Anna Soubry cannot be faulted on her Brexit stance

Anna Soubry’s email newsletter contains the following statement on Brexit. Since Brexit she has been consistent and adopted a position which can reasonably be described as ‘cross party’. I re-publish here with no further comment:

Hello again, Well there’s certainly a lot going on! I was tempted to keep this week's email newsletter Brexit free but it would be irresponsible to ignore the most important decision we have taken since the Second World War. In short, Parliament will begin a five day debate on Tuesday and then vote the week after on whether to accept the Prime Minister’s Brexit “deal”. I will not be voting for it but will be supporting a cross party amendment which rejects Theresa May’s “deal”, ensures we will only leave the EU with a good deal in place  (so it rejects a “no deal’ Brexit) and keeps Parliament at the heart of what happens next. As you know, I believe the best deal is the one we currently have with the EU - it’s unique, cannot be replicated if we leave and has served us well. However, I have argued that if we leave the EU we should retain our membership (in effect) of the single market and the customs union, the so called 'Norway plus' model. I’ve made that case and voted for it for the last two years. Whichever Brexit “deal” Parliament settles on, it should be returned to the people so you can have the final say now we know what Brexit looks like. Three things are for sure; firstly, whichever way you do it, Brexit will make us poorer; secondly, people are entitled to change their minds and; finally, young people who will be most affected have a right to a say over their future.

Council tax exemptions and HMO updates for 2018 coming soon

In early-January at the latest I expect to post data relating to council tax exempt properties and HMOs  in and around Beeston, as I did for 2017. See link here.

Vanity vanity, oh vanity and a grandson taking on a different political foe makes us proud

To start with, a few words about Curtis Cooper Howard, our 19 year old grandson.

He's the one wearing the Labour Party rosette in the company of other members of Aberystwyth University Labour Students and, to his left, Christina Rees, the Labour MP for Neath, celebrating his selection as the Labour Party candidate for North ward on Aberystwyth Council in a forthcoming by-election.

He's  learning to press the flesh a bit younger than me (I was 25 when I first stood and won a seat on Birmingham City Council). It's going to be a tougher fight for Curtis, as the Party left it to the Liberals and Plaid Cymru to fight it out last year with the latter taking all three seats. This time, thanks to the students, there's going to be a fight.

He says his only claim to fame is having spoken to Mrs Cable about the weather when her husband Vince visited Aberystwyth. This isn’t quite true. During Brexit he appeared on TV questioning politicians and has upset the Momentum establishment in his part of Wales, being selected in spite of Momentum members who tried to stop it happening.

I can't claim he got his politics from us, but when we are together we talk little else. He is far more reasoned than me but we do share a belief that you shouldn't be tribal; that you should listen to others and be suspicious of leaders.

Susan and I are very proud of Curtis and will let you know how he gets on. I'm just hoping the by-election takes place whilst the students are at the university.

As for myself, a few weeks ago I had a Nottingham City Transport '35 History Bus' named after me. It came as a surprise. I was told I am the 26th person to ever have a NCT bus named after them. It beats any state 'gong' and has a duration of 5–8 years if I'm lucky. So out there, somewhere in Nottingham, there is a 35 bus plying its route between Bulwell and the city centre bearing my name.

The 35 History Bus is something I've spent the last five years promoting and, to date, NCT have given several local groups a 35 for a day so that I could lead a guided tour. Come Bluebell time in May I'm hoping to work with NCT to provide a special service of some kind between Bilborough Village and Strelley Church making it easier to reach Oldmoor Wood and the bluebells, with donations going to the Woodland trust, who own the wood. Watch out for more details nearer the time...

May’s betrayal of Gibraltar is reason enough to say no to her Brexit deal

A very short post. News that Gibraltar has been betrayed by May should make it impossible for any MP worth the name to support her Brexit deal.

May is a nasty person. The roots of the Windrush generation expulsions and the inhumane and racist treatment of many innocent, good, people  can be traced back to her time as Home Secretary. The racist nationalistic Home Office we have to endure is a May legacy. 

Is any  EU Brexit deal worth betraying Gibraltar?  The answer has to be NO! If I was in Scotland right now I would calling for another independence vote. May cannot be trusted.

Post-Brexit there is now every chance that South American countries will unite behind Argentina and demand that the Falklands are ceded to Argentina as part of any trade deal. The world will be queuing up to take advantage of us. Spain have got the first bite and, make no mistake, there are plenty of others waiting to have their pound of flesh.

Spain has a string of  enclaves on the coast of North Africa and it complains about Gibraltar!

It is said that she is going to appeal to the ‘British people over the head of Parliament. By her actions she has betrayed all of us, not just Gibraltar.

With any luck this will be the attempt which forces her from office and enough of us will unite to say ‘enough is enough’ and that this Brexit madness is brought to an end! The trouble with this take is that the Leave voters I know haven’t changed their minds and blame Europe - not May - for the mess.   A few might have backed off had they foreseen the mess we’re now in but they do not imagine for one moment the outcome would have been any better had Corbyn been in charge. Right now Parliament might fairly be described as a rest home for headless chickens. Still Corbyn waits... need one say more.

For the record I supported the Falklands intervention after Argentina’s invasion in 1982 because I believe in the right of self-determination both nationally and locally. I stand by the same rights for Gibraltar and the constituent parts of the British Isles.

I was born during World War Two and I believe we have to be part of the European Union because history and our own liberty depends on it.

I should also declare I am 58% Irish and 42% English. I was born in Devon to an unmarried English mother. I believe in a federal Ireland like I believe in a federal Britain and Europe, and if I ever have a passport again I would like it to be a European Union passport.

My father was Irish, my step-father Scottish and my children are 25% Welsh. I have a 100% Irish half-brother and half-Scottish half-sisters. My surname could have been one of four and, for a while, it was changed, but I changed it back again at 13 or thereabouts. If asked where I’m from I usually say Wembley - a very global local place name. Giving that answer to someone recently they came back ‘But you’re English, right?’ and I answered ‘Yes’. I could when aged 3 have been adopted by the parents of my favourite aunt (by marriage) and stayed in Grantown-on-Spey. On reflection I would have liked that but I can’t imagine  life without Susan so I like to think we would have found one another somehow. As for Ireland my affinity to the Irish has been with me all my life, even though it was not until a DNA test in 2016 the link was confirmed and it was not until last year I found out the name of my father, thanks to someone I didn’t know posting a DNA result which gave us a close family link.

At the end of the day I am an islander with a love of the sea and glad that Europe is close at hand - just like Beeston High Road is a short walk away. In all this I consider myself blessed.

A touch of Highland hospitality comes to Beeston

Yesterday we went to new Thistle Teahouse for a light lunch in the company of close friends. I had met Maggie, the owner, some weeks ago whilst she was getting the Thistle ready to open and a week or so ago I re-produced her menu cards. This time my pics are of food:

Flat Scottish Sausage on toast with two poached eggs on top and a cheese baguette. See if you can guess which is which?

My friend Rosie was impressed with the 'Hotel toast' Maggie gave me. In her opinion, which I value, it should be 'Soft when you bite into it with a crisp crust' and this did it to near perfection. In my case old age has brought with it bowls which can no longer tolerate rye bread, be it home-made or shop bought (I used to make it, now I buy it for Susan from Birds on Beeston Square by the traffic lights).  When it comes to poached eggs I have to have them when I see them on a menu and I could see Maggie making them in her very impressive high-tech kitchen. Touched the yolk spilled over the toast and the square Scottish sausage. It really was a sensuous experience. Then the sausage, deliciously salty and tasty. Salt is something I rarely use at home, except when having boiled eggs, but sometimes it is part of the food and this was one of those occasions. Numerous cups of weak black Earl Grey (I have to be able to see the bottom of the cup) did their job and it took me a good 30 minutes to consume the treat that Maggie had placed before me.

Susan and Paul got on with eating their baguettes whilst I photographed Rosie's cheese baguette which came with a small bowl of crisps (I traded a quarter of sausage for some of Susan's crisps, the first this year). After eating her baguette Rosie and Susan had no room for cake, so we all agreed that we would come back for Maggie's afternoon tea nearer Christmas.

In the meantime I will be going in before too long, probably next week, when Susan's goes to the opera with a friend, for a takeaway Flat Scottish sausage & Black Pudding roll. I left the Black Pudding off my order yesterday because Rosie doesn't eat meat and the Black Pudding would have been too much, not that Rosie would say of course. Her husband Paul and I share a passion for sardine sandwiches but that's another story...

Maggie declined to have her photograph taken and I understand why and, quite frankly, it doesn't matter! Maggie's food and her menu tell you that this a woman who wants to share a love of Highlands hospitality with Beeston.

In my book Maggie is up there with Jo at the Local Not Global Deli on Chilwell Road and Rosemary at Rosie Lea's Tea Room on Wilkinson Avenue. None of them on the High Road but worth the extra few minutes it takes to reach them if you're starting from the bus and tram Interchange, although in my case I walk past the Thistle and the end of Wilkinson Avenue on my way into town (sometime I go via Marlborough Road to avoid them).

Stop! I must be bloody mad! All three establishments are quite small and if you start going I will have to make sure I get there first.

Seriously, a small select bunch of Beeston's best. Each have their strengths. Next week I promise three pics, one of each, from my archive, so 'Watch this space' as they say.

As we left after 150 minutes Maggie was telling me about her 'must have' 'Gin and tonic tea', full of so much enthusiasm that I will have to try it on my next visit...