May 13, 2010 at 18:44 One well-informed local fears the Mayorship may become sullied and diminished by politicisation. It's hard not to agree. I'm not thrilled at voting becoming a redundant sham, come to that...
CCC, Democracy | Keywords: John Gilbey, Pat Todd May 6, 2010 at 18:00 
Nice to be Mayor, to be Mayor, nice!The next Lord Mayor is a shoo-in. Of course. And not everybody's happy about it. Of course.So, the Canterbury City Conservatives have "arranged" a smooth transition from one Lord Mayor to the next. Please don't be surprised or disappointed by the absence of consultation - it seems to be their style. They may have a grudging admiration for the Soviet era ballots with 99% turnout and 100% agreement. I expect the North Korean style of compulsory consistent consensus is an inspiration to our own Precious Leader, Jonji-il Bi. But when it comes down to it, is anyone bothered which councillors fill the roles of Lord Mayor and Sheriff? Wouldn't it be smarter to choose the most photogenic and media-savvy people from the district, regardless of whether they're councillors?
CCC, Democracy | Keywords: Alex Perkins, Gabrielle Davis, Harry Cragg, John Gilbey, Julia Seath, Pat Todd, Sally Pickersgill Mar 18, 2010 at 17:47 
Just to quickly refresh your memory, dear reader, we are living in times of budget cuts and belt-tightening. There has been widespread local coverage of Canterbury City Council slashing, cutting, trimming and salami slicing. In the expectation that their central funding will be reduced, CCC has been wielding the knife on all but the biggest projects. It came as an unwelcome surprise to me that CCC was proposing to make a £20,000 "contribution to hospitality for the Open Golf Tournament at Sandwich".
CCC | Keywords: Budget, Golf, John Gilbey Feb 4, 2010 at 23:45 The council taxpayers of Herne Bay have just received a reassuring message from the city council. Apparently the town’s museum is not being closed after all - it just will not be open to members of the public! Talk about semantic gibberish!
CCC, Democracy, Herne Bay | Keywords: Anne Taylor, Colin Carmichael, John Fishpool, John Gilbey, Museum, Peter Vickery-Jones Feb 2, 2010 at 0:00 "It's really disgraceful. It's absolutely disgraceful that they can't see what this council is doing. But we will fight that. We will fight it tooth and nail to show them what we are doing. No question."
CCC, Herne Bay | Keywords: Gabrielle Davis, John Gilbey, Linda O'Carroll, Museum Mar 11, 2009 at 9:21 Canterbury city councillor Roger Matthews has been charged with corruption. The 57-year-old, who represents Greenhill and Eddington ward in Herne Bay, has also been suspended from the Liberal Democrat Group following the shock news. He is due to appear before magistrates on Thursday, March 26 alongside Herne Bay Golf Club owner Julian Brealy. Matthews said he plans to plead not guilty and will "have his day before judge and jury" at crown court.
CCC, Democracy, Herne Bay | Keywords: Alex Perkins, Herne Bay Golf Club, Heron Helicopters, Hollamby Estates, John Gilbey, Julian Brealy, Roger Matthews Feb 21, 2009 at 9:15 
A few ounces of reconstituted tree, shaped into a local freesheet, thump to the floor. The crisp metal edge of the letterbox snaps back into place, briefly trapping a small fleshy obstruction. The pain-numbed child continues its paper round.
This is what passes for effective communication in 21st century Kent.
CCC, Democracy | Keywords: Alex Perkins, Internet, John Gilbey, Transparency Jan 21, 2009 at 22:56 Those that have sought to present interim arrangements as Canterbury Council's solution to tourist information in Herne Bay are at best disingenuous and at worst downright dishonest. To photograph the leaflet stand in the Council offices and to try to present this as the replacement for the bandstand shop is idiotic as even the meanest of intelligences must be fully aware that the Council has proposed that the new facilities will be rolled out in time for the start of the tourist season at Easter and will be further enhanced thereafter.
Herne Bay | Keywords: John Gilbey, Mike Patterson, Roger Gale MP, Tourism, VIC Jul 9, 2008 at 22:46 I have long felt that the City Fathers have taken a metro-centric "within the City Walls" view of the District at the expense of the majority of the population that live not in the City centre but on the coastal strip. That said, I regard with some disdain the bandwagon that has been set rolling in an endeavour to preserve the Tourist Information Centre in its present form.
Herne Bay | Keywords: John Gilbey, Marlowe, Roger Gale MP, Tourism, VIC 
