COPENHAGEN - REALITY

Why is everyone so worried that there will be no agreement in Copenhagen this week?
Does anyone honestly think that Copenhagen will be allowed to be a PR disaster?
In two days time, after a flurry of compromise and armlocks, commitments will be signed, broad grins all round (and no doubt Gordo will have saved the planet again) and everyone flies off - if their airline isn't on strike.
The US will then fail to ratify whatever treaty has been agreed.
It happened in Kyoto and it will happen again.
These earth summits have to happen - if only for raised awareness; but top-down target - driven initiatives are never the answer to anything.
The Cambridge City Council system of micro-community champions is far more likely to make a significant and long-term difference, as people become aware of the real-life consequences of their actions.
This low-cost initiaitive is certainly worth rolling out across other councils nationwide.

PAST IMPERFECT...

It's paranoia revisited.
All those sensations which - I was convinced - had been consigned to the past.
Ever-present low-level nausea. A distracted search for displacement activity. Trying not to watch the clock. Secret calculations. Loss of appetite. The stomach-flipping reflex when the 'phone rings or a text buzzes through.
No - I'm not in love... though looking at what I've just written, I'm sure a reader would conclude that I was; the symptoms are virtually identical.
No.
My darling daughter is jumping a new (and very young) horse in the ring this evening. She'll be working in just now - and I'm not there to check her girth, write her number on the board, find her hat, tie, spurs; chat up the ring steward, (could Jill still be there? surely not) hold the rugs, run up the stirrups, buy her a hot dog etc etc...
Most importantly, I'm not there to encourage her nor absorb her nervous outbursts.
And you'd think after ten exhausting, emotionally draining, financially punitive years on the road in a lorry, with Harriet, the ponies and horses, I'd be just so relieved that someone else was doing the whole freezing to death in the Cambridgeshire Fen thing this evening.
But in fact, although nowadays my horsey activity is limited to patting the odd nose and helpfully holding a bridle, I'm actually itching to be there.
So much so that at lunchtime, I very nearly decided to drive 3 hours back up to Cambs just to watch a couple of tiny clear rounds.
Good luck Harriet and Sassy... that's another half an hour accounted for, and she should have jumped by now...

JOB CLUB CHRISTMAS TREE

Had that first tingle of Christmas spirit on Friday, as Job Club decorated a tree for the St Peter's Annual Christmas Tree Festival.

The trees will be up until 21st December and are already attracting many visitors.

It's so good to feel that Shaftesbury Job Club www.shaftesburyjobclub.co.uk is becoming part of the town's thriving network of community organisations.

Next year, we'll do something themed.

For now, we've settled for contemporary and positive. Silver and gold with square lights on a black background. Symbolising hope. Very appropriate...

contact jobclub@jobclubshaftesbury.co.uk for more info.

A THOUGHTFUL CONFERENCE

The best Conference to date.
The tone was non-strident (of course - now the media says we're dull...)
The speeches were a reflection of thought and ideology - rather than crudely-strung soundbites.
There was a real feeling that shadow departments were really talking to each other wtih common purpose.
For anyone involved in the voluntary sector, it was hugely encouraging.
and I even got to ask a question during the Welfare Reform session - see it here - about 45 minutes in. (you can fast forward; but the session is well worth watching in full.)

http://www.livestream.com/conservatives/ondemand/flv_f51937a4-d1dd-48fb-b13d-8d5ad8a43552?initthumburl=http://mogulus-user-files.s3.amazonaws.com/chconservatives/2009/10/07/f51937a4-d1dd-48fb-b13d-8d5ad8a43552_2600.jpg

Now back to reality.
After talking about Job Club & 50+ all week, it will be great to be there again!

PM ON RADIO 4 TODAY...

PM on the Today programme.
OBFUSCATION ON DETAILS OF SPENDING 2010 -2011
What Gordon is actually waiting for is the recommendations of Total Place, due Feb 2010, to massage the details of his spending policy.
Total Place, by the way, is a classic, top-down Whitehall betise; and YOU are paying for it.
Lots of words, system-heavy, endless duplication, employing expensive consultants.
You'd think they had enough highly-paid officers to make these decisions; but no, LG officers aren't sufficiently highly-paid to think nor to express firm opinions.
They follow systemic practice and make incomprehensible statements, heavy with impentrable jargon.
Here in Dorset,Bournemouth & Poole ( our Total Place sub-region) our chosen focus is services for older people.
Lobby your County Councillor - expose the fact that there has been no consultation WITH older people OR their agencies to date!
I have been appointed to the Board - the only voluntary, unpaid member of course, and will bring a practical perspective.
But I will be the voice of logic and reality in a land of nonsense.

JOB CLUB WEBSITE LIVE...

Really good news to start the day - Job Club website is now live online.

Very many thanks to Mike at X-web designs for doing a great job.
www.shaftesburyjobclub.co.uk

JOB CLUB ...

from Nick Mason's blog...
http://www.nickmason.org.uk/?p=197#comment-88

BARMY LEGISLATION

jaw dropping story on BBC News about two women facing prosecution. Their crime? taking it turns to mind each other's children.
When I was a single parent, an informal evening child minding arrangement with a group of other single parents in the village gave is all social lifeline, as well as providing a supportive peer group for our children - as our LG officials would doubtless call it.
cannot believe that this wretched Government can now criminalise people who are trying to be mutually supportive in their communities.
We need to show that we will dismantle this pointless and damaging legislation.

TIED IN KNOTS AT JOB CLUB

One of our Job Club members asked us to assess his training skills.

As this member is a knotting expert - amongst many, many other things - we spent twenty very enjoyable minutes as we all struggled to turn our ropes into life-saving slings and winches.

I'm left-handed - with eleven thumbs - eat your heart out Ann Boleyn! But eventually, even I managed two of the simpler knots.

He must have been a good trainer!

Really good fun, great for waking the brain up and very useful.

We welcomed four new members to Shaftesbury Job Club yesterday as well as our regulars.

More jobs advertised around Shaftesbury this week - hopefully we'll be able to pair people up with some of them.

Our website is getting closer to launch - lookin forward to having that extra bit of communication.

So - If you know anyone who is looking for work, suggest to them that they might like to drop in next Friday - or any Friday - and see us in Toby's between 9am and 12noon.

LUCKY T-SHIRT & CANINE MASCOT

AS you can see in the pic, it was cold and windy; but at least it was dry.

I printed the T shirt the night before, using software "negotiated" as part of a PC World deal, when I bought my first computer ten years ago.

Really rather impressed, as the S/W was about the least intuitive I have come across...

Even more impressed was getting the transfer from its paper to the T-shirt.

It entailed my first ironing of the year!!!

The back ( which you can't see) is even better, and it certainly caught the eye!

I won the election - thanks to all of my wonderful supporters and advisers.

So I am now Councillor - Elect for Central Ward, Shaftesbury.

Thanks also to Justin Elesmore - my opponent - who was extremely courteous throughout.

... and NO.

I will NOT be running for mayor next year!

Great to have increased female representation on the Council by 100% - ie from 1 to 2!!

ROWING FOR SURE START

How great to see these guys working so hard to raise money for Sure Start. They were working in one hours shifts, and it did look pretty painful at times.
Supported in part by the Prince of Wales Trust, more money is always needed for different projects, and it's good to see people who are prepared to make a serious effort to get what they need.

50+ LUNCH CLUB

Third Shaftesbury & Villages 50+ Lunch Club, and we all had a great time at the Half Moon in Shaftesbury.

Excellent food and company - great value too.

The staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome, so we hope to return next year.

We were especially pleased to welcome some new members, and hope that they will join us again.

Thanks to Brian and Ann for organising the menu and publicity, Rachel for doing the ever-popular raffle and Diana for handling the money.

Next Lunch Club will be our Christmas knees up back at Amore- Wednesday, December 9th, so hope to see you all there - with lots of your friends & neighbours!

Before that we have a talk at Ashmore Village Hall - October 20th 10am - so bring your altitude pills. Then we have "Party like you did in 1959" at Shaftesbury RBL in the EVENING of Thursday, 12th November. Should be fun, so please ask us if you need a lift to any of these things.

We're always pleased to hear what you have to say, so do use this blog to comment, ring up, pr send an email.

CREDIT UNION - SHAFTESBURY OPENING

Went to the opening of Blackmore Vale Credit Union's newest outlet - in Shaftesbury. Great news for members, who won't have to go to Gillingham any more.

The Shaftesbury branch will be open every Thursday morning in St Peter's Church.

Shades of the moneylenders in the temple!

This is a seriously excellent grass-roots community project which deserves broader recognition.

Here's Bob Walter MP for North Dorset - already a Credit Union member - making his first deposit in Shaftesbury.

THE WORKERS...

These are the real workers...

Wonderful effort stuffing pledge letters.

delivering will be a challenge.

ALL DRESSED UP...

and let's go!

No mistaking our political affiliation, is there?

Strangely, the signs on Park Walk have attracted even more people than usual - townsfolk and tourists - who want to have a chat and look at the garden.

Off in a moment to start the evening's canvass.

Will probably be interrupting leisurely Bank Holiday barbecues this time...

I am so going to miss this all in ten days time.

BEEN SO BUSY... & CRICKET BATS

Well, you all know why there hasn't been any blogging from me recently.
It's been hard work taking abuse on the doorstep.
To misquote the then Sir Geoffrey Howe, I feel as if I'm on the 18th green, only to find that my putter has been stolen by the "Professionals" and I can't hole out.
I don't blame people for feeling sore.
The bleating self-justification that we've heard from certain MPs makes ME wonder what planet these soi-disant "Representatives" occupy.
Anyway - i'm still enjoying the campaign hugely.
Great to meet so many people, and who knows? we could still win this!
And talking of bats, (well - I did almost quote Lord Howe) here's a bit of light relief.
Must declare an interest of sorts: the inventor of the Mongoose Cricket Bat is my stepbrother!
Enjoy...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/twenty20/5370046/Mongoose-cricket-bat-set-to-take-Twenty20-by-storm.html

AFTERNOON WITH DON COLLIER

Had a great day with Don Collier, our Conservative European Parliamentary Candidate for the South West .
What a mouthful...
Introduced Don to the Shaftesbury Youth Project - Toby's - where Rosie Dawson told us about last year's visit to the European Parliament in Brussels and we discussed future funding.
We then went to the other end of the scale, and held an impromptu stump meeting at The Pavilions in St Martins Lane, one of Shaftesbury's sheltered housing complexes, organised for us by residents Jean Ellis and Yvonne Richardson.
The lively Q & A session ranged from Zimbabwe, border controls and Gibralter to local bus timetables, street cleaning and litter.
Very stimulating and the highlight of my campaign so far.
Huge thanks to Don - he'd be a brilliant operator in Brussels.
So fingers crossed for a huge vote.

IT'S OFFICIAL

OK - Nomination Papers for County Council Candidate presented and accepted at Democratic Services in Blandford.
So - it's real.
I'm standing for election on behalf of The Conservative Party and votes will be cast on 4th June.
Feeling nervous and exhilarated at the same time.
Visiting Toby's Youth Project with MEP candidate Don Collier this afternoon.
Toby's raised enough funds last year to send a group of children on a visit to the European Parliament, so very interesting for both of us to hear about it.
More later after tonight's doorstepping...

SHAKEN OF SHAFTESBURY

Bob Walter MP and I visited concerned residents in the Knapp last Friday.
If it wasn't enough to have their safety threatened by speeding and dangerous driving with vehicles using Tout Hill as a short cut to the Town Centre; their houses shake violently every time a lorry passes.
During our meeting - very efficiently arranged by Sue Foreman - we actually heard this for ourselves.
Windows rattled repeatedly as every passing car rammed into low gear before launching into its steep climb up the hill.
As one of the residents said, "Many of the streets in Shaftesbury were built before the advent of the combustion engine; we feel unsafe and the very fabric of our homes is suffering."
The Council has promised to look at the problem - and promised - and promised.
I am sure that Bob's intervention will bring swift practical results and commonsense solutions.
Or will there have to be a serious accident in The Knapp before someone takes notice?
I sincerely hope not.

POST BIRTHDAY & FOOD FESTIVAL

How lucky were we on Saturday for Shaftesbury's 5th Food Festival? Look at this pic of one of the stalls lining Park Walk!

Had a great time (in my Official Red T-Shirt) selling Bottle Tombola tickets - just a pound; WIN BEER, went down very well.

The tombola was in aid of Swans Trust, who give such huge support to so many great projects across Shaftesbury's annual calendar.

Was asked when the "pole dancing" was going to start!

Do hope that these people weren't too disappointed...

The MAYpole dancing was charming in its simplicity, accompanied by traditional Country music.

Tamara Essex, who organises the Festival, deserves every accolade for her tireless organisation, as does Charlie Turnbull for the Park Walk stalls.

More than one person noted that only Tamara could have got me to wear a RED t-shirt... & I'm back to true Tory Blue today

Anyway, it was great to see everyone enjoying a traffic-free High Street.

If I'm elected on 4th June, we'll look properly at the whole Shaftesbury traffic question.

And this time it will actually reflect what Shaftesbury people WANT.

Oh yes - my birthday...

fab relaxing day with lovely cards and pressies & lunch at Rushmore GC.

obviously NO CAKE as losing nicely at the moment. Don't want to ruin it!