Thursday 3rd July
I came straight from the train after work to the follow-up Hanover Day Association meeting which was held in the church in Washington Street and it was lovely to see The Revd Steven Foster again. This is a key event in Brighton Pavilion constituency and there was an excellent turnout for the meeting. Hugh was obviously pleased with the level of support – we almost couldn’t fit everyone in the room! I undertook to follow-up with Sussex Police why it had been suggested that a PCSO may not be available to support Hanover Day.
I noticed from the Brighton Business website today that income levels in Brighton and Hove fall below those of the rest of the South East, although the cost of living is comparable with London, Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex. It seems that to counteract this, we have more self-employed people in Brighton than the rest of the South East. See www.brightonbusiness.co.uk to find out more.
Friday 4th July
I was out and about meeting residents in Withdean this morning. One resident raised concerns about the NHS and the need to see value for money from the investment. Labour has made a huge investment in the health service and I agree that we need to see value for money from this investment. Satisfaction rates among patients have risen, however, having met lots of NHS staff on the doorstep, I am concerned that staff are given time to get used to new systems and structures before further changes are introduced. I am also keeping a close eye on local reconfiguration of hospitals and in particular access to maternity and accident and emergency services.
Saturday 5th July
It was back out in Withdean meeting residents this morning and then a quick stop for lunch before going to Carlton Hill Primary School summer fair. They kindly asked me to call the raffle and I don’t think I have ever seen so many prizes! It was great fun and wonderful to see so many children helping with the organisation of the event.
After announcing the winners for ‘Guessing the weight of the melon’ and ‘How many pennies in the jar’ at Carlton Hill, I went on to Balfour Junior’s Summer Fair. I helped out on the hoopla stall for children where I had to be quite strict because there was a bit of edging over the line going on to get the ring around the prize!
I had a chat to Nicola Harrison, the local PCSO and it was good to be able to put a face to a name I’ve been in email contact with for months. Nicola sends out an excellent newsletter about what’s happening in her area. She was being a very good sport and had set up a stand where children could throw wet sponges at her – thankfully for her, some of the children’s aim was way off but she looked like a few of them had got her!
Sunday 6th July
I joined other members of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom for a fantastic Sunday lunch. Baroness Joyce Gould spoke about her work as Chair of the Women’s National Commission. Some robust discussion took place over lunch especially about nuclear arms. As a member of CND, my opposition to nuclear arms and the renewal of Trident is very clear.
After the lunch, I popped down to the Sandgate Street Party with Cllrs Kevin Allen and Juliet Mccaffery. It had been raining heavily in Brighton so there were no stalls but a very enthusiastic line-dancing session was taking place!
Monday 7th July
This evening I joined the North Laine Community Association at the launch of their new contributory website and met lots of local residents and businesses. The website will allow residents, both past and present, to share their memories of living in the area, say what they think of the North Laine today and have a say on local issues. It will also provide much useful local information. Take a look at www.nclaonline.org.uk
Posted on July 9, 2008 in Out and About in Brighton.
