Made In Preston – the blog

The Coastal Management Plan for the next 100 years has been issued and the coast around the Ribble estuary is largely to be protected except for an area on the south bank that will be allowed to make a managed change.

A bit of a surprise as 10 years ago it was common to see maps showing Preston on the coast with the Fylde underwater except for a few islands by 2050.  Ten years on maybe the rate of change doesn’t make it sound probable anymore.

Reading that further does it make the climate change warnings overall seem a bit more distant and with a lesser scale.

A couple of thousand are said to have completed cards objecting to the plans for Winckley Square.  As I wasn’t aware of what the objectors are voting for, except a vague statement that the square should be restored to its previous appearance and not liking the new design, particularly the totem pole, I thought I’d have a deeper look. In the library is a book by Marian Roberts who was a keen local historian and her book about Winckley Square is interesting reading. 

The square appears to have had three general forms.  Originally it had a large area in the middle that looks like flowers and trees, with a number of other beds scattered about in a pattern. Some time later it appears the square was divided into plots which acted as gardens for the surrounding houses. Then it became the grass and tree area we know today, although it had a period of neglect and almost became a car park.  Round that time what now appears as civic vandalism was rampant and many good buildings in the square were demolished and replaced with ‘modern’ offices.

At the moment the square is very green with grass and a lot of trees. Personally I’d like it to be more open with floral beds and surrounded by trees.  The lights are fine, the fountains will be fine.  When will this be settled?

North End well beaten with a mixed display at Bristol with Mr Ferguson in charge for the first time. There’s time, but with Chelsea scoring 7 and playing PNE in the cup next week the defence are no doubt practicing blocking the goal line. Although Darren F says attack and entertainment is his philosophy so lets hope he gets it right.

Preston’s plight is similar to a number of north-west teams this season. Even the mighty Man.U. are looking out of sorts but still high in the table.  Some glimmers of light,  last weekend on TV, Everton and Wigan looked like they’d turned a corner and maybe they’ll move up the table.

Some common themes are management disruption. Preston, Bolton, Burnley, Wigan, Man.C. have had changes to their managers. Man U, Liverpool have tensions between the fans and board. Man.U. and Liverpool have also had injuries to some key players.  The recession is also increasing the damage and, although denied, this and the fall of the pound against the Euro makes overseas clubs able to make bids that those with the UK£ will find more difficult to turn away and more difficult to buy replacement.

Another feature is that Chelsea and Arsenal are playing great football this season.

The north-west has been very successful in football terms in the last decade and even places like Morecambe and Fleetwood are having their best time.  Can’t really account for this but hope that things aren’t changing just yet.

Went to visit Mr Growing With Nature at Pilling last Saturday as he was to tell us how to grow our organic vegetables better, which seemed a bit of a contradiction as he sells them to us.  A murky and cold day in the depths of the Fylde with country lanes as narrow as the car and a misty view of the fells. Turned into a very narrow lane and were confronted by a convoy of 4×4’s.  A local shooting club who’d been out firing at geese. A bit of a mystery to me about what sort of enjoyment there is shooting at geese as they fly in their majestic formations slowly and at low altitude, while chatting to each other, over the Fylde.  I do eat chicken and turkey, and maybe the wild geese get a better life, and perhaps hunting them is what humans have always done. Yet I know that if I deliberately killed another creature that wasn’t a threat I wouldn’t sleep peacefully ever again.

Todays Times newspaper names Preston as one of the top ten most resilient places in the UK during the recession.  The story is from a report by a group called the Centre for Cities. It says the claimant count has increased by 1.3% (2,882 people) in Preston between February 2008 and November 2009. This compares with the lowest, Cambridge, with 0.8% increase and the highest, Hull, with 3.7%.  Surprisingly perhaps Blackpool was slightly better than Preston while Wigan and Rochdale did quite a bit worse.

Without reading the report there are a lot of unanswered questions. For example, the report says the government should put money into Swindon because of its high increase.  Yet not long ago Swindon was the place with zero unemployment. Is it not more important to say how many are claiming, not just the change since 2008.

Swindon has lost 3,813 jobs which although over twice the percentage of Preston is a lot less than double the number. If Preston had 3.1% it would be 6,800 and one of the highest numbers. So percentage isn’t telling a full story either.

Why are Preston and Blackpool relatively unchanged? Is it that many people are working in the public sector or on government projects?  If so, what happens if  the government starts cutting the public sector later and the money has gone into Swindon.

If Preston was one of the worst the increase would be over double which would be another 3,000 on the dole. A lot of people.  Take Birmingham, it has an increase of 41,000. That is serious stuff.

So to the 2,882 who have lost their jobs and probably some more who don’t claim, this ‘resilience’ is not really good news and they’ve as much right to government help as anyone else. The M4 corridor is a job magnet, Swindon will soon be doing fine without help.

Baxi say they are geared up to deliver up to 20,000 combined heat and power units a year from their Preston, Bamber Bridge, plant. 

The government is issuing contracts worth billions of pounds for green energy but the great majority of the manufacturing work is expected to go overseas.  Combined Heat and Power (CHP)  isn’t regarded as a ‘green’ technology in government terms although it gives the capability to return power to the grid or for use in the building reducing dependence on the grid. It’s downside being that it is still using gas. So no government green manufacturing contracts are coming to Preston for this.  They’re going to Germany and Denmark, perhaps China.

Micro-CHP sounds an interesting solution but I don’t know a lot about it.  Is it more efficient to generate electricity in small generators, does that adequately offset the distribution costs and need to import?  Baxi claim their domestic unit, the Ecogen, is 90% efficient compared to 35% efficiency for grid electricity. 

Security of supply is a good point, as we did have an electricity black-out for one hour last month and for several hours 2 years ago, in the final stages of X-factor as well, but I don’t think I’d spend much to reduce the risk. You’d need a smart meter as well I’d think.  At the end of the day I’d be looking at how much the boiler costs and how much my gas and electricity bill will change. That’s why green often doesn’t get bought, it’s not cost efficient and a government grant is needed.

Baxi also supply a Ground Sourced Heat Pump although it isn’t known where that is made, probably not Preston.  I’ve read good things about these and might take a further look.

Perhaps we could take advantage of the governments £400 boiler scrappage scheme.  Notice that B&Q are selling a boiler for £399 so do you get a pound back and find you’re own fitter. Surprising that I read that a new boiler typically costs about £2000 to install.  The pipes are there and so is the gas,  if that is the case it costs £1600 to remove and fit the boiler, then adjust a couple of feet of pipe. Should take under a day.  Nice work if you can get it.  Our house has warm air heating and the previous owner bought a new boiler that cost a lot more than £399.

Found this on the Baxi website. Quote:

What is mCHP?

Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration, is the simultaneous production of useful heat and electricity from a single source. Large scale CHP, suitable for industrial and commercial applications, has been around for some time.

Micro or Mini-CHP (mCHP) refers to the small-scale production of heat and power for  individual commercial buildings, apartments and individual homes. These units meet the demand for space heating and hot water whilst providing electricity to supplement or replace the grid supply.

Why mCHP?

mCHP is a true low (or zero) carbon alternative to a gas boiler.

Installation of mCHP appliances – in existing or new buildings – can be more cost-effective and less disruptive compared to other renewable and low carbon technologies, as installation and servicing relies largely on current skills required for heating installation.

What are the benefits of mCHP?

• Carbon emissions are reduced by generating electricity at the point of use – avoiding the system losses associated with central power production.
• Economic savings are generated for the user, by reducing imported electricity and by selling surplus electricity back to the grid.
• Security of supply is greatly enhanced by reducing reliance on centralised power production

End of quote from Baxi website.

Two Fieldfare birds have been visiting our garden this week.  Have never heard of them before, let alone seen one.  The snow has driven them out of the country and they’ve nearly stripped our holly tree of berry’s.

We read that Redwings are doing the same and we thought that was what they were but they’ve more intense black lines round the eyes and have a very pale breast brighter than a thrush.  Bit bigger than a blackbird although the blackbirds are chasing them away.

We’ve also had a woodpecker having a go at our ’superfortress’ of mixed sunflower seeds.  The woodpecker is greedy, versatile and strong with no refinement but very attractive.  

The ’superfortress’ is the best squirrel proof seed feeder we’ve had, but seems to be out of production. It’s other great feature is that the top is attached by twisting the lid. So re-filling is done with no screwing or taking it down.  The squirrels have been scratching it but the top is too big and strong for them to turn or lever off.  It’s also broader than high so it’s easy to get seeds into it.  Since buying it I’ve never seen another and it’s a few years old now.  If you’re out there ’superfortress’ maker send me an e-mail.

A couple of days ago around 9am hundreds of geese passed nearby in several large V’s heading south west which seemed to be towards Blackpool Airport.  If they were heading for Martin Mere, south of the Ribble they’d be going more south.  How come they are moving at 9am as I’d have thought southerly headed birds would be at the end of their journey, so what time did they set off, was it dark. Not sure what is going on with geese at the moment as one day they pass north or north east and a couple of days later it’s the opposite direction.  Great sight and sound though.

Certainly adds spice to the managerial roundabout when PNE get a new man and Sheff W, a rival Championship club, take on the old one.

On Wednesday at 4pm Darren Ferguson and Derek Shaw had a press conference to introduce the new manager. Didn’t seem like it was rehearsed as neither made inspirational listening. From it I took that Darren Ferguson likes to see entertaining football, he doesn’t know how much money he has and I’d think he must tire of people asking if his dad agrees.  Derek Shaw referred to Darrens father being a good contact and saying the money would be shown if the target looked right. 

Darren has brought his assistant, Kevin Russell, and a trainer, Scott Taylor, from Peterborough so Rob Kelly is probably looking for a job after his great result last Saturday. Having read the Peterborough local newspaper these are people who have been with him for some time and the assistant is someone close.

The match on Saturday is postponed which will help familiarisation.

Alan Irvine must be happy to walk into a new job so quickly and probably still getting his compensation from PNE.  An interesting position with Sheff Wed almost at the bottom and having the potential to be a very big club although never achieving it. It would be decent for him to do well although not too well, making PNE look bad isn’t what is wanted, so it’s mixed feelings.

Halfway through the season.  23 games to go and 45-50 more points needed.   14 wins,  8 draws, 1 defeat although 3 defeats might be enough.  In reality the play-offs seem unlikely but possible.

Around 9pm news organisations started announcing they ‘understood’ Darren Ferguson is to be the new PNE manager.  Started on the BBC, then Sky, then LEP.  LEP comments pages still on the daily 200 inputs.  Most supportive of the new appointment.

Await the official announcement.  Nothing settled till it’s settled.

Don’t remember a cold spell like this for a long time. Certainly not at this time of year. Seem to recall 1981-ish being very cold in early January.  Went out this morning at 10am and it was minus 3C and ony 1C at 1pm.

Drove to Ansdell and walked along the beach to St Annes, as it’s south facing thought it would be a bit sheltered. Beautiful sunny day, no wind except for a slight northerly drift that kept some avenues white, and the first time I’ve seen ice and snow on the beach. Nice away from the traffic on a quiet day with the sun low in the sky at midday.

Walking back the tide had come in and was lapping close to the dunes with the ice giving it a paste like consistency.  Could see Snowdon quite prominent on the horizon, the gas rigs and windmills in Liverpool Bay as well.

Climbing off the beach to Fairhaven Lake there was an excellent view over the lake towards the white church tower at Ansdell reflecting the sun with a misty sort of look. Birds walking on the lake must have been a bit confused. There was a hole in one bit where they were queueing for a bath.  Didn’t see a lot of birdlife though.

The last few weeks the Fylde skies have been full of geese formations flying in all directions , but not today. Have been curious about why some geese are flying north and others flying south. Did they turn back when they saw the weather further north.

Photograph of Lytham St Annes Lifeboat with tractor -  4th January 2010

Photograph of St Annes Pier with snow – 4th January 2010

After a week of events with the sacking of Alan Irvine and the speculation and controversy surrounding it the team answered back.

Some say Colchester are in a league lower than PNE but they are 4th and it would have been easy for it to be a difficult game.  So you can’t win with some.

The Evening Post website letters section has been red hot all week with over a 1000 inputs. Many wanting the board sacking and Derek Shaw out.  They haven’t asked for the ground to be knocked down but they might as well.

A continuing rumour is that there is something big to be announced perhaps on Monday when the stock exchange opens. Then again rumours take a life of their own as fragments are drawn into the evidence and there are many who like to feed them.

Whether this match is Rob Kelly’s interview and he did well time will tell. There is a lot going on with Bolton sacking their manager and seeming to be intent on getting Burnley’s manager despite him having recently turned down Celtic. Blackburn are having a bad run as well but big Sam hasn’t been there that long. So PNE haven’t got an open field.

Parkin got a hat-trick today and it seems PNE made Colchester look like a non-league team. Don’t like teams being thrashed but PNE need this.