In a crowded city

In a crowded city - anywhere. War and peace. I cycled into the Apple Shop in the Bullring getting some things checked on my laptop; which film formats will and won't download for editing, so's I could continue work on linking text and clips. Outside I gazed at the passing crowd - not all shoppers. In these times there's more flânerie in the city centre than consumption. Amy strolled up and chatted for a minute - telling me to stop filming. I rather like being ordered about my daughter. * * * * Lin's been driving north to visit her mum in Stafford General. Arthur called for an ambulance for her mid week after she felt pain in chest and down her legs. Right now she's fine but they'll not let her home until they've done more tests. * * * * I showed my text-film links to Nick Booth:

Dear Nick. Trying to make film and text more accessible and connected. What do you think? Best, Simon

Nick's reply:

I love it. I love the combining of video and text - it can be found through search and watched for nuance. Next is to do individual posts for individual bits of video and then help people navigate so many posts by tagging them - to organise them into informational categories. You need a new blog for this work (the internet is always niche). In this case the openess issue here is really about consent. If people agreed for you to use these in a particular way then changing that without their consent is a mistake. Nick

* * * An email to Cllr Kim Brom from Alan Orr re the Victoria Jubilee Allotments (VJA):

Date: Fri 28 Nov 2008 17:13:22 +0000: Subject: Re: VJA cc: s.j.baddeley@bham.ac.uk Dear Councillor Brom. Very briefly, timelines relating to the implementation of the provisions of the S106 are set out in the Agreement itself, not as calendar dates but within the processes to be followed e.g. when submissions are due and the length of times for reaching agreement on them. Charles Church, the developers, have fallen behind these in terms of delivering the allotments and playing fields (but not the affordable housing) and this breach is being pursued together with Legal Services, Leisure Services and Children, Young People and Families. The main S106 monies (some small amounts have been paid) are payable for other aspects of the Agreement e.g. the enhancement of Handsworth Park when the allotments and sport pitches schemes have been approved under the terms of the Agreement so payment of the monies is related to the delivery of the allotments and playing pitches, I hope this is of some help to you. I will provide you with more precise information on timescales when I have it. I will be on leave from now until 15 December. Regards, Alan Orr Constituency Planning Officer - Perry Barr Tel.0121 464 6856

Back in Birmingham

We're back below the grey skies of Birmingham in July. Light showers, gentle breezes and occasional touches of blue and the garden thriving with greenery. Guy collected us from Gatwick on Thursday afternoon (effortless flight from Corfu in what looked like a brand new EasyJet Airbus) so we didn't have to wait ages for the cheap train journey we'd spent so long booking. (What is happening to me!). Richard and I went into town by taxi on Saturday and bumped into Amy at work and spoke to her Sergeant Pietrafesa. Once she was off work - having started at 7.00am - we got donuts in Selfridges and visited the new city centre Cycle Surgery that's now part of Snow & Rock. I was impressed - not least because they stocked 'proper bicycles', with baskets, bells, mud and chain guards and sit-up and beg handlebars as well as a selection of folders including Bromptons, but also because they offered a serious repair service in a city that, despite once being the city of a 1000 trades has had little of this sort in the centre for ages. Maybe things are changing for the better (link to image and commentary on bicycles in Birmingham) - not least because Amy's boss rides a bicycle. On Friday I was on campus with Andrew on the last day of the accredited Oversight and Scrutiny module on which we work together. He told me of some of the changes afoot in our part of the University - especially the new Centre for Public Service partnerships (CPSP). Tonight I head south to Brighton for a workshop on Monday with new chairs of scrutiny, then I'm in Haringey for some consultation on political-management leadership on Tuesday, using the time to drop in on Phoenix Cycles to get a front wheel-bearing fixed by Mike at Battersea (tho' this is something I could now get done in Brum), then on Thursday and Friday I'm at Telford running an event on member-officer relations for middle range professionals from Midlands councils. I do enjoy being a tourist in my own country. I took pictures for Andrew at Priorsfield on Friday - in particular one of Roger Patrick, retired police officer, discussing his Phd thesis on the challenges of relating performance figures to policing policies. We've e-mailed friends in Ano Korakiana. H's daughter will stay with her husband at 208 in August and we'll be back there after they leave. With the internet and webcams and more friends I feel close to Democracy Street, able to inspect every change in the surface of the road past our house and able to gaze over Ano Korakiana and even hear its wonderful band in their blue and yellow as they march on the Liston and above the village "the floor of heaven...thick inlaid with patines of bright gold" MoV: 5, 1