Band of the Royal Marines and dressing the line

Men in uniform (2)

Last week we had the honour of seeing the officers and men and women, of H.M.S. Daring receiving the freedom of the City and then marching through the streets with drums playing, flags flying and bayonets fixed. It was a stirring sight and the crew were very well turned out.

Gerald and his wife, Thelma from Mothers in Pain and Arthur Ellis.

Keith with Gerald from Street Pastors.

A Winner!!!

Keith has been chairing a review into partnership working within Birmingham Reducing Gang Violence which looks at the efforts to combat guns and gangs in the city.
During this the group have visited some of the voluntary groups working in Lozells etc. to help young people in danger of being dragged into the street gangs there.
Keith nominated Young Disciples, Street Pastors and Mothers in Pain for the Community Awards run by United Streets of Birmingham. On the evening Keith was delight to see Street Pastors win their category and along with an excellent trophy received £1000.00 towards their efforts. This is money that will now contribute towards the work of this group which consists of about 70 people who go out on the streets of Lozells engaging with young people and helping them avoid the pitfalls that they face.

Help for Heroes

At the Kings Norton Carnival Keely organised a Tombola stall in aid of Help for Heroes which, as it says, provides help for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
All the local Conservative branches, including Northfield, Kings Norton, Longbridge, Weoley and Quinton, along with some local businesses, gave items to be won. We managed to raise £450.00 on the day and we had a great time doing it. Our local MP turned up and seemed so pleased to see us, he even bought some tickets. Alas he was a loser, but then again.....

Men in uniforms

During the summer the local Police and Fire Service, together with our Neighbourhood Workers and Apprentices, have been holding "All out" days when they get together to flood an area cleaning up, gathering intelligence and information and, in the case of the Firemen, fitting smoke detectors.
The last one was based at Deelands Hall on the Cock Hill estate and Keely was on hand to talk to local residents and help out with the refreshments. Here is a pic of Keely and Sue on the information stall.

Back again

Now the summer is more or less over its time to start posting again.
One of the problems is that if this is a form of diary after a while it starts to repeat itself. All 3 of us are also involved in the Party's election efforts and it is difficult sometimes not to give too much away to the opposition who we know monitor this site. Still here goes.
The last post was about the Euro Election Launch, as you know here in Northfield we had a successful night. We won the count and Labour were kicked into 3rd place. Our sensitive local MP was heard to tell his little band: smile and look happy. Whistling in the wind or what? The UKIP vote was really strong but it was in the context of a Euro election and during the MPs expenses scandal. Talking of which it seems our MP managed to claim for some Council Tax he was not entitled to and some spectacles, should have gone to Specsavers Richard!