On Honour - With a Little Knowledge, Trust and Respect

I was fascinated to read the story about Captain Robert Campbell, a World War One British Army officer who was captured by the Germans and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Magdeburg.

Whilst he was in captivity he received the sad news that his mother back home was dying of cancer. Desperate to be at her side for her final hours, Captain Campbell wrote a personal appeal to the Kaiser asking that he be allowed to go home. His request was granted - on the condition that he returned once his business back in England was done.

Having spent a week with his mother in Gravesend before she sadly passed away, Captain Campbell dutifully returned to Germany to hand himself over once again to his captors. As soon as he was safely under lock and key he set about trying to escape once more, as indeed is the patriotic duty of any prisoner of war.

What strikes one immediately is the incredible sense of honour that led Captain Campbell to keep to his word. He could quite easily have reneged on his promise. This was war, after all. However he had given his word to the Kaiser and he felt bound to stick to it.

It wasn't only about honouring a promise, of course. What Captain Campbell knew was that if he had broken his word, the next British prisoner who had found himself in a similar position would not have been granted the same favour. Having experienced the sense of helplessness and despair that came with the news that his mother was ill when he was locked away as a captive in a foreign land, he could not bear the thought of putting somebody else through that same heartbreak. By sticking to his word, just possibly if the situation were to arise again somebody else might be granted the same favour.

I could not help when reading this story but to compare the supremely noble and selfless actions of Captain Campbell with the perennially unscrupulous and self-serving ways of the modern politician. When the then Deputy Leader of the Hounslow Labour Group, Councillor Ruth Cadbury, told a Borough Council meeting back in 2007 that lying to electors in the course of trying to win their votes was perfectly acceptable and simply "politics", it would not have occurred to her that anybody listening to her words would have felt unable to trust the word of any member of her Group again.

Ruth now, of course, has her eyes on a bigger prize - the Labour nomination for the Brentford & Isleworth constituency at the General Election which is likely to take place in 2015. Yesterday one of our members received through the post her "election address". Entitled "Ruth2Win", Ruth describes herself as the candidate who is "Well Known, Well Trusted, Well Respected", and appeals to fellow Labour members to support her on the basis of her not unimpressive track record in representing her party in the area since the early 1980s.

Although I have a lot of time for her as an individual and recognise and respect her commitment to the cause of her Party, if she was selected as a parliamentary candidate I would not feel able to vote for Ruth on account of her attitude towards political campaigning. I am one of those sad people who thinks there is still a need for honesty and integrity in our politics.

Nevertheless it is nice to see more openness and less secrecy in the candidate selection process, to the point where even spectators such as myself feel moved to take an interest. May the best man (or woman) win.

Putting Isleworth on the musical map?

I came across this video the other day - local band The Ruskins performing "Old Isleworth", a dedication to their native Worton estate where it was filmed. Note the guest appearance by local legend Dougie Newton:




If you find the whole thing a bit scary listen to the interview with the band below. They seem like a decent bunch of lads:




It's nice to see some local talent emerging in the music world. Let's hope they get the break they deserve and help us to put Isleworth on the musical map.

Mogden Litigation goes to the High Court

The Mogden Residents' Litigation against Thames Water is finally being heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in Central London, in a case which has been scheduled to take place over several weeks.

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the court proceedings on this blog whilst the case is still live, but we are hopeful that local residents will emerge vindicated.

Pictured right are Liberal Democrat councillor and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Dakers, who has publicly called upon Thames to cover the storm tanks which are responsible for most of the odour generated by the plant, and ICG councillor for Isleworth ward Paul Fisher, who gave evidence to the court last week along with Councillor Shirley Fisher, who represents the neighbouring Syon ward.

Can you believe THIS?????

It just HAD to happen, didn't it? Ann K££n, alleged Member of Parliament for Brentford & Isleworth and her Hounslow Labour Party are now the champions of the residents who are suffering the effects of the Mogden Pong!

On her website, Ann calls upon Thames Water "to look again at the possibility of covering the controversial Mogden storm tanks as the Brentford sewer treatment works looks set to expand."

It would seem almost churlish under the circumstances to point out to her and her colleagues that the Mogden plant is actually in Isleworth!

She continues: "A lot of people are very unhappy about the plans to expand Mogden but, by increasing capacity, this might be one way to help reduce the smells." Which she HAS to say really, considering it was her New Labour colleagues who drove the expansion proposal through the meeting of the Sustainable Development Committee at which it was passed!

Also interesting is her inference that she persuaded OFWAT to release "£60m" for works already undertaken. Which begs me to ask, as only £40m was ever spent, what happened to the rest?

People in my part of the world are used to this shameless, breathtaking opportunism as it has manifested itself so many times before in the run-up to elections, but how must those other, non-Labour members on SDC who allowed themselves to be talked around by Councillors Cadbury and Cooper in concert with officers from the Environment Department be feeling after reading this?

Yet another lesson in New Labour political chicanery ("We apply our own ethics") learned the hard way!