A strange time of year for resolutions?

I, like many parents of school aged children, think September seems more of a 'New Year' than January, so I've done some of my reflecting now rather than when we're racing round the country trying to see as many relatives as possible over the Christmas break!

My reflections have been triggered by a tragedy.  My second cousin Deyanne died very suddenly a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't seen her for years and, as she was five years older than me, we were not close when growing up. That five years suddenly seems very small. She died aged 35 and leaves behind a 13 year old daughter and 4 year old son.  The tributes that poured into the local paper from people in our home town of Ulverston were incredible, to see the number of lives she had touched and the number of young people who she had championed - working with and for them, was humbling.

When I returned from the funeral one of the things waiting on my desk was my form to fill out if I wish to be considered for re-selection by the Labour Party to fight next years local elections. I fill in forms regularly, some for the party, lots for the Council and other partners, I even quite like filling in those questionnaires that offer a years free shopping, this one though, I really struggled with.

Mortality makes you question things more thoroughly than you otherwise may do. Is this what i want to be doing? Do I spend enough time with my gorgeous children? Could I make more of a difference doing something else? 

I love most of what I do as a Councillor, there are no two days alike, to have the opportunity to make where I live a better place is wonderful, and being able to work with someone and resolve a problem is a rare privilege.

There are also terrible frustrations. The petty internal squabbling, the bureaucracy, the slow progress of change, the individuals who want all your time but are never satisfied with the results (that can take you away from the people who really need help), the difficulty in getting 'good news' to people - these are all things to contend with. 

The other big challenge though is perception. Someone recently tweeted 'all politicians are arseholes'. Now generalisations are always a problem for me but this one got me thinking.  Do I want to carry on doing a role where most people seem to think you're in it for the money, the power or the glory?

The conclusion I came to is similar to my first posting here, I don't have to meet other peoples perceptions, I can even try to change them! For all the difficulties, I think not trying to make a difference would be far more frustrating. 

So my resolutions after all this soul searching?

1) Try and thicken my skin (and thin my waist).
2) Enjoy the Successes.
3) Learn from failure and then move on.
4) Make time each day for my kids without interruption from the phone or computer.

Why a Bike?

A somewhat topical post today as we have Skyride coming up and the Leicester Mercury reporting the use of Councillors support packages - including my replacement bike!

It may seem odd to some that I'm the Councillor cycling 'champion' in the City - I'm not what you'd describe as your typical cyclist, I'm overweight, not as fit as I could be, generally built for comfort over speed and until I became a Councillor I hadn't cycled since my early teens - so how did it happen?

The first thing to point out is that I don't drive, can't drive, and really not that keen on learning to drive. Normally this poses no problem to me, I live close enough to walk or catch a bus to anything I'd want to do in the City, and outside of that I enjoy travelling on Trains or, if we're going as a family then, Andy drives.  The difficulty came when I started attending meetings that finished late and I was either walking through Bede Park in the dark (not recommended unaccompanied) or waiting at the end of Belgrave Gate for a bus (it was whilst the bus stops were changing) which I felt uncomfortable about doing.  For a youngish woman getting somewhere on her own late in the evening a bike seemed a safer way forward.

I got my bike from the Bike Shop under the Town Hall and set about trying to work out how to not only ride it safely (quite daunting) but also equip it to take my kit and kids too! This was not straight-forward, and everyone had an opinion, the most important of which for me was Andy's who said early on he wasn't comfortable with the idea of the kids in a trailer behind my bike and we were battling for space in our small terraced property (we've since rented a garage on the next street) so we ruled that option out.

I was struggling to know what to try and quite concerned about spending money on something that wouldn't work. I was relieved when I read about a 'try it out' cycling event in Nottingham. We went and tried out every type of bike and child attachment possible, it was great, the kids enjoyed themselves and were able to tell us what worked for them and we were able to decide what felt safe and comfortable.

I fell in love with a fab bike made in Cambridge that has been given out in some London Borough to try and reduce school traffic.  Great bikes that could take the kids and the shopping and were really comfortable to steer - problem was the price tag - nearly £2000 - not in my range!

I eventually settled on wee-ride for Ella and a standard child seat for Ryan (for the 6 months until he got too big to manage).  Being able to have Ella between me and the handle bars was brilliant and made cycling a really enjoyable and bonding experience.  Sat there we were able to talk easily, she could see what I could, the bike felt really stable and I felt more able to protect her.

All of this got me talking to Officers and Councillors about cycling in the City and led to me setting up a piece of Scrutiny work to look at what we could be doing to make it easier to get around the City by bike. From there I started attending meetings with some of the great local cycling organisations Cyclemagic and Bikes4All, and also with national cycling organisations like Cycling England and the CTC and was really excited to be involved in the discussions about bringing SkyRide to Leicester.

Everything was going swimmingly until my bike was stolen last year as I attended a Groundworks Board meeting on behalf of the Council at Western Park, two weeks before the SkyRide. I was devastated! I got a new one in time (with a trailgate option for Ella - limited success) and had an amazing time at Skyride but I have to admit to missing my old bike!

Getting a bike has enabled me to see so much more of the City, understand how simple changes as well as major schemes can encourage cycling, reduce my carbon footprint and meet some incredible people.

To anyone who is thinking about getting back on a bike, or learning to ride, I'd say go for it! I can get home on my bike from town quicker than Andy can in the car, have a bit of exercise, see more of what's going on in my area and all for FREE!

Come along to Skyride and have a go!

Sometimes it's the little things!

I don't think I'll forget last week in a hurry! Combination of the ipad malarkey, our new recycling trial (which I'm very excited about and will go into detail about next week if I get chance) and the delights of wheelie bins on streets have all had me talking to Radio Leicester and the Leicester Mercury far more than normal.

These were both big news items and led to important and interesting discussions but they're not the reason I won't forget this week.  My reason is this:

Now if you're thinking, 'not another bin post', then don't worry it's not.  This is, for me, a special bin for what it represents. It represents involvement, community and starting to see a vision through. To explain I need to go back a few months.

I chaired a Westcotes Ward Community meeting in April at the East West Community Centre, I can't have chaired it very well as we finished at 9.40pm rather than the prescribed 9pm but we had a really lively and in-depth discussion about some of the key issues in our area; litter, graffiti, parks and parking.

For those who don't know or haven't had the chance to get along,Ward Meetings are (roughly) every quarter in every ward in the City.  They are held in the ward, chaired by a local Councillor, and are open to everyone living or working locally.  The Police and a variety of other local services are available to present information and answer questions on things affecting the local area. A ward action plan is drawn up by working with residents at these meetings and a budget provided to tackle local problems and/or support local groups. 

We are occasionally accused of Ward meetings being an opportunity for 'the usual suspects' to come along and complain and I know that, when that happens (as it has done occasionally for us), people are put off and don't want to get involved. This is exactly what we do not want to happen with Ward Meetings, so I was really chuffed that we had a number of new people in attendance who were willing to speak up.

At the meeting we agreed to pay out of our ward budget to; put Bollards and cycle racks on Narborough Road (this has been delayed to co-incide with the pavements being re-done in January), put bins along the Great Central Way and buy Community Notice Boards. All important and popular solutions to locally raised problems.

We then agreed to one additional bid. During the discussions around litter one resident attending for the first time had spoken about problems with people waiting at the Bus Stop outside her house and putting their rubbish in her hedge/garden. So following a suggestion from the floor we agreed to pay for a bin next to the bus stop. Following a few technical/administration hitches the bin was put in this week. That bin is pictured above and the resident has already emailed to say how pleased she is.

Being able to come along, have an open discussion about issues that really matter to local residents and being able to fund straight forward practical solutions to them, that's the vision to engage, involve and empower our communities, the bin is a symbol for me of it really starting to happen!

So for other people the big stories of the week may be most important but for me the little things (and what they signify) are what make me want to carry on doing this role.

A lot more than books

In Westcotes we have a fantastic local library.  It offers a good range of books, magazines, education classes, homework support and many more things you would hope to find in a great local community facility.  For me though our local library is much more than that.

To explain I need to go back seven years (bear with me it should be worth it).  I had my lovely little boy at roughly the same point as most of the people I knew in Leicester were graduating and moving away (he was and continues to be the most wonderful 'suprise' of my life).  This was a fairly daunting time for me and I lost a lot my confidence trying out local mum and tot groups and being overwhelmed by, what I perceived to be, really cliquey groups of people who knew each other intimately, I felt isolated and relied heavily on Andy and my Family.

This all started to change when I got a BookStart pack from my health visitor and went to join Ryan up at Westcotes Library.  The staff were lovely and encouraged me to come along and try out the toddler time sessions on a Wednesday morning. Very nervously I did. There was a variety of local Mum's and Grandmothers in attendance (and the occasional Dad) and I was able to pick books out when feeling shy. It didn't feel at all cliquey and both the Library staff and the amazing Judith (who ran the toddler sessions) made sure that new people got to know others and offered plenty of activities to keep the tots busy.

I started to get to know a number of women with kids of similar ages and looked forward to the sessions each week, especially when I found out I was pregnant with Ella at the same time as four of the other women and we all went on to have our second children  - all girls - within 3 months of each other.

Much as I enjoyed getting to know them every week, the big difference really happened when Judith suggested setting up a book group. Many of us jumped at the chance of some baby free time and we became a pilot for the Library service.  Our book group quickly moved out of the Library and into each others homes to accommodate our needs to put small children to bed and then meet and developed into a chance to, not only talk about a new book but, also to have a drink and a general catch up

Our book group has now been going for five years. We meet every month for the group but also regularly go out to eat/drink, or take our kids out together.  We have supported each other through pregnancies, miscarriages, illnesses, new grandchildren, losing parents, marital problems, children being bullied/brilliant/brats, in short - life.

The library setting up our book group (and many others after across the City) hasn't just helped me and my friends, it has a broader impact.  Our peer support has reduced our reliance on health services, we were able to ask each other what was 'normal' and reassure each other that our kids were doing fine. 

So when people talk about Libraries needing to develop what they offer and the importance of them being at the heart of communities, I can't help but smile.  Our Library in Westcotes not only offers an amazing range of books and services it helps give our diverse, changeable community a heart, and introduced me to the most caring, inspiring and fantastic group of women who I am very proud to call my

Practicing what I Preach (or trying to)!

I'm having a fairly odd start to the week due to a lot of media attention around a small trial of cross-party Councillors using ipads that I am taking part in. I'm taking part to see if the new technology can help me be more effective at my role but also reduce the massive printing costs that the Council runs up every year of around £90,000.  Understandably this has sparked a lot of debate, very little of it positive! I'm not going to rehearse all the arguments here but I am happy to report back at the end of the trial as to the success or failure of it and if the business case stacks up to save paper, money and therefore services.

One comment has struck a particular cord with me though and that is around the ethics of the production of the ipads that we had not initially been considering as part of the trial. As the Council champion on fair trade and sustainable procurement as well as overall Environmental issues I try very hard to practice what I preach but like everyone I'm fallible.

I had a call from Leicester Mercury journalists asking about what my 'big environmental crimes' are, seemingly the top ones include instant coffee, non recycled loo roll, using a dish washer and tumble drying (there were 5 but my mind has gone blank on the other 1!). I do use fair trade products whenever they are available, but occasionally fancy a Dime bar or Twix that isn't. I don't drink coffee at home but am rather partial to the occasional caramel machiato from Starbucks (yes, I know bad bad bad).  As to loo roll, well it seemed a bit of a personal one but hey, yes we use recyled loo roll - unless there is a really good offer on other sorts! As to tumble drying, I try not to, but am a miserable failure as hate putting washing out in the morning and coming home to find it's been rained on! The only one I am truly 'good' on is the dishwasher - I have a fantastic energy efficient one - called Andy!

I don't drive so try and walk, cycle (more of that another day) or catch the bus to get around but am less good at the weekends when we're together as a family and have the car there! I get ecover washing up liquid and floor cleaner but gave up in the batheroom and got something stronger! I have long tried to buy shampoos and cosmetics not tested on animals but when I tried to go one further recently with a new shampoo with 'no parabens or chemicals' I ended up with a hair like straw and gave up! I don't shop at Primark as I understand they discourage their workforce from joining unions but can't always afford to buy fairtrade cotton clothes.

It is right for me to try and be as ethically and environmentally aware as possible and I have no problem being challenged whenever I get something wrong but, at the end of the day I am human, I was not elected as a perfect expert, I face the same dillemas and difficulties that other people do.  This applies even more when making budget decisons at the Council.  We try and make sure we are as aware as possible of the implications of all decisions we make, on a service, on individuals, on older people, on younger people, on those with a disability, on the envionment, as well as the legal and financial facts.

I'm always happy to listen to every side of an arguments and gather as much information as possible before making a decision so will often spend a lot of time asking questions to make sure I have understood an issue. I am equally happy to answer questions from people about decisions I have made - including taking part in the ipad trial, and have already taken on board the concerns raised not only about budgets but also about ethics and will ensure all are included in the final assesment.

To be honest I don't like preaching and recognise that when you do it often comes back to bite you on the bum so for now I'll keep listening and trying and accepting that I'm not always right.

Kids and Politics - not quite Oil and Water!

We are extremely lucky to have two healthy, happy and gorgeous Children.  Ella is 4 and Ryan will be 7 next week.  Andy has been a Councillor since before Ryan was born (I was 5 months into my pregnancy when I was Andy & Nigel's Westcotes agent in 2003) and I was selected to fight the seat of Westcotes when I was 8 & 1/2 months pregnant with Ella so our life with the kids has always been entwined with our lives as Councillors.

Some people find this very odd. It might be, but (and I feel a theme developing here) what is normal anyway! In my office at the Town Hall I have a box of activity books, toys and colouring pens under my table because sometimes they come with me to meetings. I also have a special bag of delights that we use if the kids want to come out leafleting or canvassing with us, bubbles to blow, boxes of raisins, scooters etc. I say want, we always ask them and arrange for them to stay with friends or their very supportive grandparents if they do not want to.  They often do though, they are very sociable and like going out with big groups of people, I suppose for them it's like going into work with Mummy & Daddy, it stops what we do being alien or scary to them.

It's not all plain sailing though and I worry regularly (don't all parents) about if we're doing the right thing. My concerns are exacerbated by them at times.  When Ella was about 18 months old we were having huge problems in the ward with people parking on the pavements and in one of my less guarded moments had said that they were idiots to do this.  Unfortunately for the next year every time she saw a car on the pavement she would declare, from her pushchair, very loudly and clearly 'look Mummy - there's an IDIOT over there'! A bit scary when the occupant is a 6ft man built like a brick wall and clearly thinks I've just described him as such.

Ryan has raised some concerns of his own, for quite a while he had the impression that when he grew up he'd have to become a Councillor and had (a very funny) conversation with me one day where he explained patiently that he didn't think it would be for him as he'd set his sights on being a recycling man!

There are days when I think I would like a 9 - 5 type life and that this would be much better for our kids, but these happen less frequently now than they used to.  The phone calls from constituents whilst the kids are trying to tell me about their day at school are balanced now by being able to work from home during the summer holidays and by knowing that the work we do to make the area better (safer pavements, new school fruit trees, better play equipment, less wheelie bins) for everyone makes it a better place for our kids to grow up.

For anyone thinking that being a Councillor with young children will be too hard (and in my experience it is only Women who think this for some reason) then I wouldn't entirely disagree, other than to say what job isn't hard with young children! It takes a lot of juggling and it isn't always possible to keep every ball in the air. For me this means my house isn't always as tidy as I'd like nor is my office (sorry Rory) but my kids and my constituents both get the attention they need and deserve - hopefully!

It's not quite perfect though, they've gotten smarter! Shopping for new school shoes in town this week the kids asked if we could go to Waterstones.  I said yes after we'd done the shoes.  A whispered conversation later and they declared that there had been a vote and it was 2 -1 for going to Waterstones first and that I'd said in a democracy the most votes wins...... How could I argue with that!