Happy Halloween!

This afternoon spent at a Halloween kids party at Brocksbushes Farm, outside Corbridge. Everyone got dressed up and had a great time - even our dog.

Out and about in Prudhoe

Out and about in Prudhoe again talking to voters living on Cheviot View. Numerous residents complained about the state of the pavements, in particular the fact that when its been raining water splashes up from the paving - it badly needs replacing. Prudhoe town councillor Tony Reid, who was out with us today, took note.

Love modern Britain, not fossilised Britain

The Journal published my letter on Friday 30th October. To read Keith Hann's response to my letter, first published in The Journal, visit http://www.keithhann-whyohwhy.com/2009/11/conservatives-anonymous-i-own-up.html

Speaking to voters in Prudhoe

Saturday morning spent out and about in Prudhoe speaking to voters. The damp weather was not enough to put us off our stride - we're all from the North East, after all! - and in the end we managed to speak to a good few residents about local issues.

Above: Antoine outside the Prudhoe Community Allotment.

Educating children with autism

Last night I attended a governors meeting at Longbenton Community College (LBCC) where we listened to an extremely interesting presentation from staff working in the school's new 'Melrose Centre', a centre for students with autism and autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of the Melrose Centre is to bring students with ASD into closer contact with students in the everyday school community while making sure they have a safe place to go. The presentation was followed by a tour of the facilities, which are first rate. It's an embodiment of why LBCC is such a great school and why I am so proud to be a governor there.

Hexham MP a full-time job

On Friday, the Courant ran my letter confirming that if elected, I will be a full-time MP, ie, no 'fat cat' directorships or private legal clients for me. That has to be right: over 60,000 people live in the Hexham constituency, and if taking care of their interests is not a full-time job, the MP is not doing his job properly. I don't know whether the Tory and Lib Dem candidates have come off the fence on this issue. If not, they need to - voters have the right to know.

The letter can be found at: http://hexham-courant.co.uk/opinion/letters/commitment_1_621863?referrerPath=opinion/letters

Canvassing in Haltwhistle

Over to Haltwhistle on Saturday morning for a canvassing session - another good turn out. Unfortunately lots of residents were out, an occupational hazard of canvassing - there isn't any time of the day except late evening when you can be assured people will be home, and canvassing in the late evening is usually a no-no.

Celebrating a North East life

Today was my maternal grandmother Doris' 82nd birthday, so the family went over to her care home in Brunswick Village to wish her happy birthday. Unfortunately she's diabetic, so I was reluctantly forced to eat the cupcake I bought for her! She was born in Dinnington in 1927 -- 22 years before the founding of the NHS -- and has lived her entire life within a 2 mile radius of Wideopen and Hazlerigg. Her dad was a coal miner in the local pits. It's a tribute to the NHS that she has reached such a ripe old age - a smoker until her mid 50s, she had a quadruple heart bypass at the Freeman Hospital in 1995. Fingers crossed, she'll see her 90th yet.

Whittonstall threatened by prospect of open-cast coal mine

On Sunday I attended the public meeting at St Philip and St James’s Church, Whittonstall to discuss the horrific prospect local residents are now facing: an enormous open-cast mine being dug on the edge of the village.

In August, UK Coal announced a plan to submit a planning application for a site to the north-east of the village. The "Hoodsclose" scheme will allegedly create up to 50 jobs for 7 years.

I, and practically everyone who attended the meeting, are deeply sceptical of these figures: first, note the careful use of the words "up to"; second, bear in mind that modern coal mining is a hi-tech affair - any jobs created will require specialised skills which local workers looking for employment will probably lack; third, there is no cast-iron commitment to closing the site in 7 years time. One local resident voiced the words of her father in the 1940s, discussing an open-cast mine on the Northumberland coast, which was promised to last for only "5 years" - 65 years later, the mine is still going.

Local residents are up in arms, and rightly so. This part of the world is simply stunning, and could not have looked more beautiful than on a day like today - blue skies, a cool breeze, blazing sunshine. An open-cast mine will be an open sore, a blight on the landscape, will make moving away from the village impossible unless vendors are prepared to take a huge hit on their selling price, and raise the prospect of years of dust and trucks hauling coal off site - so much for a happy family life for residents with young children. From what I could see, the whole village turned out, and they are 100% opposed.

An awful lot of work will need to go into preventing this planning application from going through. It goes without saying: this is not a party-political issue. So I look forward to working with local councillors, the sitting MP and Hexham's other would-be MPs, if they agree that this plan is a really bad idea, to stop this nightmare vision from becoming reality.

NB: For the Hexham Courant report of this meeting, check this link

Official start of Autumn

Today was a day of two halfs or, more accurately, three thirds. Early morning spent at Kindermusic in Ponteland (Methodist Church opposite The Diamond), a music, dance and singing class which my eldest daughter loves. After I got her safely home it was off to Haltwhistle for more canvassing, with a quick stop in Heddon to pick up a colleague.

By 11am the winds were picking up a storm, and already there was lots of damage to trees and the foliage along the A69. Every minute of driving my car got a strong tug: God's hint to slow down.

We had a good turnout for canvassing. Among the more elderly residents, an important concern was the closure of the day care centres. Regrettably, one resident said she wouldn't vote Labour for that reason. When I patiently tried to explain to her that we opposed the closure of the day care centres and it is the Liberal Democrats trying to close them down, she told me she couldn't care less. Rather like the MPs expenses scandal: when something goes badly wrong which upsets voters, all parties get the blame, not just those at fault.


Final third of the day was spent at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, where we got there just in time (4pm) to be told that the 'Play Tyne' exhibit "is now closed" - great ... Anyway, we had a good walk around before it shut at 5pm, and my eldest got very excited by the model boats. It's a pity my grandfather didn't live long enough to meet his grand-daughter: he loved building model boats and planes, and my eldest would have loved to see him building them.