Today I have launched my latest political initiative which combines my interest in politics with my work in journalism.
Over the next few months, I will be interviewing various politicians and MP's to find out more about them and their policies too.
You can watch the first one below and the videos will feature both here on my blog and also on the 18 Doughty St website too.
Coffee with a Councillor from pthurst on Vimeo.
Ever wondered what happens when you put Tony Smith in charge of highly explosive fireworks? Well, have a look!
Tony L Smith's Firework Extravaganza from pthurst on Vimeo.
Now obviously, I would never condone irresponsible behavior as far as fireworks are concerned so I don't want anyone doing anything silly! And Tony, you may want to be EXTRA careful if you end up doing this job again!
Last night saw me take my first tentative steps into politics. I attended my first ever local Conservative party meeting where my eyes were opened to a whole new world of politics.
Most of us grow somewhat weary of spin and manipulation from any of the 'big three' but down on the front line, there are some real issues which are being fought over.
Local politics centres around local issues and as I saw yesterday, there's no shortage of things to discuss, debate and hopefully change.
In my hometown of Wigan, a certain species of duck has sought sojurn. The 'Ruddy' duck (yes, thats its real name, not the wigan version!) has flown in and has ruffled a few feathers at local council level to say the least.
It seems that this poor, unassuming bird has a soft spot for any other female ducks in the vicinity and as such, some have requested the birds to be culled. Now you may think this sounds qwackers (sorry!) but according to some, this poor lowly bird is linked directly to the conflict in Iraq.
Yes, some claim that the Spanish government have requested this cull to take place as it was part of the deal which would see them support the Iraqi invasion. It would seem that the 'Ruddies' stop off here before flying on to Spain. They really do have a 'bird' in every port and the Spanish authorities looked over to us here for help.
Now personally I don't think this would be a deal breaker for me, I'm not sure that I'd support mass troop deployment at the ducks expense but I have also heard that this issue has also dragged in our very own MI5 and MI6 (James Pond maybe? License to Bill?)
A discussion about all of this took up most of a recent council meeting as it would appear that the councillors have to sign an order to allow the DEFRA sharpsooters onto the Wigan land in order to take out the 'randy Ruddies', restore balance in European politics and bring peace to the middle east. If only life was THAT simple eh!
Apparently DEFRA can deploy their WMD in a mere 45 minutes. Oh and that's Weapons of Mallard Destruction... What a start to my political journey! At the end of the meeting, I was asked would I be back... With tales like this... You bet!
The leader of the Conservative party in the UK has today been talking about 'building a cohesive society' and racial integration. I thought I'd take a few minutes to write down my thoughts for his blog and this one too.
So just how do we build a cohesive society? How do we tackle prejudice and racism in a way that is both realistic and robust?
It seems that hardly a day goes by these days without the word 'racist' being thrown around by one group or another. If its not in the Big Brother House then its in the even bigger House of Commons, but as I sat and watched a debate on TV tonight, I felt compelled to share some of my feelings. I hope you don't mind.
Despite all of our best efforts, todays society seems far from cohesive to me. In fact I'd say its adhesive.
Cohesive means to 'join things together', it takes effort on both parts, but our society seems to be quite different. In our adhesive society, groups and communities have merely been 'stuck onto' a wider base. Thanks to this one-sided effort, we have communities within communities and the less we understand about each other, the more everyone feels threatened.
So how do we go about fixing this? Well firstly I think it starts with you and me. Kindness, compassion and respect for those around us makes a huge difference. As a Christian, I believe that this 'love' isn't just about being nice, meek and mild. I think that this forms the basis of a coherent society, no matter what faith we practice, if any at all.
I care about people, I want to see those around me to be happy and to reach their full potential. That isn't a religious principle or a political mandate (although it makes an excellent basis for both), no its the desire to see our society join together to combat crime, to share in the arts and to build a positive hard-working economy. To improve life for all.
Now to some people reading this, you may see it as 'pie in the sky' politics. Surely this kind of principle can't make a difference in our 'asbo ridden' society. Well I think it can.
As part of my work as a freelance journalist, I teach in secondary schools and due to the nature of my projects, I work with groups of pupils, some of whom who are on the brink of exclusion or segregation. Its amazing to see these young people respond to the opportunity to express themselves creatively and also, more importantly, to be heard.
When we take people seriously, when we listen to their views and opinions and when we welcome their contributions to our communities, we actively engage in cohesion. We bring two different groups together. Of course this is social cohesion with the disaffected but I think the principle is the same.
Lets take the challenge to build a cohesive society by taking the first step. Lets come together in our communities to deal with the challenges together and lets stop tryig to 'shoe horn' someone else into our mould. Lets expect the same from all the different groups within this Great Britain.
Lets make a difference. Lets lead the way.
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Aside from these being my thoughts, I am seriously considering a career in political speech writing. I wonder how someone gets started in that type of thing?
The latest new media project from David Cameron has launched and who better to present it than: Boris Johnson.
Mr Cameron's blog/podcast has proved to be very popular, popularity which was only increased after some Labour MP's parodied it with disastrous PR fallout but without wandering too far from that theme, his new 'Vodcast' features the national treasure who is, Boris 'The Blogger' Johnson. In the first episode, Boris shows us around his office and explains why his office printer took so long to install (I won't spoil it for you).
I chose to feature Mr Cameron's blog on my page here, not for political reasons, but because I am desperate for those in public office to become more in touch with every day people like you and me. I am sick of faceless politicians telling me what I should or should not do or think and I'm sick of being lied to on just about every topic under the sun.
In this day and age of parliamentary committees set up to investigate parliamentary committees, I can't help but feel that Mr Cameron's blog/podcast/vodcast offers us a tiny touch of 'glasnost' in what is still the very private world of public politics.
Check out the site here.
Have you ever stopped to think about what tales float around your local pub?
I visited a friends pub this evening and was in the unusual position of knowing quite a few of the patrons propped up round the bar and as I chatted to some good old friends, I began to think about how things in life change for everyone, not just me.
from the Landlord who's music career appears to be going quite well thank you very much, to other people who have recently made some pretty momentous decisions in life. It seems that wherever I looked, there was a tale to be told and it may be the journalist within, but I really enjoyed hearing each and every one.
There are millions of conversations that flow around those four walls, from cars to careers and holidays to honeymoons. My friend Elliott was holding a special wedding party and as he was telling me about his wedding day two-weeks ago, down comes his new bride, wedding dress et al! My congratulations to them both and as he told me about eating pate on crusty bread with Champagne by the sea, my senses momentarily left the licensed premises to join them, an invided guest to their special beach picnic.
Not all the talk was happy, but it was all wholesome and as I write the final lines for today, may I encourage us all to take notice of those around us, especially if we call them 'friend'.
My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?
