ON WEDNESDAY, a YT reporter attended, as usual at a council meeting. The press desk has always had a sign that read "PRESS". The sign has now been changed to read "MEDIA". It may be a sign of the times. Last month, the secretary of state for local govt, Eric Pickles said that new regulations, will ensure greater public scrutiny and give bloggers and users of social media much more access to council meetings.
Why are the rich being molly-coddled? Because they are the ones who vote Conservative and because they are the ones who are in power. Why are the poor and disadvantaged being hurt the most? Because they have no voice. The people in the middle-income bracket hate the poor and disadvantaged because they fear becoming poor and disadvantaged themselves and because the ConDum administration instils hatred towards them to ensure their monstrous plans go ahead unchallenged by the public.
Tin hats on Labour. "It is Mr Perrin time again and he has a few things to say......The primary objective of a Party Councillor is to promote and protect the Party’s interests at all cost. So we should not be surprised when they are unashamedly hypocritical, economical with the truth, “spin” facts and figures to suit their own purpose, whose conscience is untroubled when claiming credit on the backs of other peoples efforts but are equally untroubled to shift the blame to others when things go wrong. It is what politicians do!"
I make jokes about where I live. A lot. My longtime favourite is the time I swore I saw Papa Lazarou driving the 22 bus, coupled with a (bad) impression that goes something like “you’ll be my passenger now, Daaave”. I can get away with that kind of crap, I know everyone. But you really have no right to judge. Judgement remains for those who live here and really understand the problems and hardship that some of our residents face.
We ended the week at Thurrock Judo Club. Hidden away on North Road, Purfleet, it is run by John and Sharon Cottis, who have an international reputation. Indeed, Sharon was an official at the Olympics.The club is a hidden treasure and has coached some top athletes over the years (our film will appear on Monday). Yet, they don't even have a changing room to use. It is Thurrock's disgrace.
THE STANFORD-LE-HOPE resident was walking down the street when (according to his version) he was approached by a young man who offered him an X-box.
The resident, mindful of recent burglaries in the area, took a photograph of the young man. He went home and contacted Essex Police. But at the same time, he posted the photo on Facebook page called "Stanford-le-Hope".
The stadium as a wonder of architecture and unlike a lot of stadiums it looked like you had a good view wherever you sat. We were sat near the middle of the back straight and so got a great view of the whole event but in particular the qualifying for the Long Jump. The wall of noise was deafening as eventual winner, Greg Rutherford and Chris Tomlinson thundered down the runway.
Sacredos by Elizabeth Amisu is a gripping young adult novel, riddled with coming of age themes, following a distopian world that begins to unravel. But it wasn't the blurb which first sparked my attention; caught somewhere between Dickens and Graham Greene is the eloquent yet sharp language style of Amisu, and it's a flair that bleeds into her character development.
All of my teachers gave me the right support in every area. I don’t think the next lot of year 12’s will regret coming to HACH – although they may get a shock with the business wear and how different A-Level is to GCSE.
For two weeks I volunteered at Lakesides British Heart Foundation shop. And at first I was rather dubious as to what to expect. However everything was great, sorting out donations, tagging, steaming, rotation and working on the shop floor.
The instruction sheet warned me that “If I stop bubbling, I am dead” and after I fed him on day four that’s exactly what he did – stop bubbling. I was in a panic – “I’ve killed him, how could I not even keep a bubbly bit of gloopy mixture alive?” You could say I was quite distraught. However, just as I was about to give up on him and throw him in the trash, I saw a bubble! And by day seven he was bubbling away so madly that I thought he was only doing it to make a point of just how alive he was.
Mrs Deirdre Lodge with her “Awareness” campaign regarding the presence of Toxic Black Mould in Council rented housing is a shining example of a “do-gooder” who falls into the first category i.e. she is motivated by concern for the health and safety of others and despite her own terminal illness, ironically from the effects of Toxic Black Mould, decided to do something about it.
So is the answer to bring back grammar schools, or just to encourage private school techniques within your typical sixth form or college? The very nature of grammar schools is what makes them obvious applicants for Oxford, Cambridge and the prestigious Russell Group universities; they embed the idea of naked ambition from their beginning day, they provide them with expert and well-tested guidance, and eliminate vocational courses from their curriculum.
Looking into the future I wonder what the Thurrock area will be like when the two super ports open in 2014, these two super ports will have to use the roads and the railway in the area, that is the A13 and the C2C railway.
On Friday afternoon, I was interviewing Thurrock's olympic torch-holders outside the Thameside Theatre. When I returned to my car in the car park at the back of the theatre, I could see three "east european" looking young men, looking somewhat furtive. Basically, they were looking and waiting. Infact, if one jumped to conclusions, they looked like they were waiting for a car to turn up and the occupants to hand them drugs in return for cash.
