Football and shopping. Carols and pie.
The weekend was busy, fun and productive. Just how I like it. Saturday was fun, watching City pound Bolton into submission in the second half, after I expertly predicted to my companion that I doubted we’d score again, only to see us score three times. I also survived the Christmas markets, emerging with a couple of presents and some bruises.
Sunday was the business end of the weekend. In the morning I met a man who lives in one of the Farm Hill Cottages, who is concerned about fly-tipping. This has been a problem before, which we solved briefly by increasing police patrols and catching a couple of the main offenders. There is a taxi driver who enjoys heading down there for an after-hours drink (of Kirov vodka) and who like to chuck his empty bottles out of the window. There are dozens down there now, together with so much discarded furniture it’s as if someone is planning to move in. So I have this morning asked the police to step up their patrols again and they have promised to do so. It worked last time, so hopefully it’ll work again.
After that, I did a spot of leafleting on Agecroft Road, before attending the Christmas carol concert in aid of Henshaw’s Society for blind people at St Mary’s Church. As well as the congregation singing carols, there was excellent entertainment provided by the St Mary’s Primary School choir, the Swinton Wind Band, and an a-capella group called the Crystal Chords. The children were marvellous and all the entertainment was first-rate. I must single the Chords out for particular praise – I thought they were absolutely marvellous. A beautiful sound. There were readings from the Lib Dems’ own Cllr Vic D’Albert, and from the special celebrity gust John Henshaw (him off the Post Office adverts and John Prescott from that diary programme. You know the one…) which were both very entertaining too. I love a spot of carol-ing. Not really appropriate for a good Jewish boy like myself. But what you gonna do?
And the day was rounded off by the leafleters thank-you party, where we gave a grateful vote of thanks to the people who help us deliver Focuses throughout the year. There was enough food and drink to sink a battleship, with Cllr Tim Pickstone providing a chilli which was delicious, and Cllr Ann Garner providing an equally tasty meat and potato pie. I felt quite inadequate with my store-bought canapés and multii-pack of Budweiser. But thankfully I am used to feeling inadequate, so nothing was really new about that.
Christmas is coming now… And I am excited!
Rick
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