Summers End

Well today marks the end of the summer for me and the start of a new year at work and the coming of the colder months. It has to be one of the best summer’s weather wise that can remember in years. It has been warm and sunny.

In other ways it hasn’t been so good. Despite sending a letter with dates to see little Lucy, just after the start of the school holidays nothing was forthcoming. I heard nothing back and to say this disappointed me was an understatement. Haven’t got a clue if I will ever see her again, given what has happened over the summer.

Anyway I hope all of you had a happier summer than me, family wise, and you managed to enjoy the sunny days with fun, love and giggles

Strange Times

Despite the blue skies and the sunshine yesterday it turned out to be a strange day from what I thought was a good morning. It had a lot going for it  in so many ways and it all seemed so promising after the day before.

Not sure what is really causing it but I feel that I want to move on with life and I can't. I know something is missing and I know who it is. The problem is I can't have what I want. There is no way to square a circle as the saying goes. One day things might change but at the moment I feel so frustrate, a feeling I have never dealt with very well. 

What I do I don't really know. Maybe I can feel that cave time coming on that men need from time to time. I need to find a solution to a problem that I feel has no real solution. I just want to get on with life and be with the people I love so much. I know in time something good will happen but until then it all seems so hard. I have faith that things will get better than they feel they are at the moment.

New Season

Today sees the start of the new football season for Southend United and it hasn't started on a good note with all kinds of preseason problems and once again these are to do with the financial state of the club.

 

How we far this year might just come down to how the club gets out of the financial hole we find ourselves in. If money can't be found then we might find our self in receivership and the ten point deduction might force us into the low leagues. Again if we fight off receivership and the players don't end up get paid, as has happened in the past, we could lose as many points in low team moral. Finally with a small squad any player that is injured is to affect terms performance. All round it is going to be a hard year.

Personally I think the heights we achieved last year are beyond the club this year and we will do well to survive the year with the club in it's present state. What is sad is the new ground that has been talked of for so long seems further away now than it ever has. I know one thing it is going to be a hard year for the players and the supporters of the club. Personally I wish all connected to the club well in this most difficult time.

Rutland County Council Parking Surplus

It was interesting to read on the BBC news website about the surpluses made by councils on car parking in our cities and towns around the country. In the year 2011 to 2012 across the country made a total of £565 million, so I thought I would see how Rutland as a whole did compared to the rest of the councils.

It turned out to be a good news story for a change and out of the 359 councils the country came out as a respectable 268th. Over the 2011 to 2012  Rutland County Council made £138,000 out of a approximate population of 37,300 people that live in the county. A increase of of just over 10 percent from the year before according to a recent RAC foundation report. It would be interesting  to know how this money is reinvested into the community and what proportion is used in transport spending or whatever, but I guess that would be impossible to get hold of such information from the council.

What would be nice to see, especially in Oakham and the car parks near the town center is free parking up to an hour or maybe two hours and then charges for longer stays. This might bring more people into the town and onto the high street. This is going to be important as more Supermarkets move into the area and threaten the existence of the small shops and family run business that have made Oakham the place it is over the years. It would be horrible to think of Oakham becoming full of just charity shops, fast food restaurant, coffee shops and estate agents.

It is going to vital in the next few years to protect the High Streets of the two towns in the area if we are going to protect the qualities that make Rutland the place it is and avoid the shop closures we have seen in the past. A list of current charges are available on the Rutland County Council website for 2013 if you are thinking of visiting the towns.