Strange without Andrew
I’m a by-election widdow at present, ‘Hubby’ has been juggling family life, his job as well as working on the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. He’s shattered but really enjoying things and I’m just a little concerned that he’ll not know what to do with himself at the weekend, when the results are in and he’s got to slow down a bit. However, we have our own local community leaflet to finish, print and fold ready to get out asap too!
I’m returned from our local Bury Friends of the Earth meeting. They are supporting the Manchester wide Congestion Charging Bid – I still have very mixed feelings and huge, huge concerns. I agree that we need to improve public transport but local councils could have been doing this for years – they have been caught on the hoof with climate change concerns and congested roads and feel the need to be seen to be doing ‘something’. The ‘something’ ie TIF bid has far too many problems and difficulties to overcome and also creates an additional tax on the ordinary working person. So yes, invest and improve public transport (but who will use it at night if it’s not safe) BUT find another way without taxing the ordinary motorist who can ill afford either a hybrid car (to be exempt) or to pay the tax!
Away from my rant – my student’s work is still coming in, in dribs and drabs – yesterday I managed to get coursework work ‘signed off’ that should have been completed last year. It’s as though some of them live in a computer game, a bubble far from reality that if they are not doing a conventional A level with its associated exams – the alternative means they have coursework that they really need to do! Perhaps if we stopped their EMA payments when their third piece of coursework didn’t appear, they would be forced to either find a job or get on with their work – time to go, ranting again! There again, I’ll not be able to afford to get to my teaching job if congestion charging comes along …. maybe I’ll have to start looking for something else … nearer home …
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