Bypass - or bypass? That is the question...

The Real Bypass: the only bypass that we, the flooded, thirsty, hungry, tired and dejected need is a heart-bypass operation. At least that is the only type of bypass this government should be considering funding. I have seen my sweet little Brother's adopted town. namely Tenbury Wells totally wrecked: smashed cottages, broken hearts, and tears. No, not the rivers of blood we were emphatically told would be flowing by the early dawn of the 21st century. Rivers of sewage, pieces of peoples lives washed away, misery, and fear etched into the faces of people whose tales tell of their dreams and aspirations being washed away in a torrent - not of class or racial hatred, but in a swirling, snarling monster that was once the River Teme. Was this the same gentle meandering river I stood watching my young son shouting excitedly "I've caught one, I've caught one!"?

What is the point of my inane ramblings? Well, it's really quite simple. Whilst I hot-footed to and fro, up and down the A49, I realised that my time was now being spent not fighting as a volunteer against road schemes that contributed to the causes of Global warming. I was dealing with the consequences of not doing enough to stop the onslaught that we refer to as climate change . There is always the counter-argument: yes, I could be wrong and all of this could be a weather blip, wretched bad luck. I, for one, am the eternal pessimist and would urge all of those with vested interest in the survival of humanity to maybe err on the side of caution. If anyone can get word to Gordon, the same treatment he recently dished out to the Manchester Casino may be the masterstroke that catapults him into the stuff of legends. All in all, I don't think Gordon has a done badly in the limited time he's been in the job. So go on Gordon, make my day , do us all a favour and and let's have a period of reflection. Where we can evaluate in the present political climate (no pun intended) whether or not it is wise and discerning to be contemplating building on the Glossop flood plain. I am, of course, referring to the Glossop Spur.

Now, to get back to why I was screaming up and down the A49 . Well, it's really quite simple. While most of the middle England and the south of our beloved 'Land of dope and curry' was swimming, paddling in their own waste, I was making haste, beating a retreat. To assist my mother in her daily pilgrimage (twice daily) of trying to negotiate that other masterstroke of the Highways Agency's lunacy, namely the M60. And the reason? I was taking her to visit my Father, who happened to be residing in Wythenshawe hospital, having just undergone open heart surgery. Mum's confidence being severely tested by the harrowing experience that is the M60, it was left to yours truly to do the honours. Picking up the mantle of ferrying my mother to and fro, I got to thinking when Uncle Roy 'I want mi name up in brass lad' Oldham and the other magnificent seven have tendered their bid, that in all eventuality could lead to the introduction and implementation of congestion charging. What would be the cost to pensioners be? On my calculation, it would have cost my mother £140 to have visited twice a day at £5 pound per entry to and from the inner ring-road levy (this seems to be the the price fixing level that is being bandied around). Now excuse me for raising this point, it seems to me we have got it all wrong here. Is it morally right to expect the poorest members of our green and pleasant land, to subsidise years of transport and infrastructure mismanagement and under-development? It really beggars belief that Labour-controlled councils want Casinos, & road-charging schemes, that will force the poorest in society to pay for their and the Tories years of flagrant abuse, underfunding and 'fast dollar' over-development of our shared occupation of this country.

When-o-when will the numb skulls realise the game's up we've got to deal with the cards we've been dealt? The lowering of C02 emissions involves all of society - the rich and the wealthy will, by the virtue of their wealth, be more than able to buy the right to carry on polluting in just the same manner as they do now. I am not suggesting for one minute that all wealth-creation is necessarily a bad thing: indeed the opposite can be argued with more than an element of success. However, are these the same members of the Labour Party who kept carping on about the inequality of the USA and its ability to buy its way out of its global responsibility? I am, of course, referring to that more than corrupt idea of carbon trading. So what is the difference? Well, there is none. The responsibility for our shared occupancy of this planet started the day you were conceived - personal or collective wealth should have little or no bearing. We must show the poorest members of the world community that you cannot buy your way out of your shared responsibility and obligations to help deal with the worrying phenomenon that is global warming. If you don't believe me, ask all the recent victims of the wretched flooding whether they believe global warming exists. At least the recent weather had the integrity to wreak its havoc and destruction in equal proportions on rich and poor. A lesson that our so-called leaders could do well to learn from.

And so it is within the present climate (again, no pun intended) that I urge J P Watson and the supporters of the proposed bypass scheme (especially the HIGHWAYS AGENCY) to be brave and to think hard and long about the outcome of the present Public Inquiry. If we can all be brave, then surely now is the time, within the spirit of the moment, that we can at least

afford ourselves a moment to pause and reflect upon our greater responsibility. I am of course talking about our obligation to the planet and humanity. If we are to learn to live and cope with the demands that global warming will sweep upon our planet, then we need a period of national reflection , when all future development - including road schemes - needs to be brought to question. Thanks for reading {Green an' common}.

Who'd offer odds on this?

One of those ultra-rare events occurred last week. A Public Inquiry recommended that the massive Thames Gateway Bridge road scheme through London should not go ahead.

Transport for London had clearly been very cocksure about the result, as we had reported back in May, because they had already started putting tenders out shortly after the PI had wound up. But the Inspector has now come back and given them a surprise by agreeing with objectors, and also pointing out that the increases in C02 emissions the scheme would entail were contrary to government policy.

What' s more interesting for us is that the Assistant Inspector was our very own John Watson.

But before anyone breaks out the champagne, the government have ignored the Inspector's decision, and ordered a new Inquiry. Unlike the Inspector's decision, this is entirely predictable.

This 'rebellion' on behalf of the Inspector could be the establishment's response to the government's Planning White Paper, which seeks to remove 'obstacles' to the Planning Process.

Either way, it's clear the government's use of the Planning Process is clearly a fig leaf to cover the nakedness of it's ambition to carve up our environment. If the White Paper goes through the fig leaf will be removed.

Location, location, location

Over the past few days, we've heard a lot from a local politician about how his long record of living in the area justifies his recording in posterity upon a plaque. Roy Oldham constantly refers to his (undeniable) roots in Mottram and Longdendale, how his continued re-election gives him a mandate, and how his longstanding association with the area allows him to decide what is best for it.

You'd expect someone who identified that strongly with the place to also invest in bricks and mortar in the place too. But if you do a bit of digging, it's not entirely clear that's the case.

Private ownership of housing is public knowledge via HM Land Registry. As you might expect, there's a website which you can search for this information, and if you enter details of Roy Oldham's (now very public) address into it, this is what you get.

So why is 'no information available'? Is it because he is a Councillor? No, it can't be that because info is available for the other 2 Longdendale Councillors (here and here).

Is it because he has been subject to 'bomb threats' (no laughing at the back)? It could be, but there's no way of knowing that for sure.

One other reasonable explanation could be that he doesn't really own it.

So in that case, who does? It could well be that major landholders (i.e. institutions) are not publicly listed for a variety of reasons. So perhaps it's a local authority, such as TMBC, or government body such as the Highways Agency...

We're only asking questions. Some of you may have the answers, and it may be the case that they're innocuous enough and there's no dirty secrets. If so, fair enough. Please let us know what you think (or know).

One's suspects that there's more to this than meets the eye...

What's good for the Goose is good for the Gander...

It would be disingenuous of me to suggest that all anti-road campaigners are for the congestion charge (despite the fact that scumsuckers like Jeremy Clarkson are it's noisiest opponents). In the realm of the bourgeoisie, much of what is posited as 'green' politics has little to do with social justice and everything to do with enhancing inequality. After all, in a possible (& likely) future world where people are charged a levy for activities that contribute to climate change, the rich will carry on as normal, while the poor will be a lot poorer. A much wider appraisal of the way that our economic and social system is snuffing us out as a species, and how that is what needs to be changed, seems a long way off.

And as if to confirm that, one only has to look at the behaviour of Greater Manchester's council leaders for yesterday's Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) meeting to vote on Congestion Charging. 8 out of 10 leaders arrived by car to the meeting, including Roy Oldham, who lives a 10 minute bus ride away! Because that's how much this man believes in public transport. Much better for him to hop into his chauffeur driven 'ultimate driving machine' (a BMW paid for by Tameside's taxpayers, and a brand of car chosen virtually exclusively by bourgeois tossers worldwide), than mix with the masses on the bus. His quote? He would have used public transport "if it had been good enough" - for him that should read. But what is good enough for the 'masses' has to be good enough for everyone, or else there will be plenty of equality in our eventual extinction...

This story's got legs...

Two more newspapers to add to the roster on the Oldham plaque story - yesterday's Manchester Evening News (one and the same as Channel M & the Advertiser) and today's Daily Mirror.

BBC on the bandwagon

The story which we broke 11 days ago has now reached the monolith that is the BBC, featuring on North West Tonight this evening. It's not dissimilar to the Channel M feature, and the wind blew a copy of it into our hands...

On the Advertiser website, the comments still roll in, overwhelmingly negative, but no-one from the media has still acknowledged where the story came from.

Where do they build Travelodges?

If anyone has any doubts that Hadfield is doomed and Oldham & the Highways Agency want a motorway through Longdendale, all they need to do is go to High Peak Borough Council's planning website.

There they will find a planning application (full plans can be downloaded) for a 40-bed Hotel, alongside the point the Glossop Spur is supposed to join the A57. The Hotel will have 120 car parking spaces and measure 1525 square meters in floorspace. It will have 15 employees, and feature a bar and restaurant (both separate, i.e. like a Little Chef or Burger King at Travelodge hotels), and will be open 24 hours a day.

Sound familiar? If you've every visited a Travelodge or similar hotel, this fits the description. And why build such a place? Well, you find them at the end of motorways or alongside major dual carriageways or similarly very busy roads.

What's surprising is that outline planning permission was granted in 1999, and renewed in 2004. The current plan has been under 'consultation' since 6th July this year, and it expires tomorrow, 27th July.

You can object here ('comment on this application' button). Sorry, make that you should if you care about the area and live in and around Hadfield and don't want it to turn into a disaster area. Schemes like this and Rossington Park need to be stopped and/or strangled. If you think the Bypass and Spur are really about alleviating traffic and you know about plans like these (which suggest anything but good intentions), you are dreaming...

Incidentally, the Company proposing the development, Shepherd Developments, belong to the Shepherd Group, who describe themselves as one of the "largest privately owned group(s) in the European building sector". A subsidiary company is Portakabin, no less. No small fish then, in fact a big fish looking for a big pond. To pollute...

Now the papers get their stories from us...

After our post last week about the Mottram-in-Longdendale plaque, it seems the MEN have been visiting us and decided to poach the story (they haven't published the comment we left, unsurprisingly). Channel M (they're joined at the hip) have now jumped in, so we've grabbed it for YouTube and now the story is back home again.

The Advertiser article has a few good nuggets. Firstly, it cost £3000. Second is Oldham, quoted in all his arrogant, obnoxious glory:

"I’ve lived there for 50 years, represented the ward for 40 years and was born in Mottram.

It’s like when a carpenter works in a church and carves a little church mouse on the bottom for an emblem. I don’t see why anyone should make a problem but there are sad people in all walks of life.”

So did Roy make it himself then? No, of course not, the implication is that he has MADE LONGDENDALE. I'm running out of words to express how vile this individual is ... and he's just branded most people in the area 'sad'.

And of course, the media do their worst by turning into a game of political ping-pong and produce a Tory clad in a ridiculous chuckle brother style peroxide fright-wig.

If the MEN want to peruse our blog for other stories to publish, they're welcome. But will they have the bottle to raise the real issues? Or is this story just a bit like a game of mutual 'Chinese Burns' between bum-chums?

Beer Goggles

Anthony McKeown must have had a crate of his namesake brew before last Thursday's Glossopdale Area Forum, because he seemed to have attended a different meeting than some of our correspondents.

Rossington Park finds itself relegated to one paragraph in his latest blog, yet the issue dominated the meeting, with the anger being palpable. Whilst the council officers prattled on about distracting 'trinkets and baubles' such as new bins and playground equipment, they also did all they could to wring to their hands about the whole issue, going on about 'creating jobs' (which the area doesn't need as there's full employment) and being ham strung by planning regs. No one brought a violin.

McKeown was present, but chose to keep quiet (as did other more local councillors present - i.e. Mann and McKeown senior). Now he blames it on the Tories, for not being there. But it's one thing to not bother to turn up (for God's sake, we know they don't give a shit!), and another entirely to do so but keep quiet. The best any councillor could offer was to 'make the sheds (of RP) more in keeping with the environment' - yes, it was bloody Ivan Bell! He meant that they should be painted a different colour, but this individual means to split the campaign against Rossington Park, as we've noted before. 'Making them more in keeping with the environment' would mean levelling them. Amen to that!

And there was also plenty of talk of increased traffic in Hadfield. One or two made the link with RP, but how many others have seen the statistics about the predicted traffic increases when the bypass/spur comes online? People in Hadfield are currently looking down the barrel of a gun, and it's time to act before it's too late. It will be too late when the Bypass is built.

How convenient...

People travelling along Woolley Bridge Road from Hadfield will have noticed the slow and steady destruction on the road surface over the past few months, in particular the 50 yards or so leading up to the mini-roundabout at the (former) Spread Eagle pub with became very dangerous (virtually lethal for cyclists).

There's little doubt that the rapid deterioration is due in no small part to the increased HGV traffic coming to and from Rossington Park, because the wear was worst where the A57 meets Woolley Bridge Road.

So isn't it so convenient that a complete resurfacing has been completed this weekend gone - just in time for Inspector John Watson's site visits, which commence tomorrow?

John Watson's tour of Longdendale - ' On the Road Again'

The latest dates have been announced for John Watson's 'Tour de Longdendale' - the itinerary for his tour locations (and impromptu gigs) has been announced and can be viewed here. He'll be taking to the road on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of July, to view the sites and areas the Highways Agency/TMBC wants to devastate with the bypass.

Take your place by the roadside to wave him on his way. Though groupies will not be encouraged, there is a chance that he will sign copies of 'Highway Construction & Maintenance' at selected locations for his fans. The tour's secret last date is at Number 8 Back Moor, where JW will play before a select, invite-only audience of his biggest fans.

The Tale of Jeremy Fisher

Many people know that Beatrix Potter had an intimate association with our area - though I personally cant remember for the life of me what it was. It only emerged at about the time of her biopic, at a time when local news was somewhat thin on the ground.

What is less well known is that claims have been made that a sequel has been discovered (pages 23-97)- an until recently undiscovered sequel to her internatially (spelling courtesy of Cllr "roadmunkey") acclaimed work about a frog, "Jeremy Fisher".

Apparently and quite strangely, it represents a departure for Ms Potter being less overtly about homely Lake District animals, and mystifyingly more about a "deregulatory approach to town planning and road proposals in this other area that meant so much to her".

In the sequel an ambitous town planning frog manages to land a plum chief job in his Planning Department due to the very sudden departure of his predecessor. Cue all kinds of relaxations on planning applications. Retrospective permissions become the rule, and erstwhile public land slips into the hands of private ownership by laws of adverse possession. Short of putting a sign up on the byeways, such as "Cowboy developers welcome in this town", the message generally gets across to those who need it, and cranes and concrete block prefabs pile up in the sight of conservation areas.

Interestingly at Public Inquiry into the road the frog shows a keen interest in sustainable transport, suggesting that he has copying tricks off his chameleon like neighbours. But never fear, his flagship employment zone, far from being the town's new "information park" as claimed, is more or less simply a massive distribution centre, dependent on a bypass, and carrying no threat of being labour intensive. That would be too tedious after all, to actually deliver any kind of sustainable development is after all much too boring for a frog. So all the people who actually came to the town, can proceed with their very full intention of continuing to commute to work as a chosen lifestyle. They will find little in the flagship zone to distract them from their usual employment pattern.

At public inquiry into road proposals, these principles are encapsulated when said frog describes "conditions laid down for granting the road" as not being workable and making no sense, and suggests coyly to the Inspector that in the interests of the applicant they can be overlooked. But protests the ever conscientious and highly independent Inspector, "they are conditions, how can you overlook them", or words to that effect.

Oh well we will just strike them out, is the essence of the reply. They dont make any sense to us anyway, adds the amphibian, forgetting in passing that he himself signed the very conditions he now describes as unimposable and making no sense.

One wonders on the wisdom of such frogs being in positions of responsibility and their fitness for office.

Showdown

Following on from our last post, we're genuinely excited by another of Councillor McKeown's blogs today. He announces that Thursday's Glossopdale Area Forum meeting (7.00 p.m. Glossopdale Community College, Newshaw Lane) is all about 'Regenerating Hadfield'. Since the current policies of HPBC vis-a-vis Rossington Park are all about degenerating Hadfield, and because hundreds of people in the area are very pissed off, this should be a meeting worth attending to watch the shit hit the fan.

Having your cake and eating it

Older (or should that read 'weary'?) readers of this weblog will remember that amongst our first posts was an attempt to have a dialogue with a Glossop Councillor, Anthony McKeown, about High Peak Borough Council's decision to support the bypass. This fell flat on its face, largely because he refused to allow 'anonymous' comments on his blog (although that doesn't seem to have stopped certain Longdendale Councillors...).

But after months of tedious posts about things that are mostly only of interest to himself, he has now given us something to go on. Today, he reveals that HPBC are steamed up because the National Grid want to use the remaining accessible tunnel at Woodhead to carry electric cables, thereby putting it beyond other uses. His conclusion is that we should all support HPBC:

"...the proposals should not be supported and instead referred to the relevant government office where hopefully the proposals can be stopped or at (word missing Ant!) amended to prevent the loss of this potential future transport route"

How ironic. This is the same lot who fully support the bypass, and join TMBC in pouring scorn on existing alternative proposals to re-use the Woodhead railway line and tunnel to relieve Longdendale of HGVs. So how long do we have to wait for future use of the tunnel? Are HPBC and their councillors lobbying government for sustainable & environmentally friendly alternatives to more roads and more cars? If you've got a point of view, pop over to this post and leave a comment (and remember, any old name will do as long as it's not a nickname...)

Shit rolls downhill...

Well, we have the Houses of Parliament visiting us today. And when you look how they arrived at us and what they were looking for (click through image to see the full screen grab), it would suggest a few possibilities:

1) Someone is in the shit, as news travels of his adventures on the internet

2) Said person is on an away-day to Parliament

Even more interestingly, we had the Guardian Media Group visit us yesterday too, so I'd like to think it's the former. We'll see...

Writing yourself into history

Inserting yourself into history before your time is up takes a certain amount of audacity, not to mention arrogance, but it seems Roy Oldham has those qualities in spades. Either that or lickspittles who anticipate his vanity. TMBC's latest wheeze is to erect a plaque next to the Lowry statue which shows important places and landmarks in Mottram-in-Longdendale.

There's quite a selection of places (with the obligatory reference to Lowry's last home) but this monument betrays some interesting concepts.

Firstly, the route of the Longdendale Bypass cannot be traced since it falls outside the frame. Perhaps TMBC are conscious that it may never be built? Perhaps they're embarrassed? Or maybe they thought this would be tempting fate. After all, even the most arrogant know their limits.

And if you didn't know where Oldham lived, you'd think it was on the corner of Back Moor, which it isn't. Perhaps Roy or one of his minions spotted that he wasn't present are ordered the sculpture to be suitably altered, despite the inaccuracy?

Or maybe it indicates that Oldham is about to retire? How sad...

Take heart Roy, we're looking forward to you taking the stand at the Public Inquiry to justify your project to us all!

The plaque - Oldham's house indicated by the white circle

'Councillor' Brocklehurst at the Public Inquiry (again)

Still with Day #5 of the Public Inquiry, there's no point in talking about the boorish figure of Duncan Hollows (Siege) and his babblings apart from a priceless quote he awarded us - "I have not got the ability to foresee the future, so I am not omniscient" (page 52, line 13). Yes indeed, he is not God. Glad that's cleared up.

The best bit of the day is reserved for Joyce Brocklehurst, someone who we've talked about before, with particular reference to her contradictory calls for less traffic and more Industrial Development for Tintwistle.

But hang on - why does the Inquiry Programme call her 'Councillor'? She used to be, but now she's a Parish Councillor, and she admits as much, but has to point out she held this post for 16 years. 16 long, long years. And it's all over now. Shame that.

She's against public transport - "I do not think public transport is a good option for our area" (page 57, line 15). Well, I'm sorry but IT HAS TO BE. Private car ownership and the complete subservience of transport infrastructure towards it is destroying our environment.

And then she's onto her pet project. Two lines tells us all we need to know:

"I think this (Rossington Park) was built on the proviso that we had a Bypass" (page 57, line 18)

"it (Rossington Park) really needs this (the Bypass) to sustain a lot of the businesses there" (page 57, line 25)

She goes on to blame the traffic for the closure of local shops in Tinsle (page 58, line 17) - but the same thing is happening in Hadfield, and that has little to do with traffic, and everything to do with people getting in their cars to go to Tesco in Glossop.

But under questioning, she admits that although she envisages HGVs will use the Glossop Spur to get to Rossington Park (fuck people in Hadfield, that's not her Parish!) , they may still use the existing routes. It's not rocket science is it? Which route is the best one to Rossington Park?

A. Travel the length of the Bypass, queuing at all the traffic lights (which are meant to discourage HGVs apparently), before negotiating roundabouts, then the Spur and the hold ups to get to the A57.

or

B. Turn left down New Road, up Waterside, right at the Lamp onto Woolley Bridge Road and bingo, you're there.

It really is no contest, and she knows it. Why would HGVs go much further out of their way, and take much longer to do so? It's similar to the argument about HGVs using the M62 - coming along the A628 is actually quicker, even with the hold ups. And the same thing will happen with New Road, with or without the bypass.

The solution? No Bypass means a strangled Rossington Park. The alternative cannot be contemplated...

Siege's latest 'local' supporter

Following our post the other day on the hypocrisy of Longdendale Siege's claims to have canvassed support among drivers from everywhere but Longdendale, it seems their supporters stretch even further than that if this comment on the Tameside Advertiser's website is anything to go by:

I travelled the route from Glossop to Hyde in the 1960s I travelled the same route thiis year .Stop procrastinating get the bloody bypass built.
harry snelson, canada

Is this the same Harry Snelson that is the Director of Communications for the American Association of Swine Veterinarians? And was he looking for swine in Tameside (and did he find any)?

Lies, damned lies and statistics

More nuggets from Day #5 were amongst the supporting statement of Patrick Jenner. He illustrates more contradictions in bypass supporters' arguments, this time from the perspective of Tintwistle Parish Council in an exchange with John Watson (page 15, line 19 onwards):

(Jenner) The need for a Bypass came top of the list, giving a clear indication of village feelings.
Q. Well, it is top of the list in the sense that that is where you have put it, but it got slightly fewer votes than keeping the Post Office, did it not?
A. Yes. They were near enough on par.
Q. Yes, that is right.
A. Second to the keeping of Post Office, yes.
Q. Yes.
A. A need for Bypass came top of the list as far as we are concerned, but on them statistics it came second.

So that's OK then...

But then, he's rumbled. John Watson clearly points out that his survey is on Derbyshire CC headed notepaper (page 30, lines 9-16). Oh dear:

Q. You have used Derbyshire County Council headed paper to tell people about the survey that you did.
A. Yes.
Q. The evidence that you give, are you giving it in your own right or as an employee of Derbyshire County Council or in what capacity?
A. I am not giving it as an employee of Derbyshire County Council.

So why use headed notepaper then? Does the Council know?

Hypocrites

All we ever hear from Longdendale Siege is how 'outsiders' are responsible for most of the opposition to this bypass. It's a huge part of their argument, that local people all want the bypass. So to whom do they run to drum up another petition? Motorists stuck in traffic queues. And where are they from? Well, once again, Siege supporter Arthur Stanway on the transcript from Day #5 of the Public Inquiry shows us (lines 17-22, page 9):

Q. Thank you. Just a further thought: so you collected the signatures from people passing in cars?
A. That is correct.
Q. So were these all local people?
A. No, no, these were people coming from outside the village. They are from all over.

Not local!

John Watson smells a rat...

Day 2 of the PI, and he's rumbled Tameside. A priceless quote from John Watson (p.94, line 22):

There seems to be a large rodent operating in the corner?

Some of us have been smelling a rat for years, but there you go...

Day 2 was a day marred by sound problems and John Watson's rapidly diminishing temper. You would have thought these problems would have been ironed out by now, but many people pointed out back in May that a large open space with a stone floor doesn't lend itself to good acoustics. It's not unreasonable to wonder whether this is deliberate, especially as someone from the floor pointed out (p.23 line 25) on the day that Hyde Town Hall has excellent acoustics.

Sean of the Dead

... has been resurrected. Yes, we have received word that some bright spark has managed to bring back to life Sean Parker-Perry's weblog (aka Roadmunkey). Note the change from the original ('bypassedwarrior' rather than 'bypasswarrrior').

Now everyone can read his missives which were posted up until his mysterious disappearance from the internet last month. One interesting piece of information to add is that a wikipedia editor in contact with Sean received a reply from the Borough Solicitor of Tameside MBC on a Sunday!

Meanwhile, back on wikipedia, Sean's other alter-ego (and IP number) 83.104.50.161 has been editing again - this time James Purnell's page. Indeed, all controversy has been removed from the page, just in time for his new job as Secretary of State for Culture. How convenient...