kew focus

Southport Fernery

2012-01-26T20:07:00.001Z

At last night's Southport Area Committee, ex-councillor David Cobham asked a question about the fernery located in Southport's Botanic Gardens. Part of his question highlighted the face that our fernery is the 2nd best in the country according the The Telegraph's list of the top 10 ferneries. It was decried as:

A splendid example of one of the many public ferneries constructed in the nineteenth century. Opened in 1876 and recently restored, the walls are covered in tufa, steps lead up to viewing platforms above grottoes at each end, and mirrors reflect endless ferny vistas .

In recognition of David's diligent research I promised to post his revelation on this blog.

Well done David and, more importantly, well done Fernery for gaining the silver medal for ferneries!

Does anybody know how many ferneries there are in Britain?

I googled but couldn't find out.

Cultural Centre Saved!

2012-01-25T10:39:00.000Z

I was away on holiday last week. A holiday that was booked to avoid a Cabinet meeting. The date of the meeting was then delayed and, unfortunately I missed the meeting. There were 2 items on the agenda that kept me texting my colleagues for updates, the provision of toilet facilities at meals Park (more of this in a future posting) and the proposal to mothball the Cultural Centre.

The proposal to mothball the building has, quite rightly, resulted in public outrage. I can also assure you that my fellow Liberal Democrat Councillors shared this view. However, all possible savings have to be considered.

Thankfully my fellow Cabinet members, after much discussion, agreed that the building should open as planned and that an appropriate budget be provided for the first few years of operation. The new improved centre will be an essential asset for out town and will attract people from the whole region. The museum will feature an major display of Egyptian artefacts that have not been seen by the public for many years. Another great improvement will be the fact that the Art Gallery will now be able to access loans from the countries major art collections due to improved security and environment.

A further decision reached, was that the name for this building, once completed, should be decided by the public. It was formerly known as the Arts Centre, Library and Atkinson Art Gallery. The new building needs a name for all 3 former buildings plus a new museum.

Several Southport based councillors are due to visit the site over the next 2 days. I have not been on-site for several months and I look forward to a visit myself ASAP. Perhaps my colleague Iain Brodie-Browne will post up to date pictures from his visit on his Birkdale Blog.

Tourism in Southport

2012-01-05T15:26:00.000Z

FINAL PUSH TO HELP SAVE SOUTHPORT TOURISM

Liberal Democrats in Southport are calling for local residents to help save the resort’s tourism industry.

As part of the drive to save £20 million next year, Sefton Council is looking at all its services to see if savings can be made. One proposal is to review the Council’s Tourism function with the “possible outcome of ceasing to provide a Tourism service”. The consultation process is shortly coming to an end.

Councillor Lord Ronnie Fearn was Southport’s MP for 9 years, during which time he was the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman on Tourism. He said:

“Tourism is vital to jobs and to the economy generally in Southport. That’s why the idea of scrapping all Council activity in the tourism field fills me with horror.”

“Research shows that tourism is worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year to the local economy, and supports 5000 jobs. The Council plays a key role in supporting this key industry by promoting events, attracting conferences, which are vital to hotels and other businesses, and by operating the Tourist Information Centre, among many other things.”

Birkdale Lib Dem councillor Richard Hands, Chair of the Southport Area Committee, (pictured 2nd left) is also backing the campaign. He added:

“I appreciate that many residents and those involved in the sector have already responded to the consultation. But I am asking others, as one of their New Year’s Resolutions, to find 10 minutes this week to go on-line and express their views about this service which is so essential to the well-being of our town.”

I have copied the above passage from my colleague Ian Brodie-Browne's blog.

Appearing in the photo are, left to right: Pat Keith, Cllr Richard hands, Tony Dawson and Cllr Maureen Fearn.

Anyone wishing to respond to the Sefton Council Consultation on the proposal to cease the Tourism Service will find it at: http://bit.ly/tex6L7 . Alternatively a search for ‘Tourism Sefton E6.7a’ will also find the correct website.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T20:13:00.001Z

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from the Kew Lib Dem Team!

Linaker Christmas

2011-12-13T19:39:00.000Z

This afternoon I attended my third Christmas Show produced by Linaker Primary School.

Back on 2nd December I attended the annual Pantomime at Meols Cop High School. It was a brilliant evening and probably the best show that I have attended since becoming a governor.

Last week I attended the Years 1 & 2 play which was well attended and enjoyed by all who crowded into the school hall.

This afternoon I managed to find time to attend the years 5 & 6 show at Christ Church on Lord St. Once again it was very well attended by parents, guardians and grand-parents.

I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 events and felt privileged to be asked to speak to parents at the end of each show.

My thanks go out to parents and guardians who have worked hard with their children learning lines, songs and producing costumes etc. My thanks also go to all Linaker staff who will be worn out by the end of term.

Tonight is Disco Night! An event that I will not be attending. I don't want my attempts at doing a John Travolta to end up on anybody's camera, or worse still You Tube!

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-13T11:47:00.000Z

Last Friday I attended, and enjoyed, Southport Liberal Democrat's Christmas Dinner. The Event was held at the Talbot Hotel and all who attended enjoyed a good meal and good company.

Julie, pictured second left above, devised a quiz too keep us occupied. It involved knowledge of popular Christmas carols. The ventral winners were Meols Ward, although Birkdale Ward asked for a "stewards enquiry" as they disputed the wording of one of the carols. The answers are printed below:

Away in a manger A I A M

The holly and the ivy T H A T I

O come O come Emmanuel O C O C E

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night W S W T F B N

We three Kings of Orient are W T K O O A

Coventry carol C C

In the Bleak Midwinter I T B M

The first Noel T F N

Once in Royal David’s City O I R D C

See amid the winter’s snow S A T W S

Ding Dong Merrily on high D D M O H

Unto Us a Boy is born U U A B I B

O come all ye Faithful O C A Y F

It came upon a Midnight clear I C U A M C

O little town of Bethlehem O L T O B

Silent Night S N

God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen G R Y M G

Hark the Herald angels Sing H T H A S

Good King Wenceslas G K W

I saw three ships I S T S

Kew Ward were not allowed to win as Julie is out ward's treasurer.

One carol that confused many was the Coventry Carol. Iain Brodie Browne (and myself) had CC down as the Calypso Carol. But eh judges word is final!

Further picture from the evening:

Support for Botanic Gardens

2011-12-05T16:49:00.000Z

I have borrowed the above photo of the "In Bloom Forum"from my colleague Tony Robertson's Blog.

Tony referred to the meeting we both attended recently where various North West in Bloom groups met to share views and concerns.

Part of the meeting was given over to an explanation of the proposed cuts to Parks & Open Spaces budgets that are currently out for consultation.

My main reason for this posting is to register my surprise and thanks for the support expressed for Southport's Botanic Gardens.

Often when resources face being reduced, interested parties retreat into their silos to defend their particular interest. This is completely natural and it reflects the passion that people have for their areas.

What surprised me was the depth of support given to the wishes expressed to retain the facilities at the Botanic Gardens as they are. As a Southport resident I know the value of the gardens but it was heartening to listen to the depth of support given from all areas of Sefton.

As Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture & Tourism, I see all of our parks as vital resources which enrich the lives of residents and visitors.

I urge all Sefton's residents to take a walk in their local parks, appreciate what they offer and take part in the consultation process.

Your comments are needed via the council's website or on consultation forms available at all Sefton's libraries.

Botanic Gardens last winter

Smooth Sainsbury's

2011-12-05T11:27:00.000Z

Having struggles on many occasions to get my trolley across Sainsbury's cobbled car park, I was pleasantly surprised to see a new smooth car park yesterday.

An otherwise cold, wet, miserable day, was brightened by this relatively small improvement. The state of my back will also improve as I often carry several bags to the car rather than risk breakages in the trolley.

Well done Sainbury's!

Lancashire Day

2011-11-28T10:50:00.000Z

On Saturday I joined Fred and Maureen outside the Scarisbrick Hotel. We were there to join in the weekend's celebrations of Lancashire Day. Don, The Town Crier, made his annual proclamation in front of a gathering of supporters.

Lancashire Day proper, was on Sunday.

Lancashire Day commemorates the day in 1295 when Lancashire sent its first representatives to Parliament by King Edward I of England to attend what later became known as The Model Parliament.

Sefton's Cuts

2011-11-09T21:16:00.000Z

Just a brief posting to remind residents of Sefton that they do have a say in how the budget/cuts is managed this year. All of the proposed cuts are now out for consultation. People's views will be taken into account by councillors when the final decisions are made.

To post comments electronically please visit Sefton Council website

More details are available at libraries and several user group meetings are planned.

Olympic Torch Relay

2011-11-08T12:28:00.000Z

Pictured above is Andy Gill from the BBC, interviewing children on the beach at Crosby.

I was asked to attend a busy day of interviews as the route for the Olympic Torch Relay was announced.

Events began for me last Friday when I was interviewed by the BBC for inclusion in the local news once the embargo was lifted on the story yesterday morning.

Yesterday I was joined by children from a local school and a Paralympic hopeful.

The first of yesterday's events place at 7.05 am on a cold but beautiful morning by the Iron Men on Crosby beach. The interview was live by Radio Merseyside.

We then had a break and we all assembled for a repeat performance by the BBC TV team at 11 am and a further repeat by ITV at 1pm.

Being interviewed with a a large TV camera inches from your face is an unusual and nerve-racking experience and there was a long wait until the films were broadcast.

My appearance was very brief and only on ITV.

I felt very sorry for the children as the BBC picked out 4 of them to be interviewed but only 1 of them appears on TV.

Apart from the above disappointment it was a superb opportunity for free publicity for Sefton and Crosby beach in particular.

The eyes of the world will be on Southport, Ainsdale, Formby and Crosby on June 1st next year. As councils throughout the country struggle to make painful cuts it felt good yesterday to look to the future with an optimistic and positive attitude. It made a pleasant change!

City Trophy 2011 Video

2011-10-24T11:32:00.000+01:00

Below is a link to a video taken at last week's IRU awards in Belgium

IRU City Trophy (Busworld Kortrijk 2011)

2011-10-24T11:30:00.000+01:00

Southport is World's Friendliest City

2011-10-22T16:23:00.000+01:00

Pictured above are

Mr Martin Marmy, IRU Secretary General; myself, Julia Fahey, Southport's Travel Trade Officer and Mr Graham Smith, Vice President of the IRU(International Road Transport Union)

Julia and I were guests of the IRU to accept their City Trophy Award 2011. Southport is therefore officially the Worlds Most Friendly City for Group Tourism. This year's runners up were Heisingborg, Sweden.

We were praised for having almost doubled the number of coaches to visit Southport over the last 10 years and the care we give to looking after our coach drivers and their passengers.

Contrary to expectations the trip did not incur any costs to Sefton as our hosts covered all expenses. Neither was it a "stroll in the park".Julia and I attended a large press conference, gave 2 presentations(one translated into several languages) took part in 2 trade forums and made an acceptance speech to over 500 conference delegates.

The longest day was Thursday. We left our hotel in Brussels at 7am to travel to the exhibition in Kortrijk arriving back at the hotel at 9.30pm.

I was proud to represent Southport and proud to be accompanied by Julia who, as Dedicated Trade Officer, represented our small but extremely dedicated team within Sefton's Tourism Department.

Labour's Budget Cuts

2011-10-14T15:30:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I attended the monthly Cabinet Meeting at Bootle Town hall.

Labour are now the largest party in Sefton and consequently it is their responsibility to set a legal budget for the next civic year.

Much has been made of the size and severity of the cuts, amounting to a staggering £20 million this next year following the £44 million taken last year.

Much has also been made of who we should blame for the state we find ourselves in.

I do not intend to add to the "who's to blame debate" but I would like to reming Sefton's residents of the inept attitude of the Labour members of the Cabinet when we began the budget setting process last year. Throughout the process they refused to offer an alternative legal budget and berated ourselves and the Conservatives for imposing the legally imposed cuts that none of us wanted to implement. We had to sit through several full council meetings and, as captive audiences, endure a finger-pointing performance with oft repeated years of "blame on you" etc etc.

Well, now it's the turn of the Labour group to set the budget. Fortunately for them I don't expect my own colleagues to retaliate with the childish tactics we endured last year.

Having complained above about Labour's behaviour last year I must congratulate them on their behaviour yesterday. The mantle of leadership seems to have diminished the need for rants, which I applaud.

We are now faced with a stormy period of consultation. The residents will take part on various consultation events in order to guide the members on what to cut and what to save. We were originally given a list of possible savings that totalled over £28 million. This was whittled down by the Labour group to around £25 million.

I will be reporting on my own and my groups views on the process as it develops.

My fears are that the Labour group will adopt a tribal approach to the process ensuring that their Bootle heartland is defended and protected at the expense of the rest of the borough. The items they removed from the list for consultation already makes that suggestion.

I hope I'm wrong!

Jonathan Edwards Visits Sefton

2011-09-29T13:20:00.000+01:00

Stood next to me in the above picture is the athlete Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan is a former British triple jumper. He is a former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995.

Following his retirement as an athlete, Edwards has worked as an athletics commentator and presenter for BBC television. Formerly a devout Christian, he also presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme Songs of Praise, until he gave up these views in 2007. He is a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.

The highlights of his career were gaining a gold medal in the Sydney Olympics and gaining the world record jump of 18.29 metres, a record that still stands today.

Jonathan was in Sefton as part of the build up for next year's Olympics in London. He met schoolchildren and young athletes at Litherland Sports Park. During the afternoon he took part in a question and answer session, signed autographs and gave advice to young athletes.

It was a pleasure to be in his company. he is one of the few celebrities who is as pleasant off the screen as he appears to be on the screen.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon in the company of a world record holder, committed coaches, dedicated staff from Sefton's leisure department and enthusiastic young people.

Below is a group photograph of all that were involved.

Clegg Backs Investment in Sefton

2011-09-14T22:14:00.000+01:00

‘IT’S THE [SEFTON] ECONOMY STUPID’ TO PARAPHRASE BILL CLINTON

September 14th, 2011 by tonyrobertson | 1 Comment

Now who said this just a few hours ago?

“You have to be ruthless, focusing on the investments that transform growth potential: transport, energy, digital communications. Roads and rail so manufacturers can transfer goods. Better broadband so small, high-tech companies can flourish. Renewable energy so low-carbon industry can too.

If you modernise this kind of infrastructure you stimulate activity in the shorter term and you build systems high growth industries can use for years to come. Transport schemes announced in the Spending Review, for example, will deliver major boosts to growth. Like the Switch Island link road in Merseyside, where £20m of Government investment will generate 35 times that in economic benefits”

It is nice to know that that the project that I fought for over a number of years at both local and regional level is now being used as an exemplar by the Nick Clegg our Deputy Prime Minister. Yes, we won this battle following years of maybe, maybe the Coalition Government, as one of its first decisions, stumped up the money and building work will be starting in the near future.

The above is taken from my colleague(and leader) Councillor Tony Robertson's Blog earlier today.

Merseytravel Developments from my colleague Cllr John Ddd

2011-09-14T09:28:00.000+01:00

John Dodd welcomes reduction in Merseytravel bureaucracy

Cllr John Dodd has welcomed proposals to reduce number of committees at Merseytravel from the current 34 down to 8.

Cllr Dodd says "This is something the Liberal Democrats have been requesting for a long time. I am glad Labour have taken on board what the Lib Dems have being saying. This new committee structure brings Merseytravel in to line with other local authorities and will better serve the public of Southport and Sefton as a whole".

Cllr John Dodd is the Sefton Liberal Democrat representative on the Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (Merseytravel). For further information please contact John Dodd.

Southport's 24 hour Yacht Race

2011-09-12T18:34:00.000+01:00

On Saturday Cllr Fred Weavers and myself attended the start of Southport's annual 24 Hour Yacht Race on the Marine Lake.

I have stood on the promenade and watched this event in past years but this was my first "official" attendance. Fred was invited due to his involvement in setting up a dragon-boat race to support the Help for Hero's charity.

The blustery weather made for ideal conditions for a fast race with many boats coming to grief as they jibed (technical term that I still don't fully understand) to get round one of the markers.

We were both warmly greeted and made to feel very welcome by officials present.

Fred even managed to get onto the official launch with Sefton's Mayor and the Commodore.

The picture below shows Fred enjoying his view-point on board the launch (although the picture does look more like a sombre burial at sea ceremony).

I hope that this event continues for many more years as it is a credit to the clubs involved and a great event for Southport to hold and promote.

Street Games Update

2011-09-10T17:11:00.000+01:00

On Friday night I attended the street games at Jane's Brook Rd. This has been a series of 10 weekly sessions and there are 2 more sessions to go.

The sessions have been a great success with groups of 30 - 60 children attending. Activities have included: football coaching, dodge-ball, dance, climbing wall, youth services bus and attendances by the fire brigade, police and CPSO's.

Friday's session saw the introduction of 2 new activities a canoeing machine and orienteering.

Orienteering is a fantastic way to keep fit and learn new map and compass skills. This session saw the use of the latest electronic markers and Steve tells me that over 120 activities took place. Pictured below is on of the markers. Hopefully Steve will be back for the last session.

The other new activity came with a competitive edge. A canoeing machine was a new and very popular activity. Several of the children were soon trying to gain the fastest time, but all were beaten by our own Fred Weavers. If you have seen the "competitive dad" sketches on The Fast Show you'll be able to picture the scene as "competitive councillor" got to grips with the machine(pictured below).

I look forward to the continued rivalry when, hopefully, the machine returns in the future.

Dog Tired

2011-09-07T15:04:00.000+01:00

Somebody recently told us that our new collie will never get tired of chasing balls, she will always come back for more. I now suffer from tennis elbow and Claire operates a rotation of tennis balls going through the washing machine.

The advice we received was to give Mona something to think about as Collies can soon get bored.

Claire now goes into the garage for a one-to-one with Mona. At the moment she is concentrating on simple tasks with a tennis ball used as a reward. She can now do spins, walk backwards and touch with her paw(Mona not Claire). Dog number 2, Sulby, can now sneeze on command!

At the end of these sessions both dogs are tired out and we have peace for about an hour as they rest their tired brains.

I'e decided that part of this theory works for people. We now have 2 dogs and I've been putting my brain through hell trying to decide what car is most appropriate to own and use. We currently own a Smart car and a Land Rover. I love my Land Rover but it may be time to trade her in for a more economic vehicle.The Land Rover is good for dog duties but expensive on fuel. I've looked at vans, hatchbacks and estates and still can't decide. If we go for an estate we could manage with 1 car and lose the Smart car, but Claire loves her Smarty. If it is to be an estate it needs to be a short car as we don't have a lot of room in front of the garage. If we go for a large estate it will be parked on the road, with higher insurance and the risk of getting vandalised.

Perhaps I should try chasing tennis balls instead!

I now know how Mona feels after her brainstorming sessions.

I'm going to ask Claire to move Mona's training up a few levels and ask her which car we should chose. I'm going to show her a few pictures of my Land Rover. I may even put Top Gear on when Claire's at work, I quite like the look of a racing green Morgan outside the garage.

Marine Lake Improvements

2011-08-26T09:59:00.000+01:00

PIctured above are Councillor Simon Shaw and myself by the Marine Lake.

As reported in an earlier posting, Simon and I visited the lake a few weeks ago to look into problems occurring due to excessive weed growth and litter.

We were pleased to find great improvements to state of the lake. A coloured dye has been added to reduce weed growth and the lake has been topped up with fresh sea water at high tides.

The smell, which was evident yesterday, was apparently being produced by a sewer vent on the promenade which vents a storage tank used at times of high rainfall, as witnessed recently.

Simon, wearing his Cabinet Member for Environment hat, was also pleased with the improved cleanliness of the area around the lake, having discussed the problems with Sefton's senior officers.

Cool Southport

2011-08-22T11:03:00.000+01:00

Southport is a "Cool" place to be, according to articles in national newspapers.

On Friday The Guardian included Southport in it's report on Cool Culture in the Country. Our town was included in a list of 6 places to visit rather than heading for the cities. It describes Southport as "home to a thriving street art scene" and recommends a stay at "the super stylish Vincent Hotel".

Add to this a story carried in saturday's Times entitled "The Cool Weekend Guide". It listed 20 places to stay and Southport came in at number 12.

It stated that Southport "has a buzz about it, with the restaurants, bars, nightclubs, fabulous pier and the many footballers and their WAG's making it their weekend destination". It also recommends a visit to The British Lawnmower Museum.

At a time when doom and gloom seems to be the preferred diet of the press it is refreshing to read positive articles that use Southport as an example of a "cool" place to visit.

Bad Back but Good Email

2011-08-21T21:32:00.000+01:00

I put my back out on Friday and haven't left the house since. It's been that bad that this is the first time I've been able to sit at my computer since Friday morning(which is unheard of if you know me well). Even more painful was having to watch the Coronation St omnibus as I could find nothing better to watch. Claire was out for the day so I had to fend for myself and my survival diet consisted of anything I could reach without bending down; cereals, toast and a pizza(pizza was quite a challenge as I had to hobble into the garage where we keep our freezer).

I'm blaming Cllr Fred Weavers. We were at Jane's Brook street games on Friday. Fred suggested we join in with a game of football. I did, I enjoyed it, I didn't score but I did put my back out.

Courageously I played on to the end and equally courageously I didn't use my injury as an excuse for my poor form on the field. We had a medicinal pint after and I went home to a hot bath and the promise of an agonising morning after.

True to form Saturday saw me hobbling around with on old walking stick. Biggest challenge of the day was to bring in the 2 pints of milk without dropping them.

Sunday's challenge(today) has been to empty the dishwasher. I succeeded but it took best part of the day.
Claire's arrival with painkillers has finally led to my improved state and a seat here at the computer.

My teachers used to tell me that every cloud has a silver lining and I found my lining on Saturday morning. I couldn't reach the computer but my mobile was at hand and I could read my emails.

I received an email from a resident (who shall remain nameless) that brought back my faith in human nature and almost deadened the pain in my back.

As a councillor I receive dozens of emails and letters from concerned residents many of whom have a complaint to make, a cry for help or a mission to persue. Saturday's email was a rarity for me, a congratulatory message which ratified and endorsed one of my less than popular decisions.

I know, and I keep reminding myself, that it is often the vocal minority that write to the papers and post messages on dubious websites. I also know that the vast majority of Southport's residents are relatively happy with life in their local communities. I have learnt to accept the fact that happy people do not pass on their happiness to their local councillor. But on Saturday I was pleased to receive a message that brought a smile to my face to remove the grimace that went before it.

My 10 minutes is up, time to hobble again.

My heartfelt thanks go to "Mr X".

Southport Flower Show

2011-08-19T13:34:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Southport Flower Show's opening day. The weather was perfect and the site soon filled up as people poured in.

We go to the show every year and see it as one of the highlights of our calendar.

This year the directors changed procedures and an awards ceremony was held instead of the usual opening ceremony at the bandstand.

A novel approach, which brought in the crowds, was the arrival of the main trophy in the hands of knight on horseback as shown below.

When we left the show later in the afternoon we say over 20 coaches in the car park. It's always good to see visitors arriving from all parts of the country. I hope they enjoyed the show and I hope they stayed in Southport for a few hours after the show to enjoy our bars and restaurants and help to boost trade in the town.

A Cleaner Lake

2011-08-12T07:47:00.000+01:00

Southport's marine lake is one of the largest man-made leisure pursuits lakes in England.

The lake is home to various watersports clubs including sailing, water-skiing and rowing.

The lake is also home to The Southport Belle a Mississippi style paddle steamer that will take you on a scenic tour along Southport's Victorian seafront.

On Wednesday Councillor Simon Shaw joined me as officers arranged a site visit to brief us on the

difficulties they experience in the management of the lake.

Pictured above are 2 hard working young employees who battled against choppy waves and high winds to clear weed and litter from a corner of the lake.

Management of the lake is a complex issue which Simon and I are now more familiar with.

On a bright sunny day a bench by the lake is quite appealing. However, in wethar such as we eperienced on Wednesday a cup of tea(or a pint of bitter) in the Lakeside Inn would be a better bet!

Britain in Bloom (more photos)

2011-08-09T11:17:00.000+01:00

Churchtown Civic garden

Cllr John Dodd & Dorothy Lee

Fernery

Floral Clock

Flower Show Marquee

Rotten Row

Britain in Bloom

2011-08-05T15:04:00.000+01:00

I spent this morning with the Britain in Bloom judges as they toured Southport. Pictured above are the judges joined by myself, officers and volunteers.

We are in the Large Coastal Resort category along with Cleethorpes, Bangor, Plymouth and a resort in Northern Ireland.

It's difficult to judge the judges, but they seemed very impressed with what they saw and what they were told as they met volunteers at each location we stopped at.

The results will be announced at a ceremony in St Andrews next month.

Competing Dogs

2011-08-03T18:15:00.000+01:00

For those that don't know, I do have a life away from politics (several lives). My wife Claire trains and races our dogs in a flyable team. This weekend we entered Mona(above - apt name!) for her first race in the beginners class. Sulby (dog No 1) is quite a veteran. She was awarded her Flyball Dog Graduate Certificate for gaining 3,000 points.

If you haven't witnessed this type of event, it's quite hard to describe. Try to imagine a couple of dozen teams of 5 dogs and their energetic owners all barking and shouting at the same time. Each dog is timed over a short course of hurdles, carrying a tennis ball they retrieve from the device called "the box" ( a sprung device that fires a tennis ball when each dog hits it). It's a sort of relay for dogs.

Our 2 dogs were in teams that gained third place. One of "our" teams won the top division race by beating the UK record!

For the non participants there isn't a great deal to do. There was a burger van, a charity cake stall and a few very dodgy chemical toilets.

Not having children, it was our version of a school Sport's Day. We played the part of proud parents trying hard not be react like the Competitive Dad character of The fast Show.

When not competing we went back to base, a very good caravan and camp site near to the beach at Newborough.

The odd occurrence at the site was the loud noises coming from a tent where the occupants were watching a War Film on DVD. Camping isn't what it used to be. When I was a lad we didn't have electricity in the tents. We slept in thin sleeping bags without a mattress with no sewn-in-grounsheet. Tents looked like tents with a pointed bit at the top and proper string for guys and wooden pegs. It was rough but we were happy etc etc!

Pictured below is the moment when Sulby got fed up with Mona and told her to s*d off (look for the teeth).

Back to Southport today to dry off the awning, have a decent shave and fill up the fridge again.

Atkinson Centre takes Shape

2011-07-26T20:13:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was invited to view the interior of Southport's Atkinson Centre (what we used to cal the Arts centre0. Pictured above is the stripped out interior of the library, which was bank in it's former life.

The building programme is on schedule, although there have been several changes to the plans as demolition of former structures revealed hidden problems.

I was most impressed by the attention to detail and the preservation of many of the original feats, carried out by the contractors.

On the whole the stonework is in very good condition, as can be seen by my photos below.

This is going to be an excellent venue for Arts and Culture in Southport. The area around the Town Hall is literally "like a building site", but the end result will be well worth the wait.

Photos

Stonework

View from Roof

Library Office

Floor Tiles

Bar Roof Timbers

BBC NWT- MerseyTravel are told to Stop The Gravy Train and Whalley Viadu...

2011-07-25T09:28:00.000+01:00

Southport Air Show

2011-07-23T23:30:00.000+01:00

Southport Air Show 2011 is in it's 20th Year and this year's show must be one of the best.

For once we were blest with good weather. It was dry and sunny, if a little chilly; but the visibility was perfect for an air show. As a very amateur photographer it was also perfect with good cloud formations as backdrops.

It always gives me a buzz to see our resort bursting at the seams and that was the case today.

Everyone has their favourites with The Red Arrows at the top of most peoples list. But for me the Vulcan Bomber stole the show. I found it hard to believe that it's designer also designed the magnificent Lancaster Bomber and that there was only an 11 year gap between the 2 designs.

As Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, I admit I'm biased but I can't see another resort offering the same value for money as Southport's Air Show.

Southport's events are always at the mercy of our temperamental climate, but today the sun shone and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

Congratulations to Sefton's events team!

Greedy Labour Councillors

2011-07-21T23:36:00.000+01:00

Please read the following, taken from my colleague Iain Brodie-Browne's Blog.

I cannot believe that greed such as this has gone unreported by the press for so long:

Victory!! BBC report curbs at gravy train Merseytravel Lib Dem campaign

Read all about it................................http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14240084

The BBC report reads:

Merseytravel is the authority which co-ordinates public transport across Merseyside.

It is the only local authority in the country where councillors still set their own allowances.

Not only that but councillors claim multiple allowances depending on how many committees they sit on, rather than one overall payment.

Professor Jon Tonge, head of politics at Liverpool University, says that's unique: "You or I might like that in our jobs, but it just isn't the reality in any other walk of life."

Allowances
The Liberal Democrats are running a concerted campaign to reduce what they consider to be a blatant milking of the system.
In June we reported on how Merseytravel voted to increase their allowances a little more.
A new post was created of deputy chair of the women's forum, paying out a further £3,688.
It means there are a total of 35 posts. Thirty one of those are shared between 13 Labour Councillors.......................................................................................................

The chairman, Labour Cllr Mark Dowd, claimed £47,665 in allowances last year. That's for chairing several different committees.

That excludes his Sefton allowances or his Merseytravel expenses =which it is rumoured are not insignificant

The Sefton Labour Party used procedural devices to block Sefton Council debating the chaos at Merseytravel.Let us be clear for years the old (tribal ) Labour Chair of Merseytravel Councillor Mark Dowd has behaved in the most outrageous an inappropriate way. (Sadly for a significant part of the time his administration was propped up by the Tories-)

Now we need to get to grips with the big issues and the big money. The tram fiasco and Dowd's disastrous debacle over the £1.5 campaign to run the rail and rollingstock.

More to follow

Should Dowd repay his mega allowance

Should Merseytravel abandon their U turn over the vertical integration and accept the responsibility of the running rail and trains which they spent £!.5million campaigning for only to refuse to do it when RMT Union boss Bob Crowe objected-a reversal that was carried out against officer advice and without any papers or research to back up the U turn?
Watch this space!

Relief for a Pigeon

2011-07-18T17:03:00.000+01:00

I was prompted to take the above picture by Terry Durrance of UKIP. We were both attending the judging for North West in Bloom last week. Terry spotted this pigeon sat on one of the frogs that shoot water into the Mermaid Fountain outside Sainsbury's on Lord St. From our angle it looked as if the pigeon was "relieving itself in a public place".

Thank's Terry. Will the Labour opposition see this as another coalition?

John Pugh's Garden Party

2011-07-16T21:15:00.000+01:00

I've just returned from MP John Pugh's Garden Party. The party was hosted by Councillor Haydn Preece. Due to the inclement weather most of the stalls were placed inside, although some protection was provided by 2 gazebo's (more of them later).

Despite the bad weather we had a good turnout and plenty of time for a chat over a coffee and cake. Lots of stalls were manned and by the time the food was ready the weather bucked up and we were able to move outside.

My highlight of the day was the performance we put into raising and lowering the 2 gazebos. One was slightly damaged and ingenuity was called upon to make running repairs.

The photos below do not give a true impression of the problems faced or the hilarity and mayhem this simple task caused.

North West in Bloom

2011-07-14T21:39:00.000+01:00

Today I joined the 2 judges as they toured Southport viewing our town and neighbourhood entries. in this year's North West in Bloom Competition.

Fortunately the sun shone all day, everyone was happy and Southport was looking good.

Our entries in this competition have expanded over the last few years and it now takes a day and a half to judge all of the entries.

The judges were looking for horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation.

The results will be announced in October at a presentation night in our own Floral Hall.

Southport is also entered into the national Britain in Bloom Competition which takes place next month on August 5th.

It has been a very enjoyable day. It is often too easy to look for problems and negative values. Today was an opportunity to take a step back and look at our town as our visitors see us. Southport is a beautiful town and a fantastic place to live... I need to remind myself of that fact from time to time.

Pictured above is my colleague Councillor John Dodd who, as a member of North Meols Civic Society, has worked hard to help prepare Churchtown Village for the arrival of the judges.

Get Involved in Your Community

2011-07-12T14:25:00.001+01:00

This week I shall be joining the judges as they judge our entry into this year's North West in Bloom Competition. I shall be doing the same next month when we enter the Britain in Bloom Competition.

A great deal of work has been done by community groups throughout the year.

If you would like to get involved check the link below, enter your post code and sign up!

Click Here to Join In

Last year's Green Flag Award in the Botanic gardens, Southport.

New Balls Please!

2011-07-08T21:47:00.000+01:00

An update for dog friendly followers.

Our new dog "Mona" has settled in well with our other (slightly grumpy) dog, "Sulby".

Mona, a border collie, is coming up to her first birthday.

Sulby is a regular winner of rosettes at fly-ball competitions and Claire has great hopes for Mona to start her own rosette collection soon.

Both dogs are mad about balls and tennis balls in particular.

We now have a dozen balls which are rotated and washed.

I don't know how lang the balls last at Wimbledon, but ours are lucky to lat a couple of weeks!

Sefton's Beaches

2011-07-08T15:28:00.000+01:00

Pictured above are Councillor Simon Shaw (Cabinet Member for The Environment), myself, Margaret Carney (Sefton's Chief Executive Officer) and Rajan Paul (Head of Landscape Services).

We were photographed at the end of our site visit to Sefton's Coast.

I arranged the visit so that we could see some of the important work being undertaken by Coast and Countryise staff.

What impressed me the most was the way in which the staff are able to multi-task. Rangers do not have set tasks. In this way, all Rangers can be called upon to work wherever they are needed.

We were all impressed by the standard of work carried out in the workshop in Ainsdale and the many inclusion projects that are ran here.

To get detailed information about the workshop please check out this link:

Biodiversity and Access Project

Felled trees and limited bought in timber, is used to produce a range of objects from litter bins and benches to signposts and stiles.

I hope that Simon and the Chief Executive now feel better acquainted with the fantastic resource that we have on our doorsteps and that they were impressed by the dedication and intuitive nature of Dave McAleavy's staff.

Toilet Security

2011-07-06T08:44:00.000+01:00

This is a true story!

A while ago we were travelling on the M6 and we stopped for a "comfort break", as we now call it.

As I was wearing trendy jeans with a button fly I decided to use the cubicles rather than the communal urinals.

I was part way through my visit when a young, but loud voice from the adjacent cubicle shouted out, " Stop weeing!" There was a pause (not on my part) " Stop weeing, these toilets are for pooing only!"

Silent laughter from me hampered operations on my part. " Stop weeing, I'll tell the Security Man!".

Thankfully my neighbour flushed his WC and left at this point.

Allowing time for him to leave I, sheepishly, did the same.

Freedom of Sefton for RAF Woodvale

2011-07-05T10:20:00.000+01:00

On Sunday I was pleased to accept an invitation to attend the 70th Birthday of RAF Woodvale. This was also a celebration of the base being granted The Freedom of Sefton.

It was a hot day and the event was well attended by both dignitaries and the public.

Visiting the base reminded me to pencil in the date for RAF Woodvale Rally on 6th/7th August. This is another well attended event and a must for fans of classic cars and motorcycles.

Ainsdale Cream Teas

2011-06-26T19:22:00.002+01:00

This afternoon I had my first "Ainsdale Cream Tea". The occasion was a fund-raiser for the Ainsdale Liberal Democrats. Pictured above are Councillors Weavers and Preece tucking into the strawberries, cream, jam and scones.

The weather was goon, on the whole, and the strong sunshine sent many into the shade in Roy's spacious garden.

Cream Teas are often thought of as the preserve of Devon or Cornwall. Haydn, Roy, Lynne and the rest of the ainsdale team proved that they can produce their own version with their own preserves, cream and scones.

I left before hearing the result of the raffle, fingers crossed for a winning ticket.

St Francis Of Assisi Fair

2011-06-11T15:33:00.000+01:00

This afternoon, Claire and I popped over to Kew Estate for a couple of hours to support the St Francis of Assisi Fair.

The event was opened by Councillor Maureen Fearn, seen here enjoying her beef burger.

The fair was well attended and the weather was fine.

Linaker School Exhibition

2011-06-07T11:47:00.000+01:00

Last night I attended the "Better Community, Better Life Art Project" held at the Liverpool Academy of Arts.

Linaker Primary School has been involved in an authority wide art project related to their links with China. The work of 10 schools was exhibited, the exhibition being open to the public from 7th to 16th June.

I am proud to be a governor at Linaker. The standard of the work was excellent.

Bootle in the Morning TT in the Evening

2011-06-03T23:29:00.000+01:00

Like most people I thoroughly enjoyed today's fine weather.

I spent most of the morning attending a meeting in Bootle. I had a choice of transport: the train, the motorbike or the car. It was too hot to get the bike out and sit around in thick motorcycle clothing. The train was a possibility, but the car won. We have a convertible Smart car and I thoroughly enjoyed the drive to and from Bootle. If only I had some hair for the wind to blow through!

I took time off from my paperwork this afternoon and sat in the garden to finish off a book I started when in New Zealand in January.

This evening Claire had first shout with the computer so I had the TV. Time to catch up on recordings of this year's TT races and practices.

I know that people rave about formula 1 drivers and the dangers they go through. This is nothing compared to what riders face each year on the TT course.

The riders race around a circuit of almost 40 miles of public roads. The roads are nothing special, they have the usual telegraph poles, lamp-posts, manhole-covers and dry-stone walls. The machines reach speeds of up to 180 mph passing within inches of these obstacles. Often the only protection are bales of hay and padding wrapped around lamp-posts.

10 years ago I spent my honeymoon on the Isle of Man and we took my bike. Of course we had to do the TT. Although I had the additional obstacles of buses, milk-floats and pedestrians to negotiate I managed to complete it unscathed. The worst part was the hair-pin turn at Ramsey where the biggest fear is dropping the bike in-front of onlooking bikers.

I know that this is a dangerous sport and that riding a motorcycle is dangerous. I know the dangers and it is my choice to ride my bike. The people who race in the TT each year make the same choice. Many have called for an end to the races due to injuries and fatalities. My view is that the race has existed for many years and for many years people have had the freedom to make their choice to participate with full knowledge of the dangers involved. Long may it continue.

My tip for a win this year is Guy Martin. He epitomises the spirit of the TT. He has a full time job as a HGV mechanic and each night after racing in the TT he sleeps in the back of his Ford Transit. I don't see Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button doing that!

Beaten by a Better Team

2011-05-31T20:05:00.000+01:00

As a lifelong manchester United Supporter, I have to admit that the better team won on Saturday. Before the game kicked off most experts had them down as clear favourites.

It's always disappointing when your team loses a cup final, but in this case it was less so. The match was played in good spirit without the usual bullying of the referee. In fact I thought the referee was one of the best performers on the pitch!

If United are the best team in England this match provided evidence of the gulf there is between the standard of play in the English and Spanish leagues.

We can now look forward to the Charity Shield when we take on the other Manchester team, Manchester City. Being beaten by Barcelona is one thing but to be beaten by City is unthinkable.

Green Flags 2011

2011-05-29T16:05:00.000+01:00

Recently I was asked to attend meetings at Victoria Park, Crosby and Hatton Hill Park, Netherton. Pictured above are myself(buried in the middle) and a group of children, officials and users of Hatton Hill Park.

The event was planned to publicise the 2 parks being entered for this year's Green Flag Awards. Many of our parks and cemeteries already have their flags. They are awarded for well kept, tidy parks that encourage participation by the local communities.

I always enjoy these events as it presents an opportunity to thank people for the unpaid work they do in our parks.

Pictured below I am presenting certificates for 1,000 and 2,000 hours service provided by volunteers.

Cleaner Water on our Beaches

2011-05-27T13:37:00.000+01:00

Seven popular bathing beaches in Lancashire have failed the annual test for water quality.

Blackpool, Morecambe and Heysham were among ten in the North West that fell short of minimum standards, said the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

Its 2011 Good Beach Guide said diluted sewage was being discharged too often into coastal waters.

The Environment Agency said bathing water had improved in the past 20 years but admitted there was "more to do".

MCS graded 758 beaches around the UK and the Channel Islands, with the cleanest spots given the "recommended" status.

Top marks were given to just five of the region's 39 beaches: Formby on Merseyside; New Brighton, Moreton and Meols in Wirral; and Silecroft in Cumbria.

Southport's beach gained:

Guideline standard - European standard for good water quality.

Formby's beach gained:

MCS Recommended — Highest UK standard for bathing water quality.

Ainsdale beach gained:

Basic pass - European minimum standard for water quality.

FOUR of the five cleanest beaches in the North West are in Merseyside, the Marine Conservation Society (MSC) has revealed.

Southport and Formby beaches were awarded higher standards than the previous year.

Formby beach was declared amongst the cleanest in the UK.

The MCS acknowledges the North West was one of the wettest areas in the UK last summer.

Our beaches are subject to heavy rain and surface water run-off from surrounding farmland which affects the quality of bathing waters.

The beaches that failed in the North West were:

Morecambe - opp West End Rd
Heysham Sands
Heysham - Half Moon Bay
Blackpool - Central
Blackpool - South
St. Annes - North
St. Annes
Thurstaston, Wirral
Walney Island - Sandy Gap
Harrington, Cumbria

United Utilities are currently spending£114 million to improve the River Ribble estuary and the coastal environment.

The majority of United Utilities sewerage systems are made up of combined sewers. Combined sewers transport wastewater from homes and industry as well as carry surface water run off from gutters, drains and some highways. Newer separate sewers transport only sewage, with surface water run off being directed to its own dedicated drainage system.

Heavy or prolonged rainfall can rapidly increase the flow in a combined sewer until the volume becomes too much for the sewer to carry and excess storm water is then discharged to a water course, such as streams, rivers or seas, via Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO).

Too Late!

2011-05-26T16:53:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I set off, camera in hand, to take some photos for our next Focus newspaper. My intention was to do some "before and after" shots.

Whilst canvassing before the election we made notes of complaints made by residents. Since being re-elected I have spent some time trying to resolve these complaints. These will feature in the next Focus.

Two good examples were, complaints about a dangerous concrete bollard, about to fall over, on Virginia St and a roundabout at Kew where the grass was too long and needed cutting.

I contacted officers by email and I was pleased to hear that the 2 complaints would be dealt with ASAP. This seemed like an ideal opportunity to take my "before" pictures. I was disappointed and delighted at the same time when I arrived at the 2 locations.

The concrete bollard had been removed and the grass had been cut. Therefore no "before" pictures but a well done for Sefton's officers for quickly putting things right!

Above is the "after" picture of the roundabout at Town Lane. I didn't bother with an "after" picture of the bollard as all there was to see was a fresh patch of tarmac.

Determined to get my photos I did manage to get a shot of some unsightly rubbish piled up outside an empty shop on Rose Hill Bridge. I have contacted officers and hope to see the rubbish removed soon.

Below is my "before" shot. When it is gone I'll get my "afters".

Good News

2011-05-23T13:42:00.000+01:00

I have some good news for residents of Larkspur Close in Kew Ward.

A resident of one of the flats complained some time ago about fly tipping, which I had removed(as reported in my post "Fly Tipping Removed in Kew".

I asked officers to look into how we could prevent further incidents of fly-tipping at this site. Officers from Environmental Protection met with representatives of Contour Housing and Network Rail.

At the meeting it was put to Network Rail that, not withstanding their access requirements, the area would have to be fenced off to prevent further incidents of fly-tipping. Network Rail agreed that the work was warranted and agreed that it could go ahead.

Contour Housing agreed to this and, subject to obtaining qoutes for the work, would proceed without delay. It was further agreed that the fencing be sufficiently robust as to frustrate further attempts at access.

I will return to this story when the fencing is completed.

Mona's New Home

2011-05-21T13:44:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday we re-homed our new dog Mona. My wife Claire has been after a second dog for some time and she finally got me to agree when she fouled Mona, then named Sox, on a website devoted to finding homes for Border Collie's.

She is 9 months old(Claire is much older) and she has settled in very well with our other(grumpy) dog Sulby.

At this point I need to explain the unusual names chosen for our dogs. I have a passion for anything to do with the Isle of Man and have done so since going there on holiday as a child. Claire & I had our honeymoon there, arriving on my BMW motorbike already to do the TT course..

Before we had Sulby, we had a German Shepherd cross which we named Ellen Vannin, which is Manx for Isle of Man.

Sulby is named after Sulby Glen, a picturesque valley on the island.

Mona is another Manx name for the island.

I did consider naming our new dog after Port Sodderick, but Claire convinced me otherwise.

Sulby is definitely "top dog" and a quick snap or baring of teeth reminds Mona when food or toys are involved.

Sulby is a member of a Fly-Ball team and we hope that Mona will soon join her. For those that don't know Fly-Ball is a timed race between 2 teams of 4 dogs. Each dog has to clear 4 hurdles, pick up a tennis ball and return over the hurdles before the next dog is released.

My Mother-in-Law also has a new dog, but you've probably had enough doggy stories for now so I'll return to the dog theme at a later date.

Thank You

2011-05-09T12:19:00.000+01:00

As the previous posting by David shows, the Liberal Democrat team won the local election in Kew Ward.

In the time honoured method, used at all awards ceremonies. I would like to thank a few people for their determination and effort over the last few weeks.

Top of my list are my agent david and his wife Julie. They were always available, always positive and always confident.

I must also thank my ward colleagues Maureen and Fred.

Maureen wasn't able to contribute to the campaign as she was carrying out her duties as mayor of Sefton, but she was always available for advice when it was needed.

Fred was as hard working as ever. Nobody can plant a poster board in the ground like Fred! His time spent in The Marines has left him with a "never give in" attitude. He is often outspoken, but with Fred you always get "what it says on the tin".

I must also thank our many deliverers, envelope stuffers, tellers and people who allow poster boards in their gardens and window posters in their homes.

Thanks also go out to the wider team of Liberal Democrats, including: our MP John, his staff, other Southport candidates and ward councillors.

Most of all(hope this bit doesn't sound too cheesy as it isn't meant to) I would like to thank the people of Kew ward who voted for me.

I trust that the trust you have placed in me will be demonstrated and repaid over the next 4 years of my term of office.

I am a keen Manchester United Supporter, which I will return to soon when we celebrate winning the Premiership and hopefully the European League.

If I was to liken my Lib Dem team to United's:

David and Julie are the management team - Sir Alex Ferguson and Mike Phelan.

Maureen is the wise and experienced campaigner - Sir Bobby Charlton.

Fred just has to be Wayne Rooney!

My Lib Dem colleagues are the trainers, physiotherapists and office staff.

My deliverers are the rest of my team mates - some young, like Nani and some a little older, like Giggs.

The residents are the Stretford Enders.

Me - I'm George Best - in my dreams!

THANK YOU.

Mike Wins

2011-05-07T15:30:00.005+01:00

Well done Mike!

Mike Booth wins again in Kew Ward.

Very funny dog! Really determined too...

2011-05-07T09:10:00.002+01:00

Election Night

2011-05-05T23:11:00.001+01:00

I'm Kn****red!

Canvassing

2011-05-03T11:59:00.001+01:00

Some of last night's Ainsdale Team

We are 2 days away from the elections and we are still busy canvassing. Our team in Kew have spoken to over 2,000 residents over the last few weeks, many others were not at home when we called. There are over 5,000 doors to knock on and we never manage to meet all of our residents. However, we do continue with our canvassing until the dark nights draw in. Some residents find this hard to believe as they are told by the Conservative candidate that we are only visible before elections. This is completely untrue. Those of you that have met us on our Wednesday nights throughout the summer and into Autumn can vouch for our efforts. You will also spot us delivering our popular Focus newspapers throughout the year.

Last night I helped out in Ainsdale ward along with 14 of my colleagues including our MP John Pugh and Lord Ronnie Fearn. I always enjoy helping out in other wards when I can as it provides an opportunity to see more of our borough and to meet more of our residents.

We have been blessed with the hottest April since records began and, for once, we have not missed a night's canvassing due to bad weather.

The only real down-side to the good weather(for us) has been that many people are enjoying the good weather in their gardens and consequently they have not heard their door-bells when we have called.

The good weather has also encouraged people to have barbecues and their has been a constant aroma of sausages and burgers being cooked and a whiff of paraffin as barbecues are being lit.

The saddest sight has been the number of dead or dying palm trees in peoples gardens. We have one in our garden and we have had to contact a tree surgeon to take it down. I'm not an expert but our tree must be over 40 years old. This has provided concrete evidence of the severe cold weather we all experienced at Christmas, a complete opposite of our current weather.

I know which weather I prefer!

On Your Bike Maureen!

2011-04-27T15:57:00.000+01:00

This afternoon my ward colleagues Councillor Fred Weavers and Madam Mayor, Councillor Maureen Fearn, met at Portland Street Playing Fields.

The purpose of the meeting was for a photo shoot outside the new changing facilities which opened recently.

However, Fred couldn't resist getting Maureen to sit on the back of his new Harley Davidson.

Pictured above are Fred and Maureen on the car park (not on the public road so crash helmets not required).

Maureen needed little encouragement to go for a slow spin round the empty car park, much to the amusement of a passing dog walker, as pictured below.

Perhaps this is the future for Mayoral transport in Sefton!

I still think my BMW 800 twin is the better bike Fred.

Kew Canvassing

2011-04-24T17:04:00.001+01:00

I've stood on many doorsteps over the last few weeks and I've experienced many warm welcomes and a few cold receptions.

The Conservative candidate for Kew ward states in her literature that we only appear on the streets just before elections but this isn't true. We canvass our ward throughout the year in Kew, concentrating our efforts when daylight is at it's best. Once the elections are over we will revert to our midweek sessions dropping in on residents in all areas of the ward.

When I first got involved in canvassing it was with the Birkdale team when I was their election agent. I must admit that I found the thought of knocking on strangers doors to be quite intimidating. However, having watched a few "knocks" I began to venture out and try knocking on my own.

Since then I have joined the team in Kew and have now canvassed extensively for the last 4 years. I also help my colleagues in other wards when help is asked for.

Methods of canvassing differ and advice is often offered by more experienced councillors on the best questions to ask and the best way to ask them.

When I politely ask people if they have decided which way they are to vote I get mixed responses. Some tell me, some haven't made their mind up yet, some prefer not to say and the odd person rudely shuts the door on my face.

Canvassing outside the election period is more enjoyable. I use this as an opportunity to simply chat to residents. It's an opportunity for people to have a good moan and get something off their chest. Residents get the chance to tell me of problems they are having which I would otherwise not have heard about. I'm never in a rush and conversations often go on for 10 or 20 minutes.

Knocking on 100's of doors also provides an opportunity to see some fantastic gardens to discuss their contents with the owners. Not being a very good gardener I prefer to concentrate on the cars, motorbikes, caravans, motorhomes and even a full-size canal boat, that I see as I walk down the path.

I hope we are always seen to be well mannered and courteous. We always try to remember to close gates when we leave. "No canvassing" signs are obeyed if seen and we usually leave a card to say we have called if you aren't at home.

Other political parties don't seem to find the time to canvass. I'm glad to say that my party, and my ward, will always find the time to meet people face to face. Voters should be given the chance to speak to the candidates before they make up their minds where to put their cross. There are over 5,000 homes in our ward.We will not knock on every door, but we will get to as many as possible.

Fly Tipping Cleared in Kew

2011-04-18T22:02:00.000+01:00

I was out walking my dog in the linear park near to the Post Office HQ on Wight Moss Way recently and I noticed some litter and fly-tipping that had occurred there. Those of you that know the area will know that it is a very pleasant place to walk as the path connects Town Lane with Dobbies and the Newlands Countey Park, via the new footbridge over the brook. This area is also home to a variety of birds.

The area is in need of a general tidy up and many of the fences need repairing. The barrier to stop motorcycles is broken and it needs replacing urgently. Hopefully I shall be re-elected next month and I shall be able to turn this area into something that we can be proud of. It needs litter bins, it needs benches and it needs a name. I cannot continue to refer to it as the bendy path near to the Post Office HQ!

Thankfully the cleansing department acted swiftly and the majority of the litter etc has been cleared from the area where people park to walk their dogs.

Below is a photograph of the same area shown above, after the rubbish had been removed.

By coincidence whilst I was dealing with the above problem a resident of Larkspur Close contacted me to tell me that somebody had dumped a 3 piece suite at the bottom of her garden. Several phone calls later the problem was solved thanks to swift work by Sefton's Environmental Enforcement Officer and the owners of the land.

Also purely by coincidence I called on the resident at the same time as the contractors were on-site to remove the rubbish. Unbelievably they removed not 1 but 2, 3 piece suites along with an assortment of other furniture. The local youths had set up quite a cosy den in the bushes.

We are now actively seeking action from Network Rail to ensure that the area is sealed off to stop youths accessing the area in the future.

Pictured below is the first load of furniture on it's way to the tip.

Wirral Egg Run

2011-04-17T16:38:00.000+01:00

Today my wife Claire and I took part in the 30th Wirral Egg Run. This is an annual event where thousands of bikers meet at New Brighton promenade and go on a run round The Wirral to end up at Clatterbridge Hospital. Here easter eggs and cash are donated.

In 1998 it was decided that due to the vast amount of Easter eggs being collected that monetary donations would be asked for instead of Easter eggs, as some people would still bring eggs but the children’s ward at Arrowe Park Hospital would also benefit from the toys / equipment.
In 1999 well over 8,000 Easter eggs and £1250 was raised and toys / equipment was purchased for the children’s ward.
In April 2000 the destination of the run had to change from Arrowe Park Hospital to Clatterbridge Hospital, because with Arrowe Park being the main Accident & Emergency department, they could not cope with the influx of bikes as it was getting increasingly difficult for doctors, nurses and ambulances to enter / leave the hospital when the run arrived.
With a police estimate of between 8000 and 15000 bikes, the amount of eggs donated was at such a scale that it was impossible to count with estimates of 20000 Easter eggs. Money raised this year grew to £6500.
2004 – 5000 bikes and approximately 8000 people.

This has become a huge event with thousands of people lining the streets to watch and wave to the bikers.

It proved to be a well earned break from canvassing and an excuse to get the bike out on a sunny Sunday morning.

Below is a picture of me on my bike, just to prove that it does get out of the garage on rare occasions.

Election Fever

2011-04-03T12:33:00.002+01:00

As you will no doubt be aware the local elections will soon be upon us. This year it's my turn as I endeavour to gain re-election to Sefton's council. I can't believe that 4 years have passed since I joined the council back in 2007. A lot of water has passed under the bridge and I have witnessed a lot of changes.

On a personal note I lost both of my parents and my father-in-law in 2007, my father dying a month before I was elected. We moved house from a 3 bed terraced to a 1 bed cottage. My mother-in-law recently moved to Southport from Northampton and finally I was made redundant after teaching for 12 years at Sunnymede School in July.

My predecessor in Kew, Terry Francis died after many years loyal service to the community. My ward colleagues Maureen and Fred won their elections. We fought and won the general election for John Pugh. If that wasn't enough, I've gained the position of Cabinet Member for Leisure &Tourism and had to play a part in managing the worst cuts that Sefton has ever had to face.

My ward has also seen many changes during the same 4 year period. We have seen many new housing developments either completed or almost completed such as the new housing on the Infirmary site and Virginia St. The area around Portland St is now safer for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians as the area is now designated as a 20mph zone. Staying with Portland St the long awaited changing facilities at the playing fields have finally been opened. I will be attending the official opening on 18th April. We now have a large country park on the former tip adjacent to Dobbies. The Salvation Army is building a new extension on Shakespeare St and our schools have all seen improvements and successes during the same period.

I intend to post my thoughts throughout the election campaign, but today I feel like taking stock of where I came from, where I am and where I hope to go next.

A great deal has been written about the poor state that the country finds itself in. Much blame has been heaped on political parties and financial institutions. However, we are where we are and we have to get on with the difficult task of moving forward, without wasting too much time blaming others.

I have enjoyed my 4 year as a councillor. I've made mistakes, but I've also learned a greet deal from the more experienced officers and councillors(from all parties) that I have worked with.

I would like to continue working hard for the residents of Sefton and Southport. I wouldn't have accepted my parties nomination if I didn't feel that I was up to the tasks ahead.

Next year will be another difficult year, but if we approach obstacles as moveable objects rather than tasks to be avoided, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Canvassing has already started, so I look forward to meeting as many residents as possible over the next few weeks.

"Experts" tell me never to open a conversation with an apology, so I'll end with one instead.

Please accept our apologies in advance if we knock on your door: half way through a meal, just as Liverpool are to take a penalty or, worst of all, as you sit down to enjoy Coronation St!

Britain in Bloom

2011-04-01T17:59:00.001+01:00

At last some good news for Southport. I picked up Wednesday's copy of the Visiter to find "Good News" articles about: Rotten Row, King's Gardens, Crossens Rec and Southport's Launch of Britain in Bloom. All falling within my portfolio for Leisure & Tourism.

Pictured above are myself, officers, volunteers and judges at last year's Northwest in Bloom competition. At last year's competition we won several awards including the opportunity to enter Southport into the national Britain in Bloom competition.

The team behind the campaign met last night to consider the best strategies for making the bid a success. The main driving force is Southport Flower Show Chief Executive David Jackson. We were also fortunate to have the full support of The Visiter.

The main thrust will be to get residents and, in particular, businesses to get involved themselves. This is a year long project rather than the emphasis being placed on the day of judging. Businesses are being asked to make pledges to improve the overall cleanliness and appearance of out town.

It's all too easy to complain about litter and untidiness. What we need are people who are prepared to do something about it rather than wait for the council to put things right.

Lat year's biggest achievement was the award gained by Wesley St Traders. This was their first attempt to win an award and their dedication and hard work transformed the street. I see Wesley St as an example for others to follow.

I spent several hours recently calling on businesses in Birkdale Village and Upper Aughton Rd, promoting Sefton's offer to rent out hanging baskets for the summer. I was particularly pleased with the positive response from some of the businesses on Upper Aughton Rd. It is my hope that this trading area can be brightened up, cleaned up and rejuvenated to improve the environment for residents and increase the turn-over for businesses.

This is going to be a "good news story" that will grow and grow.

If anybody would like to get involved, get stuck in and make a difference, please contact me and I'll point you in the right direction.

Would You place Sefton's Future in Labour's Hands?

2011-04-01T08:54:00.000+01:00

I have "cut and pasted" the following from my colleague Councillor Peter Hough's Blog. His article highlights the irresponsible behaviour displayed by Sefton's Labour Group in their refusal to take part in setting the budget.

Sense and incensed-ability

There was a very interesting letter in yesterday's Daily Post from the Labour leader of Liverpool City Council. It is about the cuts he is having to make, and shows maturity and a sense of responsibility. I have reproduced it below, and it is worth reading in its entirety.
What a contrast then to the dangerous antics of Sefton's Labour group.
They refused to take part in setting the council's budget, which involved the painful process of reducing jobs and services to the tune of £44 million - even though they are claiming £1000s in extra allowances for being on Sefton's ruling cabinet. They even voted against a 25% cut in senior and middle management. This has incensed many people on the doorstep.
They have played to the gallery at every turn, made promises they cannot keep and emotionally manipulated young people and the disabled for their political goals. Labour leader Peter Dowd took great delight in publicly likening himself to Derek Hatton.

Sefton's Labour leader has compared
himself to Derek Hatton

Hatton was the Deputy Leader of Liverpool Council, and a member of the Militant Tendency - a Trotskyist organisation within the Labour Party. He helped set an illegal budget which committed the council to spend £30 million in excess of its Government grant. This brought Liverpool to it's knees, and Hatton and his cronies send out redundancy notices by taxi cab to council workers.

The only way Sefton Labour could keep to it's promise of 'no cuts' would be to raise council tax by an average of £427.

Heaven help us then if Sefton Labour Party ever gain control of the Council.

Liverpool Council Labour Leader Joe Anderson's letter:

'PEOPLE have written letters recently asking me not to implement the
Government’s cuts and calling me a Tory. Let me enlighten those that
make those points and criticise.

There is no such thing as not implementing the government cuts.
Government gives the city 80% of its funding through different types of
grant. They have chosen to give Liverpool a 22% or £91m reduction. They
simply have not given us the money.
If someone’s household income is reduced by 22%, then they can’t just
ignore this, or they’d go bankrupt. If the city ignored its cut from
the Government, then quite simply we would run out of money by November
of this year, with no money to run social services or pay wages. That
chaos will not happen under my leadership.
Readers will see that those who call my leadership weak have no
solutions or alternatives other than demand I lead a revolution.
Our city more than ever needs sound, pragmatic leadership, with the
honesty to say we haven’t got all the answers but we have got the
passion and vision in equal measures to lead our city through these
difficult times.
Our determination is to create growth through having a cruise liner
turn-around facility, building a new exhibition centre at Kings Dock,
developing Edge Lane retail park, pushing ahead with Liverpool Waters,
getting on with the Stonebridge cross development in Croxteth and Mere
Park in the city centre, developments in Speke, developing north
Liverpool, growing the knowledge economy, the visitor economy and much
more.
This is about this city council leading and developing our city – not
leaving its people without leadership at a time when it faces the worst
government cuts since the war.'

A Poem about "Know it Alls"

2011-03-30T14:53:00.000+01:00

My wife Claire found this on You Tube. The "husband" referred to reminds me of many people I know who have opinions on everything and they always have the answers. I don't think I'll be voting for Mr Eyres if he is standing next month.

Cycle Storage

2011-03-17T11:51:00.001Z

I have recently made several train journeys between Bootle and Southport. I have been pleased to see that many of the stations now have new and improved cycle storage facilities.

For several weeks I have been planning on using the new storage facility at Southport station and I finally decided to sign up. I visited the ticket office and searched the shelves for information, to no avail. Eventually I had to join the queue to ask for help. I was given a form to fill in, asked for identification and a £5 fee. This provided me with my swipe card.

This is an excellent service. The swipe card opens an electronic roller shutter allowing access to the store where you can safely lock your cycle and helmet. When you leave the shutter closes behind you. This is a much better solution to cycle storage. Your bike is safe, dry and out of the way, a better alternative to the mass of bikes chained to railings and lamp-posts.

An excellent service but a service that is vastly underused. There was only 1 bike in there!

I have asked my colleague Councillor John Dodd, a Lib Dem representative on Merseytravel, to look into the lack of use and in particular the lack of promotion, of this expensive facility.

I am informed that it is planned to do away with the £5 fee and that the responsibility for publicity lies with Sefton. Further investigations are obviously required and my next batch of emails will soon be on their way.

In an effort to kick start the process I have included the following, from Merseyrail's website:

Southport Cycle Centre, London Street, Southport, PR8 1BE

Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm

Saturday 9am to 6pm

Sunday 10am to 6pm

Telephone 01704 500996

The centre was officially opened by olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman on 3^rd August 2010. Chris, from Hoylake, won his gold medal in the 1992 olympics and had some of his first races in Southport.

Chris is seen in the photograph at the top of the page, along with representatives from Merseyrail, Merseytravel, Government Office Northwest and also the Southport Cycle town team.

The Cycle Centre has bikes for hire and they also offer a repair service.

The storage facility is available at any time.

A Walk on Sefton's Coast

2011-03-16T18:52:00.000Z

This morning I boarded the train to join Sefton's Coastal Challenge. The Active Sefton Walks Coordinator planned an 8.6 mile walk from Waterloo Station to Formby Station.

I wasn't sure how many people would turn up and sat down to read the free paper left on my seat. At each station several people carrying sticks and rucksacks joined the train. by the time we reached Waterloo there was standing room only!

I followed the crowd and met Stephanie, our leader, at Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre. Here we were given our pedometers after signing in. We were then told that over 130 people had turned up.

What followed was a very enjoyable walk along various footpaths, via a break in Hightown.

I enjoyed the company of my newly acquired friend Peter and our conversations made the miles speed by.

My pedometer registered 17,749 steps or 12.4km. My, out of shape, body had it down as much further!

Sefton's Irresponsible Labour Party

2011-03-04T14:12:00.000Z

Sefton's Labour leadership chose to bury their heads in the sand at last night's important budget setting full council meeting.

The important meeting started at 6.30pm in Bootle Town Hall. An orchestrated crowd gathered outside and spilled into the entrance. Lots of shouting, whistles and some offensive remarks.

This was an important night when we had to produce a balanced budget. A budget that contained cuts of £44 million for the next financial year. A budget that would create hardship for families and difficult decisions for officers trying to provide services on much reduced budgets.

What was needed was for the 3 major parties to put aside their differences and work together on this difficult task.

To their credit, the Conservative group did cooperate with my own Liberal Democrat party and a balanced budget was produced. A budget that has taken blood sweat and tears to produce. A balanced budget that the law demands of councils.

Labour are the 2nd largest party on the council after ourselves. Sadly their leadership decided that they would take a leaf out of Derek Hatton's book and not take part in the process. Their role was to be one of obstruction and pessimism.

They refused to produce their own balanced budget, having spent most of the evening lambasting ours. On countless occasions they were asked for their alternative but none was produced.

We had the expected shouting and finger pointing. We had the personal jibes. We had the orchestrated jeers from the public gallery.

The lambasting and pontificating went on for hour after hour. Several labour members rose to their feet to give lengthy speeches on Political History but no budget was produced, nor any amendments to the budget produced by ourselves and the Conservatives.

If the speeches were planned to rally the troops they had the opposite effect. The troops looked bored, one fell asleep and many left the gallery before the end of the performance.

Sefton's leader, Cllr Tony Robertson, rarely shows his anger, but he did so last night.

The Labour cabinet members were asked to resign their seats.

They should have done so months ago when it first became apparent that they were not going to fully join in with setting the budget.

Cabinet members, like myself, receive an enhanced allowance for the extra duties we carry out. One of those responsibilities to to act responsibly and make important decisions without making political progress.

The residents of Sefton are paying enhanced allowances to 4 cabinet members who refuse to carry out all of their responsibilities. It's time for the overpaid 4 to get their heads out of the sand and admit their lack of responsibility and work with the remaining 6 who are making the tough decisions on their behalf.

It comes down to a simple choice. Do what you are paid to do or resign and become the opposition. In opposition you can shout and finger point without having to make unpopular, but necessary decisions.

Playing to the Gallery

2011-03-03T14:28:00.001Z

Predictable Peter(Dowd) was on his soap box again at this morning's Cabinet Meeting.

He's predictable but becoming quite boring.

I may have stated this before but having taught in Primary Schools for over 21 years I have seen lots of young children(often boys) who seek attention in a variety of ways. Acting the fool, being badly behaved, bullying and, of course, standing tall and making the most noise.

Peter has his soap box.

People that crave attention crave an audience. They feed on the feedback they create.

The only solution is to deny them their audience and the attention they feed on.

I found this difficult this morning. It was tempting to join in and trade political rhetoric.

We will, no doubt, have to sit through a repeat performance of today's matinee when we meet to balance the budget.

However, the council chamber is not a Music Hall. This is a serious meeting where painful cuts need to be agreed and people's futures altered. Political parties are always on the look out for opportunities to "have a go" at the opposition(my own included). But tonight is different and we need to act differently.

Opposing the cuts is an easy stance for Labour to take because it is what people want to hear. What we don't hear is how they intend to produce a balanced budget without cuts.

I'm waiting for the Labour group(not all of them) to get off their boxes, stop playing games and get on with running the council in a responsible manner.

I may be in for a long wait!

Northwest Lib Dem Conference

2011-02-27T19:17:00.000Z

Myself, Sue McGuire and Andrew Stunell MP

Yesterday I attended the Northwest Lib Dem Spring Conference at Romiley.

When we arrived at the venue we were met by a group of about 5 protestors with scruffy placards. I'm not sure what their purpose was but they were badge wearing members of the Labour Party. They didn't actually do anything - just stood there in the cold.

Apparently their Twitter or Facebook later made claims that there were hundreds of protesters there - there weren't. Another example of the Labour party trying to create something out of nothing.

The conference was quite well attended and the venue was excellent.

I found the whole experience to be quite a tonic.

The speakers, including Andrew Stunell MP, Minister for Communities and Local Government, emphasised the positive rather than dwelling on the negative.

It is easy to blame the Labour Party and the Banks for the situation we find ourselves in. Easy because it is true. However, the speakers preferred instead to remind the delegates of a how far the Lib Dems have come since the general election.

For example:

There were 315 items in the Lib Dem manifesto at the general election and 210 items are still in Coalition agreement
NHS increased spend
Pupil premium - extra money to disadvantaged children
Raised tax threshold - personal allowances going up by £1,000 and 880,000 people out of paying any tax at all
£900million being spent on a clampdown on tax evasion
State pension earnings now linked to earnings = approx £15K in the average life of a pensioner
AV vote referendum
Lords reform
Taken away the disincentive to work
Introduced a Bankers Levy of £2.5 billion

Andrew Stunell made a simple point but made it well:

Every day this year we have to borrow £400million. Labour got rid of the boom and left us bust!

I left the conference in a much more optimistic mood. I'm proud to be a Liberal Democrat and will not be afraid to knock on doors in the run up to the elections and defend our party and the very tough decisions that we have had to make.

If I wanted everybody to love me and say wonderful things about me I'd have become a Redcoat at Butlin's or joined the Labour Party, hid from the truth and made promises that will be impossible to keep.

Southport was well represented at the conference. I was joined by David and Julie from my own ward, Councillor Sue McGuire(chair of Northwest Lib Dems), NIgel & Sue Ashton(Nigel is our candidate in Meols ward and Sarah Harding who spoke on behalf of the young voters.

Nigel accepted a President's Award for one of our members May Howlett. May has worked tirelessly for years in every facet of Lib Dem life in Southport - well done May!

Pictured below is Nigel accepting the award on behalf of May.

Christchurch Earthquake

2011-02-22T15:54:00.000Z

It now seems a lifetime ago since we were in New Zealand on holiday. Unfortunately due to time restraints we didn't visit South Island and consequently neither did we visit Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city.

I can only begin to imagine how helpless the residents of these 2 beautiful islands must feel after another devastating earthquake hit the city.

My prayers and best wishes go to all the inhabitants of New Zealand, the residents of the Christchurch area and the various organisations that have been called upon to help.

I trust that our government will offer any assistance that is required at this time of great need.

Dogs and their Deposits

2011-02-18T13:07:00.000Z

Took this photo in New Zealand at a railway station

One of the things I enjoyed most about New Zealand was the lack of deposits left by dogs. Only 1 pile was spotted in 3 weeks.

During our stay we visited friends outside Wellington. They owned a large doberman(pictured below). What amazed me were the restrictions and rules placed on dog owners. Each household is only allowed to have 2 dogs. All dogs must be chipped. Households pay approximately £30 to have dogs. If responsible dog owners fail in their duties this fee goes up. Poo bags are dispensed on walks and beaches etc etc

It took a while but I soon get into the habit of walking whilst looking at my surroundings rather than constantly looking where my feet were treading.

I'm home now and what a difference.

No restriction on how many dogs people have. No dog fees. Only 1 dog warden for the whole of Sefton etc etc

We walked our dog(with bags) on Birkdale beach the other day. Claire was so incensed by the amount of dog mess she counted them. In a 100yard stretch we found 53 souvenirs from non-responsible dog owners.

I've quickly resumed my old walking pattern. Walk slowly, head down scanning the ground and only look up when you are stationary.

Responsible "Moses"

Holiday Snaps and Thoughts

2011-02-13T12:16:00.001Z

As previously mentioned we returned from a 3 week holiday in New Zealand last week. The timing of the holiday was to celebrate Claire's 50th birthday. We explored the North Island in a rented campervan. I have heard reports of the beauty of New Zealand before I arrived but everything we say surpassed my expectations. I am also told that South Island beats North Island so I must start saving for a return trip.

Apart from the beauty and sense of space provided by a low population of 4 million compared to our 60 million, what impressed me most was what wasn't there.

For 3 weeks I didn't have to keep my head down looking for dog mess. We only heard the "f word" once(and that was from an Aussie!). The roads weren't riddled with pot-holes and drivers kept to the 60mph speed limit without the aid of road-rage.

It was a great country to visit and I believe it would be a great place to live. I must admit that I'm tempted.

As this was my first trip outside Europe I had to experience the thrills of jet-lag - and I'm still experiencing them. Spending something like 36 hours sat in a chair staring at a small vide screen whistle constantly changing your watch, does upset your internal clock and digestive system.

Now that I'm home again it's back to emails, committee papers, forgotten bills to pay and early morning dog walks with 4 layers of clothing.

A lot has happened in Sefton whilst I have been away and it's going to take a few days to catch up.

Below are a sample of the photos we took.

Kauri Tree

Cathedral Cove

One of many volcanoes

Wellington

Back from Down Under

2011-02-09T13:58:00.000Z

I have just returned from a 3 week holiday in New Zealand. This is a brief posting simply to explain my absence and the lack of postings for a few weeks. When I have recovered from jet-lag, unpacked etc and read my 230 emails and a mountain of council papers, I shall give my impressions of New Zealand and include a couple of photos. A lot has happened while I have been away and it will take a few days for me get get up to speed.

Alf Buffeted by Tory Bosses

2011-01-11T13:31:00.000Z

Councillor Alf Doran, the recent focus of press articles about the standard of Town Hall buffets, has shocked fellow councillors by leaving the Conservative party and joining UKIP, it was announced today in the Echo.

Alf is one of the most honest and hard working councillors we have in Sefton. He may "bat for the other side" but I have always had a lot of respect for Alf. He recently finished his year as one of the best Mayors Sefton has had and I have always found him to be honest and professional.

According to press reports it would appear that the treatment of himself and his fellow party members has forced him to take such drastic action.

Three of Alf's colleagues who have been the subject of political bullying in the past, have once again been sanctioned. Again, according to reports, Councillors David Pearson, Sir Ron Watson and Tom Glover, have all been suspended from the party for 6 months.

Reasons for the current round of bullying tactics are unclear. Perhaps the sources who leaked this story to the press will provide more information later in the week.

As a Liberal Democrat I couldn't be happier. Our political opponents have decided to strengthen their party by removing 4 of their strongest, most experienced and most able councillors. As a Sefton Councillor I am saddened because I have worked with all 4 members and their party will not be able to replace "like with like" on the committees they served.

On a local level this leaves the Conservatives with just 2 "active" councillors in Southport, Councillors Porter and Jones. As they both represent Ainsdale, the town of Southport will be left with 0 "active" Conservatives, 1 Labour and 14 Liberal Democrats.

My Blackberry Is Not Working! - The One Ronnie, Preview - BBC One

2011-01-08T10:39:00.000Z

New Member of our Blog Team

2011-01-05T13:07:00.000Z

Welcome Manor Ward Blog

Welcome to a new Sefton Lib Dem blog from our colleagues in Manor Ward. I'm sure the team their, John Gibson, James Lundy and Andrew Shields will be an excellent addition to the blogosphere.

Margaret Carney Apologises

2011-01-04T11:03:00.000Z

The following is taken from Sefton's website:

Severe Weather

Sefton Council Chief Executive, Margaret Carney, said: "Following the severe weather conditions witnessed just before Christmas, I wish to sincerely apologise that we didn't achieve better outcomes despite extensive gritting and the efforts of all staff concerned.

"We will learn lessons which will include looking to invest in new equipment and mobilising staff more quickly to manually clear the snow, particularly in town centres.

"While the weather conditions were unprecedented, it is clear that the lives of our communities were significantly impacted and I apologise for that."

Snow Problem

2010-12-30T17:56:00.000Z

The snow has finally left our streets and most of our pavements and parks. It seems much longer but we only had snow for just over a week. Many comments have been made and written but the one thing that we must all acknowledge is that this was the worse snowfall in living memory and the lowest temperatures since records began. Crosby recorded the lowest temperatures in the country for 3 successive nights. Temperatures in parts of our borough didn't rise above freezing for 10 days.

The above is not included as an excuse for the poor state of our roads and pavements during the cold spell, but it has to be taken into account when we look back at how the council managed the crisis.

On Wednesday afternoon I joined several other Southport councillors as we met with senior officers to discuss ways in which the situation could have been managed better.

We raised many questions, some of which will require time for answers to be given. For example we were told that employees usually tasked with refuse collection were deployed as manual snow clearers. We want to know where they were deployed and how many men were involved. Questions were asked about levels of gritting and we were told that over 900 tonnes of grit have been used and that grit levels have been constantly topped up and that we have sufficient stock for our needs. The 8 gritters completed 13 runs over the 10 day period. All gritters carry GPS equipment and their routes are tracked. All gritters are weighed before and after each run so that a record can be kept of how much grit was spread.

We also asked that officers contact neighbouring authorities to share ideas. We asked for facts and figures that could provide evidence for the apparent differing depths of snow and severity of temperatures experienced in various parts of our borough. For example Bootle had much less snow than Southport, but we would like to see some figures to back up such a perception.

Once it was realised that the council were dealing with severe weather conditions a meeting was called for the Severe Weather Group. This group was able to organise a coordinated approach to the problem. Calling on staff and resources from several different council departments.

By Thursday 16th December, due to the compacted snow turning to ice, it was decided to use 6 gangs of men and 6 JCB's to clear accumulated snow and ice from several main roads including, Cambridge Rd, Ash St, Forest Rd and the Coastal Rd. The danger in doing so was that the road surface itself may have been damaged. It will not be known for a while if such damaged was inflicted and the likely costs involved.

My general impression of the management of this crisis is that despite the effects of the almost unprecedented forces of nature and it's bad timing(the Friday afternoon before the Christmas holiday), Sefton Council made mistakes which they must learn from when we next experience weather like this. In my opinion the Severe Wether Group should have convened a meeting much sooner than they did, by doing so more effort and manpower and machinery could have been put to task to clear as much snow as possible before it turned to ice. Secondly, the council should have provided better and quicker lines of communication with residents and businesses.

As I stated earlier many questions have been asked and I'm certain many more will be asked over the coming weeks. We do not know when the weather conditions will be repeated but we should learn from this experience and ensure that better plans are prepared and put into action as quickly as possible when it does happen.

Snow's Good in Southport

2010-12-19T19:02:00.001Z

Snow Couple by Marine lake

Although I'm getting older and certainly feeling older, I still love to see snow. I know it's inconvenient and potentially quite dangerous, but I still get excited when snow falls. It certainly took my mind off the troubles being faced by the council when we went out with our camera to make the most of the heaviest snowfall for decades.

Hope you enjoy the following:

Our dog "Sulby" in Hesketh Park

Same dog same park

Birkdale Beach

Hesketh Park - spot the geese

Botanic Gardens

Cultural Centre Update

2010-12-10T17:02:00.000Z

I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of the Cultural Centre this week to see how the scheme is progressing. I was given the tour along with Sefton's officers and my colleague Councillor Tony Robertson. Tony joined me in his role as the cabinet member given the task of overseeing this project.

We were given a presentation to highlight the progress made and then we donned our protective wellingtons, glasses and hard hats before entering the site.

I last visited the site a few months ago and the progress made since is quite dramatic. Many of the floors have been removed and new openings made in many of the walls. For example, the above photo shows what is left of the area that used to house the wine bar between the Arts Centre and the Art Gallery. Unfortunately I couldn't get a suitable photo of the main theatre as it is now full of scaffolding.

Work began in June and it is planned to be completed by May 2012.

Apart from the obvious demolition work a great deal of steelwork has been completed, new drainage installed and asbestos removed.

Contractors will soon begin restoration of the buildings ornate facade and a new roof will be added. Some of the stonework being removed from a demolished stairway is being used as restoration material as it matches the exterior stonework. Having walked on the roof I can vouch for the poor state of the present structure.

Bovis Lend Lease, as the main contractors, have been very keen to ensure that local sub-contractors are used whenever possible. Out of a total workforce of just under 60, the Sefton area accounts for 19%, Merseyside 48% and the rest of the North West 32%. The remaining 1% of the workers are from elsewhere in the UK. Most workers are based locally and local hotels are used when overnight stays are needed.

The work so far is impressive and some old, long forgotten parts of the buildings have been uncovered, particularly in the library, which started life as a bank.

There is a long way to go before the buildings are open to the public again but I hope that when we get there we will have a Centre of regional significance. My thanks to all involved, in what has become a hugely complex project, for all their hard work to date.

I look forward to my next update and visit in the New Year.

Pictured below is an example of one of the many new breaks made in walls that will eventually form new and improved ways of moving from one part of the complex to another.

Finally a shot of Tony on the roof using his mobile phone to take his own photos.

Democracy Day

2010-12-02T23:04:00.000Z

The following is included courtesy of Meols Cop Youth Centre

Democracy Debate14th October 2010

Meols Cop Youth Centre in conjunction with Meols Cop High School

Nearly 50 young people where given the opportunity to debate their questions with a representative community group from their community which included Councillor Fred Weavers, Councillor Mike Booth, Mushtaq Khan Sefton Youth Service , Katy Hands ex youth centre/ school student and former Mayoress, Sergeant Paul Riding and Angela Rice (UKYP) rep from Sefton Youth Service

The young people enjoyed meeting with their invited guests for Democracy Day. The prelim meeting and greeting session held in Meols Cop Youth Centre helped the young people to feel more comfortable about debating with the invited guests. This more informal setting presented an opportunity to promote young people and the communities’ issues and needs, and provided the young people with a participation and citizenship opportunity.

For the more formal debate they took their guest into the school hall and visitors moved round groups to debate pre prepared questions that young people had planned. The young people delivered their questions to the invited guests with confidence. They used their list of prompt questions well and actively engaged in their debates. The young peoples' enthusiasm was well received by the invited guests. They young people were great ambassadors for their centre, school, and community and all young people. The young people used their opportunity to voice their opinions and have their thoughts and feelings listened to constructively. Their questions and the roles they took on (Chair & Scribe), during debate time broadened their learning opportunities around many issues pertinent to school life, community life, and the rights of young people. They are now more informed about what issues local and central government and the voluntary sector are promoting on their behalf.

The young people were supportive of each other and worked well as a team. Their inclusive attitude and behaviour ensured that all the different age and ability groups were fairly represented including targeted groups EAL and LDD. The young people behaved in a mature manner making each debate group representative of local young people. This inclusive attitude and behaviour actively promoted this month’s curriculum topic of equality.

Overall, the young people engaged well. They actively participated in both the meet and greet and debate session they were well prepared for Democracy Day making it a successful and fruitful experience.

Quote for today's event from invited guests:

“On behalf of Councillor Weavers and myself, I would like to thank all involved for inviting us to take part in this afternoon's event held at Meols Cop Youth Centre and High School. The questions raised by the young people were well constructed and led to much discussion amongst the groups as we circulated. The young people were very enthusiastic and eager to fill each 10 minute slot with as many questions as possible and our answers were well received. We hope that the young people gained as much out of the event as Fred and I did. Please do not hesitate to invite us to any similar events planned for the future.”

Yours Sincerely

Councillor Mike Booth and Councillor Fred Weavers.

“During the debates young people told me the process had given them a good opportunity to speak to decision makers to influence what services should be available to them and their peers. They indicated more of the same opportunities should be provided to hear what they have to say”

Mushtaq Khan (Youth Service)

“I'd just like to say that the young people were articulate and confident with their questions and their responses. Some responses have given me food for thought and a couple of ideas for future projects. Well done to all young people at Meols Cop you were polite, well mannered and a credit to your centre and school! Fab job!”
Katy Hibbert

Back to Manchester

2010-12-02T16:18:00.000Z

Over the last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a 3 day conference in Manchester. The conference was a training course for Cabinet Members for Leisure and Tourism. The costs were carried by a government department and I paid my own transport costs.

As is often the case at these events, the greatest gains were made when delegates were able to relax and chat over coffee and biscuits.

I met councillors from locations such as Derby, London, Sheffield, Newcastle and Knowsley.

The main topic of conversation was, not surprisingly, the problems faced in making a balanced budget and the associated cuts to services involved. All councils are facing the same difficult decisions over the coming weeks and all councillors would rather not be making them.

The conference was based in my home town, Manchester.

I had hoped that I would be able to show off a little and take delegates to some of my favourite real ale pubs. However, the arctic conditions put and end to my ambitions and we all stayed in the warmth of the hotel bar.

Fortunately, the organisers did get us out of the hotel and we were taken to visit several of Manchester's facilities including a museum, library and the velodrome.

The velodrome was the most impressive. Having seen it on TV it was fascinating to see the real thing. It seems much bigger in real life and the speed of the practicing Great Britain Team was breathtaking.

We also visited the adjacent indoor training track and national Squash Centre. Being a Man United fan I was glad that a visit to Manchester City's stadium was not included!

Labour Politicians and their Political Games

2010-11-25T16:21:00.003Z

The following is an extract from this week's the front page of the Crosby Herald. I include it here because it concerns a Southport councillor from Dukes ward. He is a Dukes ward councillor but in May he is standing in Victoria ward, Crosby. I think you will agree with my comments included in the article.

A POLITICIAN bidding for re-election in Crosby has been blasted by campaigners after claiming credit for much-needed improvements to Victoria Park.

Cllr Les Byrom, who is standing in Victoria Ward in May, sent Labour Action Team pamphlets to hundreds of homes outlining how he had “led the campaign to get much-needed investment” into the community park.

But he and Bootle MP Joe Benton, who was also named in the leaflets, were told last night by voluntary group Friends Of Victoria Park: “None of the improvements are anything to do with you.”

Stan Hesketh, chair of the non-party political group, said: “I don't see any reason why these people should be claiming any recognition or success for improvements in Victoria Park.

“I don't even know these people and I have never met them at any meeting about Victoria Park or anything else.

“Cllr Byrom has certainly not led any campaign I am aware of.”

The pamphlets, sent to most homes in Victoria Ward, show an image of Cllr Byrom next to the entrance to the park.

The adjoining text reads: “Victoria Ward Labour Action Team are delighted to announce that their campaign to get Victoria Park refurbished has been successful.”

The leaflet quotes a “delighted” Les, who claims: “We in the Labour group have been campaigning hard to get some much-needed funds to improve Victoria Park.”

Mr Hesketh claimed that it had been “several years” since Victoria ward Labour members attended park improvement meetings.

He said: “It seems that all our efforts have been cast into the shadows.

“We have a core group of local people who volunteer their time and energy to help improve Victoria Park.

“As far as I am aware none of that improvement is anything to do with Joe Benton or Les Byrom, despite the range of claims made by them.”

Mr Hesketh said that only four local politicians could claim credit for securing investment. They are Paul Cummins, a Church ward Labour councillor and Liberal Democrat councillors for Victoria ward; Peter Hough, Andrew Tonkiss and Anthony Hill.

Mike Booth, Lib Dem cabinet member for leisure and tourism, and a member of the Friends, said: “Having known Cllr Byrom for four years and recognising his integrity and experience I find it unbelievable that he would claim the credit for something he plainly didn't do.

“This is the sort of political game that I thought was below Cllr Byrom.”

Cllr Byrom was out of the country as the Herald went to press and Mr Benton was unavailable for comment.

Following on from the above I have another example of the sort of political games I do not agree with.

At this morning's cabinet meeting, the leader of the labour group in Sefton got quite angry and loud, as he often does. He repeated himself on many occasions, which he often does. He had a dig at my party whenever possible, as he often does.

The new game he played today, for the first time in my presence, was to act like a bully to the local press. His intended victim was one of my colleagues, but whilst having a rant he managed to reduce the, newly appointed, journalist to tears.

Many people in the room were quite shocked at this behaviour. Even the leader of the conservative group offered her apologies. No apologies came from the labour group, as far as I could tell.

To add injury to the insult, the labour and conservative cabinet members voted in favour of a letter being sent to the paper's editor to complain about the behaviour of the journalist. The 4 Liberal Democrat cabinet members voted against.

I often experienced behaviour such as this when employed as a primary school teacher. I may be naive, but I didn't expect to find the same behaviour going on in the council chamber. Unfortunately "lines" and "detention" do not have a place in politics - perhaps they should!

Playing Ukulele with the Philharmonic

2010-11-20T16:35:00.001Z

Whilst sat listening to the wind howling outside last week we chatted about nothing in particular. In doing so we remembered an event that happened a few years ago.

Claire, my wife, had seen an article in a paper inviting musicians to rekindle their interests and skills. The BBC were planning to organise a mass get-together of past and budding musicians. Claire had played the clarinet in the past and I was useless with all instruments. Jokingly, I suggested that I would chose the ukelele as my instrument as it was small, portable and unusual. My first choice being the Swiss alpine horn, which I couldn't manage to find on ebay.

Without my knowing Claire enrolled us and promptly forgot all about it. Several weeks later we received our invite to join the Liverpool Philharmonic at Salford University. I quickly bought a cheap ukelele and we set off for Salford.

For several hours we practiced a piece of music together. The chosen piece was "The Great Gates of Kiev" a dramatic piece of classical music. Claire practiced with the woodwind section in one room and I joined the ukeleles, banjos and guitars in another room. Not having a clue how to play my instrument an expert in the art of ukelele quickly sketched the required chords and I struggled on with my sketched chords on my knee.

The finale of the event saw over a hundred amateur musicians and choir members join with the Phil to play our piece together.

It was a memorable day. I can remember the vibrations from the orchestra passing through me as I squatted on the floor.

My late father would have been proud of me as I did my best to recreate, one of his hero's, George Formby's dexterity with this small and increasingly trendy instrument.

I'm still useless with all musical instruments but at least I can say that I once played with the famous Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra!

Gales in Scotland

2010-11-19T23:42:00.000Z

The picture above was taken this morning in bright sunlight, 1 hour before we left for Southport.

We have spent the last four nights in the above fortified house in Monreith, Galloway, Scotland. The house was built in 1600 and it is rented out as a holiday home by The Landmark Trust. If you do not know about the trust it is worth a search on Google. The Landmark Trust restore old, interesting properties and then let them as holiday lets. Ours slept 8, although only 3 of us were there this time.

The houses are all interesting properties in unusual locations. Ours was secluded at the end of a half-mile dirt track. There is no television and the heating is by storage heaters and wood-burning stoves. Bedding is old fashioned sheets and blankets. There are no TV's. Quite often there isn't a signal for mobile phones(as was the case for us). Time is spent reading, listening to music/radio, eating and drinking and exploring the house and it's surroundings. Sulby(our dog) enjoyed chasing a tennis ball down the spiral staircase.

This was our 13th time in a Landmark property and we always experience fantastic weather - except this time. We had gales and plenty of rain throughout the week. The gales at nearby Stranraer even stopped the ferries to Northern Ireland on Wednesday!

If you like a holiday to be relaxing and an opportunity to "get away from it all" then you'll enjoy this type of holiday. The rental rates are very expensive in summer, which is why we visit them in January, February, October and now November.

We're back home now. I've read my 48 emails and been to a meeting - back to normal. Perhaps it's time to get the handbook out and plan our next trip into the wilderness.

Billy Bingham's Happiest Days

2010-11-12T17:14:00.000Z

Last weekend I, along with several thousand others, attended the most important match in Southport FC's recent history. Much has already been written about the result of the match and the hard work put in by players and staff.

I must admit that I do not get to that many matches. Something that I must correct as soon as possible. Being a Sefton councillor does take up a lot of time in the evenings and therefore I try to spend as much of my weekends as possible with my family(wife, mother-in-law and dog).

Thanks to my fellow councillor Haydn Preece I was invited as a guest of the club, in my capacity as cabinet Member for leisure & Tourism.

I was very impressed with the welcome I was given and the facilities on offer to supporters. From my lofty position in the stands I also spied fellow Liberal Democrat Councillors, Lord Ronnie Fearn, our Iain Brodie-Browne, Richard Hands, David Tattersall, David Rimmer and Maureen Fearn, our Mayor.

Sitting in my part of the stand were many famous ex-players and officials, who were also guests of the club for this historic occasion.

Amongst them was Billy Bingham, ex manager of Northern Ireland and also an ex-manager of Southport FC.

The highlight of the whole experience, for me, was when I overheard Billy saying that despite his many experiences as a football manager, his happiest days were spent here in Southport.

Thank you Southport Football Club, your put our town on national television and you should be proud of your achievements and proud of your club.

North West in Bloom

2010-10-29T11:52:00.000+01:00

Last week I was pleased to attend one of the 2 North West in Bloom awards evenings at the Conference and Exhibition Centre (The Floral Hall still to most of us).

On the Wednesday Evening we received the following:

level 3 - 'developing'

- Deyes Lane, Maghull

- Church Ward, Seaforth

- Leeds Liverpool Canal, Maghull

level 4 - 'thriving'

- Peel Road residents, Bootle

- Tree View Court, Maghull

- Central Square, Maghull

- Maghull Gateway

- Churchtown Village

- Birkdale Village

- Birkdale Station

- Bedford Park

- Welsey St Traders

level 5 - 'outstanding'

- Maghull Station

- Formby Parish Council

Maghull Station volunteers then went on the win the 'Best Large Neighbourhood' trophy, and then the 'Best in Show' trophy too!

400 awards were given across the North west, last nights by the Mayor of Sefton, my ward colleague Councillor Maureen Fearn.

On Thursday Evening myself, CouncillorTom Glover, Councillor Andrew Tonkiss and Suzanne from Leisure attended and received the following awards:

Silver Guilt Award for Best Small Resort - Crosby and Waterloo

Silver Guilt Award for Best Large Resort - Southport

Southport Flower Show Trophy for Best Large Resort - Southport

Mayor of Wirral Trophy for Best Environmental Council - Southport

A further award was also won by Wesley Street Traders.

We made a point of putting Thursday's awards on show at the full council meeting that evening.

Southport has also been chosen as the North West candidate for next years national Britain in Bloom Competition.

Well done to all who took part and to all who gained awards.

My own personal thanks also go to the staff of Leisure and Tourism for maintaining their usual very high standards of floral displays throughout Sefton.

Town Lane Allotments

2010-10-19T14:29:00.002+01:00

David and myself spent most of Sunday morning out and about taking photographs to be used in our next Focus newspaper.

While we were out we bumped into Derek, who runs the Town Lane Allotments.He showed us round the site and we were pleased to hear some good news.

For some time the allotment group have been trying to acquire more land to expand into. As Cabinet Member for Leisure & Tourism I have been able to make enquiries on their behalf.

The delay had been due to the need to have the land surveyed and soil samples tested, due to the site having been a municipal tip in the past.

It now looks likely that the land can be released and the allotment group can apply for funding from various bodies including the Lottery.

There are over 1,200 people on the waiting list for allotments in Sefton, so if all goes to plan this is good news for the "green fingered" amongst us.

I also managed to help the group by supplying fencing materials which they have quickly put to good use to make the site more secure.

Well Done Linaker!

2010-10-15T16:45:00.002+01:00

As a governor and ward councillor I am very proud to be associated with Linaker Primary School. The school was recently inspected by OFSTED and it has now been announced that the school was judged to be Good and Outstanding in some areas. To magnify the school's achievement the Children's Centre was inspected at the same time, being judged as Outstanding. All this in the school's centenary year!

THis is the school's best ever OFSTED result and the Children's Centre, seen by many as one of the best in the country, is the first Sefton centre to be inspected.

Being an ex-teacher, I know of the pressures that the staff and children have been under before and during the inspection. Teaching is a strange profession where every few years a bunch of people in suits come into school( often unsmiling), sit at the back of your classroom and make notes on your "performance".

I was with the Head Teacher, Colin Coleman, when he received the phone call that gave him 3 days notice of the inspection. Many would have ran screaming from the room but Colin was calm and collected (sort of!).

My colleague Councillor Maureen Fearn has been chair of the governors for many years and, despite this being her mayoral year, this will be one of this years highlights for her, as it is for me.

Congratulations and well done to all staff, governors, parents and most importantly the children. You have a school you can be proud of.

All Abilities Path

2010-10-09T12:33:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday evening I attended the Southport Area Committee. On the agenda was the All Abilities path through the sand dunes of Ainsdale and Birkdale.

I am not going to go over the points for or against the path as other websites and forums have already covered this in recent weeks.

I have always been in favour of the path, but I have also always been in favour of a full consultation being carried out before a decision was made. A full and extended consultation took place which asked for a simple "for" or "against" including any comments that people wished to make.

The results recorded that the people who participated were in favour of the path by a ratio of almost 2:1 and all of the objections raised were answered by officers.

The Area Committee were asked to offer their opinion on the path to the cabinet Member for Technical Services. He, in turn, would then decide on whether the scheme should progress. If he chose to progress the scheme it would then go to the Planning Committee who would make the final decision.

I disagreed with a lot of the comments made by fellow councillors during the debate and I do not agree with the way in which the result of the consultation was either completely ignored or , in the case of one councillor, dismissed as being untrue. Consequently the committee decided to pass a motion that requested the cabinet Member to not continue with the scheme.

If detailed consultations and assessments by external experts are to be treated in this way I wonder why we bother to carry our consultations at the outset.

Many councillors make repeated requests for public consultations when contentious schemes are dealt with. It is my belief that if we ask for them we should accept the results they offer, even if they go against our own opinions on the scheme.

As stated earlier I was in favour of the path but had the results of the consultation shown a majority against the scheme I too would have voted against it.

Shaking Sulby

2010-10-01T22:24:00.000+01:00

Tonight is the first of three nights for fireworks in Southport. Each year we host the British Musical Fireworks Championships. For the people of Southport and the countless number of people who drive in, this is three nights of thrilling displays and excitement.

For my dog Sulby it's quite a different matter. She seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to loud bangs. She starts to look for somewhere to hide half an hour before the display begins.

From past experience we know that anything resembling fireworks or thunder reduces her to a shivering wreck, She even gets spooked by the sound of our neighbours wheeling out their wheelie bins every week!

I hope that tonights display was a success. I also hope that all of our visitors had a great time and they spent vast amounts in our bars and restaurants. I will not know how successful tonight was as we took Sulby out for a couple of pints in a pub a few miles away from the pyrotechnics. I obviously felt duty bound and had to try force myself to drink real ale in my role as a caring dog-parent.

Tomorrow night we will be at the display enjoying the bangs and flashes and playing our role as instant experts in musical firework displays. If you see us relieved of our canine responsibilities spare a thought for Judy, my mother in law. She will be at home with "Shaking Sulby", television turned up, curtains drawn and covered in dog hairs shed by our Sulby.

For the dog lovers, Sulby's full name is Sulby Glen, only used when she misbehaves. She is named after Sulby Glen in the Isle of Man. It's all my fault as I am a huge fan of the island and it's TT course. For the technical dog lovers, we don't know what she is. She is five years old and we think she may have been crossed with a fruit bat (judging by her ears). When people ask what breed she is I am often tempted to make one up. Birkdale Terrier is my favourite.

Airshow cancelled!

2010-09-19T09:18:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately today's Southport Airshow has been cancelled due to bad weather. I recieved a call from Tony Corfield, Director of Tourism, at 7.30am informing me that the beach had been flooded overnight and that the forecast was bad for the planned aviation events.

Fortunately, the show did go ahead yesterday including a magnificent display by The Red Arrows, despite the showers.

On a personal note I was even more disappointed to hear today's news as I was lined up to take to the skies in a glider, taking off from the beach. Perhaps next year?

Life Without a Whistle

2010-09-16T12:20:00.003+01:00

As you may know, when I'm not filling my role as a councillor, I teach primary school children.
For 12 years I taught at Sunnymede School in Southport. Before that I spent 9 years at a school in Warrington, a total of 21 years as a teacher.

All that came to an end in July when Sunnymede School closed due to falling numbers.

At first things seemed quite normal as it was the summer holidays. However, the holidays are over, the children are back behind their desks, and things seem far from normal.
Fortunately I have my council duties to keep me busy. I am now able to contact residents and council staff during office hours. I am able to attend meetings and events that are held during the day that teaching often prohibited me from attending.

Other advantages include being able to take a holiday outside of school holiday periods, I'm off to The Lakes soon for a week's caravanning.

This reminds me of a similar week's holiday in Devon a few years ago. Sunnymede had longer holidays than state schools and we were enjoying the good Devon weather in mid July. The site was quiet but busy. We were having breakfast in the sunshine one morning when we were puzzled to see caravan after caravan leaving the site. This process increased to a mass exodus by lunchtime.

The answer to the puzzle soon appeared after lunch when dozens of new caravans arrived, all full of children eager to explore the site at the beginning of their holidays.

As a teacher I looked upon this "pied piper in reverse" with scorn. I wonder what my reaction will be when I experience the same as an ex-teacher!

Next to my computer hangs my whistle, also redundant. Other redundant trappings include: white board pens, school photos, " well done" rubber stamps, "best teacher" mugs and a piece of chalk in the jacket I wore for 12 years school photographs.

I now answer to Councillor Booth, but I'm sure I will still be answering to Mr Booth from generations of children who endured, suffered or perhaps, enjoyed my company for the last 12 years.

We've Bin Busy

2010-09-10T12:06:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday night the Kew Team were out in force on Kew Estate. We aim to canvass as often as possible while light and good weather allow. We managed to cover one side of Ruddington Rd as far as Colchester Rd and the whole of Colchester and it's cul-de-sacs.

Residents that we spoke too were, on the whole, very happy with life on the estate. We did manage to pick up some casework, which we will deal with ASAP, including broken paving slabs, a streetlamp out of order and a tree that needs trimming back.

We were also pleased to see one of our new litter bins, paid for out of our ward allocation. The bin pictured above is at the end of Colchester Rd. It was installed at the request of residents on Handsworth Walk. For a long time they have been complaining about irresponsible dog owners leaving their "mess" on the green. The litter bin will provide somewhere for dog walkers to dispose of their bags, along with other general litter.

Seconds after the photo was taken a dog walker obliged by demonstrating it's usefulness.

We have also installed a similar bin at the end of the path that connects the country park with Town Lane Allotments and Town Lane. The provision of the new cycle path across Portland St Playing Fields has seen a huge increase in "traffic" along the path and unfortunately an increase in dog mess. Dog walkers now have choice of litter bins to use, our new one and the existing bin on the edge of the playing filed car park.

Sand Lizards Released

2010-09-06T13:26:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I was invited to see the release of 43 Sand Lizards into the wild. This event was the launch event of many such events planned for our coast and countryside over the coming months. The lizards were bred for this purpose and they were released into part of the Local Nature Reserve at Ainsdale.

There are only 2 main areas where such lizard are found in this country, one is an area in Dorset and the other area is our own Sefton sand dunes.

Pictured above are left to right: Dave McAleavey (Senior Officer Sefton Coast & Countryside), Dr Phil Smith (our Green beach expert), myself, Cllr Anne Ibbs (who will be in trouble from her party for being seen with a Lib Dem Councillor in public) and John Houston.

Dave has promised to email some of his pictures (which will be far superior to mine) which I shall post when I get them. Until then I post one of mine below.

Best in the Show

2010-08-24T21:44:00.001+01:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the exhibitors, volunteers and directors of Southport Flower Show for, in my opinion, the best show for many years. Friday's Visiter has already highlighted the dedication shown by Sefton's Alan Foxall at a time of great personal sadness.

In my capacity as Cabinet Member for Leisure and Tourism I would like to publicly add my own thanks to Alan and his team.

Sefton's prize winning display was fronted by several large trophies, but my attention was drawn to a small notice that proclaimed that 95% of the plants used were grown in Sefton's own nursery located in the Botanic Gardens. For which Sefton's Leisure Services should be justifiably proud.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the show. Many things have changed in those 81 years but Southport's fame for it's floral displays hasn't. In 1881 The Visiter stated:

"The town has tasteful gardens, which with carefully tended lawns, beautiful trees, with their graceful foliage and refreshingly welcoming shade, and the glorious displays of exquisite flowers, with every variation of form, hues and odours, show that a great love of beauty exists in the minds of those who dwell in this favoured region."

I wouldn't have used the same "flowery" language, but I agree with the sentiment.

Dogs with Chips

2010-08-24T14:42:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday 18th August I attended an event at Hatton Hill Park in Litherland. At this small park Sefton's Park Rangers had organised one of three events for dog owners.

The Rangers had arranged for the RSPCA along with the PDSA to check the health of dogs and for pets to be "micro-chipped".

The micr-chip is painlessly inserted under the dogs skin. If such a dog is lost a simple scan of the chip displays the owner's details and the pet can be returned to them.

The event I attended was hugely successful with a long queue developing as people signed in. A similar event was held at Hesketh Park and at Ainsdale Discovery Centre. All 3 events proved to be very popular.

The Rangers also took the opportunity to publicise the new powers that they have to issue on-the-spot fines to owners whose dogs are caught fouling the parks.

Southport Cultural Centre

2010-08-12T12:31:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I joined several Sefton officers and Tony Robertson(leader of the council) on a tour of Southport Cultural Centre. Work is well under-way on this multi-million pound scheme to transform the former Arts Centre, Atkinson Art Gallery and Library into a state of the art centre.

I was very impressed by the attention to detail, safety and preservation given by Bovis, the main contractors.

Original features are all well protected and several items have been rediscovered during the initial works. For example Victorian floor tiles have been found beneath the carpet in the entrance foyer and fine mosaics discovered in the former library foyer.

Bovis have also ensured that, wherever possible, local sub-contactors will be employed and locally resourced materials used.

This was the first of several site visits planned. I shall be on-site again in a few months time to see how the works are progressing. Scaffolding will soon enclose the building and the blue hordings surrounding the site will be transfomed by the addition of works of art as the result of a local competition.

Pictured below is one of two turnstiles from the art gallery that will be repositioned in the new centre.

The Silent Majority Speak Out

2010-08-09T20:47:00.005+01:00

Portland Street residents and others speak out in favour of changes to Portland Street to incourage cycling, improve health and the local environment whilst making the street safer for everyone.

kew focus

Southport Fernery

Cultural Centre Saved!

Tourism in Southport

FINAL PUSH TO HELP SAVE SOUTHPORT TOURISM

Merry Christmas

Linaker Christmas

Christmas Dinner

Support for Botanic Gardens

Smooth Sainsbury's

Lancashire Day

Sefton's Cuts

Olympic Torch Relay

City Trophy 2011 Video

IRU City Trophy (Busworld Kortrijk 2011)

Southport is World's Friendliest City

Mr Martin Marmy, IRU Secretary General; myself, Julia Fahey, Southport's Travel Trade Officer and Mr Graham Smith, Vice President of the IRU(International Road Transport Union)

Labour's Budget Cuts

Jonathan Edwards Visits Sefton

Clegg Backs Investment in Sefton

‘IT’S THE [SEFTON] ECONOMY STUPID’ TO PARAPHRASE BILL CLINTON

Merseytravel Developments from my colleague Cllr John Ddd

John Dodd welcomes reduction in Merseytravel bureaucracy

Southport's 24 hour Yacht Race

Street Games Update

Dog Tired

Marine Lake Improvements

Cool Southport

Bad Back but Good Email

Southport Flower Show

A Cleaner Lake

Britain in Bloom (more photos)

Britain in Bloom

Competing Dogs

Atkinson Centre takes Shape

More on Labour's Merseytravel Gravy Train

Sunday Newspaper tries to halt Dowd's gravytrain

BBC NWT- MerseyTravel are told to Stop The Gravy Train and Whalley Viadu...

Southport Air Show

Greedy Labour Councillors

Victory!! BBC report curbs at gravy train Merseytravel Lib Dem campaign

Relief for a Pigeon

John Pugh's Garden Party

North West in Bloom

Get Involved in Your Community

New Balls Please!

Sefton's Beaches

Toilet Security

Freedom of Sefton for RAF Woodvale

Ainsdale Cream Teas

St Francis Of Assisi Fair

Linaker School Exhibition

Bootle in the Morning TT in the Evening

Beaten by a Better Team

Green Flags 2011

Cleaner Water on our Beaches

Harrington, Cumbria

Too Late!

Good News

Mona's New Home

Thank You

Mike Wins

Very funny dog! Really determined too...

Election Night

Canvassing

On Your Bike Maureen!

Kew Canvassing

Fly Tipping Cleared in Kew

Wirral Egg Run

Election Fever

Britain in Bloom

Would You place Sefton's Future in Labour's Hands?

I have "cut and pasted" the following from my colleague Councillor Peter Hough's Blog. His article highlights the irresponsible behaviour displayed by Sefton's Labour Group in their refusal to take part in setting the budget.

Sense and incensed-ability

A Poem about "Know it Alls"

Cycle Storage

A Walk on Sefton's Coast

Sefton's Irresponsible Labour Party

Playing to the Gallery

Northwest Lib Dem Conference