The New Bournville College Longbridge

Below is a view of the new college taken from the Bristol Road.
Included is the gold coloured Conference Centre which some people had mistakenly thought was a "mosque" or prayer room. This colour scheme seems to divide opinion a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it.

The New Bournville College Longbridge

New Bournville College

Keith recently had a guided tour of the new building courtesy of the former Vice Principle. This was most welcome as Keith had worked for many years in supporting the proposal to bring the new building to Longbridge.
The new building is really impressive but it is not the bricks and mortar that is so important, it is the students working there and, foremost, the outcomes of those years of study they undertake. Keith was really impressed with the attitude of the College staff and the way they understand that the future of a lot of the students is tied up in the future of the new Neighbourhood Centre and the businesses which will bring new jobs to Longbridge.
One of the facilities Keith saw was the restaurant. This is an area which welcomes the public in to enjoy great food, at a cheaper price, cooked and served by students as part of their studies. There is also a hairdressing and beauty salon where the same applies, even a barber shop for us men. Also opening soon is a sports area with up to date equipment which local people will be welcome to use.
Details of prices and booking details will follow shortly.
Meanwhile thanks to the college and best wishes for the future.

Vaisakhi at Handsworth Park.

A great weekend with marvellous weather.On Saturday we dropped in to the St. George's Day celebrations at St. Stephen's Church in Edgewood Rd. We sat out in the garden and although only yards from a busy road it took on the atmosphere of an English country garden.
Then we called in to a birthday celebration for Vi Cannadine in Wolverton Rd. Vi is a stalwart of Longbridge Conservatives with over 50 years in the party. This was in honour of her 84th birthday and the house was packed with wellwishers.
On Sunday we were invited to the Vaisakhi celebrations in Handsworth Park. It was a great event and what a pleasure it was to walk among so many thousands of friends.

Vaisakhi

Pride of Longbridge at Cofton Park

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and Cofton Park was at it's finest for the annual Pride of Longbridge rally.
This event goes from strength to strength and this year saw increased crowds and what looked like more entrants than ever. Long may it continue.
There was a chance to see the new MG6 and a lot of interest to the latest car to roll out of the plant.

New

Old

Extended gym at Frankley leisure centre

Last week Keith and Sue enrolled at the newly extended gym at Frankley Community High School. This was housed in the former Lyttleton Suite but had become a victim of it's own success and needed a larger room.
Last year we decided to donate some Community Chest in order to fund the refurbishment of the room and the gym is now up and running.
Keith and Sue will be taking advantage of their leisure cards in order to maintain the high levels of fitness we busy Councillors need.

Trying out the equipment

Cleaning up Great Park

This morning Keith and Sue have been out with Violia's Social Responsibility Team, all volunteers, to carry out a clear up to a well used path on The Great Park.
This is close to the rear entrance to Morrison's, which generates a lot of rubbish, and goes up towards Green's fitness centre.
Many thanks to Green's for allowing us to use their car park but their customers do seem to think it is OK to throw away their empty hi-energy drink bottles over the fence.
We also removed 3 trolleys from the river as well as a lot of rubbish and leaves which Keith can be seen clearing.

Keith gets stuck in

The Violia team

No room at the (Village) inn

On Sunday Keith and Sue popped over to the NEC for an exhibition. The train service is excellent and much more relaxing than driving, as well as being greener of course.
On the way back we decided to get some lunch and went to the Village Inn at Cotteridge. No such luck, there was not a space to be had in the car park. So off to the Two for One at the corner of Lickey Rd and Groveley Lane. This also was packed out. We decided to try the Barnt Green inn which we had not visited for some years. Even here, at about 3.30pm, we had to wait for a table. On the way back we took a look at the Old Hare & Hounds and their car park was very full.
Now the Village Inn is not some exclusive venue for the well off, it does a really good carvery for about £9 and is aimed more for families on a budget but it makes you think about whether all the doom-mongers amongst us are right in everything they tell us about the state of the country. Last week Keith was in Nando's just off Broad St with some friend's (yes, even Conservatives have friends) which was very busy and across the way there was a long queue of young people waiting to get into a night-club, this on a Wednesday night. It seems that despite the rise in fuels, food and energy and pay freezes lots of people still have some disposable income which they choose to use to get out and enjoy themselves.

Running around Cofton Park.

Last Saturday was a busy one.
Keith started with an advice surgery at Frankley. Several people turned up as this is a very busy one for Keith.
Afterwards straight to Colmers School for the Northfield Constituency Convention where Ken was acting in his role as Constituency Chairman. This was well attended, mostly by community groups who do so much across Northfield as well as local politicians.
Then it was on to Cofton Park for the McCain X-Country Challenge. This is the 2nd time the event has taken place here and attracted large numbers of athletes and spectators from all parts of the country.
Keith and Sue welcomed the Lord Mayor as well as cheering on some of the competitors. A very successful event which adds to the growing reputation of Cofton Park as the place to be.

Some of the country's top athletes were there...and Keith.

Why you shouldn't buy a Sat-Nav from a market stall!

The athlete's village

Strung out

McCain X-Country Challenge

Hard times

These are difficult times for everyone. We know that Labour politicians are sick of us saying that they left us with a disaster to clean up but, as sick as it makes them, we have to keep on saying it. They would like everyone to forget the massive debts they built up and the deficit they left behind.
As a way of explaining it imagine a family where the weekly income is £400 per week, not unknown in Longbridge. Now imagine that the weekly outgoings are £500 per week, it would not take long for debts to mount up. First the bank loans, then the credit cards. after a while the amount having to be paid back mounts ever higher and no more borrowing is available, drastic steps have to be taken, you can decide your own course of action but first of all luxuries have to stop, cheaper food has to be bought, old clothes have to last longer. Most parents would make sacrifices for the sake of the children but eventually expenditure would be brought under control, debts would be reduced and a more stable financial state would be attained. Unless of course you were a Labour politician. In which case you could put off making the savings, continue borrowing and live the high life until your creditors pulled the plug and you find yourself without a home, without a car and without the ability to obtain credit
We know that all this debt has to be controlled at the same time prices all over the world are increasing. Oil, food, metals and raw materials are going up in price, largely through demand from China whose economy depends on them buying the world's resources, manufacturing goods from them and then exporting them to us at a time when our currency is weak due to the printing of money carried out under the Labour Government. To be fair they probably had little option due to the state their finances were in at the time.
So beware of the socialists peddling easy options and crying "Tory cuts!" They got it wrong then, they are getting it wrong now and they will continue to get it wrong because they don't know any better.
This month the Conservative/ Lib Dem partnership will present a budget that aim to save £330 million over the next 4 years, most of it in the first year. This has presented real dilemma s to all of us but it had to be done. Unlike Manchester's Labour Council it will not be a slash and burn budget but it will mean a lot of jobs will go and other staff will face reductions in their total incomes. Despite what Labour will say to paint us as cold hearted capitalists this is not a process that any of us have enjoyed and we all regret it's necessity but let us never forget who made it so necessary when we hear them talking so much Balls, Ed Balls that is.