Advent

Advent Sunday!

Now I feel that we are properly on the countdown to Christmas. (Some people tell me that it started at Easter).
As a child, a lot of events were tied to the church, but we now seem to live in a much more secular society.
Anyway, I can now start looking forward to Christmas, and feel less annoyed by the "adverts" for it.

Deaths

It was very sad to hear of the death of Tom Agar. He could have had so much still to give. My wife Diane feels for the family (she knew them well) having lost her son when he was aged 29. Tom was a lot of what life and rugby is about, you give your all and enjoy it, and you will get there. Perhaps he has his rewards early?
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bracknell/s/team-news-3100.html&news_id=212320
http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/sport/rugby/s/2082572_bracknell_rfc_to_hold_minutes_silence_in_tom_agars_memory_

Bricks to clicks and town centres

I was looking back at a previous post about the changing shape of high street shopping.  "Bricks-and-clicks" integrates offline (bricks) and online (clicks) presences.

For example a store chain may allow a user to order products online, and the have the product ready pick up at a local store.

A store may have displays locally from which a customer can then order an item electronically for delivery to their home.

An article I read at the start of the month talked about how John Lewis could have spotted a gap in the retail market. Simon Russell, head of multi-channel sales for the partnership, thinks that improving the “click and collect” experience – that of customers who buy online but collect in-store – could be a big selling point for John Lewis, which has started to roll out collections to Waitrose stores and hopes to add further partners. Bracknell-based Waitrose is the food division of John Lewis.

Another retail website says that with 60% of phones sold today being smartphones, and more users likely to connect to the internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs within five years, retailers are rushing into m-commerce with alacrity. Apps have been big news.

One wonders whether Waitrose will be taking further advantage of these systems in Bracknell.
http://www.propertyweek.com/news/waitrose-to-sign-ahead-of-bracknell-regeneration/5009165.article 

NAG and Garth Hill College

One of the subjects at the recent NAG in Priestwood was Garth hill College. The new entrance is providing some challenges.

Bracknell Forest Council is looking at this, and is coming up with some proposals to help alleviate the situation.

The Education Department are currently making arrangements for a School Crossing Patrol to operate here, and for road markings to highlight this.

Some parents are stopping their vehicles adjacent to the splitter island to drop their children off and then performing a ‘U’ turn around the island onto the Millennium Way. These stopped vehicles cause cars to queue on the Millennium Way. Altering the layout of the island, should stop people doing this.

Additional waiting restrictions could increase the number of vehicles using the Albert Road car park to safely drop their children off and decrease the congestion at the school entrance.

The next Neighbourhood Forum is on Wednesday 17 November 2010, 7.30pm, at the Priestwood Community Centre.

The November neighbourhood update for Priestwood from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Tony Mellish can be found HERE

One of his reports is that there will be patrols outside the local schools with parking wardens over the next month. This is because we are still getting problems with parents picking up their children up outside the school.

The latest College Bulletin contains a message to parents and pupils about road safety. It can be found HERE

26% Cuts or Opportunities?

There has been much speculation in the press recently about the amount of money to be available for council services next year.
The second paragraph of the latest Conservative In Touch reads:

"There's a lot of talk about cuts. The cold hard facts are that Labour has let us all down and we will all have to take some of the pain to put the country right. All political parties agree there has to be cuts, the only thing in doubt is where Labour and the local Lib Dems would start first."

It is not all bad news though.This could be a chance to redefine what local services should look like and where they should be targeted, as the government is promising local councils much greater powers to decide what is needed locally.

There is a response form with the In Touch newsletter that can be mailed to the Conservatives, of filled in on-line.
The In Touch newsletter will be delivered to all households in Bracknell Forest by a team of Conservative volunteers.
Look out for yours, or visit the website.

Bracknell Conservatives are looking forward to collating the results of the survey, so that the know what people are thinking.

Please read the newsletter and communicate your opinions.

http://www.bracknellconservatives.com/intouch/

The Internet is worth £100bn to the UK economy, more than 7% of national income, according to a report.
British consumers' willingness to shop online is powering the Internet's expansion, and has the biggest e-commerce market in the world when measured by the amount spent per capita.

The report also highlights the success of small firms in using the Internet to boost global sales. Online businesses have become so skilled at selling overseas that the UK now exports goods and services worth £2.80 for every £1 it imports.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/28/net-worth-100bn-uk 

This is perhaps good news for the the economy, but one wonders about the knock on effect to the high street.
As I mused in http://alvin-finch.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-shape-will-town-centre-of-future.html 

Recent articles in the press have been about slow broadband speeds. http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/business/s/2080976_broadband_slows_to_a_trickle_daily
In the above article , I wonder how much time opening Outlook is down to the computer, and what is actually the broadband speed. For a lot of applications even half a Meg works well. For downloads and YouTube type things you ant something quicker. I have noticed that a lot of peoples internet homepages are full of junk. much better to have a blank page or set to something like google classic. Very often people on BT lines forget to put filters on other phone sockets, hobble their broadband speed, and get cut off when the phone rings.
But I do understand that people in rural areas do have problems with the distance from the exchange.

When I started the "Ask Alvin" business 5 years ago, almost everyone was on dial-up, and just moving on to Windows XP. Now most people are on broadband. A lot of people are sill using XP, but recently everyone appears to be moving to Windows 7, having skipped Vista.

New Garth Hill College

I was invited to a preview of the excellent new Garth hill College.
The central movement area is huge.

The IT classrooms are well equipped.

And there are some "Dual Purpose" rooms.

Linking corridors allow staff to monitor.

I will just let the pictures say the rest for the time being.