Who or What is the EU:

Here's the nub of the problem, and possibly an explanation of why the older generations voted leave:

In 1975 we voted to join a common market with eleven other countries. Our elected representatives negotiated with the elected representatives of eleven other countries on matters of trade, goods, tariffs etc.

The EU is not a country. It has no democratically elected representatives, and the people of the 28 member states have no democratic control or oversight of the "management" team. It is the antithesis of democracy, it is an uber-quango.

It is unelected and unaccountable. It has not even produced qualified accounts for two decades, highlighting what money it has taken from the member states and where that money has gone. It is a non-theistic religion that exists and survives for its own purpose.

The welfare of the 28 member states do not concern it, the welfare and livelihoods of the populations of those 28 member states do not concern it. It grows, it gorges, it punishes, it robs and it abuses ... and no-one, until today, has had the balls to stand up to it and challenge it. It is a hellborn abomination.

As member states our democratically elected representatives have no say on how it operates or even on the terms of operation. When it deigns to listen, in the interests of "democratic virtue signalling" it ignores what it hears - just look at the treatment of Greece and Italy. But it demands, it orders, it controls, and for some perverse reason we believe that the EU word is law.

It is time to slay the beast.

Dump Trump Chumps:

The wording of that petition is:

"Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen."

Now, I may be proven wrong somewhere, but the majority of people that I know who either have signed it, or who would be most likely to sign it, have previously ventured forth on the immorality, wrongs and entitlement of the Royal Family. If not staunch republicans then certainly believing the Royals should be trimmed.

Why, many refer to HMQ as a drain on society and an aberration from previous generations based on Empire. And these very same people are concerned for her sensibilities because she may be embarrassed by a state visit from a democratically elected world leader who has accepted her invitation.

Hmmmmm!

More Coffee:

There are many people who look in horror at the Trump presidency, and screech "these rights, those rights, some other rights" and demand they are protected.

These are extra rights, over and above other rights that those people already have, yet in all this PC gone mad world those very same basic rights, of your average person, who ticks no minority boxes, who pays for and is supporting those extra rights without any extra rights of their own ... that is forgotten, that is somehow okay and somehow right.

Those are the Trump and Brexit demographic, those whose rights are overridden and removed, and given as extras to others, and still they are made to pay. The current tide is a rebalancing back to equal rights. For all. Where no-one is "more equal" than anyone else. If we are all paying then it needs to be equal, and our rights are equal to everyone else's.

That is the uncomfortable truth of global politics in 2017. Wake up and smell the coffee.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee:

For a long time the liberal left have waxed lyrical about the woes of the world - in greater and lesser measures they are often right and have a point: globalisation and corporatisation leads to slave labour, poverty, rights erosion and climate change just for starters.

However, they rarely offer anything close to an holistic solution, instead proffering a tweak here or policy addendum there. But largely the status quo remains and the woes of the world continue.

Here is a chance to change all of that, sure, some of it sounds precipitous and most of it is uncharted territory, but it is change. And change for the world, not just America. Some of it is good, some probably unworkable, but the world must now do things differently.

Surely that principle is to be welcomed, but no, the liberal left want to go back to how it was before, maintain the status quo and change nothing: keep slave labour, poverty, globalisation etc.

The reason is clear: despite the ills of the world they were in the unenviable and safe position of being able to preach from within their own comfortable bubbles, and that is really what they are trying to perpetuate - "we want and demand change in the world, just as long as that change does not affect us, that's different, I don't see why I should contribute to the change I demand of others."

Bubbles are bursting, time to wake up and smell the coffee.

How will the Trump presidency affect world affairs? http://news.sky.com/story/how-will-the-trump-presidency-affect-world-affairs-10732131

Fantastic News For North Cornwall & Beyond:

Yesterday saw a fantastic decision to stop the inexorable march of wind turbines across our beautiful landscapes.The Big Field Wind Farm project, at Creddacott Farm near Week St Mary, went to the SPC for planning approval, having been submitted by Good Energy.

Whilst the planning officer acknowledged the benefits of renewable energy technology he was very clear that this could not counteract the “considerable adverse effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.”

Scott Mann at the Cornwall Council SPC meeting on Thursday 23 October 2010:

Eleven turbines, each 125 metres tall, were planned for the site, and naturally attracted a considerable amount of opposition both to the size of the turbines and the scale of the development

North Cornwall Conservative PPC, and Wadebridge West Cornwall Councillor Scott Mann has campaigned against wind turbines for a long time, and is keen that these developments do not impact on the Cornish tourist economy. He was present at yesterday's meeting, and was happy that the application was rejected.

STAK - St Austell Community Kitchen is named as one of the winners of No. 10's Big Society Awards

STAK - St Austell Community Kitchen is named as one of the winners of No. 10's Big Society Awards:

On Wednesday 06 February 2013 on the Downing Street website it was announced that STAK - St Austell Community Kitchen was one of twelve winners of No. 10's Big Society Awards. Clearly we are thrilled and honoured to win this award as it affirms that everything we do at STAK is about Big Society within our local community. This award follows on from our success at being chosen as Cornwall Community Foundation's "Community Group of the Year" in 2011 and winning "The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service" in 2012. STAK is absolutely committed to helping the vulnerable, socially isolated and homeless within St Austell, the wider community and across the county to improve their lives to the extent that they are comfortable with.

Details of the award can be found by following this link: http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/st-austell-community-kitchen-wins-big-society-award/

What do we do:

STAK - St Austell Community Kitchen has been supporting the vulnerable, needy and homeless within our community for about twenty five years. Initially this was serving soup out of a mobile home to street homeless clients, but after relocation in various buildings over the years STAK started providing hot meals at an affordable price, and began working with one or two like minded groups in St Austell. About ten years ago STAK located to subsidised premises in the Baptist church and was regularly feeding about a dozen people at lunchtime, four times a week.

In early 2010 the church needed their premises to run other projects and STAK faced being made homeless themselves! A new group of trustees (all volunteers) was brought on board, new rented premises were secured, and due to the radical overhaul of support services and the welfare system being implemented it was recognised that STAK needed to offer support to a much wider section of the community. STAK is now open six days a week, offering affordable lunch and teatime menus to vulnerable and socially isolated/excluded members of society, as well as offering courses, clubs, signposting, friendship and partnership working with a great many agencies, charities and statutory bodies.

STAK would not be able to operate without the unstinting hard work and dedication of all our volunteers, as well as the very generous support of the wider community. We have worked very hard over the last three years to raise awareness of the plight of vulnerable people at a local level, to promote positive engagement within society and to build on what we have delivered in a very short space of time. STAK is continually growing, as more people come to rely on the support we offer, so we are looking to build a sustainable future by securing our own premises, and through this we hope to be able to offer even more targeted help and support where it is needed.

Everyone at STAK is valued for the person that they are, whether client, volunteer or visitor. We have an open door policy, where everyone is treated equally, with dignity and respect and where everyone can feel safe. We encourage all clients to have a go at volunteering, and those that do are offered courses, such as food hygiene, first aid, conflict resolution and health and safety, all geared towards helping them improve their lives to the extent that they are comfortable with.

Working in the way that we do, and in delivering the support and services that we offer, STAK has gained a very positive reputation across the whole of Cornwall. We have been very fortunate in the support that we receive from the whole community, and this has resulted in winning three prestigious awards in the last fifteen months: Cornwall Community Foundation made us their Community Group of the year in 2011, we won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2012 (the Diamond Jubilee year) and we are proud to be the winner of the Big Society Award in 2013. Awards such as these only serve to reinforce the fact that what we do is absolutely vital to the community in which we are proud to play our part.

Why do we do it:

The single voice is never heard. We recognise that bad luck can happen to anyone, and usually this comes as a combination of life events that can have devastating consequences, leading to chaotic lives and choices. When people are down on their luck, and lacking both the skills and self confidence to address their problems, STAK is there to help. As a team we engender a safe and welcoming family environment, where people can come to first stabilise, and then start to make progress in rebuilding their lives. Most of our volunteers, and indeed some of our trustees, were originally clients, and through the help and support that STAK offers they have gained new skills and self confidence to become active and valued members of the community in which they live.

What it means to win this award:

STAK lives and breathes "big society" so winning this award is an honour. It absolutely reflects the message that we try to portray in everything we do: this is our community, our society, and as a society we have a duty to help those who are unable to help themselves effectively.

Top tips:

To deliver a strong brand within the community is to recognise that the community is wider than your core client base. A charitable community group can only thrive and deliver with the understanding and consent of the wider community, and in recognising this it is imperative to maximise any opportunity for growth that is presented by regularly engaging with that community and building a very strong support network.

Contact details:

STAK - St Austell Community Kitchen
8 High Cross Street
St Austell
Cornwall
PL25 4AB

Tel: 01726 77457
Email: stakstaustell@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/STAKStAustell
Twitter: @stakstaustell
Registered Charity: 1145449

Feeding the Vulnerable and Needy:

Six months after the cuts to the Supporting People budget in Cornwall the effects of those cuts are starting to bite deeply. Nationally there is much coverage of the advent of FoodBank and Fareshare, and closer to home, close to my own heart, we have STAK (St Austell Community Kitchen) and other outlets catering to the most vulnerable in society.

You just know things are getting bad when the banks, who only two years ago were gorging themselves on supporting finance from the taxpayer, are now implementing token schemes to give a few crumbs of that money back to the society from whence it came.

This is not a rant about banks or big business, that can be saved for another time. This is about living for today, and about trying to grab some of those crumbs as they fall. NatWest are operating a Community Force initiative, whereby local people can vote for local good causes, and the "winners" will receive grants of up to £6,000.

St Austell and South Cornwall is one such area, and there are three "prizes" of £6,000 up for grabs. There are fifty nine good causes in the running, and whilst I know of most of them, and whilst I recognise the good that they all do, for my money there really are two main contenders. I could ask you to vote for both, and indeed I do ask that you vote for both.

However, in our "Big Society" it is true that "we are all in this together." So, in spreading the word around I will leave it to another organisation, not in the running for one of these grants but nevertheless catering to the same social demographic, to make the appeal on behalf of STAK and FoodBank. Cosgarne Hall residents use both of these services, and the Principal of Cosgarne, John Coventry, has engaged with us in helping to raise awareness of these issues.

John's appeal can be found by clicking this link: "Please help two important services for homeless people."  Thank you John, from all at STAK.

Alternatively, you can just click here to go straight to the STAK voting page on NatWest Community Force.