Felixstowe, the residents of Suffolk Coastal District, Suffolk County or East Anglia. It is a waste of invaluable land that could be used to bring considerable income and prestige to the region. The Olympics in 2012 could be used to develop this land as a resource we could all enjoy.

I wholeheartedly urge that a public inquiry be held. It is clear that SCDC are going to force through this hare-brained scheme without allowing any further public discussion. This is a strategic regional resource. It must not be squandered by a Council intent of satisfying the greed of a property developer, who has no association with the town.

I enjoyed a herring for tea last night.

Our Council

It's too easy to despair. Our Councillors are lost in their own worlds. They need help.
Every day brings news of another failure to comprehend.
Recently we've been told that Bent Hill will be kept open, they just want to remove the pavements. Presumably so cars can hit pedestrians more easily.
Yesterday Felixstowe Town Council decided not to apply to manage the Spa Pavilion. It needs experienced management, one councillor was heard to mutter. They didn't think to ask the project team of local people, all very experienced at managing theatres, if they could help.
On Thursday a press release was issued stating that the public consultation for the south seafront development would begin on Saturday, and last until Monday. Two days warning, three days consultation - well, no, there's only one day of consultation because the Council have not put anyone in place over the weekend. There is a book to write comments. Nobody has, mainly because there's nothing to write with, and most folk don't carry pens. Simple matters, but they do get in the way.
The presentation is bizarre. Three maps, 2-3 boards showing play equipment, and a few plastic sheets of statements from the Council, most of which are not true.
Over the next few days we'll go through the objections to the scheme - it's enough to fill a book.
Can anyone recommend plants that will 'mimic' those found along the coast? How do you copy stinking goosefoot or sea cabbage? A glance at the Site of Special Scientific Interest that starts 200 yards from these 17.5 acres will tell you - that grass has trouble growing, the shrubs don't grow, and that few plants can withstand both the rigours of a maritime environment AND human pressure.
Give us strength to allow our Council to give away 17.5 acres of our land - for nothing.
Don't we have a standards committee for this sort of outrageous behaviour?

South Seafront Plans - be quick

Late yesterday (22nd) the Council released news that there will be public viewing of the South Seafront plans at the Leisure Centre this weekend (24-26th). Just too late for the press to tell anyone, which shows how much the Council care about your views.

The plans are there on Saturday and Sunday, with Council staff in attendance on Monday, from 11am and 1pm, 2pm and 4pm, and 6pm and 7pm. There's even a comment book you can use.

As this is publicly-owned land, in a strategic position, the Secretary of State should be asked to hold an Inquiry, particularly as the people of Felixstowe are not going to get value for money, but be saddled with ongoing costs that will greatly outweigh the short-term benefits.

We need a doctor's surgery, pharmacy, dentist, post office, community centre, perhaps even a theatre. There is a suitable building standing at the edge of this site, which will serve admirably. Nobody wants a maritime theme park, with plants that will soon die, and equipment that will be vandalised unless supervised.

Serve the people, not a private property developer. Make Bloor Homes pay for the land, it's worth at least £12 million.

We are being ripped off.

See www.spapavilion.co.uk/herman for more information.

Sea Defences

The sea levels worldwide have risen by about 14 centimetres, and that trend is continuing, although we have no real indication of what will happen next, except that East Anglia is slowly dipping into the North Sea, aby a few centimetres every year. A coastline often copes with such fluctuations by absorbing the sea's energy with coastal floodplains. There are good examples of these along the Essex coast, and, at one time, the Suffolk coast had similar natural defences.

The southern end of Felixstowe beach is but one example. People ignored warnings, and built houses on this land. As a result in 1953 39 people lost their lives. That could happen again, and the likelihood that it will happen is greater than it will not. The new monument to those flood victims now being built in Langer Road will not stop it happening again.

Felixstowe beach from Cobbold Point to Languard is about 3 kilometres in length.

A few years ago the Environment Agency decided that Cobbold Point needed protection. New defences were constructed, except that someone at the Agency - could that have been an accountant - decided to lop a few metres from the end of the concrete groynes. As a result thousands of tons of beach disappeared, to be replaced by rocks from Finland, or Norway (I think). Wherever they come from they are not suitable for a soft Suffolk beach.

Erosion is already occurring, flooding will happen - that's official, the DoE map shows south Felixstowe is in a serious position, and flooding will happen. See Pat Gowen's excellent site about water quality and erosion in East Anglia for more information coastal erosion.

The plan is to bring in more rocks from Scandinavia to build six new groynes. These will be placed 110 metres apart, and will create 10 metres of new beach.

Let's hope that life is that simple. Six groynes 110 metres apart totals 660 metres. The beach is 3,000 metres long. We saw that Cobbolds Point's civil engineering did not meet expectations, so what guarantee do we have that this scheme will not scour out the rest of the beach? It could then remove the pier (Glory Hallelujah some will cry), the Spa Pavilion (that's go rid of that headache) and all points eastward (you may have noticed that the beach is curved).

All this raises several major questions;

What experiments have been made to test the effects of dredging? The main sea channel to the port is regularly dredged, and the spoil is dumped out at sea (I understand). What happens if that is dumped close to shore? 'They' say it will clog up the entrance to the port - so what if some does arrive there? It can be easily removed. Eventually the beach will reform and a natural barrier be formed that would protect the port.

The Dutch are just 40 miles away, experts in coastal defence. Has anyone asked for their advice?

While we are building groynes why don't we also build a small marina, for dinghies, sailboards etc? That would bring more tourists into the town.

Is there a cast-iron guarantee that in protecting the Bloor Homes development at the southern end of the beach that we will not see destruction elsewhere?

It happened with Cobbold Point. What guarantee do we have that it will not happen again?

Indian Summer

After a mediocre summer we seem to have moved into a quieter, warmer period. The sun shines every day, there has been no rain for two weeks, except thunderstorms that didn't reach Felixstowe. It's a time for casual dress, just a short-sleeved shirt, although this week I've abandoned the shorts in favour of trousers.

This should help the cricketers at the Oval. It gave me so much pleasure to see the English football team beaten by Northern Ireland this week. Football has become a ridiculous game, with overpaid yobs allowed to get out of control, while their supporters scream from the terraces. Cricket fans may be boisterous, they may be drunk, but they are fun. There is not the aggression found amongst football fanatics.

Why do men like to chase, kick or hit balls?

The Plot Thickens

This week the Suffolk Coastal District Council (they are now the advertising agency for Bloor Homes (Sudbury) Ltd) produced a picture of part of the latest Bloor Homes plans, saying that there will now 'only' be 158 homes, car parking and a tea kiosk. There will also be a play area and a toilet block, but as they will both cost us money, as Council Taxpayers, they should be ignored as they are not a benefit given to the community. We shall pay for these in the end. In addition, we are gleefully told, Bloor Homes - at their own expense - will restore the Martello Tower (make 'em turn it into a sound studio for our youngsters, it'll only cost £1 million).

All that raises questions:

Not least is whether this scheme will fall under the remit of the new Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and just what community involvement the Council plans for this site-specific plan. So far they have said they will have a display, in the back room of the Leisure Centre at Felixstowe. If we are to judge that by previous consultations held there it will be poorly attended and very badly reported by the Council.

Of the 158 homes only 16 are to be social housing. Yet the government insist that at least 30% should be social housing, especially on land owned by a council. The usual cop-out is for the developer to provide these badly-needed homes in run-down tatty areas, increasing the social division, leaving the prime, sea-front, site for wealthy buyers (often second-homers). What's to happen here?

How are Bloor Homes planning to make up this shortfall?

How much is a sea-front home worth? Shall we suggest that £300,000 is not an unreasonable price to expect to pay.

The cost of building such homes is variable. Most developers will try to build to as low a price as possible.

Of course, the social housing will have to meet Housing Corporation standards, a standard that any self-respecting council should expect to see in houses built upon publicly-owned land.

The HC standards are built as lifetime homes; people may well live in them for all of their lives, and the building must be able to withstand that usage. Disabled tenants will expect wide staircases, lifts, level access, wide turning circles in hallways and other small matters often overlooked by the speculative housebuilder.

Will such details be overlooked by SCDC, keen to encourage this developer - who didn't even have to apply for planning permission this time?

Even so, given that this development seems to consist of flats (or should we say apartments?) then £100,000 a unit is a reasonable construction cost for such a building. After all most insurance companies will say that rebuilding costs of a semi-detached are likely to be around £900 sq. metre, and 110 square metres is not an unreasonable size. The Environment Agency, looking at flood risk, may have a different tale to tell. These costings will be hardened up once the full plans are revealed, if they ever are.

The builder will have 142 homes at an average of £300,000, that's about £43 million. The cost will be around £16 million to build. Add to that, say, £4 million for service provision - they will have to build roads, add sewerage and others services.

Total spend £20 million. Possible income £42 million. Difference £22 million.

The Council - seeking best value on our behalf, as I am sure they will - should be looking for 75% of that sum, for the land. Let's be generous, after all poor old Bloor Homes have been given a rough time, and so we should expect only £12 million nett.

Add to that the expected income of 280 cars park spaces. How much is that? Assume 50% occupancy for 300 days a year, 12 hours a day at 20 pence an hour, that's about £100,000 a year. Overhead costs, with council managed staff, likely to be £50,000, leaving £50,000 a year profit. Let's leave aside the tea kiosk, and try to ignore the added cost to the Council of the toilets.

The Herman de Stern, a magnificent building, whose twin is a Listed Building, sits on the edge of this land, on just 167x230 feet. Plans have drawn up to build a theatre, a cafeteria/bar, shop and at least four flats. The cost was £1.6 million, let's treble that, and add a little, and suggest £5 million. The Council should still have at least that sum left over, and also have the guarantee of increased revenue for many years to come from the homes, the theatre and other amenities that could be created.

Instead the Council plan to knock down this wonderful building and allow a developer who has no association with this town run away with a huge profit. Why do the Council want to destroy this resource? Is there something they are not telling us? Does it have anything to do with covenants attached to that land, or to the tenants right to buy? We should be told.

Is this 'best-value'? You tell me, for I suspect that the Council, despite their new avowed intentions for more public discussion, will not do so.

We don't need amenity provision provided by a developer. We want their cash! How much are Bloor Homes paying for this peach?

Chicken Soup

Do you remember the chicken stock we made a while ago? I hope you stored it away in the freezer, or it will have acquired a particularly unpleasant odour by now.

Stock can be added to anything that needs a sauce. I kept all the pieces of chicken in the stock made earlier, but they could have been removed by passing through a sieve (throw the meat into a curry), or if you want to remove everything pass the liquid through a piece of muslin, or a jelly bag. A coffee filter also works very well. They all take time, and, in my mind, remove the best bits, but I'm a strange person.

The simplest step forward is to throw in a good handful of pasta to make a nourishing soup; choose the small stuff - and shape you like, they are all made from the same ingredients, it's just that the Italians like to bring artistry to the table. That's not all, some pastas can carry more sauce than others (I'm sorry this is a digression, you are still thinking soup, and I've moved to pasta sauces). With spaghetti the sauce tends to run off, although it does have a large surface area.

There's a good game to play with children, make a sauce, cook a variety of pasta, and see how much sauce they will each absorb. Mathematics is cookery, or should that be the other way round?

I was picking blackberries and elderberries in a local park yesterday. A grandma, her daughter and the young grand-daughter all stood, watching. Eventually mum asked me, 'What's that you are picking?' I told her. 'Oh we didn't know whether they were poisonous or not, or what they were.' What a state this country finds itself in. Mum was grossly overweight, grandma in a wheelchair, again because of her weight, and the young girl looking as if she was going the same way. I started to talk about blackberry and apple pie, or using the elderberries to make a coulis, or even ice-cream, but could tell from the glazed eyes that food came from a supermarket, in a brightly coloured cardboard box.

Can we start a campaign to ban prepared food?

I thought not.

Don't forget the Herman - more about this lovely building tomorrow.

England

We won a cricket match! There is, after all, something to be proud about. The national sport of an English summer has triumphed once again. There was a time when that would have been taken for granted, but now much has changed.

I turned on the TV to see Sven, our English football manager (that's Sweden for you) watching Chelsea play Tottenham Hotspur at football. That's one of our national games in the winter, although you'll all know that rugby is so much better. Why he was watching the game was difficult to understand, there were hardly any English, or even British, players on the field. The rest of the world does it better than us - so we spend our money on foreign players, and they take our money back to their countries.

This weekend seees the Notting Hill Carnival, hailed by the organisers as a triumph for multiculturalism, and they are right. It is great to see people from some many different backgrounds enjoying themselves.

The ethnic variety will not contain anything English; the clog dancers, Morris Men, English folk bands and the rest will be missing. Perhaps they shouldn't be there, for the English have had the guilt of their forefathers thrust down their throats, even though their ancestors had no real control over their own destinies. These strange people are part of our tradition, one that stretches further back than the celebration of carnival. Importantly they are part of our land, our culture, and have been part of our very being and substance for centuries.

There are wider issues at stake. It's not just a bunch of silly men with bells around their ankles waving white handkerchiefs. It is about being English.

The English are the most oppressed people in the world. For centuries we have been subjugated by our lords and masters. Ordered to work the land, go to war, give up our lives at the whim of the controlling elite. We even failed to organise a revolution that lasted.

How many children are now taught of the Enclosure Acts, when huge tracts of common land where appropriated, taken away from the people, without any compensation? That simple question raises huge issues about anyone's right to own land. How can you own something that you cannot move? For centuries the peasants had rights; to graze their livestock, feed pigs on beech mast, to cultivate for their home use, and to walk across the land. The Enclosure Acts removed those rights.

England's green and pleasant land?

Come back, I know you're there - somewhere.

A friend who lives in Savannah. Georgia tells me that the temperature has dropped by at least 10 degrees (they use Fahrenheit there, remember). She refuses to believe it has anything to do with the USA producing 25% of the world's pollution, she may be right. Will she be able to explain the plague of caterpillars that have recently appeared all over that state?

Correlations are often difficult to absolutely identify. The weather and pollution relationship is similar to the demise of the common sparrow that came about at the same time as the country moved to lead-free petrol. A variation on 'who killed cock-robin'.
Austria remains wet, but the rest of the week residents could see the sun. They need it, they need cheering up, hemmed in by all those hills. A look at the sky in Suffolk would relax them all. Perhaps we should arrange a permanent exchange scheme?

The Net allows us to communicate, wherever we may be. There's a fascination in emailing folk who live elsewhere, but mistakes are easily made. The Americans find my English humour difficult, often taking offence when I meant to make no more than a silly, throwaway, remark.

However, it is possible to build relationships that are really important, even though you will never meet the other person.

There are dangers. One friend started emailing an old friend, living in Australia. They'd been friends two decades ago when they both worked in London, and the email relationship blossomed. So much so that he proposed, and came to England to marry his love.
Two years have passed and she phoned me recently (see, the old ways are often the best) complaining that they no longer spoke to each other. 'All he can talk about is cricket,' she moaned.

Not sure that the demise of their marriage can be blamed on Australians, the Internet or just that her fantasy has not be properly realised. Whatever way, it's sad that two people have not found happiness. Is that inevitable? Do all relationship decay? Are those that remain just living behind a facade?

Don't ask me for any answers, I've been married too many times to act as a counsellor.

Many of our children are suffering today, needlessly. The GCSE examination results are published, and little swots will celebrate, while lazy miscreants are forced to shrug and mutter, 'don't matter, I'm a footballer, a pop star, or whatever'.
What do these exams achieve? What does our present education system achieve, apart from a large number of bright intelligent kids? It only measures failure. It's not the kids who have passed their exams that are of any concern, it's those who have failed.
About a fifth of our children leave school unable to read, write or understand rudimentary arithmetic. That is a disgrace.
It's not just that remedial, throwaway, bunch of thickies who lack basic skills. At the respectable university where I was once a research fellow in education the English lecturer, that's the person who teaches budding teachers how to teach English, could not send an email that did not contain spelling or grammatical errors.
We can't blame the individuals, too often they are the product of the 'progressive' era when the child's creativity was more important than any basic understanding.
Our children are not taught to think. A child has imagination, and the ability to laugh. Adults can all learn a lot from children - although most will find it hard to keep up.
Kids should be able to make mistakes without fear, because experimentation is what will drive this country forward. The present structure with the universities wagging the tail of education produces failure, and that results in disenchanted children, and a disruptive society. I'm amazed and delighted at how most of our children manage to survive the torment of school. They are forced to learn about totally irrelevant subjects, remember too much, and to pass exams that only the education system itself is really concerned about.
Most successful people had a dire time at school. They were rebels, didn't learn, didn't concentrate, yet they went on to become our finest sportswomen and men, our entrepreneurs, even our politicians (although I can see weaknesses in my argument there!).
Let's revamp the whole system. Ensure that all children, and I do mean all, can read, write and do 'rithmetic to an acceptable standard. Keep them at school until they can. Give incentives. If a 14 yr old has passed the basic tests, then let them leave school, go outside into the wider world, get a job, become pop stars, or whatever.
BUT, allow them all to return to education for a further five years at any time in their lives.
School comes at the wrong time for many people. They may see the sense as they get older. I was ancient before packing up work to go to the London School of Economics. Some will want vocational courses, other to study Sumerian, it matters not. We must all be taught to think for ourselves.
Good luck kids, and if you failed today - well done.

Yellow Obsession
The motor vehicle is both a love and a curse. We all enjoy the freedom is provides, some love speed, others believe that the car reflects the driver, all of us hate trying to find somewhere to park.
Why don't we scrap all those yellow lines? There are far too many, often in silly situations where it would not matter one jot if a car was parked.
Visit many European countries, let alone the rest of the world, and people tend to take precedence over vehicles. The streets are for people, but our town planners do not heed our own government's guidelines which urge that our towns be given back to people. For too long the car has been master. It must stop.
One good start would be to ban all yellow lines, let folk park wherever they like, and impose heavy fines upon those who parked in dangerous places. Pedestrian crossings, road junctions and near schools are obvious no-go areas. Hit those miscreants hard. For the rest, make it a free-for-all, accept that people can work out solutions for themselves and they do not need the Grey Wraith or a traffic warden to punish them.
Life is for living. Towns are for people. Shops are to be used. Car parks should be free.

Outside the Box
It's good to stretch the mind a little, and this morning there seems to be a plague of white vans. We should have sympathy for these fine fellows, many of whom have a formidable list of deliveries to make each day. But, and there has to be a But, isn't there a better way?
We are ideally placed in Felixstowe to conduct an experiment. If we built a warehouse/handling centre just off the A14 as it entered Felixstowe we could then make every delivery van entering the town drop off their loads there. With the growth of Internet shopping, mail order deliveries will increase, leading to ever more white vans.
The Royal Mail has such a system, where all goods (parcels and letters in their case) intended for a town are delivered to a distribution centre, then one van or postie on foot or a bike makes regular deliveries to each road, and house, in the town every day. The result is an immediate reduction in traffic flow, and a consequent improvement in the air we all breathe - for diesel engines are the real polluters. Our local street van would drive down our road just once a day, just like the milkman used to do, just as the postman does today.
The van drivers would be saved the hassle of searching for unknown addresses, their employers would have greatly reduced transport costs, we'd not be plagued by vans, and there would be less pollution.
Have I got it wrong, or does this seem an ideal solution?
Very soon the Royal Mail will lose its monopoly. A totally stupid decision that will inevitably lead to the demise of the postal service upon which we all rely. Perhaps Royal Mail should pick up this suggestion, and our local traffic planners should endorse and support the policy by banning all commercial vehicles from Felixstowe, unless licensed. Oh yes dear Council, there's a revenue opportunity there for you as well.
That local delivery van could be an electrically-powered vehicle, making it quiet and pollution free.
I'd certainly give its driver a big Christmas Box.

It was a good weekend, the bad weather office were proved wrong. The promenade was full of people, and it's good to see that the area where once a tired old train went round and round a bare grass field is now buzzing with excitement. There's a wild west train, a canoe ride and now, this week for the first time, the rodeo ride. Let's hope the weather stays good for long enough for the entrepreneurial owner to recover his investment.
Such rides are attractive but I prefer to see more amusements that test the children, rather than just give them a passive ride. In that respect I'm keener to see the motorcycle ride - at least they do have to steer, although the track and its environs are looking rather weary. These rides and games bring people to the town even though I'm filled with dismay when my grandchildren want to spend money (often mine) on the fruit machines. My brain will just not allow me to accept that today's machines are better than the penny pinball games that were once found along the front. I suppose that has everything to do with age. As a child I believed I could beat the machines, and come home with more pennies than I took to the arcade. That wasn't true then, and it is certainly not true today. A penny has turned into 20p or more, and I find it painful to see that sort of money disappear, so quickly.
It's a sign I'm really getting old!

Is eating chicken responsible for the low sperm count in young men? A pertinent question, and someone may know the answer. We need a competent bioscientist. With a third of all chickens sold allegedly contaminated with one dire bug or another it may be time to look at what we eat.
Our chicken from Michael's Butchers in High Road East has already provided one good, and simple to prepare, meal - see that recipe in the archive.
Now strip all the remaining skin and flesh from the bones. Put the attractively edible parts into a dish: the breast, legs, and don't forget to turn the bird over - towards the back end you'll find two pieces of flesh lodged in indentations on the carcase bones. They'll slip out easily, giving you two oysters, probably the sweetest meat on the whole bird. Put this dish of meat in the fridge, or pop the oysters into your mouth, as chef's treat.
The bones, skin and all other pieces of the bird should be placed in a saucepan, and barely covered with water. Add a chopped onion, a carrot, chopped celery and any herbs you find attractive. On the stove let this simmer for a while, perhaps an hour, on a low heat.
Turn off the heat, don't remove the lid, and allow to cool to room temperature. When cool, stand beside the kitchen bin, with a clean saucepan beside the stockpot. If the chicken is really good,and you haven't swamped it with water, you may find that all has turned to jelly. Lucky you!
Pick out the skin and bones, each in turn and strip of any jelly or scraps of meat into the clean pan. Throw the bones in the bin. Chicken bones are not suitable food for dogs, as the silly pooch will crunch it up and try to gulp it all down far too quickly. Splitered chicken bones act like fish hooks, and will stick in the animals throat. So throw the bones away.
You should be left with a rich chicken stock, with plenty of scraps of meat floating in it. Purists may strain this mixture if they wish. I think that's mad and can see no real attribute in consomme (clear soup). I want all the goodness I can get.
Either leave the stock as it is, or bash it in a blender. I use a handheld whizzer, which is easy to clean - it works in the saucepan, and is effective.
Use as stock - and we'll come up with a few ideas for that in other recipes later, or use as a soup.
Soup is much under-rated. We'd all be much better off if we ate more.
And more of that will come next.

From Elaine Borish's book, What Shall I Do With All Those Courgettes, published by Fidelio Press, but now appears to be out of print I provide:

Neapolitan Zucchini and Aubergine with Pasta

8 oz (225 g) pasta shells
2 medium onions, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
3 red peppers, cut into strips
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus a
little more for the topping
2 aubergines (eggplants), diced
2 bay leaves
salt
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon thyme
6 small zucchini, sliced
12 tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 oz (175 g) cheese, grated
14 oz (400 g) whole-wheat
breadcrumbs


1. Cook the pasta shells (or any other small shape such as bows).
2. Sauté onion, garlic and peppers in oil.
3. Add aubergines, bay leaves, salt and herbs.
4. Add zucchini, tomatoes and tomato paste and gently stir it all together.
5. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until sauce thickens.
6. Mix in the cooked pasta shells, and put it all into an ovenproof casserole.
7. Make a gratin topping by combining cheese and breadcrumbs, moistened with a little oil, and spread the mixture over the top. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 50 minutes.

Serves 6

and

Fish in Foil

Prepare this one ahead of time for company; when ready, just take foil packets from refrigerator and cook. Couscous would go nicely with this dish. Or rice.

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
6-8 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 6-oz (175 g) firm fish fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 fl oz (¼ cup or 60 ml) dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried)
6 black pitted olives


1. Take 2 sheets of aluminum foil 12 x 24 inches (30 x 60 cm) and fold each sheet in half to form a double thickness.
2. On the center part of each foil square brush a little oil, then arrange on it half of the ingredients: zucchini, mushrooms, fish, onion slices.
3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, wine, seasonings, and basil and dribble the mixture over each arrangement. Place halved olives on top.
4. Fold the foil into airtight packets.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 425°F (220°C) for 20-25 minutes.
6. With a spatula, carefully lift the fish and vegetables out of the foil onto individual, warmed serving plates and pour any leftover liquid over each serving.
Serves 2

Supermarkets are irresponsible in their attitude towards food. The 'Pile it High, Sell it Cheap' philosophy was the worst publicity campaign ever, and we are all the losers. Only the supermarkets gain from such a ridiculous approach.

People buy expensive clothes, cars, take holidays in exotic places, lavish good money on TV sets and equipment, yet are content to pour rubbish down their throats. It's madness.

Today research announces that at least one third of chickens sold as food are infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. How long before we become resistant as a result? I have an inane theory that the sperm count of our young males has drastically reduced because they drink water that contains oestrogen, mostly coming from the contraceptive pill, but also from much of the food we eat.

Buy decent food. There's a temptation to buy everything from a supermarket but you do yourself no favours. I'd like you to try a few experiments, mainly by visiting local sources of supply and cooking the food yourself rather than buying a cardboard box whose contents you throw in a microwave while you sink into the sofa to watch your favourite soap. It may seem as if it costs more, but that is unlikely, and you will feel so much better.

Start with a buying spree. Go to Jacks, the greengocers in Hamilton Road, or to the Sunday market, and buy all the fruit and vegetables you can carry. It's unlikely you'll spend much more than a tenner, perhaps £20 if you are really extravagant. Buy anything that looks attractive, but include onions, garlic and Jack sells farm-fresh eggs as well.

Then cycle down to Michael, the butcher, in High Road East. I say cycle because Felixstowe is not that big a place, and even though it has a few hills a bike remains the cheapest and fittest way of getting around. Our two local cycle shops will set you up, and ask for panniers and baskets as well, for you'll be surprised how much you can carry on a bike.

Michael is one of three butchers in the town. I recommend him because I know him, the others may be just as good. Today we want a chicken, a good-sized bird will cost about £5, perhaps a little more or less.

Take it back home, place in a baking tray, sprinkle a little salt over the skin, stuff a lemon up its rear end - and you may want to cut out the two lumps of fat that you should find just at the edges of the cut rear end, either side of the parson's nose.

Cut up an onion, it really doesn't matter how you do that, but I slice away the root end, cut a thin slice from top to bottom, along the rounded side, so that it will sit on that cut edge, making it easier to slice. Then I practice being a TV chef by slicing as quickly as I can. The trick is to hold the onion firmly with one hand, using that hand as a guide for the knife - which should be big and heavy. Slice down, rocking the knife across the cut, remembering to move your guide hand back away from the knife as you slice, or you'll get too much blood on the onion. Then roughly cut up the slices to make hundreds of small pieces.

Sprinkle the cut onion around the chicken. There's no need to tie its legs down, but do make sure that you look inside, however distatesful you find that, to check for plastic bags with gizzards etc. Remove these, and all other wrappings and strings before cooking.

Drizzle a little oil over the bird and the onions. Any good quality vegetable oil will do. Put the bird into a warm oven, about gas mark 6 - no idea what that is in new money, but probably about 180C. I'd recommend you add a handful of garlic cloves, no need to peel them, because roasted garlic is divine.

Wash some potatoes. I never peel spuds at this time of year, the real goodness is just under the skin, so why throw it away? I'll often steam some other vegetables on top of the potatoes.

The chicken will take around an hour to cook. Take it out of the oven to check, when it looks brown. Stick a knife down into the space between the leg and breast and watch carefully as the juices escape. They should run clear, keep cooking if there is any trace of blood.

A few minutes before you think the chicken is approaching perfection start cooking the potatoes. Plenty of boiling water, perhaps a little salt - although I rarely use salt in cooking, unlike so many TV chefs who seem to ladle the stuff all over each portion of food. Reduce the salt intake, it will allow the true taste of the food to emerge.

I use a simple steamer, it's just a saucepan to which I can add two more layers that have holes in the bottom to allow steam to pass through. Cook the potatoes in the water in the saucepan, add other vegetables to the steamer trays. Carrots take longer than cabbage, and spinach takes seconds. Get involved with the joy of cooking, prod, poke, look and taste as you go along. That's the way you learn when food is ready.

Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove from the baking pan, and let it stand on a warmed plate or carving board, in a warm place. This will relax the meat, which has contracted during cooking.

Put plates into the oven to warm. It is essential that all hot food be served on hot plates.

Add some of the vegetable water to the juices in the baking pan, which is now on the top of the stove, sitting on a low heat, while you stir enthusiastically while sipping a glass of chilled white wine or a gin and tonic. I prefer not to add flour to this sauce, but just to rely upon the juices from the chicken, the lemon, the onions and garlic and adding a little water from the cooking vegetable to make up the quantity needed.

Once the sauce is made, cut up the chicken. If you really don't know how to do that go to the library and look in any good cookbook. Place on a seving dish, pour over the sauce, add the vegetables, or put in a separate dish and serve.

Don't throw any part of that chicken away. The best bits are yet to come.

Felixstowe Carnival

It will be a great weekend in Felixstowe. Our Carnival committee has done it again, working tirelessly to put together a programme of events. The carnival procession is on Saturday, threading its way around the town and along the seafront.

Then we go to Langer Park for all the fun of the fair, with a variety of stalls, and music. There are any number of musicians playing over the weekend, including the ex-drummer of Status Quo. And don't forget the fireworks on Sunday evening!

Let's thank the carnival organisers now, because they show what can be done by enthusiastic volunteers if they are given just a little support.

The weather forecast is optimistic and we shall have an enjoyable weekend.

Herman de Stern

In June 1997 a survey of the Herman de Stern was completed by A N Towell and Associates, chartered building surveyors, of Ipswich.

It is an excellent report, which finds that the building is in generally good condition, although in need of maintenance and repair.

The report says that half the asbestos had already been removed, and that removal of the rest was not considered to be a problem. Mr MacFarlane, SCDC Head of Finance in a letter of 26 July 2005 says, 'I would expect the cost of removing the remaining asbestos to be broadly the same whether the building is demolished or not.' The building surveyors were of the same view in 1997.

SCDC say that they have been unable to find a viable partner but the 1997 report shows plans for new 187 seat theatre, a bar/restaurant, meeting rooms and several private flats. Stage Door theatre group used the building in those days, and wanted to use the new theatre. We understand that at least two developers have contacted the council since then, asking if they can get involved, but have heard nothing from SCDC.

The building was bought by SCDC in 1979 for £50,000. Since then they have let this fine place fall into decay.

About 600 beach huts were removed from the area, and tenants of Herman forced to leave, even though three had been given a right to buy, as council tenants.

Over the years there has been a steady loss of income, from rents alone, let alone from the increased opportunity offered to local businesses by the presence of all those beach huts. The thriving shops in Beach Road have largely gone, and who knows what else would have been encouraged into the area?

The rental and rates income would, by now, have paid for the complete restoration of Herman de Stern, and in turn that would have brought much-needed vitality to this run-down part of town.

To use the land for private housing is dangerous and wrong. It will bring immediate financial gain to SCDC, but who will then pay for the new schools, hospital services, increased congestion, over-loaded sewerage systems, and loss of amenity presently enjoyed by local residents? And what guarantee will SCDC give that the money will be spent in Felixstowe?

The last Bloor Homes plan talked of increased amenity use. In practice this meant new roads and services to meet the needs of the new housing. Leisure facilities were to be a seaside cycle path and walk (two days work with a JCB) and a wooden boat for children, graffiti artists and drug-dealers, and an open amphitheatre, presumably for skateboarders? For such amenities Bloor Homes will get 17 acres of land, destroy the views of folk living in Manor Terrace, and deprive the town and its tourists of the ability to expand.

And tourist expansion will be required. We could build a marina at Felixstowe, put multi-storey car parks under the cliffs at Convalescent Hill and elsewhere, sell the Town Hall, make the Spa Pavilion a centre of excellence, make the town an interesting place in which to live, and to visit.

And don't forget the Olympics. I lived 60 miles from Barcelona just before the Olympics there, and it revitalised the whole area. We can all gain, if we plan now.

Houses for rich people who want to live by the sea? Who needs them?

The Herman de Stern sits on a plot of land 167x230 feet. Bloor Homes are about to be given 17 acres, and yet they insist they must demolish the Herman de Stern, which cannot make much difference to their profits. Can it?

There's something very strange going on. We want the Council to be more open. They have decided not to allow public discussion of the new Bloor Homes proposal. Why not? It is our lives, the people who live in Felixstowe, that will be affected. Our Felixstowe councillors are muzzled by so-called conflict of interest clauses. If that's the case they should all resign from SCDC and concentrate upon Felixstowe Town Council. Perhaps the town would do better by breaking away from SCDC alltogether?

Email received this morning, from a lady who was clearly not impressed with the Abba tribute band at the Spa Pavilion last week.

"Sorry not at all impressed with your Abba tribute act. Not just that there were only the two, but this act would be more suitable in a pub. A bad tribute show."

Did anyone else feel the same? Post your views at Felixstowe TV forum.

The grand plan is to form The Felixstowe Fund, which will probably be a Community Interest Company (CIC), these have just been created by the government (1 July 05) and are designed to stand between charities and commercial companies for those wishing to establish social enterprises. I'll explain all this in more detail at www.spapavilion.co.uk but they seem to fit our requirements.

This fund could act as an umbrella organisation to market all amenity and leisure activities within Felixstowe.

However its most pressing task is the Spa Pavilion. The present management contract will expire in June 2006. We now have the pre-tender enquiry documents from Suffolk Coastal Council. It's a long tedious document but we shall apply. I understand that six commercial companies have also been invited, including Clear Channel the present contractors.

Now we need more people prepared to stand up and say 'Yes I'd like to get involved in some way'. Later we will require company directors and those capable of raising finance.

The pre-tender application has to be returned by 4 August, so there's very little time to make serious plans before then.

If you are seriously interested, please email me as soon as possible. Although we have an impressive list of potential directors and supporters we need many more.

It's not easy to obtain information from SCDC, partly because they don't yet know themselves but the present contractors receive about £175,000 a year, plus maintenance and insurance costs covered by SCDC. No doubt the Council will want to see that commitment reduced, but I'm sure they will be prepared to take a term view if the plans submitted are professional, and show increased benefit to the community, and an improvement to the theatre.

As a CIC we will be in a far better position to attract funding and income support from a wide variety of sources. One distinct advantage of CIC over a charity is that shareholders can receive a return on investment.

Last year the Spa managed 102 performances, half of those amateur productions. A lot more can be achieved, the demand exists but the present cost to hire the space is often prohibitive.

The building has hardly changed since 1960, when the restaurant was added. We know a lot needs to be done, but Felixstowe can become a centre of excellence, providing mainstream entertainment, conference facilities, meeting rooms and a social centre.

The Olympics are not far away, and with over 300 coach companies within a two-hour drive of Felixstowe we could have huge potential.

We need community involvement. Let's grab hold of this opportunity and show the world what can be done.