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For over a month the blog has sat idle.  It was never planned that way and I was far from idle during the summer.  Planning applications come thick an fast, though few require intervention.  One of the disadvantages of a town Centre ward is every time a shop or bank wants to change their signage or a new store opens, an email arrives with a reference number, sadly this means each one has to be opened and read just in case it is a more significant application.  

And of course licence applications.  Most of these licence applications come from national companies with much experience and (it is just a conspiracy theory that may be dis-proven) you sense that these applications come in April so the consultation period is during elections or July time in hopes that the relevant interested parties (residents, Councillors, Police Licencing officer, EHO etc) are too busy on holiday to object.  Sadly for them this Councillor didn't go away!

Finally, as Summer ends, I offer my other excuse for not blogging for so long.  Like the rest of the Country I got hooked on the Olympics and Paralympics.

In the past, like most, I've caught a fair amount of the the athletics, anything else has been an accident.  This time it became an addiction, I found myself watching events like shooting.  I've never been shooting, never really felt the urge to either, but spent a whole lunch time glued to the only TV I can see at work as team GB went for gold.  I laughed, cried and found myself screaming at the TV far too often. It was inspiring stuff.  The bike came out of the garage.  And a piece of string stretched itself between the two trees in front of the house as volley ball became a neighbourhood game for children between the age of 4 and 41.

Then the Paralympics, and it started all over again.  This was no sideshow following the main event.  It was another incredible event with all the same emotions as the Olympics, and a few more.

Watching those with no complete arms swim, you found yourself watching in disbelief and wheelchair rugby -what a game, everything about it feels wrong, but brilliant.  Should also congratulate Channel 4.  For so long you could only really trust the BBC to get the big events right (and they did again this year), CH4 did a great job too.

Other TV highlight - The Best of Men BBC 2, if you didn't watch it, worth doing so.  A drama showing how the paralympic games were born.. 

BBC sports personality of the year will be interesting this year.  Normally winning the tour de france would have been enough for Bradley Wiggins.  As would winning a Tennis grand slam event for Any Murray.  Both those picked up gold medals as well.  Or record breaking Chris Hoy? and David Weir, gold medals at 800m, 1500m, 5000m and Marathon in 2012, completing a career haul that includes a medal at every distance from 100m to marathon. Jessica Ennis and Ellie Simmonds would be easy winners in any other year but in a crowded pool of contenders this.  Outside the olympic events, Rory Mcllroy, two golfing majors and world number 1, in any other year a cert.  I have no idea who should win this, and I'm supposed to have an opinion on everything!