Action Mesothelioma Day 2015

For some years now I`ve used this blog to publicise Action Mesothelioma Day, which this year falls on 4 July 2015.

I was prompted to start doing this by the death of a friend who had worked with asbestos in years gone by.

Unfortunately, this year I`ve not given the matter the attention I should. However, I would like to provide a few links which may be helpful to anyone seeking to know more about asbestos and asbestos-related diseases ;

www.mesothelioma.uk.com

www.junehancockfund.org

www.hasag.co.uk

www.asbestossupport.co.uk

www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos

http://ibasecretariat.org/index.htm


I do apologise for my lateness in posting something this year but hope these prove useful to anyone with an interest.

Best,

Nick

Action Mesothelioma Day 2014

A few years ago one of my friends died as a result of exposure to asbestos whilst working as a roofer during his mis-spent youth.

For that reason I like to do my bit each year to pubicise the annual Action Mesothelioma Day.

This years` event takes place on Friday 4 July 2014 and there will be various activities up and down the country.

For more information contact either Debbie Neale or Jill Lemon via www.mesothelioma.uk.com

Hello and Welcome to 2014 !

Slightly belatedly, Happy New Year to all our readers (assuming I have some left after such a long lay-off !).

As you may have gathered, the closing months of 2013 were a busy time for us and therefore blogging went on hold for a time.

A quick catch-up seems in order.

 

As a general thing I`m not all that interested in topical plays and have even less interest in plays that feature actors best known for their TV work. However, November found me travelling to Nottingham to see Ben Miller (Death in Paradise, Armstrong and Miller) in the Duck House, a play about the MPs expenses scandal of a few years ago.

 

The plays` blend of satire and farce worked well and produced many laugh-out-loud moments. The main weakness came in a superfluous closing address to the audience by Miller, still in character as a terminally half-witted politician. It was not apparent at first that he was still playing a part and in fact some of the audience misunderstood the situation and heckled him !

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the real world, The Ramblers continue to meet with some success in their campaign for a coastal path. Visit www.ramblers.org.uk/onecoastforall to learn more.

 

History

 

 

 

 

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has been highlighting the role played by women in World War One. To learn more, click here ; http://www.cwgc.org/media/162247/etaples.pdf .

 

Countryside

 

 

 This blog has been  effusive in its` praise for that august periodical The Nottinghamshire Walker. Sadly, that worthy organ ceased to be appear during 2013. However, all is not lost as it made a partial return in the form of a special issue at the end of last year.   

 

Features include ; Des Whicher Remembered, HS2 ; Its` Effects on our Rights of Way, The Changing Countryside. In addition there is much in the way of `news and views`including updates on the Sherwood Forest Project and local campaigns such as that waged by Worksop Ramblers in a bid to save paths threatened by a proposed new Tesco.

 

I`m sure a spare copy can be found if anyone wants to see it ; try www.nottinghamramblers.org.uk .

 

 

That`s all for now. I`ll try to be a touch more prolific this year, but I`m not making any promises !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch a Fire ? #2

I`ve always quite fancied doing one of those articles where you present two different views of an issue and let the reader decide which they prefer.

As it happens, the chance has just come up.

As I`ve already mentioned , proposed cuts to the Fire and Rescue Service in Derbyshire are proving to be an emotive issue locally*.

For more information on the proposals, including a consultation document outlining the proposed changes, and a reference document providing more information and background reasoning, click here ;

http://www.derbys-fire.gov.uk/have-your-say

This also gives you the chance to respond to the consultation and there is information on the six consultation events taking place throughout the region during November.

For details of the FBU campaign against the cuts, and the reasoning behind their opposition, click here ;

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-derbyshire-fire-rescue-service-cuts

As you`ll notice, the FBU also provide a link to the DFand RS Consultation and encourage people to respond.

That`s enough from me on this subject, now it`s over to you.


Footnotes

For a bit of background ;

* Nick Osmond - Save Heanor Fire Station - this blog, 25 Oct 2013

* Nick Osmond - Catch a Fire ? - this blog, 11 Oct 2013

Save Heanor Fire Station

Not so long ago I mentioned the possible closure of Heanor Fire Station as part of a parcel of cuts to the Fire Service in Derbyshire (`Catch a Fire ?`, this blog, 11 October 2013).

There is now a fledgling campaign against the closure.

Particularly good was an eloquent letter to the local paper ( www.ripleyandheanornews.co.uk ) by  a local resident which appeared under the heading `Vital Community Role for Fire Crews` in the issue dated Thurs 24 Oct 2013.

Like me, the writer picked up on the strong sense of community prevalent among the retained firefighters of Heanor , giving details of various activities undertaken by the crew locally. One in particular  may be worth highlighting here  ;

"When Coppice Primary School were celebrating their 60th anniversary the local fire crew came to our summer fair event with their fire engine and four crew members. They did this entirely voluntarily giving up their own time to support our event and more importantly to let our children experience a fire engine close up." 

There is now a Facebook group , `Save Heanor Fire Station`, begun by firefighter Alistair Patrick, who points out, tellingly, that the Heanor crew have experience totalling over 100 years between them. In that context I would just re-iterate my earlier point that an area like this with a heavy engineering presence throws up situations, e.g. chemical spills, rarely if ever experienced by crews elsewhere.

A problem with the Facebook campaign is that it does not really show up on most search engines. You can be sure the Fire Authority will be checking online to assess strength of feeling on the issue and at present there is little to see by just making general searches. That is why experienced campaigners usually use a blog or website in addition to social networking sites. This article is my own humble contribution to addressing this issue !

It is early days yet and I understand a petition is being circulated locally, which may generate more media attention.

I`m not a Facebook type of guy myself, but the FB campaign is an open group headed `Save Heanor Fire Station`. I`ve mentioned this before, but here are some other links that may proves useful ;

www.fburegion6.co.uk

http://therfu.org

www.ripleyandheanornews.co.uk

www.ambervalley.info

It is worth mentioning that two other stations in Amber Valley, Crich and Alfreton, are also facing possible closuure. I assume their will be grassroots campaigns organised in those areas too, but I`m not aware of any details.

Public Service, Social Purpose ?

Now for something more topical !

A number of online sources have reproduced a recent article by Cat Hobbs on the provision of public services..

The first part of the article concerns itself with her support for a Public Service Users Bill and distrust of  the government`s Open Public Services initiative. That part of the article need not detain us, except to note that at some points she seems in danger of undermining her own organisations` campaign *.

The part I wish to highlight comes later ;

"Public services need to be run by people who care about people, and - crucially - who are given the time they need to do a good job.

This social purpose is often found in the public sector, and it can also be found in democratically controlled and accountable co-operatives, mutuals, social enterprises and voluntary organisations. The Social Value Act made it easier for Local Authorities to outsource with social purpose in mind.

Any organisation that delivers public services must be responsible to service users in a clear and concrete way. We believe that when co-operatives, mutuals, social enterprises and charities play a role in delivering public services, robust safeguards should be in place to protect the public interest. They must be accountable to service users, all profits must be re-invested in improving the service, there should be an asset lock to keep public money safe, and the service must revert to the public sector if the organisation fails."

I make no apology for having edited her text in quite a big way to bring out the points I wanted to emphasise, but I`ll provide a link to the full article for those who want it**.  

She goes on to promote a set of "guidelines on what a good public sector mutual should look like", produced jointly by Co-operatives UK and the TUC*** .

My own thinking is that we do need to break out of the stale left versus right,  public versus private debate which so fascinates our politicians and pundits and look at the question of whether things could be done in a more innovative way in future. This seems as good a place to start as any.

For those new to the whole question of co-operatives, mutuals etc (and I`m no expert), a good place to start is www.thenews.coop .


* Cat is Director of the organisation `We Own It`, which is laying great stress on the fact that there is  overwhelming support from Conservative voters for two of it`s key proposals ( http://weownit.org.uk/public-service-users-bill )

** Cat Hobbs - `Lets Co-operate for a Public Sector Users Bill - Co-Operative News, Unknown Date but circa Sep 2013

*** Anthony Murray - `Co-Operatives UK and TUC Team Up to Protect Public Sector Mutuals - Co-Operative News,  23 August 2013

**** Apologies for the lack of proper links, but the Co-Operative News web site kept freezing ****.

Catch a Fire ?

 

Late last month, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service announced a plan to reduce the number of fire stations in the area from 31 to 20. 

 Their proposal, which is to be the subject of a public consultation, is that 19 stations will close, but that 8 new stations would open, each covering a larger area that those it replaces. The suggestion is that the selling-off of  land which previously housed a closed station will provide revenue to offset the cost of setting-up new stations.

The D Fand R S/Derbyshire Fire Authority accept that there will be a reduction in response times, albeit not a dramatic one (currently 80% of engines arrive at the scene of a fire within ten minutes, a figure they believe will fall to 75%), and they hope this will be partly offset by the use of 30 new Community Safety Officers engaged in fire prevention work in areas which have lost their local station.

I don`t particularly want to get into a huge discussion about all the ramifications of these proposals, but I do want to draw attention to one area where there are other factors to consider.

One of the stations tentatively scheduled for closure is Heanor Fire Station, which is my local station. It so happens that a year or two ago I met two of the retained firefighters based there.  Retained firefighters are a bit like lifeboat men without the sea. They have regular day jobs but they are effectively volunteers who can be called upon if they are needed in their area. Importantly, a requirement of the post is that they live and work only a few minutes from their local station.

A couple of things have stayed in my mind about my metting with these two. One was the very real sense of community they felt, the other was the wide range of calls they have to respond to.  You might think, as I did,  that they mainly respond to fires and traffic accidents, but you would be wrong. Given the nature of the area, with a strong manufacturing/engineering sector, they are required to attend the scenes of chemical spills and other incidents involving hazardous materials much more frequently than would be usual in other areas.

I don`t really believe that level of expertise and commitment is going to be readily replaced by a bit of education about fire prevention. However you might feel about the cuts generally what you have to ask yourself is, do we want to lose that valuable experience ?

Form your own opinions ;

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service - www.derbys-fire.gov.uk

Derbyshire Fire Authority - www.derbys-fire.gov.uk/derbyshire-fire-and-rescue-authority

Fire Brigades Union - www.fbu.org.uk

Derbys FBU 1 - www.fburegion6.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47 

Derbys FBU 2  - www.fbu.org.uk/?page_id=722

Retained Firefighters Union - http://therfu.org

Ripley and Heanor News - www.ripleyandheanornews.co.uk

Wright County Works in Partnership

In 2009, Matt Walker of Wright County, Minnesota had an idea. An ex-Police Officer, he had been a member of the Teamsters Trade Union, his branch being Teamsters Local 320 (union branches in the US are known as `locals`). He was involved with his local Labor Council ( I would guess this is roughly the equivalent of a Trades Council over here), which was looking for a community project it could be involved with.

Both Matt and his father, former marine Terry, were volunteers with the Kriedler Cemetery Association (KCA), a small non-profit organisation which cared for the local cemetery. The Walkers are descendants of Daniel Kriedler, a nineteenth century man  whose family donated the land for the cemetery and who is buried there himself.

Matt suggested that the cemetery was in need of restoration and as a result, members of two local union branches, Boilermakers Local 647 and Cement Masons Local 633 spent a day repairing gravestones. 

This year, the trade unionists returned to do more work. "I hadn`t really asked again and they got hold of me." said Matt.

The work they undertook was considerable.

"They used spades to dig up gravestones which were sinking into the ground, cleaned the stones, then placed the stones level inside wooden frames which they filled with concrete. The new concrete base will keep the stones above ground longer." said Steve Share, editor of Minneapolis Labor Review.

 

I`m grateful to Steve Share of Minneapolis Labor Review for agreeing to my use of his picture of trade unionist  Ben Lewis (Boilermakers Local 647)  restoring gravestones in  Kriedler Cemetery.

Terry Walker described the work as "priceless", commenting that it "would be impossible " for the small-scale  KCA to have achieved anything comparable.

Terry Walker told the volunteers about the history of the cemetery, indicating graves of those who fell in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War One and World War Two.

Refreshments were provided by Working Partnerships, a union-related body, and materials were provided by the Cement Masons union.

For me personally, I would like to see comparable intitiatives introduced over here.

I appreciate that many trade unionists are reluctant to undertake work that someone else might otherwise be paid to do ("stealing someone`s job"), but there are many voluntary groups who would be glad of the assistance in situations where there is no possibility of anyone being paid to do the work. I myself was a volunteer worker on a local nature reserve for a time, and the work we did would simply not have happened if we hadn`t been there.

The Wright County initiative involved a number of union members, many being apprentices and instructors, in work that benefited both them and the wider community, work which would otherwise have not been done at all.

It`s interesting also the enthusiasm they brought to the job ; one man who participated in both days (2009 and 2013) spoke of being "excited" to have the "opportunity" to go back again. Another who also volunteered on both days had actually completed his apprenticeship in the meantime and was now a skilled man. He was  happy to be "giving back to the community" and felt that the project had other benefits ; "The Boilermakers have always been a strong trade as far as work ethic. This is part of  our program to instill that in the apprentiees."

Terry Walker was keen to emphasise the heritage aspect ; "There`s so much history here. We should pay a little more attention to our history."

"A lot of these graves aren`t visited any more but they should still be remembered." commented Matt Walker.

***I don`t usually bother with quoting sources and all that malarkey, but just to make it clear, there`s no original material from me here, and I`ve relied heavily on articles by Steve Share of Minneapolis Labor Review and Doug Voerding of Wright County Journal Press. Any mistakes/misunderstandings are my own and not theirs.***

On the Web ;

Wright County Journal Press/The Drummer ; www.thedrummer.com

Minneapolis Labor Review ; http://www.minneapolisunions.org/cluc_labor_review.php

Working Partnerships ; http://workingpartnerships.org


If you liked this article, you might also like ;

Nick Osmond, `This Month`s Good Cause ; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission`, this blog, 13 Aug 2013

Nick Osmond, `War Memorials`, http://angpav.blogspot.com, 13 June 2012

Nick Osmond, `Thomas Richardson MBE of Bomber Command and Later a Trade Unionist`, this blog, 29 Nov 2009

This Month`s Good Cause

This month I`ve decided to leave This Month`s Good Cause unchanged and take this opportunity to look back over the causes I`ve chosen in previous months.

I thught I`d also mention some bits and pieces that I thought about mentioning last month but which didn`t get used as I didn`t want to go overboard with the links.

This Month`s Good Causes to date ;

September 2013 - Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org)

August 2013       - Commonwealth War Graves Commision (http://www.cwgc.org)

July 2013            - Friends of Cromford Canal (www.cromfordcanal.info)
                            - Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust (http://derbycanal.org.uk)

June 2013            - NHS BLood and Transplant (www.blood.co.uk)

May 2013            - Anti Slavery (www.antislavery.org)

April 2013           - Derbyshire Blood Bikes (www.derbyshirebloodbikes.org)

March 2013         - Brake (www.brake.org.uk)


Links

Here are some links I thought about using last month. Although I decided not to on that occasion, they are worth a look ;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a6651218.shtml

Simon Rogers - The Forgotten Soldiers - The Guardian - 10 Nov 2008 (George Blackman) (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/10/first-world-war-colonial-soldiers-racism )

Alderson/Paulin - Jamaican Who Fought in Somme Will Meet the Queen  - The Telegraph - 17 Feb 2002 (Eugent Clarke)

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385110/Jamaican-who-fought-in-Somme-will-meet-the-Queen.html)

Action Mesothelioma Day 5 July 2013

A few years ago an old friend of mine died of an industrial disease contracted whilst working with asbestos in his youth.

For that reason, I like to do my bit to promote Action Mesthelioma Day, which takes place on the first Friday in July each year.

Unfortunately little information has been forthcoming this year and I must admit the event had slipped my mind.

The day involves local, community-based groups, often organised by families affected by asbestos-related disease, running events promoting awareness of the issues and of their own activities.

The event is co-ordinated by Mesothelioma UK, who can be contacted via http://mesothelioma.uk.com . I`m sure they will be only too happy to provide, or indeed receive, information about AMD events taking place around the country.

While we`re on the subject, I`d like to mention  Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team, a well-respected and long-established local charity that works to support those affected by asbestos-related illness.

DAST works with charities, community groups, trade unions and others as you`ll see from their latest newsletter ; http://asbestossupport.co.uk/doc/DAST.pdf .

Lastly, I`d also like to mention the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK (http://www.asbestosforum.org.uk) . This seems to be a very worthwhile initiative that provides much-needed support and advice to many.

At present the group is running a petition in respect of  the 2013 Mesothelioma Bill,. You can learn more about this by clicking on the link they provide. I hope that some of you will consider signing this, as I have done myself.

This Months Good Cause - NHS Blood and Transplant

`This Month`s Good Cause` is a feature  I`ve recently added to this blog.

The idea is, pretty obviously, that each month I select a good cause to promote , and which then appears  on the right-hand side of this blog near the top, until the next month starts and things move on.

The other aspect I`ve introduced is that overall I`d like to strike a balance between local, national and international causes.

Without more ado, let`s take a look at this months cause, which is NHS Blood Donors/NHS Blood and Transplant.

I can`t imagine this needs much explanation, so I`d just like to give my own experience of giving blood for the first time not so long ago.

I actually enrolled as a blood donor quite some time ago, but work and family commitments, plus a short period where I wasn`t in the best of health meant that I was unable to actually do anything about it for a while.

I did wonder how I`d be about giving blood, but when it came to it I didn`t find it stressful at all, and generally I felt pretty good about the whole thing. You do have to set aside some time to recover afterwards and also make sure that you`re well-fed and rested beforehand, but other than that, there`s nothing to it.

`It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it`, as someone once said.

I don`t want to waffle on indefinitely, so here`s a link to the blood donor web site - www.blood.co.uk

 

 

Well, that`s this month`s cause, now let`s have a look at it`s predecessors ;

 

 

May 2013 -   Anti Slavery (www.antislavery.org)

 

April 2013 - Derbyshire Blood Bikes (www.derbyshirebloodbikes.org)

 

March 2013 - Brake (www.brake.org.uk)

 

 

 

 

 

Walk, Run or Stroll for Derby Hospitals Charity in Cromford on 12 May 2013

 

 

 

 

On 12 May 2013, Derby Hospitals Charity will be running two simultaneous fund-raising events in Cromford and surrounding area.

For more intrepid souls, there is the opportunity to follow a 15 mile route described by the organisers as "challenging" , starting at Matlock Rugby Club, Cromford Meadows. Participants can decide for themselves whether to walk the route or take it at a run (I know which I`d choose!).

The more family-friendly version is a 2 mile stroll along the banks of the Cromford Canal, followed by a family fun day at the Rugby Club.

Please note that the longer route is not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs, though the shorter canalside walk is more accessible.

There is an entry fee for each walk.  The idea is that these fees will cover the cost of organising the event and that participants seek sponsorship to raise money for the charity.

Further details from the Derby Hospitals Charity at  www.derbyhospitals.nhs.uk/about/derby-hospitals-charity and/or www.derbyhospitals.nhs.uk/charityevents .

Mr Beeching Took His Axe...

The Huddersfield Examiner has been considering the 50th Anniversary of the Beeching Report in a number of articles recently  ;

27 March 2013 - Cheryl Mullen - Rail Campaigners Mark Beeching Reports` 50th Anniversary
28 March 2013 - Unsigned - Slaithwaite Station Bounced Back After Beeching Axe
30 March 2013 - Unsigned - How Beeching`s Rail Axe Affected Huddersfield`s Stations
04 April 2013 - Andrew Hirst - Peniston Lane on the Right Track

The articles can be found here ; www.examiner.co.uk .

Unfortunately, missing from the site is an interview with local railway expert Prof Paul Salveson, Councillor for Golcar and Milnsbridge, who discusses, inter alia, GLAM Trac (Golcar, Longwood and Milnsbridge Transport Campaign). The interview, conducted by Andrew Hirst,  appeared in The Weekend Examiner 30 March 2013.  If anyone wants to see it, I`m sure an e-mail to the Examiner would bring results.

This Month`s Good Cause, April 2013 - Derbyshire Blood Bikes

This month`s good cause is going to have to appear a couple of days ahead of schedule.

Late last year I was fortunate enough to meet two of the volunteer bikers who run Derbyshire Blood Bikes, a charity providing free out-of-hours transportation of blood, organs and medical supplies for hospitals in Derbyshire and elsewhere.

The benefit to the NHS is considerable. As it is not viable for them to directly employ drivers to do the work, before DBB was formed they relied heavily on taxi companies at considerable expense.

Their website is very informative and allows you to see an `Operational Record` detailing the journeys made to date.

Visit their site here ;

http://www.derbyshirebloodbikes.org



Last month`s good cause (March 2013) was Brake ; The Road Safety Charity (www.brake.org.uk)

This Month`s Good Cause ; Brake - The Road Safety Charity

Another change I`ve made to this blog is the addition of a `This Month`s Good Cause` feature at the top right-hand side of the blog as you look at it.

I`m making a start with Brake - The Road Safety Charity.

I`ve been interested in this organisation for quite a while - when it was formed in the mid-`80s (as Brake - The Campaign for Safer Lorries) the trade union I was a member of at that time was one of it`s main backers and for some reason the interest stayed with me.

Since then, Brake has grown in size and sophistication and now takes on a much broader role than originally envisaged, including support for victims of traffic accidents and their families.

Of course, there are many charities and other worthy causes competing for our attention these days, but give Brake`s site a look. If anyone feels moved to send a donation or become involved in some way, that would be great, but if I only manage to raise a few people`s awareness of the work they do, I`ll be happy with that.

Samuel Morley of Nottingham

This picture is entitled Nottingham Arboretum : Bust of Samuel Morley and is by photographer John Sutton. Should you wish to know more about John`s work, you can click here ;

http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/38492 .

There was a period of my life when I worked nearby and Mr Morley`s bust greeted me most weekdays as I often took my lunch-break in the aforementioned arboretum.

The  bust is accompanied by an inscription documenting his qualities and achievements ; "Member of Parliament, Merchant Philanthropist, Friend of Children, Social Reformer, Christian Citizen."

Factually, all this is correct, but it under-sells our man by a mile.

Born in London during 1809, Morley was heir to the family`s wool manufacturing business but soon ventured into publishing and politics. He became one of the proprietors of a Liberal newspaper, the Daily News, and was subsequently MP for Nottingham and later Bristol.

As a young man, Morley had attended a Congregationalist Chapel run by the Rev Dr Thomas Binney, known as The Archbishop of Nonconformity. As I`ve mentioned before, Non-Conformists (`Dissenters`) are a group opposed to state recognition of the Church of England and trace their origins to the time of the English Civil War. They have particularly deep roots in the East Midlands.

Binney was an active anti-slavery campaigner and this was a cause that Morley embraced whole-heartedly , acting as treasurer of a fund to assist escaped American slave Josiah Henson.  Morley contributed an introductory note (written jointly with one George Sturge) to Henson`s autobiography. In the book, Henson particularly highlights the support given to him by Morley and another man, George Hitchcock.

Another beneficiary of Morley`s campaigning zeal was trade unionist George Potter. Potter was the leading figure behind a trade union journal, The Bee Hive. Begun as an independently-run venture, The Bee Hive had become the journal of the London Trades Council. There followed an incident in which another trade unionist, Robert Applegarth, accused Potter of personal dishonesty and of falsifying details of an industrial dispute. The Trades Council investigated and subsequently parted company with both Potter and the Bee Hive.

Potter formed his own group, the London Working Men`s Association, and continued to produce the Bee-Hive. Without Trades Council support, the journal lost money, but was saved when Samuel Morley and another man, Daniel Platt, saved it from bankruptcy by buying up all the shares.

It might seem odd that Morley should form an alliance with Potter, a man accused even by some of his fellow trade-unionists of being a `manufacturer of strikes` and whose honesty had been called into question, but seemingly the two were happy with the outcome. The Bee Hive continued as a vehicle for trade unionists and radical liberals but eventually went under.

Potter went on to pursue a career as a trade unionist but failed in his attempts to become a politician and in a subsequent venture as a publisher of political tracts.

Josiah Henson wrote three books in all and was at different times a Canadian Army Officer and a Methodist preacher. He decided to stay in England after slavery was abolished in the US.

Morley died in 1886 and is remembered as a philanthropist and social reformer. He is buried in Abney Park Cemetery, as is Thomas Binney.











   



    

Action Mesothelioma Day 6 July 2012

As I mentioned not so long ago, on 6 July of this year, Leicester marked Action Mesothelioma Day with an event at the cathedral, in the presence of Leicester`s first elected Lord Mayor, Cllr Abdul Razak Osman and Jennifer, Lady Gratton JP, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire.

The event brought together representatives of Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team, Mesthelioma UK and various church bodies, along with members of families affected by Mesothelioma, an industrial disease connected with exposure to asbestos.  

The event was billed as a day for Reflection and Remembrance and that was very much the spirit of the event.

To his credit, Cllr Osman spoke on the importance of the call for global ban on asbestos and highlighted the need to support those whose governments still allow it`s importation.

Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team handed over a collection of £1,306.00 which they had raised for Mesothelioma UK, who hope to fund a team of Specialist Mesothelioma Nurses to work in areas with a high incidence of asbestos-related illness (the North East and parts of Derbyshire are particularly badly affected). I`m glad to be able to tell you that two of these nurses are already in post with a third due to start work in Cardiff soon.

If you would like to know more about this event, or others that took place around the country on the same day, please contact either Liz Darlison or Tracey Heseltine at www.mesothelioma.uk.com.

Action Mesothelioma Day 6 July 2012

On 6 July 2012, Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team and Mesothelioma UK are hosting an event at St Martin`s Cathedral, Leicester as part of Action Mesothelioma Day (AMD).

The theme of this year`s AMD is to call for a Global Ban on Asbestos, and this event, like the one in Derby earlier this year (see my article Reflection and Celebration of Life, this blog, 24 Feb 2012) will be entitled A Reflection and Celebration of Life.

For more information, please contact either Tracy Heseltine or Liz Darlison at Mesthelioma UK (www.mesothelioma.uk.com).





















lioma.uk.com

Reflection and Celebration of Life

I`ve mentioned before that a couple of years ago my oldest friend Chris died from having been exposed to asbestos whilst working as a roofer in years gone by.

For that reason, I like to do my bit to promote awareness of the dangers of asbestos as much as I can.

`Reflection and Celebration of Life` is an asbestos awareness event due to take place 29 Feb 2012 at Derby Cathedral, and will focus on the many local people who have died from industrial illnesses related to exposure to asbestos.

For more information and useful links, see Asbestos Awareness 2012, posted yesterday at http://angpav.blogspot.com.

Save Newark Hospital

The Save Newark Hospital Campaign will be the subject of a Westminster Hall debate on 6 July 2010. The meeting will be hosted by Patrick Mercer MP and will be addressed by Health Minister Simon Burns.


The hospital is not under threat of closure, but there are plans to downgrade the A & E Department to Minor Injuries (obliging ambulances to take more serious cases to Mansfield or Lincoln) and close a ward.


The decision to hold a debate contrasts with the approach taken when Mr Burns visited the hospital on 1 July 2010. At that time, he declined to meet representatives of the campaign group and hospital staff were told not to discuss the future of the hospital with him during his visit. The exact purpose of his visit is unclear, given that  no-one could actually speak to him about the issues. One wonders what he understands by the word `democracy` if this is an example of his approach.


In the event, Patrick Mercer handed him a letter from the Campaign regretting that they had been "prevented from meeting you" and setting out their grievances. The text of the letter can be found at their web site, but in essence they not only oppose the downgrading of the hospital to a minor injuries unit, but argue that the consultation was flawed. They also claim that some of the arguments offered in support of the proposed changes quote rather selectively from the relevant report.


Further details at http://www.savenewarkhospital.org.uk/