The campaign for Lea Bridge Library

As you may know, I stood down as a councillor at the May 2006 elections so this site is no longer active. However, I continue to remain involved in the campaign to refurbish Lea Bridge library so please visit our campaign website on www.library4leabridge.org.uk and pledge your support for the project. The kids of Lea Bridge have great potential - who knows what they could achieve if they had the resource of a new library?

Youth Activities Over Easter

I've been given the details of a number of Easter activities for 10 - 19 year olds in the Leyton area. These are held during the day and range from exam help courses to the "changing gear" project (learning about motor mechanics) and sporting activities. Children have to be referred to these schemes by youth services (there are about 30 places on each project) but they are free so if you know of a child who benefit from participating in such schemes during their easter holidays do get in touch and I will forward their details to youth services.

Posting on this Blog

I've had a number of "anonymous" posts recently to my blog so I've had to make the decision to moderate this blog and view postings before they appear. I didn't want to have to do this, but as some of these are personally offensive I feel forced to act. I think readers of this blog are entitled to know who these people are, just as they know my views by reading my posts. Democracy only thrives in an environment when free speech is matched with accountability for the views you hold and that requires those who hold views to identify themselves. Given this, I'm more than happy to address the comments that were posted, and to display them, if those concerned state who they are when they post. If ms/mr/mrs/dr/cllr "anonymous" would like to re-post their views on the library debate, including the assertions about my character, I'd be more than happy to have an on-line debate with them. Afterall, I started a blog so that people could interact with the things I do as a local councillor but interaction requires a two way debate, not one way insinuations and insults.

Members of the Friends of Friendship Gardens group protesting on the town hall steps for council funding for their project so they can get on with the refurbishment of Lea Bridge library. The Labour group supported this but the Liberals and Tories voted against it and on a hung council their view prevailed. The Liberals were extremely rude and dismissive of the protest - I think Florrie Bedwell might have something to say about that!

Discover Lea Bridge Library Day 25th March 2005 1pm onwards

The Friends of Friendship Gardens have organised a "Discover Lea Bridge Library" Day on the 25th March 2006 from 1pm until 5pm. The afternoon will include readings from children's stories by local MP Neil Gerrard, Matthew Morgan (the author of the "Yuck" series of children's books) and Mr Raza Ali Abdi who is a well known writer of children's books in urdu. There will also activities going on inside the library including poster making and quizzes and plenty of tea and coffee (and cake) for all! It will start at 1pm and go on until 5pm so I do hope you and your family can drop by. We also hope too to be welcoming our new bench provided by the Community Council in the library gardens, that we would like to be a "reading" bench for when the weather improves! If you want to know more about the event please do get in touch.

Florrie Bedwell continues the campaign to get funding for Lea Bridge Library. Here she is giving Cherie Booth a copy of the CD commemorating the World War Two Day when she came to Leyton last week. Florrie made sure the Prime Minister's wife knew all about the local residents plans for the building - and that we will keep lobbying until we get our new library !  

Proof that we will take the campaign for the refurbishment of Lea Bridge Library to the top! Friends of Friendship Garden Committee Members Cath Westcott and Florrie Bedwell met direct with The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP to put the case for investment at Lea Bridge Library.