OneGuyFromBarlick

I've done my share of boozing but have never drunk a pint straight off, you can't taste it!



Dredging the Black Dog Fishery at Clitheroe in 1986 to improve it's capacity.



The old North West Rivers Authority dredging the River Beal at Ellenroad to improve the flow capacity.

Reports this morning of the government's own advisers criticising the wider flood prevention measures which they say are being ignored. They highlight the paving over of gardens thus increasing the speed of run-off. Though not a riparian owner, when the remodelling of East Hill Street took place I refused to have my front garden paved and told them to leave the garden as it was. I pointed out that they should apply this to all the properties as paving had two deleterious effects. It dried out the subsoil and increased the chance of shrinkage and subsidence. Also it increased rainwater run-ff and lost the advantage of the garden acting as a reservoir which lessened such run off. They took no notice and one of the points that the advisers make is that actions like this should not be allowed. This isn't a big problem in Barlick as we have good drainage but even so, the principle should be followed with all developments. As the advisers also said we are building up problems for the future and now is the time to take some sort of legislative action. Contrast this with the knee-jerk decisions being taken today in the Somerset Levels after Chuck's visit yesterday. They are throwing more pumps in which of course can do no good as long as the drainage channels they are pumping into cannot get rid of the water as they are choked with silt that has accumulated since dredging was stopped in 1995 and the equipment sold off. A classic example of short term management leading to long term problems. Exactly what the advisers are saying.

I heard the dog eats car story on Radio 4 this morning...

For many years I had a Morris minor travellor for my prefered mode of fishing transport. One day as I was returning home I spotted a Ferret on the grass verge, stopping I picked up the ferret and put it in the back. On arriving home the ferret was not to be found any where, my assumption was that it must have jumped out before I shut the door, and I'd not noticed. The vehicle had always had a wiff of fish but over the coming weeks another odour began to be noted, then I noted that a wicker basket in the rear had a hole gnawed in it, and bait containers had been chewed into. Every thing was removed from the car, and a search begun, We soon found the culprit which had made a nest in the rear seat squab, and was asleep. What it had been eating was evident, but the only water available was condensation on the glass. The ferret was found a home at a local pets corner.

At last night's #WCAC, a public meeting, Neil Watson (Pendle's planning manager) said that Anne's Wood wouldn't have any work done until 2016.

A quick read of:

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/woodfil ... 2d05fb5f5f

Would appear to indicate that he has his facts wrong.

Tardis wrote:At last night's #WCAC, a public meeting, Neil Watson (Pendle's planning manager) said that Anne's Wood wouldn't have any work done until 2016.

A quick read of:

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/woodfil ... 2d05fb5f5f

Would appear to indicate that he has his facts wrong.

Not so.

Mr Watson was quoting an email from the Woodland Trust dated 24th January 2014 which stated:

"The work is scheduled for and will be carried out in quarter one 2016 and the key driver of the work is to encourage long term stand stability. In the end it was considered that the trees were not large enough to warrant thinning until 2016, the decision was made above my head by someone who no longer works for the Trust that the work would not go in this current plan period. However you have my assurance that the work will be going ahead in quarter one 2016."

I'm listening to Oldham Community Radio on the Interweb. They have a live feed from the Council Meeting. Very open and democratic.

Just heard this exchange -

Mayor - We agreed only one minute each for this section, and yours is the longest minute I've ever heard. Please wind up now.
Councillor - I will do my best Mr Mayor
Mayor - No - you will do it now! I'm the Mayor and have told you to do it - your best does not come into it.

Good chairman!
How easy it is to lose mirror brackets when you have 'put them away safe'!

Woodland Trust wrote:More specifically, we will be focussing the thinning on the house boundaries, as well as undertaking stability work in wood

Well worth reading the plan

Porthleven

150ft wave

(who measured it?)

DV (with valentines day approaching, don't let a bunch of flowers say sorry for a bunch of fives)

Tardis wrote:150ft wave

(who measured it?)

You do it with a ruler and protractor, but you have to be quick. Then back to Pythagoras to work out the height.

In my old aviation topic I mentioned that a top secret pilotless drone was being developed by BAE Systems at Wharton in Lancashire. This was the "Taranis" named after the Norse God of Thunder. Large scale model flight tests were carried out from my nieces farm in Cornwall several years ago, chosen due to its remote location. The first flight test of the actual aircraft took place on the 25th of October last year. Yesterday further highly successful tests were carried out at Woomera in Australia, this is Taranis:-

A friend on business in Manchester, dropped in for a coffee last evening. during the conversation it came up that he was spending £80.00 a week on Fuel for his vehicle. This morning I opened up my paper to see that eco fuel is to be foisted on us, the article went on to say that this could reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 11%,and increase pollution. When I looked at my file on vehicle Running casts it showed that last year I used 268.88 litres of petrol in my car at a cost of £363.00. Not to much for me, but for my friend the rise would be Twelve fold.

Wow Taranis, A bigger and better way to kill peasants, what a wonderful world we live in!

Whether you are killing peasants of pheasants, it is still killing, and make no mistake, some of these "peasants" have no compunction about killing there own people never mind anyone else. Pheasants as you are no doubt aware have no defence against "sportsmen", but then they are only birds, wildlife! or is it just farmed for sport. Some of the so called peasants you speak of are more than capable of dealing with obstructions to their agendas, such as you and I and anyone else, what do you with your apparently self interested lifestyle propose that we do, just roll over and let them get on with it. Killing anything is not something to be undertaken lightly, but at times has to be done, not for sport or pleasure, but necessity. staying one jump ahead can make a lot of difference to the outcome.

The consultation on the buses might have made LCC think again?

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/public-outcry ... ments-area

Our group holds the balance at County Hall.

Two out of three groups on the county council need to agree on policies and budgets for them to go through the county council.

Protecting socially necessary bus services was one of the policy areas which forms the basis of our agreement to support a Labour administration. (The Tory's wouldn't agree to our request on this policy...)

My group has made it clear that we would not support the blanket axing of subsidised bus services; the option to withdraw subsidy from all evening and Sunday services is not being pursued.

Tardis, the photo of Porthleven shows the Bickford-Smith Institute with its 20-metre tall tower. Porthleven always gets big waves in stormy weather and photographers love to make use of the Institute standing proud of the waves. Porthleven is one of our favourite places in Cornwall, we often go there and I find it weird when I look at such pictures because we've stood on that spot so often. One year we were there in winter and a man was washed off the harbour wall and drowned. The quay runs out from that point and beyond it there is a very high sea wall which helps to throw the waves so high. Have a look at these other photos on the Falmouth Packet web site - see those big blocks that have been knocked out of the harbour wall by the sea, they are granite and bigger in size than a washing machine!
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/10 ... _PICTURES/

How little space there is on my walls. Can't make up my mind where to put the name plates.....

More reports this morning about the storm damage in the harbour at Porthleven in Cornwall. The massive oak baulks that are used to close off the harbour in stormy weather where smashed and now the inner harbour is unprotected. Coincidentally I posted my photo of these baulks - resting on the harbour side when not in use - on OGFB in July last year. Just look at the size of them and think of the power needed to smash them! One of the cannons that I mentioned in that post is now hanging precariously on the harbour edge and may fall in.
http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/view ... c98#p39974

It occurred to me that some objects, once features of many coastal areas have disappeared. These were "Groynes" and were used to control sediments and silt, they also served to break up wave formations. Originally made of wood many have gone and never been replaced. On another matter, the fence that was put up and then removed at the Fosters Arms Bus Terminal last week, is now going back up again!

Nice pictures of the weather damage. I have a friend recuperating in St Austell at the moment and another almost flooded out along the coast in Devon, so am regularly being bombarded with images and descriptions of the ferocity of the storms

Here's today's best, although I'm assured that it is sunny down there today

Chris Smith being handbagged by the public yesterday. So nice to see a politician outside the Bubble and having to cope with real life. I loved it when the farmer congratulated him on remembering to bring his wellies this time. I was wondering why the Tories aren't blaming it all on Labour but realised yesterday that in 1995 when the dredging stopped and the drainage board was emasculated it was under John Major.....
Later reports have the flavour that common sense is prevailing and that there is a glimmer of recognition that if you don't clear the drains out the back yard floods. Have a look at THIS SITE for some interesting stuff that looks genuine and well-founded.