Quakes in the Lakes....

This morning there was an earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter Scale. It was centred around Ulveston, South Lakes, Cumbria..... That isn't that far from Sellafield's family of expanding nuclear power stations and also the proposed underground nuclear waste dump at Copeland.

Although only small, this quake shows that there is seismic activity in the area around the Lake District - last month for instance, they had another quake measuring 2.8.

Do you think we should we be building nuclear stations and storing nuclear waste anywhere near what is becoming a potential problem area? After all, the projected danger time for the most radioactive waste to be stored is around 100,000 years - that's 25 times the age of Stonehenge - and quite a bit longer than a 5 year parliamentary term...

Still, in their various cabinet guises, the Miliband boys have assured us that everything is A-OK and there's nowt to worry about....... So that's alright then?

Geology extra! - The most stable rocks in the UK are in the Cairngorms, Scotland. They are also amongst the oldest in the world, vying for longevity with the Laurentian Shield rock formation in Canada.

Politics, eh. Don't you just love it!

A celebration...

Today is our day.
Time for a bit of tradional music from Carolanne Pegg - The mouse and the crow.


Happy St George's Day to you all.

Hey, our Chief Exec' says it's OK to celebrate Englishness!

Bill Taylor, our local council's Chief Exec' is a larger than life character - especially for the staid types of West Lancashire.

Bill, resplendent in nice tan, designer spex and personalised number plate on his Range Rover is the type of dude who likes to keep up with the times. One of his current projects is a weekly video blog where he likes to tell it as it is to the West Lancashire masses.... The world according to Bill...

This week, Bill (a Scotsman by the way)expounds his belief that we should all celebrate our proudyness in being English - and hey, you too need not feel ashamed.

It was all going so well until Bill-baby said this -

'...Being patriotic is second nature to most Scots and Irish people, but sometimes it seems to me at least that English people have some difficulty in expressing their patriotism. Until recently, to be found waving a Union flag was to somehow be associated with far right politics. Fortunately, the ability to fly the Union flag and to be English is much more mainstream'

Bill, in my humble opinion, you should 1) invest in a book of flags 2) invest in an autocue for your videos.

Nuclear sites announced.... where will they go I wonder?

Is this what the average Lake District fell walker will be wearing in 50 years time?

Possibly.... Anyway, great news!
List of 11 new nuclear sites released.....

10 of the 11 sites are in England, the third most densely populated country in the world!

Solitary token site announced in Wyfla north Wales, but due to vociferous local opposition from Welsh nationalists, it is expected that this power station will never be built.

HOWEVER, due to the passing of the new planning bill last winter, local opposition in England will not be allowed to deflect the government from their new-build zeal. That planning bill was obviously shepherded through parliament by the 'Aye' votes of Welsh, Northern Irish and especially Scottish Labour MPs.

All the government have to do is quote the mantra enshrined in the new bill.... And that mantra is... 'For the common good'... It means 'for the common good of the people of the whole of the UK'....

Yet again, England is left, bereft of any national representation. Yet again, it is England's few remaining green spaces which will bear the brunt of this massive round of toxic new builds - and all because we like to leave out tellies on stand-by..

And yet again, during the winter parliamentary session, it will be Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs who will 'legitimise' this process when they vote it through.....So that's alright then.

And as for all you people out there who believe that English local planners still have the power to reject the planning permission, think again. This extract taken from the super friendly Office of Nuclear Development website 'Hey, thank God for nuclear power!'...

'Developers may apply to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (an independent body set up to decide on planning applications for projects of national significance) for development consent for those sites which are found to be strategically suitable in the Nuclear NPS. Before a developer applies for permission it has to consult relevant Local Authorities and local communities'.

For those that don't know, the Infrastructure Planning Commission is a government appointed quango of yes-monkeys each with a wad of cash in one hand and a rubber stamp in the other. They have the power to impose anything Gordon Brown wants, anywhere in England.

Oh....... and just in case you were wondering where all the toxic nuclear waste is going to be buried? Got it in one! beneath the green sward of the Lake District...... William Wordsworth will be pleased.