Bus workers in London have voted to take strike action in a row over their workload during the Olympics.
Nearly 40% of Unite members working for 21 bus companies voted 94% in favour of strike action. No dates have been set.
The union, which is asking for a £500 bonus, says bus workers are the only London transport workers not to receive an Olympics bonus payment.
Transport for London (TfL) said it was disappointed but workers were employed by private firms who set their pay.
Dates for strike action could be announced early next week.
Unite says it expects 800,000 extra passengers to travel on buses during the Games.
It said workers on London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin would all receive between £500 to £900 in extra payments.
In May, a survey of 2,955 London bus and rail passengers commissioned by the union found that 88% were in favour of Olympic bonus pay.
'Completely reprehensible'Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London, said: "It's a disgrace that London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and the bus companies have allowed this dispute to get this far.
"Our members are only asking for an extra £17 a day which will just about buy you a pint of beer and a portion of fish and chips at the Olympics.
"Our members want the Games to be a success but their patience has run out."
Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "I am not surprised that 70% of London's bus drivers did not vote for strike action.
"That is because about 70% of London's local bus services are not affected by the Olympic Games.
"The whole country is really entering into the spirit of the Games and the overwhelming responsible majority are pulling out all the stops to make it a huge success.
"Only Unite appears to want to exploit it by adding a further multimillion-pound burden to the hard-pressed fare-payers and taxpayers of London."
Mr Daniels added that Unite had already negotiated binding deals for pay and conditions with each of the bus companies for this year.
"Attempting to tear up those agreements and get a new one with less than 50 days to go before the Games is completely reprehensible and out of step with every other provider of services in this city this summer."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Naughty swimmers to leave London early - Sportal.com.au
Australian swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk will leave London immediately after their events at the Olympic Games are over.
Monk earlier this week posted a photo on Facebook of the duo posing with high-powered weapons in a US gun shop, with the pair later apologising for their actions.
Along with being sent home after their swimming events are completed, Monk and D'Arcy have been banned from using social media from July 16 to August 15, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Saturday.
In a letter sent to both athletes, Chef de Mission Nick Green said: "Given this incident and our previous discussions concerning your conduct, I now have concerns regarding your lack of judgment.
"As a member of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team, and as I have reminded you on previous occasions, it is an honour and a privilege to be a member of an Australian Olympic Team.
"Australian Olympians are required to meet very high standards of conduct and we cannot risk the reputation of the team through non-compliance with the Team Membership Agreement."
If they are not required for the final session of the swimming program, the AOC plan for D'Arcy and Monk to leave London's Olympic Village on August 4.
Green insisted the decision to take the pair to the Games, which start on July 27, had nothing to do with whether they would be successful.
"This has nothing to do with medals," he said.
"It is all about upholding team values, in particular the high standards of behaviour set by those Olympians who came before you."
Swimming Australia, who ordered for the photos to be removed, are conducting their own investigation.
Source: www.sportal.com.au
Seaford’s part in warning against foreign invasion - Lewes Today
I SHOULD imagine that beacons have been used for many years as a means of communication. This was particularly the case to warn us good Sussex folk from invasion against the French.
The first records of these devices in England date from the 14th century when we were at war with the French – the Hundred Years War. There would have been a beacon, ready to be lit on Seaford Head. In July 1545, a French fleet headed by the French Admiral Claude D’Annebault attacked Seaford. Locals, under the command of Sir Nicholas Pelham of Lewes used farm implements and stones from the beach to pelt the enemy into a hasty retreat. How did Pelham raise this makeshift army so quickly? I am sure his motley army was warned by beacons. The French went on to attack Brighton and Hove and a contemporary print shows the “ye Towne Fire Cage” lit on high ground where Kemp Town is now located.
Other beacons were more substantial. Orders issued in 1585 stated that beacons would need to be ‘in the accustomed places’ and that five households would be appointed for each pair of beacons. Two people were needed to watch the beacons at all times – a rule that lasted until after the Spanish Amada passed in 1588. In 1584 an entry in the Seaford Town Records says: “Robert Best will not watch at the sea-side according to the laudable custom.” This indicates that there was obviously a form of coastal watch at Seaford.
The beacons were all the way along the Sussex coast. At Beachy Head (the most southerly part of East Sussex) a series of beacons were constructed in-land at Willingdon, Wilmington and Firle (Beacon) to send warning quickly to Lewes, the County Town.
By the Victorian era, more sophisticated means of communication had been developed but beacons still used – not for warning but for celebration. Bonfire beacons were lit on Seaford Head to commemorate Royal jubilees and coronations. When George V was crowned on June 22, 1911, both Seaford and Newhaven celebrated with beacons lit at 10pm. The one at Newhaven was so big it was still alight the next morning! The teenage girls of Ladycross School decided they were going to watch a beacon being lit – not at Seaford but Firle!
They set off from school in pelting rain at 8.30pm and by the time they reached Blatchington Golf Course their shoes were waterlogged and they were soaked through. They soldiered on and finally reached the huge bonfire in the pitch dark. At first there were just a few people there but by 10pm a large crowd had gathered. On the stroke of 10pm a rocket and a loud bang was heard from Newhaven. Two men with flaming torches ran to the beacon, pulled aside large branches that covered openings and applied the torches to the dry gorse underneath. Soon the whole bonfire was ablaze and lit up a large area (and hopefully dried the girls!). One of the party, Miss D Patterson said she could count 18 other beacons from Firle and was sure she would have seen more if it was not for the bad weather.
After nearly an hour, the girls decided to head back to Seaford, lit for a short distance by the beacon. The weather was still bad, the Firle beacon was soon out, it was pitch black and they had no torches. They got lost. They were aiming for Alfriston race course but were too close to Newhaven, some fell in rabbit holes or tripped as they walked through dark fields of barley, climbed fences and stumbled through gorse hedges. Eventually, led by Miss Brunton, they heard St Leonard’s Church Clock strike midnight and saw the Seaford beacon, which guided them back to their school an hour and a half later. I am sure they deserved the hot cocoa and biscuits that were waiting for them.
Isn’t that a fantastic story? I am sure every girl remembered the beacon and their adventure until their dying day. Can you imagine the Health & Safety implications today?
This leads me to the special beacon built by Seaford Bonfire Society for her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee last Monday where unfortunately red-tape prevented a bonfire being built on its traditional spot. The beacon however was built on the retaining wall of the old Splash Point Hotel and was clearly visible from the east end of the town. Following the excellent concert on Martello Fields which every one seemed to really enjoy there was a laser light show from the top of the Martello Tower. A few minutes earlier the huge golden orb of a full-moon hoved into view from behind the cliffs, a truly beautiful spectacle.
At 10.15pm a shaft of green laser light sliced through the night air to the beacon which was soon alight to the cheers of the thousands of Seafordians.
As I was caretaking at the Martello Tower I was able to see the beacon on Castle Hill, Newhaven and the glow of the Firle and Alfriston Beacons. Michael Ann was the Beacon Master for East Sussex and reports that about 300 people witnessed the lighting of the Alfriston beacon which he believes was the largest in the county. There were over 50 official beacons in East Sussex and our beacons will be added to a list which will be presented to Her Majesty.
I would have liked to ended this report by saying there was no sign of the French – but I can’t. I spoke to a part of two French families who were visiting us. They said that they had had a fantastic evening and it was. Thank you to all concerned.
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Print this pageSource: www.sussexexpress.co.uk
London mayor urges T.O. to go for 2024 Olympics - Calgary Herald
A surprise city council decision Friday to consider bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics was given a solid thumbs up from the mayor of London, whose own city is set to stage one of the world's greatest sports spectacles next month.
Boris Johnson said the Games leave lasting value, something he said will happen in his city.
"I think that's a great move," Johnson said.
"Go for it, Toronto. You won't regret it if you get it."
Toronto has twice before thrown its hat into the Olympic ring - in 1996 and 2008 - only to be disappointed. It did not try for the 2020 event.
If a decision is made to try to land the Games in 2024, Johnson urged the city to "make a case" for staging them to the International Olympic Committee that goes well beyond the athletics.
Source: www.canada.com
LONDON CALLING: Sophie is the right choice - This is Wiltshire
LONDON CALLING: Sophie is the right choice
5:00pm Saturday 9th June 2012 in Latest News By Owen Houlihan
BRITISH Fencing performance manager Alex Newton has defended the selection of Winsley’s Sophie Williams in Great Britain’s Olympic team for London 2012.
The governing body’s selection process came under fire in some quarters after Williams, 21, and colleague Louise Bond-Williams were picked ahead of compatriots Jo Hutchison and Chrystall Nicoll, who held higher world rankings.
Hutchison and Nicoll subsequently launched an unsuccessful appeal after being overlooked, with the role of national sabre coach Jon Salfield – Williams’ coach in Truro – put under scrutiny.
However, the appeal was rejected by an independent panel and Newton has insisted Williams merited her place at the London Games.
The Wiltshire woman is currently preparing for the women’s sabre event at the senior European Championships in Legnano, Italy, next week, at which Bond-Williams, Hutchison and Nicholl will also compete.
Newton said of Williams: “(She) a fencer in her first full senior year who has had some good results and performances against the world’s best.
“In the toughest ever international competition environment (for women’s sabre), her performance trajectory is impressive.
“She is on a higher curve than our other women sabreurs. The performance team are confident that she will bridge the gap to the podium by 2016.
“At the time of selection she was ranked 59th in the world and is one of our brightest 2016 prospects and is also capable of producing a credible performance in 2012.
Newton added: “There has been much public speculation and commentary on the (women’s sabre) selections.
“In reality, all three athletes outside the top 50 were not considered as likely to produce a performance in the medal zone in 2012 and were therefore being considered as 2016 prospects.
“At the point of selection, there was no significant difference in the points and world ranking of the three fencers in contention.
“Following a detailed and thorough discussion, the clear view of the performance team was that although three sabreurs had broadly similar results over the qualifying period, Sophie Williams shows the greatest promise for the future, in particular for Rio 2016.
“We believe that we have a really well-balanced, talented team combining our very best experienced fencers with the finest prospects who have already shown competitiveness on the senior circuit.”
Source: www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk
London 2012: bus drivers vote to strike during Olympic Games - The Guardian
Thousands of London bus workers have voted to go on strike during the Olympics if they do not receive a bonus of £500.
Members of the Unite union voted for industrial action by a ratio of nine to one. The union is seeking the bonus for the 20,000 bus workers it represents, claiming that other transport workers have been paid a premium for working during the event.
The ballot allows the union to name the date for a strike but they have not yet named a date. Unite said it was giving the bus companies a final opportunity to consider the "landslide" ballot result before announcing possible strike dates early next week.
At least 800,000 extra passengers are predicted to use London's buses during the Olympics.
Unite official Peter Kavanagh said negotiations had been going on for a year.
"Our members are only asking for an extra £17 a day which will just about buy you a pint of beer and a portion of fish and chips at the Olympics. Our members want the Games to be a success but their patience has run out," he said.
"We have given Transport for London and the bus operators almost a year to resolve this issue. Every single London transport worker in London will receive a reward to recognise their major contribution to this historic occasion except for London's bus workers."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Sussex make inroads at Horsham - wscountytimes.co.uk
Sussex have taken two wickets this morning as their County Championship match against Surrey at Horsham remains finely poised.
Nightwatchman Stuart Meaker and Mark Ramprakash (37) have fallen as Sussex strive to force a result on the final day. Surrey were 39-1 overnight, and Meaker and Ramprakash added 22 runs before Steve Magoffin made the breakthrough when Meaker played on.
Ramprakash and Steve Davies put on 35 for the third wicket, which fell when Ramprakash was trapped LBW by Monty Panesar when attempting a sweep.
Sussex were left to rue a couple of dropped catches though, perhaps most tellingly when Chris Nash put down a sharp chance at short leg off Zander de Bruyn shortly before lunch,
Surrey will begin the afternoon session 129-3, still 98 runs adrift of Sussex’s first innings total.
Source: www.wscountytimes.co.uk
Sussex close in on victory at Horsham - wscountytimes.co.uk
Sussex are in a commanding position to claim a win against Surrey at Horsham today.
Going into the final session of their County Championship match, Sussex have reduced Surrey to 183-7 in a good afternoon session, and with 27 overs remaining, will be looking to wrap up victory at Cricketfield Road.
Sussex wanted early wickets after lunch and nine overs into the session were rewarded when Zander de Bruyn departed for 21, giving Monty Panesar his second wicket LBW of the day with an attempted sweep. Steven Davies had looked bright for his 35, but Panesar claimed a third victim when the Surrey wicketkeeper nibbled an edge to Ben Brown and Surrey were 162-5. Jimmy Anyon bowled with menace, and subjected Tom Maynard to one torrid over of short balls, which the Surrey man did well to negotiate.Maynard and skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown dug in, but their partnership was broken in Chris Nash’s first over. Horsham Nash was brought on from the Town End, and trapped Maynard in his crease LBW.
It got worse for Surrey when next man in Gareth Batty had added just two. Keen to get off strike, he called for a single, and although Hamilton-Brown sent him back, Steve Magoffin’s throw beat him back and Ben Brown completed the job, reducing Surrey to 181-7 at tea.
Source: www.wscountytimes.co.uk
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