Sainsbury’s show their true colours?

I blogged a few weeks ago about my concerns for the High Street of my home town Malmesbury since planning applications were put in for large stores there by both Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.

keep smiling Justin

Despite all the assurances that Sainsbury’s had made about how they would compliment the towns current retail offering I was not convinced (I just don’t believe or trust them). And it appears now that I am likely to be proved correct if comments allegedly (according to the Telegraph) due to be made by Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King prove correct.

He is expected to say this week that the high street should be shrunk! And also to describe them as a poor second to out-of-town centres and claim that people did not have time to potter between the butcher the baker and the grocer – probably because they aren’t there anymore Mr King – and who is responsible for that?

Just to rub salt into the wound he is also expected to deny that supermarkets were to blame for the decline of high streets and suggest that “Where high streets are in trouble it is usually because they are not providing what the local population wants.”

Well done Mr King – that statement is up there with ‘the cheque is in the post’ and other similar comments!

So perhaps now the people in favour of the application by Sainsbury’s in Malmesbury will see exactly what the rhetoric from Sainsbury’s is – just that – enough to get the application through , and then change their tune!

I accept I don’t live there anymore, but I do feel responsible for the town I grew up in and don’t want to see it go the way of so many other. Let’s hope that Mr Kings comments can be classed as up there with Gerald Ratners comments in 1991 – that would have a ‘positive’ effect in helping Malmesbury escape the Sainsbury’s effect!

UPDATE – It appears that the ‘leaked speech’ was either wrong or pulled as the final speech did not cover these points at all. Pulled due to the bad press or just never there – who knows?

 

An unusual use for a church?

I have blogged previously about my home town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire, it is a small place with a large Abbey church at its centre. At one time it had the tallest spire in the UK (a title now taken by Salisbury Cathedral), but following its collapse it had a slightly chequered career (not helped by Henry the Eighth) until it became the parish church thanks to the generosity of William Stump, a local merchant.

It has had a fairly ‘normal’ history since then being used as a the local C of E church with a fairly active congregation. However for the past 3 years it has seen a significant change in February when for a few days in an attempt to attract younger people – it becomes a skate park!

Now as far as my 87 year old mother is concerned this is not an acceptable use for a church – she becomes ‘angry of Malmesbury’ when the subject comes up in conversation. I accept that the older generation can have issue with this type of thing, but this week I had my first opportunity to actually see the Abbey converted to its skate use. I had a vision of big ramps and scaffolding everywhere, however the truth was somewhat ‘underwhelming’ if I am honest!

The conversion is fairly low key which got me thinking whether or not I feel this is a good idea. It has created national interest in the town and its church, which has to be good. It is also getting people into a building that they would normally go nowhere near – another good thing.

Overall I think all organisations have to change with the times – whether they are religious organisations or other public bodies is irrelevant – I think the Abbey should be congratulated for ‘pushing the envelope’.

 

Supermarkets and small towns.

I am a small town lad and proud of it – we live in a society today that unfortunately believes that ‘bigger is better’. However the ‘small town upbringing’ that I had is, I think, good for providing a better understanding of what really makes our country tick and perhaps make me a little more understanding about the differences between city and county.

a hill top town

My home town is Malmesbury in Wiltshire – described as a hill-top town, it is rather pretty as it is surrounded on three sides by rivers. It has a Norman Abbey (or what is left of it) at its heart and was also the capital of England once (no really!) and has a King buried in the Abbey (Athelstan). It was also the site of the first manned flight (by Elmer the monk).

So, a lot of history and not a huge amount of room for the town to grow, although it has over the last 30 years more than doubled in size. Unfortunately that now makes it of interest to the large supermarket operators and it is now subject to two planning applications – one from Sainsbury’s and one from Waitrose.

Now, I have commented on this blog numerous times before about my view on the negative effect that the supermarket has had on our town centres (and our way of life). Mostly by way they cause the loss of the traditional traders – butchers, bakers etc, and this is my concern in respect of Malmesbury. The town, which has a population of around 5000, still has two bakers, two good butchers and green grocers and delis and similar. It has a real community feel to the High Street and surrounding area, my dread is that the supermarkets will kill this dead.

As usual both supermarket operators are offering ‘the world’ to the town by pushing all the positives to get the planning they desire – link buses to the store etc. My personal hope is that neither application succeeds, but realistically one of the applications will undoubtably be passed, if so I hope it won’t be Sainsbury’s, as their site is too far out of the town. History tells me that they will perhaps also “change the ground rules” once they have the permission!

Waitrose have a site closer to the town centre (within walking distance) and will in my view be a kinder bed fellow for the local businesses if they are forced to have one. Time will tell, but I really hope my home town doesn’t become yet another victim of the supermarket tidal wave! Whatever happens there are interesting times ahead for Malmesbury.

 

‘Green’ hand dryers

It’s official – Dyson hand dryers are the ‘greener way’ of drying your hands. This appeals to me as we have a Dyson Airblade hand dryer in our office – and I have to admit to loving it! (The fact that Dyson are based in my home town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire may also have something to do with it.)

There is nothing more annoying than going into an office or restaurant to find one of those totally anaemic hand dryers that blows cold or really weakly – or both!

The Dyson Airblade was launched in the UK in October 2006, when it was heralded as more hygienic, more energy-efficient and more than twice as fast as any conventional electric hand dryer. Since then it has gained a Carbon Trust rating, reflecting its green credentials.

The research by MIT found that traditional warm air hand dryers and paper towels generate 70% more carbon emissions than the Dyson! The research looked at the entire life cycle of various competing products from cradle to grave – materials, manufacturer, use and end of life – including use of transport, dispenser, waste bins and bin liners. Previous scientific studies into hand drying had tended to focus on the spread (and usually increase) of bacteria, amid growing concern about infection control and the impact of superbugs on public health.

Consumers typically perceive recycled paper towels to be better for the environment. But the report’s researchers found that the environmental impact of recycled towels equals that of virgin paper towels in a number of environmental measures, including CO2 emissions and water consumption. (In the US, 2% of total landfill consists of paper towels). Recycled and virgin towels were both found to generate over three times more carbon emissions than the Dyson Airblade hand dryers, creating waste, consuming more energy and also using more water.

By contrast, the environmental impact of warm air hand dryers occurs during use. Energy-heating elements and inefficient motors tip the sustainability scales, making warm air dryers up to 80% less energy-efficient than the Dyson.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch for Dyson – it isn’t – but it does show that we can ‘green up’ our places of work in some perhaps unexpected ways!

 

Proud to be a Wiltshire man!

Without doubt I hail from one of the UK’s ‘minor counties’ – Although Wiltshire has no major claims to fame, it has had a few famous people;

• Athelstan – the first King of England buried in my home town of Malmesbury
• Diana Dors – big in the 60′s (in more ways than one)
• Sir Christopher Wren – quite an architect in his day!
• Melinda Messenger – famous on two counts!
• Douglas Hurd - one of Maggies lap dogs!
• Michael Crawford – famous phantom

The list goes on. But the news today that Wootton Bassett which is only a few miles from my home town of Malmesbury is to be granted Royal status did make me proud to be a Wiltshire man!

I would like to think that it goes to show that country people (for that is what most of us Witshire MoonRakers are) know how to behave and relate to our fellow citizens.

Well done Royal Wootton Bassett you have done us proud!

 

The First Man to Fly?

The generally accepted first powered flight was by the Wright Brothers at Kitty-hawk in the USA. But were there much earlier ‘flights’ by man?   

   

My home town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire has one such claim and is celebrating it currently. A small hilltop town originally based around a Norman Abbey. Malmesbury has many more claims to fame than perhaps it should for it’s size;   

- once the capital of England (under King Athelstan), England’s oldest Borough, England’s tallest spire (before it fell down) and in this regard, the location of mans first flight!   

The relevant person here is a monk called Elmer (or Eilmer). Now by all accounts Elmer was a bit of a ‘live wire’ and a source of trouble for his colleagues and the Abbot! He does seem however to have been very clever and inquisitive!   

The story goes that Elmer having watched the birds decided that with wings attached he would be able to fly! He attached something akin to a hang glider and leapt from the then Abbey roof (not the current building but probably of a similar height). Supposedly he flew a good distance before crashing and breaking both legs! He then claimed that a tail would have prevented his injuries, but was banned from trying again! The date – 1010. He was apparently a common site in the streets of Malmesbury after his accident, hobbling around.   

Our 'hero'

 

This tale is mentioned in the writings of William of Malmesbury a well known learned Norman writer of a few years later (the town also held one of the largest libraries of it’s day). So is not perhaps some wild tale made up by the locals! He is also celebrated in a stained glass window in the abbey.  

When I was a child growing up in Malmesbury in the 70′s the flight was reenacted with the help of the local RAF base and a stunt man (Colin Skeaping of Star Wars fame – he was Mark Hamills stunt double). Unfortunately the current celebrations are lower key (due to insurance problems) and revolve around kite displays) but this is still a claim that the town is proud to make!

 

Always a country boy?

I have always considered myself to be somewhat of a ‘country boy’. I spent my first eight years in Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds and my later childhood in Malmesbury in Wiltshire.

Malmesbury is famous for being England’s oldest Borough, having an Abbey which had the tallest spire in England (before it collapsed), a flying monk (who broke both legs) and finally for being the Capital of England under King Athelstan (honestly!). Despite this, both were small towns with little going on and my later youth was somewhat parochial in nature!

The high spots of Malmesbury in my youth as I recall were the open air swimming pool and the numerous pubs (at least 8 if I remember correctly for a population of 1500!). When I moved to Nottingham as a student I was very happy that it was a city (with even more pubs), but with a very friendly feel – still the case and one of Nottinghams greatest attributes.

I now love going back to Malmesbury (my mother still lives there), the pace of life is so much slower and the countryside is beautiful, I find I relax so quickly! It is also dark at night as there is no ‘city glow’! It has changed though, the population has more than tripled and it is even home to a well known music festival (Womad)! All 3 schools in the town I went to have also been demolished and redeveloped since I left, perhaps this should tell me something!

The one thing that sometimes makes me miss my city life when I am here is a lack of Internet access. My mother does not have broadband (she is 85 so it’s not likely!) and the town has a poor signal on O2 (ie. No 3G). Consequently any access via my iPhone is SLOW! I am blogging this from my iPhone but it will take minutes for this blog to upload (assuming it doesn’t crash).

Does this mean I am turning into a geeky towny? Probably not, the pleasures of the countryside are too deeply etched into my soul, but please let’s improve national data coverage!

 

Mobile access for all?

In the last two weeks I have become much more aware of the ‘data gap’ between city and country in the UK.

Before Easter I was in France for a week, in a very rural part of the Pas-de-Calais. I had my iPhone with me so was able to keep up to date with my office email etc. At all times I had at least an Edge connection in speed terms for my iPhone (and often 3G), this enabled me to work effectively (and update my blog).

Coming back to the UK my wife drove up the A1 back to Nottingham, so I sat and intended to do some updating to emails etc on my iPhone. unfortunately the signal was very poor (I am on O2) and the best connection I could get was GPRS (read VERY slow for this). I Twittered to this effect as we drove and actually got this reply from Vodafone offering me a better signal if I moved!

Vodafone UK (@VodafoneUKdeals)
04/04/2010 11:49
@Spuddey If you ever fancy comparing our coverage in Lincolnshire here are the maps bit.ly/7YDWuG we’d love to have you onboard ^BH
Sent with Tweetie

Once back in Nottingham all was well again – full 3G and a speedy iPhone.

However, this weekend I am in Malmesbury in rural Wiltshire. I am back to GPRS again (in other words SLOW). I have been trying to sell the idea of iPhones to my brother who lives in Malmesbury as well. But it’s difficult to show it off to it’s best at snail pace – he is unlikely to get one if mobile speeds remain so slow in his area!

But, when I say rural it’s not really! It’s only 5 miles from the M4 and 16 miles from Swindon! If we are really going to all have access to the mobile web (and it is going to become an essential part of life in the next few years) there needs to be some network sharing – can you see this happening? The maps above indicate each networks coverage, you can see that combining them all would give awesome coverage. But still there would be large areas (mainly rural) that have poor coverage.

We all take mobile access for granted in the cities of the UK, as usual there is a sub culture that is ignored – the country. Perhaps this is something that our new Government when voted in (who ever they may be) could try to sort out? We are all being told that we will be able to do so much from our mobile devices in future (including paying for things) but until this issue is sorted out it cannot be all-inclusive!