If you ever wondered about some of the more bizarre decisions taken at Cornwall Council aka Kremlin Kernow, and why it is now around £2 billion in debt (including the massive pension shortfall), then you might ask your councillor why some officers are parachuted in to Cornwall on wages up to 20x those of many hard working young Cornish people, to "re-shape", "turn-around", "transform" and "modernise" a Cornwall which you and I grew up in. I seem to remember that before these expensive out of town gold-digging officers arrived, we had clean air, free hospital parking, accessible hospital beds, plenty of local space in our schools, GP and dental surgeries, no traffic jams and well-defined market towns with lively communities. But that's considered "backward" and "straw-sucking" by some clever administrators, so we now need ALL decisions taken for us, above our heads, and we should pay for them, to make life as difficult and expensive as possible: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302312/500k-year-Northumberland-council-boss-retired-golden-goodbye.html (and now having a lovely time "reshaping" Cornwall on a 150k pa wage) Why not ask our current head of planning (phil.mason@cornwall.gov.uk) how he's getting on with the latest batch of new officer shoe-ins (@ £150-200k pa including expenses, that's a definite council saving), to help him guide us down the road to health and traffic hell. And whilst these worthy and clever officers sip champagne to celebrate Persimmon CEO's £128m bonus (which will probably help him become Cornwall's biggest landlord after Prince Charles and Lord Falmouth), let's forget for a minute that Cornwall now officially has the third highest number of street homeless in the UK (after London and Brighton), and more food banks per head of population than anywhere in the UK: www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/low-wages-high-cost-living-947375 A tale of two Cornwalls... In other news: TRURO www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/truro-river-filled-plastic-pollution-946844 SERIOUS ACCIDENT BETWEEN PERRAN & TRELUSWELL www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/a39-closed-between-truro-falmouth-945517 www.cornwalllive.com/news/gallery/scene-crash-a39-between-falmouth-945692 CORNWALL LOW-PAY CAPITAL www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-low-paid-capital-country-945104 (Unless you're a senior council officer) MODERN CORNISH SHAME www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/11-worst-places-live-cornwall-939586 (In recent years, everyone in Cornwall felt proud of their town or village; until Phil Mason & John Betty rolled into town ) And now for something, well, completely different! A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM CORNISH SOLIDARITY. "Cornishness is for life. Not just for St Piran's Day and 80 minutes at Twickenham! The battle is currently raging for Cornwall’s soul; the frontline is the clash between our Cornish way of life which although fragile in the face of the onslaught it faces, is nonetheless worthy. It must be allowed to evolve sympathetically, for it will shape our Cornish future by nurturing the deep roots we Cornish have put down in this very special place we call home. We would like to draw your attention to these words below which uniquely underpin our message to those of you who work in malign ways to undermine and dilute our presence and sense of place in our own land, which we will not quietly let you do. "A person cannot live without love because the most important and precious things in his life are revealed specifically to the heart. Only a contemplative love reveals an unfamiliar soul to us for faithful, profound communion and mutual understanding, friendship, and the upbringing of children. All of this is inaccessible to heartless people. A contemplating love reveals to a person his homeland, i.e., his spiritual connection with his native people, his sense of ethnic belonging, a haven for his soul and spirit on this earth. It is a joy to have a homeland, but it can only be attained through love. Not by chance do hate-filled people - today’s revolutionaries- turn out to be internationalists. They are dead to love, and deprived also of a homeland. A love for one’s own nation does not inevitably imply hatred for other peoples, as self-assertion is not synonymous with a sure attack, and defence of what is one’s own does not mean expropriation of what is not. This makes nationalism and patriotism manifestations of an elevated spirit, rather than waves of self-conceit, egotism and bloody barbarism, as some of today’s journalists, who do not remember their forefathers and have squandered their national spirit, attempt to explain it." Ivan Ilyin. Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth. We earnestly pray that those who work at our Council and in Parliament will find the courage and have the wisdom to serve Cornwall better in the New Year ahead. Very sincerely The Cornish Solidarity Team.