Resources from the web site of Well House Consulaants on the subject of Politics and Religion. We provide open source training course and business hotel accommodation in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

I often feel out of step with all of the major political parties in the UK - they seem to be lead by infighing within their own ranks, or short-termism to get as must popularity as they can from their soundbites, even where that's not in the longer term interest of anyone - even those who's popular support they seek.

There's a need for some independent political thought - from people who will offer praise where it's due, but who will also question things that have come to be accepted wisdom. You're unlikely to agree with all my thoughts and views - but share them, and you may see another viewpoint. And if you happen to be in a postion of power, look at them and consider the views and balance them against your views, and perhaps against the views of the party machine you're attached to.

And why have I added religion? In a way the subjects go together, and I have a few resources on matters religious that should be indexed, but not under a subject of their own!

Articles and tips on this subject		updated
3592	Are we one man, one vote? No, and we never have been. "One man, one vote" they say. Hmmm - it's not really like that when it comes to elections, and it never really has been. After a lunchtime discussion yesterday, I started exploring various sites to learn what was going on while I waited for various long backups / downloads / upgrades to run. And ...	2012-01-28
3438	Melksham to become a part of Trowbridge? Initial proposals for change have been made by the boundary commission for Parliamentary Constituencies in the South West - published in full [here]. As part of their pre-amble, they write: "The South West region has been allocated 53 constituencies – a reduction of two from the current arrangement. ...	2011-09-13
3325	The Olympic Torch, and Melksham House The Olympic Torch is being carried by 8000 people ... and without any particular one of them, it wouldn't reach its destination. If you look amongst the 8000, I'm sure you'll find some people who wouldn't get on with all 7999 of the others, but it's a team effort. Yesterday afternoon, Wiltshire Council ...	2011-06-14
3323	Is Melksham town centre dying? I walked into Melksham this morning ... to visit five shops / services. The first had closed down during the week I was away, from their already reduced hours. A sign on the door saying that it had closed thought lack of support from Melksham people, but that their Calne place is thriving. In the second, ...	2011-06-11
3313	What does our MP do on a Bank Holiday? When Duncan Hames was standing for election, I was very impressed. And of course that meant that I had very high expectations of him once he was elected to represent up - perhaps unfairly high expectations. However, I'm delighted to report that he's livingup to what I hoped for, and more. Today - Bank ...	2011-05-30
3264	Alternative Vote (AV) - explaining and an example There's been a spritied discussion going on about the AV system in the press, and on places like twitter feeds. And as the discussions move from spiritied to passionate, some of the things said become personal attacks, some of the claims made become unsustainable, and some of the speakers forget that ...	2011-04-25 (longest)
3051	Positively reforming the system - could it be done? One of the frustrating things to us, as employers, is the "benefit / poverty trap". That's where someone who's currently supported by the state wishes to work, but is prevented from doing so "because it will cost me - I will loose more in benefit than I gain in salary". And that has been said - on ...	2010-11-18 (longer)
2870	Old prices - what would the equivalent price have been in 1966? What did a cup of tea in a café cost 10 years ago? 20 years ago? What was the rail fare from London to Manchester in 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2006? Such questions prove to be very hard to research and find answers for on the Internet. I suspect that's partly because the Internet wasn't around ...	2010-11-05
2971	Should the public sector compete with businesses? and other deep questions If you find yourself thinking about something you saw six months ago, then it must have had an effect on you. And it's more than six months since I saw a sign in Cambridge advertising "free computer lessons". Why does it keep coming back to me - this yellow sign, tied to some railing to promote some ...	2010-09-26 (longest)
2948	Melksham shamefully makes the national headlines I see that Melksham's in the news tonight - and sadly after an assault. But this was no drunken brawl in a pub - this was an assault by a police officer, inside the police station, on a lady in her late 50s. She's shown on the Guardian web site with a spectacular black eye and fears she will need an ...	2010-09-14
2856	Two sides of the coin If you want to know a whole story - look at both sides of a coin. And if you want to know more than what you're being told, listen to what other people are being told. The A350 / Westbury Bypass enquiry is water under the bridge now - so this is purely academic interest - but I was told (and frankly ...	2010-07-16
2864	Changing with weather and seasons In relation to attractions in Melksham. Here's an admission. I've been down to the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve in Melksham a number of times, and quite frankly found it difficult to understand what all the fuss is about. As a wild area, I hadn't expected "post card pretty", but never the less I searched ...	2010-07-10
2824	A pint of Black Rat, and a lazy barman The first young lady asked for a pint of Black Rat (the local Melksham cider), and the barman asked her for proof of age. But the second young lady, who asked the for a pint of coke, was served without question. Typical lazy barman? No - typical efficient barman! With joined up thinking, so much ...	2010-06-25
2792	Should Government compete with private industry? A sign that said "Free Computer Training" in Cambridge a couple of months ago set me thinking. And an email yesterday from someone telling me that [his] visitors to Melksham are being accommodated by W******* Town Council so won't be staying in the town got me thinking made me carry on that thought. Is ...	2010-06-04
2757	Bodicea, Lincoln, and our new MP They say that Boadicea rallied her troops with a speech from her horse. Other "they"s say that she couldn't possibly have projected her voice from the top of her horse, out on the Tilbury Marshes, to more than a handful of followers. So we can forgive Abraham Lincoln, without a megaphone, SHOUTING ...	2010-05-14
2752	Voting day - UK General Election There are so many undecided voters out there that the outcome of today's general election seems to be anyone's guess - the pundits and pollsters seem to be varied, but with a common theme that no one party's going to get a landslide. For the first time in this election campaign and the long lead up ...	2010-05-06
2740	Melksham Hustings at George Ward School For the first time in my life, I attended election hustings last night in Melksham - at George Ward School, where six of the eight candidates for MP in the Chippenham Constituency gave a three minute intro to themselves and their policies, then answered for a minute each on pre-selected questions from ...	2010-04-26
2712	A more informed decision than ever before They're off! Gordon Brown fired the starting gun the other day - and I was most impressed that by the time that I came out of Well House Manor that evening, there were Orange posters up across the road. I feel more involved - much more involved - in this general election. For I know, (and rather more ...	2010-04-09
2689	Can my dog eat potatoes? Doggie Dietary Research, and political sleaze! If they're cooked, and in not too big a quantity, yes (s)he can. We were sitting in front of the TV last night, watching a stream of high ranking politicians offering themselves for sale in a sting operations set up by a TV channel, and Gypsy came over and nuzzled us. We had just finished fish and ...	2010-03-25
2640	How is your tax pound spent? Where does the UK Government Spend your Money? What proportion goes on Defence, on Pensions, or Foreign Aid, on Economic Development, and on Health? Is the same amount spent for each person in the South West as in London and in Scotland? If you can answer these questions I'll be very impressed ... ...	2010-03-03
2288	Wiltshire Community Area Partnerships A few days ago, I wrote about all the new structures at Wiltshire Council; I was having trouble working out what they all did, and I don't think I am the only one having trouble understanding it. (See that article). I got stuck at "Community Partnerships" or "Community Area Partnerships" which seemed ...	2009-12-19
1350	FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Western Region Until this Spring, the local branch and region of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) ran a series of well attended events for their members - we attended networking events and informative sessions of various sorts, meeting a wide variety of people; a real benefit to our business. But in the last ...	2009-11-29
2353	All change - Wiltshire Parliamentary At the weekend, I read that James Gray, the MP for Chippenham, had remarried. And, yesterday, that Michael Ancram, MP for Devizes (which includes Melksham) has taken the decision to stand down at the next general election. Goodness - how times change; four years ago, when I first got more actively involved ...	2009-08-13
2279	Understanding the new local government structure in Wiltshire Government is bound to be complex, but I have this uneasy feeling that two layers of local government that I didn't understand have been replaced by one layer (and a sub-layer) that are almost as complex ... and which I think Joe Public still may not understand. You can download this diagram (full ...	2009-07-15 (longest)
2270	Wiltshire - a chance to improve life for everybody Lisa and I were discussing the way that democracy has been effected by the Internet ... on one hand, more access to data, and on the other hand more professional control by the 'powers that be' - unelected / appointed officers who see this extra data access as (frankly) a bit of a nuisance. Some take ...	2009-07-05
2257	Ramblings on church and state linkage in Melksham With an interest in how the country, the county and the town is run, there are naturally times that I get invited to meetings and 'ceremonials', and so it was last Sunday, when I was invited to the Civic Service at the Church, to confirm the new Mayor into office (or rather to reconfirm Richard Wiltshire ...	2009-06-25
2178	Melksham Candidates for Wiltshire Unitary Election [update] - Results added at bottom of this entry. I'm looking ahead with interest to the forthcoming Unitary elections for Wiltshire Council, where the new council will be about twice the size of the old one (in terms of elected members), but with the elimination of the districts there will be fewer ...	2009-06-06
2206	Spot the odd one out Many of the lampposts here in Northern Ireland are decorated with signs extolling you to vote as your first preference for "X" or "Y" in the European Parliament elections, which happen next week - a far cry from the subdued interest which we have seen for the South West seats in England. In many ...	2009-05-30
2075	Supporting Parkinsons and Trains Duncan Hames, our "Lib-Dem" candidate for the new Chippenham / Melksham / Bradford-on-Avon seat at the next election, is a keen supporter of our campaign to provide an appropriate train service across Wiltshire ... he's pictured here at the station the other week. And he's braver than me - he's running ...	2009-03-11
2028	Things people say on the phone I phoned up the local county council to report this depression in the road Well House Manor, and the young lady I spoke to told me she would send someone round in the next couple of weeks to "look into it". I am just imagining this group of engineers standing around, all looking down the hole.. Last ...	2009-02-08
2012	The Wiltshire Police How much do the police cost? Where / on what is that money spend? Who pays? What do they cost? Questions I had never asked myself until last night when I went along to the Wiltshire Police Authority's "Budget Consultation" with the county's Chambers of Commerce. Clearly a fascinating subject as some ...	2009-01-31 (longer)
539	rich and famous will never be rich, yet I am rich already. I will never be famous, but already I have fame. Written on 22nd December, 35000 feet over Greenland. No internet connectivity so I'm left to my own wisdom and a couple of those bound bits of paper things called books. One can always think of things to do ...	2009-01-28
1987	One Cheer for Local Democracy - Asda in Melksham On Thursday evening, Lisa and I attended the Planning Committee Meeting of West Wiltshire District Council. Sounds boring, doesn't it? Well - it wasn't; a big decision to be made with regard to a new Asda supermarket to share a site on the edge of the town with Countrywide Farmers. There were two ...	2009-01-11 (longer)
1135	Government pressure on me to shut up after I make the papers Well ... the Government's response to my petition for an appropriate train service made the front page of the Western Daily Press yesterday (article) under the headline "Blair Snubs Rail Misery". And we also got coverage in the Bath Chronicle, the Wiltshire Times and the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. ...	2008-12-26
1109	False imprisonment - a contrast from the news Two items of news struck me yesterday as I fought my way home through horrendous traffic from Cambridge. I was delighted to learn that the five British diplomats who had been kidnapped in Ethiopia had been released, and were fit and well - there remains, though, a concern for the 8 local people kidnapped ...	2008-12-26
1003	Room at the Inn, Guy at the station I'm posting this on Wednesday but dating it for Thursday as I don't expect I'll have much of a chance to be on line on the actual day. The last working two days before Christmas see me in Stirling, Scotland and the drive looks like it will be foggy and icy. For a trip to Scotland, I'm in the habit of ...	2008-12-21
1882	Wiltshire Council says - part 2 "We have the following options available for lunch ... Baguettes ... India ... Chinese ... Baked Potatoes ... Greasy Spoon ... McDonald's ... Fish and Chips" That's not untypical of what we stay during first morning of a course, allowing our delegates to make a selection ... and almost inevitably, ...	2008-11-16
1881	Wiltshire Council says - part 1 Last night, Lisa and I attended the annual budget 'consultation' evening arranged by the Wessex Federation of Chambers of Commerce with Wiltshire (County) Council. It was our second year at the event ... last year we had come away very depressed indeed, but this year was rather better - partly because ...	2008-11-13
1872	Barack Obama wins US Predidency Congratulations to Barack Obama, who has won a decisive victory in the Presidential Election in the USA. And a few words too for John McCain, who was very gracious in his speech of concession - almost the John McCain as I had seen him as the honourable maverick years ago, a John McCain that seemed to ...	2008-11-07
1769	July child ponders on August children It's the "result season" when each year we hear about the successes of our 18 year olds at A levels, and 16 year olds at GCSEs, with an inevitable (it seems) rise in pass rates and a cry of "they're getting too easy". I'm not going to jump into that particular controversy, but I will congratulate anyone ...	2008-08-24
1729	Back from the future It's good to take a strategic look ahead from time to time - not a look at the immediate tactics of the next step or two along the way, but a look far into the future, and see where we will be in many years time. A good friend of mine (a Doctor) who is something of a Timelord has downloaded the following ...	2008-08-01 (longest)
415	Campaign Drift and efficiency. My heart strings were pulled when I read the appeal for 700 pounds in the local paper for a special wheelchair for a local teenager, as the NHS standard one provided was so inappropriate as to be unusual. A slight worry that there was something very wrong here was washed into insignificance by a feeling ...	2008-05-17
1579	Rome, and the faith of Rome I have a number of sharp memories of Rome - a brief family visit there in July of 2004 (I think that was the year). Take a family group of somewhere between half a dozen and a dozen, all strong characters but with very different backgrounds and very different habits when holidaying / touring. Mix in ...	2008-03-18
1573	Budget tax increases hit vehicle market Seen in Melksham at lunchtime today: The Chancellor put heavy tax increases onto larger road vehicles this week in his budget - I wonder if he expected to have quite such a swift and far-reaching effect as this! ...	2008-03-14 (short)
1526	Carers at work - court case changes It was a slow news day yesterday with no obvious top story, so the "top story" that I happened across in Nottingham perhaps didn't even make it onto other people's radar. It concerns a lady who had to rush off from work from time to time because she's a carer. She felt that her employers weren't giving ...	2008-02-02
1428	Travel Across Wiltshire - the game What better way to learn about efficient public transport than to play a game to get you around from one place to another? And what better way to generate a new Tk canvas example, and a new PHP page too, than to prepare such a game on our web site. The board looks like this: If you select this link ...	2007-11-13
1386	New software product for warmblooded programmers Have you come across the latest software product known as "Girlfriend"? Girlfriend is a piece of software that was designed to meet requirements of both the leisure and utility market, providing mobile facilities, facilities for home entertainment, and also undertaking a management role under which ...	2007-10-21
1260	An inspirational business talk from one of our prospective MPs I've met Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones before; he's "the Black Farmer" with his Devonshire farm, and his famous brand of sauages. Oh - and he's our prospective Conservative MP too. From that meeting before - concerned with local public transport - I got a picture of an assured gentleman with an aristocratic ...	2007-07-06
1247	An afternoon at a public enquiry [Part of my report into that strange day - 26th June 2007 - index] Enquiry in Public into the Regional Spatial Strategy You'll probably look at that title and say "Eh?" and "WHAT?". The Regional Spatial Strategy has been prepared by the South West Regional Authority as a plan for where the part of ...	2007-06-27
1175	Local elections - choosing who to vote for It's election morning - we're voting for Parish Councillors (for Melksham Without Parish Council) where we can choose up to 10 of 11, and for West Wilts District Council where we can vote for 3 out of 10. For perhaps the first time, I feel that I really know a number of the candidates - that I can make ...	2007-05-03
1060	What a relief from the tax office. A great weight is lifted off my shoulders this morning, in a letter from the tax office. For - goodness - a year now, they've been looking into my personal return for the 2003/04 tax year. I understand they choose some returns at random and others because they look odd, and fair enough. I guess mine ...	2007-02-01
967	Realistic on line shoot'em up I understand that there's a new online shoot'em application available. You can raise and lower your gun, aim, file, pull the trigger and kill wildlife during a walk in the woods, all without leaving your living room. It all seems very realistic and that's not a surprise because it IS real. With the ...	2006-12-05
875	Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones My involvement with the campaign to retain Melksham's train service at present or improved levels was always going to be a tough one. The threat to the service came to our attention late in the day, and the Government's political decision (for that's what it is) to slash trains in areas they don't hold ...	2006-09-23
780	Separation and Integration With the smoking ban in enclosed public places here in Ireland now being old news, things have settled down to the new way, and you'll find two communities at pubs like the one that's attached to the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght where I'm staying this week. A deep break as you walk toward the pub from the ...	2006-07-04
750	Almost everyone loses Contestant based shows on the TV always seem exciting and yet depressing as individual of teams compete against one another to get through to the next round, or to reach a prize or possible prize. For every jubilant winner, there's numerous others who have quietly slipped out of the back door ... There's ...	2006-06-09
607	On being British My Grandmother never passed a driving test, yet she drove a car. My Mum drove a car and although she passed her test on an automatic, she was qualified to drive with gears too. I didn't have to take a theory test, but still I'm fully qualified to drive. My daughter had to pass theory and practical ...	2006-06-09
696	Is than an uphill or downhill task? Someone was telling me a joke about the [nationality]ish Bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics, who insisted that the track was gritted for them before they would take the Bob down it .... What a tiny difference there is between a gentle upward slope and a gentle downward slope! On a downhill slope, ...	2006-06-05 (short)