Yes, I have been wading into local politics but rest assured I’m not standing for election. I will tell you the latest in the Toddington People project comings and goings and, in all other ways, this week has been delightfully normal.
A few days ago, a local story reach the Daily Mail. It was all about our blummin Council hitting the headlines and the rumpus it has caused locally. You see, the Councillors voted against raising the money allocated to the free school meals budget (for needy families) and moments later the Councillors awarded themselves an inflationary rise in their expenses. It should be noted, it was a Tory move with a number of independent Councillors and some of other political leanings voting against it.
The newspaper article spoke of Cllr Dixon as a wealthy man expressing his view that everyone feels the effects of inflation no matter whether someone lives in a Manor House or a [modest] cottage. This caused outrage, both in the council chamber and the local Facebook page.
While I thought it regrettable they should vote against free school meals, the important thing is for ordinary people to be able to stand as Councillors and not be put off by inadequate allowances. I pointed out that the best Councils were those where elected members came from all walks of life, including those who were affluent and those who were not. If you limit the spread of Councillors, you limit democracy and then there’s less challenge to these outrageous decisions.
I also pointed out, to some of the angry Facebook followers, that some Councillors were very good, such as our own independent Councillor. She is excellent in forming the bridge between her ward and the blummin Council. Other Councillors were dreadful and ought to be ousted. The main protagonist was a Councillor who I had previously written to and he never even had the courtesy to reply, unlike our own Councillor who is tremendous.
There is no reason why you should have national political parties having a place in local politics. Their job is to represent us and to run the local authority with all of their responsibilities; it is not to be aligned with political parties. The example which springs to mind is Frome when, a few years ago, a group of independents swept away a bunch of long standing, lazy and dusty Councillors to such good effect.
I ended up suggesting one outraged lady could stand for election herself but she declined saying “I don’t have the time, patience or self control to deal with self serving idiots!”. Well that’s a shame, she could be excellent and just what’s needed.
If you’re interested, here is a link to the Daily Mail article – click here
Toddington People project
Progress with the Toddington Project is slower than I would like but progress is definitely being made: this week I am photographing a homeworker, a Parish Councillor and an astronomer.
The main problem has been people refusing to be included. They like the idea of the book but don’t want to be in it themselves, for whatever reason. It could be that I’m not explaining it very well, or people think I’m trying to scam them or they have fears about their privacy being invaded, or perhaps something else. For every 10 people I approach, five decline.
For every time I feel disappointed, I get a great photo, like the one above and this is one of my favourites. The photo is of a local historian, Alan Higgs. He runs a village Facebook pageant is always posting photos of historic interest – buildings and people. Happily he readily agreed and invited me into his house immediately to take the photo, which I think came out nicely.
Problems with my ears
Rachel has patiently put up with me gradually increasing the volume on the TV to the point that she had to complain. A debate followed.
“When was the last time your ears were syringed?”
The answer was many years ago and I do admit that my hearing is probably (cough cough) being affected by the build up of earwax.
So I went to the pharmacy, bought some ear drops and now find the wax in my ears has swollen, thus blocking my ears even more. The TV is somewhat muffled, along with everything else. At least I can turn the volume up even more – and Rachel can – and did – put on her sound cancelling headphones when watching TV with me!
I do hope the ear drops work, I think they are….
Otherwise my ears are fine. You might remember I had my ears pierced back in January, much to my mother’s horror and the shock of many friends. The little holes are nicely healed and I have progressed from the initial labret studs to a pair of little gold sleeper earrings which can be left in all the time. Now having proved the point that I’m a bit of a rebel and don’t always want to follow the herd, I’m wondering if the novelty is wearing off……
And finally, this last week has been delightful. I have been catching up with a few things at home and haven’t gone very far. We went to church (twice) and our church Homegroup, a national trust place in Northamptonshire, a committee meeting, dinner out with friends and some different friends being welcomed into the Quirky Museum for an evening meal. Blissful.