One Woman and Her Horse 13/11/2007

A well looked after horse has recently moved in with its owner in Slough!

Junior is being kept in Amy Gilbert’s back garden due to her not being able to afford his place at the stables.

Amy, who has qualified for the national championships in the past at Windsor horse show, is over the moon about the new addition to her household.

‘Junior is the first thing I think about in the morning and sometimes I just can’t wait to see him’.
It would cost Amy £500 - £600 a month to keep the horse if he did not live at home but she maintains that having an equine friend is an amazing experience, as you create a quick bond with them, and they are always there.

‘Junior is quite cheeky and he needs careful handling at times – he weighs 3 quarters of a tonne and he knows it!’ says Amy, although she could not imagine life without him.

http://www.royal-windsor-horse-show.co.uk/

Breathless by Shayne Ward

Slough has The X Factor 16/11/07

Hundreds of people turned up to watch Shayne Ward turning on the Christmas lights in Slough town square yesterday.

The heartthrob singer had to compete with the din of screaming girls when he sung his new single, Breathless.

Mayor of Slough, Rashad Butt, had a much less roaring reception, as he and Shayne pulled the lever that turned on the lights, and started a spectacular fireworks display.

Shayne made many teen dreams come true by giving the whole front row a kiss, and said "I'm really happy to be in Slough for the first time."

http://www.shayne-ward.com/

Missing Man 04/10/2007

Langley resident, Darren Cocoran, is missing. He was last seen this morning heading to work on his bicycle. He is 28, white, 6ft, blonde, well built and was wearing a royal blue LPS logo t-shirt, blue jeans and a fluorescent jacket. Sergeant Matt Gow, Slough police, said his family “urge him to get in touch as soon as possible”.

If you have any information, please call the police on 0845 8 505 505 or for anonymity, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Thieves Leave Church Choir in Silence 20/11/2007

Thieves left a church choir unable to perform hymns after stealing their keyboard from a church hall in Langley, Slough on Saturday.

Two men entered the Holy Family Church, Trelawney Avenue at about 10am through a side door, and seized the Yamaha keyboard. One of the men was later seen carrying it.

Both men were white, aged 18 – 30, and slim. One of them is 5ft 8ins and wearing a grey hooded top with a coloured pattern on the front. The other is 5ft 11ins and wearing a black hooded top.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact PC Purewal on 0845 8 505 505, or for anonymity call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Local Couple Face Racist Attack 10/12/2007

Racist youths left an Asian couple feeling distressed after they verbally and physically assaulted them on Wednesday 5 December in Langley, Slough.

The couple were heading towards Elmhurst road when the incident took place.
Fortunately, they were able to make it to their home where the attackers fled after others intervened.

At about 8pm, the husband and wife were walking in High Street, Langley when two young men and a woman emerged from the alleyway linking High Street with Ives Road.The men followed the couple and proceeded to hurl racist abuse at them before one of them struck the husband on the head.

The couple walked to their home where they called out to a family member, resulting in the two thugs attacking the husband with what is believed to be a screwdriver. A family member and others attempted to restrain one of the attackers, and the trio ran off back towards the alleyway.

Paramedics treated the Asian man at the scene after he sustained cuts and scratches to his ear and neck. Superintendent Pete Davies, Slough local police, is appealing for any witnesses to come forward and described the attack as "totally unprovoked, which has caused considerable distress to a law-abiding couple.”

The offenders were all white. One of the men was 16-19, about 5ft 7ins, heavily built, with a round clean – shaven face, a pointy nose, and short blonde hair gelled back. He was wearing a black zip-up jacket with white reflective stripes on the back, faded denim jeans and black trainers.

The other man is 18 to 19, 5ft 6ins, slim, with mousy brown hair and a long face. He was wearing a black shirt with vertical white stripes.

The girl is 15 to 18, 5ft 4ins, slim, with shoulder-length straight hair in a ponytail, and was wearing a blue denim jacket and blue jeans.

Please contact Detective Constable Trip Pannu on 0845 8 505 505 or for anonymity, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Browner Britain Thus Far 05/11/07

Gordon Brown has been in power as prime minister for over 100 days now and as a nation we are starting to get a feel as to what our ex-chancellor has in store for us. On first impressions, Brown appears to be a welcome step-up from Tony Blair, who had been gradually losing support from the electorate over the past few years due to his handling of September 11, military campaigns in Iraq, and a few ill-considered decisions that he made without consultation with his Cabinet.

However, Blair’s reign did bring us one of the longest periods of economic growth in Britain’s history, as well as big spending in schools and hospitals, in addition to being the only Labour prime minister to have won three general elections, and having served more than one full consecutive term. The question is: Is Gordon Brown the man to turn this country around?

He has already illustrated the differences between him and Blair by reshuffling his Cabinet as to how he believes will benefit Britain’s future. He began his term by giving a speech outside 10 Downing Street stating, “Let the work of change begin… I will try my utmost. This is my promise to all of the people of Britain.”

Brown is certainly emitting a strong, patriotic image of working for ‘the people,’ and has spoken about issues that he aims to amend so that, “If we can fulfil the potential and realise the talents of all our people them I’m sure that Britain can be the great global success story of this century.” He has already stated plans for suppressing union anger of the British workforce because more and more British people feel that they are unemployed, and that their possible job opportunities are going to cheap foreign labour; Brown has promised to find an “extra 500,000 British jobs for British workers.”

The new Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, compared Blair and Brown recently and said “Tony was the right leader in 1994, Gordon is the right leader today. It feels right. Gordon is defining his own style of leadership, which is right for the time and right for him.”

However, the first downfall with Brown emerged a few days ago at his controversial decision not to call a general election on November 1. When interviewed about his decision by the BBC’s Andrew Marr, the strong figure faltered and stumbled his way through the interview, trying to justify that he did not decide against the election because of the drop in the Labour polls.

If Brown wants to be respected and believed as our prime minister, he must make some changes and gain the public’s trust. Hopefully, the country will have the privilege of seeing the man that Miliband describes as “a man of depth – deep values, deep vision, deep sense of the future of the country, deep intellect, deep humanity.’

http://www.number10.gov.uk/

Being Fiona McTaggart: MP for Slough 17/10/2007

“I wanted and still want to change the world” is a bold and colossal statement but this is exactly why Fiona McTaggart decided to become a local MP. According to McTaggart, Labour MP for Slough, there is no ‘typical’ working day in her life. She spends most of Monday to Thursday in Parliament asking ministers questions, debating, and voting on legislation. She also attends meetings with lobby groups, backbench, and all party groups.

When the weekend rolls around, there is no time for rest and McTaggart is based in Slough visiting local schools and other public service bodies, as well as getting hands-on and visiting constituents' houses to talk with them about their concerns. However, even then things can get complicated and she may have to change her timetable and be in parliament on Friday if there is very important business e.g. the hunting bill. There is always time for a little relaxation though and her Monday evenings are spent rehearsing with the Parliament choir.

McTaggart realises that there are important issues within Slough that need to be addressed and she feels that the main problems are: local skills shortages, high crime rate, and health. She admits, “People in Slough still die younger than the surrounding area and have high incidence of coronary disease and strokes. We have narrowed the gap since I have been MP but we need to go further.”

She also believes that the Slough community has become increasingly divided, which is a result of financial difficulties, which the council has blamed the government and immigration for. She feels it is her particular responsibility to promote community cohesion, as well as supporting the council’s argument for funding.

Being a MP is clearly not a predictable lifestyle and McTaggart seems keen to get involved in all parts of her community if she can. She once rescued a family pet parrot from being executed by customs and excise, and even got a minister involved!

McTaggart has clear views about whether MPs should have priority over others in Parliament. In certain instances she believes they need to be prioritised e.g. “non-members are not supposed to use the lifts when votes have been called”. However, when asked about recent speculation in the media of MPs queue – jumping for dinners, she states, “I think queuing is a splendid expression of Britishness and I have never barged a queue because I am an MP.”

http://www.fionamactaggart.labour.co.uk/