FraserWords

Here’s Frankly Fraser for the week beginning May 16^th, 2011.

IT’S always interested me that the Conservatives get away with painting themselves as ye party of olde Englande, preserving our ancient values, while flagrantly setting about the destruction of so much that contributes to the chocolate-box image they use in their political advertising.

Now it’s schools.

The Conservative-led coalition has come up with a funding formula that would give every pupil an equal share of funds, no matter where that pupil lives. Cornwall Council has been commendably quick to point out the danger – this formula could spell disaster in our rural environment, where 118 schools have less than 120 pupils, because small schools are more expensive to run.

At which point we have to point out that pupils in Cornwall have survived for a very long time on less cash per kid from central Government than pupils in urban areas, so the criticism of expense must be qualified.

That aside, throughout Cornwall brows are furrowing as teachers, unions, governors, parents and children plan a response to this latest piece of proposed cultural vandalism.

Cornwall Council has led the way with a careful consideration of the proposals, and plans for dealing with them, through which I’m currently ploughing. We’ll return to this, I’m sure.

For the time being, everybody needs to be warned of the danger posed to our children’s education – and the associated danger posed to our village communities.

So many places in the countryside have lost their beating heart with the closure of their school. Cornwall cannot afford to lose more.

Schools are big employers in a countryside where jobs are at a premium; the noise from the playground, the fun of after-school and weekend events, the teams, the outings, the visits – it’s all such a crucial part of our lives.

Be aware. Be in touch with your schools and your councillors and listen out for ways to get involved in ensuring our children’s education is safeguarded.

u DOES anybody understand quite what’s going on with our railways? First Great Western seems to want a longer franchise to run services in our region, which is understandable given a profit of £108million in the past year. To do that, it’s packing in its existing franchise.

Analysts suggest ending its franchise will make it easier to have a new franchise. I suggest it all sounds incredibly confusing, and creates further uncertainty among poor bewildered overcharged passengers.

I further suggest anybody who thinks this government is to be trusted with our schools takes a long hard look at our railways.

u  TALKING of public transport… I went to the Blues Band’s excellent gig at Carnglaze Caverns last weekend with the songwriter Tony Hazzard, who lives here in Cornwall.

He’s an old friend of members of the band from the days when he wrote hits like Ha Ha Said the Clown and Fox on the Run for groups like Manfred Mann, whose alumni are the heart of the Blues Band.

One of them, guitarist Tom McGuinness, offered a vision of the way the rock’n’roll these guys pioneered is, shall we say, maturing.

These days Tom, a musician whose genius seems to have got better with the years, travels to all his gigs by public transport. And as he’s closing in on his 70^th birthday, he uses what senior citizen travel concessions he can – as he should.

Doesn’t it paint a picture? Somehow, I never thought of my rock heroes clutching their bus pass, and so many of them have done their best to avoid it. Thanks to Tom, I can enjoy the image of what might have been – Jimi Hendrix, Joe Strummer and Keith Moon sat with Tom at a bus stop like a scene from Last of the Summer Wine, instrument cases at their feet.

But enough ageism: as the Blues Band gig – and Tony’s forthcoming new album, snippets of which I’ve heard – prove all too well, old fiddles play damned good tunes.