Yes I do feel as if I have been dashing here, there and everywhere; but it’s all good fun. This little update includes a freedom of information request, a trip to Cumbria and car troubles.
As usual I am spinning too many plates with too many tabs open in my mind. I have a few books which I am supposedly reading, producing another and I haven’t been to the gym for yonks. How did I ever find the time to work before I retired? I’m not complaining, moreover expressing a self-inflicted grumble.
Freedom of information
As our village and the surrounding area is relatively large, we are afforded two Councillors with our local authority. It is just as well really, seeing as how only one responds to emails or appears to do anything for us local residents. The other seems invisible and nobody seems to be aware of anything being done.
So, feeling slightly peeved at being ignored and hearing similar mutterings from other people, I decided to find out what the said Councillor has been up to. This is what the Freedom of Information request has revealed:
1. How many formal Council meetings have been attended, since being elected in May 2023?
The answer was the Councillor has attended just two meetings in ten months. Apologies were sent for another two meetings and four meetings that were not attended or apologies sent.
2. What has been paid for allowances, expenses etc?
Answer: £12,763.81
3. What committees, panels, working groups etc does the Councillor belong to?
The answer is as a substitute for one panel and is a member of the full Council (which I guess all Councillors are).
Now then, in wanting to be completely fair to this Councillor, I have since written to ask if there have been any particular reasons, or extenuating circumstances for not being particularly active. I have heard nothing back. Furthermore I wrote to the Council to ask if the email address is correct – duly confirmed it is correct.
I haven’t gone public in naming this Councillor. However I do want to make sure we, in the village, are properly represented and I’m giving some thought to what my next steps could be. Writing to the leader of the Council, perhaps? Watch this space…..
A trip to Cumbria
The green, mossy photo was taken a couple of weeks ago in Cumbria where we went for a few days. It was lovely in general and Hannah took us on a 7 mile walk which was brilliant. The “map” was a screenshot from Facebook and it all worked really well. The nice thing about visiting then was getting the right balance between nice weather and avoiding the crowds of tourists; it worked!
Car troubles
My 17 year old Toyota is poorly. It suddenly developed a horrible droning noise from a front wheel – it seems I have a worn out wheel bearing and I shouldn’t drive it any further than the garage to have it fixed.
Now while that is probably not a hugely expensive job, I am conscious of one or two other aspects where it is showing its age. As things stand, it is a very cost effect car to run: depreciation is negligible, fairly economical (averages 46mpg), always starts first time and is quiet and smooth on the motorway.
I think there’s a point when the running cost of all cars starts to rise and you question the amount of money you would want to spend to keep it going. While I have had the paint work touched up a couple of years ago to keep it nice, I wouldn’t do that now. The graph below shows where I’m thinking the car is at but just a guess for the future.
So a bit of a dilemma: solider on or time to change. Both involve money, sooner or later.
