The GG Column
I would like to start off differently with my GG Column by including my poem “Will They Call Them Heroes, If They Die?”
We remember those who gave their lives and saved the world from tyranny. Let us not throw away the brave actions that these men and women gave for their country.
Will They Call Them Heroes, If They Die ?
Will the tears flow after their lives have ebbed away ?
Will they send them flowers when they’re up above ?
Will the World stop the wars and be at peace ?
Will they know how others seek their love ?
As they stopped a bullet that went astray ?
Will They Call Them Heroes, If They Die ?
Will they be placed upon an Altar where others may see ?
Will their medals show how they were brave ?
Will the World stop the wars and be at peace ?
Will a cross be placed above their graves ?
And will their spirit in prayer now be free ?
Will They Call Them Heroes, If They Die ?
Will the poppies fall from the sky ?
Will a guard of honour aim their rifles in the air ?
Will the World stop the wars and be at peace ?
Will the heart-break always be there ?
And will the Government tell us why ?
Will They Call Them Heroes, If They Die ?
Gregory Gower © 21st July 2008
I shall wear my poppy and medals with pride!
* * * * *
All The Fun At The Fair!
I thought we had all the crackpots living in Eastbourne, but it seems not, a lunatic wants to build a “Helter-Skelter” on an Island, a roadIsland in Hastings stating it would be “FUN”. I wonder how much this fun will cost the TAX-PAYERS of HASTINGS and the Councillors who want this to happen are very careful not to tell the public how much it is going to cost. It is bad enough when someone who doesn’t take road safety into consideration builds a forest on a road island and the bushes and trees get so out of hand that nobody can see who’s coming round on the other side and ergo before you know it – there’s a collision.
I believe that this mammoth monument is 39 feet plus and this useless piece of granite is almost as bad what the council in Eastbourne laughingly call an iconic lump of art work in Eastbourne Precinct – a sun dial. The problem is the sun doesn’t shine all day in the Precinct, because of the buildings surrounding the site.
Skegness appears to have lost their Helter-Skelter due to the recent high winds, perhaps it has found its way to the RoadIsland.
Really Mr Fireman –it’s a Flambeau!
The Fire Service in Hastings have warned the public not to drink and cook as most fires seem to happen when someone imbibes when cooking a meal – but it would be safer to have a “TAKEAWAY,” I hope people will realise they will have to telephone for a “TAKEAWAY” and not go and collect, as drink and driving is forbidden.
NHS TRUST!
One of the headlines in a Hastings born newspaper is “NHS hospital trust ‘at raised risk of poorer care’ says watchdog.” Now I know that the ‘English language is a wonderful way of informing the public of what is going on in our hospitals and yet we have this tendency to waffle with a gobbly-gook jargon that doesn’t seem to mean anything.
The first part of this paragraph I understood – it reads: “The hospital trust in 1066 country is at greater risk of providing poorer care, according to a health watchdog.” After that it becomes technical between the watchdog findings and both the hospitals Conquest and Eastbourne DGH, the NHS TRUST and the Care Quality Commission.
After a piece of translation I find that the NHS TRUST do their own inspections on the kind of service they offer, so in fact their appraisal of the situations between the two hospitals are always going to be favourable. In fact as ‘The Watchdog’ stated in their findings that: “In its review it found (ESHT) was one of the 44 NHS Trusts out of a total of 161 that fell into the two highest risk categories and what with the deficit of £5.1 million, it rather paints a different picture.
In 1960 Hospitals were counted as safe places to be if you were critically ill, which I was at the time and then by some miracle or prayer I was on the road to recovery, but still with the disease that brought me down – there is no cure and an anniversary of 53 years comes on Boxing Day 2013. It is understandable that it took the hospital two years to diagnose the problem I had due to being one of the early cases of the disease. My sincere thanks go to the team of nurses and doctors who painstakingly treated me all those years ago and gave me hope to live a normal life. I also have to thank those people who keep me going now. My Chiropractor, Injury Masseur and lastly, but not least my Reflexologist.
Please take time to read Stephen Lloyd’s letter – it may concern you!
Dear Gregory
As ever, it’s been all go in Eastbourne and Willingdon, so apologies for the slightly longer gap since I last updated you. Here are a few of the issues I’ve been working on: There are some old favourites like Apprenticeships and Fast Trains, but also some excellent news about our town’s economic success. Read on.
You all know that since I got elected, one of my absolute priorities has been Jobs, the economy, and getting Eastbourne through the economic downturn. And because we’ve all been pulling together, our town really has bucked the economic trend, and looks to be coming out the other side of the economic storm with the sort of optimism that befits the sunniest town in the UK! The latest local unemployment figures are very encouraging – in September our unemployment level was 3.8%. That is down almost 35% from its peak during the recession. Critically, youth unemployment is also down significantly, with a 14% reduction compared to last year, which shows that our emphasis on apprenticeships and jobs has really paid off. Furthermore, I recently I launched a series of best practice guidelines in Parliament with a Minister from BIS which, using techniques pioneered by our own Sussex Downs College, shows other Further Education Colleges how to best prepare their students for employment.
As always, though, I spend much of my time fighting to save core services at our DGH. The latest challenges come from the CQC’s Intelligent Monitoring Report that places East Sussex Healthcare Trust in band 2, out of 6, where band 1 represents trusts with ‘serious concerns’ or in ‘special measures.’ What concerned me about the verdict is that their areas of most concern all deal with the management of the Trust – including whistleblowing alerts, under-reporting of patient safety and governance issues. I have absolute faith in the hard-working staff of the hospital who do such excellent clinical work serving our community in difficult circumstances. But it’s a different story with the Trust’s senior managers. SavetheDGH chair Liz Walke and other representatives from the Cross Party Team are coming up to London this week to join me in meeting the Health team who oversee NHS Trusts. We will make our concerns crystal clear!
After a long period of silence, the campaign for a Fast Train to Eastbourne is back on track (excuse the pun). The tendering process was put on hold for a few months following the West Coast hiatus, but it’s up and running again, and with it, my lobbying efforts. The tendering document looks positive: clear aspirations for a faster train to Eastbourne, and recognition that Eastbourne made up the second largest cohort of responses, (from a catchment area of the whole of London and the South East) which shows how we all rose to the challenge. The main obstacles are some timetabling issues, so I’ve already had a series of positive meetings with the Department of Transport bid directors and all the companies applying for the franchise to get them on board, and I’ll continue to lobby the secretary of State over this crucial issue for our town.
The Keep Albert Parade Special campaign also continues apace with over 4,300 concerned Old Town residents signing the petition telling Sainsbury’s to stay out of the Drive pub so Albert Parade can keep its unique and traditional character. An intrepid band of campaigners joined me in London last week to present the petition to Sainsbury’s Head Office, joined to great effect by a 3 foot barracuda (long story!).
In more light hearted news, last week saw the launch of an event I hope to become an institution as it combines my two favourite things – Eastbourne and cake! The inaugural Cake for Eastbourne event was held at the Devonshire Park Tennis Centre. It was a great success with over 40 cakes entered across a variety of styles and judged by 3 experts including local Nigel MacKenzie, owner of the restaurant that invented the world famous Banoffee Pie. The deserving winner was Karen Weston, whose original recipe tartlets went down a storm. Particular praise also went to Olga Talbot whose novelty cake came in a stunning Eastbourne themed design. I can’t wait for next year.
Finally, do you remember the headlines last year about a local cowboy cleaning company that was not paying its employees, even when ordered to do so by an employment tribunal? I’ve been working away at this issue in Westminster for ages now, seeing Ministers, asking questions and working closely with the CAB locally and nationally (I’m the Chair of their All Party Parliamentary group), trying to get the law changed so that the rulings made at employment tribunals can be actually enforced, and we are finally starting to get some movement. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have just releasing a damning report which found that fewer than 50% of people owed money following employment tribunals actually receive full payment. This is absolutely shocking, so the pressure is now on the Ministry of Justice to act, and I’ll be chasing them all the way until those affected get justice.
My heavy involvement in this last issue all stemmed from a letter I received from a concerned constituent 18 month ago. Please do write in, or come to my surgeries (times available here) if you have something you would like my support on – I’m always really happy to help in any way I can.
With Best Wishes,
Stephen Lloyd
Member of Parliament for Eastbourne & Willingdon