Global warming has clearly taken its toll this year and nature is having to adapt...and so I think must we. I am not entirely convinced it makes sense to plant plastic daffodils because the real ones have come unseasonably early - nature is a wonderful thing because it is just that, natural. Hail storms and snow are promised and our weather is increasingly unpredictable. While it must be a priority to reverse or at least arrest the march of global warming, lets make the most of these differences and if our daffodils arrive in January next year lets enjoy them then.
Following my visit to "Shopmobility" in Teignmouth last week, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Teignbridge Access Group which meets once a month in Newton Abbot to discuss access issues for the disabled and less mobile. What an enthusiastic bunch of people! They have been incredibly successful, fighting for improvements in pavement structure, crossings, loos, better access to local shops and banks and for better access to leisure facilities. We owe a lot to individuals like this.
Candidates' nomination forms for the District and Town Council elections have to be submitted at the beginning of next month so this month sees plenty of activity getting forms filled in and putting the final touches to the election campaign. I am pleased to be welcoming a number of new faces to our band of councillors , many of whom have said to me that they want to stand up and be counted and get things changing for the better - and some have crossed the floor to do this. Sitting council members are holding local meetings to give us all a chance to tell them what isn't working. This coming week we have a meeting in Kingskerswell on Saturday 24th March at 10.00 am at the community centre - everyone is welcome and I hope to see you there!
On Friday Tim Laughton, Shadow Minister for Children and Health, joined us in Teignmouth to get a better feel for and understanding of the issues teachers, children and parents face - and what we can do to improve both teaching and learning. Our first stop was at Inverteign Community Nursery and Primary School. Here we visited the Family Learning Centre - a real jewel in the crown and a first class success story in education. A highly motivated and very welcoming group offer a range of learning opportunities to a community which has some of the most socially deprived families in Teignbridge. Parents, grandparents and children all learn together. The courses are designed in response to requests for help so they really are relevant. That the school is community led is one of its greatest strengths. The latest addition is a course for Dads, created by Dads and run by Dads - fantastic!
Rydon Primary School was next on the visit - a really popular school with more demand on its places than it can comfortably accommodate. Neil Graham, the headmaster is a wonderful man, clearly totally driven by what he can do to continually improve the learning of his children. After a brief tour around the school with Neil and Joan Lambert, a school governor and the local district councillor, Neil shared with us some interesting insights. The first will come as no surprise - a lack of space, clearly evidenced by the size of the school's library. The second was more of a surprise - Neil has found it hard to find male teachers to recruit and at present he is the only male member of staff.
The weekend should have seen me in Nottingham at the Conservative Spring Forum - but when someone ran into my car, that was the end of that! Instead I was finding a car repairer and filling in insurance forms. I am still not sure if I will be mobile next week!
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