Summer Recess Ends

Congratulations to our MP Lisa Nandy who has been made Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Standish with Langtree Branch of Wigan CLP held their first meeting after the summer recess

Following the summer break and the Labour Leadership result, Standish Branch held their meeting at Standish Labour Club.    We have more than doubled our membership since the General Election with many more new members joining following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader.   A very successful meeting with lots of ideas for the future.

Standish Voice   

Last week I attended the monthly meeting of Standish voice at the Unity Club having missed the August meeting due to holidays.    As always it is wonderful to see residents working together for the benefit of Standish.  Having been designated as a Neighbourhood Forum, The Neighbourhood Plan being worked on will be completed after full consultation with residents.  Standish Voice have distributed a questionnaire to all residents and businesses and the results have now been published. Read about what is happening, how you can get involved and dates of future meetings on the website. http://www.standishvoice.co.uk

Ashfield Park   

Following the 2 day public inquiry which took place early in September, the independent inspector has recommended that Cllr Gareth Fairhurst's application to give Ashfield Park village green status should be turned down.  In tonight's Wigan Evening Post Deputy Leader of Wigan Council David Molyneux said 

“While we are happy that the inspector has agreed with our view that village green status is not suitable for the park we are disappointed the application has gone through a long drawn out process which has cost the council £32,000 which could have been used to protect vital services for example helping vulnerable children.  “We have always maintained that the park is safe from development and we see only one use for this vibrant green jewel in the Standish community and that is exactly what it is now – a flourishing park. We are backing that up through our Allocations Plan to enhanced protection against future developments.“Residents in Standish will be able to have their say in a public consultation and the plan could be amended to extend the historic park and garden designation, which currently applies to part of the park, to protect the whole park. The plan will then inform planning decisions up to 2026.“This would mean Ashfield is protected and can benefit from the £5m investment in community facilities and infrastructure from house builders in Standish.”

As well as costing us, the tax payer, money, funds were raised by Cllr Fairhurst through donations from residents.

What a waste of money!!

Second First Aid Course

I delivered the second First Aid Course last Saturday at Standish Library. Another 14 people turned up and we had a great instructive morning where all are now trained in Emergency Life Skills.  I have applied for and been accepted to deliver the new training course so watch this space for more dates later in the year.

Following on from these talks and training courses, I have been asked to attend local rugby clubs and Mother's Union which I am thrilled about.   I am passionate about First Aid and the more that we can train/talk to the better!

Labour Party - New Leader

Jeremy Corbyn was announced as the New Labour Party Leader with Tom Watson named as Deputy.  Jeremy commanded a huge majority and I hope that democracy will prevail and that all will get behind him to support our party.   I was disappointed by the press coverage who appear to have forgotten that he was the people's choice!  Does it matter if he does not wear his tie right up to his collar?  With the Tory Government trying to push through the new Union Bill I feel that coverage of that would be far more important.  

Congratulations to our very own Wigan MP, Lisa Nandy for being chosen for the Shadow Cabinet as Climate and Energy shadow minister.  We are very lucky to have someone of Lisa's calibre as or MP.  Her passion and dedication should be applauded.

Watching PMQT I felt Jeremy held is own and performed really well.

Diggers Festival

On Saturday afternoon I helped out on Wigan CLP's stand at The Diggers Festival.  Held in the new Gerard Winstanley Gardens (named on the day)  there were hundreds of people, signing our petition to help refugees, many signed up to the Labour Party following the morning's result.  Since last Saturday over 30,000 have joined the Labour Party, several in Standish.  

Live Bands on two stages entertained all and a fantastic atmosphere and camaraderie was felt.   

Meeting so many people who are keen to get involved is heart warming.

Carnforth

On a personal finish to the week, I spent Friday at Carnforth in the sunshine. Walking around the lake watching the water skiers, eating and drinking with family visiting from Scotland.  

What a fabulous end to the week!

THIS WEEK SO FAR:

Standish Fun Dog Show at Ashfield Park.   Was great to see the Park being used again by so many, brought back memories of Standish Carnival days.  
Lots of lovely and very well behaved dogs, and of course their owners.   I helped collect donations by the kissing gate at the bottom of the Park and had a laugh and chat with people coming and going.  Organisers are giving the proceeds to local charities.  The weather was kind to us everyone I spoke to had a lovely time.

Good to see the results of the questionnaire by Standish Voice and the opinions and views of so many Standish residents. Lots of work to be done but their aim is to listen to residents and work towards our Neighbourhood Plan.


DEFIBRILLATORS AND FIRST AID

Just back from giving a talk at Standish Women's Institute on Defibrillators and their use. Lovely to meet so many ladies who gave such positive comments to my talk.   Great to see so many familiar faces and to make new friends too. 

For ladies who would like to attend, meetings are usually held on the 2nd Thursday of each month (October meeting will be on 3rd Thursday of the month).  Meetings start at 7pm and are held at Ashfield House.

North West Ambulance Service notified me that the Defibrillator at Aldi had been activated on a '999' call.  Thankfully it was not used and the paramedics dealt with the incident.  So glad we have these in Standish now. 

Dont forget to book your place at the free First Aid session at Standish Library on Saturday 10am - or, if you cant make it, put your name down for the next one. Hope to see you soon. 

FIRST AID FACT #1

A blocked airway can kill someone in three to four minutes, but it can take more than eight minutes for an ambulance to arrive. So a simple procedure such as opening someone’s airway can save their life whilst waiting for emergency help to arrive.

Welcome to my new Blog.  I will be posting blogs to let you know what is happening in our local community and what I am doing.

Following my work on the installation of the 2 defibrillators in Standish which are now linked to the '999' Service, I will be delivering a free First Aid Session at Standish Library on Saturday 12th September at 10am.
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