A letter from David Cameron's office

As you will probably have guessed by now, the café likes to be active as far as it reasonably can be, when it comes to matters it feels strongly about. Recently, I wrote a letter to David Cameron, suggesting that patents must be developed within a certain time, or become public property freely available to all. Here is the reply I received back…

“Thank you for your letter to David Cameron. He has asked me to thank you and to reply on his behalf.

David Cameron thanks you for what you have to say in relation to fuel efficiency patents and your proposal of specifying the length of time of issuing patents. He appreciates what you have to say and takes on board the various points you have put across to him in your letter.

It is true that we do receive a vast amount of mail but Mr Cameron is always pleased to hear what people have to say.

Many thanks once again for taking the trouble to write and for making us aware of your ideas.

Yours sincerely,

Jenny Stocker”

I have mixed feels about this letter. On the plus side I appreciate that I got a reply at all, I am grateful I live in a country where that is possible. On the other hand, I sense a lack of commitment to any kind of follow up or suggestion that the idea might go any further than this. For this reason, I am disappointed, but I may write back and ask exactly what happens to ideas that are sent to David Cameron and what are the processes by which they might become policy.

I think that the system is more to blame than the people involved. A government that is so remote (because of the distance between voters and representatives) would require monumental determination to implement the many good ideas that are sent in, even if deep down some might rather like the ideas.

Electric transport on the road

It is with great pleasure that I inform you, dear reader, that Cafe Lumiere now has electric transport on the road! Hence forth, the proprietor of the cafe has the option to use the electric moped as a mode of transport to and from work: it can also be used for pleasure purposes. Pictured on the right is me riding it for the first time on the public highways of Sussex! Easy Rider eat your heart out!






The moped will do about 25 mph-30 mph and goes rather well up hills. Cost to fill up, about 2-5p depending on how much you pay for electricity. A full charge will be enough to take one about 20-25 miles. An additional perk of this vehicle is that the tax disc is free! How about that?! I am very pleased with the moped and I hope soon to get a back box to put supplies for the cafe in - perhaps some jam tarts!

I love this moped I hope you love it too!

Moving to the Midlands

Not long now until M-day. By 'M' day, I mean of course, I am Moving to the Midlands; which I am quite looking forward to. I went for a walk around Leicester the other week, and I was impressed by the city and its amenities owing to the fairly copious number of museums and also the number of shops and shopping areas. I was also rather impressed by the Sainsbury petrol station there, the busiest in the country, with a mere 30 pumps if you please. The branch is so busy that it never closes being open 24 hours a day. Customers are allowed into the shop throughout the night, whilst the staff are kept safe by a floor to ceiling glass enclosure much like a bank. I am sure other cities in the Midlands will be the subjects of visits before long. Having been to Brighton, Bath, Winchester and Salisbury, which are fairly southern based, it will be nice to visit the midland equivalents, Warwick perhaps, Worcester and dare one say it Birmingham.
On other matters, one piece of good news, one piece of bad news. The bad news is that W.F. Deedes, subject of one of the first personality of the week articles, has died. Cafe Lumiere sends its condolences to his family and hopes Deedes has found there to be the afterlife which he believed in.
It is also Stephen Fry's 50th birthday and the BBC has set up a website to celebrate. You can find out more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/features/stephen-fry.shtml. Enjoy...!

Great British days out

As we approach the midpoint of August, I would like to take the opportunity to convey how much I am enjoying various days out I have slipped when work permits. In the last few weeks, my girlfriend and I went to Great Dixter House, which is near Northiam in Sussex, and the steam trains at Tenterden in Kent. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I think you will see why when you see some of the lovely sights we did below.

I am so fond of this picture I may try to use it as the basis for some kind of business venture - watch this space!

Riding in style on a Pullman coach, this particular one dates from the 1930s and I believe it was once used on the Brighton Belle...










And finally, a cheeky little saddle tank pulls reverses round the train ready for the last service of the day. These locos posses a very small wheel base and are relatively light. Consequently they are well suited to the KESR, which has tight curves and low quality track. Being a light railway, all trains are restricted to speeds of no greater than 25mph. I wonder why commuter traffic never really took off from this line when it was running under BR...

What would the electorate do if they did not like the structure of contemporary government.

Today, I wish to raise the issues of what individuals are supposed to do if they believe that government in western democracies: a) place too much emphasis on centralised government and b) that there are too many advisers and administrators working for them.

Briefly conceive if you will, of a system not unlike that of the UK and I believe you will see how local government provides priceless advantages over central government. There are around 600 representatives for the population of 60, 000, 000. How much interaction do these people have with their elected representatives? I would suggest not very much and this lack of contact is bad for the electorate. Consider how the Victorians valued civic pride and how government really did take place on a local level in so many ways during that period. Town halls or similar structures were the centres of debates about local policies regarding planning permission, social policy etc. Consider how civic structures such as those in Leeds, Manchester and Staines were built with generous donations from the inhabitants of the locale – now imagine something like that happening today and it is much harder because with a lack of regular contact with inhabitants and local law makers initiatives such as these fall by the wayside. In the past representatives often lived close to their electorate so their interests were similar. Administrators assisted of course, but the system was prevented from becoming too flabby and inefficient because ultimately local people were able to see inside the machine and assess how well it was doing its job.

Central government today is extremely expensive. Consider for a moment the parliament at Westminster. This year, Mps alone have put in a collective expenses bill of £86 million! You can bet that the European Union Parliament (who has even less contact with the electorate than Westminster does) has similar expense levels too. And here is the reason why these representatives will keep smiling – you can’t change the governmental system without them doing so – and how many Mps do you suppose will change a system which allows such a high quality of life with so little comeback, not many! And if you wish to start a party which promises to take less money for government you will stand very little chance of being elected because you will be competing against an advertising/advisory panel funded with millions of pounds. Such is this wonderful thing we call western style democracy. Personally, I feel it is only one stage removed from a dictatorship.

Instead, I propose a considerable alteration to the hierarchy of power. Place more powers in the hands of local government. The more important issues, such as national security, foreign policy etc, should remain centralised, but the remit of central government must be kept as low as possible. Essentially for every level you move up the chain of power, the number of issues they control should decrease. Representatives of central government might should also face a double election to ensure they are really popular. In this system, MPs in a central parliament are elected to office only when the local electorate and local councillors agree on a suitable candidate.

Do you think Westminster would like you to join in my way of thinking – no minister!