Act to avert biodiversity crisis

Remember those days of driving down country lanes, then having to clear the insects that smothered the windscreen. There haven't been many of those days recently. It is rare now to get an insect build up on a car windscreen. This has something to do with the destruction caused to insect populations by human beings. Some 59% of the insect population was lost between 2004 and 2023. Yet, still humankind blunders on destroying fellow species that are key to its own existence. The last biodiversity illiterate government allowed farmers to use the previously banned neonicotinoids pesticide for the past four years. These pesticides do incredible damage, especially to the bee population. The campaigning group 38 degrees claim that just a teaspoon full of neonicotinoids pesticide can kill 1.5 billion honey bees. The group are seeking to get the present government to ban neonicotinoids. Nearly one in six species in the UK are threatened with extinction. Some 19% of species have become extinct since the 1970s. These are just some of the statistics that highlight the climate and biodiversity crisis that has engulfed us over recent times. The devastation caused by the destructive way in which we live becomes more evident everyday. The fires, droughts and floods. Soaring food prices. (Food production will become ever more difficult and expensive if we go on destroying insects and other life). Human beings have to change the way they live. How can 35% of food produced in this country be thrown away? Human beings have to collectively wake up to the damage being done and take radical action. The sort of sustained action that was taken to counter the COVID pandemic - it is that kind of emergency. Instead, there seems a collective form of amnesia, as humanity creeps ever closer to the abyss. It is quite disillusioning to attend talks on this crisis and be reminded of the ineptitude of the political class. The failure to act, the creeping back from hesitant commitments, the catch all cop out 'it can't be afforded." Always putting off to another distant day the need to act now. Yet, on a more upbeat note, there have been positive things done. The saving of bird species like the red kite, sea eagles and the osprey. There have been great initiatives. Some farmers are leading the way, producing food, whilst fostering the environment. There is much happening but it needs to happen more quickly and on a bigger scale. It is important that more people get involved. This can mean volunteering in groups to work on the land. Locally, the Wren Group does work every week in Wanstead Park or on the Flats. The Friends of Wanstead Park do monthly litter picks. The councillors also do a monthly litter pick on the third Saturday of each month. The River Roding Trust do periodic work on the river. There are tree pits and pollinator pathways that local people can become involved with. Also, those who have gardens can make them more nature friendly. Join different groups like the wildlife trusts, Friends of the Earth, the Woodland Trust and RSPB. Locally, there is the Wren Group, River Roding Trust, Wanstead Climate Action, Wanstead Community Gardeners and the Friends of Wanstead Park to name but a few. Put forward contributions to consultations. Open a dialogue with politicians to engage them with the issues. Don't stand for excuses like it cannot be afforded. So there is much that can be done. Everyone needs to get more involved take responsibility for the way they behave. Then just maybe the climate and biodiversity crisis can begin to turn around.

Where is the voice of peace?

The Christmas season is one of peace and harmony. It centres on what happened 2000 years ago, far away in a Bethlehem stable, where a child was born. Those attending churches over the period will have heard of migrations, poverty and celebration all centred on the Middle East. Few, will have heard anything that relates these events to what is going on in the same area today. The ongoing conflict in Gaza and beyond, the thousands killed and injured. The demolition of neighbourhoods - the suffering has been and continues to be unbearable. Yet, during our celebrations here little if any of this is related. It's all a bit rose tinted. All prefer to continue gazing back 2,000 years to another sanitised version of truth - the poverty and suffering of those days is also downplayed. Stables are not great places to give birth to children It would have been good to hear much louder unified calls across the faiths for peace in our world - from the Middle East to Ukraine and beyond. The faiths can provide an important voice and lead. And it has been done before. Back in 2001, following the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers in New York, people of faith and none in this area came together to form Peace & Justice in East London. The Christian churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras all joined together to call for peace. We ran many public events, with speakers across the Redbridge area and beyond. The biggest meeting took place in Parliament on the night that MPs were debating in the chamber whether to go to war in Iraq. The Peace & Justice event took place in one of the larger committee rooms. It was addressed by bishops, rabbis and Parliamentarians among others. The case for peace was being made. The Peace & Justice group went onto expose the injustice of a system that saw individual foreign nationals being detained without trial under immigration law. The group made a significant contribution to those calling for peace around the world. So where is the equivalent today? Where are the voices for peace? There are many marching and protesting against the ongoing bloodshed but their voices are being increasingly screened out by a supine media. The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine seem to have drifted down the news agenda, with the ongoing horror almost being normalised by omission. The voices for peace need to be heard loudly. Among these, those of local faith leaders should be loud and clear. They need to reflect on the history and teaching of their faiths and use that analysis to speak out in the present context for peace. It has been done before and should be happening now. Silence is not an option.

Graham Potter can do well at West Ham but he will need time

So West Ham have appointed former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter as their new manager. Fans will be hoping the new incumbent does better than outgoing manager Julen Lopetegui. Lopetegui never really seemed to fit at West Ham. Appointed last May to replace David Moyes, suddenly funds became available for players. More than £130 million was spent on nine players. There was some real talent amongst the incomers, with Aaron Wan Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville particularly impressive. But the team failed to get a top line striker. German international, Niclas Fullkrug, promised much but was then injured for a long period. General manager, Tim Steidten should have signed Colombian international Jhon Duran from Aston Villa. He was all set to come but the deal faltered at the last hurdle. Since, Duran has scored a bucketful of goals at Villa, most coming on as sub. Steidten did the deals late, so Lopetegui was weeks behind where he should have been when the season kicked off in August. The team was a work in progress and it showed, as the new manager rang the changes. The failure to fully utilise Summerville and weird substitutions, (like bringing on defenders for attacking players, when already three down) did not impress fans. Neither did Lopetegui inspire confidence on the PR front, often appearing bemused in front of the post match press conferences. There was certainly no confident narrative. Nor were the promising group of homegrown youngsters given a chance, with the likes of George Earthy and Freddie Potts sent out on loan. Lopetegui ofcourse was brought into replace Moyes - one of the most successful managers in the clubs' history Some of us warned it was a mistake at the time, getting rid of a manager who saved the club twice from relegation, then qualified for Europe three seasons running - winning the Europa Conference League in 2023. How distant those days now seem. Hopefully, Potter will hit the ground running. Time is not a commodity in ready supply for managers of Premiership football clubs. It is ironic to think back to the early days of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He didn't win anything for four years, then things came good and the rest is history. No manager in the Premier League would be given that length of time today to get things right. Though, West Ham to be fair do usually give their managers more of a chance to settle. Had Lopetegui not looked so out of sorts, sustaining heavy defeats on a weekly basis, he would have been given longer. So Potter has the chance. There are a good squad of players, including some young home grown youngsters, who can prosper if handled properly. A few additions are needed, especially amongst the strikers, but the fundamentals are there for success. So let's hope Potter gets off to a good start to his West Ham career and European football can return in the not too distant future.

Need for real change of mindset on transport

The role of cars in our society has become increasingly contentious over recent years, with the growing threat of climate change. Cars and other vehicles have helped cause much damage. There have been efforts as a result to restrict their usage, as well as provide less damaging vehicles, powered by electricity. The progress of the electric car has been a major step forward over recent years, though critics point to the damage in climate terms that producing such a vehicle can cause. The car ofcourse has become a major mode of transport over the past 100 years. It has liberated so many people's lives but at a cost. In the intolerant, divided society of today, it is often difficult to have a reasoned debate about car usage. It rapidly descends into a pro and anti debate. The way forward is probably a middle way. We cannot go on destroying the air that we breath and the life source that we depend upon. Nor can there be a sudden withdrawal of a means of travel that so many still depend upon. Other forms of getting around need to be improved to help reduce the need for car usage. The London Mayor's active travel target of 80% of journeys being by foot, cycle or public transport by 2041 is something all must get behind. People will only get out of their cars, though, if these other means of transport are made cheaper and easier. The recent rearrangement of the bus timetables in this area have not helped. Transport For London (TFL) claim numbers using the old routes are down on pre-Covid levels, while the costs of providing the service are up. Data drives change. Critics claim that TFL have not listened and people who used the bus as a vital means of travel are now unable to do so. Hopefully, matters can be resolved. Councillors and our Leyton and Wanstead MP Calvin Bailey have been involved in trying to get TFL to adjust it's plans. A great plus in public transport has been the addition of the Elizabeth Line. Quick, efficient and comfortable, it has to represent a travel model for the future. Cycle infrastructure has been rolling out across London, making this form of transport more accessible and safer. Clean air ofcourse is an important catalyst in encouraging more people to cycle. The introduction of congestion and the Ultra Low Emission Zones have been important moves in progressing the cause of clean air. So too have been school streets schemes. So there is much going on to encourage more active travel, which will also bring a fitter, healthier population as well in the long run. So there are many positive things happening to encourage a real modal change in how people get around. But there is still a long way to go if that 80% target is to be achieved.

England will win World Cup in 2026

Football fans will enjoy a new book from West Ham legend and World Cup winner Geoff Hurst titled Last Boy of 66. The title of ofcourse draws attention to the fact that Hurst is the last of the players remaining alive from that momentous day 60 years ago, when England won the World Cup at Wembley. That in itself is surprising. All would be in their 80s, if alive today. Hurst is 83. In these days of living longer, the law of averages would suggest more should remain alive. Many have drawn attention to the disproportionate number of the team who got dementia. The book offers some fascinating incites, especially for West Ham fans. The prominence of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst in the team. (West Ham fans like to claim they won the World Cup, with Hurst and Peters scoring all four goals) .)The revelations that Peters always carried a certain resentment over being left out of the West Ham FA cup winning team of 1964. Also, that he wanted the team to do better in the league. Peters joined Spurs in 1970. Then, Moore being in dispute with West Ham as the World Cup finals began. It seems, he probably played the final thinking he'd be a Spurs player afterwards. Later, Hurst found out that Manchester United wanted to sign him in 1968. The response from West Ham manager Ron Greenwood to his Manchester United counterpart Matt Busby was a telegram reading "No, regards, Greenwood." Player power was very much less than today. Indeed, the treatment of the players in that team down the years has been pretty appalling, particularly from the FA. Instead, of being lauded, they and their wives were often snubbed. One of the endearing themes of the book is that these were just a bunch of ordinary blokes, brought together to create a great football team. They got plenty of fame but little of the riches of players today. Most, went into other trades, after football. Hurst sold insurance, as did Peters. Roger Hunt went into the family haulage business, whilst Ray Wilson became an undertaker. A number sold their medals to make ends meet. Yet, the achievements of the team have lived on for 60 years. To a degree they represent a ghost that has haunted every England team put out since that famous day in July 1966. The game has changed dramatically since that time, in some ways for the good, in others less so. But still England have not won the World Cup. A couple of semi- final appearances is all England has to show for 59 years of effort. This, though, maybe about to change, with the stars seemingly aligning. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of that win, England have the players to win, as proven in recent tournaments. To top it all, they have a manager, Tomas Tuchel, from the country, Germany, that England beat in 1966. So, yes all is set for England to once again win the World Cup in 2026. But in the meantime, Geoff Hurst's book offers a great insight to those who did it the first time around in humbler but great days. * Geoff Hurst - Lost Boy of 66 Published by Ebury Spotlight, £22