With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee now just a few months away, we have announced that the Council will be holding a number of public workshops to help local neighbourhoods who want to celebrate the occasion by holding a street party.
Today I informed the Council's Chief Executive of changes to the Council Cabinet, following the extraordinary action, or rather inaction, of the Conservative Group at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday night. In a shock move, out of the blue they broke their pledge to support the budget they had produced jointly with all parties on the Council and did not even take part in the most important decision all year for the residents the Council serves. They simply abstained, without offering any alternatives at all on the night or at any stage before. Sadly, they have again turned their backs on working for the good of the Borough, and clearly have separated themselves from running the Council in the interests of local residents and delivering this all-important budget which they approved at every stage until it mattered.
This afternoon I'm heading down to Bedford Central Library to take part in an information and taster session on researching your family history at the Borough's libraries, in support of a new project running throughout February. The Council's Library Service has linked up with Family History Detectives to promote family history at Bedford, Kempston and Wootton Libraries this month.
The family history information and taster session I attended at Bedford Central Library on Saturday really has whetted my appetite to find out more. Amongst the wide range of things I discovered in the short session I enjoyed are that a Great Grandmother was in the workhouse, while a Great Great Grandfather was a station master in Scotland. I also discovered previously unknown links to various parts of the country, including the West Midlands.
On Friday night, I am taking part in the King's Arms Project's 2012 'SleepOut 2012.' The King's Arms project is a Christian charity which supports homeless people in Bedford. It does fantastic work in support some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our community, and I am very pleased that it is one of the causes which will be benefitting from the fundraising activities of the Mayor's Charity throughout this year.
The latest 'Pints in the Parishes' event is taking place tonight, at The Bedford Arms in Oakley from around 7.30pm. If you're in the area, please come along and let me know about any local issues of interest or concern, Council services or indeed anything at all you want to discuss. Here's a link to The Bedford Arms's website: www.bedfordarmsoakley.co.uk.
