The end of the line

Time to change the blog. Seeing as I've moved, and I haven't been motivated to blog here since, I might as well put a close on RMF. A new site might give me the motivation to blog a bit more often, but I can be incredibly lax...

Farewell, to whoever still reads this. And if you want to read more (assuming there is any), then pop over to The middle of the line

Toodles.

Quiet, innit?

No particular reason for my being quiet, and the only reason for this posting is that I noticed that the links needed a serious sorting out.

Renewed Labour and Let's be Sensible have stopped months ago, and Labour Humanist hasn't written anything since Christmas so they are gone. I can't get on to Adam Brown's site - or all I can get is a blank page - and I notice that Duncan Crow now has a blog so that was an easy 1-for-1 replacement (can't have too many Tory councillor blogs getting publicity from me, can I?). Richard Symonds doesn't use the Crawley Independent to blog anymore, he's got his own forum which (once does contain the odd pearl of information about local doings, in amongst all the rest of what I can only call conspiracy theories, as much as it riles him).

The Crawley News site has been moved and relaunched. It's much better, you get most of the paper's stories and people can comment on them. The old one was shared with about three other papers based in Surrey (and was on icsurrey.co.uk) and was very difficult to navigate. I'll not comment on the quality of the journalism though. If you follow my other new link to the Maidenbower Forum, you will probably find someone moaning about grossly inaccurate reporting.

I know that there are probably a couple of new local sites that I should add in - Such as Ian Irvine's blog, but I can't remember what the url is and I'm about to eat my Sunday lunch soon.

Also, there's going to be a new blog for Crawley to 'celebrate' all of the holes that appear in the town's streets. When it's up and running, it will get a trail here.

Gosh, the interesting things you can do with the interweb, eh?

As I had a quiet weekend, I've done a bit more blogging than usual. What I've also done is a few behind the scenes things to make my life a little easier. I've added a link for people to send email (which I hope is disguised well enough to limit spambots picking the address up - and it isn't to my main address anyway)

I also added a counter, free from statcounter.com. I didn't think I had many readers, but it turns out that on a Sunday about 50 unique visitors pop by. Mind you, because AOL uses dynamic IP address allocation, I think I'm getting a few doubles.

But, hi everyone, nice to know you're out there (from as far away as Indonesia, it seems)

Blogroll Maintenance

It's been a long time since I last cleared out my links, and still none need removing due to being broken or to moribund sites. However, it is time to add some, so I chose the blogs that I visit most often. There's even a Tory there (clearly marked, in case you blunder in by accident), although he's quite a reasonable Tory.

There are also a few 'Eustonistas', like Norman Geras, Oliver Kamm and the PooterGeek who all end up next to each other due to the magic of the alphabet. I may disagree with them on some things, but they are worth reading.

I've also nailed my colours to the mast regarding the Deputy Leader election. Go Jon!

Who the FAQ is Danivon?

• Who is Danivon?

Well, my real name is Owen Richards. I was born in Crawley in 1974. I've lived there most of the time since, apart from a few years in the 1990s when I studied and worked in Manchester. From February 2009 I've been living in Rugby.

I was a councillor on Crawley Borough Council from May 2000 to June 2004, representing my home ward of Southgate for the Labour Party. I stood down after a single term due to the problem of balancing work and a social life with political office. As much as I enjoyed it, I was getting too tired to keep doing the job to the best of my abilities.

• So why do you use a pseudonym?

Why not? When the internet was first popular, people were always using pseudonyms. I don't use it to hide who I am, it's just not a big deal to me to use a different name. I have been using the name on other sites for some time, and it's easier to keep things the same all over the place.

While I am not concealing my true identity, I am also wary of being too open on the internet, where people and software can trawl through data to get a lot of information. I get enough spam as it is, thanks.

• Where did you get the name 'Danivon' from?

From the book Sideshow, by Sheri S Tepper. Danivon Luze is one of the main characters. I don't identify with him per se, it's just I quite liked the name. To be honest, I got him mixed up with the character Cheradenine Zakelwe from Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks when I first used it, back when I was playing Command&Conquer: Red Alert online (and getting trounced every time).

• Who is Rodney McAree then?

He is a football player, and the subject of an old terraces chant at Craven Cottage from the glorious 1996/7 season. See more here: http://rodneymcaree.blogspot.com/2005/04/rodney-mcarce.html

• Who do you work for?

I'm not going to say. I don't intend to discuss work, let alone my employer, so it isn't relevant. All I will say is that I work in the private sector, for an IT company.

Despite what some may think, I don't work for the Labour Party. I am a member of the Party, and I am involved at a local level. I have views that I want to express, which may or may not be in accordance with local (or national) Party policy. I did hold the post of 'Press Officer' for one year, which is confined to drafting Press Releases. I don't view blogging, or commenting on other blogs or internet forums as part of that activity, and the views expressed on this site against my name are mine alone.

• Why are you in the Labour Party?

Well, my family were all members. My dad was a councillor in the 1970s, and his dad was one in the 1950s. My parents were active in the 1980s, and I can remember them raising money for the families of striking miners in 1984 and my dad going up to printworks to assist the pickets during the Wapping dispute. I joined at the age of 15, when Thatcher was still the PM. Then I was purely an 'emotional' socialist - I didn't really understand the 'why'.

After getting an interest in History at school, I developed my theoretical and philosophical political views. I think that is long journey to start, and I'm by no means finished.

• Are you a New Labour apparatchik?

No. In 1994 I opposed Blair's leadership bid and the changes to Clause 4 of the Party constitution. While feeling a bit young to take on the label 'Old Labour', and not comfortable enough in dogma to stick with people like the Campaign Group, I have always been critical of the Party Leadership where they deserve it. However, I still think that the Labour Party, even one dominated by 'New Labour' is the best of all of the available alternatives for government. I worked my socks off in three constituencies during the 1997 campaign, and like many people was jubilant at the victory, and the scale of it. However, I said at the time:

"I'm happy, but I'm not satisfied"

That still applies today. Labour has done a lot of good in this country over the past 10 years, but they have also been timid in important areas. The Iraq war has overshadowed and undermined the whole period, and I am concerned about the tendency towards illiberal policies like detention without charge and ID cards.

However, I am proud to be a member of the Party, and there is a lot that should be celebrated and built on.

• Is that all you're going to say?

Not necessarily. If you want to ask a question, put it in the comments, and I'll answer it if I can.