News Story for our News Day Papers!

Hampshire Ambulance – Response Times

The Hampshire Emergency Services have the same problem as many others, response times. With a high rate of calls coming from the Winchester area the time it takes for a service to reach the scene is often tested to the max, especially when it comes to Ambulances.

Chairman for the Hampshire Ambulance Service, Tony Barron said “We make sure that all of our Response Units are trained professionally and carry all of the necessary equipment. Response times are a constant reminder to us that every second really does count, and we try to reach the scene as quickly as possible.”

Most cases, Barron claims are to be reached within 8 to 19 minutes, depending on the class of how serious they are. Classes range from ‘Life Threatening’ to ‘Regular’ which is often given to cases of Binge Drinking. Barron also claimed that 30% of recent 999 calls have been due to drinking, focusing the attention on the teenagers of Winchester. Claire Severgnini, Chief Executive claimed – “The response times to more serious cases in Hampshire are often disrupted due to the party-goers out on the booze.”

We surveyed the public in Winchesters town centre to get their views on Response times, and the one recurring issue was that the town centre is one of the biggest problems for Ambulances. The winding crossroads located near the ‘O’Neils’ restaurant are often a problem due to traffic jams throughout the day.

The recent closure of Romsey Road’s bridge meant that a response time would suffer almost 5 extra minutes to reach neighbouring areas. Whilst the work could not be avoided most of the public said the Ambulance service should have been better prepared for such a closure.

So it seems as if a combination of common incidents within Winchester means that Ambulance services have to deal with a larger number of calls and have further distances to travel in some cases. Time will tell if they can counter this factor with new road routes or more Ambulances to cater for the publics needs, the Council may also consider creating plans to make access easier in the near future.

Martin Salter – Reading West MP

“The hardest working MP we’ve ever had!” claims his website, and this is very much a true statement within the town of Reading.

Martin Salter worked as the Regional Development Co-ordinator for a Housing Co-op for several years before deciding to aim his sites at becoming the Local MP of Reading West. Before that he was your typical hard working builder and cargo holder at Heathrow airport while he lived in London. Salter has also had a strong influence on the Labour party, voting moderately against the Iraq war and very strongly into the investigation behind the causes of the war and the decisions made.

Additionally in more controversial movements, he voted very strongly for both gay rights and the hunting ban, believing that we should all have a right to a good standard of living, animals of course included. He has also spoken in 36 debates, above average for most MP’s and seems to have a knack for talking to the younger generation, his speeches being understandable to most 17-18 year olds, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level reports.

His local influence extends over a wide range of people, especially the elderly with his help towards the Tilehurst’s allotment site that was due to be closed. He is also working to protect open spaces in Purley and elsewhere, being a very naturally influenced man with a passion for the Countryside. The allotment campaign is still going strong and plans have been made to protect the local site from being scrapped. The site still gets a big following within the older community and Salter feels that the site adds character to the local area. As well as enriching the lives of the elderly (another strong idea he follows).

If you wish to support the Tilehurst allotment campaign, or any of his others on the go at the moment, log onto his website – http://www.martinsalter.com/ and fill out his registration form. The strong following he has at the moment indicates that he is defiantly doing something right for the ever growing town, and he is certainly seen in a positive light by all of the local residents.

Gig Review – Southampton Guild Hall 11/2/08

On Monday 11^th Feb the happiest genre in music, Ska came blasting through the walls of the Southampton Guild Hall. The bands taking part, The Briggs, The Mad Caddies and Dropkick Murphy’s played their finest cuts of Punk/Ska greatness mixed with Irish and Scottish instruments such as Bagpipes and Banjos.

The two supporting acts, Briggs and Caddies opened the show with ferocity, the crowd skanking away (Crazy free roam dancing) at the centre of the stage, showing their appreciation for them. The Briggs are definitely a upcoming act to watch out for, check them out on their myspace page – The first album has already been released and was on sale at the gig for a reasonable £5, their songs also soon to be available on itunes for download.

The Mad Caddies, originating from the USA, are clearly just as popular over here, their famous songs such as ‘Monkey’ being played and the crowd was becoming ecstatic at the choice of song. Their style combines Punk with Ska and also elements of Reggae and Blues, truly music to have a dance too. The newest album, ‘Keep it Going’ is a must buy for any fans of these genres, especially with summer on the horizon – definitely a party album!

The main act of the evening, Dropkick Murphys ended the show with a bang. Their atmospheric opening set, combining Enya with a great lightshow was definitely a sight to get everyone filming on their cameras. They played for just over an hour, and after finishing the set by getting all the ladies from the first row up on stage to dance with them, were chanted back on stage to play two more songs.

In terms of pricing and travel for gigs at the Guild Hall, the journey takes roughly 15 minutes by train and costs £4.80 for a return ticket without a travel card, over a pound less if you have one though. Possible delays on trains aside, you will need to allow yourself a good hour to get the tickets and get to Southampton central, as the Guild Hall is a 10 minute walk from the train station itself.

You can check out the listings for future gigs on the bands websites and also the Guild Hall entertainment site, definitely a great place to go if you’re a fan of live, very loud music!

Mad Max and Today

Mad Max’s third film poster.

The first in the Mad Max trilogy of films focuses on many issues which are seen in modern society today. The main factor (seen more in Mad Max 2) is oil, and the shortages of it. The media now accuses the war in Iraq of being purely fed by the want for oil, it being a natural resource which provides the workings for most of our Society. Like any other resource it will eventually run out, and Mad Max deals with this issue by depicting a very Distopian version of Australia in the future, the world gone corrupt.

The breakdown in civil order is controlled by the Main Force Patrol, where they attempt to control and fight the Terrorist gangs in place that try and disrupt the people seeking refuge. This could be seen as a contrast to the real Terrorim going on today, with most of Society wanting to seek refuge from the unknown attacks which could take place.

Mad Max endeavours to stop these groups from disrupting those trying to live a normal life, despite the lack of technology and recources, they are still able to live a happy life. The groups are seen as the Hierachy of the setting in the film. Friedrich Nietzsche’s view of life-affirmation links with this power struggle in the film, as we are forces to question who is right and who is wrong with what they do (Mad Max becoming ‘Mad’ after the death of his Wife and Son and the hands of the Gang leaders).

Friedrich Nietzsche’s writings are still just as controversial as when they were first written, the fact that he questions Chritianity and traditional ideas of Morality are still very dangerous topics to bring up in Society, as many different conflicts in views can now at times result in killings due to the clash in beliefs. The recent news story of how the Archbishop of Canterbury was mis-understood as wanting to include other religious views within the monarchy, which caused up-roar in the media and nearly lost him his possition as the Archbishop.

Finally, Mad Max is viewed as a ‘Freedom Fighter’ much the same as our Soldiers in Iraq are. Their heroic return to Winchester a few weeks ago showing how they are supported by the public, the people wanting to live their lives normally and without danger, much like the public in Mad Max.

Jools Holland – Album Review

Jools Holland’s famous late night show ‘Later’ has been the longest running TV Show for live music with up-coming and famous artists. Finally a selection like this has come around, featuring songs from all of the hit artists from the last few series of the show. Bands include The Fratellis, Gnarls Barkley and Muse.

The album comes with 2 CD’s featuring over 15 tracks on each disc, combining soulful jams and heavy rock riffs that can suit all of your musical tastes. Jools Holland also features in a few songs on the compilation, including some Rick Wakeman style organ playing on The White Stripes hit song ‘Doorbell’.

At the moment, the albums price is listed at a heavy £15 quid in most shops, however ordering online may be a cheaper option, with the amount of songs you get for the money, it’s still a good deal for the listening pleasure.

As far as other compilation and collaborative albums from Jools Holland go, this Live work is yet another reflection of how much affect he has on the music industry, knowing practically everyone in the business and getting them together at the BBC studios to record their latest efforts.

Overall the album is a must for any fans of the show, and to be honest all fans of music, especially solo artists and alternative bands as these feature prominently in the collection. If you do purchase this be sure to check out KT Tunstall’s solo of ‘Black Horse & The Cherry Tree’ – it shows her at the peak of her career so far in my opinion, as well as Muse’s performance of ‘Knights of Cydonia’ from their newest album.

I’m giving this album a solid 8/10 due the vast array of performances on the CD’s, and ill recommend it to all – however you may wish to look around for better deal on the price, us all being students after all!