Today I'm keeping writing to a minimum. I'm taking some time out to think about next week and how I want to approach it. In the meantime heres some pictures of things that I either found really satisfying or made me smile.
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A real highlight of the day was going to meet Labour councillor Tom Shaw during his surgery at the Chaul End Community Centre. I'd prepared these questions before we met.
Why do people mainly come to speak with you about?
Who mainly comes to surgery?
Do people ever come to tell you about good stuff thats happened?
Tom has been a councillor for 35 years and is clearly dedicated to the work and his community. I admire his passion. He does a surgery for local residents every week at the community centre and upstairs in a nearby mosque on a Friday.
He says mainly people come to talk about housing, or cuts to their benefits, or noisy neighbours. Then my questions fall apart - its better just to chat. We talk about the housing crisis and he explains how difficult it is to create new council housing stock. Luton is next to beautiful countryside, but outside Luton its a largely Conservative area and they don't want council housing to be built. He is very proud of achievements made in Luton. We talk about MPs who spend time prioritising visiting their constituents and going to community events - he says how Mo Mowlam and John Prescott used to regularly visit Luton on their way elsewhere.
I ask him about how he came to be a councillor. It was because of a threat of closure to his daughters school. He campaigned to keep it open and not be developed. He says that the Labour MPs at the time were getting old, and when one died the others said - right Tom you'll be a councillor then. Here he is 35 years later.
We talk about the community centre we are in. It’s one of the busiest community centres in Luton. At the time of our meeting there was a boxing club in the back room and an English language learning class next door. There are NHS services in the building. A cafe with a painted sign saying - food is what binds is together. He says the rifle club are downstairs - ‘they always make sure to clean up their shells after themselves’. I'm a bit shocked that a rifle club exists. He says well their payment to use the room downstairs allows other things to happen.
I think there is a lot more to write about this place. I hope I'll be coming back.
