Ellee Seymour

I shall be on the train to London first thing tomorrow morning while you are probably still dreaming away, heading for a Blog Breakfast with Echo to discuss corporate and political blogging.

I had a successful visit to the smoke today with my son David for his latest check-up at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The chronic oseteomyelitis in his jaw is thankfully improving, but he was advised to continue with the medication. It has been a long and painful haul for him, and he is so uncomplaining.

I always remember Dizzy emailing me from his holiday villa in Spain last summer to wish us well after reading my post about David’s check up then, thanks Dizzy, that was much appreciated.

GOS hospital is so amazing - and humbling - when you come across so many sick children, some with terrible deformities. It makes David’s problem seem so miniscule in comparison. David has been given the most wonderful care and attention by their medical team, I cannot praise the hospital highly enough.

A picture of Robin Cook’s headstone has been published today bearing his immortal words: “I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of Parliament to decide on war”.

It naturally mentions his wife Gaynor and two sons. I wonder why it could not have said: “Beloved husband of Gaynor and Margaret“, why ignore his first wife’s existence when they were married for 28 years and she was his anchor while he established a high profile political career, as well as being the mother of his two sons?

Do you remember how she was unceremoniously dumped by him at the airport after Alastair Campbell infamously told Cook to choose between his wife and lover as a tabloid was going to splash on his affair?

Not surprisingly, it led to an acrimonious break, but Margaret is reported to have since reached a rapprochement with her former rival.

I’m sure you can’t ever forget 28 years of marriage, do you feel Margaret’s name should have been included on the tombstone? Perhaps it could have said: “Beloved husband of Gaynor and former husband of Margaret“. Does that make sense to you? Does it ever happen for ex-spouses, or are they totally obliterated when those final words are cut in stone for eternity?

We need to rethink our views on household waste, it is not rubbish, it is a resource. Any scavenger will tell you that, like those from Poland in my picture.

It’s an issue our government has ignored for years, which is why we are the worst recyclers in Europe. But there is money in muck, as China’s wealthiest woman appreciates, having made her fortune from recycling America’s waste paper.

Now the Local Government Association wants to charge householders for all household waste as our landfill situation is so dire in the UK that we will run out in 9 years unless rubbish is tackled differently. The UK dumps more rubbish at landfill than any other country in Europe. Nobody wants incinerators for residue, so that just leaves recycling.

The LGA wants to reward those households which throw out less by cutting their council tax bills. However, It is not householders’ fault that government has failed to take this matter seriously before and this situation has arisen. What’s unfair about this is that each authority has is own recycling programme based on where it can send what it collects to be recycled. Some collect garden and kitchen waste, others take away plastic bottles. But then some don’t. That’s why it is so confusing. There is no single nationwide recycling programme that people can easily follow. So some householders will end paying more for the rubbish that is collected through no fault of their own.

I preferred Michael Meacher’s idea when he was Environment Secretary, he wanted to introduce variable waste charges to householders which would have allowed two sacks of rubbish to be collected from each property, with a £1 charge for any extra. I would, however, reduce it to collecting one rubbish bag before charging.

It’s government that needs to rethink rubbish - keep it simple, make all local authorities collect the same recyclables, give householders equal opportunities to do their bit.

Remember, waste is not rubbish, it’s a resource.