The fun fair will be operated by the Collins family who have a long history of providing fun fairs in Liverpool.
The fair will finish at 8pm, there is an alcohol ban and all rides are subject to all the relevant inspections.
They have made a commitment to reinstate if the park is damaged and a litter plan is in place.
But all that aside, we hope it will be great fun for local people and is another fine example of the park being used for entertainment and pleasure
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Liverpool Working Class Music Festival
Another one for the diary from Phil at the Picket
Liverpool Working Class Music Festival
Fri 19th - Sun 21st September 2008
The New Picket, Jordan St, Liverpool
Tickets Now On Sale
The Men They Couldn't Hang
Dick Gaughan
Roy Bailey
Leon Rosselson
Attila The Stockbroker
The Alun Parry Band
Robb Johnson
Tracey Curtis
The Prelude
Aidan Jolly
Claire Mooney
Chanje Kunda
Al Baker
Young Kof
Jul 25 2008 by Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo
MERSEYSIDE folk god Alun Parry has come up with a new showcase for protest songs and subversive songwriters.
Liverpool Working Class Music Festival is part of the TUC's contribution to Liverpool's Capital of Culture celebrations.
“The weekend brings together the very best of Britain's radical and subversive songwriters, “ says Alun. “It will be a musical celebration of the experiences of working people.”
The festival, to be held at the New Picket, will include sets from Dick Gaughan, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Roy Bailey, Leon Rosselson, Attila The Stockbroker, Claire Mooney, Chanje Kunda, Young Kof and Al Baker.
“It’s only £25 for a weekend ticket to see all of these outstanding radical songwriters,” adds Alun.
Liverpool Working Class Music Festival 2008 takes place from Friday, September 19 to Sunday, September 21 at The New Picket in Liverpool.
Individual gig prices also available.
For full schedule and more details;
visit www.workingclassmusic.org.uk
The Picket,
61 Jordan Street,
Liverpool,
L1 OBW.
0151 708 6789.
www.myspace.com/picketliverpool
I would personally love to see Roy Bailey and Robb Johnson on the Sunday night so will probably be getting myself a ticket for that. It would be great if I could get one of them to sing "The Last house in our street is the one that I am living in", appropriate for Kensington, and also Robb's great song about Rosa Luxemburg.
Would anyone care to join me?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Mural for Kensington or Fairfield?
Wendy and I have spent a few hours this evening with Peter from the Liverpool Mural Project, driving up and down the streets of Kensington and Fairfield looking for potential mural sites - gable ends of houses mainly.
We have a list of about ten possibles, after tonight, so we have to put our artwork proposals together (with the help of local community folk and artists) and then approach the homeowners/landlords of the various buildings we have identified in the hope that one (or more) of them say yes.
We want our mural to be a representation of the history and development of Kensington and/or Fairfield, depending on where we end up having it, and hope it will feature images such as perhaps the much-loved ice rink, Wild Bill Hicock (who brought his wild west show to Kensington in the 1800s), maybe a reference to the zoo at Botanic Park - and in particular the elephant - maybe a reference to the studio where the Beatles recorded their first track (on Kensington), perhaps something about Newsham Park, about Dr Solomon and his cordial balm of Gilead.
Frankly with an area with as much history as ours, the sky is the limit!
But we will want local people to work with us and decide on those images. Stand by your bed for the call. (Is that a mixed metaphor?)
We are really excited.
We have a list of about ten possibles, after tonight, so we have to put our artwork proposals together (with the help of local community folk and artists) and then approach the homeowners/landlords of the various buildings we have identified in the hope that one (or more) of them say yes.
We want our mural to be a representation of the history and development of Kensington and/or Fairfield, depending on where we end up having it, and hope it will feature images such as perhaps the much-loved ice rink, Wild Bill Hicock (who brought his wild west show to Kensington in the 1800s), maybe a reference to the zoo at Botanic Park - and in particular the elephant - maybe a reference to the studio where the Beatles recorded their first track (on Kensington), perhaps something about Newsham Park, about Dr Solomon and his cordial balm of Gilead.
Frankly with an area with as much history as ours, the sky is the limit!
But we will want local people to work with us and decide on those images. Stand by your bed for the call. (Is that a mixed metaphor?)
We are really excited.
Vote for St George's Hall
St George's Hall needs your votes - again!
(from email from LCC)
St George's Hall has made it through to the finals of the National Lottery Good Causes awards.
Thanks to everyone who voted!
It now faces two other projects in the Best Heritage category: the Armed Forces memorial in Lichfield and the Diamond War memorial in Derry.
We need your support again to win the top spot and the £2000 prize.
Please vote by calling 0845 386 3646 or logging on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards (choose Best heritage project) before midday on 8 August
(from email from LCC)
St George's Hall has made it through to the finals of the National Lottery Good Causes awards.
Thanks to everyone who voted!
It now faces two other projects in the Best Heritage category: the Armed Forces memorial in Lichfield and the Diamond War memorial in Derry.
We need your support again to win the top spot and the £2000 prize.
Please vote by calling 0845 386 3646 or logging on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards (choose Best heritage project) before midday on 8 August
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Love Music - Hate Racism - advanced notice of where I will be on my birthday
- please note if you wanted to join me!
(Who would not want to spend their birthday with Phil at the Picket?)
Love Music Hate Racism Big Summer Party
1-11pm The Picket, Jordan Street, L1
Merseyside Love Music Hate Racism in association with the NWTUC are organising an anti racism festival involving an extensive programme of events featuring many local bands and performers at The Picket, Liverpool on Sunday 31st August 2008.
We hope that this event will bring together people of all ages from across the city, and reflect the rich diversity of the people and cultures of our great city.
As I am sure you are aware the British National Party recently won a seat on the Greater London Authority, they sadly even increased the number of councillors in the local elections. Locally we saw them standing in new wards, coming second in two wards and third in seven. We must all act now and make sure this does not happen again. We must all unite and continue to fight this evil.
We hope that this festival will spread a positive and uplifting message; we intend to take and spread the good will of over 100,000 supporters who attended the LMHR Carnival in London in April this year and bring it to The Capital of Culture.
(And lots of money is required to support this so buy a ticket or send some money, show a bit of willing)
STOP PRESS: Organiser tells me the event is free, from 1pm - 11pm, how great is that!
Current line up is
Skinnyman
Dinner Ladies
Flamingo 50
Kof
Elemental
Curtis Watt
Wizards of Twiddly
Sense of Sound if TV show has finished by then
DJs Bernie Connor + Rockers II Rockers Sound System
- drumming and graffiti workshops
So you don't need to request tickets, just let me know if you will be joining me
Gustav Klimt exhibition at the Liverpool Tate
Mum and Roger came to stay for the weekend and the highlight of the visit was to be our trip to see the Gustav Klimt exhibition at the Liverpool Tate
Roger has been a huge fan of Klimt for over 20 years and their house is full of Klimt paintings (sadly not the originals, otherwise my life might have taken a whole different turn...!)
We booked our tickets about two months in advance, and it was just as well because the place was heaving. Although how much of that was to do with the coincidence of the Tall Ships being on the Dock, I couldn't say - but you were supposed to pre-book tickets, not just turn up on the day. We fought our way to the gallery through the thousands of people queueing up for a look at the ships moored there. What a great day to show off Liverpool!
Anyway we were in a huge queue inside the Tate, even for our 2.30pm booking, so we were taken to one side by a very helpful steward and advised to bypass the queue by going up the fourth floor first, seeing what was the "end" of the exhibition, and then to go back to the ground floor for the "beginning" in the hope we would miss the worst of the crowding round pictures.
This we did, but unfortunately it meant we missed out on the free guidebook, so we looked at some great stuff upstairs, went back downstairs, against the flow, in the massive industrial goods lift and looked round the ground floor.
But I knew we must have missed a bit. I had been told by previous Liverpool visitors, Pat, Cath and Steve that there was a particular exhibition of drawings that were considered pornographic 100 years when they were drawn (and would be thought so today by some people, believe me) and we had not seen them. (Mum and I giggled a little bit at the names of some of the drawings "Nude with left leg raised" hardly told the story at all, for instance, did it?)
So I found my way back to the front desk, got the booklet, checked it out and learned that there were two parts to the fourth floor and we had only seen half of it.
So back upstairs we went to the fourth floor and found a whole host of riches we would not have wanted to miss!
I think my favourite was the Beethoven frieze, probably because the end piece, Ode to Joy, is reproduced in Mum and Roger's living room in a particularly large painting and it was like greeting an old friend.
But there were other wonderful paintings that I loved. The "Three stages of life" is fantastic, as is the portrait of Marie Henneberg, and the unfinished Baby in a cradle.
Mixed in were some pieces from Charles Rennie McIntosh and some other wonderful artists and creative people. I particularly admired Hoffman's silver cutlery.
If you have not been, do go, and not just because of the pornography either! Klimt was a master before his time. He showed the way, 100 years in some cases, before others caught up with applying a similar style.
Klimt has been part of my family life for decades, perhaps it is time he was part of yours too?
PS When I was in the Tate two weeks ago with Cath and Steve, Rodin's Kiss was open to be touched or admired in the reception, as it has been for months since its installation. This week it was behind a wall of perspex. What is that all about then?
Roger has been a huge fan of Klimt for over 20 years and their house is full of Klimt paintings (sadly not the originals, otherwise my life might have taken a whole different turn...!)
We booked our tickets about two months in advance, and it was just as well because the place was heaving. Although how much of that was to do with the coincidence of the Tall Ships being on the Dock, I couldn't say - but you were supposed to pre-book tickets, not just turn up on the day. We fought our way to the gallery through the thousands of people queueing up for a look at the ships moored there. What a great day to show off Liverpool!
Anyway we were in a huge queue inside the Tate, even for our 2.30pm booking, so we were taken to one side by a very helpful steward and advised to bypass the queue by going up the fourth floor first, seeing what was the "end" of the exhibition, and then to go back to the ground floor for the "beginning" in the hope we would miss the worst of the crowding round pictures.
This we did, but unfortunately it meant we missed out on the free guidebook, so we looked at some great stuff upstairs, went back downstairs, against the flow, in the massive industrial goods lift and looked round the ground floor.
But I knew we must have missed a bit. I had been told by previous Liverpool visitors, Pat, Cath and Steve that there was a particular exhibition of drawings that were considered pornographic 100 years when they were drawn (and would be thought so today by some people, believe me) and we had not seen them. (Mum and I giggled a little bit at the names of some of the drawings "Nude with left leg raised" hardly told the story at all, for instance, did it?)
So I found my way back to the front desk, got the booklet, checked it out and learned that there were two parts to the fourth floor and we had only seen half of it.
So back upstairs we went to the fourth floor and found a whole host of riches we would not have wanted to miss!
I think my favourite was the Beethoven frieze, probably because the end piece, Ode to Joy, is reproduced in Mum and Roger's living room in a particularly large painting and it was like greeting an old friend.
But there were other wonderful paintings that I loved. The "Three stages of life" is fantastic, as is the portrait of Marie Henneberg, and the unfinished Baby in a cradle.
Mixed in were some pieces from Charles Rennie McIntosh and some other wonderful artists and creative people. I particularly admired Hoffman's silver cutlery.
If you have not been, do go, and not just because of the pornography either! Klimt was a master before his time. He showed the way, 100 years in some cases, before others caught up with applying a similar style.
Klimt has been part of my family life for decades, perhaps it is time he was part of yours too?
PS When I was in the Tate two weeks ago with Cath and Steve, Rodin's Kiss was open to be touched or admired in the reception, as it has been for months since its installation. This week it was behind a wall of perspex. What is that all about then?
Deep fat frier causes fire in FIRE STATION!
A little bird, who is in a position to know the factual detail of this story, told me the other day that a certain fire station in Liverpool had recently to respond to a fire in its own kitchen!
They had a deep fat frier, they turned it on, went on a shout, and then got back to find it on fire. Apparently the cut-off switch failed.
When the junior fire-fighter went upstairs to make the tea for the returning crew, he saw the fire and shouted to his colleagues that the kitchen was on fire.
Of course they didn't believe a word of it to begin with.
It just goes to show that deep fat is a menace, whether it is a pan or an electrial frier.
Let's all campaign for the superiority of the grill and the oven, who needs a deep fat frier?
(But it did REALLY tickle me as a story!)
They had a deep fat frier, they turned it on, went on a shout, and then got back to find it on fire. Apparently the cut-off switch failed.
When the junior fire-fighter went upstairs to make the tea for the returning crew, he saw the fire and shouted to his colleagues that the kitchen was on fire.
Of course they didn't believe a word of it to begin with.
It just goes to show that deep fat is a menace, whether it is a pan or an electrial frier.
Let's all campaign for the superiority of the grill and the oven, who needs a deep fat frier?
(But it did REALLY tickle me as a story!)
Rice Lane City Farm
Somewhere to take the kids over the summer holidays perhaps?
Thanks to Scouseboy for the information
The city farm is open every day during the school holdays. It is a working farm, there are sheep, cattle, ducks, chickens and a horse.
There are junior and senior kids activity clubs, as well as various school holiday activities. Community groups are very welcome, contact Maria on 0151 530 1066 for further details.
Buses 20/21, 62, 68 and 92 all go up Rice Lane, alight at Rawcliffe Road, the farm is a five minute walk up Rawcliffe Road, however it is probably easier to get the northern line train to Walton on the Ormskirk line where it is a two minute walk to the farm.
Thanks to Scouseboy for the information
The city farm is open every day during the school holdays. It is a working farm, there are sheep, cattle, ducks, chickens and a horse.
There are junior and senior kids activity clubs, as well as various school holiday activities. Community groups are very welcome, contact Maria on 0151 530 1066 for further details.
Buses 20/21, 62, 68 and 92 all go up Rice Lane, alight at Rawcliffe Road, the farm is a five minute walk up Rawcliffe Road, however it is probably easier to get the northern line train to Walton on the Ormskirk line where it is a two minute walk to the farm.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Happy 90th Birthday Mr Mandela
On Tuesday night Caroline (my black shadow councillor from Kenya, just to remind you) and I went to the Town Hall for a civic reception to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
It was a lovely occasion, lots of Africans dancing, singing and reading extracts from his speeches, we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
I shall quickly take this opportunity to extract from an email about an event taking place in Kensington tomorrow, Saturday which you might like to attend. If you can, I urge you to do so, as the publicity has been minimal and I don't want them to have a poor attendance.
Saturday, 19th July, at the Kensington Community Sports Centre, Jubille Drive, L7, a full day of adult and family activities is offered, see second attachment, including:
Music workshops
Cultural Dancing
Face painting
Workshop: Nelson Mandela Theme with celebrity speakers, 1.0pm.
Fashion Show of African Clothes, 3..0pm
Cultural food tasting
Information Stalls
Art and Craft Stalls
Gospel Choir
Workshop: Nelson Mandela Theme with celebrity speakers, 1.0pm.
African food will be on sale between from 12.00. There will also be children’s Activities Area.
There will also be multi cultural football competitions at the Kensington Community Sports Centre, Jubilee Drive, and Botanic Park between 10am and 4 pm.
Mandela Cups
10 .00am – 4.00pm, Junior ( U10s, U12s ) 5-a-side football competition finals at Kensington Community Sports Centre, Jubilee Drive, L7
11.00am – 5.00pm, Senior (Over 16s) 6-a-side football competitions and finals, Botanic Park, L7
I hope to visit at some point with my folks.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Newsham Park refurbishment - the people's priorities
We had a meeting of the Newsham Park Forum tonight to discuss our priorities for a £4.5million Heritage Lottery Bid that will be submitted in September.
Members of the Friends of Newsham Park were present, and also the Secretary of the Fairfield Residents Association and the Chair of the Elm Park Residents, as well as councillors from K&F and Tuebrook and Stoneycroft, staff and artists from the Adult Learning centre, the Deputy Head of the school, two shadow councillors and various parks staff, including the head of parks, Paul Scragg. I would have liked more residents there but the ones that did come were at least all representatives of a wider community and are clear about what local people want.
And I can reveal what the meeting chose for its priorities exclusively here in my blog!
(And then I let the Echo know and they covered the story here
Lighting for paths and dark corners - a real must in the fight against anti-social behaviour and vital for security
Refurbishment of the Bandstand - it could be a really great feature if brought back into good repair and its surroundings improved
Public artwork and a water feature - I am holding out for a fountain or a jet of water like the one in the lake at Chatsworth
Entrances to be refurbished - the entrances on Prescot Road for instance are in a right old mess, although the one on Gardners Drive is quite nice
New signage - showing people what is in the park, you cannot see the lake, for instance, if you come in through Gardners Drive or Carstairs Road and might fail to walk over to that spot and miss its loveliness.
Improvements to the Lake - including enhancements for the fishing community
Play and fitness equipment - a new playground for the north side of the park, a fitness trail and possibly also a so-called "pensioner's playground"
Landscape improvements and planting - one of my personal favourites, the horticultural offering in the park is rubbish, we need more shrubs and plants and more trees that will be there in another 100 years
Improvement of paving
I am so excited about this! Now we have to concentrate on putting in the best possible bid and then keeping everything crossed that we win. Sefton Park has had its cash, now surely it is time for a northern park to get the same chance!
Members of the Friends of Newsham Park were present, and also the Secretary of the Fairfield Residents Association and the Chair of the Elm Park Residents, as well as councillors from K&F and Tuebrook and Stoneycroft, staff and artists from the Adult Learning centre, the Deputy Head of the school, two shadow councillors and various parks staff, including the head of parks, Paul Scragg. I would have liked more residents there but the ones that did come were at least all representatives of a wider community and are clear about what local people want.
And I can reveal what the meeting chose for its priorities exclusively here in my blog!
(And then I let the Echo know and they covered the story here
Lighting for paths and dark corners - a real must in the fight against anti-social behaviour and vital for security
Refurbishment of the Bandstand - it could be a really great feature if brought back into good repair and its surroundings improved
Public artwork and a water feature - I am holding out for a fountain or a jet of water like the one in the lake at Chatsworth
Entrances to be refurbished - the entrances on Prescot Road for instance are in a right old mess, although the one on Gardners Drive is quite nice
New signage - showing people what is in the park, you cannot see the lake, for instance, if you come in through Gardners Drive or Carstairs Road and might fail to walk over to that spot and miss its loveliness.
Improvements to the Lake - including enhancements for the fishing community
Play and fitness equipment - a new playground for the north side of the park, a fitness trail and possibly also a so-called "pensioner's playground"
Landscape improvements and planting - one of my personal favourites, the horticultural offering in the park is rubbish, we need more shrubs and plants and more trees that will be there in another 100 years
Improvement of paving
I am so excited about this! Now we have to concentrate on putting in the best possible bid and then keeping everything crossed that we win. Sefton Park has had its cash, now surely it is time for a northern park to get the same chance!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
LibDem Westminster Enterprise spokesman says Liverpool people deserve less
Actually that is my paraphrasing of a Liverpool Echo story I spotted tonight.
It says that
"A senior politician has sparked a parliamentary row by saying the minimum wage should be lower in Liverpool than London.
Liberal Democrat business and enterprise spokesman Lorely Burt MP said the amount has "tremendously" less purchasing power in the capital than in Merseyside.
Mrs Burt, MP for Solihull in the West Midlands, insisted she was not arguing for a wage cut for Merssyde, but a system reflecting regional differences. She said "There are differences between Liverpool and London."
This tiny story features on page 21 so I would understand if you missed it yourself.
I would be interested to hear what Councillor Gary Millar makes of this story, he is the LibDem Executive Member for Enterprise and Tourism for Liverpool City Council.
I think it is massively more complicated than this MP is trying to suggest.
I have lived in four regions of England, and their prices were broadly and averagely the same, although the middle-class areas of each were always more expensive than the working class areas thereof.
We all knew that Yarm Presto was more expensive than Stockton Presto four miles away - and it is probably more expensive than Old Swan Tesco but not as much as Woolton Sainsbury's if we did the comparison.
We all know that Orkney petrol is much more expensive than Glasgow petrol - because of proximity to fuel terminals and we all know now that city housing costs more money than town housing. Liverpool's Housing market is considerably more expensive than that in Stockton or in Huddersfield for instance. But a house in Kensington, Liverpool is massively cheaper to buy or rent than a house in Mossley Hill.
And it is also true to say that Liverpool housing is cheaper than London. But this is getting very murky, isn't it?
Gas and Electricity, so far as I know, does not recognise regional costings, and we all know that there are councils in London where the council tax is a tiny fraction of what you might have to pay in a northern city. Wandsworth anyone?
So how can this Enterprise Spokesman for the national LibDem party make such a fundamental mistake?
I absolutely accept that housing is more money in London than the provinces, but she talks about purchasing power in a way that does not merely suggest rental levels.
I wonder what she has in her comparative shopping basket?
Beer of course is massively more expensive in London, is this MP trying to suggest that minimum wage earners have to consider the price of beer above all other expenditure?
Can anyone out there explain to me how the low paid of London deserve more than the low paid of Liverpool?
I am cross about this, can you tell?
It says that
"A senior politician has sparked a parliamentary row by saying the minimum wage should be lower in Liverpool than London.
Liberal Democrat business and enterprise spokesman Lorely Burt MP said the amount has "tremendously" less purchasing power in the capital than in Merseyside.
Mrs Burt, MP for Solihull in the West Midlands, insisted she was not arguing for a wage cut for Merssyde, but a system reflecting regional differences. She said "There are differences between Liverpool and London."
This tiny story features on page 21 so I would understand if you missed it yourself.
I would be interested to hear what Councillor Gary Millar makes of this story, he is the LibDem Executive Member for Enterprise and Tourism for Liverpool City Council.
I think it is massively more complicated than this MP is trying to suggest.
I have lived in four regions of England, and their prices were broadly and averagely the same, although the middle-class areas of each were always more expensive than the working class areas thereof.
We all knew that Yarm Presto was more expensive than Stockton Presto four miles away - and it is probably more expensive than Old Swan Tesco but not as much as Woolton Sainsbury's if we did the comparison.
We all know that Orkney petrol is much more expensive than Glasgow petrol - because of proximity to fuel terminals and we all know now that city housing costs more money than town housing. Liverpool's Housing market is considerably more expensive than that in Stockton or in Huddersfield for instance. But a house in Kensington, Liverpool is massively cheaper to buy or rent than a house in Mossley Hill.
And it is also true to say that Liverpool housing is cheaper than London. But this is getting very murky, isn't it?
Gas and Electricity, so far as I know, does not recognise regional costings, and we all know that there are councils in London where the council tax is a tiny fraction of what you might have to pay in a northern city. Wandsworth anyone?
So how can this Enterprise Spokesman for the national LibDem party make such a fundamental mistake?
I absolutely accept that housing is more money in London than the provinces, but she talks about purchasing power in a way that does not merely suggest rental levels.
I wonder what she has in her comparative shopping basket?
Beer of course is massively more expensive in London, is this MP trying to suggest that minimum wage earners have to consider the price of beer above all other expenditure?
Can anyone out there explain to me how the low paid of London deserve more than the low paid of Liverpool?
I am cross about this, can you tell?
Somewhat of a dilemma! Local Government strike on Thursday
I could do with some timely advice, that is for sure
Tomorrow morning is meant to be my surgery at Kensington Library.
Which will be closed because of the strikes
And I am a UNITE member (although my current workplace is not unionised) and I always go on the picket line when my own workplace is called out on strike (as it was twice when I worked at HMRC).
So I support the right of the local government workers to go on strike for better pay and I support their call for better pay too.
However, I also support my constituents who might turn up tomorrow at the library to see me with a problem and I don't want to let them down.
I am thinking of going to the library anyway tomorrow, even though it will be closed. I doubt if there will be a picket line there as it will probably be entirely shut, doors locked, nothing to see here, move along.
And I am thinking of sitting on the step with a newspaper or some paperwork I need to read, just in case anyone turns up.
But is this in the spirit of a strike?
Thoughts please! And you had better be quick because in about 12 hours time I am going to have to decide whether I should be putting my coat on!
Tomorrow morning is meant to be my surgery at Kensington Library.
Which will be closed because of the strikes
And I am a UNITE member (although my current workplace is not unionised) and I always go on the picket line when my own workplace is called out on strike (as it was twice when I worked at HMRC).
So I support the right of the local government workers to go on strike for better pay and I support their call for better pay too.
However, I also support my constituents who might turn up tomorrow at the library to see me with a problem and I don't want to let them down.
I am thinking of going to the library anyway tomorrow, even though it will be closed. I doubt if there will be a picket line there as it will probably be entirely shut, doors locked, nothing to see here, move along.
And I am thinking of sitting on the step with a newspaper or some paperwork I need to read, just in case anyone turns up.
But is this in the spirit of a strike?
Thoughts please! And you had better be quick because in about 12 hours time I am going to have to decide whether I should be putting my coat on!
Monday, July 14, 2008
What is poisoning us? A petition to the PM
Please sign this important petition calling for an scientific investigation into the health effects of being exposed to the products of combustion.
A large number of people who have been poisoned by CO - and lived - have had matching resultant illnesses and diseases that we must assume are connected. However medics cannot currently link these to CO therefore it seems that either the science around CO has yet to catch up or these illnesses and diseases must be connected to other toxins and chemicals that are produced by the combustion process.
I have met people with all sorts of central nervous damage who are known to have been poisoned by CO. People with paralysis, people who have had several strokes despite being very young. There is clearly a link but the research needs to be done to establish that.
Please sign up, thanks very much
A large number of people who have been poisoned by CO - and lived - have had matching resultant illnesses and diseases that we must assume are connected. However medics cannot currently link these to CO therefore it seems that either the science around CO has yet to catch up or these illnesses and diseases must be connected to other toxins and chemicals that are produced by the combustion process.
I have met people with all sorts of central nervous damage who are known to have been poisoned by CO. People with paralysis, people who have had several strokes despite being very young. There is clearly a link but the research needs to be done to establish that.
Please sign up, thanks very much
Sunday, July 13, 2008
For Ged, Tim, Steve and Daniel
I know you hate waiting, but where do you think I have time to make new entries with a diary as packed as this, and all the casework that goes with it?
Make the most of it while you can, that is what I say!
x
Make the most of it while you can, that is what I say!
x
Mama Mia!
Stephen T and I had a great night out on Saturday night.
It began with Mama Mia at the cinema on Edge Lane then a drink in Schmooze on Church Road, a meal in La Bassola on Allerton Road and a final drink in the Penny Lane wine bar.
What a fab film, we were singing, cheering, dancing in our seats, if not actually in the aisles, eating sweeties and simply enjoying ourselves.
Who would ever have imagined that Meryl Streep could sing, or Julie Walters could imitate a disco dancer, or that Pierce Brosnan could stop being a stuffed-shirt?
And the rest of the night went well too, lovely food and an ambient atmosphere.
Thanks for a good night out my friend!
It began with Mama Mia at the cinema on Edge Lane then a drink in Schmooze on Church Road, a meal in La Bassola on Allerton Road and a final drink in the Penny Lane wine bar.
What a fab film, we were singing, cheering, dancing in our seats, if not actually in the aisles, eating sweeties and simply enjoying ourselves.
Who would ever have imagined that Meryl Streep could sing, or Julie Walters could imitate a disco dancer, or that Pierce Brosnan could stop being a stuffed-shirt?
And the rest of the night went well too, lovely food and an ambient atmosphere.
Thanks for a good night out my friend!
Kensington Fun Day
Liam and I went along on Saturday after a leafletting session to lend our support to the Kensington Fun Day
Wendy is on holiday, the lucky woman! I bet she has better weather than us, although it did not actually rain while we walked round the show
Everyone who was anyone was out on the Police Club field and we enjoyed seeing old friends and new.
The police had several stalls, as did Kensington Regeneration, various Resident Groups, performers, singers, dancers, artists and Housing Associations and Environmental Groups.
Plus the launch of a new group in Fairfield designed to promote community cohesion and promotion - CREDHEDZ
A lovely day out, Liam particularly enjoyed talking to the lady from the Rice Lane City Animal Farm - and I particularly enjoyed the chilli and rice from the hot food stand.
We ran into Siddi who was updating us on his plans for a December tour of Ghana for his young footballers. And lots of our TRA secretaries, chairs, treasurers and active members, parents, governors, vicars et al
Wendy is on holiday, the lucky woman! I bet she has better weather than us, although it did not actually rain while we walked round the show
Everyone who was anyone was out on the Police Club field and we enjoyed seeing old friends and new.
The police had several stalls, as did Kensington Regeneration, various Resident Groups, performers, singers, dancers, artists and Housing Associations and Environmental Groups.
Plus the launch of a new group in Fairfield designed to promote community cohesion and promotion - CREDHEDZ
A lovely day out, Liam particularly enjoyed talking to the lady from the Rice Lane City Animal Farm - and I particularly enjoyed the chilli and rice from the hot food stand.
We ran into Siddi who was updating us on his plans for a December tour of Ghana for his young footballers. And lots of our TRA secretaries, chairs, treasurers and active members, parents, governors, vicars et al
The end of the Cluster Partnerships...
...marked with more of a whimper than a shout!
There were a lot of empty places at the dinner in the Holiday Inn on Lime Street on Friday night. Our table joined up with the neighbouring table to make a whole, and as a result had more fun and giggles and some fun-poking and generally a much better time than probably anyone else at the dinner.
At our table was Karen Harris from LCVS, Alan Rogers from LHT, Elizabeth Hartley from City and North NMS, Jean Harrison from the Beatles Estate TRA, folks from the Eldonians, Anfield and Speke. Great dinner companions.
It was a good reason for an event, the end of one way of working and the beginning of the next, but it seemed that the participants had already moved on and were now well into their new ways of working because they didn't feel the need to come and celebrate their own demise.
There were clearly good reasons to be thankful, some really good projects came out of the Cluster Partnerships, several in Kensington for instance. But overall it felt very much to me like a stepping stone from what had gone before and what is still go come.
I rarely accept dinner invitations, but those that celebrate our officers are always important in my eyes, they get few enough plaudits
Well done everyone, onwards and upwards!
There were a lot of empty places at the dinner in the Holiday Inn on Lime Street on Friday night. Our table joined up with the neighbouring table to make a whole, and as a result had more fun and giggles and some fun-poking and generally a much better time than probably anyone else at the dinner.
At our table was Karen Harris from LCVS, Alan Rogers from LHT, Elizabeth Hartley from City and North NMS, Jean Harrison from the Beatles Estate TRA, folks from the Eldonians, Anfield and Speke. Great dinner companions.
It was a good reason for an event, the end of one way of working and the beginning of the next, but it seemed that the participants had already moved on and were now well into their new ways of working because they didn't feel the need to come and celebrate their own demise.
There were clearly good reasons to be thankful, some really good projects came out of the Cluster Partnerships, several in Kensington for instance. But overall it felt very much to me like a stepping stone from what had gone before and what is still go come.
I rarely accept dinner invitations, but those that celebrate our officers are always important in my eyes, they get few enough plaudits
Well done everyone, onwards and upwards!
Official Launch of the Liverpool Mural Project's first mural
Wendy and I were delighted, if not actually thrilled, to attend the launch of the first ever LMP Mural.
It was Beatles' Day and the Lathom Club with its rich Beatles history was an ideal place from which to promote the first mural which features John Lennon and the Beatles, which is just up the street, very timely and very relevant!
We were spellbound by a presentation from a Sociologist from Belfast (I think) who talked about the history of the gable-end mural in Belfast and then a Q&A from mural painters from the Loyalist and the Republic movement.
We are very excited about the possibility of having our own mural in Kensington and hope to find the funding to make it happen.
We will include the local community in the development of the design but in the meantime we are looking for a suitable Gable End and ask all people of K&F to come forward with possible sites.
It is going to be awesome!
Peter and Greg and the NI artists have been magnificent, now it is our turn to rise to the challenge.
It was Beatles' Day and the Lathom Club with its rich Beatles history was an ideal place from which to promote the first mural which features John Lennon and the Beatles, which is just up the street, very timely and very relevant!
We were spellbound by a presentation from a Sociologist from Belfast (I think) who talked about the history of the gable-end mural in Belfast and then a Q&A from mural painters from the Loyalist and the Republic movement.
We are very excited about the possibility of having our own mural in Kensington and hope to find the funding to make it happen.
We will include the local community in the development of the design but in the meantime we are looking for a suitable Gable End and ask all people of K&F to come forward with possible sites.
It is going to be awesome!
Peter and Greg and the NI artists have been magnificent, now it is our turn to rise to the challenge.
Full council - July 2008
A full agenda and lots to debate and I simply cannot do it all justice
There were discussions about the need for a new Skills Agenda in Liverpool and Merseyside to help the long-term unemployed back into work; a debate about ways of tackling obesity in children; snooping by council staff into politicians phone records; and a few other debates. All very worthy but you cannot help wondering what they will achieve.
The main points for me were my joy upon hearing the maiden speeches of Councillor Tim Moore (my mentee) and Jim Noakes. Both very eloquent and well delivered. I imagine the administration LibDem benches are beginning to tremble at the difference between our successful new representatives and their stale ones.
The speeches from members of the public that started the meeting were all very powerful - including powerful testimony as to why we should never park in a bus-stop, and the closure of Crocky Comp and the shoddy experience of some visiting artists
My Shadow, Caroline, was given permission to sit next to me and I spent a lot of the meeting whispering to her about the whys and the wherefores of the proceedings.
I am still not sure that I explained fully the need for Evertonian Season Ticket Holders to declare their personal interests in the debate about the possible moving of the stadium to Kirby!
There were discussions about the need for a new Skills Agenda in Liverpool and Merseyside to help the long-term unemployed back into work; a debate about ways of tackling obesity in children; snooping by council staff into politicians phone records; and a few other debates. All very worthy but you cannot help wondering what they will achieve.
The main points for me were my joy upon hearing the maiden speeches of Councillor Tim Moore (my mentee) and Jim Noakes. Both very eloquent and well delivered. I imagine the administration LibDem benches are beginning to tremble at the difference between our successful new representatives and their stale ones.
The speeches from members of the public that started the meeting were all very powerful - including powerful testimony as to why we should never park in a bus-stop, and the closure of Crocky Comp and the shoddy experience of some visiting artists
My Shadow, Caroline, was given permission to sit next to me and I spent a lot of the meeting whispering to her about the whys and the wherefores of the proceedings.
I am still not sure that I explained fully the need for Evertonian Season Ticket Holders to declare their personal interests in the debate about the possible moving of the stadium to Kirby!
Regulation 33 - in the Town Hall
There is a little known regulation in Local Government which talks about the responsibility of all councillors to be the corporate parents of all Looked After Children
Which in essence means that along with my 89 colleagues, I am the parent of around 820 children in care in Liverpool.
Some of the care of those children depends on a regime of inspection which should be undertaken by councillors amongst others.
I went to a short seminar on Wednesday to learn a bit more about what that entails, and have now signed up to a regular inspection regime to visit children's homes and talk to the children and to the staff and to look round the homes to ensure that all is as it should be and that the children are happy.
I was particularly interested to learn that several of these homes are actually in my ward which makes me (and Liam and Wendy) all the more determined to visit and play our part in ensuring that our children are doing well and are happy!
Which in essence means that along with my 89 colleagues, I am the parent of around 820 children in care in Liverpool.
Some of the care of those children depends on a regime of inspection which should be undertaken by councillors amongst others.
I went to a short seminar on Wednesday to learn a bit more about what that entails, and have now signed up to a regular inspection regime to visit children's homes and talk to the children and to the staff and to look round the homes to ensure that all is as it should be and that the children are happy.
I was particularly interested to learn that several of these homes are actually in my ward which makes me (and Liam and Wendy) all the more determined to visit and play our part in ensuring that our children are doing well and are happy!
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