Letter section,Thetford and Brandon - 17th September 2008

Alcohol Ban for Estates in Thetford

So what's been happening lately?

Tuesday 2nd September; Attended a course on how to put a website together, was held at the Keystone Innovation Centre and was attended by quite a lot of people, primarily those from the business community. Some guy from Business Link did himself no favours by making a derogatory remark about Thetford during his presentation which certainly angered me and probably others too. Then I had the weekly art club at the Abbey. Wednesday 3rd Sept: Work with Jean from 9.30am on the Charles Burrell project, going really well. Then worked with Tim Lovejoy from 2pm on Barnham Cross matters. Attended my first planning committee meeting in the evening at 7pm. Had to declare an interest in two items, both by Peddars Way as the fund my community post at Keystone Thursday 4th Sept: Went with James to see a financial adviser in town re: getting a mortgage, will cost about £800 to get me put onto the mortgage. At 2pm I met with 3 residents from the Abbey Estate who want to set-up a project to record videos and take photos about good community stories in Thetford and post them on the internet, gave some advice on potential funding sources, how to set the group up etc. At 7.30pm, it was the monthly Thetford Labour Party meeting, the first one taking place in the new Thetford Sports and Social Club. Friday 5th September: General office work, then attended a Finance and Buildings Committee meeting at Charles Burrell at 2.30pm Saturday 6th Sept: Worked with Jean from 11am - 1pm; yes! on a Saturday!! Spent a couple of hours door knocking and talking to residents about the Charles Burrell project and also parking issues along Staniforth Road and speeding concerns. Sat night - watched Bee Movie with Kyle and Jaime. Monday 8th Sept: Was due to meet Bev Williams from Creative Arts East to progress with the Bollywood Concert but her car broke down so that was cancelled, progressed with general bits and pieces and wrote my list of aims and objectives for September. Spent evening with Davi, had pizza and watched The Wedding Singer. Tuesday 9th Sept: Travelled to Wymondham to meet Bev, suprisingly managed to find the place in Wymondham quite easily. From there I went to meet the marketing company which is based between Wymondham and Attleborough, they are putting together the initial leaflet for the Charles Burrell project. Had to get back to Thetford via all the villages as the A11 was closed off. At 1.30pm I met with Tim Lovejoy and John Warnock about the TCA's football coaching project - went well. Then worked the first art club session from 3.30pm - 6.15pm then whizzed to Barnham Cross for the monthly resients group meeting from 6.30pm - 9pm. A busy - but very productive day!!! Wednesday 10th Sept: Had my first Staniforth Trust meeting, the Trust owns Kings House and the gardens, the Town Council rents Kings House off the Trust, all Town Councillors are Trustess of the Staniforth Trust. Had a discussion about making improvements to the garden etc. Thursday 11th Sept: Monthly Safer Thetford Action Group meeting at 10am Friday 12th Sept: Progressed with Barnham Cross admin work etc with Tim, and met with Angela, Steve and Keith Beckett to discuss safety issues around Pine Close shops and to agree further improvements. Looks like we're getting anti-climb paint (!) oh well. In the evening, myself, Sarah L, Ricky, Fiona, Gary and Fionas son spent a few hours sorting through all the cupboards at the Abbey Centre, we've created an art room and a music room for the kids at the Tuesday sessions! Limited storage as ever at the Abbey! Today - Saturday 13th Sept: Had a nice long lay-in, spending the day updating my blog, processing paperwork, generally tidying up and doing housework - washing, polishing, hoovering etc, all the fun things!

Street Art Event in Bury Free Press 29.08.08

Colourful art hits the street Published Date: 29 August 2008 By Lindsey Newton "Thetford was awash with colour as youngsters celebrated the achievements of Team GB at the Olympics. The Street Art comes to Thetford event took place on Wednesday and yesterday and was organised by Terry Jermy, Keystone Development Trust community and youth project worker, with the aim of getting young people and families involved in art. Kevin Parker, a Norwich artist, created the design and sprayed the outline on the Market Place and the gaps were painted. Mr Jermy said: "It was a great chance for children to do something fun and creative in the town during the summer break." Ruby Miller, nine, of St John's Way, said: "It's fun doing the painting and we are working in a team," while Amy Meardon, 10, of Churchill Road, said: "It's quite tough to keep it neat but I am enjoying it and it will look good when it is finished." The painting will be on view until Sunday, when it will be removed with pressure washers.

Abbey Art Group Article in Bury Free Press 05.09.08

Published Date: 05 September 2008 By Lindsey Newton A youth group to entertain Thetford's youngsters has gone from strength to strength, thanks to the dedication of staff and volunteers. The Abbey Children and Youth Venue, which meets weekly at the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre, was started six weeks ago by the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre Help Our Residents (Anchor) group.Set up to cater for five-15 year olds, the venue has got a youngsters who visit every week and numbers are growing.Thanks to funding from the Monument Trust, each session offers a themed arts activity.Activities have included making and decorating badges and Olympic medals as well as creating fruit kebabs.Terry Jermy, Keystone Development Trust community arts co-ordinator, said: "The response to the new group has been overwhelming and some weeks we have had more than 50 youngsters taking part."It is really great to offer the youngsters something to keep them entertained."Staff from Keystone attend each session and a number of parent volunteers help. The project is also supported by Ricky and Sarah Aylott, who run the Abbey Café.The Abbey Children and Youth Venue takes place every Tuesday from 4-5.30pm for children aged five-nine and from 6–7.30pm for 10-15 year-olds. Each session costs 50p. For more information, contact the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre on 01842 821643 http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/thetford/Art-activities-group-off-to.4459814.jp

Street Art Event; 27th and 28th August

End of August activities...

August is now over, it really flew by! I had a particularly busy week last week with the street art event in Thetford. On Tuesday 26th - Art / Youth Club day, 3.30-7.30pm, a total of 44 young people over the two sessions! eek! Bury Free Press attended today and took some pictures and will be writing an article about the club which I will post seperately. Wednesday 27th - Interviewed live on Radio Norfolk at 7.20am about the Street Art Event, chatted about the event and then they asked what Olympic sport I would take part in if I was an athlete and I couldn't think of anything so strangely said boxing! Thursday 28th - Second day of street art event, went really well, hundreds of people took part with the painting or just standing and watching. Will post photos and press cuttings seperately. A few negative comments - mainly about it encouraging graffiti, a view shared by some of my town council colleagues unfortunately but there we go!

Update on August's activities..

It is more difficult than I thought to make regular postings on this thing! Well I've not posted since the 1st August so quite a few things have been happening.

Mon 4th August; Progressed with Charles Burrell Garden/Sculpture Project with Jean in the morning. At 3pm I met with Margaret Ince of Thetford Art Gallery to discuss the 'Upstairs Comes Down' activities and Street Art event later in August. At 7pm we had a TCA / Ballpark meeting at the Sports and Social Club.

Tues 5th August; Met with Tim Lovejoy (BAG Chair) from 10-12pm to progress with Barnham Cross Estate projects, from 12.30-2.30pm I was with the new cleaner for the Abbey Centre - Caroline. Then in the afternoon I had to whizz to Tescos to get the items needed for Art/Youth club which runs from 3.30pm - 7.30pm every Tuesday at the Abbey Centre, this week there was a fruit theme with fruity arts activities and we made fruit kebabs which the kids loved, they enjoyed it so much they made some to take home, wrapped them in tissue paper and put sticky labels on for their different family members.

Weds 6th August; Met with Dave H and Lynne W at 10am to undertake a handover of the TCA Accounts from Lynne to Dave, managed to remember to buy Lynne a thank-you card and get some flowers which was much appreciated. Went to Hemsby in the evening with James to visit Ricky, Sarah and kids who were staying in a caravan for the week. Managed to burn my arm coming down the sack slide at a funny angle! but was all good fun, especially the fish and chips!

Thurs 7th August: Just a day in the office progressing with things.

Friday 8th August: Met with Barbara B to sort through some arts materials which are being donated to Fulmerston Family Project. In the evening I went to meet Kyle in March and then to see Batman at the cinema in Peterborough, was very good!

Sat and Sunday - nothing particular that I can remember!

Mon 11th August; Progressed with Charles Burrell Community Garden Project, met with Jean at 9.30am, and we met with the Charles Burrell Museum at 10am - really constructive meeting, at 11.30am we met with a local builder to start getting quotes for the sculpture plinth and walkways, you could say its full steam ahead for this little project!

Tuesday 12th: Art Club again from 3.30pm - 7.30pm

Wednesday 13th: Nothing particular to report, was supposed to be a Town Council Planning Committee meeting but this was cancelled due to an insufficient amount on the Agenda. No TC meeting til Sept now!

Thursday 14th August; Monthly Safer Thetford Action Group (STAG) - always interesting and useful.

Friday 15th August; Met Carlos in Great Yarmouth, had some dinner and watched TV. Got confirmation today that our Big Sitting Room Project to Norfolk Community Foundation was approved and the Fulmerston Family and Community Project has been awarded £5,000 - the max possible, so I am delighted with that.

Saturday 16th August: Mum and Dad left for Dover to meet Ricky on ship and go on hols for a week, lucky them!

Monday 18th August! My birthday!!! Wohoo-- went to Colchester Zoo for the day with Jaime, James, Gemma and Charlee, was a really fun day, will post some pictures seperately. Got lots of cards, text messages, emails and facebook messages which was really heartening. In the evening, myself, J & J went round to see my sister who's staying at Mum and Dads and we had chinese with her, Dan and Jaden, yum!!

Tuesday 19th August: Back at work today, art club again, had an incredible 44 kids in total today, very very busy! James helped out today as he is on hols all week. Sarah's on A/L for the next two weeks, on my own at the Abbey, booooooooooooorrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnng!

Wednesday 20th August; Nothing too exciting to report, just progressing with Awards for All application with the Fulmerston Family and Community Project, hoping to re-submit ASAP. Also continuing with Street Art event next week.

On Thursday, I will be progressing with various things and attending the Thetford Art Gallery presentation evening at 7pm.

Think that's about it!

Is it Friday already?...

Another busy week which has just flown by.... On Monday morning I met with Jean Ridley one of our casual workers at Keystone who will be working with me to co-ordinate our Charles Burrell Community Garden and sculpture project now that our grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund is confirmed, hooooray! Then on Tuesday we had our second Abbey Children and Youth Club for 5-9 years and then 10-15 years, always very tiring as it runs from 3.30pm until 7.30pm and we had over 30 children again which is fantastic and they seemed to enjoy it, plus Community Music East were present this week too to run a music workshop so the kids really enjoyed that. On Wednesday I attended my first meeting of Thetford Town Council! It is going to be very strange campaigning for improvements as a member of the Town Council rather than being somebody who just attended Town Council meetings! Thursday was very excited because at 10am we had another meeting for the Barnham Cross Regeneration Steering Group, the group that is looking at demolishing some garage blocks and vacant pieces of land around the Estate, I've seen lots of the plans and proposals now and I honestly think this is the most exciting things to happen to this Estate since it was first built, it is going to completely transform the area for the better, later on Thursday we met with Fir Road residents and then Beech Close residents to look at the proposals for their specific areas. And finally, Friday morning I helped run one of our Summer Arts Extravaganzar activities - a family art session at Fulmerston Church, we had in total about 30 people and they really enjoyed it which was great, amazing how much mess can be made with just a few glue pots and some finger paints!!! Off to a meeting regarding my business website tonight.....

Bury Free Press Article; 25th July 2008

What an awful photograph!

More Dads Army pictures.... 27th July 2008

Dads Army Parade Video 27th July 2008

Dads Army Day Pictures 27th July 2008

Mums Garden; 27th July 2008

A busy week....

It has been another busy week! On Monday there was a meeting of the Thetford Community Association which was very good, we are now setting up our project funded by the Football Foundation to deliver coaching sessions at the Ballpark. On Tuesday it was the first Abbey Art Club / Abbey Youth Venue session, from 4pm - 5.30pm it's 5-9 years and 6pm - 7.30pm it's 10-15 years, for both sessions we had about 15 children which was great - although very tiring. On Wednesday I was at Fulmerston Church for my weekly Barnham Cross Community Work session. On Thursday in the morning I went to the Town Council offices to meet with the Town Clerk, sign my 'acceptance of office' papers and talk about how things work at the council and then later on Thursday I had a trip to London for my business, I had 30 people booked to see Hairspray and Joseph, the trip seemed to go really well and peopled enjoyed it which was great. Then on Friday I had the day booked off so I could have a lay-in, then I did some business admin work and then went to Newmarket Races with Mum, Dad, Michelle, Jaden, Dan, Mark and Evie for a day at the races and to watch UB40 perform - I didn't win all day at the races and then the last race I put £5 each way on a horse at 12/1 and it came in first so I won all my money back for the day!! hooray. Today I'm off into town to see the Storm concert at Castle Park.........

Thetford and Brandon Article; 23 07 08

Letters; Thetford and Brandon 23 07 08

Letter to Thetford and Brandon 23rd July 2008

Dear Editor May I take the opportunity to thank all of the people that voted for myself and the other candidates in the Saxon Ward by-election held last week (17th July). I am delighted and humbled that so many people voted to put their trust in me and elect me as their new town councillor, particularly considering I was by far the youngest councillor and also a candidate for the Labour Party – at a time when such a thing may be considered a hindrance. I was particularly pleased that our campaign managed to engage new people with local democracy, a number of people who voted on Thursday had never voted before or seldom vote and I am pleased that we did our bit to engage these people in the democratic process. May I also thank the other candidates themselves who conducted a hard fought, yet positive campaign on local issues. My particular thanks to the runner up candidate, Mike Brindle, who was an excellent opponent. I believe that this result was the endorsement of hard work and determination. The people of Thetford deserve hard working councillors who fight with passion and determination to promote Thetford for the wonderful place that it is and seek further improvements, based on sound local knowledge and consultation with the people of this town. I hope I can live up to people's expectations and play may part in improving Thetford for the future. The real work starts now! Best wishes, Terry Jermy New Saxon Ward Town Councillor Newtown Thetford

And the winner is.....?

ME!!! I am completely shocked, humbled and amazed. Considering I was the youngest candidate at this election (by quite a large number) and also considering I was the Labour Party Candidate at a time when Labour is less than popular, I am suprised that we did so well. I had no idea that I had won right up until the Returning Officer announced the numbers and even then it did not quite sink in. The real work starts now!!

Top of election leaflet

Statement of persons nominated

Letters; Thetford and Brandon 28th May 2008

Thetford Ballpark Press Article

Thetford and Brandon Times Letter 21 05 08

Bury Free Press Article

Thetford Town Council: 'Youngster' steps down Published Date: 16 May 2008 By Paul Bloomfield Work commitments have forced one of Thetford's youngest town councillors to step down. Gareth Pickering, 29, was elected to represent the Saxon Ward last year, along with his 21-year-old brother Sam Chapman-Allen and mother Marion Chapman-Allen.The two brothers helped to cut the average age of the council from 70 to 58.6 years.However, Mr Pickering has decided to stand down because of work commitments and because he will be moving from Thetford.The announcement follows claims from representatives of the Thetford Labour Party that Mr Pickering had attended just four of 27 full council and planning meetings held over the last year.Ed Chambers, Thetford Town Council clerk, said Cllr Pickering had attended town council meetings in May, June, July, November and last week's mayor-making ceremony, which he said would be his last official duty as a town councillor and would be resigning at the next town meeting.Mr Chambers confirmed Mr Pickering had not attended any planning meetings since May last year.Cllr Pickering said: "The electoral rules state that you have to either live or work in the area you represent. As I am no longer living in Thetford, I would not have been allowed to continue as a town councillor. This is my only reason for standing down."He added: "I very much enjoyed representing local residents and taking the work of the town council forward." "I am very sad to be leaving the town council especially at this very exciting time, but I cannot give the amount of time that this important role requires because of my work commitments."Sylvia Armes, of Thetford Labour Party, said her call for his resignation was nothing personal."Mr Pickering last attended in November 2007 and then did not attend until just the other day on May 7. Had he not attended for just a couple more weeks, he would have been automatically removed."At this time of change in Thetford, we need councillors who will represent the people from their area and stick up for residents of the town."They simply cannot do this if they fail to attend a single meeting of the town council for nearly six months," she said.A by-election for the vacant Saxon ward seat will take place in due course.

Thetford and Brandon 14th May 2008

Thetford Town Councillor Resigns!

Taken from the EDP website: "One of Thetford's youngest town councillors has announced that he is standing down because of work commitments.When Gareth Pickering, 29, and his brother Sam Chapman-Allen, 21, were elected to Thetford Town Council last year, they helped cut its average age from 70 to 58.6 years.But Mr Pickering, who works for Vodafone, in Bury St Edmunds, has now decided to relinquish his position as a town councillor because of work pressure and his decision to move away from Thetford.The news comes after representatives from the Thetford Labour Party revealed that the councillor had only attended four out of 27 full council and planning meetings over the last year.Mr Pickering, who was elected to the Saxon ward with is brother and mother Marion Chapman-Allen, last May, said it was with “great reluctance” that he would be resigning at the next town council meeting.“I very much enjoyed representing local residents and taking the work of the town council forward. We are very lucky in Thetford to have a great community spirit and growth point is going to mean great new opportunities for everyone, especially younger people. “I am really sad to be leaving the town council especially at this very exciting time, but I just cannot give the amount of time that this important role requires because of my work commitments,” he said.Sylvia Armes, of the Thetford Labour Party, who had been calling on Mr Pickering to resign, said: “At this time of change in Thetford, we need councillors who will represent the people from their area and stick up for the interests of the town. They simply cannot do this if they fail to attend a single meeting of the town council for nearly six whole months.”A by-election for the vacant Saxon ward seat will take place in due course." Report by Adam Gretton

Suffolk CeX

I'm sorry, I dont care how they try to justify this, I still think it's ridiculous! £220,000! That's more than the Prime Minister gets for running the whole country and she is just running one county. "The appointment of Suffolk's new chief executive on a £220,000 salary was based on inadequate information but not unlawful, an independent report has shown" http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED12%20May%202008%2017%3A43%3A26%3A550

Letter from Breckland Labour Group re: Post Office Closures

Dear Sirs, Re: Review of Post Office provision in the Breckland area I write to express my group’s concerns with some aspects of your proposed closure programme for the Breckland area of Norfolk. We do not dispute that commercial and viability considerations are important to all successful businesses. However, such “reinvention” programmes have taken place in the past and yet there still appears the need for further Branch closures to be contemplated. As you will appreciate, more than half of the Breckland Local Authority area is comprised of rural villages, many of whom are reliant on the local Post Office as the “social hub” of their communities. Breckland does appear to be extremely hard hit by your existing proposals and I question whether you have fully evaluated the community value and importance of these offices to local people. Though I have no wish to single out individual offices, our group is particularly concerned by the proposed closure of the Nun’s Bridges (Thetford) and Beeston branches. In the case of the former, many elderly customers would be forced into a journey of nearly three miles to find an alternative outlet; and, in the latter, the shop has historically provided a vital source of commerce for the village, and the loss of the Post Office business would seriously threaten its viability. As a group, we would urge restraint and trust that every effort will be made to spare as many offices from closure as possible. Yours faithfully, ROBIN GOREHAM Leader, Breckland Labour Group

New Mayor of Thetford

Last night I attended the official 'Mayor Making' ceremony at the Guildhall in Thetford. Our new incoming Mayor is Councillor John Harding, and he takes over from Robert Kybird. John Harding is an 'Independent' member of the Town Council and I think he will be more prepared to highlight the failures of Breckland Council and be more 'independent' minded which I think is a good thing for the Town. I wish him well for the year ahead.

Breckland Council's commitment to public services

If ever there was a single article published which could easily summarise Breckland Council's commitment to public services then I think it has just appeared in this weeks Thetford and Brandon Times - article below. The words; 'couldnt care less' spring to mind.

Letters from Thetford and Brandon Times; 7th May 2008

Again, for another week there are lots of highly critical articles of Breckland Council in the Thetford and Brandon Times newspaper, including letters and articles. Here are the relevant letters from the 'letters section' and below are the actually newspaper articles;

Articles from Thetford and Brandon Times 7th May 2008

Lottery grant successfull for Thomas Paine event

Lottery joy for Paine celebration

Taken from www.thetfordandbrandontimes.co.uk

06 May 2008

Plans to celebrate the life of Thetford's most famous son have received a major boost with organisers almost reaching their £100,000 fundraising target.Officials behind the Tom Paine 200 event spoke of their delight last week after securing a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.The cash boost means that Thetford can celebrate in style next year to mark the bicentenary of the death of the 18th century revolutionist and democratic hero.John Weeks, former Thetford Grammar School headteacher and festival coordinator, said the news of the lottery money meant that they had almost reached the £100,000 target launched five months ago to stage an ambitious programme of events to commemorate the achievements of the renowned writer in 2009.Oscar winning filmmaker and Paine fan Lord Attenborough is set to open a re-enactment event on June 6 and 7, which will cast Thetford back into the Georgian age. Street entertainers, drilling musketeers, and rabble rousing politicians will be just some of the characters populating the town centre on that weekend before a gala bicentenary dinner on Monday June 8 on the anniversary of Paine's death.The six month long celebrations will also include summer museum displays, workshops, story-telling, concerts, art exhibitions, school events, tours, lectures and a community play.Mr Weeks said the festival aimed to amuse and entertain as well as do justice to the serious issues Paine himself addressed in his forthright “commonsense” way.“We are planning an event which will attract visitors from abroad as well as from across the country. But at its heart, Tom Paine 200 is a chance for local people to come together, whether as individuals or through their community groups, to celebrate Paine and to celebrate Thetford.”“We are delighted that through this Heritage Lottery Fund grant has given us the chance to explore the energy, creativity and resolution of the town, past and present,” he said.Thomas Paine, who was born in Thetford in 1737 and was the son of a corset maker, was educated at the town's grammar school before leaving Norfolk at the age of 19. He went on to shape the American and French revolutions through his pamphleteering and his major works Common Sense, The Rights of Man and The Age of Reason.Robyn Llewellyn, head of Heritage Lottery Fund, East of England, said: “Thomas Paine is an important figure in both the history of Thetford and internationally and we are thrilled to be able to help fund this exciting opportunity for people to commemorate his life and works.”For more information, visit http://www.tompaine200.org.uk/.

Story Link:

http://www.thetfordandbrandontimes.co.uk/content/tbtimes/news/story.aspx?brand=TBOnline&category=news&tBrand=TBonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED06%20May%202008%2019%3A39%3A52%3A677

Today at work...

I finally managed to finish a couple of funding bids at work today, I've been working on these for a good few weeks and it always takes longer to finish these things off then you might think. I submitted the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for Keystone which, if successful, will pay for a series of workshops locally at the life of Charles Burrell the steam engine pioneer which is a key part of Thetford's history. It will also pay for a community garden to be put together near to the Charles Burrell High School in Thetford and it will pay to commission an artist to construct a metal sculpture of a steam engine. The second bid was on behalf of the Thetford Community Association, a local charity in Thetford. This was just for a few thousand pounds which they need to put with some money they already have confirmed from the Football Foundation. This money will pay for two evenings of football training courses for young people at the Thetford Ballpark. Both very worthwhile projects. I should also be able to finish off tomorrow the application to Awards for All which I have been working on with a local residents group - the Barnham Action Group, this will pay for a youth club (the Big Sitting Room) to take place on two evenings a week for the next year on the Barnham Cross Estate. Fingers crossed! :)

Statement from William Nunn

From the Breckland Council website:

Breckland council would like to thank residents who took the time to attend the public meeting in Thetford on Tuesday evening. William Nunn Leader of the Council said;

“We asked for this meeting to enable local people to voice their concerns and I believe that the meeting gave us a clear understanding of the frustration that Thetford residents are feeling, I want to reassure the public that Breckland is highly committed to Thetford’s future, as it is to all its communities. We will continue to invest in both services and projects to secure long term prosperity for the town and surrounding area. We will be working together with all our partners including the Thetford Town Council, Keystone, the County Council, and everyone dedicated to building on Thetford’s real community spirit. The Moving Thetford Forward Group involves us all and we will be consulting residents and local groups to make sure that new developments are in line with what residents want to happen and meet local needs.”

Letters... 30th April 2008

Letters... 16th April 2008

Hurrah for Bank Holidays!

How nice was it to not have to get up for work this morning! and to make things better, it is actually a nice sunny day. I have spent the morning putting together a mail-out to all members of the Labour Party here in the South West Norfolk Constituency. This is no easy task with over 150 members, it is suprising just how long it takes to print labels, put them on envelopes, attach stamps (thank-goodness for pre-sticky stamps!) and then stuff the envelopes with the letters etc. Oh well, hopefully it will be worth it. We have got Richard Howitt, the Labour MEP for the Eastern Region coming along to the next CLP meeting in a few weeks time so I am sure members will want to know about this and come along.

My first post!

Wow! Welcome to my first post. I have been thinking about starting my own blog for sometime but have worried that I may not have nothing interesting to write about or that I may not get time to write anything that often. However, today is the 4th May 2008 and I have been prompted to start the blog as nationally, the Labour Party has suffered what the media is describing as "its worst electoral defeat in 40 years". As somebody that reads many blogs on a regular basis and as a supporter of the Labour Party, I have become increasingly disappointed that there are very few blogs from a Labour Party perspective. I regularly read blogs such as Iain Dale, Guido Fawkes, Dizzy, Conservative Home, Little's Log, Norfolk Blogger and others and all of course are highly critical of the Government, sometimes justifiably, and sometimes I feel they can be very vindictive, unfair, and tirelessly search for bad news stories without giving a fair account of a situation, or express a balanced argument. With my blog, aptly called 'Jermy's Journal', I hope to give the views of somebody who supports the Labour Party, and the principles of the Labour Party and share my views to anybody that cares to read them. It is likely that I will predominantly comment on issues concerning our local Town, District and County Councils here in Thetford as these are of particular relevance and interest to me and I will also comment upon national topics and international topics. Here's to hopefully, many more blogs. TJUK2008