Mitchell becomes Cope

Dear Blog followers,

If you are looking for my latest (and all-too-infrequent) post, I need to let you know that I have moved my blog to:

www.sarahcopeharingey.blogspot.com

That's because I have now adopted my married surname, having married last May. Sorry for the confusion.

If you have a link to my blog on your blog or website, I would appreciate it if you would update your link so that it is to my new blog address.

Thanks,

Sarah Cope

(In)decent Homes

My campaign to get Homes for Haringey to maintain their housing stock continues. Having been told that our estate is not scheduled for any improvements until 2012/2013, I approached HfH Chief Exec Paul Bridge and asked whether there were any interim measures that could be taken to improve the living conditions in the meantime.

I have just heard that at my suggestion they have been investigating this approach and have some recommendations. For example, there is a possibility of fitting temporary secondary glazing on the cold, damp flats, as well as fixing external lagging in some cases.

This is welcome news, but the sceptic in me reckons I might have to chase and chase this to get any action. It will be worth doing though if it improves the day to day lives of people here on the estate, and perhaps on other estates too. It particularly saddens me to think of elderly people and babies and young children living with the problems of damp. And with another rise in rents and service charges on the cards, the poor conditions are even harder to stomach...

Cake confession

An irreverant blog entry today - I thought I better qualify my claims, at the top of the page, of being a 'champion cake baker'. Actually, I can't claim to have won any championships - nor have I entered any.

Above are some cakes I baked this morning with my friend and sister-out-law Sylvia. Ah, the joy of food colouring! We very much went for the rustic and homemade look, as you will observe...

I love buses

People think it odd, but I absolutely love buses. Going on them, that is. I don't mean that I am some sort of bus-spotter, noting down registration numbers with glee (those people do exist, oh yes).

I know a lot of folk think that getting the bus is a pain, but I have never seen it like that. Even with a pushchair, which I admit can be a struggle on the bus (especially when you have a driver with a dislike of buggies), going on the bus is, I think, enjoyable. You can read, listen to music or just observe the huge variety of people who choose the bus as their mode of transport.

I am always amazed at the strange items people choose to transport by bus. A few months ago I saw a woman seemingly using the bus as a removal van, with the help of some friends. She even had a fold up bed along with her. It made me wonder what the story was behind that. Just today a man on the 43 caused much annoyance by trying to transport two massive standard lamps. I myself caused much consternation when I took a huge homemade chocolate cake into work on the C2 in 2005.

I have never really understood the naysayers when it comes to buses. I have heard people refer to buses as 'pov wagons' (hmm...very PC!) and so on, but people from all walks of life use them, especially in London. They're a pretty levelling experience, and a social one as well. People tend to speak much more to each other on the bus than on the tube or other forms of transport. There's something sociable and communal about them, I think.

I wonder whether any snobbery about buses stems from Thatcher's hideous comment about how if a man (what about women - do they exist too?) finds himself on a bus after the age of 27 (was it 27? if so, why?) then he can consider himself a failure. In other words, we should all be driving round in cars, sealed off and alienated from each other, contributing to poor air quality, climate change and sitting in endless traffic jams - then we've really made it.

What utter nonsense. All hail buses!

Please Mr Postman...

We were posting the 268 cards and letters that everyone signed a couple of weeks ago as part of the Amnesty International session. I think we basically filled up the post box! It was extremely satisfying...but this video really isn't very interesting. I apologise. Happy New Year!

Haringey Green Party Amnesty International card signing a success!

Haringey Green Party this afternoon took over Hornsey Vale Community Centre and hosted an Amnesty International Greetings Card signing event. People from the local community joined us for mince pies and Christmas cake (both made by me!), and together we signed over 250 cards and letters to individuals and groups at risk around the world.

Jean Lambert, Green MEP, who was the Justice and Human Right MEP of the year 2005, was in attendence.

It gave us the opportunity to meet local people and get to know them as individuals, which is rather hard when, for example, canvassing on the doorstep! It also shows the people in Stroud Green that we are active and busy all year round - not just at election time. I absolutely loved meeting the people who came along - it was heartening that people would make the effort to come and sit in a hall with us and sign some cards to people in far-flung corners of the world.

At this time of year, when everyone is rushing around trying to organise Christmas, it can be good to take time out to consider those less fortunate than ourselves. By reaching out to them by sending a simple message of goodwill, we can not only boost their morale but also perhaps help to secure their safety. The arrival of these letters and cards let's the powers that be know that these people are known about around the world - they cannot simply be made to 'disappear'.

In short, a postive and worthwhile afternoon! Thanks to everyone who attended and made the event so successful and enjoyable.

After we had cleared up the hall, I had a brief sojourn to a very dark Stationers Park, which is right next to the community centre. With the smell of mulled wine in the air and the sound of carols being sung by the choir, I have to admit to feeling properly Christmassy!

'Hurricane' to hit Walthamstow*

I am excited to announce that I'll be standing as the Green Party candidate in Walthamstow, come the next General Election. It'll be great to give the voters a chance to vote Green and also to raise the profile of the party locally. I am looking forward to getting to know another borough, including the people and the issues they face. It's going to be a challenge, especially if the local elections and the GE are called on the same day in 2010. I hope to be standing in our target ward in Haringey, so would be rather busy, let's put it that way! Good job I'm not afraid of hard work.

Speaking of hard work, Andy Moore, from the Campaign for Real Recycling, accompanied me to the Haringey Council Recycling Scrutiny Review meeting this evening at the Civic Centre. He put across the facts about how rubbish - quite literally - co-mingled recycling is. Sadly, it looks like the council have already made up their minds about this issue. However, one thing's for sure - they can't plead ignorance now. We've given them the facts - and we won't be shutting up just yet either!

* Hurricane refers to my nickname, amongst some in the Green Party, of 'Hurricane Mitch'. Many thanks to Gary Dunion for coming up with this inventive moniker. I have been called worse things, that's for sure.