Women firefighters in Norfolk set to get showers in £5m spend
A council is due to spend £5m so its fire stations can have separate showers for female firefighters.A report for Norfolk County Council's cabinet said its "mainly older fire stations", with some built in the 1950s and '60s, lacked "dignified areas" for women to wash in.It said some sites also needed modern changing facilities for when crews returned after dealing with incidents.Members of the Conservative-controlled cabinet are being advised to approve the improvements, with work expected to take place over the next two to three years.
The report said Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, which has been encouraging more women to join, was becoming "more diverse".It added that £2.2m had already been allocated towards work, with further assessments due to take place of the fire service's 42 stations.
Councillors are also expected to back plans to spend £13.3m on new vehicles, including 27 new fire engines and two aerial ladder platforms.A report warned that the service had an "ageing fleet" of engines, while its ladder platforms – used to rescue people and douse fires from height – were "approaching the end of life".Last year the service bought a new platform that could reach 45m (148ft) in height, along with 22 fire engines.
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Western Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
When Milford Haven nearly became a Transatlantic port
Here's a pictorial reminder of the class of liner it was hoped would become regular visitors: It's a snap of The City of Paris which arrived at the Docks in September 1899, where she remained for five months before sailing to Belfast, having been lengthened by 100 feet and renamed the Philadelphia. The City of Paris in Milford in 1899 (Image: Jeff Dunn) It's easy to see how the glorious splendour of these magnificent ships would turn the heads of the hierarchy who were desperately seeking to elevate the status of the port of Milford, particularly after the costly building of the docks had been completed. And, after all, wasn't it the famous Lord Nelson, who, when he'd visited the town for a dirty weekend with the beautiful Lady Emma, had declared that there were very few harbours in the world, (and he'd fought in most of them,) that could touch the splendour and accessibility of ours. His words must've burned fervently for almost a century in the very souls of the wannabe Transatlanticarians. But having finally accepted that their dreams would never be fulfilled, and that it would be the hitherto frowned upon fishing industry that would lead the way, the Milford Docks Co. ploughed more capital expenditure into the venture to help develop the trade, and by 1908 Milford became known throughout the UK as "the town where the fish comes from." By then there were already 323 vessels shipping out of the docks. The town's "Fishing Age" had well and truly begun. Then, as the fishing fleets' numbers grew, it was also recognised that there was an obligation to cater for the moral welfare of the fishermen, and in the town a number of missions were opened to provide help and assistance to those fishermen and sailors who were in need of it. These could take the form of cooked meals, religious services and sometimes temporary medical clinics. The oldest of these organisations was the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, which, as well as having a building in the town, also had a canteen based on the Docks. From my pot of old pics, I've unearthed this old snap of this particular Mission's town building which, of course, nowadays is occupied by the Edwards' Printers business. Bus outing from the RNMDSF (Image: Jeff Dunn) In the pic there's a crowd of townsfolk waiting to go on some kind of bus trip. I have absolutely no idea who they may be, nor to where they may be heading. Somehow I don't think it's an annual trip to Tenby, there's not a bucket and spade in sight! It's predominantly ladies, so if I had to hazard a guess, they could be heading up to Haverfordwest, or Fishguard, to follow the suffragette rally of Emmeline Pankhurst, who in 1908, was in Pembrokeshire doing her best to persuade voters to get rid of the Liberal MP and change to Conservative, which, of course, they didn't. The next to come was the Mission and Welfare Centre, British and Foreign Sailors Society, known as the Bethel, the Sailors' Rest, which was funded by John Cory, the shipping magnate from Cardiff. In the early twentieth century, Milford's Charles Street was a busy and hugely popular shopping centre, with a weekly market on the Square, and there was little need for shoppers to go further afield to quench their retail thirsts. The Bethel (Image: Jeff Dunn) One of the street's most impressive buildings, with its imposing tower, was the red-bricked Bethel, the mission which, for more than 50 years, would do so much for seamen. During the First World War, when German U-boats were ravaging shipping off the Pembrokeshire coast, often the injured were received into the care of the Bethel, where medical treatment was administered by the hard-working local doctors and nurses. When the Second World War broke out, the Royal Navy took over the port and the Bethel was set up as a RN quarters. Here's a pic of the place. As well as all it's other duties, during the war it became a popular venue for entertainment. Here are some snippets from a West Wales Guardian just weeks after the war began: "Markets on the docks maintain a high level, except that for the first time in history there is a drop in the value of soles. Herrings are making 3.15s a kit, soles 3 .10s." "Pubs and clubs in the town are busy with trawlermen and servicemen." "A concert in the Sailors' Rest tonight will be compered by local celebrity, Teddy Palmer, aided by D.W. Walters of the County School. Performers will include violinist Wally Walters, accompanied by Mary Owen; tenor soloist Rev. Bartlett; Stoker West and his comic monologues: Well-known pianist Mr. Petter will accompany soprano Mrs McLaren, and there will be dancing from little Miss Ida Holder and Miss Agnes Bean." Wally Walters, of course, became the music master in Milford Haven Grammar School, then, years later, when he left to head up north, from where is wife Pauline originated, he became the leader of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra... not bad for a boy from Upper Hill Street, Hakin! That's just about it for this one, I'll have another scrummage in my picture box to see what memories I can evoke next time. This week's 'words of wisdom' come from Katharine Hepburn: "I have no romantic feelings about age. Either you are interesting at any age or you are not. There is nothing particularly interesting about being old, or being young for that matter." Take care, please stay safe.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
Mixed response PKC's 'environmentally-friendly alternative' to grass-cutting
The initiative has been met with safety fears and criticism as PKC highlighted the "more environmentally-friendly alternative" to keeping its green spaces under control Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) has reverted to a medieval method of maintaining some of its green spaces. The local authority - which has been criticised for its "no mow" approach - this week announced staff had received training to cut grass with scythes. PKC also offered to train volunteers to safely use the sharp tools to maintain its public spaces. A PKC spokesperson said: "Our Community Greenspace staff have recently received training in the safe use of scythes from an experienced trainer through SABI (Scythe Association of Britain and Northern Ireland) as an effective and more environmentally-friendly alternative to fossil fuel-powered equipment. "As a result, we can now offer training to community groups, on request, if they are looking to use these tools safely when carrying out maintenance in their local green spaces. Only people who are suitably trained and have the council's permission can carry out this work in public green spaces. Anyone interested in volunteering with Community Greenspace can find out more on our website at Since 2021 PKC has changed the way it manages its grasslands. From 2021 to 2024 grassland management trials were carried out across 198 council sites. A "cut and lift" approach was carried out on some sites - where there was an annual cut and clippings were removed and a "cut and leave" approach was adopted on other sites where clippings from the annual cut were left to allow wildflowers such as daisies and buttercups to grow. In 2024 the Grow Wild programme was extended across Perth and Kinross for two years in a bid to improve biodiversity and reduce maintenance costs at up to 1,700 of the 1,900 sites PKC maintains. The initiative has been met with criticism, with children traipsing through hidden dog poo in long grass to get to play parks. Council cemeteries are scheduled to have their grass cut on a fortnightly basis and strimming around headstones on a monthly basis. However, staffing pressures last year led to a bereaved mum resorting to bringing a battery-powered strimmer to clear her son's grave. Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes - who has received a number of complaints about PKC's Grow Wild policy - is "perplexed" by this latest "full vintage" move. The Conservative councillor said: "I was a little perplexed that the council have gone full vintage on their grass-cutting policy and I certainly hope that none of these scythes are being sharpened up to make an even bigger cut to the grass-cutting budget than has already taken place. "I really don't understand the aim here; if it's honestly about reducing emissions then battery-operated strimmers would surely be suitable? Or else we could perhaps just order a few sheep to keep the grass down - after all, they get paid in grass, fertilise as they go and never complain." The news received a mixed response on PKC's Facebook page. Stuart King asked: "Is it April 1? Most dangerous tool out!" Craig Murray added: "Wow. Talk about using anything to save money; are we going back to the Stone Age?" Chris Jackson said: "So in other words, we're too tight to pay our employees to get out and cut all the grassy areas we've neglected for the last six months, so we'll get Joe Public to do all our work for us but claim we're doing our bit for the environment. Sounds about right." Some supported the green initiative. Gus Norman said: "Well done." Madeline Warriner added: "MacRosty Park looks fantastic. In my opinion, they have got the balance right between natural grassland and mown grassland. Congratulations to the team for doing this." Kim Winters Alumis said: "I like how parks and green spaces have patches of longer grass. It looks much better then just boring short grass."
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Surrey men fined after Lincolnshire hare coursing incident
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