And so the situation takes a different direction....

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted a journal on this site, so please bear with me while I bring you up to date on the events of the past year.

After Hilary passed away, looking back at those dark days I must have been in a state of delayed shock; however by early last year I was able to begin thinking about a return to the political arena, not through any particular wish to get actively involved again, but to re-establish links and activity with those friends and colleagues who had supported me so ably after the tragic events of 2008.

In the meantime however, my 65th birthday had been and gone leaving me 'officially' retired; having previously resigned all my voluntary positions - Coppice chair of Governors, Hatchford Brook youth Centre, Land Rover Forum, etc., I suddenly found myself isolated from everything that had meant something to me in years gone by.

I therefore rejoined the Solihull Conservative Association during the autumn of 2013, (thanks to the generosity of Cllr Peter Doyle who kindly paid my yearly subscription fee), and put my name forward to be appended to the candidates' list for 2014; after a rather peremptory interview with the Chairman and other top table officers I was selected to stand for election in Olton ward, and promptly set about revisiting old acquaintances and generally putting myself about.

Three days before the cutoff point for nominations, I received a phone call from the Chairman, asking if I'd be prepared to step aside in Olton in favour of a "more suitable candidate" in the form of Rob Grinsell, husband of Shirley Councillor Karen Grinsell, who apparently didn't "suffer from the difficulties that I was experiencing".
Precisely what was meant by that phrase is still unclear to me, even now; however having some experience in what goes on behind the scenes at CHQ, I came to the inescapable conclusion that this was a 'done deal' between senior members of the Association, and therefore it would be pointless for me to dig my heels in - I agreed to stand down, and promptly wrote an e-mail of resignation, effective instanter.

Of course I had my own theory as to why I was dumped, and after discussing the matter with several people it seems that I was a victim of my own honesty and forthright manner; my (by now) famous opposition to HS2 and continued open dislike of our EU membership certainly didn't sit well with factions of the top table, and they would rather not have someone like me back on the Council who wasn't prepared to sit back and toe the party line - I tell it the way I see it, please or offend, and always have.

Now for those of you who know me, you'll also know that I've always been a Conservative (with a small 'c') and to me, being conservative means just that - find a fair, workable solution to a problem, put it all in place and then leave it alone; any minor changes can be made as and when necessary - i.e. if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it.
Part and parcel of Conservatism to me is openness and honesty - even if it hurts to be that way at times - so to see the way in which the Cameron government has consistently failed to maintain MY ethical standards over the past few years really was the last straw for me; our "cast-iron guarantee" of a referendum on European membership, like many other promises made at the 2010 election, hasn't materialised and is never likely to materialise - because as I said way back in 2009, the EU constitution would be changed to stop any member state taking such a step without full EU council approval.
What happened in 2012? - precisely that change I predicted, which Mr Cameron also knew about when he made his "cast-iron promise" during the 2010 election.
He knew full well that the EU was moving in that direction well beforehand; therefore to me, the man's a liar and a snide - he's trying to use the EU's own legislation to prevent the UK from holding a referendum, the results of which would have told him - and everyone else - that UK citizens want OUT of Europe, full-stop. Why else would he have promised the national vote, but ONLY in 2017, AFTER the EU legislation comes into force?
Why also did he insert the caveat "subject to a successful renegotioation of our terms of EU membership" when he already knew that any such negotioations would be vetoed by other member states?

So, quoting Robin Cook, it was "with a heavy heart" that I resigned from the Conservatives and began looking around at other, smaller organisations that would be a "better fit" for me personally; as a regular YouTube user I frequently came across references to Nigel Farrage's speeches in the EU council chamber, so just on the offchance of some entertainment, I had a look at a few of them.
I have to admit that I was impressed; okay, his manner might seem to be oafish to some people, but nobody could ever misunderstand what he says and why he's saying it - his delivery is superb.
Finding out what else UKIP had besides being anti-EU proved a bit more problematical; it seems that as a young and growing party, some aspects of policy still have to be resolved and hopefully, those resolutions will be forthcoming at the Party Conference at Doncaster next month.

For the time being however, on the two major National issues that concern me personally UKIP and I are both on the same wavelength; that said, from various conversations and emails I've been party to just recently, UKIP policy is, and always will be based on common sense, practicality, plain speaking and complete honesty - and that suits me just fine!

Lastly, all Elmdonians should be advised that as of August, I have been selected by UKIP to stand for election to SMBC as Elmdon Ward Councillor (again!) next May.
After a layoff of six years I'm back with the same drive and fire I became noted for from 99 to 08, just a little older, and a lot wiser!

Should anyone have any questions or comments, my telephone number is on site and my email address is now  jaybee48@gmail.com.

Pax vobiscum populi!

JB.

Following on....

..from my last blog, I've no doubt that many will ask why I've suddenly reappeared on the blog scene after so long, and what is my purpose in doing so.
A simple answer would be 'to ask YOU a question', but it's more involved than that, and I'll try to explain why.
It's always been my aim in life to look at events from a 'common sense' perspective where if it fits, it's logical and it's 'do-able' then I'll I'll do it, one way or another.
This works very well with engineering, mechanics and other disciplines; however when the human element is factored into local issues and problems, then the line becomes somewhat less clear - different people have different views, and that is where the element of that much over-used word "community" comes into the equation.
All the major issues that we in Elmdon faced during my time as a local councillor fell into the 'personal opinion' category where a solution that suited one resident didn't necessarily suit another; in all of those big issues, I "led from the sidelines" by organising residents into a coherent, self-sufficient group that put individual wish-lists to one side in favour of presenting a unified front to resolve their problems.
Similarly, when locals around the Harvester pub complained about noise and nuisance, I organised quarterly meetings at the pub so that any resident with a problem could air their views directly to the management - and to others - without fear or favour; this had the effect of both sides seeing a common point of view, and most of the problems were resolved without any further animosity.
The instances of this approach are endless, but the outcomes were nearly always positive.

That however is part of the history of my Civic past; okay, it's been four years since I went into the wilderness, but now with a new lady by my side and my fires ablaze once more, I feel it's high time that I raised my game and put myself forward for re-election to Elmdon ward next year.

Many local people have asked me if I have given it much thought over the past couple of years, and despite slight misgivings I have to say that I'm well up for it; the question is, are you, the good people of Elmdon ward, prepared to give me the support I need to get back onto the Council and fight your corner?
THAT is the question I'm asking - now the answers are up to you.

Take care.

I'm finally beginning to emerge....

...from what seemed to be a bad dream - a sort of limbo that had no avenue of escape, not even in sleep.
One day merged into the next, then the weeks went by almost unnoticed; I carried on as normal with the usual routine of shopping, washing, keeping the house clean and tidy, and carried on with my outside duties at Coppice School and the Hatchford Brook Youth Centre.
Despite this semblance of normal life, somehow I felt detached - almost as if I was outside looking inwards, rather than vice versa, and somehow felt totally apathetic towards all those issues that I fought both for and against as a local Councillor; the fire had gone, and I felt myself drifting along with no real direction.
One of the principal causes of this, looking back, wasn't only Hilary's traumatic demise, although that was certainly a factor; what did strike hard was the fact that for the previous ten years I'd led pretty much three discrete lives, one as a husband and father, one as a professional mechanic and another as Elmdon's outspoken voice at Solihull Council. During all that time I'd been super-busy, frequently clocking up over seventy hours a week.
Suddenly all that was gone; my health was failing slowly, the pillar of my life had died and my job disappeared with the 2008 financial metdown; almost to add injury to insult, I suffered a minor stroke just before Christmas that had significant effects on my right side, which essentially sidelined me from jobhunting for several months.
During the course of the investigation into that event, a CT scan showed extensive previous damage to the area around the base of the central cortex; looking back, this was the result of being too close to the discharge of a naval 4.5 inch gun that went off less than twenty feet above my head, back in 1969.
Now that the consultants knew what they were looking at, they had me put on a medication regime that so far has been reasonably successful; motor response is back to normal, as is my hand/eye co-ordination.
Psychologically, the improvement in my medical condition has made an enormous difference to the way I look at the world - as my frequent letters in the local press bear witness!
Please look at the next blog along to learn what the future may hold, both for me and for you as Solihull residents!

Schools issues....

It's now nearly eighteen months since Hilary died and things are beginning to happen in my life, both socially and politically - I might say not before time.
Having been a governor at Coppice School since 2006 I remained on the governing body, more to give me an outside interest than anything else, so it was with some misgivings that I agreed to take the lead on the proposed Childrens Centre on the Coppice School site.
From the outset it became clear that it would be a controversial matter to build on the open grassed area at the side of the main school building, as there is very little spare room on the school site, and there was also the issue of the loss of several mature trees to consider.
However, by judicious positioning of the building, and altering its plan shape, the architect was able to 'fit in' the necessary parking bays and access arrangements with only two of the original five trees being affected.
To have moved it any further back into the site would have meant losing all of those, plus the amenity land-take for the project would have fallen foul of national guidelines and advice from Sport England.
Sadly, despite all the work that went into the project the Planning Subcommittee members refused permission because of its impact on the street scene, and its placement forward of the extant building line of the main school building.
I should perhaps mention the reason for the Governing Body's involvement in this, which will hopefully put things into a clearer perspective.
In November 2007 the DfES rolled out an initiative for all cluster school establishments, where at least one school in every cluster would have to provide what it called "Extended Services"; essentially, these services are already with us in terms of 'before and after-school activities', but additional facilities would be brought onstream as and when required.
This has to be in place and running by July of 2012, so with that in mind the Board discussed the matter in depth, to evaluate whether an extended services regime could be incorporated into the proposed Childrens' Centre.
The board agreed that it would save a lot of time, money and disruption to local folks if the two functions were installed into one building, so it was further agreed that Coppice School would 'invest' - i.e. contribute funding from devolved capital to add a dedicated extended services room to the original specifications of the building.
All that said, the Centre is not now going to be built, which leaves the Board with another conundrum, that of how and where do we put our "dedicated Extended Services" facility?
That will be a discussion for another day, but my feeling remains that because of misplaced and misinformed opposition to the Childrens' Centre we have lost a golden opportunity to fulfil the requirements of the Extended Services regime.

Finally, I'm sorry to say that Mr. Maxfield has stepped down from the Chairmanship of the Governing Body owing to increasing family commitments - I'm sure we all wish him well and thank him for the sterling work he has done on the school's behalf; however he will remain on the board as Vice-Chairman for the foreseeable future.
The vacant Chair is now being taken by none other than Yours Truly, and I will do my level best to continue the good works achieved by my predecessor.
JB.

Six months on....

After the past six months or so, we have all begun to settle back into something resembling normality; however I think it fair to say that we are all still very bitter at losing Hilary at such a young age, and at a time when she should by rights have been enjoying the fruits of her previous efforts and endeavours.

It is becoming easier, but the process of grieving is necessarily a slow one and something that has to be tackled on a daily basis - nobody can simply 'switch off' the sense of loss we feel after 30-odd years together, it simply isn't possible.

This Christmas has been a poignant one in many respects, being the first since her passing; typically of her, she had made several arrangements as regards presents for all the family, even though she knew full well that she wouldn't be around to see them opened - such was the selflessness of Hilary and the way she tried to look after everybody.

Politically I have taken the back-road of disappearing into the undergrowth, at least for the time being, as the fire that once kept me working day and night on behalf of local residents has been redirected against the NHS system that failed Hilary so badly when she needed it most.

I am currently "negotiating" with the complaints departments at both Heart of England and Coventry & Warwicks Healthcare Trusts, with th ultimate aim of finding out what went wrong, why it went wrong and how we can prevent that sort of thing happening again.

I have to say that so far, the answers that I've been given have been highly unsatisfactory to put it mildly, having evaded the basic issue of why she was discharged from hospital on five occasions with no definitive diagnosis, and why treatment for pancreatitis was continued despite her worsening condition.
We knew that her pancreas was inflamed, and furthermore we knew what was causing the inflammation - an alleged cyst - yet nothing was done about it until it was far too late and the tumour had spread to her liver.
I don't think it unreasonable to ask the question of 'why was nothing done?'

I live in hopes that I might get a coherent answer to that question; meanwhile I' like to wish all of you a very happy New Year, and now that I'm back in circulation as it were, I hope to see you at some point in the next month or so.

JB.

Six months on....

Written 24th June 2008.

It's now a matter of history that my dear wife Hilary passed on after a short, but unequal battle against pancreatic cancer on the 26th of May, 2008, at the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull.

Her funeral service was arranged and ably conducted by Wm. Painter & Sons at Robin Hood on the 3rd of June, which was very appropriate as that would have been her 55th birthday.

The turnout at the service was staggering; the Mayor of Solihull, Cllr David Bell led the corporate list of mourners, accompanied by eight Councillors, the CEO of the Council Mark Rogers and several senior departmental directors - their support for us as a family was deeply appreciated.

Our thanks also go out to those many friends, neighbours and associates who turned out to pay their final respects to a very special lady whose life was cut short by several years by that deadly disease.

Let us now hope that she is finally at rest, and the family and I can move on with the remainder of our lives, always mindful of her memory and presence in our hearts.

JB.

The Final Irony.....

As I sit here with the first bulletin of the post-election period, I struggle to find the words to describe how I feel inwardly, without being either unkind or derogatory to others; however despite having fought an election campaign based on plain speaking, truthfulness and honesty, it seems that the forces of spin, deceit and economies with the truth have prevailed in this case, and you now have two Liberal Democrat Councillors in Elmdon.
I have nothing against either of these ladies; other than being LibDems they seem perfectly rational, normal human beings; I do however question some of the doorstep tactics used by their canvassing crews, which openly questioned my abilities as a local Councillor and inferred that I used my wife's illness as a ploy for sympathy.
"She's ill, not dying", and "I'm sure she's not that bad" were but two of the reported responses from residents that I know personally, both of which were statements made without any knowlege of the true position.
That position is a stark one; my wife is terminally ill with cancer, and has probably less than a month to live - just how "ill" or "bad" do you have to be to qualify for these people?
That position is also the sole reason why I was unable to get round the ward to canvass your support; daily fifty-mile round trips to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry eat into free time voraciously, with a full-time job, Council commitments and other voluntary work that I do on a weekly basis taking up the remainder.
Another issue that contributed to the result, and one that is more concerning as time goes on, is the upsurge in support for the BNP; in Elmdon they polled 609 votes, most of which came from my core vote as a right-wing stalwart and thus undermined my ability to keep the lefty Liberals out of the seat.
If those of you who did vote BNP had done some basic arithmetic, you would have seen that by casting a protest vote for them you would be letting the leftwingers in by default, with precisely the opposite effect to the one you hoped for.
A similar thing happened in Lyndon ward, where Irene Chamberlain fought Greg Goldingay for the top honours; although Greg had improved the Tory vote last year, the introduction of the BNP into the mix saw both Tory and Liberal votes drop by fifty-odd for the Tories and over two hundred for the LibDems.
The BNP vote was just over 400, which is a worrying trend, considering their policies revolve around national issues and not local ones.
For those of you who follow the numbers game, after all the dust has settled the overall position is that the Liberals have lost one and gained one, Tories have lost one and gained three, and Labour have lost another two in the forms of Hugh Hendry in Smithswood and John Kimberley in Kingshurst & Fordbridge.
Alf Hill in Chelmsley came very close to losing this time with a tiny majority, and the Greens now have their first Councillor on the force in Smithswood in place of Hughie Hendry - the times they are a'changin'!
I will miss being part of the Council, and I'll also miss being involved in the daily round of looking after my residents and those other duties that come as part and parcel of the job; however it will give me the time to reorganise my life after my wife passes on.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you who did support me and sent messages of condolences, and I promise that at some time in the future, just like Arnie --- I'll be back!

Johnny Bramham.

A Sabbaitcal.

Owing to legislation and protocols surrounding election expenses, this site will be temporarliy suspended until May 2nd.
My apologies to all of you for this inconvenience.
JB.