What a relief to at last see the sun during the past week. The ground is already responding to the warmth and the accompanying drying wind. Although still far too sodden to begin field work, it does give one some hope that before too long we can venture onto the land. However, it is important to resist the temptation to start too soon which will cause additional damage to the soil structure which is already suffering from compaction from the constant rain and saturated ground.
The sun is good for moral and those who have been particularly gloomy throughout the long winter with its grey skies and torrential rain already look happier and appear gently optimistic.
The latest weather forecast predictions are that following this exceptionally wet winter with all the misery which has come with it, we can now expect a summer which could be the hottest and driest on record.
Professor Armin Bunde, of Justus Liebig University in Glessen in Germany, believes there is a 'three-in-four likelihood' that this summer the temperatures will be driven to record highs.
He says the warm weather will be driven by the El Niño weather pattern and as a result of his prediction, researchers are already recommending that farmers should consider investing in drought-resistant varieties of crops, ‘to protect us from the effects of very high temperatures’. This is an entirely different subject to debate but one which cannot be entertained on a whim or on the back of uncertainty.
I don't know how good Prof Bunde is, but if his weather predictions are as reliable as the British weather 'experts', who predicted that this winter was to be colder and drier than usual, then I think we should proceed with caution.
The question that will continue to be debated is, ‘can this possibly be due to Climate Change?’ Of course it is, but is it ‘Man Made Climate Change’? That is the hundred billion dollar question!
If I were a betting man which I clearly am not, I would risk a fair bet on a ‘No’ to that. Man has done a fairly good job of polluting the planet with rubbish of various varieties, but are we pathetic creatures capable of altering the course of the Trade Winds and El Niño? I seriously doubt it.
There was sad little story in the Daily Mail last week which reported that Britain's oldest working men's club has been forced to close after 146 years. Since 1868 the men of Madeley in Shropshire have flocked to the Anstice Memorial Institute to socialise and drink a well-earned pint of bitter and enjoy a game of snooker, billiards or pool.
This club was built in Victorian times in memory of John Anstice who was the proprietor of the Madely Wood Company which had coal and iron interests in the district.
In 2010 a surveyor inspected the Grade 2 - listed building which has four bars, a snooker room, pool room and a magnificent ballroom. He reported that repairs to the crumbling brickwork and improvements to meet safety standards would cost at least £50,000.
The club applied for Lottery funding but was told it would not qualify as its men-only membership rules breached equality criteria.
At an extraordinary general meeting last week, 246 of the 300 members present refused to change the men only membership rules, despite that this would result in closure being inevitable.
I am surprised that the women of Madely have not been out fund raising and picketing the Lottery in a desperate bid to keep the club open for their men folk. There have been men-only clubs in towns and cities across the country for centuries, and it is quite beyond me why these interfering councils and the PC brigade should stop them. These decisions are not about ‘woman’s rights and equality’, they are about politicians being weak and spineless, and being incapable of standing up for common sense.
To effectively close down a working men’s club through petty rules, red tape and bureaucracy is a complete nonsense and one which politicians of all colours should be ashamed to have supported. What this stupid undemocratic ruling has introduced is one which panders to yet another minority narrow minded group. Shame on the lot of them.
Carola Godman Irvine
The sun is good for moral and those who have been particularly gloomy throughout the long winter with its grey skies and torrential rain already look happier and appear gently optimistic.
The latest weather forecast predictions are that following this exceptionally wet winter with all the misery which has come with it, we can now expect a summer which could be the hottest and driest on record.
Professor Armin Bunde, of Justus Liebig University in Glessen in Germany, believes there is a 'three-in-four likelihood' that this summer the temperatures will be driven to record highs.
He says the warm weather will be driven by the El Niño weather pattern and as a result of his prediction, researchers are already recommending that farmers should consider investing in drought-resistant varieties of crops, ‘to protect us from the effects of very high temperatures’. This is an entirely different subject to debate but one which cannot be entertained on a whim or on the back of uncertainty.
I don't know how good Prof Bunde is, but if his weather predictions are as reliable as the British weather 'experts', who predicted that this winter was to be colder and drier than usual, then I think we should proceed with caution.
The question that will continue to be debated is, ‘can this possibly be due to Climate Change?’ Of course it is, but is it ‘Man Made Climate Change’? That is the hundred billion dollar question!
If I were a betting man which I clearly am not, I would risk a fair bet on a ‘No’ to that. Man has done a fairly good job of polluting the planet with rubbish of various varieties, but are we pathetic creatures capable of altering the course of the Trade Winds and El Niño? I seriously doubt it.
There was sad little story in the Daily Mail last week which reported that Britain's oldest working men's club has been forced to close after 146 years. Since 1868 the men of Madeley in Shropshire have flocked to the Anstice Memorial Institute to socialise and drink a well-earned pint of bitter and enjoy a game of snooker, billiards or pool.
This club was built in Victorian times in memory of John Anstice who was the proprietor of the Madely Wood Company which had coal and iron interests in the district.
In 2010 a surveyor inspected the Grade 2 - listed building which has four bars, a snooker room, pool room and a magnificent ballroom. He reported that repairs to the crumbling brickwork and improvements to meet safety standards would cost at least £50,000.
The club applied for Lottery funding but was told it would not qualify as its men-only membership rules breached equality criteria.
At an extraordinary general meeting last week, 246 of the 300 members present refused to change the men only membership rules, despite that this would result in closure being inevitable.
I am surprised that the women of Madely have not been out fund raising and picketing the Lottery in a desperate bid to keep the club open for their men folk. There have been men-only clubs in towns and cities across the country for centuries, and it is quite beyond me why these interfering councils and the PC brigade should stop them. These decisions are not about ‘woman’s rights and equality’, they are about politicians being weak and spineless, and being incapable of standing up for common sense.
To effectively close down a working men’s club through petty rules, red tape and bureaucracy is a complete nonsense and one which politicians of all colours should be ashamed to have supported. What this stupid undemocratic ruling has introduced is one which panders to yet another minority narrow minded group. Shame on the lot of them.
Carola Godman Irvine
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