Team Kernow disqualified?

Campaign Kernow (formally the Cornwall Commonwealth Games Association) has been told that it has no hope and Bob Hope of fielding a team in any Commonwealth Games gig in the future. That said, campaigners are hoping that Cornwall can be represented at the Games in Glasgow in 2014.

They are considering submitting a judicial review against the Commonwealth Games Federation. Games organisers called it a "frivolous" act and said they would oppose any legal action.

Graham Hart, CK head honcho, campaign leader, Cornish musician, sportsman and renowned Cornish campaigner (his words, not mine) says, "It is a sad day indeed when the so-called “ Friendly Games “ has forced us to take this action but we will not be denied our birthright, go away or take no for an answer. We are now at the point of taking what we hope will be the final step for acceptance into the Federation."

From the opening lines of the campaign website, Campaign Kernow is clearly a bit of divine cause for Mr Hart - "In October 2002, I was given the vision of taking a Cornish team to the Commonwealth Games. By December 2003 I had put together a quality executive committee, which include international and professional sportsman to form the CCGA. Exactly one year later we applied for membership of the CGF, who refused us ‘ out of hand ’. Since then further researches have strengthened our claim to bring us to where we are now."

Kirsty Winstanley - an English victim of an unequal union

Every now and then, you come across a story which sort of sums up this unequal union of equals and the appalling price that citizens in England are expected pay for New Labour's Grand Plan. When, because you are English, you just don't seem to qualify for stuff that is routine everywhere else in Britain.

Today, supporters of the late young mother Kirsty Winstanley, have been lobbying at Westminster to try and get cerival cancer screening down to the same age levels as the rest of the UK.

This from Sky.com -
"Kirsty Winstanley, 23, from St Helens, died ten months after being diagnosed with the disease.

She had been too young to be screened in England. If she had lived anywhere else in Britain, she would have qualified.

Kirsty had called for the cervical cancer screening age in England to be lowered to 20, in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Currently, women in England are not invited for the test until they reach 25.

Kirsty's brother Ian Atherton said: "She felt bitter that she didn't have the chance to save her own life.

"If the Government hadn't raised the screening age from 20 to 25 in 2003, she could have had the opportunity to have the smear test, and could have caught it. She would have had two years from 20 to 22 to catch this disease, and actually be able to survive."

Dear Peter.......

To Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales

Mr Hain, whilst watching BBC's Questiontime on 14th January, I noticed that in reply to a question from the audience (34 minutes in), about David Miliband and his loyalty message, you said, (and I quote directly from BBC iPlayer), "And actually, when it comes down to it, my constituents say to me... They're not interested in all this nonsense and all this media Westminster bubble stuff,what they're interested in is who's going to take this country forward so that jobs are protected, so that schools are protected, so that the health service continues to be invested in and continues to perform....."

Well, that surprises me somewhat. I mean, seeing that Health and Education are now devolved issues, are the good people of Neath in Wales really that bothered about the English education system and the English health service? Surely, they will be thinking of their own health and education issues when they can actually vote for them - in the elections to the Welsh Assembly?

But maybe they are confused? If they are indeed raising such subjects to you, maybe you should be correcting them - and telling them that Welsh health and education has nothing to do with you. But as Secretary of State for Wales, you can vote on English Health and Education issues but not Welsh ones - and that all enquiries should be addressed to the Welsh AM for Neath?

As you are the Secretary of Wales - and so are presumably defacto aware of the devolution settlement, I am somewhat surprised that you should have made such an elementary error. I would be grateful if you could reply to this and let me know if what you said was, indeed a slip of the tongue - or an attempt to continue to confuse the people of England as to who is responsible for what..