Cornwall top for riots (once upon a time)

My thanks to Charlotte MacKenzie for this quote from Bernard Deacon:

"Bohstedt, quantifying the numbers of riots in the crisis decades of the 1790s and 1800s, found that the number of riots per 10,000 persons in Cornwall in this period was almost three times higher than in the most riot-prone parts of England - London, Nottinghamshire and Devon (Bohstedt, 1983, 239)."

Pursuit of the tortoises nears finish line

Cornwall Council tells me it is due to serve formal notice of its closure of Sticker's Tortoise Garden on 22nd September. The council insists the Tortoise Garden is a zoo and must have a licence. The council refuses to tell me how much officer-time (and cost to the taxpayer) has been spent on this issue and so, within 20 days, must now answer under Freedom of Information laws.

Stadium for Cornwall planning application goes in

Plans for a 10,000-seat stadium at Langarth Farm, Threemilestone, near Truro, have now been submitted formally to Cornwall Council. I wonder how many of those who have signed the petition in support of this £24 million project will also sign the inevitable petition opposed to the associated planning application, for a 1,500-dwelling housing estate?

A shameless appeal for votes

The Total Politics Blog Awards for 2011 are now open for votes.
Just thought I'd mention it.

Cornwall's riots

No shortage of rioting in Cornish history: the Camborne riots of 1873, apparently started by a dispute over a village cricket match; the "Little Ireland" riots of 1882, again in Camborne, over the bullying of local Catholics and the Newlyn riots of 1896, over the ever-thorny issue of landing fish on Sundays. I believe there are earlier records of food riots in Cornwall, notably in Redruth.

Cornwall misses out on local TV

The government has today published this list of places where it is considering new Independent television franchises. Cornwall isn't on it. Plymouth and Barnstaple are the nearest.

Cornwall's anarchists slow to riot

Please don't take this as a sign of disappointment, but the Kernow Anarchist Network has not updated its website since 15th December. Possibly an internal dispute over whose turn it was?