The Mersey Forest people are promoting some local guided woodland walks in May. It's part of Walk in the Woods month.
Theres a website here where you can find details. Some of the walks are very local - there's one along the Speke Garston coastal reserve for example and another in Woolton Woods.
Obviously I'll be doing my own walking which mainly involves gates, paths and letterboxes, but some of these sound great. Do have a look.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Friends of Garston Park - meeting date reminder
A quick note to say that the next general meeting of the Friends of Garston Park is on the 21st May at 6 30 at Long Lane Church.
Do come along if you want to find out more, want to get involved, or have something to say.
If you can't come along but want to know more, please drop me an e mail at paula@garstonld.org.uk and I'll make sure you get onto our mailing list.
Friends of Garston Park is a group working to support and improve our park. We are for residents, park users, local businesses - anyone really with an interest.
Cowley Street .. look away now!
When you are a Parliamentary Candidate you get huge volumes of stuff - post, texts and e mails (mainly e mails now). Some of this is from residents, wanting your views on various things. Some is from organisations, wanting your views or wanting to persuade you of a particular point of view. And some is from Party Headquarters - briefings on how to answer various questionnaires and questions.
I know, from having been a party HQ volunteer during a General Election, that loads of work is put into providing these briefings.
But I have a confession to make. When it comes to briefings on how to answer questionnaires or residents' queries, I haven't read a single one.
I have been involved in the party long enough now to know what policy is and more importantly to be able to apply the principles we believe in to the issues that come up. And I've been around for long enough now to know what I think ( and boy do we Lib Dems like to think for ourselves!)
That's not to say the briefings aren't useful for some people. Being a candidate can be stressful and if you are new to it you need all the support you can get.
But I decided at the start of this Campaign that I would work out my own responses and on those rare occasions when they weren't our official policy I would say so.
Obviously as a Lib Dem I do agree with Lib Dem policies! But there are a few areas on which my view differs a little and in these cases I am happy to say so. I had a questionnaire the other day for example about troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. I'd like the troops to come back earlier than the timescale in our manifesto, so that's what I said.
I do also believe that the use of standard replies is wrong when constituents, or groups of constituents, have taken the trouble to produce a series of thought through questions that obviously matter to them.
Of course the downside of this approach is that I am spending more time than otherse writing e mails and letters but it is actually rather rewarding.
I know, from having been a party HQ volunteer during a General Election, that loads of work is put into providing these briefings.
But I have a confession to make. When it comes to briefings on how to answer questionnaires or residents' queries, I haven't read a single one.
I have been involved in the party long enough now to know what policy is and more importantly to be able to apply the principles we believe in to the issues that come up. And I've been around for long enough now to know what I think ( and boy do we Lib Dems like to think for ourselves!)
That's not to say the briefings aren't useful for some people. Being a candidate can be stressful and if you are new to it you need all the support you can get.
But I decided at the start of this Campaign that I would work out my own responses and on those rare occasions when they weren't our official policy I would say so.
Obviously as a Lib Dem I do agree with Lib Dem policies! But there are a few areas on which my view differs a little and in these cases I am happy to say so. I had a questionnaire the other day for example about troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. I'd like the troops to come back earlier than the timescale in our manifesto, so that's what I said.
I do also believe that the use of standard replies is wrong when constituents, or groups of constituents, have taken the trouble to produce a series of thought through questions that obviously matter to them.
Of course the downside of this approach is that I am spending more time than otherse writing e mails and letters but it is actually rather rewarding.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
National Blood Service
I'm off later today to an event supporting the National Blood Service in Liverpool.
The Blood Service, which has its office in Speke but which also has donation centres at different locations, does really important work.
I am a blood donor myself but there is a constant need to recruit new people and to maintain blood stocks. Today's event is partly about persuading businesses to give their staff the chance to take a bit of time off to give blood.
The Blood Service, which has its office in Speke but which also has donation centres at different locations, does really important work.
I am a blood donor myself but there is a constant need to recruit new people and to maintain blood stocks. Today's event is partly about persuading businesses to give their staff the chance to take a bit of time off to give blood.
Moderation back on
I have just had to delete a very recent stream of abuse about a third party from the comments on one of the older posts. Annoyingly this means, to be on the safe side re defamation etc, I am going to have to put moderation back on. Sorry if this means there is a delay in posting things but I am just not prepared to put up with that sort of misuse of the blog.
Should you know where your candidates live?
When I filled in my nomination form details for Garston and Halewood I noticed that the forms had changed.
Instead of just writing on your address, you were given the option of ticking a box to keep your address secret.
If you did that your address wouldn't appear on the ballot paper. Instead there would be a vague statement about living in a particular constituency.
Apparently this is the first time since the Ballot Act of 1872 that some candidates have decided to keep their addresses secret this way.
I'm told that the arguments in favour of allowing this included fears that MPs might be worried about speaking up if people knew their exact address or that the publication of the address might make it easier for people wanting to harass them to track them down.
But surely where you live is one of the facts that people take into account when deciding how to vote? It's hard to argue for transparency if you won't even say where you live.
Like most, if not all, local councillors I publish my home address and home contact details. And I had no problem putting my home address in Garston on the ballot paper.
But I understand that quite a few candidates across the country have chosen to keep theirs secret. A work colleague who lives in Cheshire and has a postal vote tells me she is appalled that the Tories' George Osborne is one of these to make this choice.
Perhaps this is a rule change that needs to be rechanged after the election.
Instead of just writing on your address, you were given the option of ticking a box to keep your address secret.
If you did that your address wouldn't appear on the ballot paper. Instead there would be a vague statement about living in a particular constituency.
Apparently this is the first time since the Ballot Act of 1872 that some candidates have decided to keep their addresses secret this way.
I'm told that the arguments in favour of allowing this included fears that MPs might be worried about speaking up if people knew their exact address or that the publication of the address might make it easier for people wanting to harass them to track them down.
But surely where you live is one of the facts that people take into account when deciding how to vote? It's hard to argue for transparency if you won't even say where you live.
Like most, if not all, local councillors I publish my home address and home contact details. And I had no problem putting my home address in Garston on the ballot paper.
But I understand that quite a few candidates across the country have chosen to keep theirs secret. A work colleague who lives in Cheshire and has a postal vote tells me she is appalled that the Tories' George Osborne is one of these to make this choice.
Perhaps this is a rule change that needs to be rechanged after the election.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Deadline for proxy votes
If you realise you are going to be away on polling day there is just time to get a proxy vote (someone else goes to vote for you)
The form needs to be back to the Municipal Buildings in Liverpool by 5pm today (if that is where you live)
You can download a form from the electoral commission website or here
The form needs to be back to the Municipal Buildings in Liverpool by 5pm today (if that is where you live)
You can download a form from the electoral commission website or here
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