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A campaign to put the 'pee back in parish' has been launched in the small town of Deanshanger, or Shanger, Northamptonshire, after its local parish council banned its public from using the toilet in its offices during meetings.  In May a notice saying 'Private, Council Only' appeared on the toilet door at the council's offices in the Old School House, a building frequently used by the public for meetings organised by the parish council, some of which can last for over three hours, when nature breaks are an essential aid for human survival.

However, the ban on public use has outraged villagers. Defending the decision, and the addition of the words 'except in an emergency' to the original sign, the parish council chairman, police officer Martyn Hall, told the local media: "I would estimate that 99.9 per cent of parishioners live within five minutes of the office so nobody is ever far from a WC." 

It is also claimed by some that the sign was put up because the toilet in the Old School House does not conform to regulations governing disabled access. But as one local resident commented, locals can be inconvenienced: "Five minutes is a long time when you are dying to go." The chairman assured residents that if someone was "genuinely in need" they would always be let in to use the toilet.

A complaint on the ban has reached Northamptonshire County Council urging the parish council to keep the toilet open to the public and to remove the sign and the ban. Meanwhile, the impact of the ban on David Cameron's Big Society idea is eagerly awaited in Downing Street.

Dick Skellington, 24 June 2011

Cartoon by: Catherine Pain



 

I apologise for not writing sooner. The planetary science exam in Vienna went well, mostly because the examiners seem to have looked at my notes and limited their questions to what I'd scribbled, which was fortunate. This was followed by a lovely breakfast chat with Alexandra and Sarah from the OU's Austria office and then I was off once again. I left Vienna to head towards Graz, a place where I once lived for five years back in 1735, and where I still have a lot of friends. After three days of increasing hilliness I arrived in Graz and then, with the help of those friends, have had my liver assaulted on a daily basis. It's been tough.

Although Graz was the European City of Culture in 2003, it's still not a very well-known corner of Europe. Graz is Austria's second city and the capital of Styria (Steiermark in German). You might not have heard of Styria, but you would have done if Bram Stoker had stuck to his original plan. It was going to be the home of Dracula. I think he made the right choice in relocating him to Romania. It's not very spooky around here, unless you're terrified by fat men in lederhosen, which you probably should be.

Although it can't compare to the Czech Republic for price, the beer here is very good. I'm not sure about the wine though. A lot of Styrians are bizarrely proud of their Schilcher. It's basically a very expensive bottle of vinegar masquerading as quality rosé. I've heard it described as 'so sour it can suck your shirt through your arse'. A mate of mine even topped up his car battery with some. And just as no sparkling wine produced outside the Champagne region can call itself Champagne, Schilcher has similar protection, although I'm fairly sure no one is making any challenges to it. A glass of acid with dinner seems to be a particularly Styrian pleasure.

But this is an exceptionally pretty part of the world. In fact, it has annoyed me slightly that, in my attempt to find the best bits of Europe, the most picturesque location so far in this giant bike ride is the place I lived for five years. But I think it just keeps getting better from here on. Looking at the map of my westward journey, it scares me slightly. Mountains make for gorgeous scenery but are obviously not easy on the legs. The ride into northern Graz was full of hills. I was knackered. I stopped at a restaurant for lunch, had a shandy and fell asleep at the table. Classy. And those hills were mere nipples compared to what's coming up. Some of the passes will take me close to 2,000 metres. Expect me to wake up on a daily basis with my face in a bowl of soup.

Anyway, on Friday, I say goodbye to Graz and all its kindly folk and make my way extremely slowly towards Lichtenstein. On its border with Switzerland, I meet Elli, another OU student. Along with her three daughters, we're going to trundle on the flat bit towards her village until we hit a 20 kilometre hill that forms a section of the horror race Tortour, at which point they all jump on a train and I keep cycling until my ears pop. And then my lungs. And then my heart.
Bis später!


 

Dick Skellington is in Alghero, Sardinia. He reports on how the island responded to the Italian referendum on June 12-13...

There was much dancing in the civic square of Alghero a week last Sunday evening and yet the outcome of Berlusconi's referendum was still not known. Why the premature celebrations I wondered?

The chanting and singing was a spontaneous response by the people following the news that the referendum was indeed quorate: it exceeded the 50 per cent specified to be valid under the Italian constitution. Berlusconi, who had long lost the hearts of minds of the Sardinian people, had strongly advised them to boycott the referendum. The result? A turnout across Italy of 57 per cent, 60 per cent on the island itself. Once quorate the outcome was predictable. The people gave him a bloody nose, of the kind no cosmetic surgery could repair.

Berlusconi, facing four criminal prosecutions, and following poor results in the May local elections in Milan, Naples and other towns and cities, was humiliated once again at the polls, overwhelmingly defeated. This time in a referendum where the Berlusconi dominated right-wing media were challenged by the new media internet outlets and the power of social networking.

Across cyberspace disenchanted Italians, mostly younger people out of work and without a home of their own, texted and emailed, blogged and twittered, in a successful campaign to raise the turn-out Berlusconi sought to exclude. The Church too turned out to vote against Berlusconi's proposals. Pope Benedict XVI demanded the Italians seek a new way of life, one which embraced 'the legacy of God's creation' in the light of the March tsunami in Japan.

Over 94 per cent of Italian voters declared that the nuclear power industry, terminated after Chernobyl in 1986, would not be revived following the Fukushima disaster. In Sardinia 98.4 per cent voted against. In the historic old Catalan walled town of Alghero of 20,309 who voted, only 376 said yes to a resumption of nuclear production. In a second vote, over 98 per cent of Italian voters decided it was legal for ministers to no longer be immune from prosecution, though Berlusconi continues to fail to appear in court, claiming he is involved in political duties. The Italian public also rejected Berlusconi proposals to privatise the water supply. On this issue the Church decreed water was a human right and should not be subjected to market forces.

Anti-nuclear campaigners say Japan's Fukushima disaster in March helped sway public opinion against nuclear power, which Italians rejected in a referendum after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Italy, like Japan, is prone to earthquakes but despite the government insisting nuclear power was needed to supply about 20 per cent of Italian electricity by 2020, the electorate delivered a resounding no to Berlusconi's regime. It seems, at last, as if his magic has gone.

Germany and Switzerland have both recently announced that they will phase out nuclear power in the coming decades (see Oil Sawtell's post on this site at: http://www8.open.ac.uk/platform/blogs/society-matters/atomkraft-nein-danke-3). In Britain, Cameron's coalition Government recently reaffirmed Britain's commitment, but following the Fukushima disaster, there remains much public disquiet even in Britain about the wisdom and sustainability of the nuclear option. It is a shame such an important issue is not open to a referendum in Britain: it should be.

Berlusconi still has a majority in the Italian parliament but it one totally dependent on Northern League support.They are now questioning whether their alliance with Berlusconi's party is damaging them, and the country. Some may decide it is time to break away. On Wednesday 22 June Berlusconi faces a vote of confidence in the Italian Parliament.

His government further damaged this week by news that the country's credit rating was put under review amid anxieties about government policies to reduce Italy's national debt as economic growth stagnates, and as a result of recent electoral disasters. Weakening electoral support is damaging the country's national economy and international status.

Italians, in endorsing the power of previous much maligned referenda. may be about to embark on a new political future, as the new media and people power begin a new era in Italian politics. But it may be the political elite among the right wing Italian power base that ultimately decides whether to end what remains of Berlusconi's crumbling dynasty.

Time will tell, but here in Sardinia, there is real a sense that the worm has turned.

Dick Skellington, 21 June 2011

Pictured: Referendum posters in Alghero, Sardinia, by Dick Skellington






 

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