An oak for Trafalgar Day

Bruce Davidson plants the oak at Chew Magna

Somerset's contribution of manpower and oak power to Britain's naval supremacy two hundred years ago was acknowledged at Chew Magna on October 22, with the planting of a memorial Trafalgar oak. The idea to plant five oak trees by the village's playground to commemorate the events of 1805 came from Chew Magna Parish Council Chairman Neil Cowan, a retired Naval Commander (RNR).

After he had performed the main part of the planting, Bruce Davidson, another Chew Magna retired Commander (RN), was invited to complete the task with the final few spadefuls. The planting was followed by a celebration of fireworks and mulled wine, and a brazier was lit. The other trees will be planted in November.

Harptree Festival success

A dance event at Harptree Festival

What a wonderful festival it was! Such a variety of events and activities, well supported and enjoyed by everyone who came. Dangerous Curves, with their beautiful harmonies and gentle humour, and X-Teller, an exhilarating rock band, launched the whole week with their gigs at East Harptree Theatre and West Harptree Memorial Hall. This was followed by the wonderfully intimate Poetry Exchange at the Waldegrave on the Wednesday evening.

The final weekend of the Festival included events which took people back in time, involved them in drawing, singing, puppet making, practising circus skills or which simply entertained them. Honolulu, the Saturday evening play, was superb, as was the accompanying meal. Thanks to the bunting workshops and a beautiful labyrinth, East Harptree playing field was transformed into a colourful, fun-filled Festival Field, where people could join in the activities or sit and enjoy the atmosphere and the delicious food which was available all weekend.

The Festival closed with the thoroughly enjoyable Extravaganza on the Sunday evening when the winners of the various competitions were announced. The festival does not seek to make a profit but any profit made is used to support the creative and performing arts. Last year donations were given to local schools and to provide stage lighting for a local village hall.

Comedy Club goes to Chew Magna

Jon Richardson and Jack Cowley

Anyone passing through Chew Magna on the night of 24th September might have wondered at the laughter emanating from upstairs at the Pelican. The Chew Valley Comedy Club paid a first visit away from their home territory of East Harptree and a large band of committed followers gathered to enjoy the evening's entertainment.

Jon Richardson compered, delivering his set with the characteristic anecdotes and witty rejoinders that have established him as a firm favourite with local audiences. Headlining the evening was Jack Cowley, a familiar face on the Bristol comedy circuit known for his oddball style and laid-back delivery. Jack regaled the audience with outrageous tales, pausing occasionally to exchange comments with an exuberant heckler who eventually retired to the bar having been forcibly ejected by his companions!

Two weeks later, back on homeground at the Waldegrave Arms, East Harptree, the Comedy Club was again sold out with people queueing up in the hope of obtaining a returned ticket. This time, it was the turn of popular compere, Mark Olver to open the show which he did with inimitable style, greeting familiar faces and causing great hilarity at his acute observations about several of the regular attenders and drawing attention to the large parties of teachers and GPs in the audience. He then introduced a young up-and-coming comedian, John Robins who took the stage for a short spot and effectively provided a warm-up for Perrier Award Winner, Wil Hodgson. The Prince of Waterloo at Winford is the venue for November 4 and features Mark Olver with headline act, Russell Kane, star of the World Comedy Tour 2005.

Maire Campbell

MP backs night flying

Dan Norris, MP for Wansdyke, has voted for a clause in the Civil Aviation Bill which objectors feel removes a degree of control over night flying. The effect of the clause voted through by Mr Norris and his colleagues is to change the law so that the Secretary of State can set aviation limits according to the total amount of noise, rather than by number of flights. This would be implemented by the so-called Quota Count scheme.

Dan Norris said: "With North East Somerset being one of the key flight paths for Bristol Airport I was very much open to persuasion on this important issue. ³However, in the event, carefully taking everything into account, I felt the best outcome would be to have less noisy aircraft, with the strong incentive to design and produce even quieter whisper jets in the future. ³With the West Country so dependent on tourism, more than most other parts of the UK, there was also a major jobs and wealth creation component in my deliberations."

Local MPs who voted against the clause, in trying to retain the current limit on night flying, included Liam Fox, Don Foster, David Heathcoat-Amory, and John Penrose.

The Aviation Environment Federation also wanted to retain the current limit - for further info see their website: http://www.aef.org.uk/

Hundreds visit GoZero day
The Old Mill in Chew Magna came back to life on October 8 when the doors were thrown open for all comers to visit the campaign headquarters of the Go Zero project. Some 500 people turned out on the day and had the opportunity to sample local foods and learn more about the activities and aspirations of the group through a range of talks and exhibitions.

This included a display by Richard Osborne who is making it easy for drivers of standard diesel cars to convert to using Modified Waste Vegetable Oil. He assured me that not only is the fuel cheaper and of course cleaner, but a converted car will go further and faster. Denise Perrin, the event organiser, chaired a lively local food debate providing a platform to connect consumers, food producers and retailers with a view to form a working partnership for the future.

They plan to meet again on Thursday November 3 at The Old Mill and invite anyone interested in the subject to join them. The Go Zero food guide, highlighting the range of local produce and thirty one places to get them, is already impacting on businesses in the Valley. Those interested in learning more about Go Zero should call 01275-333455.

David Parkes

For more info, or to sign up for email updates, visit
www.gozero.org.uk

Hanney wins sex discrimination case
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has admitted that his female predecessor, Patricia Hewitt, discriminated against the best candidate for a job who was a man, in order to appoint a woman. The decision not to appoint Cllr. Malcolm Hanney (Conservative, Chew Valley North) to the Board of the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) in December 2004 was unlawful sex discrimination as well as a breach of the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments.

The admission by the current Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who is responsible for administering the Sex Discrimination legislation, followed the launch of High Court proceedings by Cllr. Hanney. The department has agreed to pay Cllr. Hanney's legal costs of £18,000. Cllr. Hanney, who was the Chairman of the South West Regional Assembly at the time of making his application, is also a former Chairman of the South West Local Government Association and the current Executive Member for Resources on Bath & North East Somerset Council.

He said "The Secretary of State at the time, Patricia Hewitt, who was also the Minister for Equalities and the Minister for Women and her junior Minister - Jacqui Smith - decided to ignore the recommendations of the Interview Panel and appoint a woman (who had been ranked third by the panel) to one of the four designated local authority positions on the Board. At the time there were already two women local authority Councillors on the SWRDA Board, one man and a vacancy. Upon enquiry, I learnt that I had been the recommended candidate. I then made a Freedom of Information / Personal Data Request to get a copy of the Interview Panel's recommendations."

These stated 'Malcolm Hanney was much the strongest candidate at interview...Agree to appoint Malcolm Hanney to the Local Authority position... Malcolm Hanney stood out as the clear favourite from among the Local Authority sector applicants.'

It was clear that the appointment had not been made on merit as required by the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments and the Sex Discrimination legislation and that Government Ministers were prepared to discriminate to get more women appointed to RDA Boards.

Cllr Hanney added "In April 2005 the Commissioner for Public Appointments upheld my Complaint and confirmed that the Appointment was contrary to the Code. The DTI was prepared to give an apology but indicated that a Ministerial apology was inappropriate; they also failed to acknowledge that there had been a breach of the sex discrimination legislation. I felt it was inappropriate that Civil Servants should be blamed for what was clearly a Ministerial decision made in the full knowledge of the recommendations of the Interview Panel."

For more info about the amended code, www.ocpa.gov.uk/the_code_of_practice/index.asp