CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT ELSTOW ABBEY

On Monday 30 November the Friends of Elstow Abbey are organising a Christmas Concert. Our main performers will be the famous Luton Male Voice Choir, who sang so beautifully in Elstow Abbey earlier this year.

To launch the concert we have a joint Choir of 50 children from Elstow Lower School and Abbey Middle School singing for 30 minutes. Everyone is welcome and tickets are only £7.50 (£5 for pensioners) and children are free. Come along and enjoy some splendid music and start the Christmas celebrations early.

I am Chairman of the Friends of Elstow Abbey and we have raised £42,000 in 14 years to refurbish and restore our lovely Abbey Church, founded as a Benedictine Nunnery in 1078 by Countess Judith, neice of William the Conqueror. Last year we paid for the organ to be repaired - costing over £2,000.

BACK IN THE BLOGOSPHERE!

Parvez Akhtar and Nicky Attenborough

Hi folks I am back after a few weeks away. I have been repairing my damaged leg with physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and sports therapy. I still limp but am much more mobile than I was a few weeks ago, wearing the big black boot.

Now that I am not a Councillor, I thougt I would not be missed, but I was wrong and have received some reader comments. Sadly, the Conservatives lost the Bedford Mayoral election, due to the disloyalty of Nicky Attenborough, who briefed the press against Parvez Akhtar after he won the Open Primary. Liberal Democrats gleefully used all her comments in their election literature, and the result is that we now have a rather dull Liberal Democrat Mayor in charge of Bedford.

The photos say it all - old Conservative v. new Conservative. Parvez Akhtar is an exceptional young man - a well educated, charming senior design engineer at the Ford Motor Company. He grew up in Bedford and his 5 children attend Bedford schools. We did not have enough time to introduce Parvez to all our rural supporters and Nicky Attenborough sabotaged him, because she refused to accept her defeat gracefully.

Nicky deserved to be suspended by the Conservative Party and was lucky not to be expelled. She was a poor Conservative Group Leader who drove several Conservatives out of the Group. She slavishly followed Frank Branston's Independent agenda, instead of a Conservative agenda for years, especially as Deputy Mayor.

Thank you to Tony Williamson of Texas, USA, for his kind comments about Bedford. It is a lovely town, especially along the Embankment, and I am especially proud of Elstow village, where I live.

VOTE PARVEZ AKHTAR FOR BEDFORD'S MAYOR!

PARVEZ AKHTAR - THE CONSERVATIVE MAYORAL CANDIDATE

Our Conservative campaign to elect Parvez Akhtar as the Mayor of Bedford is proving successful. Parvez outshone the other 5 candidates on the Sunday BBC Politics Show and at the Wootton Upper School Debate last Thursday evening. David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party, came to Bedford today to support Parvez' campaingn and Eric Pickles, Party Chairman is coming here tomorrow.

Parvez is a highly intelligent and well educated senior Ford Engineer. He is one of "Thatcher's children" whose father came to England to work in the Stewartby Brickworks. Parvex is a living example of social mobility, fostered by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980's, which has almost disappeared over the last 12 years under an incompetent and spendthrift Labour Government.

Parve is a modest, unassuming family man with a gentle charm and polite manner. He cares deeply about Bedford and its people and will be an excellent Mayor. As a father of 5 children, all at Bedford schools, he is passionate about education as the key to future success in life. It is time we had a fresh pair of eyes and brain leading Bedford Borough, instead of the same old politicians who have run Bedford Borough Council for 20 years and failed to solve our major transport, infrastructure, policing and employment problems.

I fully support Parvez' campaign and have worked hard over the past 10 days organising the delivery of 7,200 leaflets to the villages of Elstow and Wilstead. Election Day is in just 3 days' time........

Vote for Parvez Akhtar on Thursday for strong leadership and a vibrant Bedford Borough in which we can all be proud to live.

PARVEZ AKHTAR - THE NEXT MAYOR OF BEDFORD

Parvez Akhtar, Chairman of Queens Park Urban Community Council was chosen to be our Conservative Mayoral candate by a large majority at a packed Open Primary meeting in Bedford last week, attended by over 400 local residents of all political colours. Parvez is now campaigning actively across the whole of Bedford Borough.

Today I took Parvez to a MacMillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning hosted by a keen Conservative, Pat Johnson, at her Wilstead home. We also met a group of young trainee Police Officers who were enjoying meeting local Wilstead residents.

I am delighted to support Parvez Akhtar, as he will bring a new kind of politics to Bedford, similar to the changes brought by Barack Obama in the USA. Like Obama, Parvez is a highly intelligent, thoughtful family man with high moral principles.

Parvez cares deeply about multicultural Bedford Borough and its diverse communities in the urban and rural areas. He has pledged to represent all the 153,000 residents of Bedford Borough, including the often forgotten 43 rural parishes. Parvez is also
firmly committed to getting better value for council taxpayers, cutting costs and improving efficiency, while actively listening to the views of the local community.

Bedford Borough needs a Mayor who will raise the profile of Bedford Borough nationally and revitalise the community and Parvez Akhtar will be an excellent Mayor.

CONGRATULATIONS TO WORLD CHAMPION JESSICA

JESSICA ENNIS WINS GOLD

Jessica Ennis, 23, has just become the 2009 World Heptathlon Champion in Berlin, only the 6th British woman ever to win a World Championship Gold. In 2008 Jessica was unable to compete in the Beijing Olympics due to multiple stress fractures in her rightfoot and ankle, and she had to learn to use her left foot for the Long Jump.

Today Sheffield born psychology graduate Jessica is a shining example of someone who has overcome adversity in just 12 months to become a World Champion. Her parents, Jamaican born Vinnie Ennis and Alison Powell lost a fortune in 2008 after booking booked flights and accommodation for the Beijing Olympics before Jessica had to pull out. They are understandably delighted with their daughter's success this time.

Congratulations to Jessica on her fantastic achievement. She is now tipped to be the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. It brings back memories of the sensational successes of British athletes in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, and augurs well for London 2012. Britain can hold its head up again in world sport.

ACHILLES TENDON UPDATE

CAM BOOT



This is Boot I have been wearing for 7 weeks on my right leg to help repair the ruptured Achilles Tendon (see the diagram on the right) which I damaged at the end of my doomed June Election Campaign.

Initially diagnosed as a strain, an ultra sound scan after 4 weeks showed a rupture. My orthopaedic consultant decided not to operate but told me to wear the Boot for 8 weeks. Five weeks later I saw him again - for all of 6 minutes! - and extended the period to 11 weeks. I have to wear the Boot all day and am banned from driving, so I am largely confined to the house.

I have managed to get out quite often, thanks to family and friends and have been away twice - to visit friends in Norway and to the Isle of Wight with the granddaughters. My four walls became quite claustrophobic and besides I am a 'traveloholic' having visited or lived in 80 countries across 5 continents.

Temporary immobility concentrates the mind and has made me value my freedom and my car, living on an estate of 470 houses with no bus service. I remain cheerful and am grateful to still have 2 legs. My daughter's mother in law had a leg amputated in 2007 after a stroke due to an infection acquired in Hemel Hempstead Hospital. She is now permanently wheelchair bound so who am I to complain?

Also I am still alive! I have been to 2 funerals recently - Councillor Dave Lewis and my friend Sam Clark, Chairman of Elstow Parish Council and local farmer. Other Bedford Borough Council colleagues have died, including the Mayor of Bedford 11 days ago, Bob Elford and and Mohammed Khan. At present we hear nightly of our brave
young soldiers dying and being blown up by the Taleban bombs in Afghanistan - 204 so far - some of them barely 18 years old. What a tragedy for their grieving families.

Today I took a taxi to Bedford to sit on a 3-day DDA (Disability Discrimination) Employment Tribunal and the young Claimant has been disabled all her life. In 2006/7 I had 3 operations in one year in Bedford Hospital and Addenbrookes in Cambridge, where I met patients who had spent all their lives in and out of hospitals

Life is good - I may no longer be a Councillor but I have a wonderful family and friends, my health (apart from the injured leg!) religious and political freedom, a nice home, possessions and food on the table - benefits not enjoyed by millions of people across the world.

A FAMILY SEASIDE HOLIDAY ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT

SANDOWN BEACH, ISLE OF WIGHT

Last week I took my two granddaughters, Emma, 7 and Jessica, 6 on a traditional seaside holiday with a church group from Elstow Abbey. We lived on Sandown's sandy beach, paddling, building sandcastles, eating icecreams and getting sand everywhere! We stayed at The Carlton, a traditional seaside hotel - dinner at 6pm and lots of pensioners in residence - but the staff were helpful and friendly.

I grew up in Southsea, Portsmouth,and the Isle of Wight was our favourite family holiday destination - all England in miniature with wonderful sandy beaches, yachts, castles, and lots of interesting places to visit in a small geographical area.

One day we visited Carisbrooke Castle and watched a donkey walking on the wheel connnected to an old well. The children ran round the castle walls with my daughter Helen who joined us for the last 2 days with Oliver, aged 4. I allowed the children one gift from the souvenir shop, so predictably the girls chose a donkey while Oliver chose a toy axe - boys will be boys! We also visited the Godshill Model Village, but car parking was tricky and walking 3 young children along a main road (no pavements) dodging heavy traffic was a nightmare.

Today most families prefer to take their children overseas for more exotic holidays, although the economic recession has created a new breed of "staycationers". My own belief is that most young children are happier sitting on any sandy beach with a bucket and spade. It does not matter if the weather is windy or cool and is safer in England as they do not get fair skins sunburnt as easily as in hotter countries.

At least if it rains there are always lots of indoor activites. There is nothing worse than being stuck overseas in wet and windy weather, with nothing else to do - that has happened to be in Greece, Florida and Majorca. My children loved our holidays 25 years ago in Bridlington, Yorkshire, staying with Grannie and spent many happy hours on a shingle beach, bundled up in anoraks against the East winds. We even had one rare sunny Easter weekend in Great Yarmouth on a deserted 5 mile sandy beach.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and the economic recession has given a new lease of life top the British seaside resort as more families rediscover the pleasures of an English holiday, avoiding the traumas of dragging their children half way across the world and spending hours waiting for delayed planes at crowded airports.

Money cannot buy happiness and many British children are now rediscovering the simple pleasures of sandy beaches, walking, climbing and simple creative outdoor play.

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR CHLOE SMITH IN NORWICH

Chloe Smith, the new MP for Norwich North

Many congratulations to Chloe Smith, aged just 27, who has been elected the country's youngest MP in Norwich North in an historic by-election after the resignation of a Labour MP. Chloe's majority was an amazing 7,348 and she polled more than twice the votes of her Labour opponent in a formerly safe Labour seat.

The swing from Labour to Conservative was 16.5% on a turnout of 45%, and would translate into a majority of 100 for the Conservatives in a General Election. The tide is turning strongly away from Gordon Brown and his incompetent Labour Government towards the Conservatives.

Chloe is the youngest ever Conservative MP, winning only the 2nd successful by-election in 30 years against the Labour Party. She is one of a new breed of young Conservative MPs with strong business experience, energy and enthusiasm and a more honest, open and ethical attitude towards the role of a Westminster MP.

In her acceptance speech Chloe Smith paid tribute to the previous popular Labour MP Ian Gibson, who resigned after being subjected to a 'kangaroo court' by the Labour Party over his expenses. Chloe said that she hoped to serve the people of Norwich with the same "honesty and conviction" as Dr Gibson, and wished her Labour opponent who is suffering from swine flu a speedy recovery.

NORWICH NORTH BY ELECTION

Chloe Smith

Sorry for the long silence folks, but I have been nursing my ruptured Achilles Tendon at home for 3 weeks, and also I could not access my own Blog for 2 weeks for various technical reasons. I am something of a technophobe with computers!

Today is the Norwich North By Election which we Conservatives hope will be won by Chloe Smith, Norfolk born and bred, who has nursed the seat for the last 18 months. Unfortunately I could not help with her campaign, as I am barely able to walk, but my Luton friends have been up there, and this week there are armies of MPs helping the campaign. These have included Nadine Dorries my local MP who could not find the time to help me in May with my hard and unsuccessful 6 week lone election campaign in June, which left me with this serious leg injury.

The other photo above shows the Wallia Boot I have to wear all day for 8 weeks.
I am banned from driving for 8 weeks, and it may be longer, so I have to rely on taxis and lifts from kind friends as there is no bus on my 470 house estate.
Fortunately I have managed to get out of the house most days and rarely askt eh same person twice for a lift or help with shopping.

I plan to use the train to go to Bournemouth in September, and will be flying to Norway next week to visit some friends in Stavanger.

ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE

Achilles Tendon


Hi folks! Well nearly 5 weeks after I injured my Achilles Tendon during the Unitary Election camapaign, a scan revealed that in fact the Tendon is ruptured. Today I was fitted with a black Wallia boot on my right leg, similar to the one above, in the Bedford Hospital Fracture Clinic and now have to wear this for 8 weeks to help the Achilles Tendon to repair itself. Also I have to do isometric calf exercises.

Apparently it is usually non active middled aged men who rupture their Achilles tendons while playing sports with their kids, so I am just the exception as usual!

The Orthopaedic Consultant does not want to do surgery, as I am a mature woman and my tendon is apparently "squishy" and would be difficult to repair surgically without shortening the tendon. I am not allowed to drive or move about too much, so it looks as if I will have to do a lot of reading. At least I can still get up and down stairs, but I will have to rely on friends and relatives to shop for me.

Unfortunately, this injury is not helping me to bounce back from my Election defeat, but I am trying to be positive - after all I still have two legs. It is such a relief to find out what is wrong with my leg and to start the healing process.

In order to speed up the diagnosis I paid for a private scan, but everything else has been done on the good old NHS. You have to battle over some of the waiting periods - 6 week wait for physio, 6 week waits for scans etc. but when you do get the appointment, the standard of medical expertise is second to none.

Will let you know how I get on.

DAVID CAMERON VISITS LUTON

David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party, visited Luton today soon after making a brilliant speech attacking Gordon Brown's Policy Relaunch "without a price tag" as there will be no Government spending review before the next Election. Cameron lambasted the Prime Minster for his Policy's "lack of honesty on spending" and lack of real reform of our public services".

Today he British-North American Committee, a group of academics and businessmen, published a paper stating that the true cost of pensions for all public sector workers is £1.2 trillion, equal to 85% of Britain's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ie £20,000 for every man, woman and child in Britain for only 25% of the population. Gordon Brown lives in cloud cuckoo land and expects us to believe that the Government can carry on borrowing and spending vast amounts of public money without it having any effect on the British public. He seems to think that the electorate are stupid, which we are not. As Ken Clarke, Shadow Business Secretary said today:
"Britain has a dying Government, past its sell-by date and needing to be replaced"

Cameron rightly attacked Gordon Brown for his proposals which were 'rehashed' or amounted to "timid and bureacratic top-down tinkering" rather than real reform and stressed: "The truth about today's statement is it only serves to highlight the decline of this Government. Their money has run out. Their political capital has run out. And now their time is running out".Later David addressed a group of 80 Conservatives in Luton from across Bedfordshire, answering several questions clearly and honestly. He then went on to address members of the general public at one of his popular Cameron Direct meetings in Luton.

This was my first meeting with David Cameron and I find him an inspirational leader and an open, honest and empathetic speaker. David will be an excellent Prime Minister in 2011 when Gordon Brown is finally forced to call a General Election and loses.

2- TIER OR 3- TIER EDUCATION IN BEDFORD?

Elstow Lower School celebrate Ofsted success

Anne McCormick

At long last BOS has balanced the argument on the 2-tier or 3-tier education debate with an excellent, well argued letter from Anne McCormick, Head of Queen's Park Lower School and Vice Chair of the Bedford Learning Community, supported by all the Bedford Lower School and Nursery School Heads and one Middle School Head.

For too long the Primary Education voice in Bedford has been drowned out in the media by emotional, expensive and misleading propaganda from some Middle School Heads - funded by whom? - school parents or the school budgets? Why did their advertisements include Middle Schools in Central Bedfordshire, which are unaffected by the Bedford Borough proposals? Also why were 2 Bedford Middle School logos used without the permission of the Head Teachers?

The Bedford Borough Lower Schools provide a fantastic education - 80% are Outstanding or Good, including Outstanding schools in areas of social deprivation, like Queens Park Lower, Cauldwell Lower and Elstow Lower - rated Outstanding twice! Their Key Stage 1 results are excellent, but children under perform at Key Stage 2 in Middle Schools, who must bear some responsibility for pupils not achieving their full potential at GCSE. Some Bedford Middle Schools are good and two are Outstanding, but their overall performance is well below that Lower Schools.

Most UK local authorities now operate a 2-tier system, which provided an excellent state education for me and my children, all university graduates, and for two of my grandchildren who are at Primary Schools in Staffordshire and Hertfordshire.

My knowledge is also based on experience as a governor of 6 schools in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, one of the best education authorities in the UK, which has always provided 2-tier education.

In 2006 I was a Bedfordshire County Councillor when the Council wanted to move to
2-tier education but failed due to flawed public consultation, lack of capital finance for new schools and strong opposition from Mid and South Bedfordshire.

In 2009 we have a golden opportunity to get it right and create a good 2-tier education system over a 4/5 year period with £340m.government funding. Elstow Lower School is already working closely with Abbey Middle School to improve school transition and will soon be opening a Pre School - another step towards providing a more integrated 0-19 education system.

It is time to make the decision and move into the 21st Century. The new Bedford Borough Primary Schools will improve Key Stage 2 results and provide the first class education to which our children are entitled.

NORMANDY D DAY INVASION 65TH ANNIVERSARY

President Barack Obama & Prince Charles at the D Day Ceremony


Normandy D Day Invasion 65th Anniversary events in Portsmouth and Normandy, France

Today marks the first day of my new life after nearly 20 years public service as a Councillor in Bedfordshire and North Hertfordshire.

This morning I went to Elstow Abbey Church, read the Epistle and the Gospel and listened to the beautiful singing of the Amity Singers from Jersey. They are part of the Bedford-Jersey Arts Festival, celebrating a 60 year link between Bedford and Jersey children who were evacuated to Bedford during the Second World War.

Yesterday marked the 65th Anniversary of the Normandy D Day Invasion by the British, American and Canadian fleets, which led to the Allies winning and ending the Second World War in 1945. Ceremonies were attended by the Heads of State of France, USA and Canada, plus Prince Charles and Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister. The Queen should have been invited but was not due to errors by both the French and British Governments, and Prince Charles was only invited at the last minute after protests.

Britain was Germany's chief opponent at the beginning of the War, and thousands of Britons died during the Normandy Invasion to save France from the Nazis. This was a gross discourtesy and yet another example of the incompetence of Gordon Brown and his tired Labour Government. It 's time for a General Election and change!

President Sarkozy. the French President is only interested in hitching his waning star to the glamorous President Obama, the most poopular world leader, which is perhaps unsurprising as he hopes that some of the stardust will rub off on him.

My late father was decorated by the French Government with the Croix de Guerre for his role in the 1944 Normandy Invasion. He was a navigator in HMS Frobisher, the leading frigate in the British fleet, one of the first ships to arrive in Normandy.

The photographs above are a sample of the various events taking place in Portsmouth, where I grew up as the child of a naval family, and Normandy, including the beach at Arromanches. All the remaining veterans are in their 80's and 90's and very frail.

UNITARY ELECTION RESULT

Andrew Philips travels on horseback to vote in Wilstead

Well it is all over! I lost my seat after 7 years as a Bedford Councillor in spite of strong support from voters in Elstow and Wilstead - thank you to all those who voted for me and especially to my small dedicated band of campaign helpers.

I had a very tough election campaign against a well known Independent candidate, born and bred in Wilstead, who resigned from the Conservative Party in April. My vote was only 70 less than in 2007 but I lost by 153 votes, because 100 Conservative
supporters switched due to their anger over the MP expenses scandal and I was the victim of a 'dirty tricks' campaign just before Election Day from the Independent Councillor I defeated in 2005 and 2007.

No one can say I did not try hard enough - after knocking on 2,000 doors and distributing 10000 leaflets and letters, which led to the damage to my leg which will take some time to heal. At present I am having to use a walking stick and I could not possibly issue a rebuttal in time to the potentially libellous letter.

One Conservative voter, Andrew Philips, travelled to Wilstead Village on horseback to vote as a protest over his situation. His farmhouse is in Haynes, Central Beds and is accessed from Haynes High Street, but his farmland is in Wilstead, Bedford Borough Council. After the Unitary reorganisation, Andrew and his family were put on the Bedford Borough Council electoral roll. Andrew is Chairman of Haynes Parish Council and his house can only be accessed from Haynes, so naturally he wants the boundaries changed so that he can vote in Central Bedfordshire. I have supported Andrew's campaign for several months but the Boundaries Commission will not be able to resolve the anomaly until 2010, when the Ward Boundaries are reviewed.

TWO DAYS TO GO.......

I am still smiling although I can hardly walk after straining the Achilles tendon in my right leg on Sunday while delivering 300 letters to voters. Panic set in as my leg swelled up and I wondered how to continue my election campaign and deliver another 800 letters.

By Monday morning my fighting spirit had returned and I persuaded 5 friends to deliver most of the letters for me. Fortunately I can still drive as my right foot is unaffected; only the ankle and calf hurt. My leg is in a tubular support bandage and my doctor says it will take a long time to heal and there is a 6 week waiting list for physiotherapy - the joys of the NHS! In July 2004 I sustained a similar injury to my left leg which took nearly 12 months to heal completely.

Over the past five weeks, I have knocked on 2,000 doors and delivered thousands of leaflets in Elstow and Wisltead, and two other areas - Oakley and Castle Wards to help out fellow Councillors. Thank goodness it will all be over on Thursday.

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!

SUCCESS FOR MY WILSTEAD BUS CAMPAIGN

After a long campaign I have persuaded Bedford Borough Council to improve the Wilstead - Ampthill bus service so that Wilstead residents can travel to and from their doctor's surgery in Ampthill, with a long wait for a return bus. With no mid day Ampthill-Wilstead bus people were stranded people in Ampthill for hours.

Bedford Borough Council has agreed to give a special grant to Grant Palmer to run 3 more daily buses so that my Wilstead residents can travel to and from the surgery in half a day. The new bus service started on Tuesday 26 May on a 3-month trial basis. I announced the good news today at Wilstead Methodist Church's weekly coffee morning to a group of pensioners who were very pleased with the success of my long and determined campaign.

Urban residents enjoy better bus services and amenities than village residents. We have a high percentage of elderly residents in Wilstead, many without cars who suffer from mobility problems, so it is very important that they can have good access to their chosen doctor and many have doctors in Ampthill.

I am taking 24 hours off from my election campaign to spend with my 4 grandchildren Today I helped my daughter Sarah organise a cooking party in her Watford garden to celebrate Emma's 7th birthday. We made pizza, biscuits, 'chocolate aliens' and a fancy cocktail with 10 little girls who had a great time. Tomorrow I am meeting Sarah and my younger daughter Helen with all 4 grandchildren - Emma, Jessica, Oliver and Thomas - at Gulliver's Land in Milton Keynes. I worked throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, so it will make a nice change to have a family day and escape canvassing for a day.

DAVID VAN DAY'S AMBITION TO BE AN MP

So David Van Day fancies himself as an MP and two of my readers think it is a good idea, although one says he "is not whiter than white" - great credentials for an anti sleaze candidate! Another one thinks David would make a good MP.

On checking a few websites I discover that David is a C List celebrity who was a contestant in "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" David was born plain David Day in 1957, is a failed actor and singer married to a Page 3 model, once ran a burger bar and has recently had a facelift. In 2007 he tried and failed to reinvent himself as a local politician in Brighton. During his election campaign David made an offensive remark about gay men, reported in the local press and as a result he came bottom of the poll in the election.

According to press reports, David spent £100,000 on cocaine in his pop star era, cheated on his girlfriend Tereza Bazar, and dumped his journalist girlfriend on live TV earlier this year. Just the sort of person we do not need in Mid Bedfordshire!!

If David attempted to stand for election as an MP, especially on an anti sleaze ticket the national media would crawl all over his past and make his life a misery. If David chooses to stand against Nadine Dorries in Mid Bedfordshire, he must first do lots of research (he knows nothing about this area) and even more walking as it is a very rural constituency.

Any prospective MP or local councillor needs a few more skills than just self promotion, singing and jungle experience! In the past 3 weeks, I have knocked on 2,000 doors, coped with lots of personal abuse about MP expenses, and written and delivered thousands of leaflets. During 20 years of experience as a Councillor on 4 different Councils, I have dealt with hundreds of personal resident problems, campaigned energetically on all sorts of issues, sat through endless committee meetings and read huge volumes of local government documents, to say nothing of coping with a hostile local press and sometimes aggressive constituents.

May I suggest that any TV "celebrity" tempted to stand as an MP first undertakes an intensive training programme in speed reading, walking long distances, public speaking, writing, negotiating and dealing with difficult people and a hostile press. Also if they want to stand as "anti sleaze" candidates their private lives must be beyond reproach and squeaky clean!

POLITICS IS A TOUGHER GAME THAN REALITY TV

Nadine Dorries MP with Jeremy Brier and Nigel Huddlestone, Luton North and South Conservative Parliamentary Candidates












Margaret Moran, Luton South MP and Esther Rantzen

Much has been written in the national press and on my Blog about Margaret Moran, MP for Luton South, who claimed £22,500 for repairing dry rot at her partner's home in Southampton, 100 miles away. Moran tried to justify it by claiming that she "has a right to a family life" in Southampton although her partner is registered to vote in Luton! Since that foolish statement Moran has repaid all the money and is likely to be forced to stand down before the next General Election.

What's wrong with the men in Luton? At least one charming and handsome Luton man, John Young, Campaign Manager for the two excellent Conservative Parliamentary candidates, Nigel Huddleston, Luton South and Jeremy Brier, Luton North, pictured above, has given me much needed help with my election campaign. In 2008 I helped him to distribute 65,000 leaflets across Luton - the first time in years that local Conservatives had formally communicated on such a scale with local residents. John is confident Conservatives will win both Luton parliamentary seats in 2010.

Esther Rantzen, a 68 year old 'C' list celebrity jumped on the Luton South bandwagon and announced that she may stand as an anti sleaze candidates against Margaret Moran. This news did not go down well in Luton. A local paper recently commmented
"As for Rantzen, what have the people of Luton done to deserve this interfering, self aggrandising old crone? Surely they can find a suitable local replacement MP?". Yes they can! Johnn Young is confident that Nigel Huddlestone will be the next Luton South MP. Local Conservatives have campaigned against Moran for years, including attacking her expenses - much higher than her respected fellow MP Kelvin Hopkins, who lives in the same street in Luton.

It seems that TV 'celebrities' fancy themselves as politicians, including David Van Day, who I have never heard of, who may stand against my local MP Nadine Dorries. They obviously have not a clue how hard it is to be a politician, and I speak from 20 years' hard experience as a local councillor, fighting 9 elections, dealing with the daily round of committees, paperwork and facing angry voters on the doorstep during tough election campaigns - this year I have knocked on nearly 2,000 doors.

Nadine has made unwise public comments about the intense media pressure on MPs, but failing to appreciate the personal abuse that local councillors are facing as we knock on doors during our own election campaigns. We have done nothing wrong and are "at the bottom of the food chain" receiving only modest travel expenses for our work. Personally I subsidise my council work with a part time job and pensions and certainly cannot claim for the luxuries listed in the media - TVs, antique furniture, duck islands, blue movies etc !!

Esther Rantzen is 68 years old, and will be 69 in 2010 and has not a clue about what is actually involved in being an MP. Anyway, if Margaret Moran stands down, there is no need for an anti sleaze candidate in Luton South any more.

As for David Van Day, my correspondent admits that he is "not whiter than white", so he would soon be crucified by the national media if he decides to stand as an MP, and like Esther, he probably could not cope with the demanding constituency casework, endless committee meetings and hundreds of dull Government documents to read - nothing like the superficial glamour of TV "celebrity"!

SPOTLIGHT ON WILSTEAD

Eyebrow Cottage



Wilstead Post Office



During my election campaign I have walked round Wilstead several times, knocking on doors and delivering thousands of leaflets. Wilstead is a village with a strong sense of community and lots of active village organisations including a large Women's Institute, of which I am a member, an excellent amateur dramatic Group, Wilstead Players - I am a Patron. Also there is Wilstead Children's Centre, Bowls Club, Football Club,the Brownies, P3 Walking Group, several social clubs for older people, a Lower School and Pre School, 7 farms, 3 churches etc. I gave Community Leader grants to many of these groups in 2007/8.

Wilstead is blessed with a modern village hall and a good range of shops and services, unlike Elstow and many other villages. It has a Post Office, 2 garages, Pharmacy/general store, Chinese and Indian takeaways, to name but a few. Healthwise there is a part time doctor's surgery, and a prescription and medical services provided by the new Wilstead Pharmacy, which I campaigned actively for last year
writing a strong letter to the NHS to refute false information submitted by two Bedford Pharmacies opposed to the Wilstead Pharmacy, purely for commercial reasons. On Saturday after tramping round Wilstead for 2 hours in hot weather I was delighted to find an ice cold drink in the Pharmacy to quench my thirst.

Wilstead is not a 'chocolate box' village but does have some lovely cottages tucked away in its lanes including the appropriately named Eyebrow Cottage, seen above.

The Campaign goes on and I have been working throughout the May Bank Holiday weekend, including yesterday's heatwave, when I caught the sun on the back of my neck walking round Elstow delivering letters to postal voters.