I did say some months ago that I wouldn’t bore you with details of the number of hits on this site. But I think I can justify just this one comment. It’s not yet the end of the month and already this site has had over 10,000 (yes - that’s ten thousand) hits in May! And all your comments are favourable! So thanks for your support.

I woke up this morning to find the bed empty and the house deserted! I later discovered that Janet had got up at six o’clock and gone off to work on the allotment. I was having a restless night and had stopped her from sleeping. Apparently this often happens, so she tells me, after Food and Drink Festival meetings! And last night we had a particular lengthy agenda!

Although the Festival is still over  four months away, we are now really into the thick of it so far as organization is concerned. We are deliberately not making any public announcements until the June Stone Festival is over - we don’t want to detract from their publicity - but once it’s over, we’ve got lots of things to announce! There can be no doubt that this year’s Food and Drink Festival is going to be even better than last year with lot’s more things happening in addition to the usual favorites.

It’s all very exciting - no wonder I couldn’t rest peacefully last night! So I’ve apologised to my wife - and we may end up with the best kept allotment this year! We’ve many more Food and Drink meetings to be had before Friday 3rd October!

We all know that the Frank Jordan Centre used to be an old Victorian school  before it became a Community Centre in the 1970’s. But what did the Lichfield Road frontage look like before the 1950’s style entrance foyer was erected? The Town Council’s architects are preparing some plans for a refurbishment of the building and are curious about the original features of the front of the building.

So if your memory goes back far enough or if you have any old photos which might throw some light on the query, the Town Clerk would be interested in hearing from you. Any photographs would be treated with great care and would be returned after scanning.

Just as we were arriving at The Dominoes Football Stadium at Yarnfield for the official opening ceremony yesterday, I received an urgent phone call from our Town Mayor Cllr. Mark Green who was already on site, informing me that the Town Council’s Star tent was badly ripped and in danger of blowing away in the very high winds! And sure enough, as we looked over the hedges, we could see loose fluttering canvas about to take off!

The danger in this situation is that the tent is anchored by metre long steel pegs into the pitch. Under tension and blown by a gale, these pins could easily become dislodged and , like a catapult, be thrown for yards. So we had to organise a speedy evacuation of the drinks and nibbles for which the tent had been the intended cover - and then swiftly lower the tent to the ground.

All of which was a bit of a distraction from the main event - the official opening of this tremendous footballing facility. Many people will not even know of its existence hidden behind tall hedges on the approach to the village of Yarfield. But once through the gate the most amazing facility becomes apparent. And most of the credit must go to Bob Bowers who, for over twenty years, has invested most of his spare time and effort and a lot of his money into creating a footballing centre of excellence.

Club rooms, changing rooms, bars, practice pitches and the new stadium - what an achievement! Funded by numerous grants and organised by a group of dedicated volunteers, this facility will inevitably play a major part in producing the football talent of the future in North Staffordshire but more importantly, proivide a place for the youngsters of the area to have fun in playing the game they love.

Well done everyone up at Yarnfield!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/10168/ADV           Type of Application:Adverts

Date registered: 20 May 2008                 Applicant: Miss Michelle Shaw

Location:  Morrisons Supermarket, Mill Street, Stone

Proposal: Replacement signagein the new image for the filling station canopy, car wash,kiosk and new price clock. Replacement doorhead panel reading ‘Welcome to Morrisons’, replacement ‘See you later’ sign, replacement ‘Recycle Centre’ sign.

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

Having mentioned the by election up the road in Crewe and Nantwich a couple of times, I suppose I’d better make a comment or two about the result! Yes, of course I’m disappointed that the Liberal Democrats didn’t do better - but it wasn’t the disaster some pundits were forecasting. I spent several days up there on the campaign and it was obvious that the Tories were going to win and that Labour were heading for a thrashing. Our hope had been to persuade disaffected Labour voters to vote Libdem but it appears they were so angry with Gordon Brown that they expressed their disgust by breaking lifetime habits by voting Tory.

I’m in no doubt that this was a protest vote of the highest order. No one voted Tory in the hope of influencing the result of the next General Election. I will wager now that Crewe will revert to Labour in two years time. And no one voted Tory because of their policies. They have none!

So the result will create acres of newsprint over the next few weeks, will scare the pants of Labour MP’s with marginal seats and may spark some debate about Labour ditching Brown. But who for? No, I think Brown’s strategists will spend the next few months trying to keep a steady hand on the tiller and trying to soften his image. And praying there are no more by elections in Labour held seats!

The next by election will be in Henley (Boris’ seat) where Labour hardly figured last time - a very poor third - so no more damage can be done there! It’s up to us Libdems to oppose the Tory bandwagon effect. We finished second last time and have already chosen our candidate and opened our campaign HQ. Let’s see whether we can clip Cameron’s wings! My son lives down that way so I can see a bit more campaigning coming up!

Last night, the meetings of the Planning Committee and General Purposes Committee were held in the Council Chamber and didn’t finish until ten o’clock. I won’t bore you with the technical stuff but just mention a couple of important planning matters which were discussed.

The first application was an amended application from St. Dominic’s Primary School. This has a long history all involving the use by the children of gates onto Newcastle Road. There has been a prolonged campaign by the parents against these arrangements on the grounds of safety. Indeed Cllr. Joyce Farnham and I voiced our objections to  the Development Control Committee at Stafford Borough some months ago when that application was adjourned. This amended application met with similar strength of opposition from the Town Council and I can see that Joyce and I will be appearing again down at Stafford before this is finalised.

Then we dealt with an application to fell a row of mature conifers on the Farey site at the back of Newcastle Road. Although several residents in Newcastle Road have been in touch with me about these trees because they live in my ward, the trees themselves are actually in Walton ward! So Phillip Leason has called the item in for the DC committee at Stafford to determine the application and I’ve passed on the residents’ complaints. Needless to say the Town Council unanimously objected to the removal.

And finally, there was unanimity again in relation to an application to build 5 large houses on the site of an existing bungalow in Nicholls Lane. This lane, on the very edge of open countryside, is narrow and high banked and totally unsuited for any extra traffic. The site itself is very visible from across open country down the Flash and every councillor expressed opposition to the plans.

Of course, the Town Council are only consulted on planning matters. The decisions are made at Stafford Borough Council so we must just hope that ‘the powers that be’ down there listen to the voices of local objectors.

Over the years there have been numerous complaints about the sad appearance of the old Coop building on the corner of Kings Avenue and Radford Street. Well, at long last it looks as if the redevelopment is nearly complete and that the building is soon to take on a new look.

It has taken a while but soon there will be a marketing suite opened in the premises to sell the eight apartments and two town houses which have been created in the refurbishment. Look out for some rather snazzy advertising boards as you drive past  soon.

I walked past last week and spoke to a couple of the lads who have been employed on the job and was impressed by their excitement about the standard of the the build. They have an obvious pride in the job. I will be taking a look when they open for viewing - downsizing to a pad  just across the road from Langtry’s does have certain attractions!

What a pity there was a clash of dates last weekend. As you will have read elsewhere, we were away for the weekend at Dartmouth to enjoy their Music Festival. So we were unable to attend the Italian Day organised by the Stone Twinning Committee or the Woodland Crafts Day on the Common Plott on Sunday.

By all accounts both events were a huge success. I am told that the Westbridge Park was packed for our Italian visitors and that hundreds of people went up to the Plott. Everyone I’ve spoken to says how enjoyable both events  were. Congratulations to all concerned.

If you see a few of us wandering around Stone in a dream this week, don’t worry! We’re just trying to come down to earth after a fantastic weekend at the Dartmouth Music Festival in South Devon!

A group of ten of us descended on Dartmouth last Friday and returned yesterday after having wallowed for three days in the most fantastic music. Classical, choral, jazz, bluegrass, rock, blues,folk - you name it, it was there! Most of our Stone group were there on a fact finding mission - they’re all involved in organising Stone first Music Festival in July ( July 10th to 13th) and I think they have had their eyes opened! Dartmouth’s Festival is in its eleventh year so Stone’s festival will obviously be on a much smaller scale. But at least we’ve seen what can be done. 110 acts playing over three days in 27 venues attracting an estimated 25,000 visitors to the town. Stone watch out! This could be us in a few years time!

This was my fourth Festival - Jan’s daughters live in Dartmouth - but was undoubtedly the best. Peter Price, blues guitarist; Snake Davis, saxophonist; Ian Briggs, harmonica par excellence were but three of the highlights for me. If ever we can persuade artists of the calibre to Stone then I’ll know that we’ve made it!

Oh - and six of the group had already booked accommodation for next year’s Festival before leaving yesterday morning! Yes, it’s that good!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/10235/FUL           Type of Application:Full

Date registered: 9 May 2008                 Applicant: Seddon Homes Ltd

Location:  Oulton Croft, Nicholls Lane, Stone

Proposal: Residential development comprising 5 dwellings garages and new access and including demolition of existing buildings

Case Officer: Mr J Dorman

The long running saga of the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme seems to be reaching a conclusion. I have today received a letter from ‘Highways Staffordshire’ (new branding - new logo) explaining that they have considered all objections to the scheme and reached the following decisions.
The following proposals will be implemented: Traffic calming along Mount Avenue, Mount Street, Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street. Stonefield area weight restriction and parking restrictions adjacent to Meaford level crossing.
All proposals for Northesk Street and Dominic Street have been abandoned(thanks to a superb campaign of opposition by residents supported by the Independent group on Stone Town Council)

The scheme will be extensively monitored with the collection of further traffic speed/volume and accident data and if required the one way orders for Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street will be implemented (how’s that for a cop out?!)

Construction works are programmed for June 2008 and all affected frontagers will be notified.

Last night Mark Green was duly installed as the new Town Mayor for the next Civic year. Jill Hood was appointed Deputy Mayor. Mark’s wife Kristen will be the Mayoress and Steve, Jill’s husband, will be her consort. During the ceremony grateful thanks were extended to the outgoing Mayor, Phillip Leason and Deputy Mayor, Debbie Wakefield.

These occasions are meant to be happy and non contentious so it was rather sad that Cllr. Phillip Jones thought it appropriate to do a some party political grandstanding - much to the disgust of some councillors, amusement of most members of the public and apparent embarrassment of some of his own members.

That apart, the evening went very well and most councillors stayed on afterwards for a buffet supper provided by the new Mayor. I’m sure Mark and Kristen are going to be wonderful ambassadors for the town. Phillip and Edith Leason will be a hard act to follow but I’m sure the new Mayor and his wife are up for it! Best wishes to them both!

As I walked into town this morning I was amazed to see our ‘Streetscene operative’ - Kev to you and me! - proudly cleaning the street with a brand new Green Machine! OK - so it isn’t a ’sit on’ machine and Kev does have to push and steer it - but it’s better than him having to keep the town clean with just a litter picker and brush!

Although he was feigning indifference, I’m sure he’s actually rather taken with it! He was eager to show me the various bits of kit including a suction hose - so we should see fewer cigarette ends around the town. With flashing orange lights and a bleeping siren we should all know where to find Kev in future!

I’ve just heard some brilliant news! Jake Lowndes, a 19 year old chef at La Dolce Vita, has just won Third place in the Staffordshire Young Chef of Tomorrow Competition 2008.

Jake was shortlisted with three finalists from Alton Towers, one from Swinfen Hall near Lichfield and one from The Acton Trussell Moat House. Formidable competition indeed! So his achievement is all the more commendable. Well done, Jake!

And let’s hope that Jake’s is the first of many awards to chefs and restaurants in and around Stone in the near future.

What a super day! Earlier this week I received a letter of invitation to join the Town Mayor aboard a vintage bus to attend the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society’s annual rally at Wedgwood Visitor Centre. So, at midday, a lovely old London Transport Routemaster bus appeared in the Market Square and, after photographs were taken, we joined the civic party on the top deck.

After travelling along the A34 and up to Blurton we duly arrived at Wedgwood where we were regally greeted by committee members and photographers. For the next two hours we were escorted around over 100 preserved buses and a collection of vintage cars. And whilst all of that was going on , a continuous fleet of old buses was travelling down to Stone to collect and deliver passengers from Crown Street.

These old buses certainly brought back many memories for me. Numerous old PMT buses vied with Crossville, Turners and many other well known local bus company examples. It just makes you realise what a monopoly Firstbus and Arriva now have and how boring it is to see the same livery colours wherever you are in the country.

But the bonus of the trip was that it is obvious that POPS are very anxious to get involved with us in Stone to see what further events or rallies we can arrange with them. I have already sown the seed of an idea for them to ponder - perhaps some event during the Food and Drink Festival in October?

The trip back to Stone was on an open top Leyland. This really caused a stir on the journey with several cars giving us a friendly toot on their horns as they passed!

Campaigning in a by election is never dull! Today I was busily feeding a mail folding  machine when who should come over to say ‘hello’ but Simon Hughes, the party President. Simon spent several hours in Crewe today and took part in a very successful walk about. It was only when he went to the station to catch his train back to London that it was realised that he’d left his case back at HQ - so Jan was detailed to pick it up and whizz across to deliver it to rather relieved MP!

It’s been a very good day on the campaign trail today. I must not reveal any figures but it’s no secret that each day the ‘powers that be’ set certain targets for the day. Well, today’s delivery rounds targets were met by 4.30 pm and still volunteers were pouring through the doors to deliver still more!

I’m beginning to think something exciting might happen in Crewe!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/09858/FUL           Type of Application:Full

Date registered: 6 May 2008                 Applicant: S Diba

Location:  43 Oulton Road, Stone

Proposal: Conversion of existing dwelling to four apartmnts including alterations and extensions

Case Officer: Mr. J Dolman

So I’m sitting at a desk in the Crewe and Nantwich by election office stuffing envelopes when a voice asks “How are you doing?”. I look up and there is Nick Clegg, the party leader, surrounded by a posse of TV camera crews and press photographers. I stood up,  shook his hand and mumbled something about ’stuffing’ - and then he was gone to the next table!

Which got me thinking that I must be getting old. I’ve now shaken the hand of five Libdem leaders - Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy, Ming Campbell, Vince Cable (OK - he was only ‘acting’ but I still regard him as the best leader we never had!) and now Nick Clegg.

Today was another good day at Crewe. Hordes of members from all across the country are now turning up and are dashing out delivering leaflets all over the constituency. And they are all enjoying the brilliant weather. Can it last to May 22nd?

There have been several suggestions over the last few months that Stone should host a Literary Festival but nothing seemed to be materialising. We had Peter Holland’s book launch a couple of months ago and Dave Smithwick organised Tommy Smith’s book launch in the Crown Hotel. But then nothing more seemed to happen.

Well, after a meeting today, I can let you into a secret! It’s almost certain that Stone’s First Literary Festival will take place next May. It’s very early days but some great ideas were suggested and there is definitely enthusiasm to move the project forward. Another meeting is scheduled in a couple of week’s time after which, I guess, a formal announcement will be made. If anyone would like more details or would like to be involved please get in touch.

Tonight I had a meeting in Stafford and got chatting with Barry Stamp. Barry and I have been good pals for many years. Indeed Barry is to blame for getting me back into active politics several years ago.

He mentioned that he reads my website regularly and that he has now decided to start his own blog. So if any of you want to keep an eye on what Barry is up to these days take a look at his blog. He describes his blog as “Regular updates - irregular comment”. This could be interesting!

By law, Stone Town Council has to hold and annual public meeting at which the Mayor presents a report of the previous twelve months. Tonight’s meeting was held at Stone Station and, sadly, was rather poorly attended.

Cllr. Philip Leason , the Town Mayor, gave his report and a member of the public raised a question about parking problems in the Stonefield area. I agreed to look into the issue and promised to report back to him. Ex councillor Harry Brunt also raised a couple of issues - follow ups to problems he had raised when he was on the council. I was very sad that Harry failed to get re-elected last year. He was a long serving, hard working councillor and the fact that he is still turning up to meetings like this to keep these issues ‘on the boil’  is proof that he is still committed to the town. Most defeated candidates are never heard of again until the next elections!

So forty minutes later I was able to rejoin my son, daughter-in-law and grandson for a drink in the sun at the Star. Very enjoyable!

As a lifelong Port Vale supporter (well I do remember how ‘we was robbed’ by a disallowed penalty decision against West Brom in the 1952 FA Cup semi-final!) I have to admit that tonight I agreed to go with my son to see Stoke’s victory parade in an open topped bus. Richard has always been a Stoke supporter and is ‘over the moon’ about them gaining promotion. He and the family have been up for the weekend so I agreed to go and watch the parade before a meeting tonight.

We went down to Trentham Road in Trentham but heard from a passer-by that the route had been changed. So we hotfooted it down to Stanley Matthews Way where we were just in time to see the bus parade go past. There were hundreds of folk lining the route and all dressed in red and white. A great sight and everyone clapping, cheering and smiling.

Well, stictly speaking, that’s not quite right. On the way back to the car we came across dozens of very disappointed and angry fans who had waited  on Longton Road expecting the parade to go past - as advertised in last night’s Sentinel. I suspect there will be some complaints directed at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow.

That apart, and putting aside my Port Vale allegiances, I am delighted for Stoke City fans and for the city itself. The prospect of Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal etc playing here next season is tantalising indeed. What a boost for the area.

Stone Town Band played their first concert in the amphitheatre on Crown Meadow this afternoon and what a delight it was! An audience of about fifty sat and enjoyed the music in warm sunshine and even had the opportunity of licking an ice cream! And  across the canal four new residents in Joules Court sat outside their french windows with a bottle of wine enjoying the free entertainment for two hours!

This is exactly the sort of use we had in mind at the Town Council when we decided to create the amphitheatre a couple of years ago. The Town Band have booked the venue for two more concerts during the summer and after the success of today’s concert I wouldn’t be surprised if other groups decided to do the same.

My goodness, Labour are running scared. Gwennyth Dunwoody’s funeral hasn’t even taken place yet and the Labour Party have moved the writ for the by election in Crewe and Nantwich. Polling day will be Thursday 22nd May - so it’s all hands to the pump!

An overnight email had me and Janet scurrying up the M6 this morning to Campaign HQ where we spent the day getting back into campaigning mode! Janet was out straight away delivering a tabloid election newspaper whilst I stayed in the office sorting out leaflets into walk rounds. Jan and I last helped out at a by election  a few years ago at Hodge Hill in Birmingham and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for three weeks. This campaign will be much shorter so we’ll be up and down the motorway as often as we can.

I am very impressed with the premises being used in Crewe. The campaign is being run from a rather impressive office block on Fourth Avenue. Light and airy with plenty of space for all the volunteers and helpers - a complete contrast to the cramped shop premises used in Hodge Hill. And yet again I never cease to be amazed at the enthusiasm of Libdem members when there’s a by election to be fought. Local parties were well represented today with members from Shrewsbury, Warrington, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stafford, South Staffs and, of course, Stone. But in adddition members had travelled from Folkstone, London, Bristol and Exeter in the south and Gateshead in the north. And this just a couple of days after their own local elections had ended!

There was a great atmosphere today. Could we pull off another surprise in Crewe?

Sorry to bore you but - yet again - another dry day for Stone’s Farmers’ Market. The record still stands!

Forty one stallholders and several thousand people in town are testament to our proud claim that Stone now has the best Farmers’Market in Staffordshire. Compared to 23 stalls at Stafford last month Stone was really buzzing today! The Food and Drink Festival working group secured the attendance of Murphy’s Marbles to play outside The Lounge throughout the day and the crowds were still tapping their feet at five o’clock when we had to ask them to go home! The marquee company wanted to take the stall down and finish for the day!

Another successful day for the town. As one shopkeeper said to me as I left tonight  ” I wish we could have a Farmers’ Market every Saturday”!

There have been no elections here in Stafford Borough (we have all up elections every four years) so I’ve been able to view the national results from Thursday’s elections with some detachment.

It is blindingly obvious that Gordon Brown is an electoral disaster and that the appaling showing by the Labour Party is down to him. Last year’s dithering over calling a general election was just the start of a long list of errors culminating in the 10 p income tax fiasco. So it’s hardly surprising that Labour candidates up and down the country have been hammered by the voters.

Which leads me to suggest that the Tory party should not get too excited. They won nothing on Thursday on merit - this result was a revolt against Brown. No one voted for Tory policies because the Cameron hasn’t announced any yet. It seems that all areas of policy “are under review”.

And if my analysis needs any further proof then just look at the London Mayoral result! Our capital city is now to be run by that buffoon Boris! Oh dear, oh dear!

The good news is that Liberal Democrat candidates polled more votes than Labour and, at 25%, now occupy second place. Not the thrashing most pundits were forecasting!

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/10129/FUL           Type of Application:Full

Date registered: 1 May 2008                 Applicant: Mr Mark Jackson

Location:  75 High Street, Stone

Proposal: The work involves providing additional tubular steel roof edge protection to the two storey flat roof structure to the rear of the building

Case Officer: Mrs S Wright

Another example of Stafford Borough Council ‘hiding’ bad news is the unannounced decision to close the public toilets in Station Road. No statement has ever been issued about the proposed closure and the Town Council only became aware of it when Councillor Collier let slip the fact in a recent meeting.

Confirmation was received at a meeting yesterday when an officer of the Borough Council confirmed that the costs of running the Station Road toilets had been deleted from the Borough Council’s budgets for the forthcoming financial year. Councillor Collier’s remarks had alerted the Town Council to the issue and yesterday’s  meeting had been arranged to ascertain whether it would be possible for the Town Council to take on the responsibility of running these toilets.

Obviously there are financial implications and in view of the fact that this year’s budgets have already been fixed we may have some problems finding the resources to keep the toilets open. However, I believe that the Town Council will want to do everything in it’s power to save the Station Road facility so, again, watch this space!

Stafford Borough Council is very adept at issuing press releases about ‘good news’ but trying to find out the facts about the ‘not so good’ is like extracting teeth! Stone Town Council has been very concerned for some time about the lack of formal notification about the future of Stone in Bloom and the lack of any hard facts. So it was very useful that an informal meeting was convened yesterday between Borough Council officers and Town Council representatives on the former Stone in Bloom committee.

The officers were able to reassure us that Stafford Borough Council’s Streetscene Department will continue to supply flower displays in parks and flower borders etc., hanging baskets and barrier boxes as in previous years. However, neither Stafford nor Stone will be entered into any regional or national In Bloom competitions.

This is very sad. Stone has achieved some notable successes over the years in these competitions thanks to the hard work and dedication of a group of volunteers on the Stone in Bloom committee. The Borough’s own proposed ‘in house’ competitions will not carry the same weight - so, after the meeting,  we asked our Town Clerk to investigate the implications of Stone entering the regional In Bloom competeitions under it’s own steam. My own view is that if time is on our side and the cost is affordable, we should go for it. Watch this space!