It was a long meeting last night that was followed by much informal chatting with Parish Members and fellow Borough Members. The Suttons are actually 3 Wards and 3 Parishes, but very close. It was not just housing we discussed, but traffic, roads, bus services and so much more.
I actually had a bad night too after the meeting (my home is being re-roofed and the overnight weather noises can be very loud, especially if it rains), so I took the morning easy , before setting off off to Birmingham.
And then it rained hard most of the journey and with contraflows on most of the M1 my journey took longer than I wanted. I found the hotel easily, but it had no parking available. It also had one lift not working and the hotel was very full. I'd chosen the cheapest hotel I could find that was also relatively close to the Conference, but there were 3 Roundabouts with many junctions that had subways to negotiate for every junction before you got to the Conference. With a car parked a long way away and a difficult terrain -with my walking and mobility problems- I was very tired before the conference started.
The hotel did not have a restaurant, in fact it had very little in terms of facilities, and the bedroom was very basic, even the mattress was only thin on a hardboard base, so I had basic meal in a cheap Chinese, in Chinatown-it actually was a good meal-and then I had another bad night of sleep. I left the window open, and the hotel was to the side of Bristol Street, one of the busiest roads from.......2am!
I took breakfast and met a few fellow Conservatives and walked to the Conference. Now I was not only tired and miserable, I was also very hot and sweaty.
Security was intense. I was lobbied by the usual type of people with genuine and proper concerns to the eccentric, as I entered. I thought the Flat Earth Society had evaporated, it was good to see it was still alive and well with the same sort of character you get at Speakers Corner!
I got through the security part quite well considering I set off the alarm system. My metal in my leg and hip looks like a sawn-off shot-gun! The other bits of surgery make me look unbalanced,as if I may be carrying something I should not. What made it worse was the dogs seemed to like me and get rather excited, so they had to check my medications too, so that took a while!
I'll keep the conference report to a minimum, but I did attend a lot of fringe events and challenged and spoke on the subjects that matter to Headcorn like Flooding, Planning, Schools and Building Policy-as per previous blog. In the process I met some interesting characters and relatively well known politicians and some less known! I also met some old friends and made some new ones.
My journey back was arduous in the rain too.
I had to get back for 6pm on the 1st, I had a meeting with Planning Officers, and after that a Staffing Committee of the Parish Council which took me to my bedtime. That Staffing meeting was important in view of the Clerks resignation.
I actually had a bad night too after the meeting (my home is being re-roofed and the overnight weather noises can be very loud, especially if it rains), so I took the morning easy , before setting off off to Birmingham.
And then it rained hard most of the journey and with contraflows on most of the M1 my journey took longer than I wanted. I found the hotel easily, but it had no parking available. It also had one lift not working and the hotel was very full. I'd chosen the cheapest hotel I could find that was also relatively close to the Conference, but there were 3 Roundabouts with many junctions that had subways to negotiate for every junction before you got to the Conference. With a car parked a long way away and a difficult terrain -with my walking and mobility problems- I was very tired before the conference started.
The hotel did not have a restaurant, in fact it had very little in terms of facilities, and the bedroom was very basic, even the mattress was only thin on a hardboard base, so I had basic meal in a cheap Chinese, in Chinatown-it actually was a good meal-and then I had another bad night of sleep. I left the window open, and the hotel was to the side of Bristol Street, one of the busiest roads from.......2am!
I took breakfast and met a few fellow Conservatives and walked to the Conference. Now I was not only tired and miserable, I was also very hot and sweaty.
Security was intense. I was lobbied by the usual type of people with genuine and proper concerns to the eccentric, as I entered. I thought the Flat Earth Society had evaporated, it was good to see it was still alive and well with the same sort of character you get at Speakers Corner!
I got through the security part quite well considering I set off the alarm system. My metal in my leg and hip looks like a sawn-off shot-gun! The other bits of surgery make me look unbalanced,as if I may be carrying something I should not. What made it worse was the dogs seemed to like me and get rather excited, so they had to check my medications too, so that took a while!
I'll keep the conference report to a minimum, but I did attend a lot of fringe events and challenged and spoke on the subjects that matter to Headcorn like Flooding, Planning, Schools and Building Policy-as per previous blog. In the process I met some interesting characters and relatively well known politicians and some less known! I also met some old friends and made some new ones.
My journey back was arduous in the rain too.
I had to get back for 6pm on the 1st, I had a meeting with Planning Officers, and after that a Staffing Committee of the Parish Council which took me to my bedtime. That Staffing meeting was important in view of the Clerks resignation.
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