Time for reality check at West Ham - David Moyes is the most successful manager, results wise, the club has ever had - why, then, do some want him gone?

It's an up and down world being a West Ham supporter, beating Spurs (2-1) away one day then getting thrashed by Fulham (0-5) a couple of days later. All that, having started the week dropping two valuable points at home to Crystal Palace (1-1). But overall it has been a promising start to the season for the Hammers. West Ham sit just outside the top six of the Premier League. They have progressed to the knock out stages of European competition for the third year running. In June, they won the Europa Conference League, the first trophy since 1980. Why, many might ask, given how well things seem to be going, is there a constant griping group who want to see the back of manager David Moyes? Moyes has a claim on results alone to be the most successful manager in the club's history. He's saved them from relegation twice - after the club were put in jeopardy by Slave Bilic in 2018 and Manuel Pellegrini in 2019. Indeed, the first time, having pulled off the escape act, Moyes was snubbed as the club's owners went for Pellegrini, over his claim for the permanent managerial role. The club's form this season has been even more remarkable, given that in effect they spent no money in the summer. The funds received from the sale of Declan Rice and Gianlucca Scamacca funded the purchase of Mohammed Kudus, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Yet, arguably the team is better than ever. So why the criticism of Moyes? It mainly comes down to style of play, which is not very exciting. It is quite prescriptive and predictable. Very direct. Hitting teams on the break, rather than dominating possession. An over reliance on set piece goals and balls down the flanks to cross for big men in the middle. Also, an inflexibility to change the system to suit certain players. A feeling of it's my way or the highway. But the approach works, Moyes result record, given the resources at his disposal, must make him in the top three of managers in the Premier League. There is much talk about "the West Ham way", which harks back to the days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire and more recently Paulo Di Canio. Days when the football was all about attack. You would go to West Ham and always be entertained. The team might lose 4-3 and be fighting relegation more often than not but it was entertaining. I have a lot of time for that approach, after all football is entertainment, it's not war and shouldn't be all about corporate business. The unpredictability, though, obviously still exists, given the Spurs and Fulham results. But the achievements of the Moyes years have appealed to most fans.The purists would say Pellegrini and Bilic were the last two managers to play the West Ham way and look how that ended. Moyes probably won't come back a third time to save the club, after a "big name" has brought them to the verge of relegation. The whispers for the change of manager come mostly from social media based football outlets. They struggle for content much of the time, so make a lot of this stuff up. Quoting "experts" or/and has been players, with a gripe. Deliberately misinterpreting something said that is then taken out of context. The concern is that some of this stuff seems to be getting into the mainstream. Fortunately, it seems West Ham's owners are taking little notice. They stood by Moyes, when results got a little sticky last season and have been rewarded. Why now half way through, what looks another successful season, would they sack the manager or make decisions about renewal of his contract next summer? If, say West Ham won the Europa League, so qualified for the Champions League next season, the club would hardly change manager. Then, what of Moyes himself, who does hold most of the cards. He has done a fantastic job at West Ham, with often limited resources. There must be any number of Premiership, clubs who would employ him. The bigger danger, maybe, is that he walks to a more lucrative job, rather than gets the sack. Something for the boo boys to remember. There is always the mantra about being careful what you wish for - Arsenal fans know a bit about that from the immediate post Arsene Wenger days. Maybe, West Ham fans cannot have it all. They have a successful club, on the verge of good things. The football may not be as exciting as in past times but it's getting there. Why not give David Moyes a bit of praise and support, enjoy the moment, rather than carping about what might or might not be and looking back to an often mythical age?

Time to bust the myths on migration

The national obsession with immigration in this country is often difficult to fathom. The latest furore concerned net immigration figures of 745,000. The throwing around of such figures is misleading, pulling together refugees, economic migrants, students and others in a headline figure that Daily Mail leader writers can then fulminate about. The small boats coming across the channel have become a focus of government policy - despite the relatively small numbers involved. The dehumanising approach of politicians generally explains much of the failure of policy. Crazy schemes like basically trying to scare already frightened refugees into not coming because they could end up in Rwanda, rather than on the gold paved streets of Britain, makes no sense. There is much talk of targeting the traffickers but they are just an effect of the problem. The causes behind the creation of these refugees are things like war and increasingly environmental degradation. Address these causes, if the small boats are such an issue. Maybe , a bit of circumspection on Britain's own role in wars, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain is also a major arms seller. Also, Britain's increasingly backward looking policies on climate crisis. The hierarchy of suffering is another thing difficult to fathom, with Britain having a far more welcoming attitude to those coming from say Ukraine and Hong Kong compared to Afghanistan and Iraq. The mindless attitude to economic migration is even more difficult to understand. In a country with an ageing population and labour shortages, migrant labour is essential to fill the gaps and keep the economy going. The statistics show migrants add to revenues, they are not a drain. True, infrastructural support needs to be provided but the extra tax coming in from migrant workers should meet this need. Migrant workers should not ofcourse be allowed to undercut indigenous workers pay and terms and conditions. Also, why are asylum seekers not allowed to work while they are here, especially given that they can be waiting years to have their claims heard? Possibly, the most ludicrous target in the migrant wars are foreign students. Further education is one of the few growth areas in this country. It is largely kept going by fees from foreign students but apparently some in government want to stop them coming. Utterly ludicrous. As with many other categories foreign students are mostly only here for a limited time, so make a net gain for the economy. In fact taking economic migrants and students as indicative categories, the large number coming in is an indicator of a health economy. Migrants come to get work or learn not as the tabloids myth would have us believe to take benefits. The unhealthy obsession with migration threatens to do great damage to the economic and cultural fabric of society. The categorising of migration as "a problem," helps build fear. The opposition to migration is driven by fear based racism. This is aided by a wilful racist misuse of data by some media to drive sales of their own products. This national racist driven obsession with migration helped bring Brexit (something ironically that has cut the overall wealth of the country and helped create the skill shortages). It will do more damage, if right wing politicians, and their media megaphones, are allowed to create unfounded fears and divisions in society. What is needed is a proper recognition of the pluses and minuses of migration. There then needs to be a humane, efficient and welcoming system develop for all the different categories of migrant. The backlogs need to be cleared. Using people's lives as political footballs is not acceptable.

Fight back - people want people

Is there some sort of fight back taking place against the onward drive of automation, forcing people out of work and ever more into isolation? The thought occurs, despite the onward march of Artificial Intelligence, with all that could bring to the jobs market. The high street has been decimated due to moves to seemingly cut ties between customers and those providing the services. There was an outcry recently when Nat West closed the branch in Wanstead High Street - the last bank to move out it's physical presence. Supermarkets have for some years been seeking to force people onto self service tills, rather than staffed ones. This is aggravating for the customer, who wants to be served by a person. Doubly irritating is when self- service is deserted. It is remarkable to witness empty checkouts, whilst the few that are open have people queuing round the shop. I cannot be the only person who endures taking longer to pay and get out of the shop than you do actually getting the shopping. It is a deliberate policy to force people onto the self- service tills. A number of supermarkets are removing staffed tills in favour of self service. But there are signs of a fightback. Upmarket Northern supermarket chain Booths have restored staffed checkouts. They have found the self-service checkouts to be "slow, unreliable and impersonal." Shop lifting has been a growing problem and people want the personal touch Booths has been described as the Waitrose of the north, operating across Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire. Another stand was made over the closure of railway ticket offices. The train operating companies wanted to close ticket offices, leaving customers stranded in some cases. A successful campaign led by the RMT union saw the government force withdrawal of the proposals, following a public backlash. So there are signs of people taking back control. Not that all change should be resisted. Many automation based changes make life a lot easier. But things need to be viewed in a far more holistic way. The reason for change cannot just be the businesses desire to make more profit for shareholders. Customers and service users must have a say A lot of people are very concerned, as the provision of all sorts of service become more remote and impersonal. People still want a human being to talk to at the end of the day. The removal of human contact can lead to feelings of isolation and anxiety - especially in older people. This should not happen. No one opposes change that makes life better but as some supermarkets, train companies and banks are finding, people want people. They also don't appreciate being treated as just another commodity. The Artificial Intelligence era threatens ever more change but let's make sure the changes work for everyone, not just the bottom line.

Transformation of Redbridge streets

The streets of Redbridge are undergoing a slow but steady transformation, becoming more biodiverse and bastions of sustainable living. The process is slow but change is coming. The impetus is coming from the local communities. So, more and more tree pits are being adopted by residents. Individuals are provided with seeds to develop the pits. We have been doing this for many years in the road where I live. The transformation in the street is amazing to behold in spring and summer. There has also been the positioning of planters around the borough, which again encourages biodiversity. The ones outside the town hall are particularly splendid. Voluntary groups like the Wanstead Community Gardeners and other offshoots have done fantastic work to improve the streets The council has been encouraging different streets to become pollinator pathways. This scheme extends sustainable living, so that residents take over management of much of the biodiversity. So, people in the road agree to deal with the weeds and care for tree pits. It is an important way of cutting back on pesticides. One ambition for Redbridge going forward must be the phasing out of pesticide use. It damages human and plant health. There are also the Growzones, that have been allowed to go wild. The biodiversity coming from these developments has been most encouraging. More are needed borough wide. Tree planting has continued in open spaces, as well as on the streets - this helps remove the carbon dioxide from the environment as well as increasing biodiversity. On the active travel side, the cycle network is growing all of the time. If people feel safe, they will cycle to get around. That safety, includes clean air to breath. So the improvements coming from ULEZ and the expansion of the school streets program improves that air quality. It is excellent in Wanstead that it is now possible to cycle in protected lanes or through Wanstead Park to get from the north to the south of town. There is much still to be done, with expansion of cycle hangars on residential streets a must. More 20 mph areas across the borough are also important, especially for safety. The advance of the electric car is another plus when it comes to expanding sustainable living. There are plans for more charging points to be rolled out across the borough. Better public transport is another must. London is fortunate with the public transport network compared to other parts of the country but availability and affordability can always be improved. So there are a lot of positive things happening, they just need to be speed up. Funding is often key, with environmental issues not being given the priority they should be. Budgetary cuts from central government has not helped - more could happen more quickly if this funding were restored. We are in a climate emergency - it needs to be treated as such and given the priority merited.

Banning free speech builds dissent

There has been a growing mood of censorship across the UK, as the level of dissent amongst the mass of people grows. The Home Secretary recently met with the police, over demonstrations taking place about what is happening in Gaza. She seems to have a limited concept about what free speech is all about, suggesting that carrying the Palestinian flag could be an infringement. This overly robust attitude has become prevalent over recent years, relating to protest. But there has also been the increase in what is known as cancel culture. This too has been evident regarding events in the Middle East, with a talk about a visit to Palestine by National Education Union members due to take place in an East London library cancelled a week before it was due to happen. The organisers found a new site for the talk. One of the most blatant examples of censorship has been the cancelling of the film Oh Jeremy Corbyn: the Big Lie. The film is about the Corbyn years and how he was brought down. There are a series of interviews with key players, narration comes from Alexi Sayle. The film was released earlier in the year in Liverpool but it was later that the cancellations began, the biggest being Glastonbury. Other cancellations have followed, across the country, including Carlisle, North Ayrshire and Walthamstow in London. Complaints often relate to how the film deals with issues of anti semitism in the Labour Party. What the rights or wrongs of the film are is not for discussion here but the act of outright censorship at this time in the 21st century is breathtaking. The lessons really should be learned from Ireland, where such a heavy handed approach during the years of the conflict made the voices of dissent ever louder. Many will remember the Broadcasting Ban brought in by the Thatcher government. This meant Sinn Fein leaders, like Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness, having their words delivered by actors. This did nothing to stop what they said , coming over. Indeed, there was the mystique of the banned message, which often sounded better coming from actors. Then there was the long list of banned films. Ken Loach's Hidden Agenda was often delayed or cancelled, if due for screening at the time of some atrocity. There was no question that people might have been able to tell between fact and fiction. Film producer, Kenneth Griffith's film Hang Out Your Bright Colours about the war of independence was banned in the 1970s. The public finally got a look, a couple of decades later. Another huge act of over reaction. What the deniers of free speech never seem to understand is that banning dissent does not make it go away, rather it just gets displaced elsewhere. The whole conflict in the north of Ireland is a classic example of this. The legitimate protests of the civil rights activists were not addressed but met with a violent response. This in turn bred more violence, which led to decades of conflict. Banning protest and imposing censorship just displaces grievances to other areas of life. It is only when the causes of dissent are addressed that problems can be resolved. The present British government has developed it's so called culture wars, largely as a distraction from the appalling mess it is making of the country. It seems to turn people against each other, creating ever more distraction and division in society. Fear is constantly used to legitimise censorious type actions. Much of the media help in this enterprise by creating false narratives. This then stokes the fire of those who preach fake news. None of this is healthy for a democracy. A functioning democracy is one at ease with itself. Such a democracy will have high tolerance levels, little will be banned, and if it is. a high bar should be set, for such a draconian action. Unfortunately, in Britain today, there is no democracy at ease with itself. Instead, there is an unpopular government elected by a minority of the population, which imposes suffering on many people - at home and abroad. A growing number of people dissent from their mantra, so the response is to shut down the avenues of free expression. It won't work, the truth will out and with it those who seek to deny it.

Need to hear the voices calling for peace in the Middle East

The appalling tragedy that is occurring in the Middle East has dominated headlines over past weeks. The horrendous attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas, resulting in the deaths of more than 1400 on 7 October. Many more have been injured and some taken hostage. Now, the death toll is mounting in Gaza, as the Israeli military offensive intensifies. The approach of Israel has echoes of the US response to the attacks of 9/11, which led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Neither, ended well The anger on the part of Israel is understandable but it must act, proportionately, within international law. The early rhetoric in this conflict did not seem to distinguish between the actions of Hamas and the Palestinians living on the Gaza strip. The crude categorisation was a bit like making all Irish people responsible for the actions of the IRA during the war in Northern Ireland. History teaches that an all out assault based on vengeance does not in the long term solve anything - in fact it makes things worse. In Ireland, the demands of civil rights protesters in the North were denied, lethal force was deployed and decades of violence followed. Violence begets violence. Order and the rule of law get subsumed in conflict. Innocent lives are lost. It is important in such situations that the voices of reason and restraint are heard and listened to. Internationally, there have been worrying precedents set regarding the breaking of international law, over recent years. The Americans going into Iraq in 2003, without a supporting UN resolution. Most recently, Russia's illegal assault on Ukraine. The move to violent reprisal seems much quicker these days - international law being too easily set aside. The lack of calls for restraint result in a narrative of inevitable conflict. The previous experiences of such an approach really should counsel caution. Violence is proven to beget violence, whether it be in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine or Northern Ireland. The violent actions of western powers in the Middle East 20 years ago, led to the emergence of Isis and all that followed. What is needed now is to hear and act upon the counsel of those urging peace - like the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols.. The hostilities need to end now. Maybe, then the Middle East can be pulled back from the brink of escalating conflict. Then, genuine negotiation can eventually lead to a peaceful settlement for all who live in those lands.

Wanstead Beer Festival raises more than £3,000 for local charities

The recent Wanstead Beer Festival proved to be a great community event. People coming in from far and wide, as soon as the doors opened at 1 on Saturday. Tickets sold out days before the event, leaving some people disappointed. Hopefully next year, we'll get a few more people in the door. The weather smiled on the day, allowing drinkers to spill out from the main building into the Christchurch gardens. There was a good choice of drinks for all. The variety of casks varied from Pride of Prague (for West Ham supporters),that sold out quickly, to Billericay Dickie. A nice pale ale, Sussex Hoppy, from Listers brewery was a favourite. Local brewers did us proud, with three beers from the East London Brewery and some popular varieties from Beerblefish, Redemption, Pretty Decent and Neckstamper. Brentwood Brewery were superb, providing beers and doing the set up. Not to forget those brewers from further afield, such as Mighty Oak (Malden), providing the popular Captain Bob and Gorgeous George beers and Harvey's Best Bitter (Lewes). The ciders were also popular, especially Farmer Jim's, Rhubarb Bob. Staff and volunteers put in a huge effort to create such a special day. A number commented on the friendly atmosphere. The organising team got great support from Christchurch. Local business sponsors also played a major role in making the event possible. So, thanks to all. The success of the not-for-profit event, saw more than £3000 raised for good causes. The two nominated charities Tin in a Bin and the Wanstead Charity will soon receive their cheques. There certainly seems to be a good appetite for a beer festival in Wanstead. This event came together quickly, due to a lot of work from a few people. Hopefully it can now go on to become a regular local feature of the calendar, alongside the Wanstead Festival and Fringe So big thanks to everyone who came along and the team of volunteers who made it all possible. Onto the next one - see you next year. Cheers.