Am I the only non catholic against same sex marrage?

I am being forced into marriage by David Cameron. I don't want to be married, I'm quite happy to be in a civil partnership. I and my partner have been living together for over 43 years and 6 years ago we became civil partners in a legal ceremony at Oldway Mansions in Torbay. I am assuming that once David Cameron has his wicked way with the law of the land I and my partner will no longer civil partners but married. I am more or less against this change.

Now, if someone asks me if I am married I can say no. I don't leave it at that. I have been telling people for over 45 years I'm gay and I see no reason to stop now so I then add, I'm in a civil partnership. This immediately defines who I am, a gay man living with an other gay man in a long term relationship. It also saves the questioner any problems as to where to go next. It forestalls one of 3 questions that usually follow ' Are you married?' which are 'What's your wife's name?' 'What does your wife do?' and 'Do you have any children? The person I am talking to can then move on to other areas of small talk without having that awkward and slightly embarrassing moment of having made an incorrect assumption about me

If David Cameron goes ahead and changes the law I will become 'married' and I will have to answer yes to the question and then correct this unfortunate but understandable assumption that will be made about me. That I am married to a woman who's name might be of passing interest as will, briefly the possession of any offspring. I can see in a few years time it will become politically correct to ask, "Are you married?" and on receiving a yes go on to ask "Same sex or mixed sex." Being political correct can be so important.

An other reason why I don't want to be married is that in a marriage now there is a husband and a wife. This still has connotations that are regarded by some sections of society as very politically not correct. The husband goes out to work and the woman stays at home and looks after the house and children. This still in many (most?) peoples' minds suggests that marriage is not a partnership of equals but where one person is more important than the other. It depends to some extent what gender you are when you come to decide who is the more important, the bread winner or the child bearer. So far my partner and I have managed to avoid that view of marriage, we have never been asked which one is the husband and which one is the wife and God help the first person to do so. We are, as it says on the label, partners, not husband and wife. Being married suggests a serious change in peoples' view of our relationship that I find would be detrimental to gay relationships in the long term.

And finally, I am against the idea of changing civil partnerships into marriages on the grounds of cost. The Act of Parliament that brought in civil partnerships was over 120 pages long. The main wording of the act covered a page and a half of that, the rest of the pages were the product of a small hard working civil servants who had gone through tens of thousands of previous legislation that had anything to do with Marriage, divorce, widow, widower, legal separation and even single and add the word civil partner to that legislation. Now an other group of hard working diligent civil servants will have to go through the process all over again and remove civil partnerships from the pile of previous legislation and replace it with same sex marriage. They could be doing better things with their time I am sure.

I have a feeling there will be equal rights activist out there who will disagree with some, most or even all of the above but this is a democracy and we can all say how we feel; and this is how I feel.

　

Torquay Opera House (not yet finished)

I too learnt something new about old buildings here in Torquay. As you go up Torwood St from the Harbour there is a very impressive building just past Park Lane night club. It was started just before WW1 and was intended to be an Opera House. Then the war started and work stopped. After the war there wasn't the money about to finish the job and with only the shell complete it was used for other purposes. Time to start work on it again 100 years after it was started, about par for building works here in Torquay.

Incidentally I was going to ask everyone to sign an e-petition I have submitted to Torbay Council asking them not to cut the reimbursements paid to bus companies under the bus pass scheme as this wood almost certainty lead to a reduction in bus services in the Bay. I submitted the petition 15 days ago and it still hasn't appeared on the council web site despite the council saying it would only(sic) take 10 working days to appear. Maybe the council have had 5 days holiday without telling anyone; not that we would have noticed.

I'll let you know if it ever appears.

Repairs to the Banjo

Work has finally started on repairs to the Banjo here in Torquay bringing lots of interested spectators. It, and the section of the prom towards the Pavilion have been closed since 2006 though it seems much longer. All of the land here, The Pavilion, Princess Gardens and the Princess Theatre are built on reclaimed land and the concrete structure has been giving way, only slightly, for years. The council has finally decided it has enough money to fix it before it falls down. Work, which includes divers going down to replace concrete blocks should be finished for the summer. More photos as work progresses.

Torbay Mayor's Forum Feb 2012

At the beginning of February 2012 Torbay Council announced that the reimbursement that is paid to bus companies under the Concessionary bus pass scheme was to be cut by 30% from the 1 March. Rightly or wrongly this reimbursement has, over the years become a substantial part of bus companies income. Unfortunately it has, due to under funding from central government, become a burden on many local councils like Torbay.

The proposal to cut this reimbursement has already caused Stagecoach to suggest that cuts to services and increase in fares is inevitable. Smaller operators in the Bay are more likely to be forced out of business if this cut comes in because as well as this loss of income the government is planning to reduce by 20% the fuel tax rebate paid to bus operators. It would appear to an innocent mind like me that the Tory Government don't want buses to clutter up our roads any more at a time when every thing should be being done to get cars, not buses of the road.

At the Torbay Mayor's forum yesterday I asked if the council realise the full implications these probable bus service cuts would have on the Bay and if in the future when more money becomes available their inability to make these cuts go away. I was fobbed of with the answer that the cuts were within government guide lines. Later I had a brief discussion with a council official who explained that discussions with all the bus companies in the Bay were still ongoing and that basically we would have to wait and see what came out of these talks. Hopefully something good.

Letter to Transport Working Party Torbay

This is a copy of an emial I sent recently to the 7 members of the Transport Working Party Torbay. Fo far only one member Ian Doggett (LibDem) has bothered to reply.

 

I am very concerned about the recent announcement that the reimbursement paid to bus companies under the concessionary bus pass scheme is to be cut by 30%. The largest bus operator in the Bay, Stagecoach have already stated that a reduction in their services will be likely if this cut is implemented. Should Stagecoach decide to cut both the frequency of some services or cut services altogether I feel this will have a negative effect not just on people living, working and studying in the Bay but also on our holiday trade. As a retired bus driver I know that many visitors have expressed both surprise and delight at the range and frequency of our bus services in Torbay.

However I am not as yet desperately concerned about the level of cuts that Stagecoach may bring in should they feel that the level of income is insufficient to sustain some of their routes. They are a large nation company with sufficient financial backing to continue operating in The Bay for sometime in the hope the reimbursement may at some time in the future return to a more sensible level.

My greatest concern at this time is with the smaller bus operators here in Torbay. I speak of Local Link, Country Bus, Rail Link and Devonian Motor Services. These bus operators cover areas in Torbay which Stagecoach do not. A few examples of services provided by these companies are the services from Torquay and Paignton to Cockington, from Torquay direct to Torbay Hospital and the Willows, Brixham to the Willows via Occambe Farm and areas of Paignton not served by Stagecoach. Other service include Torquay to Meatfoot and Daddyhole, Paignton to Broadsands and Galmpton, Paignton to Stoke Gabrial. All of these service allow people to go shopping, visit their doctor or just visit friends. Those living in these areas without cars will be forced to rely on friends or taxis which will cause many elderly and less able people to become virtual prisoners in their own homes.

A convenient local bus service might not exactly be enshrined in any Charter of Human Rights but it is a vital part of the wellbeing of any community. To risk destroying it is not what a forward looking local authority should be doing. And at a time when everything possible should be done to reduce the numbers of cars on the road reducing or eliminating bus services is not the way to go. Once these bus service go because the companies concerned could be forced to close they will be gone for good. No one is going to replace these services when the recession is over and more money becomes available. This action may be saving the council a large amount of money in the short term but in the long term it will leave thousands of households in the Bay area permanently without a bus service. I urge you to do all you can to prevent this forthcoming reduction in our bus service to take place before it is too late.

David C Banks

Torquay

27 Feb 2012

　

　

The Willows, Torquay

The Willows shopping complex just out of Torquay has only 3 Shops, M&S, Sainsburys and Comet and an enormas car park. Every car her parks for free while in Torquay town centre it is £1 for just 40 mins. Make your own mind up, is it cheaper to use petrol and drive out of town or feed the Pay & Display machine nearer home.

Concessionary Bus Passes

That Torbay Council should not implement the planned 30% cut in the reimbursement paid to bus companies for concessionary bus rides taken in Torbay as this will almost certainly lead to serious cuts in bus services in The Bay.

Bus companies are profit making concerns, running at a loss is not an option. Reducing the reimbursement will cause many of our bus routes to run at a loss and once gone they will never be replaced.

The action The Council are planning has extremely serious long term consequences for all of us here in Torbay.
The above is a petition I have placed on Torbay's e-Petition site. This link will take you to the page so you can sign this petition; but not yet as each e-Petition has to be approved by the council. So far as I can tell only one e-petition has been approved. The site if fairly new so maybe it is the only one that has been submitted apart from mine.

I would urge anyone who lives, works or studies in Torbay to sign this petition even if they never use a bus.

Stagecoach, The largest bus operator in The Bay have already stated that should the planned reduction take place they will be forced to reduce their services. Fewer bus services first of all means fewer bus drivers, more unemployed people to add to the already large queue at the job centre and for Housing and Council Tax Benefits. Then, because there are fewer bus there will soon be more cars on the road at a time when every right thinking local authority should be looking for ways to reduce their number.

You do have a job and use the bus to get to work. Get used to the idea of leaving home much sooner each morning, less frequent buses mean fuller buses, I hope your boss is understanding when you tell him for the nth time the bus went straight passed you at the bus stop.

Your children use the bus to get to school. Getting them up even earlier than at present could be come a serious problem. If there isn't a suitable bus any more you will have to drive them to school and pick them up again in the evening, think of the difficulties that will cause you and the traffic jams it will cause around just about every school in The Bay.

Do you live away from a main bus route, i.e. the 12 or 32. At present there might be a bus every 30 minutes or every hour. Those routes will be the first to go or at the very least reduced even further. How will the elderly and infirm get out or does the council expect them to sit and stare out the window of their living rooms for the rest of their inactive lives.

Holidaymakers have often commented to me how easy it is to get round the area using our bus services, Paignton, Brixham, Totnes, Babbacombe, Exeter, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Buckfast even Kingswear and Dartmouth . Next time they come here it is likely that that attitude will change, as will the destination of their next summer holiday. We don't get enough holidaymakers as it is, we can not afford to drive them away like this. Foreign language students, love them or hate them, they bring their spending money into The Bayand they don't just spend time in a class room chanting irregular verbs. They want to explore the area, and do so by bus. Reduce the bus services and visitor numbers will sink out of sight.

Councils have a duty to care for the well being of all the people who live in their area. It would appear that our council has forgotten this fact. Please sign the petition and get everyone who know to sign it as well or we could end up with only the 12 and the 32 services running in Torbay.

Yet An Other Hotel Fire

Yesterday I was down on the Strand waiting for a 32 up to St Marychurch, I haven't been up there for a while. The bus driver suggested I should catch a number 12 up to the Grand Hotel instead as he had heard it was on fire. Ever the one to get a dramatic photo of a hotel burning down I took his advice and hurried over to The Grand. Not the most dramatic hotel fire I have ever been to, just a bit of smoke from a chimney on fire. There were about 6 fire engines there, I expect the Fire Brigade has to cover all eventualities where hotels are concerned.

We have a history here in Torquay of burning down hotels, 3 have gone up in flames in the last 2 years. Usually we wait until the hotel has been empty and derelict for a couple of years. It known locally as getting planning permission to build apartments. The council doesn't like hotels being turned in to apartments for some reason and would sooner see a derelict building slowly rotting than nice new apartments being built. I am sure they have good reasons but I don't know what they are.

The Grand Hotel certainly does not come into the category of wanting planning permission to turn into apartments so one can assume the fire started by accident. Having said that, chimney fires usually start because of a build-up of soot in the chimney caused either by burning unsuitable items in the fire place or not getting the chimneys swept regularly.

New Enviro 400 On Show

PS I couldn't persuade the Parking attendant walking by to put a ticket on the bus. Shame.
This Enviro 400, 15792 was parked in Union St, Torquay this lunch time to advertise that Stagecoach had got some new buses. Not quiet the dramatic effect of 20 buses parked on Paignton Sea Front when the last lot of new buses arrived.
There was a free entry in a prize draw for anyone who risked having a look around. I was going to put my name down but the prize wasn't a job as a Stagecoach bus driver so I didn't bother. Actually the prize was worth winning, as you can see from the 2nd photo.
Then I got a 12 to Paignton and took a photo of a broken down number 12 at the Grand. An hour later on my way home I noticed it was still there, blocking the inside lane at the traffic lights. Note; the photo was taken while I was on the bus, but I can do that now, no worries.

An Interesting Week

It's been an other interesting week, Harry Wales went to the most far flung corner of the world and didn't take any bananas, Harry Rednap went from being a tax dodger (alleged) to being Super hero and the England Football Manager in all but name in the length of time it took some unnamed person to say, "Not guilty".Fabbio had a bit of a misunderstanding, (should have gone to 'English for Beginers' classes) and went home to be given the Italian equivalent of a wooden spoon. Then, closer to home came the a)scandalous b) embarrassing c) non news item d) so what? (take your pick) news that 1300 Torbay Council workers have parking permits, provide free by the council, that they, the workers can use in any car park in the Bay.
Scandalous because the council have just increased the number of Pay and Display parking areas in the Bay causing traders and motorists and an anti Parking Meters group to be up in arms saying no one will come to the Bay because they have to pay to park on the sea front.
Or embarrassing for the council because they have just put all these extra pay and display machines up and their staff can park for free all over the place.
Or a non news item because the council have been providing these permits for years. I can remember an item about 4 years ago in the Herald Express about people complaining they couldn't get into the car park by the Town Hall because it was full of council workers' cars.
And so what? I imagine most councils give their worker similar permits as do private companies. If you work up at the hospital and don't get free parking in the hospital grounds then it's your unions fault, not Torbay Council's. Also, from my point of view it's a so what attitude as I don't ever put any money in those pay and display machines, AKA parking meters and I have never got a parking ticket in all the years I have lived in Torquay.
And to round of with a sporting matter lets feel for all those people effected by that French Farce that was played out on Saturday evening in Paris. It probably cost about 20 million euros to stage and had it been tried in say, South America would probably have ended in a riot. Personally if I travelled from Dublin to watch a rugby match that was called of 4 minutes before the kick off I would have been tempted to throw the odd can of Guinness (empty of course) on to the pitch. Which says a lot for the restraint showed by rugby fans.
Then there was the restrain showed by a certain Liverpool player who should have shown less restrain and shaken hands with all the Man U players. Then there was the lack of restraint shown by the hand shake less Man U player celebrating his team's win in a style players usually employ when pretending to be injured, i.e. overacting to the nth degree.
Hope next week is just as interesting.
And one other small anniversary, on Friday my partner, Geoff and I had a nice meal and a glass of champagne to celebrate 43 years living together.