Monday 12 May 2008

A day in the life of...

You'll all be relieved to hear that I've no intention of consigning my every deed to posterity by logging it on this forum. All the same, today provided as true an example as any of the kind of routine followed by a community councillor with a seat on the Executive and roots in his community.

After checking my incoming e-mails from any early risers (mainly officers of the Council), I ventured forth to the Brentford end of Syon ward to distribute some copies of the ICG's newsletter Community News. Some 350 leaflets hit doormats around Albany Road, where I happened upon a couple of old friends from Lateward Road and stopped briefly for a chat.

Then back to Isleworth for breakfast - a couple of baguettes from the popular Joseph's Patisserie in South Street (thanks Camil) - before heading off to the Civic Centre for a 1.30 meeting with the Interim Director of Housing at the London Borough of Hounslow to touch base on some issues relating to housing allocation and Hounslow Homes.

Running a little behind schedule, at 3.30 a short scurry across the Pavilion took me to the office of the Assistant Chief Executive for Corporate Policy & Regeneration for a meeting with the Head of Community Safety, the Senior Community Safety Officer and a delegation from senior management at Hounslow Homes to discuss the progress of our dedicated Race Crime work on our social housing estates.

Back to the Community Group office in the Members' Services Area at about 5.00, Councillor Dr. Genevieve Hibbs was beavering away at her laptop. Some interaction on the local internet forums - much of it, ironically, discussing this blog. A few 'phone calls to constituents, and some private work writing up the Minutes of the April Deacons' Meeting at my Church (the Isleworth Congregational on the junction of Twickenham Road and Worton Road).

We were joined a little later by Councillor Paul Fisher, who had arrived back from his recent short holiday in Poland and was preparing for a meeting of Area Committee chairs (Paul is Chair of the Isleworth & Brentford Area Committee). Briefly I updated him about events over the past few days. It really is amazing that in such a short of period of absence he had missed an Area Committee meeting, the HFTRA Conference, a ward surgery, sad confirmation of an Isleworth Post Office closure, and the bizarre Save Our Homes meeting, for more on which visit Bowen's Blog.

Following that meeting I drove Paul back home, then on to the Deacons' Meeting which began at 8.00. Miraculously (no pun intended) it was all over by 8.40, so it was back home for dinner, more e-mails, this blog and ...oh, yes... there are a couple of little people around the house who are deserving of a little time and attention too.

Whilst no two days are the same, this one was not untypical. The trick, I'm told, is to attend to each commitment in its correct proportion. Whether I have managed to achieve that will, ultimately, be for my constituents or a divorce lawyer to decide.

No comments: