My home

Every Saturday I look at the Leicester Mercury property section, and gaze longingly at gardens with enough room for climbing frames and trampolines and read out descriptions (in an M & S food porn type way) of cloakrooms with WC, playrooms, office spaces and greenhouses.

These are all things that as a Mum of a 4 and (very nearly) 7 year old appeal, that we do not have.

My Tomato plants!

However we are not looking to move house! Why not? Two reasons really, Firstly I would no more assume that I'll be re-elected in May than I would assume my tomato seeds will produce plenty of tomatoes. Both are dependant on care, attention and hard work - they are also dependant on a number of things I have little or no control over. For the tomatoes the weather is the obvious thing (although a neighbours cat knocking them over repeatedly wasn't in my control either) for the election the weather may also play a part, as may national and/or international politics, the economy and countless other factors. All this boils down to it not being the most financially stable thing to do!

Secondly, and probably even more importantly, is we don't want to leave Westcotes!

Ward boundaries are not usually top of the list when thinking about moving house but for us they matter. Many local Councillors don't live in the wards they represent (although usually live near them), my intention here is not to criticise anyone for that, but, it's not for me (or Andy luckily).

Westcotes is my home, I moved here 10 years ago to study at DMU, living on Barclay Street. I moved in with Andy, one street away, about 4 years later. I wanted to represent the area I live in. I wanted to make the area I live in better. I wanted to work for a community that I related to and that could relate to me.

Our kids are at the local Infant School, the older one will be moving to Juniors in September, they went to playgroup at the local churches and singing at the West End Neighbourhood Centre. We use the fabulous library on Narborough Road (more about that another time), cycle on the Great Central Way and visit Bede Park and Westcotes Gardens to play.

We have delighted at the new shops in the area, Yesim Patisserie (best aubergine dip ever), the International Supermarket (bags of Coriander to send to my step mum), the cakes at Polish Taste on Hinckley Road, and still regularly use the long established Londis (as a student I even shopped there in my slippers!).

On a night out with my friends we invariably start at Entropy and usually finish at O Bar (unless tempted by a curry at Namaste) with the middle part of the route taking in the latest new bar.

The planning applications, the opening hours, the play equipment, the bus services, the over grown trees, the school aftercare, the bins, the parking, the late night noise, the litter - these are all things which we don't just care about because we're the local Councillor and we're meant to. We care about them because it's our area too, it's where our kids are growing up, where our friends and family come to visit, it's our home.

As a local Councillor I get very little of my casework from the regular advice surgeries we run. I get stopped at the school gate, in the library, at the park and in the shops fairly often though. Residents in Westcotes know they can stop me for a chat if I'm dressed up for a meeting or have nipped down for a pint of milk in my jogging bottoms.

This being my home makes it far easier to understand and empathise with the problems my constituents face. That may be noisy neighbours, bins left on pavements, nowhere to park, litter from take-aways or concerns about housing. It also makes it easier to understand, although even harder to justify or explain, the frustrations at how long things take to happen.

I promised I wouldn't sugar coat, so tomorrow I'll talk about some of those delays and frustrations but not today - small people want feeding, taking to the park etc.

My Street - if someone clever can tell me how to turn the
picture the right way up - I'd be very grateful!

For today though I'll accept that on Saturday (lottery result depending as there are 3 or 4 streets in Westcotes that would tick every box) I'll be looking through the property pages as usual without really wanting to move. We may not have a garden and downstairs loo but this isn't just any house - it's a Westcotes house, so I'm happy!