Comments for Our Birmingham

Comment on Birmingham’s Mecanoo library: vision and reality by admin

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:46:02 +0000

Received via email:

What next, Legoo town hall?

Sent from my Windows Phone

Comment on Birmingham’s Mecanoo library: vision and reality by Andy Goff

Andy Goff — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:28:10 +0000

For some reason the new library reminds me of the barbed wire on the Western Front. Perhaps indicative of the battle for hearts and minds this building represents.

Comment on Sainsbury’s ‘u-turn’ in Solihull might inspire supporters of the Selly Oak Lapal Canal link by Chief Vaccine Industry Shill

Chief Vaccine Industry Shill — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:35:56 +0000

Canal towpaths are wonderful not because they have the water (which produces danger and reflection glare) but because they Don’t have any cars driving along them. We could convert any number of public rights of way into pleasant dry canal equivalents if only there was the political will but instead we have a greed-driven motorocracy determined to do the opposite.

Comment on Recycling news by Robin Clarke

Robin Clarke — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:45:09 +0000

I’ve been refilling my laser toners for years via the world-leading refilltoner com in Aston. Easy and far cheaper/better than getting new or remanufactured.
For inkjet you can get Jettec refill kits, again wonderfully cheap and quick and easy and after a bit of practice you can even have no decorations on your fingers after not using gloves! Chip resetters are available for more recent unhelpful designs.

Comment on Whitehall’s relationship with local government by admin

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:32:10 +0000

For details on national debt see Wikipedia or ONS.

Comment on Whitehall’s relationship with local government by Revolutionary Pedant

Revolutionary Pedant — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:40:04 +0000

A debt is something that is a relationship between both a debtor and a creditor.
So who is all this debt owed to anyway? What if they were just told to “f” off, or even [words premoderated by author]…

Comment on Venice makes the case for clean canal transport – Birmingham please note! by admin

admin — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:21:40 +0000

Addressing these points

Yes Phil. Cycling and walking are important (see update to earlier BFOE post) – I do both locally and otherwise use public transport.

In researching this I was surprised to find that London shares the same rate of sinking.

Note that Venice does not want to dispense with boats – just use cleaner models.

The university’s hydrogen project has made proposals for hydrogen transport from the Mail Box to city centre, from the new Sainsbury’s in Selly Oak, and for commuters from the Icknield Port development.

The Commercial Boat Operators have earmarked routes in the region which are suitable for freight. They approve Centro’s recent report and hope to see some positive outworking.

Engineer Terry Fogarty of Fogarty Castings in Acocks Green has designed a lock which is designed to enable a smooth and rapid transit for barges – MP Caroline Spelman has presented this at some House of Commons meeting. See
reference here: http://antidotesite.com/?p=916

Innovate?

Comment on Venice makes the case for clean canal transport – Birmingham please note! by Phil Beardmore (@PhilBeardmore)

Phil Beardmore (@PhilBeardmore) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:07:10 +0000

Venice has no choice but to travel by boat because it’s sinking fast! Canal travel could have a role to play in Birmingham but we are restricted in terms of the volume of traffic that could be handled by the canals and by restrictions on speed, caused not least by the fact that unlike Venice, Birmingham is not flat and has canal locks at regular intervals. The Green Commission Vision Statement focuses on improving public transport and enabling a modal shift to walking and cycling. Nobody is under any illusions about how difficult this will be, there are no quick fixes.

Comment on Good governance: Michael Wilkes by Aileen Cook

Aileen Cook — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:15:19 +0000

Sanity and integrity at last. Thank you.

Comment on Allotment holders and urban gardeners with low blood pressure: listen to Kate Cooper by admin

admin — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:17:42 +0000

Two vested interest reflections via email:

1.Kate Cooper appears to be some kind of Trojan horse operating on behalf of agri-business within the local food milieu to undermine and distract it.

2. Her New Optimists are funded by Minor Weir and Willis which specialises in the procurement of produce from around the world for sale in the UK and Continental Europe. See http://www.mww.co.uk/