My manifesto for adoption by WMGP!

MY SUGGESTIONS:

On housing/planning to save Tack Farm landownership going for St Modwen's housing scheme; and, W Mids National Park;

to scrap TfWM's multi-modal, multi-mixed up transport schemes;

on the conversion from: huge spending on climate wrecking infrastructure projects like Metro, Sprint, HS2 extensions to the east, Commonwealth Games, the demolition and rebuilding of Centenary Sq (yet again but no plans, I hope!) and other buildings ...

TO, instead: Birmingham Left Unity's brilliant Fare-Free Public Transport, the completion of the 120 Kms Black Country Mainline Railway "of national strategic significance", conversion of every building to solar energy production and to minimise energy use with massive insulation measures for energy reduction.

Nationally, I think we need to arguing for fossil fuel rationing and the fuel coupons we had in 1973/4 during the energy crisis.  Even more of a crisis/emergency now!

AND, Universal Basic Income to cut unnecessary production and consumption with the jobs at any price clamour.  The wealthy like me to subsidise those who need the essentials for comfortable, healthy living with people doing much necessary work, only.

With the Conservatives in power for us and, nationally of course, I'm guessing that Liam Byrne will get elected in May.  He needs to be pinned down to see you, too.  I am also wanting him to engage with me, too.  He refuses to reply to emails.  I have byrnel@parliament.uk

I remain a declared Independent candidate for Metro Mayor but I hope I won't need to stand.  Please tell me of any Zoom hustings you may get to hear about.  Thanks!

Our farmers must flourish: - Charles and his missus at Tack (fortress) Farm

Dear Roy, Mick and Carole, Tony and Ed

No chance for the spare gate to replace the leaning stile and steps.  But it was really good to meet Charles and his wife, even if only to thank them for feeding us and to ask them not to sell up to make themselves millionaires!  This is what happened:

After no reply from the first, I had to drop off a second postcard to ask Charles if we had his permission to replace the wonky stile with a gate. I put it in the postbox and was about to write down their phone number when a great 4x4 approached from the farm.  From through the driver's window came, 

"You are trespassing on my land."

"Are you Mrs Bibbey?  I'm wanting permission to replace a broken stile with a self-closing metal gate."

"Write to him about it then."

"I have, two months ago and put the postcard in the postbox over there.  But I got no reply, so I've just put another in the box."

"Would you allow some stranger to come up your drive and trespass like you have on our property?"

" If you came to my home, I would welcome you with open arms and give you a cup of tea or coffee.  If you didn't want me to trespass, why didn't you put the postbox on the first or even the second gate that was locked, barred and barbed wired?  You've got it on this third gate.  The first had a stile.  At the second, I left the bike and climbed the gate with barbed wire wrapped around the top to get to the box to ... "

"All right.  Leave this to me", said Charles who had arrived on the scene and heard some of this.  Charles, cousin of Philip Bibbey at Oatenfields is different from Philip Bibbey or John Bibbey.  Mrs Bibbey drove on to turn round to go back to the farmhouse.  And yet,

"Charles, you were great in helping Roy Burgess with the footbridge three or four years ago.  You have helped us with keeping walkers to the paths and with gates in the past.  The old stile that is so difficult is the very last that now needs a gate.  It's the one to the right of that building in the distance, on the footpath that extends the golf range road south."

"I don't like these gates.  They are a nuisance and get blocked open.  I know.  I've had experience of walkers getting out of Uffmoor Wood onto my land.  I've caught 'em with wire cutters.  You can straighten the stile but you are not to put a gate there."

"OK.  All right.  Let me tell you this.  Mick Freer, Roy Burgess and I want you to farm the land to feed us and not to sell to greedy property developers to bring buildings and roads onto our Golden Green Triangle greenbelt.  You've got a wheat field over there, next to Uffmoor Wood and I've just seen two deer in it.  Walkers would never do that.  They go round the outside.  You are so important; you're essential to give Halesowen people our food, locally.  We respect you and want you to keep farming and to help us all to keep the land that is for all of us.  We have to share it and you are desperately important to protect it."

As I walked back down the road, Mrs Bibbey arrived once more driving away from the farm.  She let me go through the gate with the barbed wire wrapped around the top bar and I picked up the bike.  But her little daughter was filming me with her iPad or phone as I walked towards her.  In the big Chelsea tractor, Mrs Bibbey just managed to squeeze past me as I cycled quickly along the road to the last gate.  Her daughter photographed me again because they got to the gate first.  Mum didn't let me go through that one.  I had to lift the bike over the stile, and she drove through the gate after me onto Uffmoor Lane!

Tim Weller

FEET BEFORE FOSSIL FOOLING!

I think we are all guilty of living unsustainably and, therefore, threatening all life support systems on earth.  The size of our homes and gardens, the size of our families, the kind of commuting and consuming we do and the holidays we take, all contribute to resource depletion, especially of finite fossil fuels and, highly dangerous greenhouse gases to bring climate catastrophe to end all life on earth.

I am very guilty of all this.  My land take and lifestyle means that if everyone lived like I do we would need three or four planets!  I’ll work it out from 

http://www.footprintcalculator.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwuJz3BRDTARIsAMg-HxXbEjRqUmqs0ZEJXBOAusr6nHxzsfRPC7osTIur-aC9aBe0NFAOCzYaAn7fEALw_wcB

In fact, I need 2.1 planets and my overshoot day is 24 June.  I’ve probably biased it in my favour!

To compensate, I cycle instead of the car whenever I can; and, I used the bike for commuting and work visits before retirement.  I drive to 70 mpg, cut down on meat and dairy and v nearly never go abroad and certainly don’t fly - a big blown raspberry for that one.

To compensate, I am writing and working to open our English and Welsh 19th century railway network for trains or, as cycle-walkways.  I am working to maintain our footpaths in our 32 sq Kms Golden Green Triangle, bounded by M5, A456 and A491.  I continue to ask for it to be the first area to go in the 2019 announced W Mids National Park to prevent any built development on fresh land.  Land that must go only for farming and for recreation, as we are doing in lockdown.  I am trying to win over all our wonderful farmers/landowners not to sell their land for the false, fools gold of concrete, brick and tarmac.  Especially at Tack Farm that is so near to the bypass boundary that must not be breached.

Lockdown for all slashed the world’s greenhouse gases.  I think, to achieve the same bliss but to help those who suffered, governments have, as their first duty, the defence of the realm from civil unrest by protecting the worst off with:

• a Basic Income scheme for all to cover food, clothing and shelter;
• East Europe’s Fare Free Public Transport for all and not just for the disabled and over 60s, like me;
• Carbon allowance for all to start rationing the calamitous burning of finite fossil fuels.

Learn from the UK’s disastrous laid back approach to the virus and prepare now for the inevitable Really Big Crisis we have been warned about for decades.

We cut economic activity to kill the virus.  We must now continue the good work of minimum economic activity in order to leave the planet’s life support systems able to support our descendants.

Join the buy less brigade and don’t head out to the shops.  Feet first to our footpath network, instead and lower your eco footprint!             

Tim Weller  17 June 2020