Last Friday evening Sue went out on a police van doing the rounds of local pubs. As you know she was also out recently with Green Watch from Northfield Fire Station, the only ones safe so far are the paramedics but as we have a station on the Hollymoor we expect they will get a visit soon.
We have some problem pubs in Longbridge but also some experienced landlords who are trying to turn them into family orientated hostelries. Good luck to them. Sadly we also have some landlords who fall into the trap of thinking that poor profits can be countered by failing to follow the rules. One such was visited and quite a few under-age drinkers were found there. Suffice to say that this landlord and these premises will receive much closer attention in future and if this activity continues we will not hesitate to call for a review of the license.
We have now finished our preparations for Christmas and are getting ready to enjoy a couple of days of fun and feasting so to all of you we would like to say
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Yes, even Paul Dale.
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
I tried saving the world but....
A personal note from Keith.
We are having to change our car from a Micra to a 2lt Diesel Mondeo. Before Paul Dale decides this is further evidence of my climate change denial or that I am on a one man mission to destroy our environment let me explain. Some of you will remember that Sue and I went to the Caravan Show in October and bought a caravan. With the best will in the world a Micra is incapable of pulling a caravan, therefore the neccessity of buying a bigger car. This all means of course that we will not be flying abroad for the forseeable future and I wonder if this means we will be carbon neutral as far as holidays go. Well it is as good a theory as we hear from the Government.
After the knife crime figure fiasco we now have the teachers unions insisting that the numbers of violent incidents in classrooms are not as the information released by the government says they are. Are they therefore saying that all figures released by this government are suspect? Welcome to the world of Nulabour.
We are having to change our car from a Micra to a 2lt Diesel Mondeo. Before Paul Dale decides this is further evidence of my climate change denial or that I am on a one man mission to destroy our environment let me explain. Some of you will remember that Sue and I went to the Caravan Show in October and bought a caravan. With the best will in the world a Micra is incapable of pulling a caravan, therefore the neccessity of buying a bigger car. This all means of course that we will not be flying abroad for the forseeable future and I wonder if this means we will be carbon neutral as far as holidays go. Well it is as good a theory as we hear from the Government.
After the knife crime figure fiasco we now have the teachers unions insisting that the numbers of violent incidents in classrooms are not as the information released by the government says they are. Are they therefore saying that all figures released by this government are suspect? Welcome to the world of Nulabour.
Monday, 22 December 2008
milestones
Last week saw a couple of small milestones. On Thursday Sue attended her first Adoption Panel. She had previously been a member of a Fostering Panel which met on Wednesdays,this often clashed with the Licensing Committee so Sue decided to swap. Little did she know that the Purple Panel as it is called dealt with Adoptions not Fostering. This requires even more reading than before but Sue's first day went off ok although she had done a full day at Licensing the day before.
Keith, also on Thursday, carried out his last Custody Visit to local police stations. The Custody Visiting Scheme was set up in the wake of the Brixton riots which were in part caused by concerns about the treatment of people in police custody. Lord Scarman recommended a system of unannouced visits by local people to reassure the community that all was well. Keith has been doing this for about 6 years but recently time pressures have begun to tell and Keith decided that something had to give. The first two custody suites were quiet but all hell had broken out at the third where two very violent prisoners had been brought in and both were making a hell of a row which was upsetting the other people in the cells. It was very tense all round but the inspections have to be carried out as normal. The staff were very calm and efficient and it is a mark of their proffessionalism that despite all this the only people in any danger were the police officers themselves.
One disturbing aspect was a 12 year old boy who told us he was in for the third time. There was also a young man who told us he was being recalled to prison and would be spending his 8th Christmas inside. All very depressing.
On Sunday Keith and Sue were at Lyttleton House, an Elderly Persons Home, for their Christmas Party. This was very jolly and very good fun. At least some people know how to enjoy Christmas.
Keith, also on Thursday, carried out his last Custody Visit to local police stations. The Custody Visiting Scheme was set up in the wake of the Brixton riots which were in part caused by concerns about the treatment of people in police custody. Lord Scarman recommended a system of unannouced visits by local people to reassure the community that all was well. Keith has been doing this for about 6 years but recently time pressures have begun to tell and Keith decided that something had to give. The first two custody suites were quiet but all hell had broken out at the third where two very violent prisoners had been brought in and both were making a hell of a row which was upsetting the other people in the cells. It was very tense all round but the inspections have to be carried out as normal. The staff were very calm and efficient and it is a mark of their proffessionalism that despite all this the only people in any danger were the police officers themselves.
One disturbing aspect was a 12 year old boy who told us he was in for the third time. There was also a young man who told us he was being recalled to prison and would be spending his 8th Christmas inside. All very depressing.
On Sunday Keith and Sue were at Lyttleton House, an Elderly Persons Home, for their Christmas Party. This was very jolly and very good fun. At least some people know how to enjoy Christmas.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Did we really have a holiday?
Talk about hitting the ground running. Sue and Keith arrived back at Digbeth coach station at 3pm on Monday 1st. This after a day lasting about 35hrs. American Immigration asked for everyone to be available at 6am Easter Standard Time on Sunday so they could allow in all the people they had allowed out 7 days before. This took all of 10 minutes but we all had to wait around for an hour before getting any breakfast.
Travelling from Tampa to Heathrow via Washington was a prolonged experience, 7 hrs at Tampa Airport, a mad dash to catch a connecting flight in Washington after a delayed and very rough flight and then another rough flight over the Easter seaboard before crossing the Atlantic.
Heathrow was fine but the bus station was freezing after 80degrees in Florida and a hr flight waiting for the coach didn't help. This was livened up whilst boarding the coach when a family tried to push into the queue and Keith reminded then of their manners. Words were exchanged but order restored when they decided to get to the back. Justice was served when they had to take turns to stand all the way to Banbury.
The Group meeting started at 5.30, 4.30 for Keith, and it was a surreal experience trying to take it all in whilst jet-lag kicked in.
Here is a tip for anyone going to the States who has had hip operetions, you will set off the metal detector every time. This will entitle you to a free wanding and a massage from a member of the Transport Security Agency.
The following day Keith asked a couple of questions to John Lines without anything kicking off in the public gallery and he also spoke on 2 other matters.
Labour were quite poor again although Cath Grundy made a very good job of proposing a motion. She was quite impressive and Albert did not look a happy bunny. He can feel someone coming up behind him.
After that it was just meeting after meeting. Mind you there were some social opportunities as well. On the Thursday we all went to a Quiz night and fund-raiser for Keely. This was very successful and a great night.
The following night saw 6 Councillors at the Northfield HLB Christmas party at the Greenlands Club. Another great night and our thanks to everyone there especially Ruth Bowles,Kate, and Jackie from the Housing team who made a really good job of it.
On Sunday Sue & Keith took their grandson Christopher to Villa Park for a tour as part of his Christmas present. It is very impressive and even better than the last time Keith took the tour 10 years ago.
Last Sunday Keith and Sue were at the Town Hall for a concert by pupils from Birmingham's schools including Colmers School and Frankley Community High School. This was organised by the Birmingham Music Service and the standards were extremely high.
Things have started to slow down now which gives all 3 of us the chance to do a lot of leafletting and get our christmas card out to everyone in the ward.
We are doubtful if the holiday photos will be of any interest but we will publish them to the web and provide a link if anyone does want to take a look. Keith has a new camcorder and we hope to start putting some videos on here if he can ever crack the technology.
Travelling from Tampa to Heathrow via Washington was a prolonged experience, 7 hrs at Tampa Airport, a mad dash to catch a connecting flight in Washington after a delayed and very rough flight and then another rough flight over the Easter seaboard before crossing the Atlantic.
Heathrow was fine but the bus station was freezing after 80degrees in Florida and a hr flight waiting for the coach didn't help. This was livened up whilst boarding the coach when a family tried to push into the queue and Keith reminded then of their manners. Words were exchanged but order restored when they decided to get to the back. Justice was served when they had to take turns to stand all the way to Banbury.
The Group meeting started at 5.30, 4.30 for Keith, and it was a surreal experience trying to take it all in whilst jet-lag kicked in.
Here is a tip for anyone going to the States who has had hip operetions, you will set off the metal detector every time. This will entitle you to a free wanding and a massage from a member of the Transport Security Agency.
The following day Keith asked a couple of questions to John Lines without anything kicking off in the public gallery and he also spoke on 2 other matters.
Labour were quite poor again although Cath Grundy made a very good job of proposing a motion. She was quite impressive and Albert did not look a happy bunny. He can feel someone coming up behind him.
After that it was just meeting after meeting. Mind you there were some social opportunities as well. On the Thursday we all went to a Quiz night and fund-raiser for Keely. This was very successful and a great night.
The following night saw 6 Councillors at the Northfield HLB Christmas party at the Greenlands Club. Another great night and our thanks to everyone there especially Ruth Bowles,Kate, and Jackie from the Housing team who made a really good job of it.
On Sunday Sue & Keith took their grandson Christopher to Villa Park for a tour as part of his Christmas present. It is very impressive and even better than the last time Keith took the tour 10 years ago.
Last Sunday Keith and Sue were at the Town Hall for a concert by pupils from Birmingham's schools including Colmers School and Frankley Community High School. This was organised by the Birmingham Music Service and the standards were extremely high.
Things have started to slow down now which gives all 3 of us the chance to do a lot of leafletting and get our christmas card out to everyone in the ward.
We are doubtful if the holiday photos will be of any interest but we will publish them to the web and provide a link if anyone does want to take a look. Keith has a new camcorder and we hope to start putting some videos on here if he can ever crack the technology.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Stealth Tax??
Ken is really starting to get into his scrutiny positions now with Housing being one of them. At the recent scrutiny meeting he was horrified to find out that every week from the rent paid by our council tenants an average of £13.50 is taken by the government - and to make it worse the government will want nearly £17.00 per week from next year ! Birmingham City Council have written to the Labour Government Minister for housing highlighting that this money should stay in Birmingham for the benefit of Birminghams Council Housing and nothing else. We will post the response if and when we get one.
Frankley All Out Day
While Keith and Sue are enjoying their Pearl Wedding break Ken has been busy across the Ward. Ken says "You dont realise just how much work there is until you have to do it all yourself - I will be pleased when they get back !". Thankfully PPC Keely Huxtable has also been helping in the Ward handling some of the Advice Bureaux.
On Friday 14th November the Frankley All Out Day was held. This was arranged working with residents and the Parish Council in Frankley utilising funds allocated by Longbridge Ward from the Community Chest fund.
The day was got off to a great start with some tea and cake. Police were on hand to provide advice on Crime Prevention, the Fire Brigade were fitting smoke alarms and our hard working neighbourhood team removed nearly 2 tons of rubbish as well as cutting back hedges and removing graffiti. The teams were helped by residents and Parish Councillors as well so it was a real team effort and a great success with more of the same to follow. Thanks go to everyone who put in a lot of hard work to make sure it all went off smoothly. Ken and Keely took the the opportunity to see what its like to remove graffiti and as the photos show they were soon getting stuck in. Both Ken and Keely certainly got a kick out of removing the TAGS that blight our walls across the Ward.
Keely gets stuck in
Ken gets stuck in and wet !!
Ah the cake !!!
Parish Councillor Eric Carter, with Urn aided by Penny Moore who did the cake
On Friday 14th November the Frankley All Out Day was held. This was arranged working with residents and the Parish Council in Frankley utilising funds allocated by Longbridge Ward from the Community Chest fund.
The day was got off to a great start with some tea and cake. Police were on hand to provide advice on Crime Prevention, the Fire Brigade were fitting smoke alarms and our hard working neighbourhood team removed nearly 2 tons of rubbish as well as cutting back hedges and removing graffiti. The teams were helped by residents and Parish Councillors as well so it was a real team effort and a great success with more of the same to follow. Thanks go to everyone who put in a lot of hard work to make sure it all went off smoothly. Ken and Keely took the the opportunity to see what its like to remove graffiti and as the photos show they were soon getting stuck in. Both Ken and Keely certainly got a kick out of removing the TAGS that blight our walls across the Ward.
Keely gets stuck in
Ken gets stuck in and wet !!
Ah the cake !!!
Parish Councillor Eric Carter, with Urn aided by Penny Moore who did the cake
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Diwali celebrations
Later that afternoon we went to Millenium Point for the Diwali celebrations as guests of the Hindu Council of Birmingham. There were a great deal of attractions outside but a deluge rather put a dampener on things. We heard some very good speeches and afterwards met Baroness Warsi the Conservative spokeswoman in the Lords.
Remembrance Service
On Sunday all three of us attended the Remembrance Service at Hall of Memory.
It was a very cold day but as usual it was very well attended. Afterwards to the Council House for a warm and some refreshments.
It was a very cold day but as usual it was very well attended. Afterwards to the Council House for a warm and some refreshments.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Council meeting
Things got a bit heated at Tuesday's meeting. Keith asked Cllr John Lines a question on housing and a guy in the public chamber started shouting at him. He is apparently a member of a group who are squatting on a site in Balsall Heath where he is demanding we build houses. He does not appear to be employed himself so we suppose he wants everyone else to pay for them. Isn't it amazing that those who won't pay always have the biggest demands. The "something for nothing" tendency are still alive and well. We are not sure how linked this parasite is to senior members of the Labour Group but rumours abound. Anyway after a 10 minute break we went back in and carried on. Let's hope he is banned from future meetings.
Keith also seconded a motion on skills and manufacturing and later spoke during Len Gregory's report on Highways and Street Services.
The next day Keith went off to Warwick University to an "awayday", surely that should be an "awaynight" as we stayed over.
Today we had another highlight! Sue and Keith went to Callowbrook Day centre to present a cake to a lady who is celebrating her 100th birthday. Her name is Gertrude but she prefers Trudy, and why not. We hope to attend many more centenery's in the future.
On Sunday morning we will be attending the Remembrance Service followed in the afternoon by a Diwali celebration at Millenium Point. It is a varied life.
Keith also seconded a motion on skills and manufacturing and later spoke during Len Gregory's report on Highways and Street Services.
The next day Keith went off to Warwick University to an "awayday", surely that should be an "awaynight" as we stayed over.
Today we had another highlight! Sue and Keith went to Callowbrook Day centre to present a cake to a lady who is celebrating her 100th birthday. Her name is Gertrude but she prefers Trudy, and why not. We hope to attend many more centenery's in the future.
On Sunday morning we will be attending the Remembrance Service followed in the afternoon by a Diwali celebration at Millenium Point. It is a varied life.
Meetings, meetings and yes, more meetings.
We won't bore you with every meeting we attend. Most of them are held monthly so you will have read about them previously. We will try a edited version bringing you the "highlights".
On Thursday Sue was off to Wembley as a guest of the FA no less. This was in connection with the KICKZ project and an awards ceremony. Sue got to meet Les Ferdinand and one of the lads from Solihull KICKZ picked up an award. (Pic to follow)
The highlight of Keith's week was to be invited to the Lord Mayor's Parlour for tea with Cllr Rashid Chaudry and the Lady Mayoress and a local family that they had met at the inaugaration of the Balaam's Wood Local Nature Reserve. The yougest member of the family, Will, made such an impression when he presented a posy to the Lady Mayoress that they instantly became firm friends and this was the Lord Mayor's thank you. Afterwards Keith showed them around the Council House and Will was very impressed with the Council Chamber and the Lord Mayor's seat.
On Thursday Sue was off to Wembley as a guest of the FA no less. This was in connection with the KICKZ project and an awards ceremony. Sue got to meet Les Ferdinand and one of the lads from Solihull KICKZ picked up an award. (Pic to follow)
The highlight of Keith's week was to be invited to the Lord Mayor's Parlour for tea with Cllr Rashid Chaudry and the Lady Mayoress and a local family that they had met at the inaugaration of the Balaam's Wood Local Nature Reserve. The yougest member of the family, Will, made such an impression when he presented a posy to the Lady Mayoress that they instantly became firm friends and this was the Lord Mayor's thank you. Afterwards Keith showed them around the Council House and Will was very impressed with the Council Chamber and the Lord Mayor's seat.
Silver Wedding
Congratulations to Mandy & Bill Hollis who last week celebrated their Silver Wedding at the Reaside Centre, Frankley. Bill and Mandy are local stalwarts who work tirelessly for their neighbours. Bill is a member of the Parish Council, Frankley Neighbourhood Forum, Frankley & Rednal Neighbourhood Tasking Group and, of course, the Reaside Centre. Mandy is also a member of the Reaside Centre and is never far behind Bill. We need so many more people like Bill and Mandy and it was an enjoyable evening.
Afterwards the three of us and Cllr Barbara Wood went to have a look at the Bugle Horn pub which has re-opened following a murder there some months ago. We have our doubts about the future of this pub and will be asking local residents to keep a close eye on it. We like to work with the landlords to help them keep well run premises but when a pub gets a bad reputation it can be a difficult challenge, Keith should know, he was in the Licensed trade for 20 years.
Afterwards the three of us and Cllr Barbara Wood went to have a look at the Bugle Horn pub which has re-opened following a murder there some months ago. We have our doubts about the future of this pub and will be asking local residents to keep a close eye on it. We like to work with the landlords to help them keep well run premises but when a pub gets a bad reputation it can be a difficult challenge, Keith should know, he was in the Licensed trade for 20 years.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Diary
The Council meeting last week was another quiet affair with the Labour Group fairly supine. Sir Albert did try to stir them up but his heart does not seem to be in it. It is hard these days for them to get up and say anything. We have managed to keep out of the Icelandic Bank mess but it seems the Police Authority and now Centro have been caught up in it. We like the way they all say it will have no effect on their services but you have to wonder if it does not matter why have they got it?
Before that on the Saturday evening Sue and Keith were at the ICC for the annual ANKA Daycare Dinner. This is a longstanding organisation which provides daycare, and a lot more, in some of the hard-pressed areas of Lozells and Aston. Although they do much good work it is one aspect of the gun/gangs scenario which gets little publicity, although it deserves more. Cllr Yvonne Mosquito was the co-host and she believes we should all sing for our supper so during the evening Keith, Sue, Cllr Alan Rudge and Cllr Paulette Hamilton were dragged up on stage and had to recite a rather long poem, Blake's " Augeries of innocence" no less. Very intellectual for us councillors.
On Wednesday Keith was at the Innovation Centre for the LAAP enqiry whilst Sue spent most of the day at the Council House doing some training for the Licensing Committee, firstly about normal licencing issues and then a session on about gaming, bet that was interesting. Sorry. That evening Keith was at the AGM of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust. This is the body that owns the shares of the Rep and a lively meeting was followed by an enjoyable meal and discussions about the forthcoming Library of Birmingham Project which will include part of the Rep.
On Thursday Keith was at the Planning Committee helping some local residents with an application by the Reaside Clinic for new security measures. All went well with a meeting afterwards between the residents and the clinic's Estate Manager which will hopefully solve the problems. It is nice when two sides of a dispute can work together to sort things out.
On Friday Sue and Keith went to the Caravan and Camping Show at the NEC. Nothing to do with the Council and yes they paid for the tickets. It turned into an expensive morning as they bought a caravan. It involved a good deal on the motorhome but does mean that Keith will have to change the Micra for a bigger car. Another smacking from the green doom merchants seems on the cards.
After the show Sue and Keith took the motorhome over to Wem in Shopshire for a beer festival. Also on site were Ken and Barbara, Cllr Adrian Delaney from Weoley with his two kids and Derek Johnson and Gary Sambrook. Derek is the candidate for Brandwood and a big Post and Mail letter writer while Gary is a young man who almost took Kingstanding this year and is working extremely hard in order to win in 2010. We all had a great time. There were lots of real ales from all over Shropshire and the standard was very high this year.
We had to come back early on Monday for the funeral of a good friend and local personality, Gill Yates. Gill was a loving wife and mother as well as a well known teacher. She also sang in the City of Birmingham Symphony Choir for twenty years as well as playing the trombone. The ocassion was attended by a large number of her numerous friends and her loss at such a young age is a great blow to her husband Malcolm and their three children.
It seemed odd afterwards to be going on to more meetings but it has to be done. Sue was at Colmers Juniors for a Governors meeting which seemed to go on for hours whilst Keith was at the Northfield Town Centre Shop for a meeting of the board of South West Birmingham Community Association.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw Keith at the LAAP enquiry again. As we have told you the one session has been adjourned. Yesterday Sue, Keith and Ken had a meeting with the Highway Engineer at some shops on the Bristol Road South. It seems some of the shop owners and residents have been driving down the pavement to access the frontages. This will be stopped before someone gets killed or injured but we are assessing how we can help them gain a safe acess to the shop frontages. It is amazing how aggressive some people can be when you are trying to help and it can be very tempting to walk away and say bugger the lot of you. Luckily we have thick skins and shrug it all off and get on with trying to help them even though they don't seem able to help themselves. One man was full of his own opinions, we felt like telling him that we would run his shop and he could be the Highway Engineer but restraint won out in the end.
Today Keith and Sue have been at the Callowbrook Day Centre for a Section 33 visit. These are snap inspections which we are reqired to carry out on Childrens Homes, Elder Peoples Homes, Daycare Centres and Emergency Assessment Teams, mostly in our own wards but sometimes in other area of the city. Callowbook is well known to us as we hold a regular surgery there and the visitors speak very highly of it.
Before that on the Saturday evening Sue and Keith were at the ICC for the annual ANKA Daycare Dinner. This is a longstanding organisation which provides daycare, and a lot more, in some of the hard-pressed areas of Lozells and Aston. Although they do much good work it is one aspect of the gun/gangs scenario which gets little publicity, although it deserves more. Cllr Yvonne Mosquito was the co-host and she believes we should all sing for our supper so during the evening Keith, Sue, Cllr Alan Rudge and Cllr Paulette Hamilton were dragged up on stage and had to recite a rather long poem, Blake's " Augeries of innocence" no less. Very intellectual for us councillors.
On Wednesday Keith was at the Innovation Centre for the LAAP enqiry whilst Sue spent most of the day at the Council House doing some training for the Licensing Committee, firstly about normal licencing issues and then a session on about gaming, bet that was interesting. Sorry. That evening Keith was at the AGM of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust. This is the body that owns the shares of the Rep and a lively meeting was followed by an enjoyable meal and discussions about the forthcoming Library of Birmingham Project which will include part of the Rep.
On Thursday Keith was at the Planning Committee helping some local residents with an application by the Reaside Clinic for new security measures. All went well with a meeting afterwards between the residents and the clinic's Estate Manager which will hopefully solve the problems. It is nice when two sides of a dispute can work together to sort things out.
On Friday Sue and Keith went to the Caravan and Camping Show at the NEC. Nothing to do with the Council and yes they paid for the tickets. It turned into an expensive morning as they bought a caravan. It involved a good deal on the motorhome but does mean that Keith will have to change the Micra for a bigger car. Another smacking from the green doom merchants seems on the cards.
After the show Sue and Keith took the motorhome over to Wem in Shopshire for a beer festival. Also on site were Ken and Barbara, Cllr Adrian Delaney from Weoley with his two kids and Derek Johnson and Gary Sambrook. Derek is the candidate for Brandwood and a big Post and Mail letter writer while Gary is a young man who almost took Kingstanding this year and is working extremely hard in order to win in 2010. We all had a great time. There were lots of real ales from all over Shropshire and the standard was very high this year.
We had to come back early on Monday for the funeral of a good friend and local personality, Gill Yates. Gill was a loving wife and mother as well as a well known teacher. She also sang in the City of Birmingham Symphony Choir for twenty years as well as playing the trombone. The ocassion was attended by a large number of her numerous friends and her loss at such a young age is a great blow to her husband Malcolm and their three children.
It seemed odd afterwards to be going on to more meetings but it has to be done. Sue was at Colmers Juniors for a Governors meeting which seemed to go on for hours whilst Keith was at the Northfield Town Centre Shop for a meeting of the board of South West Birmingham Community Association.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw Keith at the LAAP enquiry again. As we have told you the one session has been adjourned. Yesterday Sue, Keith and Ken had a meeting with the Highway Engineer at some shops on the Bristol Road South. It seems some of the shop owners and residents have been driving down the pavement to access the frontages. This will be stopped before someone gets killed or injured but we are assessing how we can help them gain a safe acess to the shop frontages. It is amazing how aggressive some people can be when you are trying to help and it can be very tempting to walk away and say bugger the lot of you. Luckily we have thick skins and shrug it all off and get on with trying to help them even though they don't seem able to help themselves. One man was full of his own opinions, we felt like telling him that we would run his shop and he could be the Highway Engineer but restraint won out in the end.
Today Keith and Sue have been at the Callowbrook Day Centre for a Section 33 visit. These are snap inspections which we are reqired to carry out on Childrens Homes, Elder Peoples Homes, Daycare Centres and Emergency Assessment Teams, mostly in our own wards but sometimes in other area of the city. Callowbook is well known to us as we hold a regular surgery there and the visitors speak very highly of it.
Getting our hands dirty
Just to prove that this job is not all glamour we would like to show you a pic of a recent incident. Keith got a phone call telling him that a resident had put some bulky rubbish out at 12midnight on Friday night for an arranged collection on Saturday. At about 1am a local herbert set fire to it. The fire spread to a nearby fence and hedge belonging to a sub station. The Fire Service were called and responded prontly and put the fire out. Unfortunatley they left all the debris spread over and blocking the pavement. Keith and Ken went out on the Sunday morning and managed to get some of it down the tip and swept the pavement to allow people to get past. Keith arranged for the rest to be picked up by the neighbourhood workers an Monday. Just think about this the next time the Post talks about Councillors only being in it for what they can get out of it.
Just rewards
On Sunday the 12th we had the pleasure of attending a presentation at Colmers Leisure Centre of some awards to three members of staff who leapt into action when a member of a football team had a heart attack. They kept Mr Greenway going until the police and paramedics came to take over. The police and PCSOs did get a lot of publicity from the incident and we thought that these heroes deserved some recognition of their own. Congratulations and thanks to Pauline Davies, Ian Harper and Lucy Spurrier. We took some pics which also show Cllr Randal Brew, Deputy Lord Mayor and Ivor Williams who is Head of Northfield Constituency.
Non stop
The last two weeks have been a non-stop effort by all three of us.
The Longbridge Area Action Plan Examination in Public, to give it it's official title is taking place at the Innovation Centre on the site. We are rather impressed at the way the Inspector, Jill Kingaby is conducting the enquiry. She tries to find common ground between differents interests and succeeds the majority of the time. There is a disagreement between the Council and St. Modwens and AWM over the money which will have to be paid through section 278 and section 106. This item has been adjourned for three weeks for negotiations to take place, expect some hard bargaining but there should be a deal by the time it resumes.
One thing that struck Keith was the attitude of some of the professionals toward local people. These highly educated and highly paid people, including several QCs tend to be a little superior to local residents such as Sid Grey who is representing the people of Frankley. What they forget is that when they get into their big cars and drive off to their big houses the rest of us remain behind to live and work in the area. They can make the decisions and decide on the future of Logbridge but it is us locals who have to live with the consequences and our views must not be discounted as being unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We did have a former Labour Councillor turn up who made some outlandish statements which caused some amusement but the trouble was that Sid Grey was then lumped into the same category which is very unfair to a man who has fought for his neighbours for umpteen years for no reward and deserves to have his words listened to with respect.
The Longbridge Area Action Plan Examination in Public, to give it it's official title is taking place at the Innovation Centre on the site. We are rather impressed at the way the Inspector, Jill Kingaby is conducting the enquiry. She tries to find common ground between differents interests and succeeds the majority of the time. There is a disagreement between the Council and St. Modwens and AWM over the money which will have to be paid through section 278 and section 106. This item has been adjourned for three weeks for negotiations to take place, expect some hard bargaining but there should be a deal by the time it resumes.
One thing that struck Keith was the attitude of some of the professionals toward local people. These highly educated and highly paid people, including several QCs tend to be a little superior to local residents such as Sid Grey who is representing the people of Frankley. What they forget is that when they get into their big cars and drive off to their big houses the rest of us remain behind to live and work in the area. They can make the decisions and decide on the future of Logbridge but it is us locals who have to live with the consequences and our views must not be discounted as being unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We did have a former Labour Councillor turn up who made some outlandish statements which caused some amusement but the trouble was that Sid Grey was then lumped into the same category which is very unfair to a man who has fought for his neighbours for umpteen years for no reward and deserves to have his words listened to with respect.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Sion Simon in Government? Are things that bad?
The Erdington Typo has earned his reward for his loyalty to Gordie, and his disloyalty to Bliar, and has entered Government as Minister for Skills. Not all skills, just those in the Universities. Perhaps he will be offering advice on how to maximise the capacity for consuming Frosty Jack and White Lightning in the Student Union, and if you saw his speech about the never ending march of Labour footsoldiers you may suspect that he is no stranger to cheap cider.
Liam Byrne was also promoted but not into the Cabinet, his job was down-graded to a cupboard apparently. He also went on to YouTube complaining about litter in his constituency. He didn't complain about the people who drop the litter, just about the Council for not picking it up. He cannot be called two faced as he would not choose the one he has surely?
Liam Byrne was also promoted but not into the Cabinet, his job was down-graded to a cupboard apparently. He also went on to YouTube complaining about litter in his constituency. He didn't complain about the people who drop the litter, just about the Council for not picking it up. He cannot be called two faced as he would not choose the one he has surely?
Crisis
Although this has been another busy week with meetings and a lot of leafletting the main topic of conversation is the collapse of the banking industry and efforts to stave off economic disaster. We are not economic experts and take our chances like everyone else. It was once said that if all the economists in the world were laid end to end they would still not reach a conclusion so what chance have we got.
At least we had some good news this morning with confirmation that BCC has no money tied up in Icelandic Banks. It appears that nearly 100 local authorities and several other public institutions, Fire & Police Authorities, Transport for London and others have over half a billion pounds in accounts which may longer exist. At least we stayed clear of that mess.
On a personal note from Keith "I decided about 4 years ago to reduce my debt as much as possible. I had a small mortgage but was maxed out on 2 credit cards. I decided to only use them for purchases when I needed them to be insured but other than that have not used them at all and made great efforts and got them down to zero. This meant I was not paying all my disposable income to the card companies and when I need a loan, for instance a newer car last year, I can shop around for the best deal. The reason for my caution was that I could not understand how we could be a successful economy by doing each others accounts and when working for a hardware company I saw that virtually everything was imported from India & China. This could not go on and I now feel this has been vindicated. This is no comfort to all those who are staring into the abyss of job losses and repossessions so lets hope that the action being taken affords some hope for the future, although I fear the worst."
At least we had some good news this morning with confirmation that BCC has no money tied up in Icelandic Banks. It appears that nearly 100 local authorities and several other public institutions, Fire & Police Authorities, Transport for London and others have over half a billion pounds in accounts which may longer exist. At least we stayed clear of that mess.
On a personal note from Keith "I decided about 4 years ago to reduce my debt as much as possible. I had a small mortgage but was maxed out on 2 credit cards. I decided to only use them for purchases when I needed them to be insured but other than that have not used them at all and made great efforts and got them down to zero. This meant I was not paying all my disposable income to the card companies and when I need a loan, for instance a newer car last year, I can shop around for the best deal. The reason for my caution was that I could not understand how we could be a successful economy by doing each others accounts and when working for a hardware company I saw that virtually everything was imported from India & China. This could not go on and I now feel this has been vindicated. This is no comfort to all those who are staring into the abyss of job losses and repossessions so lets hope that the action being taken affords some hope for the future, although I fear the worst."
Lord Mayor at Balaam's Wood
Last Friday Sue welcomed the Lord Mayor, Cllr Chaudry Rashid, and the Lady Mayoress to the inaugaration of a new Site of Local Interest & Nature Conservation (SLINC) at Balaam's Wood. This is an area of ancient woodland and much valued by the people of Frankley.
The Lord Mayor made a real impression, he is a natural gentleman and although we are generally scathing of the Labour Group they made a good decision this time.
The Lord Mayor made a real impression, he is a natural gentleman and although we are generally scathing of the Labour Group they made a good decision this time.
Desperate times
It may be that with everything going on at the moment a review of the conference is maybe not too interesting so we will just precis the final 2 days.
On Tuesday evening Keith & Sue attended a reception at the offices of Groundwork UK who are benefitting from M & S' decision to charge for plastic bags. This has led to an 80% drop in bag use but all the profits are going to Groundwork. Keith spent the evening telling anyone who would listen about the Forestdale Community Park in the hope of getting them interested as the project cost is up around the £1million mark. We met Caroline Spellman there and have a pic to prove it.
Wednesday's speech by David Cameron was very well received. Symphony Hall was packed and looked amazing.
On Tuesday evening Keith & Sue attended a reception at the offices of Groundwork UK who are benefitting from M & S' decision to charge for plastic bags. This has led to an 80% drop in bag use but all the profits are going to Groundwork. Keith spent the evening telling anyone who would listen about the Forestdale Community Park in the hope of getting them interested as the project cost is up around the £1million mark. We met Caroline Spellman there and have a pic to prove it.
Wednesday's speech by David Cameron was very well received. Symphony Hall was packed and looked amazing.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Day 2
George Osborne made an unscheduled speech about the economy during the morning session which emphasised the importance of us all pulling together to get us out of the economic mess we seem to have fallen into. Later Keely made an appearance on the stage talking about the problems ordinary people are encountering. She followed up with a plea for the government to simplify things for people instead of making everything so complicated. This brought a huge response from the hall.
Of course the conference is not just about the events in the main hall. There is a break from 12.30 until 2.30 and there are masses of fringe meetings going on. You dash from one to the other, hoping to get some food but not always succeeding. We all break apart for these 2 hours and join up for the afternoon session. We all have different interests and attend different meeting. Some meetings start at 7.30am as well and hopefully you can get a bacon butty for breakfast. The events also go on during the evening so it is a very long day. That is why you sometimes see people catching a few zzz'ees in the hall, its not boredom, its sheer exhaustion.
That evening Keith & Sue went to the Chairman's Reception and later attended a reception by the Indian High Commissioner at which Dominic Grieves made a speech.
The pictures show Sue with Alan Duncan at the Chairman's Reception and then Domimic listening to the IHC.
Of course the conference is not just about the events in the main hall. There is a break from 12.30 until 2.30 and there are masses of fringe meetings going on. You dash from one to the other, hoping to get some food but not always succeeding. We all break apart for these 2 hours and join up for the afternoon session. We all have different interests and attend different meeting. Some meetings start at 7.30am as well and hopefully you can get a bacon butty for breakfast. The events also go on during the evening so it is a very long day. That is why you sometimes see people catching a few zzz'ees in the hall, its not boredom, its sheer exhaustion.
That evening Keith & Sue went to the Chairman's Reception and later attended a reception by the Indian High Commissioner at which Dominic Grieves made a speech.
The pictures show Sue with Alan Duncan at the Chairman's Reception and then Domimic listening to the IHC.
Conference Day 1
The first day of the conference went very well, firstly a greeting from Caroline Spelman and advice not to take a general election victory for granted, as if! Here in Northfield we take nothing for granted, if the polls suggested a landslide we will still be on the doorsteps until 10pm on polling day. William Hague followed and hammered Brown mercilessly. Especially turning Brown's comments about "the age of irresponsibility" around against him.
Various people then did a "Welcome to Birmingham" section. David Willetts was very good, we didn't realise he was a Brummie. Karen Brady did a spot, very good also but she could do with a little more length on the skirt. Mark Reeves also came on and managed to include a plug for the Post and the Mail, very clever. Monica Hardie, the wife of Dr Andrew Hardie from Selly Oak also made an impassioned speech about the NHS. She should know as she is a nurse. The afternoon started with an unscheduled speech by David Cameron about the state of the economy, not for the faint-hearted. We then had a turn from Boris Johnson. What a performer, one minute he has you in stitches the next he becomes deadly serious especially when dealing with knife and gun crime in the capitol. Later there was a very moving session about supporting our armed forces which included Simon Weston.
That evening Sue and Keith & Ken attended the opening of the Urban Hub at Baskerville House. A wide range of invitees heard from Mike Whitby and Eric Pickles.
Various people then did a "Welcome to Birmingham" section. David Willetts was very good, we didn't realise he was a Brummie. Karen Brady did a spot, very good also but she could do with a little more length on the skirt. Mark Reeves also came on and managed to include a plug for the Post and the Mail, very clever. Monica Hardie, the wife of Dr Andrew Hardie from Selly Oak also made an impassioned speech about the NHS. She should know as she is a nurse. The afternoon started with an unscheduled speech by David Cameron about the state of the economy, not for the faint-hearted. We then had a turn from Boris Johnson. What a performer, one minute he has you in stitches the next he becomes deadly serious especially when dealing with knife and gun crime in the capitol. Later there was a very moving session about supporting our armed forces which included Simon Weston.
That evening Sue and Keith & Ken attended the opening of the Urban Hub at Baskerville House. A wide range of invitees heard from Mike Whitby and Eric Pickles.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Catch up
On Thursday after the Fusiliers marched through the town Keith went to a meeting of the South Birmingham Young Homeless Project. This operates in a former Council Depot in Belton Grove and does a lot of fine work for young homeless people from all over the South of the city. They not only help with accomodation but work with youngsters to resolve problems with parents as well as starter packs and advice when they do find somewhere to live.
Afterwards all 3 of us where at the Longbridge Consultative Group at the Innovation Centre. The main topic of conversation was the Examination In Public which gets underway on the 14th October.
On Friday Sue was working all day at Birmingham University Medical School for Freshers Day. She was helping out her colleaques from the BMA. Sue only does the occassional stint these days but always enjoys herself.
Ken & Keith went to a MacMillan Coffee Morning at the Reaside Centre, Ken then went off to work whilst Keith went into the Council House to visit the Lord Mayor's Parlour for another MacMillan cup of coffee. He met one of his constituents and had a long conversation about Longbridge.
Saturday morning was another busy day, Keith had to go to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital for their AGM so Ken did the advice centre at the Parish Council offices in Frankley. A word of thanks to the PC. They let us use the offices free of charge and of course someone has to turn up to open and close the office. Their time is freely given and we hope the residents appreciate all they do.
Keith was at the ROH as a member of the Members Council. It has been another successful year for the Trust which has gone from strength to strength under the chairmanship of Councillor Les Lawrence. Les stands down this month and we wish his successor all the best.
Later Keith went to the ICC for the Conservative Party National Convention of which he is a member through his chairmanship of the Northfield Association. David Cameron turned up at the end and made a speech which was very well received and sent us off in good heart. Keith managed to have a conversation with Michael Ashcroft afterwards and who knows we may get some more funding for Keely.
Afterwards all 3 of us where at the Longbridge Consultative Group at the Innovation Centre. The main topic of conversation was the Examination In Public which gets underway on the 14th October.
On Friday Sue was working all day at Birmingham University Medical School for Freshers Day. She was helping out her colleaques from the BMA. Sue only does the occassional stint these days but always enjoys herself.
Ken & Keith went to a MacMillan Coffee Morning at the Reaside Centre, Ken then went off to work whilst Keith went into the Council House to visit the Lord Mayor's Parlour for another MacMillan cup of coffee. He met one of his constituents and had a long conversation about Longbridge.
Saturday morning was another busy day, Keith had to go to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital for their AGM so Ken did the advice centre at the Parish Council offices in Frankley. A word of thanks to the PC. They let us use the offices free of charge and of course someone has to turn up to open and close the office. Their time is freely given and we hope the residents appreciate all they do.
Keith was at the ROH as a member of the Members Council. It has been another successful year for the Trust which has gone from strength to strength under the chairmanship of Councillor Les Lawrence. Les stands down this month and we wish his successor all the best.
Later Keith went to the ICC for the Conservative Party National Convention of which he is a member through his chairmanship of the Northfield Association. David Cameron turned up at the end and made a speech which was very well received and sent us off in good heart. Keith managed to have a conversation with Michael Ashcroft afterwards and who knows we may get some more funding for Keely.
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