Elggin Sports Centre

We just got back from a trip to see friends in Scotland. It is perhaps unfair to compare Scotish Facilities with our own, as we know that Scotland gets something like £1500 per head more money than England from the Govenment.

However, I would like to say what a superb set up they have. Not only is the pool modern, with a slide, Childrens pool, and "showers" in the pool itself, but it also has an ice skating rink, a relaxation area, sauna, spa pool etc, a bar, a cafe, oh and of course Squash courts.

Not sure I would be doing the Pole Dancing lessons, but I am sure there is something there for everyone :)

Dad and Ivy on Trees

Dad and I have for many years discussed the problem of Ivy on trees.

I see it as a part of Nature, and Dad sees it as a parasite, that kills trees, and spoils the winter tracery of the trees. This we disagree on.
However he has for some time been developing an interesting twist on this, and that is that there are two types of Ivy, one that is fairly harmless, and the other than does indeed live off trees as a paracite. His frustration is that he cannot get anyone to see this, and so if there are any botonists out there who might be interested in investigating this further, please drop me a line. I attach his latest letter to a notable countryman, as he is now 85, championing this beyond the written word is becoming more difficult:

I see you have joined the discussion on the highs and lows of the so-called “common” ivy. You may remember that I wrote to you a year or so back, regarding my experiences of cutting the main “trunks” of two apparently different types of ivy only to find that one(male?) died and within a year was blown off the tree. That ivy grew close to the tree trunk and so did not materially affect the tree trunk diameter. The other with flowers(female?), continued to grow despite not being connected to a ground root----perhaps a parasite or getting food from it’s outstretched leaves and branches?

At the time, as now, you simply extolled the virtues of ivy, particularly on walls, for it’s shelter for small mammals, insects and birds------which I have no quarrel with—but wouldn’t accept my facts of two ivy’s and the detrimental effect on the fine tracery of, especially, winter trees .If it’s not affecting the majority of all sizes of trees in the area where you live, do please come to Mid-Derbyshire and I’ll show you lots!!

My recent letter to The Telegraph was heavily “editored” by the removal of all the facts leaving it with just general agreement and a headline “Kill Ivy”! The editor simply ignored my complaint----I wonder what else he “edits” out without us knowing?

So to sum up. I have no problem with anyone growing ivy up a house or shed if they so wish Whether the female variety behaves the same way on walls as it does on a tree I have no idea.

To destroy the beautiful tracery of a new or fully grown tree with it’s branches of all sizes and making a one foot diameter trunk or branch become three feet diameter does not seem a good idea to me nor, I would think, to any true nature lover or countryman.

Why not try my experiment on two trees near you and write to me (again) in one or two year’s time?!!

I hope the evidence is clearer this time.
Thanks for answering my letter last time.



Sincerely,

Derby is lucky to have a new Westfield Shopping Centre:
http://www.westfieldderby.co.uk/

A fantastic Church to Shopping. Westfield are I believe an Australian company, and I have seen their work in America too.
I do not want to down play the impact this has on Derby, but as ever there is a downside.

I understand that 22 retailers have closed in the "Cathedral Quarter" of Derby since Nov 2007.
Yes, 22 since Nov. Whats that 4 months? how many retailers can there be?

That includes Irongate and Sadler Gate, and I have to admit, that when I last walked through there, it was remarkably quiet. Alot of work has gone into making it smarter, but has it been money well spent?

Perhaps that is because it is now alive only at night, that I cannot say, anyone a point of view?

Our own Derby Paper has highlighted their plight, and the council has offered to reduce the rates. It was a surprise therefore to hear that the council are also offering to reduce the rates in the New Westfield Centre too.
Can I have my rates reduced too please?

I would be interested to know the plans for the shops when they are empty. Housing perhaps? Is that to be the fate of the old Debenhams? There are apparently a number of scenarios for that building, but at the present, I cannot guess what they are.

What is the Purpose of A leisure Centre?



Well, it is with surprise that I return from Holiday to see the Stunner has picked up on my first ever real post. While that was completely unexpected, it is rather nice to know that they are on the ball. Thankyou. It made me re read my post with the dread that I had said something I would regret, but no, I don't think so.
My second post was planned to be about one of my favourite mountain bike routes in Derbyshire, however the Telegraphs interest has encouraged me to develop on the theme of what a Leisure Centre Should be for.
IMHO, it should be an amenity for the residence of the local community. With the growing "Obesity Crisis" everyone is talking about, part of the role of local Government should be to promote physical activity. They do so in part by providing a Leisure Centre.
To do this effectively, the various activities should be widely promoted, and should be priced at a level available to all. While nothing is free these days, my feeling is a Leisure Centre should never be about making money. It should be subsidised by the local government, to make sport of all sorts available to all.


So, let us take a look at Squash.



An area I am familiar with, having played at Ashbourne, Uttoxeter and the private club in Duffield. I will for now ignore the possible parking costs of going to Ashbourne to play squash, but will just note here that at Duffield parking is free, although it might cost a little more in petrol to get there.

A couple of years ago (I think it was 2 years, although time does fly by) I spoke at length to a person at Matlock (to remain nameless) about the cost of Squash Courts at Ashbourne. As a regular player, the cost was high for me, and I was hoping to discuss ideas about how to encourage other players to start playing. We talked, I thought at the time, fruitfully about monthly or annual fees instead of court fees. Cheaper courts during the day, and several other ideas involving the club. I was told at the time that Ashbourne's prices were set to match other Council run courts within 15 minutes of Ashbourne. I might be slightly wrong in the detail, but "compared with courts within 15 minutes" was certainly part of the discussion. I have been racking my brains ever since to work out which courts these are, to no avail. And anyway, nothing was done.


As a player who dreams of playing on average twice per week, the true cost of Ashbourne Squash I realised was £6.35 per week,
(£6.35 x 2 times per week / 2 players per court) or in 50 weeks of the year, £317.50. A considerable sum.
On talking to players at Duffield, I discovered I could play at £120 per year, plus
(£2.00 x 2 times per week / 2 players per court) £2.00 per week or in 50 weeks of the year, £120 + £100 = £220 per year.
A saving of nearly £100 per year. Oh, and if you play at lunch, or early afternoon, courts cost only £1.00 each, handy if you work nearby.
On top of that, you get more people to play, nicer showers, a sauna, a Gym of £1.00 per session, pool, a bar, world class matches to watch... the big down side is the people. I miss the people I used to play with every week. Fortunately I still get to play with them occasionally, even if Dave Short calls me a traitor :)
Nearly forgot to mention, you can still play over the Christmas break, when Ashbourne Leisure Centre is shut.
So, without looking at the prices at Uttoxeter, where I think the pricing is even more favourable I come back to my original point. A leisure centre should not be there to make money. If a private club can offer better facilities at a better price, I have to ask, why can't it be done at our Leisure Centre?

So What Should Ashboune LC Do:

1. Reduce the cost of a Squash court
2. Reduce the cost of courts during the day

But then I do not have to run the Leisure Centre as a business, and make money at it.

The Mole of Ashbourne.

For years I have been promising anyone who would listen in Ashbourne, that ONE DAY, I would write in the "Stunner" the local Ashbourne News, about my thoughts on how "things" are run. We have a local leisure Centre. It is something of which we should be proud.

It is not.

Simply, and I will I hope expand on this later, it is not run for the community, it is run as a money making excercise. I say excercise, because if it were run as a business, then it would be run completely differently.

I will make some notes here about some of the things I would like to talk about. Actually, to be fair, perhaps I should start by listing the good points about Ashbourne.

Good Point. Things I love about Ashbourne.

Shrovetide football
Fantastic Pubs
Great Music Scene.
Schools second to none.
A set of local shops we do not deserve
Friendly People
Countryside to die for, especially if you mountain bike or Walk
Great fireworks.
Alton Towers nearby

Thats Better, now I feel good.

Here are some of "the Moles" Grumbles:

Leisure centre Changing rooms
Time it took to get a Leisure centre.
Jobs worth Manager
Only 2 of the three squash courts now in use
£6.35 for a squash court (Its Derbyshire, not London!)
Having to pay for car parking at the leisure centre.
A Homebase going up! (We are Ashbourne not Derby!)

So, at last, I have them off my Chest. So to Publish.

Goodness, did I really feel that way about Brett in those days?

There must have been something good about the chap, and he has never done anything thing against me, so I must have been poisoned in my feelings towards him by those arround me.
The disinfranchised :)

Still no smoke without fire.