Ann Garner

It’s really annoying to have to ask for repairs and cleaning due to damage and neglect.  I’ve asked for cleaning of Park St Car Park  due to litter and purple paint splashed over the wall and care for new metal railings, which are either unfinished or being dismantled!  I also reported damage to the spider climbing frame, St Mary’s Park, where the metal rope has been cut through and a second rope damaged – this is very deliberate, I despair at the thought of the cost of the repair of this new play equipment!   

An end of summer BBQ Lib Dem social will be in our garden this afternoon; I’m wondering if the big black clouds are going to hang around or wander else where so the sun can come out!  It’s got me wondering how our friend’s family in

I’m more proud than ever, of being a Lib Dem!  How can any true Lib Dem feel ‘betrayed’ Mr E. Miliband?  Lib Dems are in the heart of Government, helping to sort out the mess of a high spending previous Labour Government who also led the country into an illegal War in Iraq!  It is the Labour Party that should be apologizing, not inviting Lib Dems to join them!

I met a wonderful gentleman this afternoon.  His wife was admitted into hospital last Friday – its now Wednesday and he’d not been told what ward she is on or given a number to call to see how she is.  An hour later we could reassure him that she’s getting better and could be home in a couple of days. 

Its hard being a carer at any time of life and I can appreciate how busy hospital staff must be.  Mr M’s wife has dementia – she loves her husband to bits and will have been fretting for him.  I am amazed that nobody thought to contact Mr M, to let him know how she is and which ward she is on!    

Like many, I’m concerned with reported comments by PM Cameron about the possibility of changing tenancy rights for social housing.  To me, it’s an ill considered quick head-line win and impractical, with few actual winners and too many losers.  A more positive policy shift to unlock capacity is by doing such things as offering to pay removal costs as well as funding towards new carpets/curtains as an incentive for single people or couples to down-size from their previous family home.  But this still doesn’t address the issues of meeting demand for affordable housing.   Mr Cameron needs to take a copy of Ken Loach’s 1960s ‘Cathy Come Home’ on holiday – housing and social needs still haven’t changed and developed to meet needs.  Cathy’s story is still a powerful message about people, families and the complexity of relationships coupled with housing and social support needs. As in many areas of the country, our local council’s housing list has thousands of people in various ‘bands’ according to need.  The ‘band’ denotes who will be offered a house first and where I am, you get three offers and if you don’t like any of them you go back to the bottom of the list again i.e. there is little choice in a housing allocation lottery.   A small typical late 1930s, poorly insulated three bed house is £75 per week in my area.  Without a porch, as you enter you either go upstairs or left to the diner/kitchen or right to the front room. There is a basic double cupboard, sink unit and worktop space in the kitchen/diner.  They are made cosy and much loved by many residents who see them as their homes – so they care for them.  Removing their emotional connection with ‘their home’ will be a huge disincentive to look after the property. 

I supported a family who after getting re-housed from a damp one-bed flat with a baby, to get ‘the council’ to raise the plugs to worktop height and as they fitted them upside down and sort out two pieces of worktop that didn’t match. The garden was caked in brambles – which are almost impossible to get rid of. ‘Mum’ was furious and I distinctly remember her comments about being treated as though she is lower than the low - as she has a council house and yet her and hubby both work.  Their jobs often alter and without permanency or funds for a down payment for their own home, they were forced to rent a council house. Our council has a decent homes grading for the quality of its housing stock. When you take up one of their houses you move into an empty property.  Many have central heating – downstairs.  They are clean, small and dry.  Gardens are often with poorly kept fences and gates which the resident has to promise to maintain themselves.  You cannot make structural alterations and need permission to install such items such as a shower, often being forced to pay inflated costs for installation by ‘preferred’ suppliers. For private rented homes, you need a deposit as well as references – a barrier to many families. The previous Conservative Government introduced the ‘right to buy’ your council house if you’d lived there for five years, with a discount on the overall purchase value in reflection of how long you’d lived there and paid rent.  A sort of hire purchase agreement.  This could have been a wonderful scheme expect that the Government sucked up the funding released from selling off council homes AND didn’t build more homes to replace the ones they had sold.  So social housing stock dwindled and demand continued to rise.  Labour continued with this policy, with reduced discounts to discourage more homes to be lost.  Had real change happened and replacement housing had been built to meet demand, we’d have the social housing stock we’d need.  Tinkering, in a threatening manner, with people’s social housing tenancy agreements will only add to the worry and stress of so many people.  Just hope our LD MPs of the Coalition or a wet Cornish afternoon with ‘Cathy’ can make the PM see sense! 

I can’t believe that I was moaning that I’ve got behind with my washing due to our weather!  We’re so lucky to live in a fairly safe place, without floods or extreme temperatures or forest fires this summer!  Off now for the health walk and lunch with a colleague to plan activities for the ROC Café.

An exciting new drop-in Cafe Bar for teenagers (age 11-16) is now open on Friday evenings at the Phoenix Centre, St Mary’s Park. A brand new youth initiative for Prestwich, the ROC Café and youth club promises to be a great place for young people to come.  Open from 6.30 to 9.30pm, each Friday evening for only 50p!
 
I’ve volunteered to help and we offer young people fruit and drinks as well as have a Tuck Shop, chill out area, pool table, music and arts activities.  We’ll also be working with local young people to develop plans for a Skateboard Dish in St Mary’s Park. We have planning permission for the facility, but not the £400,000 to build it!

The focus of the ROC Café is to engage and encourage young people to come and spend time in a safe environment rather than hang around the streets. The project is a partnership between Bury Youth Service and Local Area Partnership, Prestwich Methodist Youth Association, Churches Together, Prestwich Local Area Partnership, the Police and Fire Service.  Its all about local people and organisations coming together to reach out to young people and engage them to value, respect each other as well as do positive things for their communities. 

We’re invited to the Prestwich launch of the Bury Walk Active Booklet on Monday 9th August, 10am, Prestwich Library. Becky Earl from Sports Development will be leading a 30 minute walk which is suitable for all ages and abilities. The walk is on pavements. All you need is sensible footwear and a bottle of water.

The Walk Active booklet contains 18 walks in Bury (3 in each township) of varying grades all designed to get people out walking in their neighbourhoods. The booklet is part of Bury’s Walk4Life promotion campaign to get us out, about and fitter!

This north Norfolk village has everything you’d want, especially if you love stars, there aren’t any street lights; if you don’t leave a light on if you’re going to be out late, you’ll not find your way back!

The village stores are a delight – with local produce including a super range of local ales, apple juices and organic wines. They also have rooms of antiques to browse through and will order your fav newspaper for you to collect each morning, too! The Gin Trap, local pub is close for food and beverages and the plant nursery iat the back of us is great to pop in to, too. We’ve been on some super local walks especially at Holme Marsh Bird Reserve and Andrew’s sick of me gathering pinecones for my students back at college – we’re going to be creative with nature, next term!

Musts to visit are of course Sandringham, although we were a little disappointed that you’re only allowed in a few downstairs ‘showing rooms’. However, for your £11 admission fee you do get to see the stuffed, hunted animals (yuk), gun collection (not to my taste) and superb collection of cars and carriages. We were surprised at the tearooms – never before have I received a mug of boiling water, tea bag and plastic spoon at a stately home! However, their variety of home produced apple juice available at our village store is exceptional!

Burnham Market with its shops is pretty as is Walsingham’s Farm Shops (both in Walsingham and at Norfolk Lavender, Heacham). The Walsingham Old Abbey and Court House is well worth a visit with a superb river and woodland walk.

Topping the bill is Holkam Park’s lakeside nature walk followed by afternoon tea – in teacups with a teapot – along with the most superb home made cake. Your £2.50 car-parking fee is also refunded against food/souvenir purchases so afternoon tea for two, with cakes came to under £7. The nature walk’s great as the little signposts tell you all about the ducks and undergrowth too (Andrew says its like leafleting, lots of stopping but with a educational read rather than a letter box!).

The Sedgeford Village SHARP dig is the longest running community led archaelogical dig - we were welcomed to teh visitor’s centre and volunteers working on teh dig came over to offer to talk to us about it - and invited us to sign up for a course to learn how to help next summer (maybe a project for my students!). Hiring cycles from nearby Bircham Windmill was also fun as was the climb up this lovingly restored now working windmill - with super bakery and tea rooms - so we’re heading for home with their special flour, too!

Pity, as with all holidays – there is an ending and a pile of emails/letters and phone messages to deal with when life meets us back home. … until next time ….. in another cottage in another quiet English village (with a shop of course!) … or maybe back here ……

Summer is here!
Wondering want to do with your time this summer?Take a look at all the playschemes, activities and events running in Bury this summer for children, young people and families

Click on and Check out all the information behind the new look Find it 4 Me picture icons at:
www.bury.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople