Aphid manure heist

So we're getting cows on Stoke Park and now goats in the Avon Gorge. What's next? Donkeys in the Council House? ((c) The Bristol Blogger, even though I have no idea whether he's ever said it or not.)

One of the comments runs thus:

"After the kerfuffle about the cows on Stoke Park and how they might cause global warming by breaking wind, I hope that Glenn Vowles and his vegan mates don't get to hear about this otherwise they'll get in a right panic."

This follows a front page splash from the BEP which I blogged about here and an exclusive from the Bristol Blogger which should perhaps be compulsory reading for the new residents in Avon Gorge. And then another annoying BEP story which I didn't get round to blogging about at the time, that "despite protests from vegan groups" the herd of cows in Stoke Park was getting the go ahead. Those 'vegan groups' would be Timbo the vegan DJ and... ermm, who, precisely?

Anyway, it looks like Glenn is now firmly fixed in the mind of the Bristol Evening Post reader as Public Vegan Enemy Number One, despite the fact he eats meat.

As another of the readers says:

"More evidence of the 'nanny' state?

I'll get me goat..."

Hold the front page - local edition

Bristol Evening Post editor to marry a goat. You read it here first folks. Unless you are also a regular on the Bristol Blogger's site.

Cows - a follow up

I was obviously feeling far too mellow when I wrote my first piece. Now I've done whatever the opposite is of 'mellowed' and I'm more than a little cross, not least because I've since been to the newsagents and seen that this non-story graces the entire front page of today's BEP. So here's my letter to the editor. Let's see if it makes Monday's edition.

"I was very disappointed to see the front page of Saturday's 'Evening Post' ('Pull the Udder One'). The link between the livestock industry and climate change is a serious issue, accepted by many people, from the UN and Al Gore down. I raised this in Parliament last week because I believe the facts demand action, whether that be the farming industry exploring ways in which emissions can be reduced or individuals who are concerned about the environment choosing to limit their meat consumption, in the same way that others are choosing to use their cars less or take fewer flights.

It is simply irresponsible journalism, however, to conflate this issue with the story about Bristol City Council's proposal to keep a herd of cows on Stoke Park. As I made clear in my contribution to that piece, the appearance of another 100 or so cows in the Bristol area is neither here nor there when it comes to the question of global warming. The fact that only one vegan (not 'vegans' as your strapline suggested) was found who would condemn the proposal on those grounds speaks for itself.

Whether keeping a herd of cows is a sensible project for the Council to embark upon is another matter. I, for one, would suggest their energies might be better expended in sorting out the buses and fly-tipping, and I think most council tax payers would agree. When can we expect to see serious proposals put forward by the Council for a Quality Bus Contract so that we can bring in real competition to First Bus, and an Integrated Transport Authority for the Bristol area? The Government has done its bit, giving local authorities new powers under the Local Transport Act. Now it's time for the Council to do the job that council tax payers are actually paying it to do.

Kerry McCarthy MP."

Stoke Park - the new Heathrow?

The Bristol Evening Post has picked up on the livestock issue with some enthusiasm, headlining their latest piece 'Cows as damaging as airports'. I should make clear that wasn't a quote from me, and that I don't think a herd of 100 cows or so matters a jot in the big scheme of things. As for whether Bristol City Council should really be moving into the beef-farming business, that's another matter entirely. How about sorting out the buses first?

A closer look at the numbers

What's got into the Bristol Evening Post? A few days ago it ran an astonishingly uncritical piece on Cllr Shirley 'takes the biscuit' Marshall, and now it's regurgitating Conservative Party press releases.

Note the headline - "Mixed picture of youngsters heading to uni" and its opening line - "fewer young people from the affluent Bristol West constituency went to university last year than a decade before". This hardly earth-shattering statistic - down from 610 to 590 - was unearthed by a Parliamentary Question from Conservative frontbencher David Willetts (no doubt tabled with more than a little bit of assistance from his former researcher, a certain Bristol PPC).

Then look at the rest of the figures:

Bristol East 275 (185)

Bristol North West 310 (265)

Bristol South 190 (145)
Kingswood 385 (325)

Northavon 560 (495)

Bath 495 (360)

Wansdyke 500 (390)

Weston-super-Mare 425 (345)

Woodspring 565 (535).

Notice anything? Yup, in every single other constituency in the Bristol area the number of pupils going to university has gone up. Quite significantly in some cases. I hesitate to try calculating percentages at this time of night but I can say with some confidence that a drop from 610 to 590 in Bristol West (which could well be explained by demographic changes) is far less statistically significant than a rise from 185 to 275 in Bristol East. So BEP, why allow yourself to be spun the Tory line?

An academic tells us something we already know

Bristol is once again confirmed as the worst city for transport in the UK.

It is also, according to the Bristol Evening Post "the fourth wealthiest and the fifth most dense". Which seems a little unfair.

BEP goes big on buses

Further proof, if it was needed, that nothing gets Bristolians talking quite as much as buses...