Dear Andy,
I just wanted to say a big thank you for your invaluable contribution to Chesterfield campaigns workshop on Friday 12th of February. The feedback forms have been very positive and it is quite clear that participants found the session with you extremely useful.

We do appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate. I will also copy both of you into the email that I send out to participants with one another’s contact details and will include your email address in that list. The Foundation is about connecting, informing and supporting campaigners and the workshops provide a space in order to do this.

I am grateful for your input and support and hope there may be other opportunities whereby SMK can continue to work with you. I will be running more of these workshops in the across England and would welcome the opportunity to continue working with you.

Thank you so much,

Kind regards

Iffat

Iffat Shahnaz

Learning and Development Manager

Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK)

Email: iffat.shahnaz@smk.org.uk

Direct: 020 7700 8237
www.smk.org.uk

Sheila McKechnie Foundation
The Resource Centre
356 Holloway Road
London N7 6PA
020 7700 8231
www.smk.org.uk

Complained about yobs on the train swearing and setting off fire extinguisher. The item about safety on trains made onto the 0810 spot on BBC Sheffield (Toby Foster Show) We got Northern Rail on and the rail cops to explain why nothing was done to deal with them and then this appeared in the Sheffield Star

http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Police-hunt-for-rowdy-train.5336592.jpg

I’ve also emailed the CEO of Virgin Media asking him to look into why existing loyal customers end up paying almost twice as much for Phone, TV and Internet bundles as NEW customers. His Exec Office in Manchester has got back to me. Their web site says around £39 a month and my quote was nearer £64 a month when I’m already on XL Broadband and phone! Cheek

Saturday 30th May 2009

Dear Heidi Mottram,

I had the unfortunate experience of travelling on one of your trains today at the above time from Lincoln to Sheffield. Having cycled 45 miles around Lincolnshire during the day, I was looking forward to a pleasant trip back home to Sheffield. Unfortunately, at Lincoln, the train was joined by 15 very drunk, and rowdy males, heading back to Retford after a days drinking in Lincoln.

They proceeded to chant racist and offensive songs and shout and swear loudly down the train, climbing onto the seats and hanging from the baggage racks. They brought a large rubber dinghy onto the train and began ‘mock’ paddling it down the aisle. Myself and several female passengers were intimidated and put in fear of our safety when one of the party removed the fire extinguisher and sprayed myself, my £1,000 cycle and the female with foam.

At NO point did your train guard emerge during the journey from Lincoln to Retford. When he eventually emerged after the group had left at Retford I confronted him about his whereabouts and his responsibilty for the safety of passengers.

He announced that he had no intention of coming out of his cabin or acting whilst they were ‘playing up’. I asked him why he did not contact the police about the threatening and dangerous behaviour and he replied’ It’s not my problem’ and anyway ‘the British Transport Police have only got one officer to cover the whole of the area served by the train’ and were unlikely to respond or be interested.

I was looking at your passenger charter and feel very much that this has been breached in this case. Passengers were subjected to behaviour likely, in the words of the Anti-social behaviour legislation, to cause ‘alarm, distress or harrassment’ and your employees (the driver included) did nothing or took no steps at any time to prevent or remedy the situation. If your employee felt he could not act or was unable to act he should have summoned help or assistance and not shut himself away in the cabin, until the departed the train.

This was a complete abrogation of your responsibility to passengers. The group were very drunk and out of control and the situation was made worse by the inertia and complete intransigence of your guard in this instance.

Finally, as a BBC journalist, I’m appalled by this state of affairs and plan to raise this with your press office and the BT Police, who I’m sure will be interested in your guards comments.

Yours Sincerely,

Andy Kershaw
15, Woodbank Crescent,
Sheffield S8 9EE
Tel: 07910 589662

CC: Chief Supt Terry Nicholson BTP

Extract from Northern Rail Passenger Charter

All customer service staff on our trains will be easily identifiable and will present a good image, wearing full uniform including name badges. They will keep you informed during your journey and help with any problems, should they occur.

We will provide Rail Security Teams who will patrol trains on selected routes. Northern operate a Crimestoppers partnership, allowing anti-social behaviour to be reported via a freephone number, 0800 555 111. This number is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The walk up to the Walled Kitchen Garden

Bank Holiday – just spent a fortune at the garden centre on plants, pots and tubs ahead of a big family barbecue coming up.

Spent Saturday at Clumber Park walking around and having lunch. Mr.s K has never been there and its a spectacular country park just near Worksop. It’s run by the National Trust now and it used to be the seat of the Dukes of Newcastle check it out http://tinyurl.com/dy3gkq

Spent Sunday at Tankersley Manor Hotel in Barnsley for my Brother in law’s sixtyieth birthday lunch – delightful food but the staff are a bit surly espcially when I pointed out that my disabled 80 year old mum would have trouble negotiating two flights of stairs and there was no lift !

Called British Gas (who I pay £300 a year for Insurance) They said they could send an engineer Monday. I said B******ks I have no water and asked for a manager. After 10 minutes of shoot my brains out muzak they cam back and said they could send someone out today before 6.00pm !

Just sending some audion back to the BBC server from home for news bulletins.

I feel so alive after my 44 mile bike ride to Derbyshire yesterday and all the stiffness has gone.

See the trail on this page http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/tissingtontrail.htm
At Ashbourne the trip to Derby looked easy but in fact it was tough, but through some lovely villages with thatched cottages.

Now contemplating sitting in waiting for a tradesman – bliss !!

This is the pic of me and Phil just after passsing Tissington , boy was it windy !!

Train back from Derby and Mrs. K picked me up at the station – home to beer and a chill con carne.

Feeling tried and very sore and stiff but hey who cares. Bike perfomed well too! Great to be out on the Derbyshire Countryside on well marked cyle paths.

By the way 71 kilometres is 44.11 miles WOW !

Anyway my thoughts are with the family of the bus driver who died and those injured so less said etc…

Planning a medium sized bike rid in Derbyhsire tomoz with my oldest friend Phil Creaser. We’re cathcing the train to Buxton and then riding down the Tissington Trail to Ashbourne and then over to Carsington Water.

Should be good.

I’m determined to lose two stone this year. Whilst at the bike dealers, I got seduced by a Specialized cyclocross sport road/tourer at £750. In a weak moment I placed an order and boy am I in trouble with Mrs. K.

Never mind loads of fun to come on it this Summer if  a planned 4 dayer cycling in the English Cotswolds comes off in May with Woody Woocock. Off the choco till then.

Out covering redundancies in the South Yorkshire Probation Service today and under-age drinking in Killamarsh. Saw my old friend Michelle Tilney who’d come in with her daughter on Toby’s show for breakfast and she invited me to her wedding – how lovely’s that.   Her daughter’s on a Channel 4 show called Supersized v Superskinny. Heather looks great !

My Wii fit age is 44 by the way – impressed !

My chocolate fast will probably only last until Easter Sunday.

Just eaten a fantastic lamb dinner !

We’re also planning to visit the Beatrix Potter House Hill Top Farm where she conceived Jemima Puddleduck and lots of the other characters in her wonderful books.

Yesterday work involved news planning for bulletins, fairly routine except that I met one of the country’s top personal injury lawyers, Adrian Budgen, from law firm Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, whose representing hundreds of people who’ve suffered with the lung disease Mesothelioma.

They’re holding a day of action today to remember the many people who’ve died from this horrible and incurable, asbestos related illness. They’re also calling for a national research centre for asbestos related diseases.

The chilling thing is – he said it was still a ‘clear and present danger’ in schools, offices, hospitals and on construction sites today. Great guy. I did put it to him that it might be seen as another lawyer’s ‘gravy train’ like the miners compensation scheme, but he refuted this very quickly (as he would).

You have to learn to become cyncial very quickly as a journalist, but he struck me as someone who was committed to helping the cause in his own time as well.

Still suffering with this horrible cold and sore throat, but the good news is that I’ve finally talked the Doc into giving me some antibiotics over the phone.

This is something I mentioned to Jan Soberiaj the CEO of NHS Sheffield when I met him yesterday. I had to wait a week to see a GP to get some meds for a condition which I know can be sorted with a weeks worth of antibiotics.

Anyhow, a GP called me at work and did a telephone surgery with me and prescribed the meds over the phone -result!

Off to see Dave Spikey on tour at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield tonight – could use a laugh or two…

http://twitter.com/andyksheffield

Andy’s been busy throughout April and May producing the BBC’s Springwatch Project in South Yorkshire. This is all part of the BBC’s ‘Breathing Places’  campaign to get more people interested in wildlife and getting involved in nature.

Andy got stuck in with his wellies and broadcasting for the BBC live from Mexborough in South Yorkshire with the S.W.A.T. (Springwatch Action Team) over the weekend of 7th & 8th June 2008.  You can read more about the project at www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/nature

You can see all the The BBC’s Breathing Places Springwatch SWAT  events by going to www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces

When was it?

Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th June June, 0900 am – 4.30pm

The Mexborough Allotments site on Adwick Rd mexborough just along the road from Montague Hospital. The site is accessed on foot via a lane which runs from Adwick Road.

What was it?

It was a day of conservation volunteering and transforming a derelict allotment site into a wildlife garden for children & families . Members of the public were invited to come along and help do a variety of activities to improve the site. These included barrowing wood chippings and gravel, laying paths, clearing nettles, building raised beds, planting flowers, shrubs and trees and creating a giant sundial.

Who was involved?

BBC Radio Sheffield, The Mexborough Allotments Society (The Land of Learning Welly Brigade), Doncaster Council, Local Schools & Families, CSV Volunteers, Local Police PCSO’s local volunteers.

Kate Linderholm won a Bronze Award for her Documentary about the floods for BBC Radio Sheffield.

Andy says: ” It was a cracking good night mixing with some of the UK’s Radio legends and my own radio hero’s.

“I managed to schmooze a bit with the likes of Chris Moyles,  Colin Murray, Tony Blackburn, Christopher ‘King of the Jungle’ Biggins and Sarah Green ex-Blue Peter presenter. I aslo managed to meet one of my all time news hero’s and veteran war correspondent from ITN Mike Nicholson”.

“Al Murray was a great sport and I even got Jonathon Ross to chat to my wife Carol back in Sheffield on the phone in one of those surreal moment, says Andy”.   Ah well there’s always next year and well done to Kate Linderholm and all the winners at the 2008 Sony’s.

For the BBC in South Yorkshire, Andy has produced the Dawn Chorus project. He spent a very chilly couple of mornings from 0330 to 0600 am in one of Sheffields most ancient and large woodlands, Ecclesall Woods.

Ecclesall Woods is a 400 year old heritage woodland with its own working sawmill and bird sanctuary on the South Western edge of Sheffield .

Andy recorded the Dawn Chorus there with local ornithologist and bird lover Jim Clarke. You can see and hear Jim’s commentary and the raw Dawn Chorus itself by logging onto: BBC Website Link