I’m sorry to hear that Elizabeth Pascoe, the Liverpool woman who fought to save her house and 400 Victorian properties from clearance for the Edge Lane road scheme, has finally been defeated. Pascoe, who I’ve written about here and here failed to overturn a second compulsory purchase order in a high court hearing yesterday.
Her fight has taken up four years of her life and cost more than £40,000. She fears for what the victory of the quangos means for ordinary people who stand in the way of developers.
She said: “I have no contingency plan, it was a fight to the death as far as I was concerned. It has to be up to others now, younger than I, to fight for the future, against the insanity of mindless consumerism, obviously damaging the planet and society, not just our built heritage, and the sort of hype that tells us what is being done is progress.
“My conscience is clear. I tried. I fear greatly for what our grandchildren will inherit. Hopefully sense will prevail before it is too late.
“This time – unlike last – there was no ‘technical’ remedy in law. As quangos become ever more powerful and ever less accountable alongside increasingly ‘joined up’, I and so many others who know fear it will be virtually impossible for anyone to have a voice.
“As I see it the battle is like housework. We don’t ever “get anywhere” but my goodness it is so much worse if we don’t try. I gave it my best shot.”

Although this is essentially what I’ve done with words for six years as a reporter, how to make the shift isn’t obvious…how much you control and contrive that story or how much you just shoot and let it emerge organically is something I’m going to have to discover myself by investing the necessary time and emotional energy into some projects of my own.
Part of my time in India was spent visiting NGO projects, more on which later. I haven’t really sifted through what I have yet but here’s a taster of where I’ve been going with things…click on the images to go large

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, which explains the distinct lack of blogging on my part of late. After a painfully quiet January work-wise, the first few weeks of this month were great – lots of work coming in, and lots of late finishes, but all good. I managed to get it all done before a long weekend in Berlin to visit a friend, and had a top time there as well – although it was too cold for my liking. In my opinion, snow should only be seen on ski holidays – not on city-breaks where you want to take pictures.
Anyhow I’m here intermittently again for the coming weeks as I’m to take off again, ostensibly for work. This time it’s India, my favourite place in the world.

On another note, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon (along with most of the country, by the sounds of it), and signed up to twitter. I’m not really sure what to make of it as yet but am giving it a go. I’m at https://twitter.com/ciaraleeming

The inquiry into the racist killing of black youth Stephen Lawrence concluded that Britain’s police and other agencies were guilty of ‘institutional racism’. Ten years after its report was published opinions are mixed as to whether much as changed.
From last week’s Big Issue in the North magazine.

Profile of Iranian-born peer Haleh Afshar, for the Big Issue in the North

I had to share this because it’s so very clever….

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Guardian columnist George Monbiot has posted a blistering attack on communities secretary and Salford MP Hazel Blears over here at Comment is Free. From what I’ve heard on the streets of Salford – mainly from people left behind under the city’s regeneration schemes – there will be many in the area who agree with him.

Monbiot is objecting to being called “cynical and corrosive” by Blears in an earlier article she wrote for the paper, in which she talked about how one needs guts to get anywhere in politics. So he’s looked back at her parliamentary voting record and policy statements. His conclusion – based on the fact Blears only ever votes with the government, no matter how contradictory it is being – is that she has only “courage of the sycophant, the courage to say yes.”

“It seems to me that someone of your principles would fit comfortably into almost any government. All regimes require people like you, who seem to be prepared to obey orders without question. Unwavering obedience guarantees success in any administration. It also guarantees collaboration in every atrocity in which a government might engage. The greatest thing we have to fear in politics is the cowardice of politicians,” he blasts.

It is furious stuff and has garnered a lot of comments underneath, the overwhelming marjority in agreement. I wouldn’t like to be at the receiving end of such vitriol but if you’re putting yourself up for this game I guess you have to be able to take it, as well as dish it out.

This guy – Manchester-born Joe Ades, who died this week – was a legend of the streets of NYC.
He learned his patter here during the second world war, and made his fortune hawking all kinds of things – latterly $5 Swiss potato peelers – ending up living in a plush apartment on Park Avenue.

The obit is here