Tube strike off and last night's sickening BBC documentary

Seems the tube strike is off at the n'th hour. A planned 72-hour Tube strike has dramatically been called off following talks between rail unions and management. Don't really know if London's Mayor, Boris Johnson had anything to do with it but the Metro rag is quoting him as saying that he urged both sides to settle over what he considered a "relatively trivial dispute". As the Northern Line was one of the routes affected its a big relief all round. Any time the tube is not operating you can see people piling into the street struggling to get on the buses.

The rain has also eased off a little. Love rain to help the plants grow but this torrential rain we have been experiencing lately is so depressing. Nothing serious happening where I live but one can't help feeling sympathy for those who have been hit by floods and tidal waves. It's the damage to peoples' homes and property that's heart-wrenching. My only gripe is the rain has saturated the garden lights so they no longer work properly and the two year old cat deterrent sonic widget suddenly went berserk for all to hear. Supposed to work silently with only the test mode audible to the human ear. Have dried it out and changed the batteries but I may have to buy another one. They are not cheap so it's another expense I could do without at the moment. However it's a must have gadget otherwise the cats will invade the garden when all the greenery falls in the Autumn.

Last night watched the BBC documentary about Pedigree dogs. It stated that Pedigree dogs are suffering from genetic diseases, horrible deformities and other acute problems following years of inbreeding for dog shows. The ultimate aim being to breed a dog eligible for showing at Crufts, the creme de la creme show of the dog world.

Felt nauseated watching some of the distressed animals. It's sentimentality to the extreme. Any responsible owner no matter how much they might love an animal should have a dog like that put down - it's inhumane and as far as I'm concerned just plain wickedness to let them continue suffering in that way. Responsible breeders also screen out 'sick' dogs before allowing them to mate.

A pre-documentary interview with the Kennel Club's Bill Lambert and RSPCA chief vet Mark Evans highlighted some of the concerns. The actual programme seemed very one sided in their approach to the whole issue. They implied that the Kennel club is complacent in their approach to the situation which is far from the truth. My ears picked up when they mentioned boxers. Those who read this blog will know my foster mother is a champion Boxer champion breeder, Harmaur lineage and show judge. Reference was made to the breeds susceptibility to epilepsy. It's a well known fact and a very horrible sight to witness. Can remember one of her dogs, Polly, was affected. The other dogs in the house put up with the situation for sometime then they started to turn on her - a pack in the wild would have killed her. It was so upsetting when she had to be put down.

A great deal of medical research is involved with dog breeding with strict guidelines set out for those who are entering the business. However it's presently all on a voluntary basis and people as they are, many out for a fast buck often choose to ignore the guidelines. Unsuspecting people buy these dogs and they become much loved family pets.

Overall the documentary exposed some real worrying concerns that may require legislation before there are any radical changes.

Today, reaction to the programme - Kennel Club Hits Back at BBC Dog Documentary, Dog Trust and from the Mail online, BBC could drop Crufts over unhealthy 'freak show' breeds.

Sinusoidal humps & EDF

Just going through a pile of mail as I've not had the time or to be quite honest haven't bothered to open for the past few weeks.

One letter, another public consultation - Islington council now has an open policy about consulting on everything. This one is for local residents to decide if they want a 20mph speed zone with humps in all the residential roads behind where I live and up towards the Archway side. Of course I ticked for a YES. The motorists queuing up along the main road often take short cuts though the side roads but don't really care about the residents. The speed they go is at times most irritating.

The plan is to build the lower gradient Sinusoidal humps which do not cover the full extent of the carriageway width and taper off to the sides - supposed to be more cycle friendly and less noisy. The leaflet doesn't really explain what is the difference between them and the normal round flat humps - thank you web, the info is out there. The plan is to start the work in Nov 2008. Just wondering how many residents will bother to respond. Will certainly quieten the whole place if the proposal is approved.

Another letter from EDF energy is offering 4 free energy saving light bulbs per household. Not sure if I qualify but sent off for them anyway. Have them in all rooms in my flat except for the sitting room, they are not bright enough. I've also stuck them in all the communal hallway sockets. Have to admit they do last much longer than normal bulbs but not the years they claim. Least they save me having to get out a ladder to change them so frequently unlike the ordinary light bulbs which don't last 5 minutes.

Yet another letter from the surveyors confirming their team will be inspecting this property next Wednesday. Not really looking forward to the renovations which as I've mentioned before is now at long last planned for April 2009. They say it will take 5 weeks but from experience it is usually much longer. The scaffolding, dust and noise will do my head in.

The rest of the mail is just loads of committee docs set aside to read later with a cuppa and junk mail now all in the recycling box. Wish they wouldn't put my address on the envelopes. Sure it's a ploy to make one read the contents. The envelopes then have to be shredded and taken down to my compost bin - more dinner for the worms.

Britblog 183 on the Telegraph

Was supposed to be my turn to host this weeks roundup but had to bow out - just no spare time. Our new host Mick Fealty stepped into the breach. Talk about throwing him in at the deep end. A quick chat on the phone, what a lovely accent he has, he came up trumps.

Now the roundup has gone all posh, it's posted on the Telegraph website - Britblog roundup 183:British Olympic success shocka edition! Have a good read.

Progress on my family tree project

Since I started my family tree - Summer project: Researching my Family tree, I've had so many emails, it's difficult at this time to answer them all. Seems family trees are in vogue at the moment. My tree is on Genes Reunited - not perhaps the best site to manoeuvre around but found it to be the cheapest online option with so many people matching against names and linking in - a little flashing icon appears when there is a likely match. With one's permission people can link into your tree or you to them if there's any possible name and birth date match. I've signed up on the site for 6 months. My sister Anne-Louise has done the same and is doing her bit by extending her own side. Our paternal cousin Pam who lives in Worcestershire has also come into the frame as well. Disappointingly my other sister Jean says the past it the past so is not interested in getting involved
Must say it is one of the most interesting and rewarding ventures I've ever sat down to do. It takes hours and hours of research and data imputing - unfortunately it's taking over my life at the moment but what the heck. Paper everywhere - using reams of paper and printer ink as well. I'm one of those people who need to see things visually and carefully match one record against another.

GU is not the greatest site to track records that don't have accurate facts. It is the manual type search for birth, death and marriages where one has to scroll though years of records that's the most time consuming. The census records are the best source of information, giving such details as addresses, approximate ages, sex, trades and professions and where born. In the far right column in some years there is a column for listing disabilities. Made me feel momentarily sick to learn it was originally put there so they could gather information on the probable number of people who would most likely end up in the workhouse. In some family lines it's difficult to continue because unfortunately the first census was 1841 and the last census to be released to the public was 1901. The next 1911 will not be officially released online until 2012. Also some of the very old records need a magnifying glass to read them and the writing is often blurred. I bought the biggest one I could find

More useful sites for looking up individual records are Ancestry UK and 1901 census online, it's however more money to search their sites.

The easy part is that all certificates can now be ordered online.

The biggest problem in linking who is who, is identifying the maiden/nee name of a wife if one doesn't have any real information because most old family records are based on the man's family name. Ok if the name is unusual or they have a second name. However people back then seemed to live in very close knit communities with trades being followed through sons for generations so their residence can be a key indicator that it's the correct person one is looking for. Another problem I've found is that many children took on the name of their mothers next husband with some changing it several times in their life so their birth family name is completely different to some census records. Whilst children born to mothers illegitimately or after a father's death don't have the father's name on their birth certs.

As I mentioned before my father's family all seemed to live around Salford, Great Manchester as it was known then and Cheshire. A free search site UK-BMD was recommended to me. Amazingly it is based on the females name. Not all counties have signed up to it yet but Lancashire, Cheshire and Tower Hamlets in London have. Also not all records are available at the moment. They are updating regularly area/parish - claiming they are adding 8000 names a month.

Couldn't believe my luck when I found it. So simple to use - it throws up individual names. Within a few minutes I found the wives of my great grandfather and my great, great grandfather just by inserting their wives first names along with their own. With the site information you can go back to the main records on any of the other sites for the persons index reference locator. Marriage certs for those I've found are now on their way. When they arrive I'll at least be able to confirm the name of my paternal great, great, great grandfather. Family names now included in my direct ancestry list include Heley and Knott. I'm now waiting for Lancashire BMD site to complete Salford and Middleton as part of the Rochdale records to fill in some missing gaps.

Talking over childhood memories with cousin Pam brought tears to my eyes - hidden memories go deep. We are now looking for information about the old fashioned sweet shop nana had in Middleton near the old market. She died in Wythenshaw at her sister's house - I remember going there as a small child. Going to write to the people in the house to see if by the remotest possibility any Davis family descendant still lives there. You never know until you try.

Having a go with Pam's own mother's family was just as quick from the Cheshire BMD site. Was able to go back two generations in a blink of an eye. She's now got a load of printed stuff on the way to her. Think now she is motivated enough to continue what she also started years ago.

As I mentioned in my previous post most of my mother's family originated in London. There was a mass migration of the whole family to Australia on one of the assisted passage ships. Wasn't much left of some parts of London after the war years. Granma took everybody, 2nd husband, sister, children, spouses, grandchildren and as the saying goes "uncle Tom Cobbly and all". Only my mother remained behind. My cousin Richard's own tree has been invaluable and it's certainly saved me a lot of time. Good he's been in touch again and has transcribed it onto Genes United as well so it's now just a matter of copying and pasting some of the records from one tree to another.

What I'm left investigating are some of the ancestors and those left behind. Absolutely fascinating to find distant relations living all around the area I now live. My maternal great grandmother is the most interestingly flamboyant person I've found yet. So many children with different fathers. Still looking for the originally birth certs of two of them. Probably won't be able to get to the end of the story until the next census is published in 3 years time. One of her husbands could be connected to the founder of Greggs bakeries. There's one of the shops just down the road in Kentish Town. With the same family name and his trade listed on a census as a baker - seems to much of a coincidence. Another cert on the way which will prove it one way or another.

What other interesting tit-bits have I found from the census records - Well, there are lots of secrets and scandals on both sides of my family adding a bit of spice to the whole thing. There's a direct ancestor marrying his housekeeper. Another having children with a servant - some real upstairs downstairs stories. There are also all kinds of family trades but whilst some obviously lived a very hard life doing every kind of manual job possible, young children as well. So far not found any notorious or criminal characters. Wouldn't be surprised however if somebody came out of the woodwork.

The saddest thing is what is written on two of the death certs. The wordings a bit graphic which shook me a bit when I first read them. A moment of pain but that is how life goes on.

I'm taking my time doing this tree by collecting key certificates to prove TRUE relations. I'm not just linking names because they appear correct. Don't like to tell my cousins Richard in Australia or Tim in Canada that some of their tree may be wrong. Time will tell but I need to have definitive proof before opening my big mouth.

Rubbish collected from residents bins, information sent to DFRA

More local news - An interesting follow on from one of my posts last week - this week it's Rubbish ‘snoops’ cause outrage

THE row over Islington Council’s “rubbish snoopers ” blew up again this week after residents demanded to know whether dustbin inspectors had been checked for criminal records.

Many people don't know that the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Part II, section 45-48, gives councils legal ownership of residents rubbish. so strictly speaking they can do what they want with it.

The articles says News that the information collected by Islington would be handed over to Defra, central government’s environment wing, further angered them, meaning some residents

Contracted by Defra, it's Resource Futures, a non profit making organisation who actually do the inspecting on behalf of the council. The collated information is sent to Defra who are using the findings to draw up a national recycling map of the country. From RF's website it says...

We have produced strategies for the roll out of new recycling services, assessed performance of kerbside collections

It's all about performance targets and value for money these days. Somebody has to look inside the bins - not something I'd relish doing. How on earth would they be able to collect the information they need if they didn't do it. The Government have been set a recycling target by the EEC and will be fined if they don't meet the deadlines. Likewise the same applies to local councils. Somebody has to set out a long-term stragety for the country's rubbish and waste recycling so we can have more uniformity in what can or cannot be recycled. Presently nation-wide, it varies so much from council to council.

New council houses being built in Islington

Local news is a bit thin on the ground at the moment. However it's great to read that the project to build new council homes in Boleyn Road and Armour Close is finally taking off. It maybe 25 years since the last council houses were built but at least it's a start.

The photo - Deputy Leader Terry Stacy with his beaming smile inspecting the project. He was probably feeling quite chuffed that the build is finally taking off.

The 14 affordable homes – in Boleyn Road and Armour Close – will go straight to families on the council’s 14,000-strong waiting list.Islington is one of the first council’s in London to start building council homes again and if the £10million pilot is a success more are in the pipeline.

Islington council really have to be commended for their efforts in getting their existing housing stock up to standard with all the various refurbishing programs. Then there is the conversions of some properties with small one bedroom flats into family side units together with the back extension builds on to some flats. London street properties have very long shared back gardens often unkept by the residents.

The Housing and Regeneration Bill clearly states the Government should give financial support to councils ‘to acquire, rehabilitate and build new housing’. However the money is not a free handout. Local councils have to contribute to any funding allocation. The financial formulas and conditions are very stringent. With so many families in need of homes, Islington council has been fighting for the maximum funding allocations.

However laudable all these building and regeneration projects are the money obviously has to come from somewhere. To source funds specifically for social housing needs and to meet their financial contributions for each programme, the council has been selling off some of the council owned buildings completely ignoring the controversy surrounding the sales. For those doubting Thomas' who thought the council's big sell-off programme was just for the sake of it, they can now see where some of the money is actually being spent.

Islington's bin snoopers on the prowl

There are claims in the Islington Gazette this week that some celebrities are up in arms after finding out that their property is in one of the streets Islington council have so far targeted with their rubbish bin inspections.

As part of an analysis to help improve Islingon's recycling programme, over 1000 properties in fifty-three streets across the borough have so far been targeted by the so called"bin spies".

Councillor Greg Foxsmith, Islington Council's executive member for the environment is quoted as saying: "This is not about snooping into households' bins or invading privacy. It was an investigation into rubbish to see what is being sent to landfill and how much more could be recycled".

The council have no legal obligation to inform residents their rubbish is being inspected. Can't see what the fuss is all about myself. Rubbish is rubbish. I'd be highly bemused if or when they get round to this street. Thinking of all the yucky things people do throw away like disposable nappies, dog poo, ST's and incontinence pads etc. Wondering how they go about it and what do they do with with the things they take away.

It hasn't happened in this borough yet but I can foresee the council will eventually follow what some other London boroughs are doing. If items that can be recycled aren't, then bring on the rubbish police.