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benefice PCC meeting

this evening i attended our benefice parochial church council meeting

as we have 4 churches in our cluster there is a lot of co-ordination to do to ensure that the group functions smoothly.

we discussed a number of topics including te lent course on environmental issues. following on from this we had a petition which was sent to major supermarkets in the area and we have had responses from two of them.

we also discussed phone masts on church buildings, training of the ministry team and the ban on smoking in public buidlings. With thsi new rule we have to put up no smoking signs which are not in keeping with the interior of the church  but apparently that is of no concern!

waste policies

during this final phase of the election the local conservatives are putting out two simple messages on waste.

our clear aim in the next administration is to expand the black box recycling scheme to include plastics and cardboard. The recent decison by kent county council to cease collection of plastics at their waste depots in Whitfield, Deal and Richborough is a retrograde one for our residents so we plan to take this on board in the next tender for waste collection.

 We have also rejected the move towards fortnightly collections of general rubbish. We believe that our residents are best served by maintaining the weekly collections.

 

what's in a name?

Dear Councillor Rowbotham

Thank you for your leaflet which you so graciously had put through my door.

I was pleased to see the importance which you have given to work on regeneration.

However following your letter to the Dover Express (Thursday 26th April) about name changes, I was somewhat bemused to see that you did not even bother to use the correct name for the CCC; It is the Coalfield Communities Campaign.

I would have expected a member with your experience to have got that right, although after your other recent error where you got the name of an officer from one of the neighbouring authorities wrong perhaps we should expect such lapses.

I do hope you find time to rectify this mistake as you did with your last email to me.

 

yours sincerely

 

Cllr Stephen Manion

Chairman Kent Sub Region

Coalfield Communities Campaign

a tribute to the salvation army

over the last couple of days since the earth tremor/earthquake which affected Folkestone, i have been impressed with the response of the salvation army.  this organisation is always ready with practical help, some may term it practical theology as they help those in need with quiet efficiency and i know that they are often in spots where help is needed with the right assistance even though that may be just a cup of tea or a cool drink not to mention a place to sleep for those left homeless. It ties in well with this weeks gospel reading from JOHN 13:31-35 where Jesus commands his followers

"A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you,
   so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you
   are my disciples, if you love one another."

so next time you you see them collecting in the street why not show your appreciation for a job well done.

4th sunday of Easter

we had a packed church this morning as one of the local farming families was celebrating a Christening.

in addition to our regular congregation, we members from a number of the other farming families as well as friends.

It is a pleasure to be part of the event.

did the earth move for you too?

this morning about 8.20am our whole house shook.

apparently this was an earth tremor that rattled kent.

i have seen no visible signs of damage to our house although the birds around were quiet for a while afterwards.

Eastry drop In

this morning i went to the eastry drop in

there was a lot of discussion about the railway swing band performance.

we all agreed that it was a great evening's entertainment.

there was also some discussion about the opening of the folwmead park and how this would link into the east kent natural park.

 

walmer and deal chamber of commerce

tonight i attended the agm of the deal and walmer chamber of commerce.

I was there with Anne Denne to talk about the opening of the fowlmead countrypark that has been built on the spoil heap from the betteshanger colliery. there is much local interest in this project and people are eager to hear about what is coming up next month at the opening on 27th and 28th May.

It is a real pleasure to have people like anne and Steve Morgan who are both memebers of the local community and have been involved from the outset.

It is fulfilling to have the local authorities such as Dover distict council as well as bodies such as SEEDA and English Partnerships supporting local communities in this manner.

The wider community will gain an exciting community facility and will draw people from around the UK and northwest Europe to use the park and associated facilities.

 

 

Great Mongeham Drop In

this morning i went to the drop in.

next week it should have been cancelled due to the election but a couple of the residents have kindly offered that we can meet at their house next week.

street lighting continues to be an issue for residents as some feel unable to go out at night unless there is adequate lighting. 

Railway swing Band

last night I went with my wife to a concert of the railway swing band in Eastry.

This was a fundraising event for the village hall.

it was nice to see many of the residents there enjoying the music.

the band must be congratulated for their devotion as i understand that they do these concerts on a volunteer basis.

cherry lane success

today the recycling was collected in cherry lane

this has been a long battle but finally the council has managed to find a solution to the tree problem.

 

Miners compensation scheme

i notice from the BBC today that there is a story on miners compensation.

this was a campaign which the CCC went through several years ago.

our current efforts are focused on miners pension schemes and money being taken from these schemes by our Labour government.

 

tilmanstone parish council

 

a happy St Georges day to all

tonight I attended this meeting. there was discussion on planning, highways issues as well as the parish website.

There was also discussion about recycling includung the decision by Kent County Council to suspend plastics recycling.

election protocol

with the elction coming up (i know some of you are thinking "cant he talk about anything else ?" and of course the answer yes i can but i dont!) i spent some time reading some of my colleagues blogs to see how they are approaching this event.

some are taking a cautious approach by not blogging while others seem to be using it entirely to push their political message.

My approach is to  try to keep to the same pattern of blogging about my daily schedule- (see we are as boring as you guessed) and describing life on the campaign trail.

and if you have ideas on how to improve this approach feel free to leave a comment.

 

today i have left off campaining and went to church with my wife and one of her friends.

it was a larger than usual congregation with some coming to hear the Banns read for an upcoming wedding as well as some waiting on a baptism next week.

 

12 days to election day

the 3rd of may is getting closer and i can see from the stats page that a number of readers have been searching for this Blog - well i hope this blog as they have been searching for steve manion Blog.

So now that you have found it why not post a comment!

make this a two way interactive Blog.

 

Perhaps my opposotion are reading this but how would i know?

 

I see from the local press that there is much discussion about the North Deal regeneration project.

again little comment about this from the audience 

anyway enjoy your weekend

 

ccc national executive

this morning I went to the ccc meeting. we discussed the possible merger of the ccc with other national lobbying groups. there was also discussion on the miners pension fund and how the government is taking money from the miners

 

I made a presentation to the retiring Chair Cllr Flanagean to thank him for his work for the Former East Kent Coalfield Community.

He has lobbied on our behalf to bioth National and European Parliaments and the recent success for North Deal is partly due to his efforts.

On a personal note i have a great respect for him and have enjoyed working with him with the CCC.

He was happy to work with other politicians no matter what party so long as it was for the benefit of Coalfield Communities!

 

CCC pays tribute to outgoing Chairman

over 60 local government members and officer both past and present as well as officials from government organisations from around the uk came to whitehaven in west cumbria to pay tribute to the work of cllr bill flanagan OBE in his 22 years with the coalfield communities campaign

the event was held in a function centre in whitehaven and many paid tribute to his work and dedication to the campaign.

Australia discovers political blogs

the country that gave us a lesson in cricket has now apparently discovered the joys of political Blogs

in a recent article in a well known sydney newspaper the journalist discusses the need for politicans to use blogging as a way of connecting with the voters as well as the wider web audience.

glad to know we can still teach them a thing or two!

joint council meeting

this afternoon I attended a joint council meeting of deal town, walmer and great mongeham councils. there was discussion on issues such the kcc neighbourhood forums, traffic issues, mobile phone masts, the Marine Concert and Deal in Bloom.

Deal farmers market

this morning I took my wife and mother in law to the deal farmers market at the undercroft in deal. there were fresh vegetables and other types of local produce

sales and operations planning round table

I am now up in =ondon representing the Institute of Operations Management at a round table discussion on sales and operations planning (s&op) practitioners from across industry are discussing what should be the gold standard for this process

General Purposes committee

only 16 days till the election but still the work goes on.

today we had a meeting to discuss policies pn homeworking and maternity and adoption policies.

We are still keen to transoform the way we do business to benefit the community as well as keep track with latest changes to human resources legislation.

meeting the residents

recently i have been about meeting residents perhaps a bit more than usual (did i hear a rumour that there is an election coming up?)

and it is interesting hearing their views on a number of issues such as recycling and streetlights.

here in kent we are fortunate to have an online system for reporting malfunctioning streetlights, even ones left on 24hrs a day and i have been gratified by the speed with which these faults are attended to. The recycling is a more problematic issue however we seem to be making progress here too.

I am also pleased to promote an event next week being organised by the Deal Churches to meet candidates.

First sunday after Easter (the second sunday of Easter)

This morning at church we had an all age worship which included activities for the younger folk.

 

as we are a small congregation we tend to share many of the tasks involoved in conducting the service.

i feel that this can makes us a more tight knit group which also helps when sharing the good times as well as the stressful and less happy situations.

It also means that we know we can count on one another during the harder times.

 

 

Saturday ramblings

today i took some rest from the campaign trail to catch up on a few odd jobs including moving furniture for a friend.

having two helpful sons was a huge help although the other one was less help.

then it was off to sort out some furniture stripping beofre a quick shopping expedition for groceries.

This afternoon we watched the grand national while  as well as enjoyed the warm spring weather.

at least i know i will retain one of my elected positions after the May election as our parish council is uncontested.

Eastry drop in

this morning I went with my youngest son to Eastry drop in. there were residents there from both Eastry and surrounding villages. no particular issues emerged but it is valuable to be available for the residents and the cakes are always delicious.

Village design Meeting

This evening i attended the Great Mongeham Village design Meeting.

The document that will emerge from this process is gradually taking shape and we hope to be able to consult with residents and other interested parties later on in the summer.

Great Mongeham Drop In

This morning i attended the village drop in to chat to residents and see if there are any local issues that i can assist with.

There was some discussion about the new parish council which will come into power after the may elections.

There was also discussion about planning issues.

Kent CCC Meeting

This afternoon i chaired the Kent CCC meeting.

There was lively discussion on a number of matters.

I paid tribute to a couple of members who will not be restanding for election including Cllr Mike Nee from Canterbury City Council.

The contribution of these members will be missed as they have long campaigned for the benefit of their communities.

There was a presentation by Gordon Harris from SEEDA about the regeneration of the former Betteshanger Colliery including questioning about the new name for the coutrypark.

he was able to inform the meeting that the name Fowlmead had been chosen after public consultation and why this was chosen over other names including Foulmead which some may have thought had more merit.

Apparently the name is partly in reference to the Foulmead but also bringing in the reference to Bird watching that will be of interest at the new park..

I was impressed at Gordon's explanation and look forward to the opening of the park next month.

Easter Monday

Today i am spending time with my wife and her mother.

we went to visit some friends and are soon going to have a look around Broadstairs.

I also have spent a few minutes looking at other peoples Blogs including Cllr Dan Hassett, Leader of Folkestone Town Council.

Its a pity more local members around here do not maintain such diaries although there seems to be a perception that it is only for anoraks.

Anyway i hope all you readers, particularly guests from Russia and China enjoy your day.

leave a comment to let us know your reactions!

 

Easter service

today we celebatred easter sunday.

we had a fuller than usual congregation as we celebrated The Resurrection.

There was also a newsheet outlining the deal churches together event where candidates for the district council election can be questioned by members of the churches around Deal.

I hope this is a successful event.

 

Duck - its traffic calming in Great Mongeham

At the recent parish council meeting there was further discussion of a proposal for traffic calming in the village.

this was to place a ducks crossing sign near the village green as it was clamined that this would be a more effective way of getting drivers to reduce speed than putting a children crossing sign.

There are no ducks currently crossing the road at this point but who Knows, perhaps such a sign will encourage them to congegrate here.

eastry drop in

this morning I went to the eastry drop in. I was able to take my whole family including my mother in law who is visiting from australia

business rates

today I attended a meeting with dover town centre management to discuss national non domestic rates. a representative of the valuation office agency came to share his knowledge on this topic. there is much misinformation about this topic among local businesses

Final Full council Meeting

We had our last full council meeting of this term tonight

there was the usual bout of political posturing, but i felt a certain sadness with the retirement of sevral long standing councillors

these people have given much over the years and i hope the residents understand what they have given during this time.

unfortunately i was disallowed from giving a final prayer as i believe there is much to be thankful for from this term. We all give somewhat to the commandment to serve our neighbours and i also feel that being a member  is a vocation of sorts.

I look with optimism for the chance to serve for a further term with my colleagues from across the political spectrum, however the residents will have the final say in this regard.  

sutton parish council

tonight I went to the sutton parish council.there was a full agenda including the village design statement.

Cabinet meeting

this morning i attended a cabinet meeting.

among the topics for discussion were The progress on the Local Development Framework, Procurement strategy, CCTV coverage in towns and improvements to the Dover Priory Station, The council is also committed to further efficiency savings through the Gershon programme. Our response to these targets has been positive and is helping to ensure the proper financial management of the council.

 

Cabinet meeting

this morning i attended a cabinet meeting.

among the topics for discussion were The progress on the Local Development Framework, Procurement strategy, CCTV coverage in towns and improvements to the Dover Priory Station, The council is also committed to further efficiency savings through the Gershon programme. Our response to these targets has been positive and is helping to ensure the proper financial management of the council.

 

miners trail

this afternoon I joined my cabinet colleague for the last part of this walk. julie and her family had completed the whole walk while I had church commitments this morning as part of palm sunday celebrations. at the end I also met our mp and cllr knight as well as a number of members of the aylesham community

This is a photo showing the information boards that are being placed along the trial to give walkers more information about the history involved.

The white cliffs countryside project who have carried out this project need to be congratulated for their efforts in this endeavour