Congleton In Bloom
I had a great night at Congleton In Bloom I won different awards for my voluntary work.
For the Bromley Bloomers We won a level 4 certificate.
For Friendly Faces Nursery IYN Garden we got a level 5 outstanding and best wheelbarrow award.
It was a great night and it was nice to meet all the other volunteers. Our wonderful new Town Crier Vicky Pulman opened the event – it was great to hear her for the first time in action.
Remembrance day
It was an honour to be part of the Remembrance day parade where we got to represent our town and pay our respects to the heroes that gave up their lives so we can live ours .
The local groups were out in force and it was a privilege to be part of the town parade.
The service was lovely and we had some lovely readings. It was a very well attended event.
Community Meeting
I attended the community meeting and it was a great opportunity to talk to the police about the dog attacks in town and express concerns about the law that a dog attacking a dog can not be prosecuted which is outrageous so I hope to work with the town council to make changes nationally. Obviously with the Christmas period coming up, we were also looking at the events that are coming up into town and planning for the Congleton light switch on.
Christmas Lights switch on
I have been part of the team that have been planning Congleton Christmas lights switch on. We set up an area for people that need a calmer area to observe the switch on with a big screen. I worked hard on the Green room for the main stage. I coordinated the acts and made sure everything was running correctly. Its been great to see the town come together for such a great event. What a success it was. I was very keen to make sure last year after the large crowds that town was more free-flowing that was one of the main things I joined this group for and to help it be more accessible for people with extra needs.
After months of planning and learning how to plan an event alongside others who have a great deal of experience it was great to put my views across and be part of the event whilst it was running. I worked hard on the stage coordinating the bands and making sure that everything was running smoothly and the people that were performing had everything that they needed. I also did some promoting of the event.
The crowd was free flowing and we got a lot of really positive comments. It was lovely to see so many Congleton residents come together for a great event.
Hillary Ave meeting
it was great to go to my first meeting of the Hillary Avenue allotment group. It was good to see what work they’ve been doing and how well they’ve done with Congleton in Bloom. I have been invited to go for a visit and have been supporting them to get the large tree sorted on the land. I’m looking forward to being able to get involved a bit more with this great project. It was interesting to see how the allotments run.
The Hub Christmas party
I have been part of the group that has been planning the Hub;’s Christmas party event. This was an event that was open to the community and we had a very special visitor Santa who came and saw the children. We also had a visit from the Congleton Bear and there was a huge buffet prepared by the volunteers.
It was a great event attended by lots of the community from young to old they all came in and took part in group games together and had lots of fun. There was balloons and we offered information about some of the groups that were running and asked for inspiration for future groups trying to encourage our community to engage together and have fun. This was a free activity for the whole community, and everybody was invited.
The Buglawton Community group
I have been working with the Buglawton Community Group and have attended a meeting to look at local problems in the area and try to resolve them. In this meeting there were the police, the local housing association and residents who have come together to talk about how the ordinary can be improved. Also to celebrate some of the work that residents have been doing for example the Buglawton in Bloom team who have done really well.
One of the problems has been fly tipping which I have taken back to Council and agreed to look into with Kay Wesley to work with the housing association to come up with a plan to try and minimise the fly tipping.
I have also been sharing information about troublesome parking and antisocial behaviour I’m looking at preventative measures with this group.
it was nice to work with the community group and listen to what residents needed to do and then take those concerns back to council and the community safety working group.
3rd Congleton Guides
it was nice to visit the third Congleton guide group who had prepared a selection of questions for me to answer is the local Councillor. They had some really intelligent questions which we debated. These varied from what I think to the new developments in town to the pink Tax. it was great to come in contact with such intellectual young ladies and I encourage them to complete the neighbourhood plan surveys and get involved with the local community. I also encourage them to take part in Congleton in Bloom and it was lovely to spend time with this group.
Totally Locally
I have been completing my work as a town champion and have been sharing post on social media to promote totally locally. I have been in contact with local businesses promoting them to join this project. We have been looking at diverse ways of getting new people involved in the project and planning the future for Totally Locally.
Meeting Attendance
I have attended all my Council and Working Group meetings these two months (15 of 15).
You can read my previous blog posts here:
The Equality Party 