Well, it is a long time now since I wrote anything. I have been a councillor now for quite some times. I do enjoy this, and it keeps me very busy.
I sit on two main committees, and these are Environment Overview and Social Overview and Scrutiny Committees
At the moment I am trying to work out how to spend the community chest funding that we get for the ward. Various people have asked for help with their community projects and all three councillors are looking at these and making an effort to decide on how to spend the money for the best.
May 1st, up until now, 27th May 2008.
(Photo, courtesy of Welwyn Hatfield Times) You can see me with my yellow rosette in the bottom left hand corner. Remember, this was well past 2 in the morning, and that may be why we all look tired.
I was delighted when I heard the news that Malcolm and I were both elected to the Borough Council. This happened at the count at Roller City at Campus West, in the wee small hours of the morning, when sensible people are in bed. Everyone made jokes about how long I had been trying, as I have stood for election several times before in different wards. No one was more surprised than I was when I was finally elected. However, it is great that all our hard work has paid off, and at last I will have the privilege of helping in the community.
Since then, a lot of paper has come through the door, and I will need to read it, and organise it all into files and find a home for things.
We have had some councillor induction sessions. This is a time when all the new councillors get together to hear about how the council works.
On 19th May, we had our annual council meeting. This was quite an exciting and glitzy event, where the new mayor was elected. All the councillors were on the stage in the Theatre at Campus West. That's where you probably sometimes go to see films or plays. We were arranged in two rows, with Tony Skottowe on the front bench, as the leader of our group, and Malcolm and I were the two back benchers for the Liberal Democrats.
The new mayor is Mick Long, and Carl Storer, the retiring mayor, handed over the chains; that lovely gold gong that you see the mayor wearing.
The best part of the evening was the Serco awards. These awards are for people who have served the community in one way or another. One of my neighbours received an award for being a good neighbour and running a special neighbours club to help people who are elderly.
I thought this was very well deserved. I know she is a good neighbour, because once when my children's rabbit died, she came to tell us the dustmen had found the rabbit on the front lawn and put it in their lorry, so that the children would not be upset. Now that was very kind of her. But the children were sad that we could not bury the rabbit. :-(
Another young lady was a dancer in a wheelchair. She made the wheelchair into her 'dance partner' and helps disabled people to do the same. I thought that was a really brilliant way of showing that anyone can dream and be creative.
After that we had a really good meal.
Now that we have had some induction sessions, the meetings will begin in earnest next week.