On the Move

Well decision made, I am on the move to Northampton. By the end of the month! I haven't moved area in over 18 years and at the moment it feels a bit scary, but at least I can be useful to Anjona (I hope) and will be closer to my Dad. My Mum died at Easter and I no longer feel comfortable being so far away from him.

This is a huge decision, unfortunately the education system in Northampton at present leaves a lot to be desired and despite a great deal of effort being put in by Anjona and other Labour Party colleagues to get new schools built in areas they are most needed by local children and their families, progress (due to opposition from both the Lib Dems and the Tories) is slow, so it has been decided that my son Russell will continue with his education in Kent and be remaining with his dad for the time being (at least until GCSE's are over). This will be the hardest part, but we have phones, we will have web-cams and visits back and forth and holidays, but education is so important and to move him now would not be in his best interests.

So time to pack, god I hate packing, my daughter Justine says it is because I have a butterfly brain and stuff like packing (and unpacking!) requires a form of organisation my brain finds very hard to cope with..........

Face Painting gets you noticed!!

So I am guilt ridden, I need to learn how to face-paint! I actually needed to learn how to face-paint yesterday when Anjona and I went to Kingsheath to support a local residents association event by providing free face painting for local children. After a slow start we were suddenly overwhelmed by huge numbers of children wanting their faces painted in every way imaginable from Spiderman to Bunny Rabbits. My inability to contribute meant that Anjona had to single handedly paint around 100 children's faces, so this is my next task, learn to face paint, all I need to do is find a willing child to practice on (our own having refused point blank, do they not trust me?).

But face painting gets you noticed, children like having their faces parents and the parents like it because we do it for FREE, and the added bonus is that when Anjona features in the press, or leaflets they may recognise her and consequently make the effort to vote for 'the face painting lady'! As a direct result of yesterdays activities Anjona has been invited to attend another community event next week and bring her paints!

If anyone has a willing child I can borrow to practice on I would be extremely grateful, otherwise I will have to go to the effort of capturing my son and tie him to a chair, not to mention never hearing the end of it!!!

Lets have a look at the NHS....

Why not, the NHS is one of the most amazing institutions in the world, so why do people insist on knocking it? My darling daughter Justine has spent the last 3 years training to be a Nurse, at the beginning of her course she was slightly sceptical, not susprising given the negative tales the press seem to love to print. Today however her passion for the NHS susprises me, she has seen first hand the improvements that have been made, even in the past three years, and cannot see herself working anywhere else.

I am very proud of her, not only for the achievement of qualifying (which was especially difficult as she is quite dyslexic) but also for the growth in her knowledge a belief, she has decided to campaign for the Labour Party at the next General Election, not just because her 'Aunty Jo' may be a candidate but because she wants to see a government who will maintain and continue to improve the standards of care provided by the NHS.

THE NEWS today is focusing on criticising the dental treatment available on the NHS, now I am annoyed! We forget what a huge organisation our health service is and that it will take time to improve everything. And things are improving, ten years ago when my daughter needed a brace we were unable to get treatment, ten years on when my son is in the same position we can, ok the waiting list is two years but it is better than no treatment at all. Ten years ago BUPA would not have been able to advertise services 'if you had to wait more than six weeks' for NHS treatment, it would have been at least two years for everything!!

So cast your minds back and realise how lucky we are as a nation to have such services and that we have a government that is prepared to make itself unpopular (especially in terms of taxation) to save it for us!

Strangely Interesting

It seems it is not only members of the Labour Party who are watching the outcome of the Northampton South selection, whether this is motivated by jealousy or just sheer bloody mindedness I don't know but sometimes it get's slightly irritating.

The latest bit of nonsense, regarding comments made by a certain Tory Councillor on Northampton County Council regarding Anjona's alleged conflict of interest (as Chief Exec of Northants Racial Euality Commission and frontrunner for Northampton South) must have taken some finding, personally I do not regularly read the blogs of minor Tory politicians, but maybe I should......

Regarding the comments made by the aforementioned Tory Councillor, it would not be unreasonable to suppose that in reality the Tories are shit scared that Anjona will be selected, because if she is they stand a very good chance of losing the seat. Their vote will be split, partly because of the BNP and partly because their vote is not stable and with a good local candidate many will return to voting Labour. The seat is a marginal and personality wise, commitment wise, profile wise, Anjona beats Brian Binley hands down.

Actually I am quite grateful for all information received because at least it gives me something to write about, so thank you and keep it coming.....

Happy Tuesday

Hurray Hurray, my darling daughter has passed her driving test at last (4th attempt) so that will make her very useful at the next General Election! I hate politics, I hate meetings, I don't like Conferences much, and most of the current membership of the House of Commons, quite frankly leave me cold! But somehow, someway I keep finding myself being re-involved. It's like an addiction, one can go for weeks, sometimes months at a time convincing yourself you don't care, then, by accident you put the news on, and there it is, POLITICS. This addiction has become harder to fight over the past 5 years for which I hold my friend, Anjona Roy, wholly responsible.

So here I am, 5 years since she first stood for election, making plans for the next General Election whilst awaiting Northampton South to, hopefully, select her as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Leaflets, strategy, canvassing (preferably at least 95% by polling day), the BNP (who will certainly stand against her a) because she is asian, b) because she is a woman, but mostly c) because she is Chief Exec of Northamptonshire Racial Equality Commission (REC) and gets right up their noses by actively campaigning against them), lists, stickers, bodies (the technical term for how many people will be available polling day) and where I can get more from, hence the comment about daughter and driving!, cars, drivers, loudhailers, press coverage...........

So here it is, a political blog with a difference, from the back room as it were, where the leaflets are folded, where envelopes are stuffed, where doors are knocked on and dogs chase you (not often actually), where delivery maps are drawn (I get very upset when people lose my maps!), all the 'boring' stuff that can make the difference between winning and losing. Never forget the 7 P's, Proper Preperation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Hello happy shiny people