Somethings are best left alone...

Whitney Houstons funeral, was streamed live on TMZ (Saturday 18th February 2012). kevin Costner who stared in the 90's film The Body Guard with Whitney Houston delivered a moving speech in tribute to her that came right from his heart. The lyrically speaking Reverend / Pastor TD Jakes also gave a short sermon in honor of  Whitney Houston also known as "the voice". The lovely Alicia Keys and the wonderful Stevie Wonder each sang and played on the piano in tribute to the late great Whitney Houston.

It's so tragic that such a talented beautiful songful, soulful woman who seemed to have it all, fell into an existence of drug addled oblivion. If only she hadn't messed with and then become consumed with cannabis/crack/cocaine/prescription drugs/booze etc - those nasties let a person take them and then they take the person - unless a person recovers their mental health to full sanity in time to avert complete disaster, so sad...somethings are best left alone...

The late great Whitney Houston sang very emotional dramatic songs but she also recorded tracks that were upbeat, groovy and dancey, tinged with that unmistakable 80's sound - here's one of Whitney Houstons songs at her funked up best, from that decade called Someone For Me (12 inch version) which was only released on a B side and is on her first album which is simply called Whitney Houston.

The Rotary Club At The Blandford Community Showcase

Members of the local branch/s of the Rotary Club

The Blandford Rotary Club and the Blandford Stour Rotary Club had a display at the Blandford Community Showcase on February 11th. The Rotary Club is a national and international charity and is non political, it's main aim being to raise money and then donate it to important causes such as eliminating polio throughout the entire world. Bill Gates said that in the cause of an inoculation program to protect every child in the world from the disease, if the Rotary Club could raise 200 million dollars, then he would match it with 350 million dollars...

The Blandford Rotary Club and the Blandford Stour Rotary Club also help out local people that public authorities can't or wont help, so the local branches of the Rotary Club plug the gaps for instance they help provide medical equipment for people that are in need of assistance, etc. You can find out more about these local branches of the Rotary Club by visiting their website www..rotary.ribi.org    

Follow Your Dreams

"Official collector" Mike Johnstone (pictured above) is outside Morrisons supermarket in Blandford right now, (Sat 18th February, midday-ish - 17:00hrs) with a donation bucket for the charity follow you dreams.  which is in aid of children and young people who have Downs Syndrome and other learning difficulties. Although follow your dreams is a national charity, any funds collected in the Blandford Forum area specifically benefit children and young people in the Blandford locality.

Store Wars Tesco V's Asda - Tesco Get The Go Ahead...

North Dorset District Council have given Tesco the go ahead, to double the supermarkets store size at the Stour Park site at Blandford St Mary, this decision has been made despite Asda's application to build a supermarket, petrol station and industrial units at Shaftesbury Lane in Blandford.

It has been concluded that an Asda store in Blandford would increase traffic and create land loss plus affect issues relating to Blandfords town centre, which at the moment have not been sufficiently resolved.

However (hypocritically) NDDC have given Tesco permission to expand despite the fact that the future enlargement will negatively impact on businesses situated close to the new anticipated car park extension. Furthermore the Tesco application has been approved subject to "enhancements designed to mitigate the potential impact on the town centre by a much larger store" (in TBB's opinion corporate bribery), as well as Tesco's putting a pedestrian crossing on Bournemouth Road.

The Blandford Buzz says - regardless of whether Tesco expands it's store to double capacity or alternatively if Asda builds a supermarket in Blandford, the fact still remains that either or both of these options will have a detrimental affect on Blandford town centre, which no amount of "enhancements" (or what in the opinion of TBB amounts to a type of corporate bribery) will remedy.

The detrimental impact that Safeways closing had on trade 

in Blandfords town centre mustn't be forgotten

Now dear reader, Tesco (or Asda for that matter) know full well that price is the only weapon that can counter big corporate supermarket giants and proposed "enhancements" will at a deeper, more robust, all encompassing, non superficial level, do nothing of the sort...

Schemes such as speed humps - which if along the Blandford  town centre route, may put people off from driving through Blandford town centre, to stop off and do some shopping and new shop front grants - that shoppers will only probably notice because someone's on a ladder outside a small shop giving it a lick of paint etc - on the balance of probabilities wont entice a shopper to make a purchase, the only words that a consumer will take into account are "Can I buy it cheaper anywhere else?" . The Tesco versus Asda Blandford Store wars is akin to choosing between two muddy earth soil pies with garden worms breaking through to the surface - with one such pie having a cherry on the top and the other a strawberry...

Blandford Forum Afternoon Townswomen's Guild At The Blandford Community Showcase

The Townswomen's Guild is one of the UK's most popular women's groups and is a voice for local, national and worldwide issues and it particularly centres its concerns on matters that affect women - the Blandford Forum branch of this group had a display at this years Blandford Communty Showcase on February 11th.

The Blandford branch of the Townswomen's Guild had a display
at the Blandford Community Showcase on 11th February

At the moment the Blandford Forum Afternoon Townswomens Guild is involved with a campaign to stop cheques from being abolished and the Blandford branch are also trying to ensure that there is always someone independent from nurses to look after the interests of elderly people in hospital. The BFATG have many fun events throughout the year, including skittles, lunch clubs and speakers once a month at the United Reform Church hall in Blandford.

 Annette helps run the Blandford Forum Afternoon Townswomen's Guild

Now there is no longer a Womens Institute in Blandford Forum, BFATG hopes to fill this niche - it costs  £24 a year to join the BFATG and the next meeting is at the Blandford United Reformed Church hall, Whitecliff Mill Street, on Wednesday 22nd February at 14:00hrs. Telephone: 01258 454169   Email: d.moore994@btinternet.com

"Sheep Market Hill" - The Ballad Of Blandford Taxis - By Martin Ansell

A rather cool and comedic song about Blandford taxis

and lets face it you just cant help liking Martin... 

Pretty Flowers

I took these pictures in Blandford on the 25th of January this year because seeing flowers in bloom during the first couple of months of the year is always special.

If you're a Blandfordian you probably know whereabouts this seat and flower display are in Blandford...

Now dear Blandfordian, you must surely know where this seat and flower display are situated !!!

Mind you I'm still waiting for the snowdrops that always put in an appearance in my garden, during late January or early February, to blossom forth - lets hope we don't have to wait too much longer for the full signs of spring to show the full force of their glory...    

The Royal British Legion At The Blandford Community Showcase

The Royal British legion Blandford Branch put on this colourful display
at The Blandford Community Showcase on Saturday 11th February

The Royal British Legion Blandford Branch had a display at the Blandford Community Showcase on February 11th. The Blandford branch, is very well established. The main aims of the Royal British Legion, which is a national charity are to support the ex-service community by allowing them to use British Legion club facilities and also offering help with social and welfare cases - and if the RBL can't help a particular member of the ex-service community, then RBL will refer the person to a charity or organisation that can - all cases are strictly confidential.      

2 Members of the Royal British Legion Blandford Branch
with their stand at the Blandford Community Showcase 

Bird On A Black Bridge, Watership Down & Go The Truck To Sleep

This bird certainly doesn't shy away from nearby human  presence

Hello dear reader, I hope you're having a nice day. Anyway I must confess that I felt a bit stuck about what to write for a bog post today, plus when ever I attempted to write something nothing much flowed, I think I must have a bit of bloggers blog. So it was a spot of good luck that as I was walking over the black bridge in Blandford yesterday, about seven birds (I think sea gulls) were all perched along it and as I walked past, one by one they all scarpered into the air faster than you can say Keehar (the seagull in Watership Down).

As you can see this bridge needs a clean

Though one of the birds remained on the bridge, it seemed determined to not let a human dis-settle it from its viewing point, the black bridge, so I got out my camera and was really surprised that it was still on the bridge, by the time I had zoomed in on it...

Two birdies sitting on the bridge

If you look carefully at this above photo, you will probably just about be able to see that a second bird has joined the first bird that is quite confident in the presence of (a) human being/s...

I couldn't resist embedding this above clip of Keehar the sea gull from one of my favorite childhood books, Watership Down written by Richard Adams. I'm not sure if the swear word voiced in this clip, which is genuinely featured in the animated movie, is in the novel - mind you I can't blame my adolescent use of this particular word, on the film Watership Down because my Sturminster Newton High School friends and I, were already saying the said word long before they and I watched the film in an English class at the above said school !

I think this word spoken once in the film Watership Down has been completely outdone by the beautiful lullaby style (with a touch of "flavorsome" language) children's night time book, that one of my teenage offspring convinced me to listen to, saying "Mum you wont be disappointed give it a listen" and "Go on mum I dare you to find a way to mention it on The Blandford Buzz". So being game for a laugh and a dare, the book is called Go The Truck To Sleep...

This unique, original, clever, beautiful and street/ghetto inspired book, is written by Adam Mansbach and illustrated by Ricardo Cortés and the audio version which can be found on YouTube is narrated by actor Samuel L Jackson.    

Blandford District U3A & The Blandford Community Showcase

University Of The Third Age - U3A have many international groups and a high number of groups throughout the UK including the Blandford & District U3A group which has been running for 10 years now has over 270 members. The concept of the University Of The Third Age is that human life consists of three ages - the first being childhood and full time education, the second work and raising a family and the third is retirement when people can take up interests that they previously wouldn't have had the time to do.

Above - Ian Taylor who has an active role in the Blandford & District U3A
attended the Blandford Community Showcase on February 11th.
Although the B&D U3A didn't have a showcase at the said event on the 11th
because Ian came across as such an amiable chap,
he managed to get this local group a plug on The Blandford Buzz !

For a modest yearly membership fee, if you no longer work in full time paid employment, you can take up activities such as learning French and Spanish, kite flying, bridge and scrabble, crafts, dowsing, music  appreciation, poetry, writing for pleasure and much much more...for more information on the Blandford District University Of The Third Age you can visit their website at blandfordu3a.co.uk.

Street Lights Switch Off In Blandford - Coming Soon...

Town Mayor Esme Butler
is concerned about the forthcoming
street light switch off in parts of Blandford

Concerns about the soon to come street light switch off.

The Blandford town mayor Esme Butler has some concerns about the proposed street light switch off, that will affect some of the residential areas in Blandford. The lights are to be switched off in the very near future, between midnight and 5:30 am. Understandably the mayor is worried that the switch off may directly correlate with a rise in the Blandford crime rate and that vulnerable people like the elderly and people making their way home after a night out may be detrimentally affected.

Is Dorset County Council putting the cuts before the people?  

The decision to switch off residential
street lighting in Blandford has been
made by Dorset County County

The switch off is being implemented by Dorset County Council in a drive to save £150,000 per year due to the cuts. However the County Council say that the lights in Blandford town centre and on the way to Blandford Hospital and on the Blandford bypass will remain switched on.

These residential street lights in Blandford
may be turned off along with many other lights in town

The Blandford Buzz says - Dorset County Council should give it's high level executives and managers who are surplus to requirements, a pay reduction, or better still the shove, instead of switching off residential street lighting in Blandford. Furthermore why should tax payers pay their full council tax bill if Dorset County Council see fit to do away with residential street lighting?

Curfew via the backdoor...

It's ok for the people within Dorset County Council who came up with the bright idea (ironic pun intended) to switch off the residential street lighting in Blandford, as it's highly probable that they can afford personal home exterior security lighting, however pensioners and many other people in Blandford may not be able to afford such outdoor night lighting, which when the residential street lights are switched off, may become necessary. Dorset County Council could also be perceived to be covertly implementing a night time curfew under the guise of the cuts.

Dorset County Council top salaries cuts versus the credit crunch cuts

Dorset County Council appear to be putting the cuts before the people of Blandford and other parts of Dorset - but come on DCC top executives and directors etc The Blandford Buzz wants to know what your salaries amounted to last year? and will amount to this year?  TBB has contacted the Council in regards to all the matters pertaining to this article, though nobody was available for comment, so this site awaits a response from DCC...
                                                          Carrots

In the meantime dear fellow Blandfordian - it may be a bright idea (pun intended) for you to eat plenty of carrots, so you can see in the dark...                   

Blandford Transition Town - At The Blandford Community Showcase

The Blandford Transition Town group didn't have a display at the Blandford Community Showcase on Saturday 11th February, however Aly (pictured to the left) who lends his help to the DT11 Forum, featured on TBB yesterday, is also one of the key players in the BTT group and because this guy is good enough to give his time to at least two local causes, it's only fitting that TBB give BTT a mention. 

So here's a bit about Blandford Transition Town - the group consists of Aly and Paul and a few others that make up a team of about 6-8 local people. It's a national and international movement, which is however very community based, that promotes local food production and green issues such as reducing reliance on an oil based economy and lessening carbon emissions etc. The group believes the government should not be too heavily relied upon to instigate the changes that BTT strive to make and instead the community can use it's own bright ideas to affect positive change in the Blandford area. So if you'd like to get involved, visit their website transitionblandford.wordpress.com - and it's to their ideal of people power, that BTT gets the thumbs up from TBB !  

Here's the last installment of a ten part joke, sent to TBB by follower Willie


Ten best things to say if you get caught sleeping at your computer  


10)"......Amen". Tell me..... If Vegetarians eat Vegetables..... 
What do Humanitarians eat?......!

DT11 Forum - At The Blandford Community Showcase

The first local organisation that TBB managed to talk to at the Blandford Community Showcase held at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 11th February was the DT11 Forum Community Partnership.

As illustrated by the DT11 Forum display pictured above, this local organisation, which has a membership of 40 local  organisations and groups, is involved with developing local projects to positively affect the environment, economy and services. For instance the DT11 Forum is working on making the Trailway between Blandford Forum and Sturminster Newton completely accessible. 

The DT11 Forum is also aiming to turn what was The 3 Choughs pub in Blandford into a community centre, where it is hoped that many different advice groups such as Citizens Advice would all be under the same roof, making it easier for the community to access various local agencies - a plan exhibited at the showcase is pictured above. 

The DT11 Forum has an initiative called countryside management training, the purpose of this training scheme is to equip 6 young unemployed teenagers and or young people, with the necessary skills needed so they can go on to have employment in a similar field (pun partially intended !).

Pictured above are some of the people who are involved with the DT11 Forum Community Partnership and dedicated to improving local conditions.           

The Blandford Community Showcase

The Blandford Community Showcase was held at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 11th February and was well attended by the public and of course the local charities, organisations and other community groups that were at the event to present their causes etc.

The Town Mayor Esme Butler Attended  The Blandford Community Showcase

I was quite surprised at just how many different groups etc were at the Blandford Community Showcase, to tell the truth I only thought there would be a few groups at the showcase, so boy did I get a shock when I turned up to the event just before midday and saw over 25 different community charities, groups and organisations with their displays.Oh no I thought, I've got to interview all these different groups, will I be able to defeat my self diagnosed attention deficit disorder, or should I make a speedy exit out of the Corn Exchange? - the ramblings of my mind continued - too late I've already taken a photograph (above) of the Town Mayor Esme Butler, so I got on with the (burdensome) task I had set out to do...

Obviously, pre-showcase, I thought the BCS could be covered on this site in one article but TBB has had an "attack of the lazy" and would be too exhausted to tap away at the keyboard, until near RSI and virtual chronic zombification has set in, hence only one showcase group will be covered on TBB per day - which may be better for you the reader, as there wont be too much for you to read in one go (dear reader, I expect you realise this is a pathetic attempt to justify my said attack of the lazy)

Oh yeah lastly, a horrible moody woman who wouldn't let me put a clipboard on her display table and instead demanded that I put it on the floor, suddenly became very polite towards me when it came to her receiving a plug on The Blandford Buzz  - though the damage had already been done so I refused to plug her charity / group / organisation and I basically told her to get stuffed...   

Blandford Forum & The Bygone Flood(s)

   These 4 photos on the slideshow below

were snapped yesterday by TBB 
and are photos of the original photographs taken in 1979
which the Blandford Forum Town Museum   
publicly displayed at The Blandford Community Showcase 

                                                                                                 

In 1966 and 1974 the town of Blandford Forum was flooded 

  and again in May and December 1979 
Blandford suffered serous flooding

so the flood defense barrier was built

                  however it did not stop the 2000 flood
 reaching West Street...   


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