Grenville Phillips II, Leader of Solutions Barbados
Graduating from secondary school is normally an exhilarating time for our youth. However, for those who have not found employment, or acceptance in an institution of further learning, the end of the summer holiday can be the start of a long period of hopelessness for them and their parents.
The longer that school graduates remain idle, the greater their disillusionment when they compare their situation to that of their more fortunate friends, and the greater the risk that they will be tempted to obtain money by illegal methods. Selling stolen property, illegal drugs, and their bodies become viable income options.
As Solutions Barbados’ candidates interact with people in our communities, a common question is: “what is your plan for these youths?” Our plan is to remove the hopelessness that so many of them currently experience. Our youth will enjoy maturing in a Solutions Barbados administration.
Every young person will be able to realise their full potential by being trained to be independent, both while they are at school and after they have graduated. For this to be realised, the secondary school curriculum needs to be improved.
Our secondary school curriculum was designed to prepare students to enter the major professions. Our resulting professionals can successfully compete with professionals from any part of the world. However, since the majority of graduates do not pursue such professional careers, our school system fails most of our students.
The simple solution is to arrange the secondary school curriculum so that it benefits everyone. Everyone includes those planning on pursuing the major professions, business, artisan trades, arts, and those who entered secondary school with low common entrance scores and low aspirations.
The curriculum can be arranged so that the easier-to-learn and more exciting practical parts of subjects, that all students will likely find interesting, can be taught during the first three years. This is opposed to teaching the more difficult-to-learn theoretical aspects first, and the more practical aspects after students have become frustrated and have lost interest.
This will mean that students will learn conversational languages, where they learn to speak the language before conjugating verbs; music by ear, where they learn to play an instrument before music theory; applied sciences, where the usefulness of the subject is understood, before science theory, where the usefulness of the subject is less clear. With this practical knowledge, students will learn how to start and grow a profitable business.
The final two years will be spent preparing for the CXC examinations. However, with students already benefiting from the useful knowledge of the subjects, they are more likely to exercise the discipline necessary to learn the generally more difficult-to-learn theoretical aspects. They will learn the subject “Principles of Business” after they have a business to apply this learning to.
Every student will graduate with at least one marketable skill and feel useful. If our students cannot graduate with being able to survive with some measure of independence, then we have done them a disservice.
Our political leaders should be held responsible for an educational system that has failed so many of our students. Why? Because it was a political decision to: mandate that our children attend secondary school; determine how students were allocated to these schools; allow secondary schools to be managed by different boards of politically appointees; determine the teaching, materials, and maintenance resources that each school would receive; and determine the amount of discipline teachers could enforce.
In a Solutions Barbados administration, we will make the political decision to manage all schools to the highest international customer-focused management standard available, ISO 9001, for the benefit our students and their parents.
Mr. Phillips, your solutions (no pun intended) to the issues you raised are the dumbest i have ever heard. There are many reasons why high school graduates feel disenfranchised. One of them is that there are no career opportunities after graduation frim high school for those who don’t or can’t go on to college. Teaching kids “easy subject” their first 3 years will not cure the ills of unemployment. I wish I could expound more, but will give space so others can comment. You need to be educated yourself! SMH and LOL.
The problems in our schools are real and many. The school obviously reflects the ills of society. The challenge today as it has been for many years is how do we protect the family units that are struggling, that are vulnerable. We need programs in the schools managed by the stakeholders I.e. the parents, teachers, government, NGOs and others. We need boots on the ground.
David, here, here. Points well taken.
Hear, hear to be grammatically correct!
I posted the solution here years ago.
Two years of Mandatory National Conscription in the BDF for anyone between 16 and 21 not employed or in college.
The BDF is otherwise a completely useless cost burden for taxpayers and occupying tourism-valuable historic assets.
Ask any employer about interviewing young people for jobs in Barbados.
Most can’t speak English, dress like wannabe TV gangsters, no idea about how to address superiors and have no clue about the realities of employment.
Remember the employers’ mantra: HIRE ATTITUDE, TEACH SKILLS.
If they learn nothing more than punctuality, dress, decorum and respect for authority they would be on the right path.
Clearly most aren’t getting that guidance at home, in their village, on their ‘block’ or at school.
@ Frustrated B
Excellent ‘second best’ option.
The very best option is one that we had in Barbados for years …where the cadets, scouts, guides, 4H etc were promoted in our schools – to teach exactly the important values that you highlight.
Idiots in charge of the eddykashun system destroyed these organisations in pursuit of teaching the lotta shiite subjects on the now useless curriculum.
Having failed in the eddykashum nonsense, perhaps the army is the next best bet….
Brass bowls NEVER cease to amaze Bushie.
More antiquated piffle and contradictory, and yet again talking about ISO. Given the transactional-based nature of the civil service, SCM and RPA are more relevant than ISO.
@Frustrated
Most gangsters wear suits.🤣😂
@FB
We need those safety nets/programs from primary level these days.
Great points to all. ISO’s require quick response to issues in order to be effective. Everyone knows how quickly the government works..Remember Total Quality Management (TQM) and their strategies? ISO’s will not work with any government with unions and emoyees who are”just glad to have a job”. There is no investment to do the very best. There are inherent systemic issues that will derail any attemp to improve. Not to mention the huge political elephant that is so entrenched in the day to day operations of the government. I was a Career Counselor and “frustrated businessman is on point. Attitude vs aptitude. While both are required the former is critically important. A think tank of sorts should be covened to formally present proposals so that we dont keep regurgitating. Structured and goal orientwd meetings with Representatives from labor, government, employers, transportation, schools, college, faithbased, community, and young people could impact and change the current stalemate.
Great points to all. ISO’s require quick response to issues in order to be effective. Everyone knows how quickly the government works..Remember Total Quality Management (TQM) and their strategies? ISO’s will not work with any government with unions and emoyees who are”just glad to have a job”. There is no investment to do the very best. There are inherent systemic issues that will derail any attemp to improve. Not to mention the huge political elephant that is so entrenched in the day to day operations of the government. I was a Career Counselor and “frustrated businessman is on point. Attitude vs aptitude. While both are required the former is critically important. A think tank of sorts should be covened to formally present proposals so that we dont keep regurgitating. Structured and goal orientwd meetings with Representatives from labor, government, employers, chamber of commerce, transportation( public and private), schools, college, faithbased, community, and young people could impact and change the current stalemate.
And who told you that the youth are frustrated?
Our expectations are not necessarily their expectations.
If we get the economy right , the jobs will follow.
We need to give the youth some breathing space. Discipline begins in the home,is further developed at the primary level and reaches its zenith in the secondary schools. If this is not taking place, we need to review our curricula and concentrate on the children and not a syllabus.
Bushie is right as usua. Those extracurricular activities of cadets,scouts, 4H clubs ,IVCF etc are necessary avenues of education. Concentrating on the 3 Rs and STEM exclusively could be counterproductive to a full and meaningful life.
@Bernard
You have stated the obvious, the challenge is we have too many broken homes impacting the quality of our social landscape.
Author does not have to be concerned, Barbados Government has a PLAN. Contaminate the local water supply, kill off the youth, problem solved.
@Wily
Behave!
David February 7, 2018 at 9:37 AM #
@Bernard
You have stated the obvious, the challenge is we have too many broken homes impacting the quality of our social landscape.
………………………………………………
Correct.
By my calculation we are in the 3rd generation of ‘fatherless unemployables’ that started with briefcase coral and dope dealers on tourist beaches in the 1980s.
Generations of people who have lived happily without ever seeking or holding a job.
The traditional ‘safety net’ that is the strong West Indian black women holding the family together with resourcefulness and intimidation is soon going to be a thing of the past.
@David February 7, 2018 at 9:47 AM #
Wily is behaving, Wilys been trained and educated by Bajan Government system. Call a spade a rose, use pit toilets, act like a Moron, throw credibility to the wind, spend three times what I earn, shall Wily continue he’s got enough of these to keep writing for writing for weeks.
@wily
Like many on the blog we all want Barbados to proper and it hurts to observe what continues to unfold. We are lurching from crisis to crisis. The latest is the Draft Estimates which shows a 1.3 billion fiscal deficit.
#JAs
You have stated the obvious, the challenge is we have too many broken homes impacting the quality of our social landscape.(Quote)
Too many children born out of wedlock to fathers with multiple families. Morality must start in the home.
Hal Austin February 7, 2018 at 10:27 AM #
You have stated the obvious, the challenge is we have too many broken homes impacting the quality of our social landscape.(Quote)
Too many children born out of wedlock to fathers with multiple families. Morality must start in the home.
……………………………………………………………..
I am one of a very few atheists who firmly prescribes the ‘Fear of God’ to lay the groundwork for civility.
@David February 7, 2018 at 10:50 AM #
Agree. Lurching from crisis to crisis is the new norm.
Do you have a link to the Estimates that were laid in Parliament yesterday, media reports are confusing and appear heavily redacted.
@Wily
Until it is posted to the parliament website. The news papers likely visited parliament and took notes. Keep checking the website.
Unfortunately we want to ignore the basic problem, which is a complete rethinking of how we teach and what we teach at the primary school level. Changes made to an education system, may not bear the fruit desired for an entire generation. It is impossible to have any real progressive discussion about education, without discussing the Common Entrance Exam and the need to replace it. The root causes must be addressed.
The article falls very short in this regard.
@ David at 9 :37 AM
A review of the demographic figures will indicate that we have always had broken homes by your definition. Therefore broken homes cannot be the source of the perceived ill/problem.
The statement of the obvious if for all to look at the obvious again but from a different perspective and through new lens.
The sun revolving around the earth was at one time obvious to “scientists”.
@Bernard
The variable you must factor is the disintegration of the village society replaced by the impersonal terraces.
@ David at 10:50 AM
Lurching from “crisis” to “crisis ” is the norm/ natural. Stakeholders just have to deal with crises. A Chinese philosopher refers to them as opportunities to adjust and change what need to be changed/adjusted.
@ David at 11:19 AM
One cannot make an omelette without breaking the egg shell. The heights and terraces are supposed to be indicators of social and economic progress. Does the generation which was born in these new enclaves have a problem with their environment ? Or is it the older generation that wants to eat its cake and still have it.
@Bernard
You maybe stating the obvious, again. Of course there must be progress if we describe it as such but we have to make the adjustments as we go along how we govern/manage our affairs. It is called being proactive.
@ David at 11 :42 AM
Proactive ? How can one act before a “crisis” ? As humans we can only be reactive in a crisis. We must be properly trained and be perceptive enough to diagnose,prescribe and act decisively.
Fundamentally ,we, as citizens of this country have to own the problems and make a useful contribution to the solution ;even if it is simply trying to understand the real issues and exercising our constitutional right when the bell is rung.
@Bernard
Have we not been witnessing the social ills arising from the Terraces since the 80s?
William Skinner
May I invite you to view the 11 + exam as a selection contrivance to the secondary school system.
A review of the data suggests to me that it does not impede our citizens from reaching their highest potential in this country.
It does not create a caste system from which there is no escape.
It does not define our citizens ,except in the minds of those who want to justify systems of superiority and inferiority. Usually that person is very insecure.
If it were not academic achievement it would be wealth or colour of skin,or country of birth.
All these are neutral facts which man use as social contrivances to divide us.
Do we as a nation need to perpetuate them?
@ David at 12 : 09 PM
Were the social ills any less in the villages in the 1950’s? The reportage was lower and less speedy.
Nor did the malfeasance always reach the formal justice system. A few lashes with the tamarind rod, bull pestle, guava stick or dog hunter was sufficient.
There is the perception Bernard the social dysfunction has deteriorated.
I only copied the paragraphs I felt important, but it appears that it has finally sunk into for Grenville and the new political parties that the rushed Bill to parliament is primarily to stop opposition parties from holding rallys for the election.
Sooooo…which one of the 4 or 5 political parties planning to contest the election will have the balls to expose it to the world drag this government before ICJ and United Nations for their attempts to sabotage the upcoming election using a Bill that violates the constitution and their human rights to have free and fair elections….
…..a flagrant disregard for constitutional and international laws by a government fighting to hold on to power by any means…even by breaking human rights laws.
“SOLUTIONS BARBADOS POSTIONAL STATEMENT on PROPOSED Amendments to the Police Act Cap.167
Tuesday February 06, 2018
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BRIDGETOWN – We have read with grave concern, a copy of the Police (Amendment) Bill 2017 which is now before the Senate.
This Bill, would amend the Police Act Cap 167 to increase the statutory powers granted to the Attorney General,Commissioner of Police and the Police force, to among other things, allow the minister and the Commissioner of Police the power to establish cordons and curfews in Barbados, without a state of emergency being declared, as required under section 25 of the Constitution of Barbados.
We urge Barbadians to visit the website: http://www.barbadosparliament.com ; click on the link, Bills Before the Senate. This will take you to a link that says Police (amendment) Bill 2017. The Document can be downloaded on any device.
More importantly, any political rally small or large being held in an area, the minister could for instance decide that he thinks that “Serious Violence” may occur in that area, and he can institute a curfew in that area for up to 2 days at a time.
This legislation would not be of such serious concern, had it not come as rushed piece of legislation mere weeks before an election. It would not be of such serious concern, if it did not have such ambiguous terms, such as “reasonable suspicion” and “about to Commit an arrestable offence” and “May Occur”.
Presently, curfews can only be established in Barbados during a state of emergency under our constitution. But this amendment would allow curfews to be established by the Minister and the Commissioner of Police at will, anywhere in Barbados, without the approval of the Governor General or Parliament.”
So…where is Mia and the heads of these opposition parties to actually do something about this government who is in clear violation of election laws, constitutional laws and human rights laws.
http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/127342/attorneys-condemn-proposal
According to Bar Association head…a clear violation of constitutional law by government. …that something can actually be done about.
Well Well & Cut N’ Paste At Your Service February 7, 2018 at 2:18 PM #
So…where is Mia and the heads of these opposition parties to actually do something about this government who is in clear violation of election laws, constitutional laws and human rights laws.
……………………………………………………
If I was in opposition I would give the rest of Bajan society a chance to voice their discontent.
Plenty lawyers with grandstanding personalities in Bim to lead on this issue.
All of our social issues can’t be dealt with from a political perspective.
Frustrated..you want the opposition parties getting serious about protecting the human rights of Bajans, protecting the Constitution…and protecting electoral laws…..
……this government is pushing the envelope to see just how far they will be ALLOWED to go, to violate laws to win an election.
You want opposition with teeth and not a bunch of sissies just waiting their turn and pretending to be incensed and upset by blatant government violations…instead of shouting it across the world.
Mia of all people should already have them exposed internationally, they are trying to call her bluff…..if she does not have the fortitude or integrity now to deal with them for all these unlawful violations, how is she planning to lock them up for any crimes she finds they committed after the electorate fires them.
This is the defining moment for the opposition parties….this is when they show their strength or WEAKNESS.
Note that the election is weeks away, they are trying everything they can to thwart a change of government, the society has already voiced their discontent loudly across social media that even took me by surprise when I saw facebook…
……that is all the opposition parties needs to know to act, before the vicious demons in parliament try to shut them up and silrnce them permanently, a scenario that has become very possible with the introduction of that BILL.
Corrections:
Mia of all people should already have them exposed internationally, they are trying to call her bluff….threatening to investigate and lock her up re the wiretapping..
…..am sure that deadline will be BEFORE the date for election is called….
…..silence the opposition parties permanently
Dont wait so late Grenville.Vocation test the children at 6-7 and build the society from there.Then you can add the ISO at whatever age you like and apply it to their vocation.Keep pushing Grenville, you have support out here in the wildnerness.
@Bernard Codrington
Your thinking on the matter is in concord with many who refuse to recognise that academic skills , should not be the only yardstick used to judge or determine the skills of an eleven year old. I have opposed your position, for close to forty years, and I have to respectfully disagree.
Any country that deliberately throws hundreds of its children in a socio-economic river while gleefully celebrating the achievements of a few, is certainly guilty of a form of societal genocide. The current rise in crime and the escalating disregard for life or limb by some of our youth, are certain signs of the full growth of seeds that were planted at least four decades ago. Our social scientists, have bluntly refused to utilize their knowledge to show or explain how the education system, is fertile breeding ground, for much of the deviancy that is now permeating the society.
Any form of elitism breeds disaffection and is immediately followed by hopelessness. We cannot restructure the economy without education reform. It is impossible to produce a 2017 model car on a 1950 production line. Our people remain our most precious resource, and that resource must be carefully nurtured for national development. It is not too late but time is running out.
Hi David:
Regardless of a student’s challenges with their home or school environment, there is a special type of frustration for graduates who come to realise that they were not prepared to survive independent of their parents. Our method solves that problem.
@ William Skinner at 7 :19 PM
If that is your perception of reality, who am I to try to persuade you otherwise. We are all programmed to see what we want to see and know what we want to know. And that is ok with me.
“Our method solves that problem.” 🤣🤣🤣
@enuff
Grenville slap up your head at school?
Hi David:
Enuff role is to simply oppose everything that I write or do. If I healed the sick and raised the dead, Enuff must find fault. Why, because he is too terrified of his political masters to think for himself.
One day he will eventually get tired of being used, but for now, we must all tolerate him.
Continue Enuff.
Some would remark that this is among the singularly most refined prices of bovine excrement that this aspirant to the primeministership of Barbados has contributed here.
Some might say that what is being proposed seems to be part of an “ISO EFF IN LOST” Certification and empty verbiage.
Sometimes when you pause and allow a person to talk long enough you get to see the wisdom or idiocy or partial idiocy of what they are discussing.
Here we are, on the cusp of a general election, with the leader of one of the contending 3rd parties, positing “his solution”
It poses a utopian plaster to our festering educational system but, as if to hint at the inadequacy of an ill conceived solution, Philips does not begin with a “focus on creating a more agile thinking primary school population”
In fact in reviewing this idea WITH GREATER CARE readers realize that they are again provided a verbose exposition and SOLUTION (EMPHASIZED ON PURPOSE) one that is inserted NOT where this curriculum reform might find a more meaningful impact BUT placed at the De facto nadir of the learning curve, when the brain matter and spongelike acquisition of information has peaked.
Again One asks the question Will Philip and his Solutions rabble ever be ready? And at 80 $days away from the election the answer seems to be NO.
@pieceuhderockyeahright February 8, 2018 at 1:34 AM,
Ouch!
That final paragraph is damning.
Thank you pieceuhderock…
The overly simplistic “solutions” to the myriad of complex issues facing Barbados is an indication of GP’s ignorance or ego. What is even more appalling is that so-called intelligent people take him seriously and encourage the nonsense he’s peddling. Bad policies, bad PR, bad optics, bad party composition and poor candidates. Solutions’ policies remind me of Adamson’s, who was routinely dismissed on this blog for his ideas. Do I smell classism? Neither The Chabaulds, The Weatherheads nor The Toussaints will win a seat; NOR will Grenville. #igotcourtclothessueme🤣🤣
FYI ….
“The Bill, which has already passed the Lower House, increases the statutory powers of the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), and has sparked fears among some members of the public and the legal fraternity about possible abuse of power.”
I already warned Grenville on here about these husband wife teams, they are bad news for any government or potential government…they never work out, history is replete with horrifying examples.
The Weatherhead × 2 team is more than enough cause for concern, but when you have 3 or 4 couples, well I dont know if the electorate currently under seige by an incompetent, uncaring government will even consider or have the appetite for married couples and their destructive bullshit drama.
nextparty246/Solutions/GP
“Enuff’s (sic) role is to simply oppose everything that I write or do. If I healed the sick and raised the dead, Enuff would (sic) find fault. Why? (sic) He (sic) is too terrified of his political masters to think for himself. One day he will eventually get tired of being used, but for now, we must all tolerate him. Continue Enuff.”
Boss I know Alice in Wonderland policies when I see them–most of yours are and that’s why I “oppose” most things that you write. Regarding me being “too terrified of [my] political masters to think for [myself]…..[and] being used”, is the biggest RH joke of the year, and proves once again that you haven’t a clue about what you speak. If you were truly a policy guru as you purport, your ISO policy would be expanded to cover ALL businesses applying for government contracts. Don’t contractors and sub-contractors impact on government’s service delivery? What about the broader national agenda? If ISO is so messianic, then surely it should be made available to everyone, whether via market or command/control policies; but, like I have said repeatedly, you lack the lateral thinking required for sound policy formulation. In any case, while you are peddling ISO as the key to efficiency in the public service, persons that understand the complex nature of this issue see SCM and RPA as far better options.
@enuff
Are you ârubbishingâ his achievements as a Barbadian? He has done more by way of public service compared to 80% of the candidates slated to run this general election.
David, students were leaving school for years – I talking more than 40 years now without a certificate to their name. Every year thousands of students leave school with little or no certificates, not even primary school level education and what have the authorities done about it. This problem had been festering into a crater for decades.
The problem with this country is that Sam couch and duppy all have the answers but not the will all to get up and do.
Teachers no longer work with the parents for the betterment of the children and vice versus. To understand the young you must first understand their culture, aka their home environment. We need more Ron Clark type teachers around here – mInd you; we had some in the past. I am now seeing an influx in young giddy head teachers that all they seem to care about is dressing hip and collecting a pay check. You also need a Mandatory parenting programme for some of these deatbeat parents. Taking their young to school, you can hear some of them calling 3 and 4 year olds – Big man!!
Lol, a magistrate in Barbados claimed they are no dead beat mothers in Barbados. I want to know where she lives.
Agree with your comment, our inaction to address because of lack of leadership in every sphere has come to bite us in the ass. We are up shitcreek in more ways than one.
Things that make me go hum!! February 8, 2018 at 9:14 AM #
David, students were leaving school for years – I talking more than 40 years now without a certificate to their name. Every year thousands of students leave school with little or no certificates, not even primary school level education and what have the authorities done about it. This problem had been festering into a crater for decades.
………………………………………………..
As I said: HIRE ATTITUDE, TEACH SKILLS.
What makes Bajan youth unemployable is not their lack of skills, it is their piss-poor work ethic and attitude bred into them by similar parents (or lack of).
Children primarily learn from example; in the home, in wider society and then in school.
Institute National Conscription and we may be able to save some of them.
David
I have said nothing negative about GP’s or any of Solutions’ candidates professional achievements or public service. Saying someone will not win a seat does not equate to rubbishing their achievements. I have focused on the party’s policies, whilst he has labelled me a paid political blogger and a political slave. Again contradicting himself.🤣🤣🤣
@enuff
And the established parties, are you happy they have slavishly adhered to manifestos? Why is it said the country suffers from an implementation deficit? Has this label surfaced under the ensconced duopoly?
Bernard Codrington February 7, 2018 at 12:32 PM #
Did you pass the 11+?
@ Nextparty246:
“This will mean that students will learn conversational languages, where they learn to speak the language before conjugating verbs; music by ear, where they learn to play an instrument before music theory; applied sciences, where the usefulness of the subject is understood, before science theory, where the usefulness of the subject is less clear. With this practical knowledge, students will learn how to start and grow a profitable business.”
What kind of “profitable” businesses would these students be able to “start and grow”? Importing Chinese-made goods and selling them along the streets?
So if every student would have his or her own business where would the workforce come from to supply the many foreign-owned and controlled businesses like Sandals, Massy and the banks?
It sounds as if you are not too keen on FDI and the hotel industry as the way forward for the future economic survival of Barbados.
a ten year old in the body of a 70 plus year old man…
i know people who never took the cursed 11 plus…many are scholars, many are geniuses.
what a question for an old man to be asking..
FB, what are we doing about deat beat parents – giving them a “free house” and “free salary” – Sandals owner say so, and some a we cuss he! But the children seeing and following suit though.
Grenville, wayward youths become wayward waaay before Secondary School.
David
When has the government become implementation deficient and how?
Going back to HRL and Greenland/Mount Stinkeroo you mean?
Was that implementation deficiency or more about “bad” site selection, and opposition by local “experts” and Prof Machel from over and away? By the way has Greenland slid into the sea yet?
The main issue fueling the Greenland debate was the possibility of leachate leaking into the aquifer? No doubt resident John will shed light.
David at 3 :53 PM
An aquifer in the Scotland District?
Leakage and clay? From my tour of a landfill as a student, I always thought the physical and chemical properties of clay soils made them suitable for lining and preventing leakage.
Anyone who was unfortunate to listen to the interview with Karen Best (Chief Education Officer) was appalled at the resignation in her voice in response to th Grantley Adams event. We are a society in precipitous decline.
Karen “Wigs” Best should never have been appointed Chief Education Officer. She was a primary school headmistress. We are paying the price for the Dems’ politically driven hiring/firing over the last ten years: NHC, UDC, RDC, SSA, BWA, RBPF, NSC, KOMI, Cultural Industries Development, Transport Board etc etc
Enuff February 8, 2018 at 5:33 PM #
Blenheim was a land fill; did it affect the Belle?
Hal
I didn’t even there was a landfill at Blenheim. s Blenheim known for clay soils?
Enuff February 10, 2018 at 12:03 PM #
When government first bought Blenheim from old man Fields in the 1960s they dumped household rubbish on the site for weeks. Neighbours suffered flies and mice for ages before layering the top with garden mould.
RE Enuff February 10, 2018 at 12:03 PM #
Hal I didn’t even there was a landfill at Blenheim.
THOSE OF US WHO GREW UP IN THE DAY WHEN WE DIDNT TRAVEL THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE LAND KNOW/KNEW SO LITTLE EXCEPT ABOUT OUR IMMEDIATE DISTRICTS WHERE WE RAN AND PLAYED.
I WILL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST SUNDAY MORNING WALK I ATTENDED WHEN THE LATE COLIN HUDSON EXPLAINED THE ORIGINS AND PURPOSE OF A CANE HOLE………OR HOW MUCH I LEARNED ON THESE “STOP & STARE” WALKS LISTENING TO TALKS ABOUT OUR FLORA, GEOLOGY AND THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE PLATS WE WALKED ON EACH OCCASION.
Thanks for that Hal.