Monday night is residents' night

Wendy and I were flat to the boards on Monday night

I was at the Newsham Park Festival working group meeting at 3.30pm at our great new academy. Met lots of lovely people who want to put something into this festival (on June 30th, put it in your diary, it will be GREAT). The theme we agreed last year for this festival is the heritage and 800th birthday of Liverpool, in a Kensington and Fairfield setting.

We had an impromptu poetry reading by a scouser called John I think, I didnt get his name but he has won lots of awards and is entertaining and thought provoking. He is going to host a poetry corner with a bit of luck and also go into schools to encourage them to write some poems. He read three poems, one about the Williamson tunnels, one about being a scouser and one about hugging trees (very appropriate for park festival). He was great.

Have promised to help with marketing. Good to see local residents taking the lead in the planning in conjunction with the school. No sign of Cllr Invisible or his colleague.

Wendy and I then rushed off to GEARS residents meeting in Latham Court. Very useful meeting. Some very serious anti-social behaviour kicking off in this usually quiet and very well together community. The penny bench has been damaged which is really gutting. Names were named, have passed it all on and promised to be a professional witness if necessary. Told them the good news about McAlpines agreeing to support our request for a crossing on Prescot Road/Laurel Road.

We had to leave early to rush off again to FARA residents (leaving one early and turning up at the other late, what a shame, but it is important to go and listen and take away concerns, even if you cannot always do the whole agenda).

We arrived at FARA to see both Cllr Invisible and his mate sitting in the meeting. We fainted clean away and had to be revived with cold drinks. (That might not be strictly true)

When it came to the Councillors' report section the Chair was flummoxed. She is only used to Wendy and me being there, suddenly, as she herself said there were "four councillors" present. Wendy was waving frantically and pointing at herself and shaking her head, but the Chair had got into her stride. Four councillors they had and that was that.

We all had a go at giving a report, obviously mine was a bit more relevant as I managed to restrict myself to talking about things that affected THEIR area, rather than somewhere else. Wouldn't you think after 30 years that some councillors would know which associations covered where?

The bit that really made me cross though was when Cllr Never Heard of Him and Never Met Him and Who did you Say He Was got up to talk about the houses on Prescot Road.

Much much much more about this later

Left meeting with lots of hugs and kisses and good wishes for the election. Several people said they hoped we hadnt been embarassed or wrong footed by their presence, quite the reverse said I.

Wendy said to me that one of the others took a lot of casework away, she said he would be bound to do it in case there were votes in it, I said that I wouldn't count on it.

Not sure which of us is the more cynical.