Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Severe Weather Warning- Britain
Ok people of Britain a serve weather warning has been announced for major snow.... It`s time to PANIC , time to pack the petrol station with panic buying, the shops as well. Time for the schools to close the rail network to shut , buses to not run. Time for idiots to drive to fast as they do in the rain so they can get home quicker not worrying if they kill someone on the way.But we must not complain as im told Britain comes to a stand still only because we are not use to this fluffy white stuff called snow. I have heard that Alaska came to a standstill the other day as something called the sun came out and scared the shit out of all of them and they couldn't drive on the roads without snow and ice. Sometimes wonder if we are a 3rd rate country the way we shut down.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Memory Lane: Hub’s back on the Prom
" The new Information Bureau on the Blackpool Promenade, which has been much admired and much used by visitors only needs its clock for completion" Dated: 1934
BLACKPOOL’S Tourist Information Centre is now back on the Promenade, which many would say is its natural home.
Yet, over the decades, staff have found themselves going backwards and forwards more times than a double deck tram (remember them?) trundling along the nearby tracks.
Well, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration, but the provision of visitor information on the seafront has certainly been something of a moveable feast, as the oldest of our pictures, from the early 1930s, shows.
This was Blackpool’s mobile information bureau, little more than an embellished wooden hut, being transported by tractor and trailer (registration FV 93) from its winter quarters to its summer home by the promenade railings. Look closely and you’ll glimpse the old Illuminations windmill to the left, an icon which Lights fans live in hope of seeing restored some day.
In 1934, Blackpool’s visitors were literally flocking to the showpiece Art Deco bureau almost opposite West Street. As The Gazette reported in August of that year: “The new Information Bureau on the Blackpool Promenade has been much admired and much used by visitors and only needs its clock for completion”.
This was quickly followed by the announcement that “trippers and excursionists” could now “count their happy hours on holiday by the electric clock above the entrance to the facility”.
The first signature in the visitors’ book was that of Frank Pettingell, stage and screen actor who, at the start of the 20th century, was a cartoonist and assistant reporter on The Gazette. He wrote: “Blackpool – the name spells magic and joy. No place like it – motto Progress.”
This fine-looking bureau, with its structural problems, closed in 1981 (to be demolished two years later, along with the public lavatories beneath) with the opening of the tourist information centre in Clifton Street.
A new seasonal centre rose from the rubble, but it was all change again in 2008 when it became the year-round offering with the closure, on cost grounds, of the Clifton Street counter.
Within a season or so, the Promenade building was bulldozed as part of the regeneration works and visitor centre staff were back in Clifton Street.
That was until last Wednesday when the brand new information centre opened its doors to the public from a new permanent home inside Festival House, on the new Tower Festival Headland, opposite Blackpool Tower.
Cannabis smoke sparks huge alert
Fire officers donned HazMat suits like the ones above
A MAN smoking cannabis sparked a major chemical scare.
More than 20 firefighters, police patrols, paramedics, and the Fire Brigade’s Hazardous Materials Team were called to a property in Clifton Drive, Lytham, after a resident reported poisonous fumes pouring into his flat.
Fire crews from Penwortham, Preston, St Annes, and Blackpool raced to the scene fearing it could have been a deadly carbon monoxide leak.
However, the emergency was called off after it appears the man in the flat below was found to have been smoking cannabis.
John Taylor of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We sent the appropriate level of cover for a potential hazardous material situation.
“The man called and said he was having trouble breathing and we have to take that seriously.
“If we don’t attend and there is an incident – it’s not something we can risk.”
The drama unfolded at 8.50pm pm on Thursday.
Emergency services attended the scene and removed the man from the flat.
Two firefighters in Hazardous Materials (HazMat) suits were sent into the building to check for fumes but returned negative results.
They declared the flat clear of fumes but police officers called at the flat below.
It was there they found a man smoking cannabis.
Lancashire Police confirmed a local man was given a police caution for possession of cannabis following the incident.
A spokeswoman for the force said: “Police were called by around 8.50pm on Thursday to reports chemicals could be smelt.
“A 38-year-old man was given a police caution for possession of cannabis.”
Mistakes made in £3m housing deal
Crystal Road hotels bought by Blackpool Council
AN investigation into a controversial deal which saw Blackpool Council sell £2.7m worth of houses for just £3 has cleared councillors of any wrongdoing.
But it has found there were “mistakes” in the transaction.
Although the full report has yet to be made public, it has been revealed valuations were not properly checked.
Council leader Coun Simon Blackburn launched the inquiry last July.
He had been critical of the previous Tory administration’s handling of the deal which saw failing holiday accommodation bought up as part of a social housing pilot scheme.
Among the deals at the centre of the probe was the purchase of a property on Crystal Road from former Tory councillors Ian and Susan Fowler.
Other transactions which came under the spotlight were the council’s purchase of former hotels Shadowlands on Pleasant Street, and the Saville on Tyldesley Road, and the King Edward Apartments on Central Drive.
Coun Blackburn said today: “As a result of ongoing controversy, speculation and gossip, and following a formal request from a member of the public, I asked KPMG LLP to conduct a wide ranging review of the transactions which saw £3m of public money spent on properties that were later sold for a much smaller sum.
“The report is clear in its view there was no wrongdoing by any member of the council, past or present.
“There are a number of key recommendations to ensure no such situation arises in the future – not least ensuring basic structural surveys are conducted prior to future purchases, and valuations are robust.
“Those council staff responsible have now either left the authority, or have been dealt with through internal procedures.”
A property at 25 to 27 Crystal Road was sold by the Fowlers to the council for £180,000. It now looks set to be demolished due to structural problems.
Coun Blackburn added: “It is clear valuations were not correctly triangulated and checked.
“A full structural survey would have revealed major structural deficits with 25/27 Crystal Road.
“A formal decision about what to do with 25/27 Crystal Road has yet to be taken, however, demolition is the most likely and cost-effective option.
“We will examine all options to try and insulate the public purse from any further losses due to the mistakes made in the original transaction.”
Coun Peter Callow, who was leader of the council at the time of the transactions in 2010, said he was pleased councillors at the centre of the decision had been “completely exonerated”.
The Fowlers both lost their seats at last year’s local elections.
Coun Callow said: “I didn’t doubt that myself and the rest of the executive, as well as Ian and Susan Fowler, would be completely cleared of any wrong-doing.
“If something is recommended by an officer, you trust they have done their job.”
Using Homes and Communities Agency funding, the Saville was bought for £200,000 and the King Edward Apartments for £850,000.
A portfolio worth £2.7m was sold in December 2010 to housing group Great Place for £3 so they could revamp them and convert them back into family homes.
Bispham-based cabbie David Palmer spent £256 on delivering 6,000 leaflets in a bid to discredit Mr and Mrs Fowler ahead of the May local elections, and called for an investigation.
Musings: A Spamification Situation…
“Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren’t so exciting.” Bill Gates
Musings: A Spamification Situation… Ham I am, Not Spam…
Periodically, a glitch causes our comments to get flagged as blog spam but then it self-corrects in a few days or so. I can be a bit of a ham but spam I am not! Yesterday, I used my Photo Challenge post to bring attention to this issue. I used humor to inform you that my comments on your blog posts were being tossed into your spam box by Akismet; owned by Automattic. One way to correct it is to open your spam box and unspam comments from legitimate sources and fellow bloggers. Some of you did and some have not. Please check your spam boxes regularly as legitimate comments do end up there… Some of mine are still there. I have sent a note to both WordPressand Akismet support about my disappearing comments on your blogs. Those comments are in your spam box and you can retrieve them; unless you’ve already emptied your spam box. I check mine regularly because some of your comments have ended up there too. Since reading/liking/commenting takes a lot of time, I’d like you to know that I’ve visited many of your blog posts. Thank you!
“Who has time to manually spam web sites? That can’t be very cost effective.” Eric Cheng
Musings: A Spamification Situation… Spam bugs us all ….
What have I done so far? I wrote to both WordPress and Akismet Support. When I didn’t hear back… as I suspect the weekends are not the best time to reach them, I sent Matt Mullenweg a friendly note too. I’m learning a lot from this event, like the fact that Matt’s sister, Charlene, had something to do with the name Akismet. I love the word kismet and, of course, my first intuitive response is: What is the universe trying to tell me? OK, no jokes even as I’m tempted to crack one. Below are my letters.
Hello WP Engineers/Akismet,
I follow a lot of blogs and usually when I leave a comment, it either appears right away or a message shows that it is being held in moderation. Today I noticed that my comments were disappearing; even the replies on my own blog which then showed up in my spam box. I do use both of my names and have never had a problem. Please advice as I have a lot of blogs that I need to catch up on with comments.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Hi Matt,
I love WordPress and support all the wonderful innovations you bring to us regularly. I have apersonal blog that I started in 2008. Yesterday, out of the blue, all my comments were flagged as spam. I have reached out to WordPress and Akismet support, even paid $ for an API keyand no one has responded. The problem persists. This is incredibly frustrating as I follow a lot of blogs and I’m trying to catch up on commenting on others posts… Please Help. I don’t know what else to do!
Thank you!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
If you believe that your comments are being trapped by Akismet and should not be, you should contact Akismet support. I hope they will be quick to respond to you. More below. Yeah, more later…
“No one bill will cure the problem of spam. It will take a combined effort of legislation, litigation, enforcement, customer education, and technology solutions.” David Baker
Musings: A Spamification Situation… Typical Spam we don’t want.
The last 24 hours have been a great learning opportunity as I read everything on the Akismet siteand learned a few things. I have some thoughts about this situation that I will not voice quite yet… But let’s say it is a lesson on the downside of what we do. Blogging is a joyful and creative endeavor. We take it seriously enough to want to support each other and, when things get complicated, we feel the pinch. I will “Like” all of your outstanding posts in my email box, leave some comments, and start afresh with you. In the coming weeks, I will change my blogging efforts and downscale my schedule. Love to all! What are your thoughts? Have your comments been flagged as Spam? What did you do to correct the problem? What lessons were learned?
Do share? Thank you!
Positive Motivation Tip: Spam stinks but being called one is a real drag… Keep striving to correct erroneous labeling.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos No Spam, Sphaerophoria – Spam Bug, Viagra ad, viaWikipedia and/or Flickr
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