Hat into the ring

neverland

Last Monday the children had an in service at school.  In the afternoon we went to Bath and Sam went to Games Workshop and the girls and I went to the cinema (at the new Odeon). We saw "Finding Neverland". The real and fantasy scenes melted into each other beautifully;we all found it very affecting and some of us ended up in tears.

Thursday brought Council evening where Labour Group had three missing, including me.  I was able to sort some things out in advance during the day, but had to be at home in the evening.  Had an interesting conversation in Lib Dem about possible uses for the Guildhall; those who were present will know what these were!

Today is Nick's birthday. Jen made him scrambled eggs and beans for brekkie and she's also cooked a chocolate cheesecake for this evening.  I've been saving a piece of beef in the freezer for doing beef stroganoff tonight.  Then tomorrow he'll be off to London again, probably on the 6.20 bus.  Aaaagh, another early morning!

back and forth

By the end of yesterday I knew how a yo-yo feels!  Into Bath in the morning to do some work on Council papers and to meet Mary, who is going to act as Group Support Officer for this Council meeting for us. Back over to Chew Valley School to collect Jenni for an orthodontist appointment, which was in Bath. Home again with Jen to sort out supper for the young and grab a bowl of soup. Then back to Bath (again!) for Group meeting to take members through the Council papers. Oh yes, then home again.  Still, got it all done, so that must count as a successful day.

made it to the weekend

Survived a week of meetings and evenings not at home. Parent/Governor meeting at local Primary school was on Wednesday.  Only 4 parents came along, so we governors outnumbered them.  We all sat round the table together and kept it fairly informal.  It was worth doing as some good ideas came forward from parents.  Next year we need to revamp the meeting, make it more of a social event so as to draw in people who don't like the formal sound of a "meeting".

Sixth form open evening at Chew Valley was Thursday.  Sam's interested in doing Biology, Physics, Psychology, maybe Maths and keeping up his Art.  That'll be hard work, especialy if he wants to make time to do some writing as well.  Feeling very proud of him, he's doing well.

Took a day off yesterday to go up to London and meet a friend for the day.  Now have to go and get ready to go to Remembrance Day service in Paulton.

peppercorns

Just been to the Peppercorn Dinner where the University hands over the annual peppercorn as rent!  Sat next to Prof Edge from Mech Eng department who remembers Nick from when we first moved to Bath in 1990.  Well, there aren't a lot of Ajderians around............    We spent that first summer living in a succession of student flats through the vacation while we househunted. Nick, me and a very small one year old Sam who spent the summer going round the Uni on his push along trike.  I used to get on the No 18 bus down to town to shop and go to the library with Sam in the baby backpack.  It was a really sunny summer and we'd watch the hot air balloons come over in the evening.

Enough reminiscing. Time for bed.

mudskippers

A week which flew by.  More trips to vet for the rabbit.  The good thing is that Flopsy is now much more used to being handled and we can pick him up to do eye drops.  However I did spend quite a while out in the rain in my pyjamas this morning trying to get him back in his hutch...........he's still out there.

Went to the Sea Life Centre in Weston yesterday for Sam to sketch more fish and crustaceans.  And there were the mudskippers. Small, muddy coloured fish which breathe air and can move on land. Quite amusing looking, but you could well pass them by to move on to the more exotic looking fish. We didn't, we stopped to watch.  Mudskippers are aptly named as they definitely skip (and hop and jump).  They move fast, jump out of the water, leaf off rocks, chase each other.  Brilliant. Definitely worth getting past first appearances.

Busy couple of weeks coming up. Council meetings, school governor meetings, daughter having brace fitted, sixth form open evening to attend for son (who now seems agreeable to staying on for sixth form), leaflet to write and debate to prepare for. I'll let you know how it all goes!

home again

Back home and into the swing of school, work and various activities. We had a great week in Suffolk. We saw Mum and Dad every day. The house we stayed in was literally in the middle of a wood. Pheasants abounded and wandered in groups of six or more on the grass. We saw a hare twice, not such a common sight now. Sam collected shells and disgusting smelling bits of crab shell and leg to sketch for his art project (molluscs, crustaceans and fish) and also sketched the scallop sculpture on Aldeburgh beach. We even had good weather for a couple of walks. Nick was only with us for 3 days as he's got a job which is taking him to London 2 or 3 days a week.
The London job will continue for several months, which is great work wise, but is taking a while to adjust to for family life.
As I write the USA election results stand at Bush 254, Kerry 252. Ohio result will decide it.

taking a break

Spent the day by going to Licensing Committee, taking a look at potholes and high kerbs in Paulton, then putting together a newsletter.
Now packing to take children to Suffolk tomorrow so we can see my Mum and Dad. Nick will join us for the weekend.
So that means I'll be away from the computer and the blog for a week.

Have a good week.

going to westminster

Travelled up to London yesterday for meeting at House of Commons. A good number of South West activists there and an informative and enjoyable day. Met up with current South West Labour MPs too.

Just been asked to take part in Bath Uni's Union Week next week. The MOnday is themed around "representation" and they want all three major parties to be there to talk to students and for a panel session at lunch time. Sadly (and I mean that, I'm not being facetious) I'm away next week with my children for half term. So, spending time today and tomorrow getting people together to represent Labour. It's a great idea and I congratulate the Student Union for doing it.

Have to take elder daughter to have two teeth out today prior to having a brace fitted. Poor Jen. Much TLC will be called for. Making some soup for her! At least her dental care is free. The cost of medical treatment comes home to you when you have to take a pet to the vet. One rabbit with sore eyes? All sorted out, but £70! Help! Thank heavens for NHS when it comes to humans.

fair trade

An answer for AJE who asked what I said about Fair Trade. That it's a step on the way to making trading between North and South (broadly speaking) more balanced. We did a role play where the buyer from a big multinational company drops the price being offered for something like cocoa or coffee with no warning. One of the youngsters playing the part of a cocoa farmer said "But that's not fair". Exactly right. The children asked about rich people or countries just giving money to poorer people/countries so we had a bit of a discussion about aid and trade and I told them how Bono said recently, "justice not charity". The Yr 6 pupils are going to run a Fair Trade tuck shop, maybe do an Assembly to tell the rest of school about Fair Trade and lobby the staff to get Fair Trade tea and coffee in the staff room. The point was to get them thinking and to see what they could do about it, taking some action. It's citizenship.

I'm really concerned about the animosity generated by problems and opinions about the Rec in Bath. I know that people on all sides of the argument(s!) feel strongly, but litigation rarely helps heal such rifts properly. I'd like to see the discussion have a fresh start from here. Any consultation on ideas for the future uses of the Rec must be truly open and thorough, engaging as wide a variety as possible of residents (including young people).

hi Tim

Discovered today that I have at least one reader of my blog, Tim, who is political assistant to Lib Dem Group on B&NES council, so......... Hi Tim. It's encouraging to know that there are readers out there. Do comment, please!
Home now at the end of what should have been a much shorter Council meeting. Give councillors a chance to talk and they'll fill all the available time. I rather think that we should have Council meetings more often (once a month), but have Standing Orders which make them shorter. I ended up discussing that after the meeting with other councillors, so it's not just me.
It's a good thing women can multi-task as today I had to be Group Leader, Political Assistant, PPC, Company Secretary, wife and mother. It's an interesting life, but at almost midnight I'm glad I'm home for a cup of tea and then off to bed.
One good thing about a long council meeting was that driving home I caught Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy again on Radio 4.
Goodnight.