Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Your photos now belong to US corporations

Unusually, I'm going to refer you straight to another blog without further comment. I'll start you off here:

Have you ever uploaded a photo to Facebook, Instagram or Flickr?

If so, you'll probably want to read this, because the rules on who can exploit your work have now changed radically, overnight.

Amateur and professional illustrators and photographers alike will find themselves ensnared by the changes, the result of lobbying by Silicon Valley and radical bureaucrats and academics. The changes are enacted in the sprawling Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act which received Royal Assent last week, and it marks a huge shift in power away from citizens and towards large US corporations.

How so? Previously, and in most of the world today, ownership of your creation is automatic, and legally considered to be an individual's property. That's enshrined in the Berne Convention and other international treaties, where it's considered to be a basic human right. What this means in practice is that you can go after somebody who exploits it without your permission - even if pursuing them is cumbersome and expensive.

The UK coalition government's new law reverses this human right. When last year Instagram attempted to do something similar, it met a furious backlash. But the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act has sailed through without most amateurs or semi-professionals even realising the consequences.

Please read the full article at The Register. The BBC's article is here.

Monday, 29 April 2013

Conservative victory on Thursday

Following on from this and this, I received a very professional leaflet from Mark Kemp-Gee (Conservative) laying out his stall as it were  in support of his candidacy for the county council elections THIS THURSDAY.

I can only assume that Maureen Comber (Liberal Democrat), Rigby Andrews (UKIP) and Jan Treacher (Labour) are not taking the possibility of them actually being elected all that seriously.

Alternative suppositions include:- don't care about the electorate; can't think of anything to say; can't be bothered.

Possibly, they just haven't got round to it - who knows?

I stand by my prediction that Mark will win (he's the only one trying)

Monday, 22 April 2013

Kingsley Parish Council - Thursday 25th

Kingsley Parish Council will meet this Thursday, 25th April 2013 in the Kingsley Centre at 7.30pm.

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Personal/Prejudicial Interest
4. Public Question Time: Public Questions
Consideration of agenda items which will be open to public participation

5. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting held on 28th March 2013
6. Election by co-option
To consider the co-option of Carole Pearson as parish councillor

7. Declaration of Acceptance of Office from New Co-opted Councillor
8. Matters Arising
9. Planning
Applications ongoing:

Appeal:
30633/021 Grooms Farm, Frith End Road, Frith End, Bordon, GU235 0QR
Change of use of building for events associated with existing hotel, agricultural uses and hot air balloon storage with associated works, parking and use of access ….

Appeal:
22732/015 Sandyfield Farm, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NG

50311/005 Land North West of Rose Villa, Sandy Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NH
Stables and tack room following demolition of existing stables

21066/026 Bakers Farm Nursery, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9NJ
Removal of occupancy condition imposed under S52 agreement to 21066/001

24601/040 Country Market Osborne Farms, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9LW
Variation of condition 1 of planning permission 24601/038 to allow permanent use of the barn

54448/002 Land at Dean Farm, Main Road, Kingsley, Bordon
Retention of shed, open fronted field shelter, polytunnel and toilet


New application:
22903/001 Gwn Gwent, Sickles Lane, Kingsley, Bordon, GU35 9PD
Single storey extensions to side and rear, open fronted porch and detached garage after demolition of existing garage and extension to side.

10. St Nicholas Cemetery & Cemetery Chapel
To discuss the Coomer’s family request for a grant for right of burial

11. Transport, Highways and Road Safety
To receive an update from Cllr Lazenby

12. Commons, Village Greens and Rights of Way
Upper Green & Rights of Way:
To receive an update from Cllr Lazenby

To agree the updated version of the children and vulnerable adults policy

Lower Green:
To receive an update from Cllr McCorkindale

13. Community Resilience
14. Environment and Biodiversity
15. Sports, Recreation and Leisure
16. Kingsley Village Forum   
17. Parish Plan    
To receive an update from Cllr Rigden

18.  Housing, Business & Commerce
19. Communications
Website:
To receive an update from Cllr T. Scrivener

20. District Councillor
21. Procedures, Finance and Payments
To receive an update on the review of Standing Orders and Code of Conduct

Payments to be made & Accounts to accept

Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 23rd May 2013 - 7.30 pm at the Kingsley Centre 
The Annual General Meeting will be held prior to the Monthly Parish Meeting at 7:00pm

Silent Electioneering

So far, the candidates standing for Hampshire County Council NEXT WEEK have maintained what might be described as a dignified silence. Indeed so silent that, not only have none of them said anything to the electorate, they haven't even published contact details. How are we supposed to know who to vote for?

I would like to email each of them to ask what they will do to expedite superfast, fibre optic, broadband in Kingsley but I can't as I haven't got email addresses for them.

Instead I'll leave this as an open invitation to the candidates - if you email me (bob@kingsblog.org.uk) your manifesto, or a few comments, I'll publish them here for the voters to read; perhaps they'll decide to vote for you on the strength of what you say.

Rogue Tarmaccers

Rogue Traders are currently cold calling/leaflet dropping in the New Forest and surrounding areas of Hampshire offering to tarmac driveways.  It is alleged that false claims are being made about being connected with roadworks being carried out nearby or working for the Council. 
 
Trading Standards would advise consumers not to agree to work that is instigated as a result of a cold call or via a leaflet drop. Consumers should obtain at least 3 written quotes from reputable businesses or traders who are either members of the Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Buy With Confidence Scheme or a recognised trade association.
Members of the Buy With Confidence scheme are fully audited to ensure their trading practices are legal, honest and fair.  All members have been checked for trustworthiness and compliance with consumer protection laws. Details can be obtained by telephoning 01962 833620, emailing buy.with.confidence@hants.gov.uk or via the website www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

Traders who agree work at the home of an individual or at a place other than their usual business premises are required by law to provide consumers with a Notice of Right to Cancel, which gives consumers a 7 day cooling off period.  Work should not commence until this period has ended, unless written agreement is obtained from that consumer beforehand.
 
If anyone has any information about traders who are cold calling or requires any advice on doorstep crime they can contact Hampshire County Council's Quick Response Team on 01962 833666 (Monday – Friday 0900hrs to 1700hrs) where specially trained officers are on hand to provide advice.  

If assistance is required outside of these hours please contact Hampshire Police on their non-urgent number 101 or dial 999 if you feel threatened or intimidated.

Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Service
Montgomery House  Monarch Way
Winchester  Hampshire  SO22 5PW 
Tel: 01962 833620
Fax: 01962 833698   
E-mail: doorstep.crime@hants.gov.uk

Friday, 19 April 2013

Farming

Agricultural tasks in the days of my childhood formed a regular source of extra money for lots of people within the village. Machinery was basic and nowhere near as efficient as it is today. Manpower was then what kept the farming industry going and in providing large numbers of jobs, contributed hugely to the rural economy. Almost every job which is now performed by a machine was then done by a man. Even though there were the basic machines of the day, for the most part, they required a man or men to operate then. For example, the seed driller, which was towed by a tractor, but required as many as four men to sit across the back of the machine to ensure the seed was flowing freely down through the pipes and into the ground.
 
This was the case with many of, the then, newly invented machines. The combined harvester required men to change sacks as they became full and to switch on and off the traps through which the corn was fed into the sacks. As one trap was shut another was opened. When full the sacks had to be lifted, stacked and transferred to a trailer for transport to the grain dryers and store sheds. At each and every stage this required a man or men to perform the tasks. Bales of straw and hay had to be lifted by means of a pitch fork or by hand. From the time of baling to the eventual resting place of the straw or hay in a barn, each bale had been lifted by a man several times. As far as Kingsley was concerned the main farms were Malthouse Farm, Old Park Farm, Dean Farm, Lode Farm and Oxney Farm. It will,therefore, be appreciated that between the five of them, they employed a large number of both permanent and part time staff. Producing, in various amounts, barley, wheat, oats, hops, potatoes, sugar beet, sweeds and mangolds. In addition to the production of all of these crops the farms also had cattle,(beef and dairy ), pigs and poultry and, in the case of Old Park Farm, a thriving market garden. There were also the two large fruit farms, Rookery and Jude, the latter being known also as The Nurseries at the time. Like the general farms the fruit farms and nurseries required large numbers of men to perform the seasonal tasks associated with their business. What all this boils down to is the fact that large numbers of Kingsley people were then employed on the land and many of them lived in the tied cottages which were owned by the farmers they worked for.
 
Harvesting the various corn crops provided many a young man with the chance to add to his income by doing three or four weeks extra work in the evenings and at weekends or, indeed, during school holidays. School boys were commonly employed by farmers in the fields and most of us at some-time or another went along to help out. I and, I know, my friends had great enjoyment from so doing, we were treated very well and had a lot of fun. We, of course, all liked the pocket money we earned by doing so. As far as harvesting was concerned the tasks required of the workforce were handling the many sacks of corn produced. These all had to be loaded on to trailers from the combine, then from the trailers on to the dryers and then into the corn sheds. The dryers were sheds in which there was a raised floor and into the floor were cut square holes. The holes were large enough to allow a sack to be placed over them but small enough to prevent the sack from dropping through. A heater was located beneath the floor and this blew hot air into the space below the sacks, the hot air then dried the corn within the sacks. All highly labour intensive. The whole handling process was repeated with the bales of straw produced, in so far as they also had to be stacked into heaps of about a dozen or so on leaving the baler, from there they were loaded on to trailers, removed from the fields and then unloaded into the barns where they would be stored. They, of course were not dried as the corn was.
 
Hop picking will be dealt with in a separate article, but it also required large numbers of people to harvest the crop.
 
The potato harvest was the other big user of local labour. The harvesting machines of the day were crude and inefficient. They consisted of a number of long tined, rotating discs which were geared to the two main wheels of the machine. The machine was towed by a tractor and as it was dragged along the two or four tined discs would spin, biting into the ground along the rows of potatoes and throwing the tubers out into lines to the side of the machine. The potatoes would then be picked up by hand and deposited into sacks. Again the sacks had to be stacked upon trailers and removed from the fields to store sheds or barns. As mentioned above, the harvesting machines were not very efficient and large numbers of potatoes were left in the ground, so much so, that a secondary harvest was conducted. This involved the potato field being raked over again by a tractor pulling a harrow or cultivator and exposing the potatoes that had been left behind by the first machine. These were then collected and bagged up as the previous spuds had been. The difference this time was in the payment method involved. The casual or part time staff engaged for the first harvest were usually paid by the hour or day. However, when it came to the second harvest and the collection of the missed potatoes, the workers were then paid by the sack. This, no doubt, was intended to ensure the "pickers", as they were known, were thorough in their efforts and went to great lengths to gather every last spud. This was back breaking stuff and I well remember the aching backs associated with potato picking. It didn’t seem to put off people from taking up the work and there were many young people and women engaged each year in the process. It was also common, at the time to find groups of travellers, or gypsies, engaged in seasonal tasks as above. Many of whom would have a regular circuit and visited the same farms year on year.
 
During the winter months the work force of each farm would be employed in cleaning out ditches and cutting hedges. Once again these tasks were done by hand. In the case of ditching the men dug out the rubbish and silt that had found its way into the ditch system during the previous year. They used spades and shovels, it was hard work but it kept the fields and farm tracks dry and free from flooding. The hedges were cut with hand axes, bill hooks and saws and the trimmings were burned every few hundred yards as the men progressed around the fields. Obviously a very labour intensive process but a much nicer one than the smashers which are used today to reduce the trimmings to near pulp. Happy days.

Sunday, 14 April 2013

Parish Plan Complete

The final, authorised version of the Kingsley Parish Plan will be dropping through letter boxes within the next couple of weeks.  It has been a long process from inception to publication and the steering group would like to thank everyone for their various contributions without which we would have no plan. 

The plan is just back from the printers and we expect to deliver each household a copy during the  week ending 27th April 2013.  We have placed a copy of the plan on the parish plan website which may be found at www.kingsleyparishplan.org.uk.  Also, we have placed on our website the results of the plan consultation and links to the agenda (yet to be finalised) for the Parish Meeting in May.

There are a couple of final tasks the steering group has to do. 

23rd April - present the plan to councillors at the Local Community Forum at Four Marks Village Hall. This is an open meeting, beginning at 6.30 pm. 

21st May - our final public event is to present at the Parish Meeting.  The focus of that meeting will be to discuss how to translate the plan into implemented actions. 

4th June - the steering group will hold a winding-up meeting on when we formally close our work.

Brian Herbert
Chairman, Kingsley Parish Plan Steering Group

Friday, 12 April 2013

Gwn Gwent, Sickles Lane

This application, 22903/001, seeking permission for

SINGLE STOREY EXTENSIONS TO SIDE AND REAR, OPEN FRONTED PORCH AND DETACHED GARAGE AFTER DEMOLITION OF EXISTING GARAGE AND EXTENSION TO SIDE.

is currently marked as open for consultation until 8th May

Monday, 8 April 2013

County Councillor - Alton Rural

Assuming you are actually registered to vote (you've still got a few days, you can register by clicking here) you'll be wanting to vote in the county council elections on 2nd May. The candidates are:-

Rigby ANDREWS- UKIP
Maureen COMBER- LibDem
Mark KEMP-GEE- Conservative
Jan TREACHER- Labour

 So who's going to win? Well the front runner must surely be the incumbent, Mark Kemp-Gee, a decent chap, Conservative, won in 2009 and in 2005. Obviously Jan Treacher has no chance whatsover being as she's of the Labour variety.

In 2009, the LibDem managed 25% of the vote but of course this time around they're intensely unpopular, especially in comparison to UKIP. Surely we're not actually going to elect a UKIP county councillor?

So I predict Conservative, UKIP, LibDem, Labour

Rogue alarm systems

Rogue Traders are currently telephoning/cold calling in Grayshott and surrounding area of Hampshire offering to provide security alarm systems in conjunction with a national safety campaign.  
 
Trading Standards would advise consumers not to agree to work that is instigated as a result of a cold call or via a leaflet drop. Consumers should obtain at least 3 written quotes from reputable businesses or traders who are either members of the Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Buy With Confidence Scheme or a recognised trade association.
Members of the Buy With Confidence scheme are fully audited to ensure their trading practices are legal, honest and fair.  All members have been checked for trustworthiness and compliance with consumer protection laws. Details can be obtained by telephoning 01962 833620, emailing buy.with.confidence@hants.gov.uk or via the website www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

Traders who agree work at the home of an individual or at a place other than their usual business premises are required by law to provide consumers with a Notice of Right to Cancel, which gives consumers a 7 day cooling off period.  Work should not commence until this period has ended, unless written agreement is obtained from that consumer beforehand.
 
If anyone has any information about traders who are cold calling or requires any advice on doorstep crime they can contact Hampshire County Council's Quick Response Team on 01962 833666 (Monday – Friday 0900hrs to 1700hrs) where specially trained officers are on hand to provide advice.  

If assistance is required outside of these hours please contact Hampshire Police on their non-urgent number 101 or dial 999 if you feel threatened or intimidated.

Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Service
Montgomery House  Monarch Way
Winchester  Hampshire  SO22 5PW 
Tel: 01962 833620
Fax: 01962 833698   
E-mail: doorstep.crime@hants.gov.uk

Friday, 5 April 2013

April Crimestoppers

Well, spring might not be springing just yet but it won’t be long until we’re heading for those long hot summer evenings! Well, perhaps not just yet! If the weather ever improves, we’ll all soon be getting out the lawn mowers again, so now’s a good time to think about garden security.

In the past month or so, there have been quite a few shed breaks across the south. We generally stash all our garden tools and furniture at the end of September and it is only now we are thinking about going back into the shed. In the meantime, the light-fingered thief has been on his travels, helping himself to anything he, or she, can lay their hands on. There is a huge market for second hand lawn mowers, strimmers and other such tools, especially at this time of year.

Police are also warning people to take more care about what they leave lying around their gardens so they don't become a victim of crime. It comes after a number of break-ins where stones, bricks or garden implements have been used by burglars to smash their way in.
There have been some 29 recorded such incidents across the area since the beginning of the year. In each of these cases the burglars found items such as loose bricks lying around to smash a window to get in. The items of choice to steal have been laptops, jewellery and cash.

Please take care that you are not making life easy for these criminals. Where possible make sure any garden implements are not left lying around and instead lock them away somewhere safe. It's also best to make sure any rubble or loose bricks are also removed.
Remember too that it's important not to leave keys in door and window locks. Often people will remember to lock their doors but then leave the keys in it. Instead, make sure they are somewhere accessible for you, but not in the lock. Once the criminals have smashed the windows it is easy to get in by putting a hand through the hole and turning the key.

Remember, Hampshire really is a safe place to live and work. However, we can all do our bit to make it an even better place to be so if you have information about ANY crime, please do not hesitate to give Crimestoppers a call. 0800 555 111 or log on to www.crimestoppers-uk.org to give information online anonymously. For those of you Twittered up, please follow me on @HantsCrimestopp for regular updates.

PC Simon Wright

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Alton Walking Festival

On the weekend of 20/21 April you can go for a walk as part of the Alton Walking Festival 2013.

Events include a two hour ramble, a 45 minute wheelchair friendly walk & treasure hunt, town history walk, introduction to Nordic walking and many more. Something for everyone, hardcore nutters to scared old ladies.

Walking is one of the simplest and most effective forms of exercise you can do and benefits cardiovascular health- whatever that is.

Monday, 1 April 2013

Parish councillor wanted

Following the resignation of Councillor David Croucher there is a Casual Vacancy for a new member on Kingsley Parish Council.

If ten parish electors write to the Returning Officer requesting a by-election no later than Wednesday 17th April then a by-election will be held otherwise the council will fill the vacancy by co-option.

If you'd like to be considered for the vacancy, now would be the time to jump up and down and gain attention