tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80920102011-07-31T06:57:35.049+01:00This is pretty much what it says. So much commentary is from a metropolitan perspective that it is easy to forget a lot of people don't live in swanky apartments (on the one hand) or crack ridden tower blocks (on the other).<br> Most people, in fact.Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-52094882416379167912010-10-02T16:34:00.003+01:002010-10-02T16:36:03.490+01:00

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-5113086646447387382010-03-27T00:13:00.001Z2010-03-27T00:14:24.164Z

The Odeon cinema looks on the way to being saved (gimme some wood to touch) and reborn as The Alpha, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the people of St Albans (with a little chivvying by James Hannaway) and absolutely no thanks to the useless muppets masquerading as a St Albans District Council. The roads are a mess thanks to the snow and Hertfordshire Highways are still as epically useless

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-34960894523537194262009-12-24T17:04:00.001Z2010-10-02T16:39:47.672+01:00

I'm am absolutely delighted to announce the arrival of the divine Mandy Knight on the World Wide Web with what I am quietly confident is the campest site on the Internet. Check it out at: Mandy Knight, comedian, actress, writer

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-24874829255466540792009-12-12T10:51:00.004Z2009-12-12T10:55:10.911Z

So The Rex at Berkhamsted was packed to the rafters (pardon the cliche) for a very promising start.Mary Woodward has added some terrific pictures of what could be to her photoblog (see previous post for link).

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-32666661621632018362009-11-21T15:39:00.005Z2009-12-12T11:08:32.444Z

St Albans Odeon is a classic art deco style odeon - well, it would be if it wasn't derelict. It also occupies the site of St Albans Picture Palace, the first ever raked-floor cinema in the UK and it should be a sacred site to the British film industry. Astoundingly, it nearly got knocked down to make way for flats, but the great news is that James Hannaway, who has made a fabulous success of The

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-82965073829200052452008-10-12T13:07:00.001+01:002008-10-12T13:09:02.526+01:00

I know, it has been ages. Real life, eh? But this is so damned cool it has to be given a nod.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-78530073961888536962007-09-25T11:43:00.000+01:002007-09-25T11:44:03.240+01:00

Goodbye Mayfair, hello St Albans!

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-12205173789832357842007-08-17T13:12:00.000+01:002007-08-17T13:13:46.971+01:00

If Shakespeare... had a blog it would be like this.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-88934108088958887262007-03-17T21:26:00.000Z2007-03-17T21:27:11.071Z

Bookmark it and send it to everybody you know.Because all liars need rebutting

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1166608914374213212006-12-20T09:59:00.000Z2006-12-20T10:04:55.523Z

A FoF has had issues with getting cash back from B&Q Appliance Warehouse who are being a bit crap.For what it is worth, I used the Co-op online store who were really rather good. Having said that, the moral of this story is 'pay by credit card'.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1161024905365229122006-10-16T19:51:00.000+01:002006-10-17T21:10:50.506+01:00

....whenever I asked her how long my latest new food experience would take to cook:"Until it's done".Which is fair enough really. I mention this solely because I stumbled upon another bit of Mum's wisdom - serving as a bookmark on an old cooking book:Boil : Wija, EstimaChip : Maris PiperRoast : King Edward, DesireeBaked : CaraMash : King Edward, RomanoSo now you know what to do with your spuds.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1159639507595527142006-09-30T19:00:00.000+01:002006-09-30T19:05:51.996+01:00

It's on today, the CAMRA real ale festival at the Alban Arena. The one occasion when the average age of the average person in Saturday-evening-small-city-centre-St-Albans goes up by around twenty years.Anti age discrimination legislation at work comes into force across the UK tomorrow, but even small city centres are geared towards keeping the over-30s away after dark.

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1157544433162992602006-09-06T18:54:00.000+01:002006-09-06T13:07:56.326+01:00

Walking home through St Albans small city centre last night at about 10pm on the way home from an average Italian (Sazio's, 58 High Street, 3 and half stars out of 5) there was an interesting sight: an articulated lorry had stopped at a junction, hazard lights flashing, while its driver asked - sorry, shouted - for directions to a couple of bleached-blonde, short-skirted, thigh-booted girls, a

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1157469693041006702006-09-05T16:21:00.000+01:002006-09-05T16:23:53.846+01:00

I got an email from the Live Work Network today, bringing my attention to a new directory of available live/work space (or 'home work enabled' as it appears to be known - my business English course obviously need to be rolled out pronto).I work from home and, really, my house is not designed for it and, in the electronic age, neither are most houses. Even ones with a study. So I reckon it is a

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1157241504877206862006-09-03T00:50:00.003+01:002010-04-04T13:17:33.516+01:00

Last week the planning inspector overturned St Albans Council's refusal of consent for Fairview Homes to build well over 300 flats on the site of the old College of Further Education. Local conservation groups are up in arms about the number of flats. But, aside from a vague pang of nostaglia for the site being where I did a Computer Studies CSE Back In The Day, I'm more concerned about the

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1155919021877936442006-08-18T17:34:00.000+01:002006-08-18T18:11:04.926+01:00

Not entirely intentional, but when you spent time writing about local issues for a living, doing it for fun gets a bit old.In the meantime head over to my new business writing blog, which should at least get more regular updates.I am, of course, mortified that Kate didn't cross-post this from her personal blog.I'll blame her forthcoming wedding...

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1137591293440435082006-01-18T13:33:00.000Z2006-01-18T13:35:39.150Z

Looks like Woking's waste incineration woes are going national

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1134323213275383772005-12-11T17:46:00.000Z2005-12-12T10:37:00.540Z

Three miles or so due east. I can't help wondering what this is doing in such a built up area.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1134061802519890912005-12-08T16:54:00.000Z2005-12-08T17:17:01.406Z

The roads around St Albans are a bit crap - well, a lot crap - mostly due to the breathtaking incompetence of Hertfordshire Highways. Trips to Woking and its environs make me mildy jealous.Since 'tis the Season and all that, shopping trips are wider ranging. In practical terms this means the Big Tesco at Watford, or the Big Tesco at Hatfield and, in the case of Hatfield some B-Roady goodness to

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1131455687916613082005-11-07T21:49:00.000Z2005-11-08T13:14:47.953Z

As any St Albans resident of any standing knows, one thing the City does have is pubs. There are some good pubs and there are some lively pubs. The good pubs are generally historic, comfortable, quiet, serve ale and a reasonable choice of wine. The lively pubs are... lively and extremely successful in luring itinerant under 25s to the City.But good and lively? Seemingly not. St Albans has its

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1129223605339914612005-10-13T18:47:00.000+01:002005-10-13T18:17:37.566+01:00

The triumvirate of Watford, Hatfield and Hemel all bloom with multiplexes yet going to the cinema for the St Albans resident involves uncessary travel hassle and environmental damage as there is no cinema in the city itself. Meanwhile the ongoing debate about why there is no cinema in St Albans continues with city councillors proclaiming they'll be dead by the time the cinema arrives. Such real

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1122645924770713882005-07-29T14:49:00.000+01:002005-08-02T11:27:37.663+01:00

Cafe Monsoon was a restaurant in St Albans that specialised in a fusion of north Indian and Mediterranean cuisine. It was a nice place where the proprietor, Moh Sayid, tried to create an arts venue off the back of top clase nosh. And very well it was going too. A St Albans Writers Group, yoga instructors, cookery masterclasses, music and dance packed the place out. Then the local water company

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1115759914375901892005-05-10T22:11:00.000+01:002005-05-12T10:32:09.053+01:00

Our local council (or a small coterie of self interested officers within it) wish to createthe country's first (untested) gasefacation plant in the heart of the borough. This is not an incinerator. It is an entirely new collection of technologies. Should I applaud the forward-thinking, wider-community-minded, think global, act local nature of our officers or retreat into my nimby shell? Or is

Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486870128524536515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1115290876958370552005-05-05T11:38:00.000+01:002005-05-06T12:58:14.880+01:00

7am, St Albans Out of bed, coffee, shower, wash, get dressed. Rummage around to find polling cards. 7.30amGet distracted for 20 mins when the postman turns up with the advance author copies of my novel. Miss chance for breakfast. 7.50amCheck out multimap to see where polling station is. Leave house. It's overcast and grey.7.55amShort walk later there. Follow the signs, walk into the school. No

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1114190295398174402005-04-22T18:16:00.000+01:002005-04-22T18:18:15.396+01:00

Strictly unscientific sampling suggests that the Lib Dems will win this not-especially-safe Labour seat. They have more estage agent-style boards-on-a-post outside houses than Labour and the Tories combined.Either that, or the orange shows up better.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1113176619817137202005-04-11T00:09:00.000+01:002005-04-11T12:36:26.346+01:00

What with the shock news that Thameslink operators Govia are to lose their franchaise*, and that a St Albans schoolgirl has become a Page 3 model, the fact that the general election is less than a month away had quite slipped my mind until Ian mentioned he'd had a Conservative flyer through the door.Well, I'm one of those people who wants to know the people behind the parties, so I thought I'd

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1113088756962464402005-04-10T00:16:00.000+01:002005-04-11T12:50:46.213+01:00

OK. So this is going to make me sound a right old fart, but....The other day I was in the local Co-op and overheard a conversation in which Mother A was lambasting Mother B for having the brass bound audacity to tell off Mother A's mutant offspring loveable rogue. "I said: "It's not your place to tell him off'," she said (obviously this was behind Mother B's back).Now, when I was a kid if someone

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112868604317394122005-04-07T11:07:00.000+01:002005-04-07T11:10:04.316+01:00

I don't know what it is like elsewhere, but I've just had a Tory election flyer through my door. I can't remember the last time the Tories were even organised around this way, never mind bothering to pound the streets in an area that returns three Labour councillors without fail.A rune to read? Who knows.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112462821096607482005-04-02T17:48:00.000+01:002005-04-07T16:23:27.520+01:00

Twice a week it leaves a awful lot of mess which my council tax pays scary-looking machines to clean up. It's been going for hundreds of, if not a couple of thousand, years. It's held right in the centre of town on St Peters Street on Saturdays and Wednesdays. And it's called St Albans market.Time to get one's own back.Saturday, just approaching 5 o'clock in the afternoon.The centre of St Albans

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112362479962677602005-04-01T14:03:00.000+01:002005-04-01T14:51:52.190+01:00

I have recently been involved in a campaign to prevent our county council from building a new headquarters in our community. The proposal is for a 110,000 sq ft building, mainly offices, with a council chamber, and for the county council to relocate from another area. The site is the only remaining surface car park in the area and lies within a residential part of the borough - separated from

Rob Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00486870128524536515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112135634709060902005-03-29T23:32:00.000+01:002007-01-11T18:27:21.122Z

Kate and me both live in St Albans. Rob Harris, who will hopefully be making his debut post in the not-too-distant future, lives in Woking, Surrey. From time to time I have occasion to drive down to Rob's neck of the woods. The two areas are fairly similar. Subtle differences in geomorphology mean that Surrey is significantly more wooded than Hertfordshire; there are some differences in the local

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112117298063416402005-03-29T19:31:00.000+01:002005-03-29T18:28:18.066+01:00

It occurs to me that a lot of my time in St Albans in spent waiting:1. Queuing for a late night taxi home from St Albans station (average wait = 30 mins)2. Queuing at St Albans Post Office to post a parcel on a Saturday (average wait = 40 mins)3. Blood test at St Albans hospital (wait after taking a ticket from the machine = 2 hours)4. Waiting for one of St Albans premier managing agents to sort

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112041889118296572005-03-28T21:01:00.000+01:002005-04-07T16:26:40.460+01:00

On Saturday evening we ate at Buon Amici. Not bad. 4 out of 5 on the quality/value equation. Good solid Italian fare. Escalope & Pollo fifteen different ways, a wine list with numerous Chiantis, and there I was enjoying Spaghetti Bolognese as if it was still 1978 and I had a napkin tucked under my chin.It was very nice Spag bog but... I couldn't help wondering, if this is St Albans' premier

Kate Allannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1112028583392849112005-03-28T17:43:00.000+01:002005-03-29T00:07:37.473+01:00

I was going to post the second half of the comment about the view from my garden window, but things have change in a most encouraging way. The street has come to life - just a bit, but a hopeful bit. Street football is back.All the stereotypes are present and correct:The serious players (stepovers and flashiness, poor finishing)The cheeky chappie (more enthusiasm than skill, but always with a

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1111934819520913312005-03-27T15:47:00.000+01:002005-04-07T16:24:44.343+01:00

Bloody typical. You wait months for a post, then three come along at once.So anyway: Three Valleys Water sticks a note through the door saying. "Your water will be off while we lay nice new plastic mains. Oh, by the way, your electrical earthing may no long work, but that's not our problem, call your electricity supplier" (OK, so they may not have worded it quite like that).Powergen: "Not our

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1111873826139221612005-03-26T21:41:00.000Z2005-03-26T21:51:47.793Z

...and indeed the makers of other route finding aids such as this: when giving directions to people going to St Albans don't sent them through the middle of the City. A bod from the council once told me that 75% of traffic on St Peters Street is through traffic. It's bad enough having so many people who are lost - or who just don't care - coming through, but to have your software forcing people

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1111714452965974082005-03-25T01:23:00.000Z2005-03-25T01:36:33.180Z

When I first moved back to St Albans the local paper, the Herts Advertiser ran a letter from one of the governors of my old school.The council wanted to relocate the fire station to part of its playing fields and the letter said that a councillor had told the governor that the school would have to cave in or the council would compulsory purchase (CPO) the site for a 10th of its real value.This

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1108223779402293632005-02-12T15:52:00.000Z2005-02-12T16:02:40.253Z

I'm mindful that this hasn't been updated for ages, as Kate Allan pointed out to me. Real life huh?

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1097616725023870212004-10-12T22:20:00.000+01:002004-10-12T22:33:13.076+01:00

Shortly after moving back to the house in which I grew up I found myself looking out of the back bedroom window wondering what to do about the garden. It is a big garden of the kind that they do not give to council houses anymore and, but for Margaret Thatcher, it would not now be mine. Twelve years ago I worked out that mortgage repayments would be lower than council rents and my parents

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1095447132532588032004-09-17T19:50:00.000+01:002004-09-17T19:52:12.533+01:00

Added a few links to the sidebar, some more pertinent than others. I'll leave it to you to judge which.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1095377856781180122004-09-17T01:40:00.000+01:002004-09-17T00:42:15.410+01:00

At PMQs yesterday the MP for Eltham (I didn't catch his name) asked a long question that amounted to "Will you let councils build more council houses?" the Prime Minister talked at some length, but never answered that question, which I suspect we can take as a 'No". Meanwhile, the plots of land are still available to those who can afford them (no consent remember) and on various sites the council

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1093964341327030762004-08-31T15:51:00.000+01:002004-09-01T00:53:23.403+01:00

I went to renew my car tax today. Once it would have been an easy stroll up to the local shops and the sub-post office. Then such good stuff was removed from sub-post offices. Then the sub-post office itself was removed. The drone from the Post Office said that the closure was necessary in order to keep other sub-post offices open. That is garbage. Utter, utter garbage - exactly the same garbage

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1093946556568946932004-08-31T10:53:00.000+01:002004-08-31T11:23:23.740+01:00

Just up the road is a plot of land that once-upon-a-time was the corner of a farmers field. It is in the greenbelt, but that has not stopped an outfit called Property Spy from selling house-sized plots at £80,000 a time. Without planning permission and - theoretically at least - without the prospect of planning permission. The UK government's Barker Review into housing provision provides the

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1093597978380604822004-08-27T10:05:00.000+01:002004-08-31T11:25:15.260+01:00

OK, so this isn't exactly a small city post, but sometimes one needs to vent. Tried buying a TV (or any other electrical item) lately? I bought one not so long ago and found myself relying more on shop staff than I like to for advice. Try looking up reviews for consumer goods on Google. What you get are loads of links to other search engines and loads of links to people trying to flog you the kit

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092010.post-1093564065469374952004-08-27T01:44:00.000+01:002004-09-17T19:55:48.380+01:00

So here is how it started: someone was setting up the website for Verulam Writers' Circle, a St Albans writers group. It is one of only two writers groups in the city, the other being Ver Poets. Setting it up was quite straightforward because there was no need for anything fancy and dynamic, just a lot of information packed stuff for existing and prospective members. Then a real headache set in.

Ian Cundellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849419030073180398noreply@blogger.com0