Runners and Riders!

(A horse racing reference there, it being the Grand National weekend at Aintree, that should bring a few extra readers to the blog and they need to know this!)

This is the list of candidates for the Kensington and Fairfield ward. No BNP candidate standing again, so we keep moving forward in terms of building community cohesion in our area. Great news!

There are five candidates
I am number 1 on the ballot paper (candidates are in alphabetical order) which is always a good place to be.
The other four are
Liberal Democrat (male)
Liberal Party Candidate and Local Resident (female)
The Conservative Party Candidate (female)
Green Party (male)

Sadly however the BNP are fielding candidates in
Anfield, Clubmoor, County, Everton, Fazakerley, Kirkdale, Norris Green and Old Swan

You will perhaps remember the points I made in 2008 questioning why the LibDems had not fielded a candidate in Norris Green when they knew this would put the BNP into second place? Someone posted anonymously in the comments to say they were gong to be the candidate but sadly had to drop out at the last minute. That comment turned out to be posted by a LibDem in Picton ward and was clearly not true. And just to prove it, guess what! The LibDems are not standing there again this year. Disgraceful!

Neither are they standing in Liberal stronghold Tuebrook and Stoneycroft this year, nor Clubmoor - where the Liberals come second, or Kirkdale or Everton.

Imagine. The LibDems run this council and one would assume they would like to carry on doing so, yet they dont even offer a candidate to voters in 5 wards. Add that to the 11 who have retired this year and we see a party in total disarray.

For my money, it is incumbent on all serious contenders, particularly those in power, to offer a "referendum on our record" option to every voter in the city. By not standing in a sixth of the seats, they are denying many voters that opportunity.

For the record, Labour, the Green Party and even the Conservative Party (Tories) have managed to field 30 candidates, a full slate.

Official Labour candidate for Kensington and Fairfield ward, Liverpool City Council

The letter came yesterday, advising me that my nomination papers have been successfully and formally accepted by Mr Returning Officer and I am the duly nominated Labour Candidate in the Kensington and Fairfield ward in the Liverpool City Council elections.

Exciting times!

You wont be surprised if I dont make many new entries over the next month. I will be far too busy working in the ward and across the Liverpool Wavertree Parliamentary Constituency.

We need to return a Labour MP if we are to stop David Cameron getting the keys to number 10. And I hope the good people of Kensington and Fairfield will also want to return this Labour councillor so that we can keep on top of all the good progress we are making in the ward.

I've got my poster up - thanks to the PM for sending it to me in advance so I could be ready. What about you?

Two youth clubs in one night

Last night I was in Central Youth Club with Wendy, to watch an animated film made by some of the young people with the help of Eek films.

The film, Stinky: A funny film about a smelly problem, will be on you-tube in due course I am sure and then I can link to it, in the meantime an early blog can be viewed here.

We have supported this particular special Thursday night group at the club for a couple of years now and it is great to see them grow and develop. We gave out a lot of certificates too. Very well done to everyone - young people, parents, youth workers, volunteers, Tony, Simon, Tim...

From there I went over to Edge Hill Youth Club to join in the competition - grown-ups versus children and young people in the big Wii challenge. The grownups being mainly local community police, dressed in casual clothes, building up relationships and making contacts with the club and its attendees. The event was organised by Maria Curran in one of her last acts in post before she leaves Kensington Regeneration at the end of the programme.

Well done Maria, and well done to all the PCSOs and RSL Housing Officers and other members of the Community Safety Task Group who came along. I just missed Luciana by a few minutes, I bet she was a good ten pin bowler too!

Unveiling a plaque in memory of David Lewis

Arnold Lewis, Jewish Archivist and fellow member of the Deane Road Jewish Cemetery committee kindly invited me on Wednesday to the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate David Lewis.



It has been placed on the side of Lewis's building on Ranelagh Street.

David was born in London in 1823 and died in 1885 in Liverpool, having established Lewis's Department stores in Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and other cities.

Saul Marks tells us that "Lewis established strong ethics at the outset, which would be the foundation of his businesses: he refused to haggle; he would fix a low price and stick to it; he did not give credit; he was always willing to exchange unsatisfactory goods; he never borrowed money; and he always fed his profits back into the business"

He was a very generous benefactor and after his death a trust he had set up in his name built the David Lewis Northern Hospital and also a hostel and club for seafarers, endowed the Princes Road Synagogue

He is buried in Deane Road Jewish Cemetery, Kensington (although it was described as being in Fairfield when it was first opened).

It was a lovely morning, the ceremony was performed by a great great nephew of David and also by Steve Binns, our marvellous local historian who reminded us that Lewis saw his stores as "friends of the people" selling goods "within the reach of the masses". There was quite a crowd there to celebrate this special event.

Afterwards we retired for lunch in the Green Fish Cafe, and very nice it was too.

Well done to Arnold (no relation, sadly) for all his hard work in making this day possible and fulfilling a dream he had for 3 years.

What a bitter shame that the unveiling came in the same week as the announcement that the store was to close (again) because it is not making enough money. Still, at least the facade has been protected, and anything new built here will have to be built within the skin of the store. People will still be "meeting under a statue exceedingly bare" for a long time to come

Pictured: Details of plaque, picture of David Lewis, and Arnold Lewis and me admiring the plaque in situ

Getting on top!

I have had a couple of very productive days and worked really hard to clear the decks. There are two elections soon, if you had not noticed, both extremely important to me. Obviously on a personal basis, I await the verdict of the good people of Kensington and Fairfield on my first term in office as their councillor. But equally it will be no good to me, or them, if I am elected but we lose our Labour MP, so I am very keen to see Luciana Berger returned in a General Election too.

So, after some nose to grindstone activity, I can report that I am on top of

* my casework - four years worth to go over and double check, have I done everything I could?

* my emails - 400 cleared out this weekend - professional and personal. Please will no-one write to me for a bit?

* my blog - all the important community events (except for the One World Festival which I am still waiting for a JPEG of) are now all posted up.

* my pile of papers in the dining room - I have been through the whole lot, done what needs to be done, answered important letters, filled in forms, questionnaires, sent off responses

* my washing - two empty laundry bags!

The car is already booked in for the MOT and service in June (thanks to the lovely people at Nationwide AutoCentre who know me better than I know myself, some deadlines cannot be missed!)

I have switched to British Gas for my dual fuel, finally, don't know what took me so long.

I have had my hair cut and booked my next appointment already (radical, why did it take me so long to realise you could do this from one appointment to the next?)

And, guess what? MY NEW JUMPER HAS COME!! The lovely people in the Shetlands have taken a gamble on the claim for the stolen parcel and knitted me a new one. It came today. Very good for winter (arriving at the outset of Spring is a bitter irony) but I will love wearing it next year, fabulous!

So the decks are now all cleared for the elections, bring them on!

(Oh and I had a letter today to tell me I had been nominated for a regional award, not that I am holding my breath, but it is lovely to have been thought of).

Car Boot Sale Liverpool 28th March 2010

Two reasons to visit the Academy of St Francis of Assisi on Sunday 28th March - it is the One World Festival (I am still waiting for a JPEG of that so that I can share it with you) and a car boot sale. This is a pilot and if it goes well other car boot sales will follow.

Love Music Hate Racism - video from YouTube

This is well worth a watch, particularly if you will have the opportunity to vote for the first time in the next General Election. It talks about how your vote can stop the BNP from winning power. I hope older readers will share this with their younger friends and relatives.

BME Inclusive Community event - March 27th 2010

I have been asked to speak at this important event in Fairfield next weekend. The group has been set up to continue the BME development work that has been developed by Martin Pinder and his colleagues at Kensington Regeneration, now that the programme is coming to an end. It aims to bring together all of the different peoples of the area, from their many backgrounds, to work on certain issues for the BME community like accessing social housing provision and setting up in business for instance. If you are a member of the BME community or you provide services to them, then you would be doing yourself a big favour by coming along.

To Kill a Mocking Bird - final event in the Kensington Remembers programme

Kensington Remembers, which I chair, has been running a Diversity Film Festival for the last 6 months or so.

Our final film is on Tuesday night, 23rd March, at Venture House on Boaler Street, L6

All free, come for 6.30pm for something to eat, the film starts at 7pm. I am introducing the event and we have Taher Ali Qassim from the PCT to chair the discussions afterwards.

It is a terrific film from 1962, based on a Pulitzer prize winning book by Harper Lee written in 1960. Gregory Peck stars as Atticus Finch, a white lawyer defending a black man charged with raping a white woman. In 2003, the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century.

If you would like to come, and I sure that you will, please phone Kenny Regen on 0151 2336136 to book your place.

Another fantastic Kensington International Food Festival

Wendy, Liam, Luciana and I really enjoyed the Kensington Food Festival. A 6 hour festival, we took shifts to ensure that at least one of us was there at all times to appreciate, enjoy and share this great day with our local residents.

It is my favourite event in the Kensington and Fairfield calendar. We work very hard in our area to enhance and develop community cohesion - no room for the fascist BNP here, thank you very much - and the food festival is the most successful. Upwards of 500 people joined together today at Kensington Infant and Junior School to eat great food from around the world, prepared by people from those countries who now live in Kensington or Fairfield. We were entertained by singers, dancers, drummers and performers from around the world while we ate.

Young and old sat together to eat, to laugh, to chat and get to know each other. The children, from all global backgrounds, with beautiful painted faces thanks to the United Colours of Kensington face-painting team, played together, ran round the room, danced freely on the stage between performances to great music from our DJ - a woman initially from the Middle East - and had a whale of a time.

A massive thank you and congratulations to everyone, and in particular to Maria Barrington, Thierry Bwaku, Maria Curran, Martin Pinder, HEAT and all the volunteers.

(Photo: Wendy and me with friends at the KIFF)

Cultural Champions unveiled at Liverpool Town Hall

I was delighted to be at a special event in Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday night to discover the identities of our new Community Cultural Champions.

"Not the usual suspects" was the ringing endorsement around the room.

The five people who have been chosen to work within neighbourhoods to attend cultural events and blog about them, and then update neighbourhood committees regularly with their experiences, are ordinary Liverpool folk. They are not professional culture vultures, they are residents who have come to culture particularly because of their happy experiences during 2008, European City of Culture.

Our neighbourhood (City and North Liverpool) now has Donna Williamson of Vauxhall to take on this really interesting role. As the chair of the neighbourhood, I really look forward to working with her over the coming year.

We had a fabulous evening, I sat with some really great women, I didn't catch all of their names, but they know who they are. We had a wonderful time, chatting, giggling and celebrating the city's culture. I sat next to Kathy Mcardle from Find Your Talent (we particularly loved the world cup football bid dvd, especially the bit where the Liver Birds kicked a football about) and a woman from South Liverpool who works with young people. Also we had one of the organisers of the event on our table, Alesha, I dont think that is spelt right and I did a bit of a google but could not hit on the right one. She and her colleagues did us proud.

The food was gorgeous too, so often food produced en masse is horrible but this was extremely good. Well done to the Town Hall caterers.

But mostly, I want to say well done to all the applicants, all the shortlisted candidates and the successful 5 champions!

Sergeant Simon Joyce is set to stay in Kensington and Fairfield

Hurrah!

Great news for our fight against crime and anti-social behaviour in L7.






The Kensington New Deal police team, funded by Kensington Regeneration would have been scrapped at the end of March when the programme comes to an end.

But police chiefs in Merseyside are so impressed with the sterling community work carried out by Sergeant Joyce and his award winning team that they have been granted a stay of execution. Simon will stay on and continue the excellent work in L7, working with residents, partners, agencies and councillors to reduce crime in our area.

Drug raids in Fairfield

I have had this email from the local police which I wanted to share with you. When residents work together with the police and local councillors, we have great results in our fight against crime.

At 0915 hours today Tuesday 16th March 2010, 18 officers from Tuebrook Police Station and Walton Lane Police station executed two warrants at addresses on Prescot Road after a number of complaints and calls had been made to the Kensington & Fairfield Neighbourhood Police Team.

Negative result at one of the premises, but on arrival at the second premises, drugs were being flushed down the toilet, which were able to be seized in the 'nick of time'.

16 wraps of Cocaine were recovered and 4 males from Kensington have been arrested for possession with intent to supply.

As when and if there are successful prosecutions we will work with the landlords to see if they and their families can be evicted.

New Community Safety Task Group for Kensington and Fairfield (and Kensington Fields and Edge Hill)

Residents, police, youth services, housing associations, domestic violence workers, Liverpool City Council Anti Social Behaviour Unit, community wardens and Labour councillors were at a special meeting this week to create a new Community Safety Task Group for our area.

Kensington Regeneration has been hosting a similar group for over 6 years, based on the New Deal area. That comes to an end with the closure of the programme but residents and all the involved agencies were not prepared to see this vital work come to an end. Also ending is the As One group, which has focussed principally on providing and supporting diversionary activities for young people to keep them away from anti-social behaviour and whose chair, Gill, has been financed through Kenny Regen too.

We owe a debt of thanks to Maria Curran, Alan Kelly, Gill Passmore and her predecessors, also Lisa Shearwood-Vingoe of C7, they have achieved great things through the creation of the two groups and I know they are delighted that the work will go on.

Crime and anti-social behaviour have fallen significantly in Kensington over recent years, relations between community police and residents has never been better and people are very keen now to come forward and report crimes and concerns that they have.

After discussions and deliberations we have agreed to merge the two groups together and to widen the geography to include the rest of the Kensington and Fairfield ward.

Local residents and organisations in L6 will now be invited to join and Venture Housing Association have agreed to host and facilitate the meetings.

It is a real win win.

Liverpool City Council's Hate Crime Policy is on its way

I had a really useful meeting last week with the head of Community Safety and her colleague, who are currently consulting on a Hate Crime Policy for the city. The policy explains what processes should be followed if a member of the public, a member of staff or a councillor report an incident of hate crime. They plan a triage system where an early assessment is made as to which cases need referring straight to the police and which require internal investigation and appropriate action. The Anti-Social Behaviour unit will play a big role so it will need to be better resourced - something else I have been talking to officers about. As a member of the Community Cohesion and Equalities Task Group, I thought I should give some real time to the consultation, which comes to an end next week. So we went over the policy, line by line and I hope I was able to make some useful additions and suggestions. I was very interested to learn that the officers who have carried out this work, believe that we may be the first council to adopt such a policy - when that time comes.

Liverpool Wavertree Labour Party social

Liverpool Wavertree Labour Party had a very successful and most enjoyable social last week at the Eastern Diner on Allerton Road. We packed the restaurant and enjoyed great company. Luciana was on top form as the host and the K&F councillors drew the raffle (you have to have a raffle don't you!) The team goes from strength to strength and we particularly welcomed some of our new activists, all doing great work getting our message out on the doorstep. We should do it more often guys!

LibDems attack CCTV

I see that Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats is not in favour of CCTV cameras. He is against the "endless snooping" he says and wants people to vote LibDem "to take their privacy back".

I cannot see that going down well in Kensington and Fairfield. We are always being contacted by residents who want more cameras, not fewer. They know how important they have been in the fight against crime on our streets.

Update on the stolen parcel/jumper saga

I have been reading a rather implausible story in the Echo tonight about a postman in bother with the law. He claimed that the reason he did not deliver mail that he was meant to and instead stashed it in his flat, was because he had difficulties with riding his Royal Mail bike because of injuries to certain ahem "delicate" parts of his body.

It reminded me that you need an update on the "Viking" saga (thanks Coline!) of the stolen parcel containing my Christmas jumper.

I got a letter on Monday from the Royal Mail telling me that the lovely people in the Shetlands have now made a claim for the loss. They asked me to confirm that the parcel had never arrived, that I had alerted the sender to the loss and whether I had been in touch with RM myself.

Helloooooooooooooo, is there anyone listening at Royal Mail?

I have of course written back to tell them that their own Delivery Office manager in Wellington Road (Liverpool South East PDO) told me himself, with much embarassment, about the theft of the van with not just my parcel but lots of other people's Christmas presents.

The irony is that the senders told them all this on the form. How many more hoops are we going to have to go through?

By the time the money is released to allow a new jumper to be knitted, it will be high summer!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all.

Here are a couple of pics of flags going up today in Liverpool, (sometimes described with tongue in cheek as the second city of Eire). (Park Place and Wavertree Road)


Tabhair dom an rud céanna mar atá ag an fhear ar an urlár! ;-)

A bit more about the door knocking...

Incidentally, whilst on the subject of door knocking, I am amused by LibDem attempts on other websites to suggest that Labour's support is fracturing or moving away in Kensington and Fairfield. I don't know who they think reads the things they write, other than politicos, so I don't know who they think are kidding.

I can tell you with total honesty and my hand on my heart, our support is as strong as ever, if not more so, as more people meet us and work with us as the years go by.

People like what we have been doing in the area, they like our availability, our success rate in dealing with their casework, or advocating their projects. They like seeing us often, having us attend their events and community meetings, they like being able to contact us 7 days a week in a whole variety of ways, they like it that they actually know us, know our names, can have us in for a cup of tea and a catch-up, they feel involved, included and listened to.

This is what representative democracy is meant to be about. I often say to my constituents that the only reason we have councillors is because the 9500 people who live in the ward (and their children) cannot all fit in the Town Hall to discuss local issues, so they need to choose someone to go on their behalf and speak the words they would say if they were there instead.

We continue to grow our list of Labour supporters and it is now bigger than it has ever been while I have been here. This is a fact, not supposition, pysch opps or propaganda.

I genuinely believe that Labour has been doing a good job in Kensington and Fairfield tackling local issues and we will be judged on our record in a few months time.

Whilst the silly little boys in the Garmoyle (LibDem HQ) spend their hours dreaming up new ways to tell lies about us (and especially me) in the hope that they will win a few votes from us, we are genuinely doing our best, putting in the hours, for our residents. Perhaps it is because the aforementioned have never been councillors. I only hope that if they do become part of the process of representative democracy, the scales will fall from their eyes and they will truly understand what our purpose is. There are members on the LibDems benches who will know exactly what I am talking about. They would agree with me that a chamber full of no-marks with nothing to contribute, no passion, no ideas, no dreams of a better way, no idea about policy, is a democratic nightmare.

If you wish for power through the ballot box then you have to know what you will do with it once you have it. It is not enough merely to win it.

It's all go!

Someone once described me as a busy busy bee, while another talked about me as the councillor with the duracell batteries (mind you, I am less impressed with the suggestion that I may only have a year of service left if he has his way!). After a week like this I have to concur; my feet are throbbing and my notebook is full of ticked "to do" lists, I have been busy with a capital B, batteries or no batteries, but it is all in a good cause, as always.

This week I spent a full day in Venture Housing Association the key RSL for Liverpool 6, where I sit on the board, hopefully helping to guide us to a better inspection report next time. And that evening I joined the steering group for Liverpool Pride (planned for August 7th, put it in your diary). On Tuesday, after a day doing my regular employment, I was out door knocking for a few hours. On Wednesday I got my new glasses, met my old boss for lunch, knocked on some more doors, did a pile of casework and made some home visits to housebound constituents. On Thursday I was at our Phythian surgery where we celebrated with residents from one particular Close who with our help have finally been recognised by their RSL and are now in the programme for decent homes - windows, doors, kitchens, bathrooms and central heating are finally on their way. KVfm Radio Forum was good fun, hearing from different people about the shows they have planned - we councillors have committed to a monthly show online from June. Friday was emotional. I went to work in the morning but took annual leave in the afternoon to celebrate the life of Karen Harold. Standing room only in the Anglican cathedral, that tells you something about how important Karen is to the people of Kensington and Fairfield and Liverpool. I thought Bishop James Jones did a particularly good job with his reflections and testimony about a life, short but well lived. Friday's surgery was also very well attended, with lots of interesting casework and one man who came in to show me his collection of LibDem literature he has kept and challenged over the years. There will be no succour for their candidate if he knocks on that door in this campaign! Today I was speaking at the Love Music Hate Racism Unite Against Fascism conference in Liverpool JMU, telling them about the work of Kensington Remembers which I chair, the Meet your Neighbours series of events organised by Merseyside Polonia and inviting people to visit the International Food Festival next weekend. This was followed by another couple of hours on the doorstep.

Tonight I have kicked off my shoes (actually I have kicked off my new pink DMs to be strictly correct) and am eating sweets and crisps and other Saturday night goodies, watching films, drinking a glass of wine and generally relaxing. Tomorrow I am going to see my lovely Mum for Mother's Day.

11 Liberal Democrat Councillors to retire in Liverpool local elections

Yes, you did read that correctly, 11 of the 46 LibDem councillors in Liverpool are standing down in May 2010.

The Daily Post reports the full list here

Some of them are absolutely understandable and deserved the applause in the final council meeting of their terms in office - Councillor Trevor Jones and Councillor Roger Johnson for instance, have had a long life of public service and fully deserve a restful retirement. Councillor Paul Clark likewise, makes in my view a pragmatic decision to leave the council on a high, having served recently as Lord Mayor, and with an equally long period of service. This is much more dignified than leaving through the ballot box. If I were in his position, after his years of service, I think I would make the same choice.

Other of the retirements are also entirely to be expected - Hirst, convicted of electoral crime, should have stood down 15 months ago when he was found guilty, or 12 months ago when he lost his appeal. There will be no tears shed in Wavertree ward - and I speak as a resident thereof.

And neither will there be hankies waved in Croxteth as the defector who kept the LibDems in power for 2 years, Nadia Stewart, leaves the political stage.

Colin Eldridge leaves to concentrate his attention on the General election where he is a candidate in the marginal constituency of Liverpool Wavertree. Given the kicking the LibDems gave my co-councillor Liam Robinson for daring to put his name forward for Kensington and Fairfield, whilst cutting his teeth as a first-time Parliamentary candidate in Fylde for the General Election (where the Labour Party has never won), Eldridge had no choice but to put his money where his mouth is. He and his apparatchiks would know that the charge of hypocrisy would ring loudly across Liverpool Wavertree if he had not stood down.

What is more curious is why Councillors Josie Mullen, Jean Seddon, Andrew Tremarco, Linda Jane Buckle and Peter Allen are leaving the council. Are they dispirited with the job? with their party nationally or locally? do they fear defeat through the ballot box? did they jump or were they pushed? I like Josie and Andrew, I am sorry to see them both leave. I have not really met the others, we have not shared any committees that I can recall and have never worked together on any panels or projects.

And who will stand in their places?

That is an equally interesting question.

Keeping it in the family?

How many of the new candidates will be partners or family members of the rump left behind, rearranging the sun loungers?

I understand that the LibDem candidate in Wavertree ward is the partner of Councillor Keith Turner, his ex-wife being on the council already, her own partner was defeated at the polls 2 years ago.

I have heard that Peter Allen's defeated wife in 2008 in St Michael's is standing again but in Greenbank ward. The husband of Jean Seddon who is standing down, stood unsuccessfully in Fazakerley ward last month, will he try again? I am told that the LibDem candidate in Knotty Ash is the girlfriend of one of the councillors there.

Currently we have four Cleins (the third biggest party in Liverpool as Paul told the chamber to great acclaim a few meetings ago), two Clucas', two Gould's, two Kemp's, all those Turner links... while the Allens and the Jones's double acts finished in 2008.

I look forward to reading Brocklebank or David Bartlett as they attempt to construct the new LibDem family trees after May 6th.

What about the Labour Party's family trees? I hear you ask... A fair question, I think I am right in saying that one councillor is the partner of another councillor's daughter and of course it goes without saying that it would be wonderful if Joanne Anderson was able to join her father on the Labour benches, but that is the extent of our connectivity just now as far as I know.

I am amazed frankly, at the scale of these retirements. Very nearly a quarter of the LibDem group are leaving. Contrast this with the Labour Group, Green Party and Liberal Party - not a single retirement between us - and we are 44 strong.

You must arrive at your own conclusions about these 11 retirements but I do think it is a question worth posing. Would a confident group be haemorrhaging like this?

3G SIM

I have just upgraded my phone with a 3G SIM. I am not sure what difference it is going to make, but it was free and the woman at o2 seemed to think my life would not be complete without one. What a pain though, doing the transfers of data from old SIM to phone to new SIM, making sure I have saved all my phone contacts, text messages and photos. Fingers crossed that nothing precious has been lost.

City and North Liverpool Neighbourhood Area Agreement

You may be interested to read our Neighbourhood Area Agreement, formulated over time, a document that continues to change and develop in accordance with the priorities of our residents in our area. The neighbourhood covers the wards of Riverside, Kirkdale, Everton, Kensington and Fairfield, Picton and Central (the city centre ward).

If it is slow to load, that will be because it is quite a big document and is hosted by the city council, not by my own software. But I think you will find it worth waiting for.

I would be interested in your comments, as will all of the councillors who have paid a key role in putting it together, along with residents, staff, the police, housing associations, the NHS and other organisations that we work with.

Has Spring sprung?

Spring is my favourite season. I adore spring flowers - daffodils, crocus, tulips and so on. But is it here yet? It is still bitterly cold out there, my hours spent knocking on doors each day tell me this. But according to the Meteorological Office, Spring began on March 1st. Personally I have always worked on the principle that Spring begins on March 21st (Summer on June 21st, Autumn on September 21st and Winter on December 21st). When do you think Spring begins? Surely it is not here yet?

I took this lovely photograph in Calderstones Park a few weeks ago of snowdrops - traditionally a winter flower, flowering well before Spring. I am yet to see a daffodil (we planted thousands of them in Pythian Park a few years ago, they are not up yet). What signs have you seen of Spring, if any?

Meet Your Neighbour events with Merseyside Polonia

Meet Your Neighbours

Merseyside Polonia would like to invite you for a special series of events celebrating some of the fascinating cultures of Liverpool communities













· listen to native music and singing

· taste some delicious food

· experience traditional dancing

· find out about customs and traditions

· feel part of cultural communities



Friday, 12th March 2010 – 6.30 pm – 9 pm

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Gardner’s Drive, Liverpool, L6 7UR (by the main gate to Newsham Park, off Sheil Road)

Friday, 19th March 2010 – 6.30 pm – 9 pm

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Gardner’s Drive, Liverpool, L6 7UR (by the main gate to Newsham Park, off Sheil Road)

Friday, 26th March 2010 – 6.30 pm – 9 pm

Al Gazali Cultural Centre, 35 Earle Road, Liverpool, L7 6HD

It’s open and free to everyone

Meet Your Neighbours project is developed and delivered in partnership with Merseyside Polonia, Yellow House, Citysafe, LCVS and Kensington Regeneration.

Labour NW LGBT and Young Co-operators campaigning in Liverpool Wavertree

Our campaign had a big boost a few weeks ago thanks to the help and support of enthusiastic LGBT Labour members and Young Co-operators from across the NW. (I only just got the photos through)

The team that helped in Kensington and Fairfield delivered 3000 leaflets, made 300 contacts on the doorstep (and ate 30 hot cross buns)!

You guys are amazing! A big thank you to everyone, it really lifts the spirit to see so many young people actively engaged in politics and campaigning and it was good to catch up news as we retired to the pub afterwards.

Karen Harold RIP

(Note change of time for funeral service, now moved to 2pm)

Karen Harold was an extraordinary woman, a very hard working and extremely well respected Liverpool City Council Officer. But she was also a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend to many.

I first met her in 2006 when I was elected to the City Council and Karen was one of the Community Officers for Kensington Regeneration. You only had to meet Karen once to become her friend. She was a warm-hearted, enthusiastic advocate for her residents, she loved working with people, sharing their dreams, their joy and their plans but also sympathising with them over their difficulties. If you had Karen on your side then you could take on the world. But her enthusiasm did not run only to her official work, she was also a keen volunteer working in her community in Fairfield, Kensington and across Liverpool on all sorts of projects and committees in her own time.

I last saw her only a few weeks ago when she was with her family, supporting her mother's successful bid for funds for the Kensington Majorettes at the Participatory Budgeting meeting for our area. We hugged - Karen was someone with whom hugging was mandatory - and caught up on how she was doing in her new job. I was delighted to hear how much she was enjoying it.

It was therefore devastating to hear the news that Karen suffered a massive stroke on Friday and never recovered from the ensuing blood clot. Her life support machine was subsequently turned off a few days later.

In true Karen fashion, she had already organised with Kevin her husband what she wanted and she donated many of her organs.

Maria Curran, Karen's friend and colleague (pictured above with Karen) has said "She had the biggest heart and her arms would have spread around the world if they could and never think about the time it would take to make a difference. Everyone’s time was her time. She was selfless, dedicated, a warm mother figure to everyone including me. I shared many emotional moments with Karen and was the recipient of many a Karen hug and welcomed the comfort I got there."

Laura Pover, another friend and colleague from Kensington Regeneration has said

"After speaking with her family it has been decided to put a collection together to make a donation to the Joseph Lappin Foundation. Joseph was a friend of Karen’s youngest son Greg but sadly Joseph was murdered last year. Karen has been involved heavily with a street campaign to get Guns and Knives off our streets ever since.

It is her family’s wish that there be no flowers but donations made to the above foundation. The foundation is in the early stages of development therefore if you would like to make a donation there is a collection ongoing in the Admin office at Kensington Regeneration at the Job Bank on Wavertree Road, and after Friday 5th March, Maria Curran in the upstairs office will take over from me with this."

Billy Maxwell, Liverpool City Council Neighbourhood Manager for Liverpool South Central said "We are deeply saddened. This unique, caring and much loved woman will be hugely missed".

The Bishop's Office advise that Karen's funeral is Friday 12th March at 2.00 at the Anglican Cathedral.

Happy Birthday to the Sound of Music

45 years old today!


When the dog barks, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favourite things and then I don't feel so bad...

Putting the vision back into Kensington

On Saturday when I was in London, I was sitting listening to a speech from the very back of a long room. I was sitting behind someone with a big head and as I moved from one side to the other, to see round him, it became obvious that whilst I could see the speaker pretty well with my left eye, when I moved the other way, I could see only a blur with my right eye. So I have been to specsavers today and had my eyes tested. As I suspected I need glasses for my distance vision and I picked out two pairs. One red, one purple, I do like to accessorise and they are lovely styles.
The optician did remind me that eyes degenerate with age and that I was lucky to have avoided wearing glasses up until now, but I guess I will have to wear them for a few weeks before I am fully converted. She said I would not be able to read or use my PC with them on, so I shall become one of those people with glasses perched upon my head, I suspect. I am picking them up next week. Even with the two pairs for the price of one option, I still paid out a king's ransome but it will be worth it if they help me to recognise people in the distance!

Walkabout on GEARS

I spent several hours walking round the GEARS streets in Fairfield this afternoon with the Chair of the TRA assessing the environmental enhancement works carried out by Kensington CIC. The works are to be handed over at the end of July and we wanted to ensure that any snagging needs were captured before it is too late. It was sunny and quite warm outside of the shade and I was stopped by four different residents wanting to chat about local issues. One man wanted to talk about his plans to green his entry, while another wanted my help to secure playing time on the new football pitches at Newsham Park (due to open in September). This is one part of my job as a councillor that I really enjoy, catching up with the people who elected me and helping them to change their community for the better.

Further news on the succession strategy for Kensington Regeneration/CIC

I forgot to say that the officer responsible for negotiating the legal agreement with Kensington Regeneration about the succession strategy which will need to come into play at the end of this month when the programme comes to an end, came to brief us at the last District Committee.
He confirmed that all of the elements of the motion we passed in November are being very much taken into account while they prepare the legal agreement. So it seems we were able to make a difference. This must be good news for local people. I will let you have further details of that agreement once it has been formalised.

Liverpool - a Tory free zone

I was down in London today at the LGA and mentioned to a pal of mine about the poor showing of the Tories in the Warbreck byelection in Liverpool in 2007. They got 1.2% share of the vote. And in Speke ward in the same year, they got 1.4% share of the vote. So I was wondering how poor their returns were in the Fazakerley byelection last week (18th Feb). And it seems, having now checked, that they did not even bother to stand a candidate.

So there you have it, Liverpool is a Tory free zone.

I am not quite sure what Chris Grayling, Tory "Shadow Minister for Liverpool" would make of this. Nor am I sure how he can be the shadow of a post that does not actually exist in reality, but let's not get bogged down in that. How good a job is he doing if he cannot find a candidate in a Liverpool ward only a few months before a general election that they trumpet they will win?

Well done to my friend Louise Ashton-Armstrong who as a young mum and local business owner will be a great addition to our benches

Note from Liverpool Anti-Fascists about a demonstration

Note new date

PROTEST AGAINST THE BNP
WEDNESDAY MARCH 17th
VICTORIA MONUMENT, DERBY SQUARE
LIVERPOOL
9.15am

As you may know, Liverpool BNP's Peter Tierney faces trial at the
Crown Court, Derby Square on Wednesday March 17th. He's accused of
assaulting an anti-fascist last year.

We have demonstrated against the BNP at every one of Tierney's
appearances, and we are having a big effort to get people out on March
17th.

The protest starts at 9.15am. We want banners, flags, musicians
- you name it! We are urging anyone who can make it to be at this
demonstration.

Please spread the word, and let's show the BNP that their violence and
racism has no place in our city.

More information here

Liverpool Anti-Fascists
http://liveraf.wordpress.com/

Blogging at LGA Labour Spring Conference

I have spent an enjoyable day in London today at the LGA Spring Conference (Labour Group) giving a short presentation about the use of "new media" to aid more traditional forms of campaigning. Whilst I believe that there will never be any substitute for knocking on doors, it is useful to be able to supplement that work with other tools, so I talked about blogging, the benefits, the pitfalls, the hows, whys and wherefores.

I was joined on the platform by Councillor Mark Bennett who talked about his YouTube site where he uploads short videos he has made about issues in his ward - Streatham South in Lambeth and Councillor Stephen Cowan who is the leader of the opposition on Hammersmith and Fulham council. He has also made this fascinating video about the antics of the Tories in this their flagship borough.

I am very enthused about the idea of videos, I must say. If I could learn how to use my mobile phone to make such videos, I think this could be a really great addition to the campaign. So, if you want to offer to show me how to use my phone properly, we could have the show on the road very soon!

It was great to see some old friends at the conference too, a good day all round.

Fascism and Anti-Fascism conference

Please note the details of this important conference and book your tickets as shown below. I have now agreed to speak and will be talking about the work of Kensington Remembers to commemorate and reflect upon Holocaust and Genocide while promoting positive acceptance of diversity.

Fascism & Anti-Fascism : Conference
9.30am – 5pm
Saturday 13 March 2010
School of Social Science, LJMU, 68 Hope Street Liverpool


Organised by Merseyside Unite Against Fascism & Love Music Hate Racism in partnership with the Anthony Walker Foundation hosted by School of Social Science, Liverpool John Moores University. Supported by Liverpool Guild of Students.

In June 2009 the fascist British National Party (BNP) gained its first two seats in the European parliament with Nick Griffin elected as MEP in the North West. This election represents a turning point in British
politics. It is the most significant electoral success to date for a fascist party in this country. It threatens to normalise the presence of the BNP on the political scene in a similar manner to Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National in France.

The climate of racism against immigrants and Muslims, together with harsh and uncertain economic circumstances, have created conditions that have allowed the Nazis to grow.

With the general election looming this conference offers an opportunity to debate contemporary and historical issues in the struggle against fascism and the challenges we face today.

Sessions, speakers and panelists so far include :

Martin Smith (Love Music Hate Racism) on ‘What is Fascism?’.

Wilf Sullivan (TUC Race Equality Officer) heads a session on ‘Trade Unions, Community and Anti Fascism’ including Lavinia O’Connor (PCS), Paul Jenkins (North West UAF)

Nahella Ashraf (chair Manchester Stop the War Coalition) and Muhammad Umar - Chairman of Ramadhan Foundation speaking on ‘Islamophobia’.

John Rose (Independent author and intro author to Marek Endelman's 'The Ghetto Fights' speaks on ‘Resistance to the Nazis – The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising’.

Paul Holborow (Sec Anti Nazi League) and Councillor Stephen Munby on ‘Stopping the NF in the 70’s : Lessons for Last Time’.

Peter Hooten of The Farm and Baby J on ‘Love Music Hate Racism’.

Jon Garland (University of Leicester, co author of ‘Hate Crime: Impact, Causes, and Consequences’), Tony Lloyd (Anthony Walker Foundation) , Pura Ariza (UCU LGBT committee) on ‘Is Hate Crime Getting Worse?’.

The conference will close with a panel discussion on ‘How we stop the BNP today?’ including Weyman Bennett (Unite Against Fascism), Dominique Walker, Dannie Grufferty (Pres. Liverpool Guild of Students).

The conference is open to everyone and registration begins at 9.30am with the sessions starting at 10.15am. Advance tickets are available from News from Nowhere Bookshop, 96 Bold Street, L1 priced at £5 or by contacting Merseyside Love Music Hate Racism ( lmhrmersey@googlemail.com / 07908 202 006 )

There will be a free Love Music Hate Racism gig in the evening at Mello Mello, Slater Street with the Long Finger Bandits + The Stop Outs + DeeJays. Doors 7.30pm.

Facebook event

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=262350087688&ref=mf

Campaigning for Victory

Okay, everyone who is a true political campaigner learns that one should never talk about one's campaign activities because it gives too much away to the other side. And we should never talk about what work we have done, where we have done it, or how successful it has been. But leaving all that aside, I just want to say this, very quickly, and get it off my chest, then it need never be mentioned again.
Draws a deep breath.
WOW!!! Haven't we done well!
2000 recorded voter contacts (voting intentions recorded) in just two weeks. I don't think I have ever been in a constituency with a record like that. Even in 1997 in a proper key seat with the full might of the national party behind us, when we had hordes of keen volunteers every day, we never managed a rate like that. With the support of individual LP members, from Liverpool and some from Manchester and further afield, but not organised regionally, sourced from real enthusiasts, we have been able to reach huge numbers of local people on the doorstep (and a smaller number on phones, these mobile phone packages can be truly awesome if you sign up to them with one eye to the campaign possibilities). And I have been truly amazed by the size of the Labour promise. In my ward, which is quite important within our Parliamentary Constituency of Liverpool Wavertree, being the one with Labour representation locally, we are seeing our support increase day by day. It helps that I have four years of hard work to draw on and people are seeing the benefits of bringing their problems, concerns, wishes and hopes for their community to Labour councillors. We will go into this local election, and general election, in K&F with the largest number of Labour promises we have ever had to engage with. It really all feels worth the work. I am delighted.

Hunting for Treasure

I am flushed with success after my second very well received treasure hunt for my colleagues at Wilson Henry LLP, accountants on Edge Lane, Kensington. I spent time a week or so ago, on a Saturday afternoon, wandering round the Albert Dock and Pier Head, taking photos of things I thought might constitute a "clue" and then on Tuesday I had dispensation to spend the morning designing the clues and the treasure hunt paperwork. On Friday our team had a lovely afternoon, team building, visiting the dock, the Tate, the Piermaster's house and the Maritime Museum, followed by a short stroll to the Pier Head where they went into the new Ferry Terminal and looked at three great exhibitions in there.
I was amazed to learn that some colleagues who dont live in Liverpool but do live in Merseyside had never been to these places before so I hope they will be energised to visit again in future and take their friends, family and visitors for a real proper day out.
They were kind enough to buy me a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates for my efforts.
Result!

The future of Edge Hill Youth Club

As Chair of the District with a strong interest in young people, I continue to be very busy with Edge Hill Youth Club - "the Boysy". Readers will recall that the club's youth council invited me to a meeting some months ago following the successful Town Hall young people's Democracy and Engagement event where we really enjoyed each other's company. Most if not all of the Youth Council live in K&F rather than Edge Hill, so I have an extra reason to want to work with them, not just because of my district hat, but because they and the staff come from my ward in big numbers. Sadly our only youth club in the ward, the marvellous Central Youth Club (the "Cenny") realistically only serves Kensington, and the young people of Fairfield have nothing to serve them, so they travel to the Boysy. I also learnt that the Chair of the Club is a former Labour councillor although we had not met properly before I undertook this particular piece of work. The young people told me in the Town Hall about their worry about the future of their club, which they expected to lose almost on a daily basis and a few weeks later the invite arrived. They wanted me to become their "champion" and work with them as the club was destined to be demolished by the wreckers' ball as part of the development of the Edge Lane West scheme. I have met the young people very often since and have organised a series of meetings between the club's board and HMRI to make some progress after a two year lull. We now think we are much closer to a resolution, with a possible new location identified. Of course we still have to do the maths and it is too soon to say whether the plans will come to fruition, but when I went into the club last week I was very interested to talk to the young people (aged 5 - 18) about what they would like in a new club. Some of their free form ideas will never happen, given that they are based on some wonderful attractions they have visited, including reptile hothouses and swimming baths for instance! but many are very reasonable and with some serious fundraising we should be able to organise them - gymnasium equipment for instance.
Currently I am encouraging local people to collect Echo Wish Tokens for the club so if you dont have any other groups that you are collecting for, please start saving them for the Boysy.

Community Safety Task Group

Kensington Regeneration have been running and hosting the highly successful Community Safety Task Group for years now and Wendy, Liam and I are very regular attenders (with occasional attendances from councillors from Central and Picton but their interest, geographically, is only marginal compared to ours). Now that we are only 5 or 6 weeks away from the end of the NDC, we have had to make plans for its continuation, it is far too important to let go. So we have persuaded Venture Housing Association (where I am the Vice Chair of the Board) to take the group forward, adminstering to it and hosting it in the great community space on Boaler Street. We are also only days away from agreeing to merge the equally successful As One group (which works on funding diversionary activities for young people to keep them from committing anti-social behaviour and is also heavily supported by the NDC but also by us three on many projects) with the group.
We have also agreed to extend the boundaries of the group to include the L6 part of Kensington and Fairfield so we will cover the whole of our ward, Kensington Fields and Edge Hill. The latter two groups of residents attend the CSTG in large numbers and did not want to be left out. We three ward councillors have agreeed to carry on funding activities through our WNF or CCIF where bids are properly made for projects, even though they are not technically in our ward, because the geography is such that they feel closer to us and our residents than they do to the other parts of the wards in which they find themselves. Such are the vagaries of arbitrary ward boundaries.
I am looking forward to welcoming residents from the Molyneux, Phythian, Elm Park and Elm Vale to these successful very inclusive meetings in the future. It is really important that we maintain as much of the positive aspects of the NDC as we can, even after the partnership has dissolved.

The saga of the Christmas Jumper

You cannot fail but to be interested by the saga of my Christmas Jumper.

My Dad and StepMum in Cornwall, being very thoughtful people, heard that I was in the market for a new jumper for Christmas. They decided to go to the home of great knitwear to source one for me and ultimately ordered a very lovely little number from Victoria Gibson in the Shetlands.

It was despatched from the Islands and was much anticipated. I do love my jumpers!

When it failed to arrive before Christmas I was fairly sanguine, you will recall the big freeze that stopped any mail from arriving for at least a week (when the LibDems ran out of salt, grit and anything else that could be usefully used to get rid of the ice on our roads and pavements)

However, when it had not arrived in early January we realised there was a problem. The shop had sent the parcel by special delivery so I was able to track it and was told that as 3 weeks had passed, they were very sorry but I was to assume the parcel was lost and that Victoria Gibson needed to claim for the loss and use the money to knit a new jumper and send that on to me.

She duly submitted a claim only to be told, on Thursday last week, that the parcel was imminently about to be delivered.

So when it had still not arrived today, some 2 months after it was first posted, I went to the Liverpool SE Sorting Office on Wellington Road expecting to be able to pick it up. I didn't have the tracking number with me and the staff could not help me without it, apparently they keep the tracked items in a different place to the untracked items (I think that is a real flaw in the system, personally. Knowing my name and address was of no use to them in locating the item). I had to phone Dad in Cornwall who then had to phone the Shetlands and get the number and pass it back to me. I hung around in the Sorting Office for nearly half an hour while this went on. Then when I finally had the numbers, the staff went off to look for it.

After about 10 mins a man came into the waiting room, introduced himself as the manager and asked me to join him in his office, this sounded serious!

He very carefully explained to me that they had tracked my parcel down to the morning of 19th December when it had left their depot bound directly for my house. That it was being carried in an unmarked white hire van, hired to help them get through the large number of Christmas parcels and post, and that unlike the RM red vans, this van carried no tracking device. The Postman evidently left the engine running while delivering a parcel to someone else on his round, and while he was away from the vehicle, it was stolen by a passing opportunist. (How very convenient). This driver/postman has since been dismissed.

The manager told me that he had specifically asked the driver/postman whether he was carrying any special delivery items but the guy could not remember and any paperwork was in the van (another flaw in the system?) so they had believed that there were none until I arrived this morning.

He also said that he assumed that when Customer Services told Victoria Gibson last week that my parcel was imminently about to be delivered to me, they had read 19th December 2009 as 19th February 2010 (a flaw in the system perhaps?) and did really think that it was on its way to me. He also said that because the last thing on the system for the tracking clearly showed that it was setting off on its last lap from Wellington Road to my front door, that they had to think it was going to arrive with me at any moment. Because the sorting office did not know that the stolen van was carrying my parcel, they had not updated the record (ooh, could that be a flaw in a system?)

So, I am to tell the lovely people at Victoria Gibson that they must try again to claim for the lost item, but this time they have to tell customer services what we now know to be the facts, and they need to name the manager of the sorting office as someone who can verify the claim.

And then when they get the money back, they need to knit me a new jumper and despatch it me.

In a final irony, the Delivery Manager at the Sorting Office did say that it would probably be the summer months before my warm Christmas Jumper finally arrives; Indeed!

Sparkles Day

Wendy and I got stuck in on a big clean-up on Saturday as part of our Sparkles Day programme. (Liam was taking a big team out door knocking on the same estate simultaneously so we had a really good profile on the Moly). We were cleaning up rubbish on Coleridge Street on that bit of waste ground opposite Cavern Court along with members of the Youth Offending Team, local residents, local council staff and local housing association staff. What a dirty horrible space, covered in dog muck. I am organising a new bin there so that people have no excuse about not bagging and binning their stuff. My boots were filthy when we had finished, I had to go back to get cleaned up before Wendy and I could join the door knocking team. Yuck, the things you do as a councillor! However, the site looks a million times better so that is to be welcomed. We had 30 free skips out in the area too. We are also arranging for a fence replacement for a bit that has been torn down and for a big piece of work to the rear of Cavern Court where there has been fly-tipping and commercial tipping, and which is insecure. We met with the council officer and a key resident there on Saturday lunchtime to agree plans to get it all cleaned up and made good.

I&DeA Peer Mentoring

Good news! I have been accepted onto the I&DeAs peer mentoring scheme, having attended an assessment centre in London earlier this week. I cannot tell you much more than that yet, although I am very excited and very pleased. It is an opportunity to help other councils, groups and councillors elsewhere in the country and I will be contacted when suitable work arises, which tends to be a day or two here and there and for some mentors there might be nothing for months. I suspect my involvement is likely to be around scrutiny and governance so if there are Labour council/lors or groups who need help with that, perhaps they will call me.
Watch this space!

“Love in Every Language” poetry evening

For the more romantic among you

Friday 12th February 2010

Merseyside Polonia invites you for an evening of international love poetry “Love in Every Language” 6.30 pm - 8 pm

Entry is free and we hope you’ll enjoy the poetry as well as the drinks and food served at the counter.

If you would like to present a famous love poem from your country please bring the original version with English translation and be there at 6.00 pm.

Love in every language The idea of “Love in Every Language” is to discover how writers from different nations celebrated love, friendship, affection and feel inspired to put your own pen to paper and share it with others.

6.30 pm - 8 pm - Starbucks Coffee, 35 Paradise Street, Liverpool

Email: info@merseysidepolonia.com
Website: www.merseysidepolonia.com

KVfm forum

A good meeting of the KVfm forum last night, who are ready to set up a monthly steering group to develop an online community radio station while continuing to campaign for a fulltime RSL (licence). We councillors would like a monthly show, perhaps after May, on the online station and would ultimately hope to encourage others elsewhere to do likewise, with an online station there is no restriction on how far the coverage can extend!
There are few if any community radios in Liverpool and KVfm could begin to fill the gap perhaps. Contributions from people and organisations like the MS writers group, or the Lime Court residents could be listened to much further afield, as could the Liverpool Jazz hour that Michael Swerdlow is planning.
All good stuff!

Not a great start to 2010 for some people

Spare a thought for my Colin, he has been off work now for four weeks with his broken ribs after a fall on the icy pavements. He has had to be checked to see if his lungs were punctured, so serious have his injuries been and he has been on such heavy painkillers that he has barely known what day it is half the time. And then his beloved Crystal Palace have gone into administration. You just gotta feel for him. We're all thinking about you love

Kensington and Fairfield Participatory Budget event - update

I promised to let you know how the Kensington and Fairfield Participatory Budget event went earlier this week.

The first thing I can tell you is that we had 79 voting residents and probably another 20 officers from LCC, or partners or agencies, present, as well as us three Labour councillors of course. This will definitely have been the biggest attendance at an event like this in the city of Liverpool, but then we ordinarily get the biggest turnout at Your Community Matters events too, so this is not surprising.

The second thing of interest is that thanks to our extensive networking and collection of data about community groups and organisations within our ward, which we regularly share with LCC and LCVS, we were able to attract 16 separate bids for funds.

Those 16 groups each then made a 3 minute presentation on why they would like a share of the funding on offer and what they would do with it. The 79 residents then had the opportunity to ask questions about the bids before they voted, using voting key pads, for each bid, scoring from 0 to 5 points for each one depending on the impact they thought it would have in the community.

I should point out that the three councillors were not allowed to vote, or to speak about any of the bids or to offer any guidance or thoughts, neither were the bids shared with us before the event. Despite being elected by them, to represent the people of Kensington and Fairfield, we were totally excluded from this process – other of course than attending, although ironically an unelected political opponent would have been able to vote if in attendance and living within the boundaries of the ward. I think we do have some concerns about this and will be taking them up through the District Chair’s meetings or the District Committee.

The contributions were generally of a good standard and every one of the 79 people stayed all the way to the end – nearly 3 hours – so that the people whose presentations were later on in the process were not disadvantaged. This is remarkable in itself. They also enjoyed the free supper (scouse and vegetable curry) that we put on at every YCM, I think that is another reason why our events are so popular. I cannot understand why other wards have stopped doing this as it is so clearly a crowd puller.

The winning bids were from

Lister Residents Association £2538 – for their community garden in Lister Crescent
Liverworld Community Sports £3000 – for football work to bring different communities together
Kensington Vision CIC £2050 – for KVfm
Kensington and Fairfield Voice £2700 – for 6 editions of the popular local newsletter
Kensington Monarch Majorettes £2720 – for travel and expenses to help the young people to maintain their involvement (this was probably the most popular bid of the night and certainly merited the most cheers)
L’Arche £1810 – for a project to grow vegetables with local school children on land at their Lockerby Road premises

Some extra cash may be available to help fund the following projects; Volunteer Reading Help and Black Box who did well in the voting but not quite well enough.

It was a fantastic event that we were proud to compere, I look forward to the next one. There will no doubt be photographs to upload at some point.

Community Cohesion Plan for the City Centre

I met earlier this week with the Liverpool City Centre manager to review the draft Community Cohesion Plan for the City Centre which forms a key part of our district - City and North Liverpool. As the Chair of the District and one of the council's two representatives on the Community Cohesion and Equalities Task Group for Liverpool First, I have also reviewed the draft plan for the whole authority.

There are some really good things in the plan, it is not all about Stanley Street, honest, although that is of course important - the new tentatively named Temple Quarter needs to be clean, bright, safe and accessible, which is a real challenge given that much of it is subterranean. There are some great initiatives around finding safe creative spaces for the Goths and Moshers - and punks too, all mixed in happily together on a Saturday afternoon - and away from St Johns Gardens and the Pier Head. We need to find new ways to fund that. I was also pleased with the progress we are making around engaging leaseholders, I know Nick Small has put on at least two annual conferences thus far. We are also making some headway with improved relations through community involvement with city centre residents, like the highly successful YCM event for the Chinese Community that I was part of. We need to do more of that, I would like to see a YCM for the LGBT community for instance.

Liverpool Guild of Students, Scrutiny of Communication Strategy

I went earlier in the week to my second of a series of meetings to scrutinise the Communication Strategy at LGoS (Liverpool Guild of Students). It is amazing how many things translate from one organisation to another, marketing and communications are pretty much the same, wherever you do them and who with, so the fact that I have not been a student for over 20 years has not hindered my ability to assist. And it helps that I am engaged in marketing, scrutiny and examining witnesses of course. As well as devising some tweaks to the policy and coming up with our recommendations, we are also building some useful links which will help us to work together in areas like Smithdown, Kensington, Childwall and Mossley Hill in the future.

You can read an article from the Guild President, talking more about the process and our work here

Kensington and Fairfield Participatory Budgeting - special event tonight

16 organisations are bidding for their share in about £10k of funding tonight, at St Francis of Assisi Academy. In an exciting first for Kensington and Fairfield, the decision making will be taken by the residents who turn up to hear the presentations and decide which ones they want to support.
This is the way in which I wanted the Kensington Regeneration legacy funds to be distributed in future, instead of being in the hands of a few self-interested people. What a shame, what a missed opportunity.
Anyway, it is going to be huge tonight, we are oversubscribed to the most incredible degree, so the voting process will be crucial. We expect the hall to be packed and the quality of the presentations for the different projects to be very high.
I shall let you know how we get on later, but if you want to join us, it is 5.30pm.

Creative Director Toxteth TV

Just got this notification from Adrienne Taylor at Toxteth TV, asking me to push this out more widely. It is a great organisation!

Creative Director

Salary circa £30,000

Do you want to make a difference in a creative community?

Toxteth TV and its charitable arm Splendid Things is looking for a dynamic person to become our Creative Director, who will secure, manage and direct all work relating to the creative and artistic activities of the organisation.

Reporting to the Board and working alongside the Director for Buildings, Community & Environment, you will develop relationships and projects that will raise the profile of Toxteth TV and help achieve the vision of a 24/7 facility.

You will have experience of running a similar creative organisation, of fundraising, collaborative working and delivering successful projects.

Click http://toxteth.tv/2010/02/05/creative-director-application/ for application details.

Deadline for applications 12pm 22nd February 2010.

Interviews will be held 10th March 2010.

British Military Fitness - in Newsham Park!

KVFM Radio Forum invite

An email from Steve Faragher

"I would like to invite you to a meeting next Thursday 11th February at 6.30 pm at the KensingtonVision Offices (address below)

The purpose of the meeting is two fold, firstly we want set up a Radio Forum for KVFM made up of people interested in getting involved with the further strategic development of community broadcasting in Kensington and Fairfield and to devleop a steering group later in the year.

Secondly I'll be telling people what the immediate plans are for KVFM 87.7 (RSLs in June and December) and KVFM Online in April 2010.

It would be useful if you could let me know if you are coming along and if you aren't then whether you are interested in future involvment RSLs (FM) and/or producing a regular for the KVFM ONLINE. we can talk to people on a one to one basis if you wish.

Look forward to seeing you on Thursday. Also feel free to forward this email to anyone you feel might be interested in involvement


Regards
Stephen Faragher

Business Contact Details:
KensingtonVision CIC & The Kensington & Fairfield VOiCE CIC
Stables 2, The Lodge, Gardner's Drive, Fairfield, Liverpool L6 7UR
tel 0151 261 9203
KVFM 87.7
BLOG WWW.KVFM.WORDPRESS.COM

Councillors Community Initiative Fund - GEARS Tenants and Residents Association

Here are a few photos showing some of the children and young people of the GEARS TRA in Fairfield, going on a trip to Bootle to Awesome Walls - in a former church. They are taking advantage of the devolved budget which we have been determined to spend on enjoyable diversionary activities for children and young people where we can.

We have a few empty churches of our own - perhaps this is an idea someone would like to take up locally?

Daisy Chain Youth Club

Great news!!

Daisy UK have opened a new fully inclusive youth club for disabled young people and their siblings and friends.

The new club is on every Thursday 6pm to 8pm at

L'Arche Liverpool
The Ark
Lockerby Road
L7 0HG

Everyone is welcome

If you need any more details you can email Dave Paterson on
dave @ daisyuk.com

I have his phone numbers if you need them.

Kensington Remembers 2010 - Fighting Homophobia

The fourth in our series of Kensington Remembers events dealt with the ongoing battle against homophobia.

On Monday night we were joined by Marrie and Michael Causer with daughter Debbie, to see the first of two Homotopia Films - the Invisible Death of Michael Causer, which explored the media silence around the murder of their 18 year old son in a horrific homophobic attack in Liverpool in 2008.

Following an interesting audience discussion we then watched Project Triangle, a documentary concerning the trip of 12 young gay Merseysiders to Auschwitz where they learnt about the murder of thousands of gay men by Hitler's Nazi in concentration camps.

The documentary also highlighted the work of Merseyside Police's Hate Crime Team, SIGMA who work with victims and support and encourage them to report attacks.

The young people took the opportunity to explore and discuss with the audience how the trip had affected them and how they have learnt from the experience. We then had a short group discussion about some positive campaigning that we can move forward with, and there was the beginnings of a plan to create and develop a refuge for young gay people who are made homeless by unsupportive parents. I don't want to jeopardise those early plans by talking about them here, but it was a positive discussion.

On Saturday I represented Liverpool Labour Party, alongside Councillor Paul Brant at a wreath laying (pink triangles) organised by Homotopia in St John's Gardens at the memorial to the persecuted, to remember all the gays murdered in the holocaust. We were joined by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and about 10 police officers, some fire officers, some of the young people from the trip, members of the gay community and Michael Causer's family.

I should point out the significance of the pink triangle. Inmates in Concentration Camps wore fabric badges to determine the reason for their incarceration. Homosexuals were given pink triangles. A full explanation of all the badges and codings can be see here

Single triangles
Red triangle—political prisoners: communists, trade unionists, liberals, social democrats, Freemasons, anarchists.
Green triangle— "habitual criminals" (convicts, ofttimes Kapos, serving in exchange for reduced sentences or parole).
Blue triangle—foreign forced laborers, emigrants.
Pink triangle—sexual offenders which included homosexual men along with rapists, bestiality and paedophiles.[2]
Purple triangle—"Bible Students" (Jehovah's Witnesses).
Black triangle—people who were deemed "asocial elements" and "work shy" including
Roma (Gypsies), who were later assigned a brown triangle
The mentally retarded
The mentally ill
Alcoholics
Vagrants and beggars
Pacifists
Conscription resisters
Prostitutes[3][4]
Some anarchists.
Brown triangle—Roma (Gypsies) (previously wore the black triangle).
Uninverted red triangle—an enemy POW, spy or a deserter.

Change we see

Just wanted to draw your attention to a great new Labour Party website which shows you some of the wonderful things this Labour Government has done since 1997 - using photographs taken by LP members all round the country.

Changewesee

Kensington International Food Festival

I have just been sent this photo from the Kensington International Food Festival that we funded with a contribution from our locally devolved budget in the autumn, thought you might like to see it. This was a Chinese youth orchestra that entertained us during the afternoon.

Kensington Regeneration, in conjunction with Liverpool City Council's Working Neighbourhood Fund is holding the 3rd Kensington International Food Festival on:

Saturday 20th March 2010
12 noon – 7pm
Kensington County Primary School
Brae Street
Liverpool 7

The festival was established to celebrate the multi national communities that make up Kensington. This is achieved by each country providing various dishes, and accompanying music and dance where possible, from the countries they represent.

National dishes will be provided from the following 13 communities: Chinese, Congolese, Czech / Slovak, India, Kurdistan, Latin America, Nigeria, Polish, Somalia, Trinidad, UK, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

The previous festival in October 2009 had more than 600 people through the doors with many more expected at the forthcoming festival.

If you would like a stall or a table at the event, let me know so that we can book you in.

Kensington Remembers 2010 - the Jewish commemorative event

I thought for a change that rather than write about our very well attended Jewish Holocaust commemorative event last Sunday, myself, I would let you read this extensive blog from the Jewish Chronicle instead.