A great idea from Barnet !!!!! Well Done to Fiona Bulmer

I noticed a press release regarding the Barnet Council Rock School scheme on the council website today - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=1870 - Now as I run a recording and rehearsal studio, I'm biased. The more people who get into music the more customers I get, so it's great for me. Thought I'd better declare an interest before someone leaves a sarcastic comment. Oh and before you think I'm plugging something, the scheme is noting to do with me or my business, we're not involved.

Anyway, why is this such a good idea? Well every 13-19 year old (the target age group for the scheme) practicing at home, is one who is doing something useful and not hanging around on street corners. Playing in a band is one of the greatest pleasures in life. I've played in a rock band for 30 years (as of next month). It has brought me more pleasure than just about anything. I started playing when I was 15 and it gave me bags of self confidence. I was very shy and awkward before I started a band. Whilst I'm biased towards rock music, playing classical music is just as enjoyable. My wife has played Clarinet for the BBC Elstree Band for 15 years and has thoroughly enjoyed it. My musical career took me all around Britain as well as to Sweden, Finland and Belgium. Just imagine where I'd have got to if I'd been any good?

I started my studios - Mill Hill Music Complex - in 1979 when there really was nowhere to play for young bands and no help from the council. We originally started as a musicians collective (we all left our amps etc there and rented the space to friends bands for beer money). As the business built up we became more professional. Luckily one of my friends is an accountant, who was able to guide us through the minefield of dealing with the taxman. I well remember in 1986 going to the bank with my business plan to build up the studios. They laughed at this scruffy punk rocker and told me to get lost. I drew up a second, very scaled back plan, wore a suit and got told to get lost again.

I then went back to them and asked for a personal loan for a car and they lent me the money. Funny thing was that the "professional" bank who had turned down my plan, gave me the money and lost the paperwork. I didn't pay a penny back for three years. Eventually I owned up (I'm honest !!!). They said if I'd said nothing, I could have had it for free. I ended up doing IT contracts during the day and investing the money I was earning back into the studio. I often worked a 9-5 week and then did a 7pm-3am stint at the studio doing building work. I'd get 4 hours sleep, shower and go back to work. By the time we'd built up to 4 studios and a shop, I could afford to pay someone else to do the work.

For most of this period, I had to put my Band "The False Dots" to one side. Not enough hours in the day. Now we're established and the band is back in business. That's what I had to do to get somewhere to play with my band. Thanks to Barnet's rock school scheme young people aged 13-19 are getting a foot on the ladder. If you are in that age group and are looking for a band, check out the scheme. I can promise you that the effort will be worth it.

I must also say that I noticed that Barnet Schools yet again had some of the very best results in the country. It seems to me that Fiona Bulmer is doing a fine job in charge of Barnets education and young people services. As I've got three children at three different schools in Barnet, I must say I'm very pleased to read of the success and pleased with what Fiona is doing. She seems to get on with the job and doesn't court the headlines. Well done Fiona.

P.S Thought I'd give you a giggle and post a couple of pictures of the Dots. The one at the top was taken in the Tiki Club in Belgium in December 1985. The one in the middle was taken in 1980 whilst we were making a video. The one at the bottom was taken at the Mill Hill Music Festival in 2005 at the Mill Hill Sports club.

Brian Coleman - Arrogant, lazy and useless

I started work on this blog before I read the report on the Tomb tax in the Edgware Times (Click HERE to see). As is often the way, I start counting the cannonballs and a new delivery arrives. Well on to the newest information first. Brian Coleman receives £85,000 per annum from the taxpayer in the form of allowances for his roles as a Barnet Councillor/Cabinet member and as our local GLA member (Barnet and Camden). So what does he do for his £85,000?

Well in Barnet he seems to have responsibility for the part of the Council Budget which decides how much we pay to bury dead babies. His job should be to oversee the construction of the budget and make sure that the people of Barnet are protected from poor decisions made by Council Officers. It seems that they proposed a 10% hike (3 times the rate of inflation) in burial costs for children under 3. At the same time the costs of weddings and Civil Partnerships were frozen. Now most people I know plan their weddings. They save up for them and make sure they can afford them. I've got a friend who's baby died from Cot death. Unlike a wedding, a childs death is an awful experience. It is not planned for and not budgeted for. It is the most horrible thing I can imagine. If it were down to me, I'd make child burials free. Fortunately it is rather rare in Barnet. When it was pointed out to Brian Coleman that this horrendous rise had been inserted into the budget, he said council officers had failed to alert him to the proposal and that he will now consider what the increase will be.

"I think the answer will probably be an inflation-linked charge" he added.

Well I'm sorry Brian, but this response isn't good enough. You get paid a good wage, you shouldn't rely on officials to tell you. It is pure laziness. You should be there, going through the budget with a fine tooth comb. Let me remind you that you are a Tory. You should be going through the budget, looking for savings. If something looks excessive, get down on the shop floor and find out why. THAT IS YOUR JOB. There really is no excuse.

************ please note that this blog has been amended. I have been informed that Brian Coleman did attend the TFL seminar on Cross River Tram on 9th September despite not being listed as an attendee in the TFL brochure, therefore I have removed my criticism of Coleman for not attending the seminar. I would suggest that he asks for the report to be amended to show his attendance to avoid further confusion. Apologies to Brian Coleman for this error ***********

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Colemans response to the BCR proposal was arrogant. It seems that he can add Lazy and Useless to the list of failings. Maybe by the end of the year, we'll have a complete A-Z of what's wrong with Brian Coleman. At this rate, it may be much much sooner

Barnet Council Icelandic Investments - The smell of something rotten

There is a rather disturbing report in the Independent today regarding Barnet Council's Investments in Iceland (Click HERE to read).

It seems that the treasurer of the Conservative Party, Michael Spencer, runs Butlers, the Company that Barnet Council used to produce ratings of the banks where funds were invested. He also runs ICAP which according to the Independent is the company which brokered the deals, taking a commission on the loan. There are 468 local authorities in Britain. Of these, over 50% of those facing losses in Icelandic banks took advice from Butlers.

The article states that another organisation, Arlingclose advised no councils which have exposure to Iceland. Here is the top 10 Council's affected by the Icelandic collapse

Top 10 council investors in Icelandic banks

Council (Political control); Investments; Advisor; Brokers

1. Kent (Con); £50.3m; Butlers; ICAP, Martins, Tullett Prebon, Garban
2. Nottingham (Lab); £41.6m; Butlers; City Deposit, Martins, Sterling
3. Haringey (Lab); £37m; Sector; Martins, Tullett Prebon, Sterling
4. Norfolk (Con); £32.5m; Butlers; ICAP, Sterling
5. Dorset (Con); £28.1m; Butlers; ICAP, Tullett Prebon, Tradition
6. Hertfordshire (Con); £28m; Butlers; ICAP, Martins, Tullett Prebon, Sterling, Tradition
7. Barnet (Con); £27.4m; Butlers; ICAP
8. Somerset (No overall control); £25m; No advisor; ICAP, Sterling, Tradition, Tullett Prebon
9. Northumberland (No overall control); £23m; Sector; ICAP, Martins, Tullett Prebon
10 Surrey (Con); £20m; Butlers; Martins, Stirling, Tradition, Tullett Prebon

Given that all of the Conservative Councils with exposure to the problems used Butlers, and that it's owned by the Tories treasurer it is a rather disturbing pattern. All apart from Surrey also used ICAP. Now I know little about the functionings of the Tory Party or how much influence the treasurer has. I do know from the various organisations I've been associated with that everyone knows the treasurer as he holds the purse strings.

In all of the explanations of the whole sorry episode, Mike Freer has been consistent in one thing. This man who aspires to be a Tory MP has cited as his justification for the crisis that Butlers gave the banks a clean bill of health. He claims that when the loans were taken out, on his watch, that the advice was sound. Well I didn't realise it until I read the report, but that advice was provided by a company which received a commission for arranging that loan. A company owned by the treasurer of the Conservative Party. Did Mike Freer know that the people advising the council were owned by the Tories treasurer? Did he know that they were (presumably) receiving fat commissions for arranging these loans? Well Mike is a banker and he is Barnets top Tory so he should have had some idea. I think that as Mike Freer is also head of Barnet Council resource management portfolio, for which he receives a big fat responsibility allowance of several thousand pounds, he should have know quite a lot about all of this. He was paid to.

Mike sent one of the Council's senior officers to Iceland to try and get some of the money we've lost back. Has he sent anyone around to the Butlers head office to ask for some of the cash we paid for this rotten advice back? Has he sent anyone around to ICAP's offices to ask for a share of the fat commissions they were paid to arrange the loans? If Mike Freer gives me a letter of authorisation, I'll go and knock on Mr Michael Spencers door and ask for our money back on behalf of the people of Barnet - I'll do it for free. If you pay for something and it's not fit for purpose, then you are entitled to your money back under the sale of goods act. I assume that when Freer and his merry men asked Butlers and ICAP for advice they didn't say "Can you please help us find some dodgy institutions where we can lose £27.4 Million of taxpayers money".

Let me just remind you of what Mike Freer said on his blog about the Icelandic Investmenst (Click HERE for the full text). The BOLD ITALICS are my additions in light of todays revelations.

One burning question is why did we not withdraw our deposits when warnings were being sounded about Iceland? The simple answer is that each credit rating agency did not downgrade the banks with which we deposited our money until the end of September 2008. The terms of the deposits were of a fixed term nature which meant that we would have to negotiate the return of the funds before their maturity date. Advice given to the Council since the start of this crisis is that the banks would have refused to renegotiate or would have imposed massive penalties which would have seen a guaranteed loss to the Council, something which is not yet set in stone.

As you can see, Mike clearly stated that his credit rating agency didn't downgrade the Icelandic Banks status until September - way after other agencies mentioned in the Independent article


Nobody foresaw the collapse of the entire banking sector either in the United Kingdom or Iceland. Claims that Council’s saw this collapse coming are spurious, and after contacting a number of authorities including Brighton & Hove they have advised that they were lucky, and that their deposits simply matured and were paid back on the due date originally agreed with the banks. They did not make the conscious decision to withdraw and indeed, Icelandic banks remained on their approved list of banks for use well into 2008.

The independent article makes it quite clear that Councils using Butlers, were far more likely to be affected by the problems. It seems that Councils not advised by Butlers were much luckier than those which were. Who rates the ratings agencies.

I used to think that the Tories were the party with the business acumen. The more I find out about them, the less true it seems. Their treasurer owns a company which advised Councils to invest in Iceland, when other agencies were screaming "bail out" with a foghorn. Council Cabinet member Lynne Hillan ran a company which went bust owing tens of thousands to suppliers and the taxman. Matthew Offord boasted about arranging contractors for Aerodrome Road who've overrun by millions. Mike Freer thinks responsibilty means blaming everyone else.

Mike, I know you read this blog (especially when you are the star) so now's your chance to stand up for Barnet and get some money back. Who knows, you might even recover enough to cancel the rise in costs that you will be charging the parents of dead babies as described in your draft budget. I would hope that the fact that the owner of Butlers is a senior Tory will in no way deter Mike Freer from sticking up for the hard pressed taxpayers of Barnet. If you don't, I don't think I'll be alone in saying that something smells rotten at the heart of the Barnet Council.

Me and Al

"Never trust a man who doesn't drink" An old, oft repeated adage in the company I prefer to keep. Now any regular reader of my blog will know I'm rather partial to a tipple. I've had a pretty good relationship with my mate Al Cohol over the years. Al's been there with me through the good times and the bad. Something good happens - lets celebrate and get sloshed. Something bad happens - lets commiserate and get sloshed. Someone gets married - lets have a party and get sloshed. Someone dies - lets have a wake and get sloshed. My Dad was from an Australian background and my Mum was from an Irish background so drinking is pretty much a part of our family culture. As best I can tell (they both passed away long before I was on the scene) both of my grandfathers were alcoholics and drink played no small part in their demise. My Dad never really talked about this, but when I visited my cousins in Cairns (Queensland) they told me the whole story.

Now a couple of my siblings have decided that they are alcoholics and have given up drinking (for a couple of years now). When my mum died last year, they presumably faced their biggest test. It's times of stress which get us back into bad ways. They seemed to cope pretty well without the booze. Which brings me onto the question. Am I an alcoholic? I've read quite a few definitions of what an alcoholic is. By the most ridiculous one, then yes definitly. I read that if you enjoy drinking, you are an alcoholic. If I didn't enjoy it, I'd stop. Other definitions - Do you drink every day. Well I used to. Every day I'd visit my mum and have at least 1 can of guinness with her. When she died, I stopped. I missed her and I missed having a Guinness with her, but I didn't feel the need to have a Guinness every day. So if I was an alcoholic, I've been cured.

So when do I drink. Well I always have at least 3 pints of Shandy (50% Lager/ 50% lemonade) after football on a Thursday night. If t's my mate Paul's turn to drive, I have 1 shandy and two pints of lager. I generally don't drink on a Tuesday as it's band rehearsal night. Mondays are the wife's band rehearsal. Afterwards, sometimes we share a bottle of red and sometimes we dont (same is true on Wednesday). Fridays and Saturdays we tend to go out and we'd share 1 or two (or sometimes 3 bottles of wine) or have 6-8 pints of lager if I'm out with mates. If we stay in we'd share 1 bottle of red wine. Last week I had a total of 7 pints and 3 glasses of wine, but my better half was away at Swansea for the weekend at a swimming gala and I don't really drink on my own - don't really feel like it. I'd estimate that on an average week I'd drink 15-20 drinks (a drink being a pint of beer or a glass of wine). I kept a log from August to December out of interest and this what it averaged. At Christmas & new year it may have been twice or three times that.

As to spirits. I rarely drink them, even at new year. I had 2 Scotches in that period (on top of 10 pints one night) and sorely regretted it. So how healthy am I. Well I have a problem with a hiatus hernia, which drinking doesn't help at all (neither do crisps, pizzas and pies). Other than that pretty good. I play five a side football once or twice every week for 1 hour. I visit the gym to do aerobic exercise 2-3 times a week (Row approx 14K a week and cycle approx 25K and do 600 abs crunches). I do an advanced ashtanga Yoga class (I'm not advanced but it fits my timetable) as well on a Friday. My blood pressure and heart rate is low for my age. My Cholesterol was also very low last time I had it taken. Last time I saw the Doctor he was rather surprised at my blood pressure. I'm 6'1 and approx 16 Stone. He took it three times and told me he thought the machine was broken. I explained about my exercise regime and he said this would lower my BP significantly. As Mrs T is not a meat eater (likes fish though), we tend not to eat much meat at home.

Now I'm quite happy with my lifestyle, my alcohol intake and my health. I'm not what you'd call a worrier. My bigest problem with drinking is that when I'm with friends, I really enjoy getting completely hammered (if they are also drinkers - which most of them are). I don't generally make a fool of myself or fall asleep in the gutter, but I have a day of feeling ill. My on-the-wagon siblings ask if it's worth it. Yes it is for me.

I believe that life is to be enjoyed. The first miracle Jesus performed (if you believe the Christian bible) was to turn water into wine at a wedding feast. An old irish priest once pointed out that the amount was about 40 gallons of wine. He also said that in scriptures it said that Jesus and his disciples went away and rested afterwards for a few days! An ex colleague of mine (a member of a non drinking Christian sect) claimed that the wine was non-alcoholic. As teh wedding was an Orthodox Jewish event I asked a Jewish friend whether he thought that it would have been recognised as a miracle if, when the booze ran out, Jesus had turned the water into Non Alcoholic wine. He said "He'd have been crucified three years early for winding them up". It must be remembered that the steward at the wedding also said it was the best quality.

So my definition of an alcoholic (for what it's worth). Someone who considers their alcohol intake to be a problem. I don't care whether people do or don't drink. I don't really think it affects their trustworthyness. If I was going out for the evening with a bunch of abstainers, I'd choose somewhere or something where drink wasn't a key part of the fun. Will I ever give up? Not unless I have to. It strikes me that all of the places in the world where Alcohol is banned don't seem to be much fun. Cheers !!!!!

The 10 best ever female vocal tracks

It's Saturday so here's the first in a series of posts detailing some of my most and least favourite things. I thought I'd start with a list of my fave girlie tracks.

1. I Love Rock N Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

2. Can The Can - Suzi Quattro


3. These Boots were made for Walking - Nancy Sinatra



4. Africa Morning - The False Dots


5. The Day the World Turned Dayglo - X-Ray Specs



6. Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire - Joni Mitchell
7. Save Me - Aretha Franklyn
8. Rip Her to Shreds - Blondie
9. Grafitti Limbo - Michelle Shocked
10. After the Goldrush - Prelude

Criteria for selection - These tracks all a changed the way I looked at music or were so good I couldn't stop listening to them or they had a deep impact on me.


Joan Jett - The best ever rock chick track. I always sing along to the chorus. It doesnt get any better.

Suzi - When I saw her do this on Top of the Pops, it was just like "Wow". I bought the single the next day and played it 100 times without interruption. My sister Caroline was driven nuts.

Nancy - I was about 4 when I first heard this. It must have deeply affected me because when I dug the clip out on YouTube it was like finding a gold nugget you'd buried. She was probably my first crush

Venessa Sagoe - She sung this on a demo we did. It still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Venessa was so good. It's not narcisism, she made the song

Poly Styrene - She was the Anti Star. It's a great song, really different. She was the first girl singer I admired solely for what she was and what she stood for. She's still great.

Joni - I love Joni & this is her best track. She is a brilliant singer, songwriter and person. Big Yellow Taxi was the first environmental anthem I ever listened to.

Aretha - The Saints (Aussie punk band) did this. We covered it with the Dots when we had the horn section. I'd never heard the original and then I saw it on a jukebox & thought "Should check this out". It blew my mind. I put it on 10 times in a row, until a skinhead came up and told me he'd kill me if I played it again.

Debbie Harry - My biggest crush ever. This song is so New York. It's great.

Michelle Shocked - Short, Sharp Shocked was my fave album the year it came out. This was the best track. She lost her way after it, but this song is just raw emotion.

Prelude - I just loved this track when it came out. I found the original 45 again of it a couple of weeks ago. Ended up playing it 6 times on the trot. I've no idea what it's about, but it sort of sounds like I imagine the angels in heaven sound as they sing while you climb the pearly stairway (I sincerely hope so anyway !!!!)

I hate ASDA !!!!!!

Well it's Friday, I've vented my spleen at Coleman's latest stupidity, so no it's the time to relax, unwind, have a beer and chill out. At least it should be. My darling wife, due to circumstances supposedly out of her control forgot to complete her most vital mission for the day. She forgot to buy me any Zantac from Boots. As I'd run out and I'd been busy, this spelled disaster. You see that due to a rather serious medical condition, if I don't take a couple of Zantac prior to going on a bender, I suffer. When I say suffer, I don't mean feel a bit groggy the next day, I mean get really ill. The range of symptoms varies from merely being in agony all night to spending 3 months in hospital following Mallory-Weiss bleeds in my stomach. A couple of the magic pills and hey presto, stay away from the spirits and I'm fine.

Anyway, as we'd planned a night out with some drinking friends, I was in trouble. It was 6.30 when I realised the problem and a quick jog down to Mill Hill Broadway didn't help. Boots and Care chemist had just closed. My darling wife helpfully suggested I drive to Asda in Colindale as they have a chemist. Marvellous idea. Just one problem, I have two phobias - Snakes and Asda's in Colindale. Don't ask me why, I don't know but the mere thought of Asda's makes me come out in a cold sweat. Now I was faced with a dilemma. Asda's or sobriety. I chose Asda's. I haven't been to Asda's in Colindale for a very long time. As I drew ever nearer, I felt the cold chill of trepidation that the condemned man feels as he approaches the gallows. Never mind, I'll tough it out. I thought I'd soften the blow by picking up a few treats for the kids on the way. Maybe this would make it more tolerable. I got my trolley and entered. Don't ask me why, I've no idea what it is about Asda, but I soon wished I hadn't. I felt the panic rising. Still I had my mission. A big smoked sausage for Matt, some Ben & Jerry's for Liz, a Pizza for Maddie. Nothing for the wife, this was all her fault. I thought I'd just peruse the cheap wine when it happened. I've not been there for seven years but they'd been waiting, planning scheming. They'd seen me coming, lulled me into an almost calm mood and then they got me. As I looked at the cheap Wolfblass, they struck. "I Love the thought of coming home to you". Yup, they'd put Simply Red on the sound system. The most loathesome band in the entire history of the world. The mere sight of Mick Hucknell makes me gag. As to that awful song, even if Uma Thurman, Kim Basinger and Marylin Monroe in her prime invited me for a foursome, and they put that on I'd leg it. It is the second most horrible track ever recorded. When I hear Hucknells voice bleating "I love the thought of coming home to you" I always think "I bet she's dreading it mate and she's only there for your cash".

At that, I put down the wine and made straight for the nearest checkout. A very nice lady on the checkout looked at the selection. A massive sausage, a pizza and a pot of Ben & Jerry's. She gave me a pitiful look. As I left she said "Have a lovely weekend". If only she knew. You have a lovely weekend too.

Brian Coleman : What's in his attic?

Before we discuss the latest pearls of wisdom to spout from the gushing mouth of Brian Coleman, let me take you on a little deviation. Let's face it, up here in Barnet we seem to be partial to a little deviation now and then.

Our deviation takes us back to 1966. That fine year when England won the world cup. The summer was hot, the grass was green and the roses were red. A very sad thing happened. In the flat next door to our house, the nice old lady Mrs Bent (yes really) had a heart attack and died. She was a lovely old dear who had a garden full of finely maintained Standard Roses. I can remember being very upset as she disappeared and the flat was sold. A few weeks later, mum told me some exciting news. The flat had been sold and a young mum was moving in who had a little boy. I'd have a little friend next door. A couple of weeks later, through the fence I saw the new neighbour. He was about two years old. To this day, I recall our first conversation. "Hello, I'm Roger, whats your name". He looked up in a slightly perplexed manner and exclaimed "Chair".

Now Chair is probably my oldest friend. He lives in Brighton now, has just had a kid so I don't see him too often. His job? He designs tram systems. He's worked on the LA Metro, The Dublin Metro, Croydon Tramlink and most recently Cross River Tram. He's a real character. Last time we met, he told me about a presentation he'd given about the Cross River Tram. He started it by saying. "In a city like London their is really only one method of transport I would consider as practical. This" He then displayed the slide showing his black and gold Norton commando Motorbike. He then said "the next best option however ...." and proceeded with his pitch. He's lectured on public transportation systems and given countless seminars. Now I'm not too interested in these matters generally, but it's always a pleasure to talk to someone who is on top of their game and can give you meaningful explanations as to why a solution would work in a city you love. As a result of our last conversation, I realised that the cheapest, quickest to impliment and most flexible solution to many of Londons transport problems is to put in tram systems. Now I'm not an expert, but I'm an engineer and I can see when a solution makes sense.

Anyway that's enough deviation for one day. What has this got to do with Barnet's favourite numpty? Well he was quoted in the Edgware Times as saying about the proposed "Brent Cross Railway" scheme.

Brian Coleman, GLA Member for Barnet and Camden condemned the plan as "bonkers". He said "It's not feasible, it won't happen. The developers aren't backing it and neither is any mainstream politician. Idea's like this are thought up by men who probably still have a train set in their attic. Trams are yesterdays news and they do not belong in Barnet. The whole thing is bonkers"

Like most of Brian Coleman's pronouncements, it is ignorant and rude. Lets have a look at what he says in detail. Firstly developers will always be against anything that dents their profits. The job of people like Coleman is to get some payback from them. Improved public transport would be a good start. Does Mr Coleman honestly think developers give a stuff about whats good for Barnet? If he does he's more stupid than we all thought. As to no mainstream politician supporting it, the Times said in it's on line article that Tory John Hart, a long standing councillor and a colleague of Colemans was supporting it. I know who I'd trust out of the two? Geoff Cooke, a well respected Labour member is also championing the scheme. David Cameron was quoted in todays Guardian as saying "To deliver a low carbon economy you have to have a vision". It seems Mr Coleman is even out of step with his own leader, as the BCR scheme will save millions of tons of CO2. The implication of Coleman's statement about the people who devise tram scheme's having "train sets in their attic" conjures images of socially inept nerds with no interest in anything other than mad schemes to bring back steam engines. Well as I mentioned above, my very oldest friend is one of the countries top tram system designers. When we last went for a beer (or six) what did we discuss? My kids, his impending fatherhood, Motorhead, punk rock, the Acid House dance scene, the french resistance in WW2, great pubs, the merits of Ken Vs Boris, Mill Hill, what we did when we were kids, his Norton Commando bike. It was one of my best evenings out for a long time. When it comes to things in attics, what has Coleman got in his?

Are Trams yesterdays news? Well technically I suppose they are. Boris Johnson opened a new station on the DLR in a huge blaze of glory and issued a fine press release. He didn't seem to be saying that the DLR was a thing of the past. I have drawn the conclusion that Coleman is incapable of a single forward looking thought. His solution to Barnet's transport problem is to open all the ratruns to speeding traffic. By his own admission, his views are driven by developers, who are only interested in lining their own pockets.

Unlike Brian Coleman we don't all have a cab waiting for us at the public expense to shuttle us around. The trouble with these freeloaders such as Coleman is that they have lost touch with normal working people who have to go to work in rush hour.

Gavin Stringer MP is a Cupid Stunt

Yup, as you may have guessed from the title of this blog, I'm moderately dyslexic. Well at least I thought I was until I read what Mr Gavin Stringer MP had to say today. Normally I post links to my sources, but I'm not posting any links to this Wupid stanker's comments because his blatherings are not worthy.

Now when I was at school in the 60's and 70's Dyslexia didn't exist (at least as far as I was concerned). The fact I didn't say a word till I was 4 years old was initially attributed to deafness due to premature birth. Eventually a hearing test established that I was fine in that respect. I was just thick and awkward. From the age of 4, when I started at school, I was always bottom of the class. I could never memorise my times tables. I couldn't spell words. I couldn't read books. By the time I was 10 I had a reading age of 5. My mother kept all of our schoolwork books. I showed my kids some of them and they laughed. They couldn't believe how bad it was for a 9 year old (my son was 7 at the time). When I was at primary school we'd get a Gold Star for every time we got all of the questions right in spelling and maths tests. At the end of the year, parents evening came. I had zero. Mind you I had more black marks than anyone else. We got these for being naughty, not doing homework, getting zero in tests. My Dad sat me down and said "Don't worry son, your teacher explained. You are just thick". I'm the youngest of 6 children. My eldest twin brothers are very bright. One of them works as a Rocket Scientist (or did till he retired). The other speaks fluent Latin and ancient Greek (as well as a host of other languages).
My eldest sister went to a private school and qualified as a teacher. Middle one went to a grammar school and became an artist, then a Nurse, The youngest of the girls got a scholarship to a private school and became a barrister.

As for me. My primary school advised my folks to save their money. I was sent to the local Comprehensive School for Boys. My dad thought maybe I'd be good at sport. Sad thing was, I'm pretty rubbish at that. Not through want of trying, just poor eye/hand/foot coordination. I was extremely good at one thing though. Making trouble. I was lucky to find myself in a class full of other troublemakers.

At the age of 14, all of a sudden something remarkable happened. I went to see the Ramones at the Roundhouse and discovered punk rock. All of a sudden, life had a meaning. I started reading books. I started to try a bit at school. I found that if I methodically checked over my work, I'd spot the mistakes and correct them. It took a bit longer, but I'd get there. I found out I wasn't actually that thick.

I found that if I read underground literature, it was a great inspiration for songs. I found that it seemed to impress the sort of girls I liked. I found that I could play the guitar if I tried hard. I changed schools and left with 9 O Levels and 3 A levels. I'd set up a studio by then and had a source of income. With the advent of IT, I found that I had great problem solving skills.

When I was 26 I was chatting to someone and told them some of this. They suggested that maybe I was dyslexic. I was assessed and hey presto, it all became clear. Now by this point, I was pretty successful. Without any help, I'd developed "coping strategies". I still get my wife to fill in forms. The number of times I've ticked the box for Female or suffering terminal illnesses etc when doing it is quite a source of mirth. She cannot understand how I can be so good at some things and yet unable to successfully tick six boxes on a form. I've spoken to other parents who have dyslexic kids. I try and assure them that it is a problem but there are ways around it. Mr Stringer objects to dyslexics having extra time in exams. Doesn't it occur to him that a dyslexic brain requires a coping strategy. This means tasks take longer. He advocates a specific method of teaching reading. Maybe it will solve all of the ills of the world, but knowing my own brain, I doubt it. For me, words only have meaning in context of objects. The noise words in between are a big problem.

I recently wrote a whole blog about a certain local politician, that I had to scrap because when I checked what he said, my brain had filtered out the "not's" and "donts". You see my brain is rather good at deciding what it thinks a person will say and filling in the rest. That is why I check everything 3 times before I finish it. On the third reading, I generally fill all the gaps.

I know quite a few dyslexics. Most are pretty good with big picture problems. Most have greater observational skills than the average person. Most notice mannerisms and other such things which seem to pass most people by.

In the 1960's I was viewed as Thick. I was in the remedial reading group at primary school. It made the whole experience horrible. I'd see things and come up with great ideas, but they'd be ignored. Sometimes the teachers would say "thats a great idea" and then get another group of kids to implement it. I latched on to punk rock as it was a movement for outsiders. It encapsulated all of the rage that I felt. All of a sudden the brightest, smartest kids were not ruling the roost. I had an outlet for my anger in my song lyrics and my music. People started to listen to what I had to say. I found I was good with people.

I thought we'd moved on from the 60's. I thought that it was universally accepted that Dyslexia had a profound effect on people. I thought that the "He's just thick" mentality had been consigned to the dustbin of history. I'd love to set down with Mr Gavin Stringer and tell him what I think of his ignorant blatherings. I'm not some poor hard done by victim of society. I'm very successful in my chosen fields. I'm comfortably off, I've had holidays in the USA and Australia in the last two years. I run a great business, I hope I write a decent blog, my family are great, I play in a great band with great musicians. I'm glad I'm dyslexic, because I think it has made me better at the things I want to do. It makes me love angry music such as the early Pistols and Clash with a passion. If I wasn't so angry, I'd have achieved nothing worth achieving. I like to think my anger keeps me honest and gives me integrity. I think it makes me see through the fog and get to the point. It's made me tough. I was ridiculed for the first 13 years of my life, so I can take just about anything. I've been called worse, picked on, beaten up, humiliated. If you are born in August, you are generally one of the smaller members of your class, which really doesn't help. If you were born 6 weeks early, you should really have been in the year below. Mind you, when you get to 15 and suddenly find you are the tallest and biggest, it makes it all the better.

I don't suppose our Cupid Stunt of a friend, Mr Gavin Stringer really cares though. He's read a few articles, talked to a few people, seen a few programs on TV. This makes him an expert on the subject. If you know anyone with Dyslexic kids who are upset by his comments, tell them to ignore this buffoon. Trust your kids. Support them, they'll turn out fine if they are given the support and the chances they deserve.

Oh and I'll break a life long taboo. If you live in Manchester Blackley, please vote Tory or Lib Dem at the next election and get rid of this idiot. He's a disgrace and I'm saying that as a lifelong Labour supporter.

Mike Freer : Take my advice and get yourself Rogered

Well that got your attention didn't it. What filthy little minds you have! Being one of the global fraternity of Rogers, I object to the common usage of the term "Rogering" and I want to reclaim it to reflect the many and varied talents of the Rogers of the world, not just our renowned virility. It has come to my attention that one of the many talents us Rogers seem to have is that we write exceptionally good blogs. There are many examples of this prowess (apart from my own humble effort, but probably my favourite is Ramblin with Roger, by Roger Owen Green - http://rogerowengreen.blogspot.com/. I don't know what it is about us Rogers, but we seem to be prolific in the blogging realm and the range and depth of subjects on various blogs is truly amazing. I think you'll agree we're also rather handsome chaps !!!!



So what's all this got do with Mike Freer? Well probably the best Tory blogger I've come across (as it were) is GLA Member Roger Evans.


His City Hall blog is interesting and informative. He doesn't mind a bit of a row with various commenters and it is well put together and interesting. As one would expect from a Roger, if you check his profile, he runs a total of Four blogs !!! All on blogspot Free of charge. He puts old two blogs Freer to shame. I noticed that Roger also runs a mentoring service (with associated blog) for prospective Tory Candidates. Now he doesn't say what he calls this service, but as I said, I want to reclaim the phrase "Rogered" so in this blog if I say someone needs to be Rogered, I mean given guidence on how to write a decent blog. It seems that Messr's Evans and Owen Green have a lot to offer the wider blogging community.

It strikes me that given the quality of his four (free) blogs, Roger Evans should most certainly give our Council leader Mike Freer a few lessons in writing a blog. Mike Freer's sorry effort (click HERE) merely seems to carry rehashed Council press releases. What is our Mike so scared of that he can't say what he's actually been up to? If Roger Evans can put a decent blog together for free, then surely Mike owes us a bit more effort and commitment. I'm sure that if Mike contacted his Tory Colleague, he'd be more than happy to take him in hand and sort him out. My Advice Mike - Get on the phone and get yourself Rogered.

Trams for Barnet - Sense at last !!!!

There is an intriguing article on the Edgware Times website today (click target="_blank"> HERE to see). The plans are fleshed out in greater detail on the Campaign for Better Transport website and http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/london_local_group.

One of my biggest objections to the various regeneration schemes in Barnet is the lack of infrastructure. Looking at these plans, it seems that maybe, at last, a bit of thought is being put into addressing some of these issues. What is interesting about these plans is just how much of the scheme is utilising, disused or underused existing railways. One of my biggest bugbears is just how difficult it is to get across the borough, East to West. Since the demise of Edgware general, people wuch as my aunt who lives in Mill Hill, have a nightmare journey to get to Barnet Hospital. This scheme, if fully implemented would make this journey far easier, with a connection from Mill Hill Copthall to Finchley Central, then a tube trip to Barnet. Linking the two branches of the Northern Line (Colindale to Finchley Central) is a masterstroke. It is also worth noting that it makes many school trips far more practical using public transport. This scheme is good for the environment, good for the travelling public and good for Barnet businesses. As such I fully support it.

The new line has links to Finchley Central in the North, Wembley stadium, Brent Cross, Brent Park retail,and West London for connections to Heathrow. I'd imagine that for many workers it would offer a quicker and easier journey than the current clogged A41 to Brent Cross. I'd also like to see a station for the RAF Museum at Hendon. It is scandalous that this hasn't got a proper transport link. Less car journeys will be required across the borough, so motorists should see benefits as well.

There is much talk about the need for Infrastructure projects to kick start the economy. This is one I'd give a wholehearted thumbs up to. It is no surprise that sensible Councillors who have a long standing association with Barnet such as Conservative John Hart and Labour Geoff Cooke are championing the scheme. I sincerely hope that the full council follows the bipartisan approach that these two fine councillors are showing and throw their full weight behind the scheme. This may even be a scheme that causes the rest of London to take note and admire our foresight.