If you scan through the recent news headlines, you could easily become depressed. Wars and civil disturbances are raging in many parts of the world, with other huge areas battling unrelenting freak weather conditions, while at home in the UK massive pay rises and bonuses for many of our big bosses are seeing the rich-poor divide continue to widen, and despite its screening efforts, our health service reports cases of breast cancer are increasing alarmingly. And as if that wasn't enough bad news, we now hear that in the bastion of all things cultural, Liverpool, any hopes of David Cameron's 'Big Society' have hit the dirt with a resounding bang.
From those that volunteered, four local authorities were chosen to take part in Big Society pilot schemes, with the aim of giving community groups and volunteers more control over the local budgets and services. Picked were: Liverpool, the Eden Valley in Cumbria, Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, and Sutton and Cheam in south-west London. A Big Society Bank, with assets of