Page 33 - Phonebox Magazine October 2009

Olney Transititon request proves futile
Dear Editor
I recently received the following reply to a request to secure a supply of the compost the good people of Olney are providing, and reducing landfill bills for MK council in the process.
Can anyone tell me where these savings are going? Is the farmer concerned paying for or donating crops back to local people for our fine compost? From the sublime to the ridiculous literally.
Nothing heard from R. reply received in July.
Faithfully Mackno’s ghost
Dear Doug
I sympathies with your position and your desire to
solve the problem of allotment space in Olney, unfortunately the compost from the scheme is not PAS 100 compliant and it is therefore illegal for us to give or sell the material to members of the public. The material is perfectly safe, but even tiny fragments of plastic in the compost means it is not of a sufficient quality.
We are hoping to achieve this quality standard in the future, and would like to eventually be able to give the compost to Milton Keynes residents.
At present the compost is used as agricultural fertilizer, which can be of a lower quality standard.
I am copying your email to R. who has worked in planning. She may have some contacts in companies that deal with removal of top soil and spoil heaps, from the many roadwork’s and construction jobs around MK.
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.
Best wishes
Waste Education Manager
My original letter:
Dear Sir or Madam
I am part of Olney Transition http://groups.google.co.uk/group/olney-transition. We have a problem with Olney Town Council's intransigent refusal to make more allotments available despite huge local demand - the council is effectively run by local landowners.
In line with Transition Town http://www.transitiontowns.org/ principles we have come up with a solution to this impasse, which is to use the Cuban model of importing soil.
The soil in Olney away from the river is generally very poor heavy clay, which in small domestic gardens is often mixed up with builders waste.
We are proposing raised beds with imported soil as a solution to those with a garden.
The typical wait for an allotment is now three years for a very small plot.
To this end we will be creating web pages tailored to Olney with potential suppliers of soil being one essential.
I notice from the Food and Garden Waste Collection Scheme leaflet received recently you will be using said waste for soil conditioning.
Would it not be true recycling if some of this soil came back to the council tax payers and helped them achieve a greater degree of self sufficiency. Yours faithfully,
Olney Transition
BARRY JOHN CLARK 02.12.1950 – 27.08.2009
My brother Barry spent virtually all of his life in Olney before moving to Lowestoft in March 2006. Sadly his dream of a long and happy early retirement by the sea was not to be and he was taken from us on 27th August
2009.
Barry married his first wife, Christine Ridsdale, in July 1980. Unfortunately Chris did not enjoy good health and she was forced to retire early from her nursing career. Things came to a sudden decline when Chris was rushed to hospital on 10th April 1995. She died in the early hours of the following morning. The situation was to get more tragic for Barry and me when our mother suddenly collapsed and died on 18th April, the day before Christine’s funeral. It would be fair to say that this was probably one of the lowest points in Barry’s life.
Two things that gave Barry great comfort during those days were his loyal support of Northampton Town Football Club and his love of playing live music. He had played in a locally-based group, ‘Barnwell Mill’ for some years. After a period of inactivity, the group reformed under the name ‘High & Wide’.
Barry eventually found happiness again when he met Christine Carter in June 1998. After moving to Olney in 2001, Chris and Barry were married at the Olney Baptist Church in June 2005. A reception followed at Olney Workingmen’s Club, now known as The Carlton House Club, during which ‘High & Wide’, including Barry on bass, provided the music. The move to Lowestoft in March 2006 resulted in the disbanding of ‘High & Wide’, but it was not too long before Barry was discovering the local music scene on the east coast and performing in jam sessions. ‘High & Wide’ did reform for one special performance in September 2008, playing at a family wedding reception in Yelden.
In October 2006 Barry began to feel unwell and he was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2007. After treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy Barry went into remission and appeared to be getting back to his normal health. Regular check-ups continued but further signs of cancer were discovered in April 2009. Barry had further treatment, but his health continued to deteriorate despite all of the loving care and attention that Chris lavished on him. A chest infection resulted in an emergency admission by ambulance to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston on 13th August. His condition did not improve and he passed away on 27th August.
Barry’s funeral service was held at Gorleston Crematorium on Wednesday 9th September, officiated by Rev. Robert Soanes. It was a very moving service, but not without moments of humour to reflect Barry’s interest in music, football and a habit of marrying ladies called Christine! It was very moving to see the numbers of Barry’s friends and family who made the journey over to the east coast to mark his passing. Donations were collected for the ‘Palliative Care East’ Appeal. The aim of this appeal by the James Paget Hospital is to build and run a bespoke Palliative Care Unit. They are aiming to raise £1.5m. At present the fund stands at about £850,000 and will run for another year. Had this unit already been open, it is where Barry would have spent his last few days.
Chris and I would like to thank relatives and friends for their messages of sympathy, floral tributes and kind donations to the above appeal.
Steve Clark
Phonebox Magazine 33