LAST WEEK OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN

CANVASSING TEAM IN CASTLE WARD

Yesterday I took 2 hours off my own Election Campaign to help my fellow Conservative Councillor Andrew McConnell and David Fletcher campaign against two Independent Councillors in Castle Ward in the centre of Bedford. Most people were surprisingly friendly on the doorstep on a lovely sunny afternoon.

In the present political climate it is hard to fight Independent candidates, as I am also doing, because the electorate are angry with the 3 main political parties. However, Nigel Farage, UKIP Leader, has just boasted that he has claimed £2 million in expenses since he was elected as an MEP. UKIP have achieved nothing since 2004, apart from expelling 2 MEPs including Tom Wise for alleged expenses fraud. As for their 2004 claim that UKIP would take Britian out of Europe - a small group of UKIP MEPs is no match for the other 700+ MEPs committed to the European Union.

Tom Wise, a former police officer and Leighton Buzzard resident, had the audacity to try to stand again this year as an Independent MEP candidate until he was advised that he had to face fraud charges in court in mid June for misappropriating £40,000 of expenses! Let's hope he receive a jail sentence and drops out of public life.

As for my own election campaign I have now knocked 2,100 doors, mainly on my own, and delivered 9,000 leaflets and letters, with another 1,000 to go out this week. Most of the hard work has been done by me, with a tiny band of helpers. I would love to see Esther Rantzen, David Van Day and other TV celebrities tempted to enter politics deal with all the walking and door knocking in blazing sunshine that I and thousands of other election candidates have done for several weeks in this Election Campaign, dealing with a lot of public hostility about MP expenses.

Last weekend I voted by post, as I have done for many years due to past business commitments. Be prepared for a long yellow sheet of paper listing 14 different parties and dozens of candidates. Voters will be confused by all the new fringe parties this time - Liberata, Jury Team, UK Democracy, Christian Party etc.

If you want to get rid of the worst Prime Minister in living history, just vote Conservative and forget all the others!

WOTHOLES?

Bedfordshire in the snow

Remember all that snow we had in February? It all seems like a bad dream now, but it devastated our roads and we now have large potholes everywhere. Bedfordshire County Council disappears on 31 March and the Bedfordshire roads will then become the responsiblity of Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council.

The public get very upset about potholes as they can cause nasty accidents. Therefore as a gesture of goodwill Beds County Council launched its "Wotholes?" campaign last week, allocating £400,000 extra funding to repair as many potholes as possible across Bedfordshire before 31 March. The photograph on the left is of my County Council colleague Tom Wootton, Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste Management, standing by one of the larger potholes created by the severe weather in February.

Already after only one week £75,000 has been spent on filling over 600 potholes in Bedford, Bromham, Harrold, Kempston, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Biggleswade and other places.

If you see any dangerous potholes which need repairing, please call the Wotholes Hotline on 01234 228661.

Last night as Vice Chairman of Bedfordshire County Council I co hosted a final reception for Town and Parish Councils before handing over to the new Unitary Councils on 1 April 2009. There are 125 'settlements' in Bedfordshire, including four large towns -Bedford, Dunstable, Kemspton, Leighton Buzzard and Houghton Regis, smaller towns like Ampthill, Arlesey, Biggleswade, Flitwick, Sandy, Shefford and Stotfold, and dozens of villages. There are 20 town councils and dozens of parish councils. My Division includes just 2 villages, Elstow and Wilstead, but some councillors represent large numbers of small villages. Tom Wootton, a local farmer, represents rural North East Bedfordshire which has 24 villages and 14 parish councils.

On Monday I chaired two Personnel Appeals at County Hall, one a Grievance Appeal and the other an Appeal against Dismissal.

When Bedford Borough Council takes over County Hall on 1 April 2009, the building is to be renamed Borough Hall, although some Central Bedfordshire staff will continue to work in the building for the foreseeable future.

ELSTOW LOWER SCHOOL PUPILS CELEBRATE 'OUTSTANDING' OFSTED REPORT

Last week I announced the great news that Elstow Lower School has just been rated 'Outstanding' for the second time in 3 years by Ofsted. As you can see in this photograph our school children are as thrilled as the staff, parents and governors with this tremendous result as they play a key part in the school's success.

Despite heavy snow in February, Elstow Lower School was one of the few Bedfordshire schools to stay open so that the Inspectors could visit and assess the standard and quality of the education.

Recent achievements at Elstow Lower School include gaining 'Eco School' status and receiving the prestigious 'Green Flag' award. Many of our children do not speak English as their first language and each year the school has an International Week.

Highlights of the Ofsted Inspection report include:
1. Inspectors were 'wowed' by the young School Council Members and 'Eco Warriors' who talked enthusiastically about their roles and the decisions they have to make.

2. Parents said that their children 'always come home full of information and we could not ask for anything more'

3. The Inspectors considered the level of care and support for the children to be of the highest quality and a real strength of the school.

4. Recently the children enriched their learning with visits from 'Night Owls', re- enactments of historical events, becoming 'entrepreneurs', visits to London and other exciting projects.

As Head Teacher Jenny Winder says "We are delighted and proud of the result of this latest inspection. Everyone - children, staff, parents, partner schools and local businesses - works hard as a team and together we strive to provide our children and their families with the very best education which will give them life opportunities and allow them to live healthy and harmonious lives within the society of today and in the future".

As Vice Chairman of Governors at the school I am pleased to endorse these comments, and also passionately believe in the importance of teamwork and partnership in my other role as the local Councillor for Elstow and Wilstead villages.

This week I attended a meeting to discuss the development of John Bunyan Upper School into Bedford Academy in September 2010. The meeting was held at Cauldwell Lower School, another Outstanding Lower School, located in an area of South Bedford with high levels of social deprivation. Elstow Lower School also draws 40% of its pupils from this area and the qualities that shine out of these two schools are strong, inspirational leadership and teamwork.

WILSTEAD FOOTBALL CLUB

Wilstead is a small Bedfordshire village (population 2,300) but it has a splendid Football Club with several adult and youth teams, ably led by the Chairman James Struthers and Chief Coach Ben Wisson. Recently I gave the Club a grant from my County Community Leaders' Fund to refurbish their showers and on Saturday I watched them play a home match against Renhold. They scored 2 goals but Renhold scored 4 so Wilstead lost the match but there was lots of action.

My home town is Portsmouth and my 2 brothers once dragged me to watch Pompey play a match at Fratton Park when I was a teenager. I was bored stiff because no goals were scored until the 89th minute and swore I would never go again. Apart from watching World Cup football on TV I have never watched another football match since until Saturday but it was fun - I just blocked my ears to the occasional four letter words!

I drove 160 miles south down the M1 from Leeds for the match as I was at the CCA (Conservative Councillors' Association) Annual Conference, at which David Cameron was due to speak. David could not attend as he is in mourning for his 6 year old disabled son Ivan who died on Wednesday. David and Samantha Cameron have been devastated by the sudden loss of their eldest child and his funeral takes place tomorrow in Oxfordshire

Alan Duncan gave a keynote speech instead of David Cameron and we had a feisty after dinner speech from Baroness Warsi, the youngest and sole female Moslem peer in the House of Lords who described her relentless battles against discrimination and prejudice, especially from within her own Moslem community in Dewsbury, Yorkshire.

Thank you to Cathy Burridge, from Texas, USA who sent me the following kind comment:

"I have just visited your lovely town and was delighted to have also visited Elstow, what a beautiful place you live in!

It was a whistlestop tour of the City of Bedford, but it was such a shame I did not get to meet a local celebrity as yourself.

Thanks for this blog. Its very informative, it looks like you too travel a lot, have you been to Cambridge, its fantastic?

Oh, I so agree with you, your country needs more trees, so I hope you will be planting some more soon. Best wishes Councillor Lynne"

BEDFORDSHIRE'S BARREN LANDSCAPE HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED WITH 1 MILLION TREES

Yesterday I mentioned the work of the Forest of Marston Vale:

"Our challenge is to use trees and woodlands to transform 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes, repairing a landscape scarred by decades of clay extraction, brickmaking and landfill. We have already planted 1 million trees and by 2030 we will plant 5 million more, working with local communities, government and businesses to create new woods and other wild places for everyone to enjoy"

In 2002 the Marston Vale Trust bought Rectory Wood, 173 acres of arable farmland between Cranfield and the ancient woodland of Marston Thrift and has been planting thousands of trees there in several phases. Phase 4 is Legacy Thrift, named by Bedfordshire County Council who have financed the planting of 24,000 trees to commemorate 120 years of the Council's work 1889-2009.

Today I received this comment from a reader, Mrs Valerie Seymour:

"Dear Cllr Faulkner, thank you for this blog. As a Bedfordshire Conservation Volunteer myself, I was delighted to hear about the planting of all these new trees in the Marston Vale. I have been there many times with my family and we are delighted to have such a fantastic project on our doorsteps! Bedfordshire should be so proud of it!

However I am concerned that Bedford Borough Council opposed the planting of these trees. Is this correct? I have read that the Mayor was completely opposed to these legacy initiatives, including the planting of 20,000 trees in the Marston.

Under the new Unitary authority for Bedford Borough, will all the good work of the County in supporting the Marston Vale have been in vain? Please do all you can to ensure that Bedford lifts its eyes and supports this great initiative! Thank you for all your support in this area so far too." "

Sadly the Mayor of Bedford and the local media constantly criticise the County Council but have failed to appreciate the benefits of this important tree project. The Labour Government has forced us to accept 20,000 new houses in the Marston area, although local residents campaigned successfully to stop the proposed Eco town. Our 24,000 trees will now provide much needed green space and new wildlife habitats for local residents to enjoy.

You have my personal assurance that as a Borough Councillor, and hopefully after 4th June as a Unitary Councillor in Bedford Borough I will continue to support the excellent work of the Forest of Marston Vale in planting 4 million more trees.

FUN IN THE SNOW

Monday's snow was a novelty for many of our children, as it is 18 years since we last had enough snow for them to build snowmen and have toboggan rides. In Bedfordshire we had several snowfalls of 4-6 inches and the older children and their parents have loved playing in it, although little ones quickly get cold.

Some Bedfordshire schools stayed open on Monday and Tuesday, including Elstow and Wilstead Lower Schools and Abbey Middle, but others closed at the first sight of snow. Teachers have had several paid days off pay while thousands of children missed
up to a week's schooling, creating major problems for working parents across the country.

Unfortunately after 4/5 days off school the novelty wears off. In Canada where snow falls often in winter the children have "snow days" which are added on to the school term in June so that their education is not disrupted. An idea which the British could copy?

Many adults, including me, can work from home using their home computers but for others who do not get paid for not being at work like the self employed, shop assistants and many other private sector workers, several days off means lost wages -and many families are already struggling financially with the credit crunch.

Maybe the Government and Local Authorities should learn from the experience of other countries who regularly suffer severe winter weather, like Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, and develop better crisis management skills, so that London and the rest of the country do not grind to a halt whenever we have snow.

SURVIVING SNOW AND THE CREDIT CRUNCH !

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
Today it is snowing and in 21st Century Britain 50% of the population will get up and soldier into work somehow while 50% turn over in bed and go back to sleep. Bedford has not had heavy snow but one school closed instantly, while Elstow Lower School has stayed open - our Head Teacher is made of sterner stuff. The post has just arrived and I drove home in snow last night - but I remember living in Scotland as a child. We regularly had heavy snowfalls and were never allowed to stay off school - it was par for the course. We are fast becoming a nation of risk averse wimps, doomed to live safe, bland and boring lives with no excitement at all.

My late father survived 6 terrible years at sea during World War II on minesweepers and minelayers, including Arctic convoys to protect merchant shipping. One of his ships was sunk and half the ship's company including the captain were drowned, but never a word of complaint about his suffering crossed his lips after the War. He was also the navigator in HMS Frobisher, the leading frigate in the British Fleet during the 1944 D-Day Normandy Invasion and 33 years later he was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government - their highest military honour.

SURVIVING THE CREDIT CRUNCH
Last Saturday, the Friends of Elstow Abbey did their bit for the Credit Crunch by providing a wonderful Organ Recital and a generous Ploughman's Lunch with a free drink, all for £5 for the older music lovers. This was our 3rd Concert in our 1st Elstow Music Festival and the cannier souls bought season tickets for £15 for 4 concerts, so the Saturday concert and food only cost them £3.75 each. Where else in Bedford could you be entertained, fed and watered for that money in 2009?

Our 4th and final Concert will be a rousing performance from the Luton Male Voice Choir on Saturday 28 February at 7.30pm and we are well on the way to raising our target £1,000 for the 4 concerts to continue refurbishing our historic church and its organ. Not bad when we have offered such bargain prices for the 4 excellent concerts.

After a recent expensive weekend dining out, this weekend I enjoyed gourmet home cooked food at a fraction of restaurant prices. My fellow Councillor Andrew McConnell had a Jamie Oliver moment on Saturday and cooked 2 superb fillet steaks and I cooked a deilvcious lamb shank on Sunday before trampingout in the snow to deliver election leaflets for the forhcoming Unitary Elections. We are indeed fortunate to live in a country where food is plentiful and cheap, unlike the poor souls living at starvation level in Zimbabwe.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Most New Year Resolutions are broken by the end of January but I have made two this year which I intend to keep. Firstly, after a very stressful and demanding 2008, with little personal free time I decided that I will take some time out each week to get fit and sometimes just "chill out". Secondly I need to lose some weight, a real challenge for someone who loves her food.

Therefore I have just rejoined LA Fitness in Bedford and started going to Aquacise classes last week between Council meetings. Early tomorrow morning I have a gym session with a personal trainer and will try to use the gym at least once a week in addition to the Aquacise and some morning walks.

The weight reduction and "chilling out" may prove more challenging, although I did lose 2 stone two years ago, raising £800 for the British Heart Foundation. To give me the incentive to cut down on high calorie, fattening food, last weekend I enjoyed a farewell treat by dining out in two Bedford restaurants which I had not previously visited.

On Friday three fellow councillors, Andrew McConnell (Blogging for Bedford) Peter Hand, Tom Wootton, his lovely wife Elizabeth and I dined out at Harpurs in the Broadway, celebrating Peter's 30th Birthday. We enjoyed a delicious meal and some good wine with first class, friendly service in pleasant modern surroundings.

On Saturday a friend took me out for a belated New Year dinner at the chic and trendy Four Restaurant in St. Peter's Street where the portions were very dainty and well presented but unexciting. It was half empty so maybe the Credit Crunch is beginning to bite. We had planned to eat at my friend's favourite restaurant, Santinielli's which is cheap, cheerful and noisy but it was too crowded, another sign that times are hard.

Progress reports will follow...........

CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICES

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BEDFORD

No Christmas is complete without Christmas Carols, trees, lights and children. As a choral singer I love Christmas Carol Services and this year I have been to five. The University of Bedfordshire had an exciting international 'Celebration of Christmas' at our lovely 11th Century St. Paul's Church in Bedford. Children from Queens Park Lower, John Bunyan Upper School and Wootton Upper School sang carols and danced, the University Scottish Pipe Band played and we had and a presentation by Michelle Row, a former student who is raising funds for a school project in Malawi.

Last night I sang in the choir at Elstow Abbey's 9 Lessons and Carols and last week went to the St. John Ambulance County Service at St. Andrews Church, Bedford. We also had two Civic Carol Services - the Bedford Borough Council Carol Service at St. Paul's and the final County Council Staff Carol Service at County Hall.

As for the children, I have been to 2 Nativity Plays performed by small children at Elstow Lower School and we had a wonderful Christmas Concert at Elstow Abbey performed by 40 children from Kingshott School and the Hitchin Concert Band Brass Ensemble, which raised £400 for organ repairs and refurbishment of Elstow Abbey. This was the second concert in our Elstow Music Festival, and the third one will be an Organ Recital by Bedfordshire Organists on Saturday 31 January 2009 at 12 noon.

My brother in America has sent me an explanation of the true meaning of the curious Christmas Carol "A Partridge in a Pear Tree". From 1558 - 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practise their faith openly. Someone wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to church members:

* The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ
* Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments
* Three French Hens stood for faith, hope and love
* Four calling birds were the 4 Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
* Five golden rings recalled the Law, the first 5 Old Testament books
* Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation
* Seven swans a-swimming means the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit - Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.
* Eight maids a-milking were the 8 Beatitudes
* Nine ladies dancing were the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit - Love, Joy, Peace,
Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control
* Ten lords a-leaping were the 10 Commandments
* Eleven pipers piping stood for the 11 faithful disciples
* Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the 12 points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

We learn something every day!

MY ORANGE LIDDED RECYCLING BIN HAS ARRIVED

Our orange lidded recycling wheelie bins have at last arrived in Elstow! The first bins were delivered to Bedford homes in early November but as ever the 40 villages had to wait their turn. All bins should have been delivered by the end of the year.

Bedfordshire County Council offered £1m to Bedford Borough Council in 2007 to pay for the new recycling bins. The Borough accepted this offer early this year but there was a 6 month wait for the new bins due to a huge bin order from Germany - the German people are very enthusiastic about recycling, as I discovered when I stayed with my German friend Irmgard in Bamberg in October 2007.

The Labour Government is now forcing local councils to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill dumps by imposing huge Landfill Taxes (called LATS). If Council Taxpayers do not want to pay much higher taxes in future, we must all recyle, reuse and reduce our waste in future.

There are two sizes of orange-lidded recycling bins, but some people
do not have enough space for these bins and have opted to retain the
orange recycling sacks. If you have not yet decided whether to have an orange lidded bin, I urge you to consider ordering one by calling Tel. 0900 121 888.

In Bedfordshire we have successfuly increased our recycling rate from 24% to 40% in two years, and we are now aiming to increase recycling rate to 50%.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK IN BEDFORDSHIRE

Yesterday the Anti-Bullying Bus came to Bedfordshire to mark the official launch of Anti Bullying Week, a national event organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Bedfordshire Students Against Bullying representatives joined Cllr David Reedman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at John Bunyan Upper School in Bedford to unveil the yellow double decker bus.

This year's theme is "being different, belonging together' and aims to raise awareness of the serious impact of bullying on young people. There are a series of events involving schools and local communities across Bedfordshire this week.

Jayden Rai, a Year 11 student at John Bunyan Upper School and a Bedfordshire Students Against Bullying Representative said "We want to make sure people know that bullying is not just in school, it's outside - in parks, on the street, even at home and on the buses. We want to raise awareness, so we're doing posters, badges, assemblies, an internet forum and even role play".

200 children aged 9-12 years entered an Anti-Bullying Superhero Art Competition in 17 Bedfordshire Libraries and 12 winners have been chosen to receive prizes at a special Award Ceremony on Thursday 20 November in Flitwick.

BILLY SMARTS CIRCUS AND YOUTH NEWS

Last night I was invited to watch Billy Smart's Circus in Bedford, which was quite entertaining but nothing like the circuses I remembered seeing years ago as a child.

Billy Smart started his Circus in 1946, and Circus visits used to be a great treat with lots of exciting and magical acts including animals - elephants, monkeys, lions, horses etc. At one stage Bill Smart had 200 animals on tour. However over the years the vociferous animal rights lobby complained loudly about the cruel treatment of animals in circuses and in the end they were banned altogether.

Today there are no animals just human circus performers who come from all over the world - everywhere except the UK! We had Chico Rico, a Mexican clown, Russian and French trapeze artists, a Mongolian foot juggler and illusionists and acrobats from Italy and Kazakhstan.

MORE YOUTH NEWS FROM BEDFORD'S YOUTH CHAMPION

The Global and National Enterprise Week kicks off on Monday - a national celebration of business with thousands of events across the UK to inspire young people to take an interest in entrepreneurship. In 2007 there were 5,000 events involved 500,000 young people. This year's theme is 'Make Your Mark' and a week of action-packed events will be organised locally by Bedfordshire County Council, including:

Monday 17 November - Entrepreneurship Challenge (North Beds) at Marston Vale Forest Centre for talented Year 8/9 pupils to learn entrepreneurial skills by creating a visual business plan with help from local entrepreneurs.

Wednesday 19 November - Developer for a Day at Dame Alice Harpur School, Bedford. A Masterclass Workshop on opportunities for women in the construction industry for Year 9 girls.
Making Dough - at Hastingsbury Upper School, Kempston, in which 7 Upper Schools take part in an interactive programme to help young people develop finance, marketing and business skills.

Thursday 20 November - 'Dragon's Den for Young Entrepreneurs'
Competition in Flitwick for Year 10 & 13 pupils from various schools.

Bedfordshire Music
On Wednesday 12 November, 'Tenforu' one of Bedfordshire's youth chamber orchestras, was invited to take part in the National Proms Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Tenforu comprises 10 talented young musicians playing wind and string instruments and has been successful in regional and national rounds of the National Festival for Youth during the past year.

It was a great honour for Tenforu to be invited to play in this Concert, which showcased the very best of musical talent from around the UK, and highlights the top quality young musicians we have in Bedfordshire, one of the UK's smallest counties.

CHILDREN IN NEED

Tonight Terry Wogan has raised £11.4 million for BBC Children in Need with a long TV Spectacular, including songs from the musicals performed by the cast of EastEnders.
Terry expects to beat last year's TV total of £19 million, and the 2007 total of £37million raised across the UK. This year ASDA staff across the UK have raised an astonishing £2 million. BBC East has raised large sums in previous years and expects to raise more than £1 million in the Region this year.

I am an Employment Tribunal Member and today I dealt with an unfair dismissal case. At lunchtime I went to Bedford Town Hall canteen where the diners were entertained by songs from 2 pensioners and children from Castle Lower School in Bedford - all in aid of Children in Need. Tonight I donated some money through to the Appeal via the Internet.

After reading the tragic case of Baby P and the 2 small babies murdered in Manchester, we are constantly reminded how important it is to help the 4 million children living in poverty in the UK, and other vulnerable children who are abused and neglected and need our support. Have you made your donation yet?

STOP PRESS!

The total raised for BBC Children in Need has gone up to £13,750,000 and is rising.
What are you waiting for?

BEDFORDSHIRE'S SEXIEST POLITICIAN POLL RESULT

Nicky Attenborough, Bedford's Deputy Mayor and Conservative Group Leader is now Bedfordshire's Sexiest Politician. I came 3rd with 168 votes and won the Bronze Medal in Olympic Speak! Thank you all for voting for me.


DINING OUT IN BEDFORD - AGAIN!

Tonight I am dining at Pizzeria Santaniello an Italian owned restaurant renowned for its pizzas, but I prefer their Italian style roast chicken served with a green salad - very healthy!

Bedford has many excellent Italian restaurants, which is not surprising when there are 14,000 Italians living in Bedford, the largest Italian community in England. We even have an Italian Vice Consul. Bedford is also the most culturally diverse town in the UK with 64 different ethnic groups.

BRITISH GIRLPOWER IN BEIJING

Emma Pooley, a 25 year old Cambridge graduate won a Silver Olympic Medal yesterday and demonstrated the true Olympic spirit. On Sunday she took part in the gruelling Beijing Road Race, helping her team mate Nicole Clark to win Britain's 1st Gold Medal but only came 23rd herself. Yesterday it was Emma's turn and this tiny 7 stone cyclist battled up the Beijing hills on a specially adapted bicycle in the Women's Time Trial Cycling Event, missing a Gold Medal by just a few seconds.

On Tuesday the Equestrian Team achieved a double bronze in the 3-day Event, with Tina Cook, a 37 year old mother of two winning individual and team bronze medals with her 4 team mates including Mary King, Daisy Dick and Sharon Hunt.

Where are the British men? So far British women have won 5 of the 6 individual medals, including 2 Gold Medals for swimming and cycling and 9 of the 11 British medals overall. David Florence won a Silver Medal in canoeing and William Fox-Pitt a Team Bronze Medal in the 3-day Event but what happened to Andy Murray and Tom Daley the 14 year old British diving wonder?

Our Bedfordshire women have a chance to shine this weekend. On Tuesday Gail Emms, the Bedford badminton player won a ferocious 1st round match with her partner Nathan Robertson against the 2004 Chinese Olympic Champions. Victoria Pendleton, 2007 World Cycling Champion from Stotfold cycles on Saturday and Paula Radcliffe, 2005 World Marathon Champion, runs in the Sunday Marathon. Good luck to them all.

OLYMPIC GOLD FOR BRITISH WOMEN

Many congratulations to Nicole Cook a 25 year old Welsh cyclist from the Vale of Glamorgan who won the 1st Beijing Olympic Gold Medal for Team GB in the Women's Road Race on Sunday
and is the 1st Olympic Gold Medal winner for Wales in 36 years.

Britain's 2nd Olympic Gold Medal was won by 19 year old Rebecca Adlington in the 400 metre Women's Freestyle. Rebecca is the 1st female British swimmer to win an Olympic Gold Medal in 48 years. Team mate Joanne Jackson won a Bronze Medal.

David Florence was the first British man to win a medal - a silver in canoeing and The British Equestrian Team won bronze medals in 2 events. Kristina Cook won both individual and team bronze medals and was one of 4 women in the successful team.

Great Britain is now in 9th place with 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals and the women have performed best so far, winning 70% of the British Olympic medals.

STOP PRESS

You can still vote my Blog one of the 2008 Top Ten Political Blogs by googling www.totalpolitics/com/politicalblogs before 15 August 2008. Also the Bedfordshire's Sexiest Politician Poll on Blogging for Bedford - www.bloggingforbedford.go.uk - closes on 21 August.

2008 OLYMPICS LAUNCHED IN CHINA

China launched the 2008 Olympic Games with a spectacular Opening Ceremony in front of 80 world leaders and a worldwide audience of 8 billion. Number 8 has religious significance for the Chinese, so the Opening Ceremony began at 8.08pm on Friday 8 August 2008 with a £25 million extravaganza.

The British Olympic Team includes Paula Radcliffe, Bedford trained 2007 New York Marathon winner and 2005 World Champion. Other Bedfordshire sportswomen including Gail Emms, who won a silver medal in badminton at Athens in 2004 and Victoria Pendleton, 2007 World Champion cyclist. So far the British women swimmers and sailors are performing well and in their first heat the 200 metre men's relay swimmers broke the British record. Let's hope that the British team can beat the 30 medals they achieved at Athens in 2004.

LONDON LUTON AIRPORT VISIT

Today I enjoyed a very interesting tour of London Luton Airport with 3 fellow Conservative County Councillors at the kind invitation of Simon Earles, General Manager, Planning and Corporate Social Responsibility, who lives in Bedford

Bedfordshire's largest single employer, London Luton Airport has 8,000 staff and in 2007 had 10 million passengers, including 2 million business travellers. Luton Borough Council owns this Airport unlike the other 3 London Airports which are all BAA owned and receive considerable Government support. However London Luton Airport is highly successful and hardly ever loses any passenger baggage!

London Luton Airport generates a large income for Luton Borough Council, subsidising Council Taxes in a culturally diverse community with very high levels of social deprivation. The Airport has just produced a 5 year Community Engagement Strategy and is strongly committed to supporting the Bedfordshire community, supporting 20 local community projects like the annual Luton Carnival and providing exhbition space for Bedfordshire artists.

STOP PRESS ! BEDFORDSHIRE'S SEXIEST POLITICIAN

Many thanks to Wayne Blyth who thinks I am sexy and wishes I was his Councillor instead of his Labour councillors in Barnsley. Unfortunately Wayne and my other readers across the world cannot vote for me in local elections.

However you can vote for my Blog as one of the Top Ten UK Political Blogs before 15 August and as Bedfordshire's Sexiest Politician before 21 August. What are you waiting for?

Tomorrow I am off to PROMS AT TOMS, a function organised by Tom and Mollie Foster at their Clapham home to raise funds for St. John's Hospice, Moggerhanger near Bedford.

Have a great weekend.

BEDFORD RIVER FESTIVAL

Tomorrow is the 30th Anniversary Bedford River Festival. It is a great opportunity to enjoy a lively, fun packed weekend with your family, starting with the Carnival Parade at noon.

There is a Sports Village, Live Music, a Heritage Village with Roman activities, food and drink and of course lots of river events, with a fantastic firework display on Saturday night.

For more information, you can check the website www.bedfordevents.co.uk or just come and enjoy a great free family festival on Saturday and Sunday. See you all there!

Welcome to my blog

Hi! My name is Lynne Faulkner and I represent the 5,500 residents of Wilstead and Elstow (birthplace of John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress) near Bedford, on Bedfordshire County Council and Bedford Borough Council.

I have 25 years’ experience of local government politics, having served 12 years on North Hertfordshire District Council, including two years as Chairman and Vice Chairman of Council. After a short break to concentrate on my career as an International Human resource Manager, in May 2002 I was elected to Bedford Borough Council where I am Chair of Corporate and Resource Policy Committee and represent the Council on the East of England Regional Assembly.

In May 2005 I was elected as a County Councillor and I am now Vice Chairman of the County Council, Vice Chairman of Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Chairman of the Redundancy Panel.

Active in local village organisations, I am Chairman of Elstow Abbey Trustees, Patron of Wilstead Players, Vice Chair of Elstow Lower School Governors and also conduct regular help and advice surgeries for residents.

However, this is the 21st Century and like my local MP Nadine Dorries, I have decided to launch my own blog to communicate more easily with my constituents.

I plan to use this blog to offer my thoughts and ideas on local and national politics and to update you on my work as your local Councillor.

Join me on my 21st Century blogging journey.