No 6, April 1998
HERITAGE BETRAYED
A SUSPECTED hidden agenda at the
Town Hall is putting at risk the future of Worthing town centre's most
important remaining historic building. That was the shock message to arise
from a vital public meeting held on March 26 by the people who are trying to
save The Dome, the oldest running cinema in Britain and possibly the whole of
Europe. The consensus of the 50-odd people there was that it will be nothing
short of a disaster if the 1911 building, which is basically in good nick
(though in need of a few new seats) is lost for ever. And it was equally clear
from the platform and floor alike as to which group of people represent the
biggest threat to its survival - Worthing Borough Council. The failure
of our pathetic council to respond to the needs and concerns of the community
is becoming painfully clear to more and more people in this town. Furthermore,
it appears that its notoriety has reached even further afield! Nick Young of
Worthing Dome Preservation Trust reported at the meeting he had
been talking to a local government specialist on The Times in
London who told him that "Worthing is the most officer-led council in the
country". In other words, it doesn't matter which party is in power (see
VOTE FOR NOBODY) because the undemocratic elite in charge remains essentially
the same, year after year, decade after decade. The disgraceful story of The
Dome is essentially this. It is owned by the borough council, which doesn't
want to pay for its renovation and upkeep and is eager to get rid of it. Until
September, it is open to bids from anyone who wants to buy it, preferably to
keep it as a cinema. But the suspicion aired at the public meeting is that the
council isn't really interested in its preservation at all, but has its own
hidden agenda for redeveloping that part of the seafront. Fuelling this theory
are the facts that:
* The council won't maintain the Dome properly and seems to be waiting
for it to fall down.
* The council won't give the Trust any straight answers about its vision
for the area.
* The council is cagey about its plans for a multiplex cinema in the
town, now the Durrington scheme is dead.
* The council won't give the Trust the backing it needs to apply for
lottery funding.
* There is nothing about the site in the new deposit draft local plan,
despite an earlier version where the Dome was shown intact.
* The wording of the English Heritage listing of the Dome changed
mysteriously from "cinema" to "complex".
Chris Slade of the Trust said of their dealings with the council: "We feel
as if we've been banging our heads against a brick wall." So why doesn't the
council do something for our town's heritage? Would it really be happy to see
the Dome fall apart or burn down in the night, as suggested at the meeting, so
it could sell off this highly marketable site to help meet its famous debts?
What will happen in September if no deal to save the Dome has been agreed?
Will it become a carpet warehouse or a drive-thru burger joint? You can
contact the Dome Preservation Trust c/o 33 Eriswell Road, Worthing, W Sussex
BN11 3HP.
Free the Masons!
OUR CAMPAIGN TO liberate Freemasons from
their ill-deserved reputation as a corrupt and greedy bunch of fellows has run
into some early trouble. Readers may recall that we wrote to a number of local
institutions, inviting them to clear the air and provide a list of Freemasons
in their ranks. We were confident that they would do so, in the spirit of Her
Majesty's Government's current drive for openness in these matters. However,
we are shocked to have to tell you that this does not seem to be the case. As
we went to press, Sussex Police and Worthing Magistrates Court had NOT EVEN
REPLIED to our letter. And the two local councils which did reply weren't very
forthcoming about masonic links. Wrote Jane Robinson, West
Sussex county press and information officer: "Thank you for your letter
concerning Freemasons within the County Council. I am afraid I am unable to
give you this information as the County Council does not keep a register of
either members or officers who are Freemasons." We also received a letter from
top Worthing Borough Council man Michael Ball (the chief
executive, no less). He began: "Although the Council has rules which apply to
officers and Members regarding the declaration of membership of organisations
such as the Freemasons, no declaration has been made. I am therefore unable to
provide you with the information you require." We have written back to Mr
Ball, asking whether he means that a) the rules say you have to declare if
you're a freemason and we can conclude that either there are no Freemasons on
the council or there are but they're illegally not admitting it or b) the
rules say you don't have to declare if you're a freemason and one can conclude
pork all. Mr Ball's letter concluded on an eccentric note. He asked The
Pork-Bolter: "Is your organisation lifting the veil of secrecy about its
membership?" Secrecy, what secrecy? How can a newsletter be secret? Perhaps
what Mr Ball really means is that he is not personally acquainted with any of
the people behind this initiative - a rare phenomenon in a town where a small
chummy circle of The Great and Good has been used to having its own way
without any real opposition for far, far too long.
Learn to Luv Big Bruv!
BIG BROTHER arrived at Worthing High
School in March when spy cameras were installed. The reasons for this
draconian move, according to the Worthing Herald, are "to
safeguard pupils' safety and protect the site out of school hours". The
£14,000 it all cost has come from West Sussex County Council and the
Government. Being charitable towards the county council, we could suggest it
is only guilty of wanting to protect its property and has simply not given any
thought to the damaging psychological effects of bringing up children in a
high security prison camp. But as far as the Government is concerned,
something very very dodgy is clearly going on. It has already been funding spy
camera schemes for towns all over the country, including Worthing and other
sleepy, virtually crime-free market towns like Horsham and Dorking. Even
Steyning and Storrington have been considered too dangerous to walk through
without 24-hour surveillance. There is more to this than "crime prevention".
This is an attempt to completely change the nature of our way of life and
redefine human liberty within tight new constraints. A recent report on
children's behaviour showed that those kept inside, by parents afraid mostly
of traffic, grow up with an unhealthy "battery chicken" mentality, whilst
"free range" children are psychologically much healthier. What will future
generations turn out like if they attend Big Brother schools, walk along Big
Brother streets and probably soon have Big Brother inside their own homes,
"protecting" them while they sleep at night. The answer is that they will be
fearful, submissive, bowed-down, dehumanised, spineless wage slaves - in other
words the ideal population for the sweat shop tyrants who hold the
reins of power in England, Europe and more or less the whole world. Remember,
in Orwell's 1984 the totalitarian state prided itself on making its subjects
LOVE Big Brother, rather than fear him. Getting schoolchildren used to the
idea of being watched over by spy cameras is working on the same principle.
Parents of Worthing High School children, current and future, should not allow
them to be subjected to this cynical exercise in brainwashing. And if they
won't do anything, the pupils themselves should make a stand. The
Government has been telling us recently that there's no place for bullying in
schools. We could all start by giving a kick in the teeth to the biggest
bully-boy of them all, Big Brother!
Vote for Nobody!
IN last month's Pork-Botler we urged anyone
with an ounce of sense to STAY AWAY from the borough council elections in
protest at the authority's smug and elitist attitudes. But now we have been
informed that there is, after all, someone of a suitable calibre that we can
recommend our readers to vote for on May 7, going by the name of NOBODY.
NOBODY is different.
NOBODY will put the interest of ordinary Worthing people first.
NOBODY will make a stand against the privatisation of Worthing's council
housing heritage.
NOBODY will make sure the council is answerable to the public.
NOBODY will tackle the tyranny of traffic and make the roads of our town
safe for everyone, from children and old folks to cyclists.
NOBODY will force councillors called Sheila to answer valid questions put
to them in newspapers by newsletters bearing pictures of pigs.
Isn't this all just common sense? Your feelings, your needs and you
potential to play a full part in Worthing's life are constantly undermined by
the pathetic political parties that creep and crawl for your vote. NOBODY
believes in you.
NOBODY can do for you what you should do for yourself. So do yourself a
favour and VOTE for NOBODY. If NOBODY gets in it'll be a much better borough
for all of us to live in.
Factfile: Worthing people are lucky enough to be ruled by all
three of our wonderful political parties. The borough is Lib Dem, the county
is Tory and the national government is crap.
Porky Pie’s Top Tip of the Month!
HOW TO SOLVE THE
CRIME PROBLEM
- Put spy cameras on the streets.
- Put spy cameras in schools.
- Put spy cameras everywhere you can think of and a couple more for
luck.
- It doesn't now matter how many crimes anyone commits - they're all
already serving life sentences in a high-security prison camp!
Cable TV and secret police
A STRANGE report in the West
Sussex County Times suggests mysterious links to the secret state
apparently enjoyed by the American firm behind cable TV and phone lines in
Worthing. The piece told how one Rick Perry of Emms Lane, Barns Green, near
Horsham, was given an OBE at Buck House. It said he was honoured for something
described as "services to telecommunications and the country." Then the
article added: "The 43 year old Cable and Wireless international planning
manager has recently been seconded to undertake Government work, the exact
nature of which is secret even to his wife, Chris. She told the County Times:
`I wish I knew more about it myself'." So do we, Mrs Perry, particularly after
reading elsewhere about the notorious US-run Menwith Hill monitoring station
in Yorkshire, through which all our phone calls and communications are said to
pass. When Cable and Wireless's predecessor Nynex was causing havoc across
Worthing, digging up pavements and roads to lay its cables, many of us
wondered why they were allowed to do whatever they wanted in the pursuit of
establishing a commercial cable network in the town. If Mr Perry was really
serving "the country" rather than the State, maybe he would tell us all (and
his Missus) what exactly is going on!
Pedal power to the people!
A WHEEL success was notched up by
Worthing Friends of the Earth on March 28, when they staged a
children's cycle ride along the seafront from Splash Point to Heene Road to
protest at the ban on cycling on the prom and to call for safe routes in the
borough. The protesters of all ages carried with them a mobile cycle lane,
complete with zebra crossing, to illustrate the theme. Leaflets were handed
out to the public and press photographers turned up in force. Well done to all
involved! Keep up the (tyre) pressure!
Do they really mean us?
A "CAUTIOUS" welcome has been given
by Worthing Borough Council to Government plans to involve the community in
council decision-making, reports the Worthing Herald. Apparently
chief executive Michael Ball "urged the Government to take note of the
Worthing experience which showed local people were reluctant to get involved
in many community issues". No comment from yer invisible campaigning
Pork-Bolter!
PORK-SCRATCHINGS
A HUGE new theme park to rival Blackpool
Pleasure Beach is being planned for Goring Gap, according to the hitherto
unknown Goring News Focus, significantly dated April 1. The
report states: "Many residents in Goring are surprisingly enthusiastic about
the proposals. One Goring Road shopkeeper remarked: "This is what the area has
been crying out for, for many years!". The newslettter also reveals that the
Goring Conservative Club is to be closed, to make way for a new road and that
Tory MP Peter Bottomley has been seen wearing a "New Labour" badge as a joke.
Copies of the Focus were last seen in Goring library.
* * *
PRAISE where praise is due and well done to Worthing Borough
Council for converting its dustcarts to more eco-friendly City Diesel.
A small step but definitely in the right direction.
* * *
WE all know that professionals working in industry and government, central and
local, know some pretty shocking things about what goes on inside these
organisations, such as on safety and pollution. But if they speak up, they
risk losing their jobs. Freedom to Care is a non-profit
organisation which supports whistle-blowers and other conscientious employees.
It also campaigns for corporate responsibility and legal reforms. Info is
available on the internet (http://members.aol.com/FreeCare/Info.htm)
* * *
HAVE you been to Iceland recently? Well, maybe you should think about it,
because the frozen food chain's boss Malcolm Walker has made an immensely
admirable stand against genetically modified food, unlike other retailers and
the Government, which seems to be totally in the hands of the greedy global
food industry. From May 1 no Iceland own brand product will contain any
ingredients that have been genetically modified. For more info, there is a
leaflet available at their shops and a Genetic Hotline on 0990 133373.
Official warning
THE PORK-BOLTER has been officially
accredited by Worthing Borough Council as the world's first secret
newsletter. It is printed with invisible ink, distributed by invisible
supporters and must in no circumstances be read or even mentioned in public.
You haven't seen this, right?
The Pig Issue
THE PORK-BOLTER is an independent newsletter,
allied to no political party and dedicated to standing up for the ordinary
people of Worthing, their rights, their heritage, their environment and their
future. Sad to say, this makes us quite a novelty in this town! Our name is
not gratuitously strange, but REALLY DOES come from an ancient nickname for
Worthing people dating back to its fishing village days. We welcome
information or articles from our readers as well as any feedback on what we
have written. If you want to make sure of getting a copy of issue 7, simply
send us a stamped self-addressed envelope. To get the next six issues send a
donation of at least £2. Please think about making it a bit more, if you
really want to help us. Cheques and postal orders shoudl be made payable to
The Pork-Bolter. Drop us a line at PO Box 4144, Worthing, West Sussex BN14
7NZ. We look forward to hearing from you!
Printed and published by The Pork-Bolter, PO Box 4144, Worthing BN14 7NZ.
No copyright.
and finally ...
Dish the dirt on your bosses! Drop us a line!
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