Whickham lights switch-on

I am just about to head down to Whickham for the switching on of the Christmas tree lights at Church Green. The event has been organised by Lighting Up Whickham who raised the funds for the tree and lights. Joining us for the switch-on are the Metro Gnomes - see photo below (taken at the Swalwell Community Centre Christmas Fayre on Saturday).

Honorary aldermen

As leader of the opposition in Gateshead, it fell to me to second the appointment of six honorary aldermen last Friday. The 6 were Brian Coates, John Hamilton, Yvonne McNicol, Ian Mearns MP, Joe Mitchinson and Pat Ronan. I calculated that between them they had jointly served 114 years as councillors. The honorary role is for former members of the council who have served 2 full terms and have given outstanding service to the authority. So, congratulations to the 6 new aldermen, and thank you for the 114 years of service you gave Gateshead.

Having my cake

Sunniside Social Club held a Christmas Fayre yesterday. I decided to call in to have a look around but also to buy cakes. I found the cake stall, parted with my cash and ate the cakes when I got home (with help from David!)

Jam today (again)

On Saturday morning, Lighting Up Whickham held a coffee morning to raise money towards the village's Christmas tree. I was invited to have a table to sell my homemade jams. There was a reasonable flow of people into the library where we were holding the event. For me it was more like my councillor surgery as people spotted me and used the opportunity to raise local issues with me!

Hopefully, the coffee morning will become a regular event.

Whickham eFocus 103

The latest edition of our email newsletter for the Whickham area, eFocus, was finished this evening and I sent it out to the 1500 people on the circulation list. It leads with the video of Sunday's Remembrance Day parade. Also included is the proposal to sell part of Chase Park, the Council budget, Derwentside in Swalwell to be converted to flats, deep clean at local swimming pools and various local events.

You can read it on this link.

Rained on in Ryton

On Sunday afternoon, after attending the Remembrance Day Parade in Whickham, I headed down to Ryton to do a bit of campaigning. Alas, the rain came with me. I got rather wet on the new Riverside estate but at least I was able to have a look around one of the biggest recent new housing developments in Blaydon constituency.

Jam today

My self-sufficiency activities led to an interesting invitation last week: would I like to have a stall at Lib Dem regional conference on Saturday to sell my homemade jams? I took up the offer. A quite pleasing number of sales took place. Alas, the income was somewhat dwarfed by the vet bill I had on Friday when I had to call out a livestock vet for one of my goats, Pinkie. She had eaten something that disagreed with her. Fortunately she recovered quickly, unlike my bank balance!

Tim Farron's speech to North East Conference

Tim Farron MP was the guest speaker at the North East Lib Dem conference on Saturday in Gateshead. Most of the speech is covered in this video though annoyingly, the final few minutes were not captured as my camera decided the memory card was full (despite 800MB space left to use up).

Award for Frank at Gateshead Conference

My predecessor as Gateshead Council Group Leader, Frank Hindle, was awarded the Regional President's Award at North East Lib Dem Conference held in the Jurys Inn, Gateshead Quays, on Saturday. Well done Frank! He has put in a huge amount of work over the years for the party, not just as a councillor and group leader, but also as a Parliamentary candidate, agent in the European elections and more recently as our lead person co-ordinating the Lib Dem responses in the North East to the Boundary Commission's review of Parliamentary constituencies.





The awards were presented by Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron MP. Wearside won the Alisdair Wardlow Cup following their spectacular gain of Millfield from Labour in this year's local elections.



And the winner of the Frances Foote Wood Award, for an individual who has put in effort well beyond the call of duty, went to Meg Crosby, from Sunderland.

Lighting Up Whickham Race Night

On Friday evening, Lighting Up Whickham held a race night at the Crown pub. As the only person in the organising group with a food handling certificate, I was tasked with being head chef for the evening. It was hardly an onerous task - reheating the pies, pasties and mushy peas. My catering pans and meat thermometers proved very useful on the evening.

I started the evening on a winning streak, betting successfully on the first 2 races. It was downhill after that as I blew my winnings on failed bets that helped boost the profit on the evening to £600, a great sum that will ensure Whickham village continues to have a Christmas tree.

I'm pleased to announce that my winning streak returned at the end of the evening. I won a bottle of prosecco, generously donated by Cllr Sonya Hawkins.

Whickham Remembrance Day - the video

The Whickham Remembrance Day parade and service went ahead today. This video covers parade, the readings by local children and the laying of wreaths by over 40 organisations.

Photos from today's Remembrance Day Parade and Service

I attended the Remembrance Day service and parade in Whickham this morning and laid a wreath on behalf of my constituents. You can see photos of the event on the photo link above.

The irony of timing

I don't know if history is attempting to cheer us up with a sense of irony but yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On the same day, it was announced that the wall-building Donald Trump had been elected US President. Whether or not the Trump wall will ever be built is a moot point and were it to go ahead, quite how he gets the Mexicans to pay for it is not explained. I suspect that even if work starts on it, Trump's Maginot Line will never be finished.

Meanwhile, I hear of interest among Americans in emigrating to countries such as Canada and New Zealand is soaring. Let's hope those countries don't follow Trump's example and start building walls - to keep the Americans out.

We need Europe now more than ever before

There may be some in the crazy world of the Brotherhood of Brexit who believe a stronger link with the USA is vastly more important than good relations with the EU. The result of the US Presidential election should make us all stop to consider the consequences. Trump is a protectionist, which rather contradicts the assertion of Brexiteers that free trade treaties outside the EU are just waiting to be signed.

Secondly, Trump is a climate change denier, as are so many in the Brexit camp. International environmental treaties are likely to be put through the Trump shredder early in his Presidency. Environmental protection in recent decades is one of the great success stories of the EU and anyone who cares about the need to pass on a world that has not been wrecked by pollution needs the EU more than ever before.

Any finally, President Putin welcomes the success of Trump. It's hardly surprising that he was among the first to congratulate him. The Baltic States and parts of the Ukraine are in his sights and Trump has already suggested he will not necessarily support NATO (and EU) members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia if Russia attempts a land grab. If a Trump USA cannot be relied on to defend free democratic nations, the EU needs to be more united.

So the election of Trump shows we need Europe more than ever before but sadly, without us due to the Brexit vote. Instead, we will simply be bobbing along in Europe's wake, stuck in a special relationship led by a misogynist, racist, climate-change-denier over whom we will have virtually no control. How the hell did we ever get into this mess?

Please let it be Hillary

I was in the US last year when the first tv debates were held for the Republican candidates. Even with 16 would-be presidents were battling it out, Trump dominated the stage. That says a great deal about the quality of the "establishment" candidates though few at the time believed Trump would triumph over the Republican field. And when I went to New York, we saw many demonstrations against Trump outside Trump Tower. Divisiveness is, after all, his defining feature.

I'm now doing something I haven't done since 2008 - sitting up to watch the US election results come in. The last time I did this was when Barack Obama was first elected. We were in Amsterdam at the time but tonight I'm back home in Gateshead. It feels we are at something of a crossroads. Americans could elect a racist mysogynist whose rhetoric chimes horribly with the far right. Or they can elect someone from the progressive centre. Though Hillary Clinton is far from perfect, she is head and shoulders above Trump.

So let's hope enough Americans do what we need them to do, vote for Hillary and reject Trump.

Planting up Whickham's flowerbeds

I was in Whickham yesterday, with volunteers from Planting Up Whickham, to plant the flowerbeds on Church Green. All the beds there were done but the rain put an end to plans to plant up other flowerbeds in Whickham. They will be done later this week.



Above: me in my Sunday best, ready to get my hands dirty.



Good lunch at the church hall for the volunteers.

The battle for Parliamentary Sovereignty

In the thick fog that was the Brexit message during the referendum, some Brexiteers argued that we needed to re-establish Parliamentary sovereignty. Today's court judgement that Parliament, not the Government, has the power to trigger Article 50, should be welcomed by those who argued the Leave case. Yet they are doing the opposite. They are horrified by the ruling that triggering Article 50 is for Parliament, not the Government.

It seems daft, and a waste of public money, to appeal to the Supreme Court. We have a constitutional system and representative democracy. The court case today was not about Brexit, it was about where constitutional powers lie. Parliament should therefore trigger Article 50. Given that most Tories and probably a significant part of the Labour party will vote to trigger, there will be no serious likelihood that Brexit will be blocked.

Gateshead's energy-from-waste plant - the video

This is the video I filmed last month of the visit we made to Gateshead's new energy-from-waste plant in Teeside. It still staggers me, even with recycling, just how much waste modern society generates. At least with this plant we get a useful product from the rubbish that cannot be recycled.

Pie, Peas and History

First Tuesday evening of the month is a regular in my diary - Sunniside History Society meeting in Sunniside Club. Last night it was the pie and pea supper which followed the showing of a video made by the pupils of Washingwell Primary School about the Fugar project. Sadly I was too busy to get along to the school when they filmed the video but the kids did a good job. A few budding tv presenters there!

Also included in the evening were photos taken at the unveiling of the Fugar information panel where I did the medieval catering, and a programme about women Spitfire pilots during the Second World War. (This was one of the best videos I've seen at the monthly meetings.)

450 Focuses delivered in Whickham

I was in Whickham this morning to deliver 450 Focuses in my ward. I started in The Cedars and spent about two and a half hours putting them through doors. The resident whose house I parked opposite patiently waited for me to return so that he could hand over the library petition in the Focus he had signed. He was surprised at how long I had been out delivering. I admitted that I had 3 patches to deliver but decided I would do the whole lot in one go to avoid multiple journeys. It's easier that way. Meanwhile, my shoes are looking a bit worn.

Planting Up Whickham - video

On Sunday 23rd October Planting Up Whickham had a maintenance day on Church Green to prepare the flower beds for winter planting. I shot this short video on the day.

Back to Ryton

A bit of a mopping up operation this morning - Cllr Ian Patterson and I went down to Ryton to deliver a couple of patches with the latest edition of Focus. A couple of hours later, a slap up lunch at Cllr Christine McHatton's house and we were finished.

Sadly, my colleague Cllr John McClurey has dropped off 500 Focuses for me to deliver in my own ward.

Fog on the Tyne - at the Baltic

I had a council visit to the Baltic Art Gallery on the Gateshead Quays on Wednesday. The area was blanketed in fog when we got there so the spectacular view from the viewing platform was missing. I don't regard myself as an art expert or critic but some of the exhibitions were quite interesting. I particularly liked the 3D films by Deimantas Narkevicius. They were filmed in eastern Europe and documented the removal of former Soviet statues. The countries former part of the USSR or under Soviet domination are getting rid of the symbols of the failed socialist past so turning that exercise into a work of art was quite an interesting idea. Worth a visit.

Looking after the Whickham flowerbeds

Yesterday morning I headed down to Whickham to help with Planting Up Whickham's maintenance day on Church Green. My land rover was needed as the flowerbeds were being stripped of the summer flowers which needed to be moved to the compost heap in Chase Park. The work was completed quite early, thanks to the good turnout of volunteers. We will be back in two weeks' time to put in the spring flowering plants.

Congratulations Peter and Jol

Politics and self-sufficiency took back seats on Saturday afternoon when we headed to St Mary's Church in Whickham for the wedding of Cllr Peter Maughan and Jol Loughlin. Congratulations to both. Alas, I ended up on a table with all the other politicians!

Helping at the Whinnies CommunityGarden

Yesterday morning I gave 3 hours of my time to help out at the Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside, a minute's walk from my house. Much of the work involved moving large quantities of branches chopped from the extensive hedges on the site. I took them to my goats (which are also kept on the site). It was the equivalent of fast food for them.  I also helped weed some beds and build a raised bed (see photo above). I left at 1.30pm as I had another event to attend.

Village community looks to take on local facilities

I was contacted recently by a friend and constituent in Marley Hill to ask for advice on taking over the running of the tennis courts in the village. I went up last night, after finishing a meeting at Gateshead Civic Centre about appointing a new council chief exec.

The courts in question have largely been ignored by the council over the years, even when money was available for the council to look after such facilities. Kids have often painted their own lines on the ground and put up makeshift nets.

The proposal from my constituent is that he takes over the running of the courts and uses one for football for kids, the other for tennis. I said he is pushing at an open door but suggested he moved forward gradually, walk rather than run to start off. I advised that he does some low level maintenance such as sweeping up rubbish and clearing vegetation from around the edge of the site and on the courts themselves where it is growing through the tarmac.

So hopefully, a community group will be established which will turn a neglected facility into a community asset.

"Cruelly" inflicting Focus deliveries

I awoke this morning to the voice of Labour’s Tom Watson MP explaining why falling to 3^rd place and a reduction in the Labour share of the vote in the Witney by-election was a good result for Labour. He had a go at the Lib Dems for sending 100 peers to a constituency he claimed we knew we couldn’t win. He said it was “cruel”! I have lots of bundles of Focuses still to deliver so I’m happy to cruelly inflict them on anyone who wants a bit of exercise on local streets! The fact is however that we had a pretty good result on Thursday in Witney, caused by the resignation of David Cameron as he makes a quick getaway from politics. Rising from 4th to 2nd place and 7% to 30% was a healthy performance. Watching UKIP collapse into 5th place was especially enjoyable.

We need to avoid reading too much into one by-election result. Nevertheless, it was progress but there is still a long way to go.

And if you want to deliver some Focuses, get in touch.......

Delivering in Ryton

My campaigning job today was to deliver 140 Focuses in Ryton. The newsletter led on the news that dumping at nearby Pathhead landfill site is to stop at the end of January. Also included was a bit about my selection as candidate for Blaydon. We also had a bit in about voting and how many people regret voting Labour since the local elections in May. We had slipped in a bit about the turmoil in UKIP as well but given the continuing UKIP car crash, it was a bit out of date!

Dog's breakfast boundary review

We had a meeting on Monday of a Gateshead Council advisory group to consider the review of Parliamentary constituencies. Under the electoral quota, Gateshead is entitled to 1.89 constituencies. We currently have 2 that are fully within Gateshead (Blaydon and Gateshead) and a couple of wards in Jarrow. Under the new proposals, we will not have a single constituency fully in Gateshead. Instead, we will have bits of 6. It is clearly a mess though clearing it up does not look easy.

What struck me was the expectation held by Labour that others, particularly the Conservatives, will pull the irons out of the fire for Labour. A belief that Conservative MPs will force the proposals to be abandoned was expressed by some Labour councillors. Others talked about public opinion needing to be won over to get the plans thrown out. One said she had already talked to "people" in her ward who expressed concern that the proposed constituency was so vast, it would take ages to get to "constituency meetings". And there lies a typical problem of the current Labour party: they talk to themselves, not the people outside the Labour party.

I warned the meeting that this was an issue that was barely on the radar screens of ordinary residents. Generating a public campaign of opposition to the boundaries was very unlikely to happen. I also pointed out that the system of single-member, first-past-the-post constituencies, supported by Labour, is always going to be a mess in terms of boundaries. To be fair to Labour, one of their members did say that winning over public opinion was going to be very difficult as people generally are favourable to reducing the number of politicians.

My own constituency of Blaydon is completely broken up. The biggest chunk, including my own ward, is joined up with a part of western Newcastle. Given the complexity that will need to be overcome when general and local elections are held on the same day, the last job in the world I would want to have is an electoral officer!

Lone Woolfe

So, Steven Woolfe, so committed to the UKIP cause he aspired to lead, has abandoned them to go it alone, citing the ungovernable mess and the "rotten" state of the party. A rather sorry state of affairs but sadly for UKIP, one of their unique selling points now seems to be under threat from the Conservatives. Previously, UKIP had been the home to all the swivel-eyed loonies, obsessive, anti-European fruitcakes and anyone who hated the modern world. Step forward Conservative Councillor Christian Holliday, who believes those who argue in favour of the EU should be regarded as engaging in treasonable activity and be sent to prison.

Presumably, under Cllr Holliday's system of justice, Boris Johnson would have been arrested 2 days before he joined the Leave campaign.

Speaking at the pro-Europe rally in Newcastle

I was invited to be one of the speakers at the pro-Europe rally at Grey's Monument in Newcastle yesterday. I was on at 2pm, just before John Shipley, former Lib Dem leader of Newcastle Council and now a Lib Dem peer. My speech concentrated on the dangers to foreign businesses and jobs of Brexit and on the dangers of the Right using the referendum vote as a sign to take the UK back to the social conformity of the 1950s, rolling back the decades of the growing acceptance of diversity. Overall the speech seemed to go well. You can see it on the video above.

Fugar- the video

Yesterday, the Sunniside History Society and the Mayor of Gateshead, Cllr Allison Thomspon, unveiled the information panel about Fugar House as part of the Hidden Heritage project we are running. The House has been largely forgotten and the project aims to draw out the history not just of the house but of the Washingwell/Watergate area.

My job was to provide the medieval catering for the day!

Unveiling the Fugar information panel

I have been helping to run a project with the Sunniside History Society about the Fugar/Washingwell area in my ward in Gateshead. There are thee parts to the project: 1269 to modern day, the Roman period and the restoration of the derelict historic orchard at Fugar. We are still on part one of the project though it is nearing completion with the installation of an information panel about Fugar House which was demolished in the early 1950s. The unveiling of the panel took place this morning, Saturday 15th October, by the Mayor, Cllr Allison Thompson.



My role was to be the medieval catering chef for the event. I made a big pan of medieval pottage. I tried to make it as close as possible to how pottage would have been made in the 13th century. It contained pigeon, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, beans, cabbage, onions and half a nutmeg. I brought it to the event ready made in one of our large catering pans wrapped in a duvet in the back of our Defender. Attendees seemed to like it!

Beating the rations to win the Swalwell quiz

Last night Swalwell Community Centre had their pie and pea supper and quiz. I decided to go but as I normally bomb out of quizzes, I wasn't expecting to win any prizes - sport, entertainment and mucis rounds are usually killers for me. I was on a team named the Goat Lovers (not my idea!) along with my David, my brother Andrew, his friend Matt and Whickham North Councillor Sonya Hawkins though she valiantly struggled through a recent bout of illness to get there.

Contrary to expectations, we won the first bonus prize for the question, what was the last food to come off rationing and in which year? (Meat, 1954 - June to be precise.) Prize was a box of chocolate brazil nuts. And we managed 5 out of six on one of the music rounds. We ended up coming first in the quiz. Top prize was a box of Celebrations and £20 (which we donated back). So a good evening out.

Delivering Focus

Our next ward Focus is now ready and is currently being delivered. I did 3 patches yesterday though today I am fully occupied on other matters so it is unlikely I can deliver the 2 patches I have left until Sunday. We are leading on the proposals to close Whickham Library - within minutes of finishing delivering yesterday, a completed petition slip had been put through my door. The petition opposing the closure of the library is included in the Focus.

Other issues covered include the completion of the A1 improvements (approved by Lib Dems when we were in government), Labour dithering on devolution, my selection as candidate for Blaydon, Lighting Up Whickham's race night and updates on Church Green and Kingsway Community Orchard.