March has been an exciting and challenging month in equal measures. Campaigning has continued and I have really enjoyed meeting more people in the constituency.
At the beginning of the month, my husband Peter and I were invited to the Theatre Royal to see The Business of Murder, a play by Richard Harris. This was my first opportunity to visit the local gem that many people speak of fondly. Great company and location and seeing the play started March off wonderfully. I would encourage people to go and experience what the Theatre Royal has to offer. In fact I am looking forward to seeing a friend perform in Hay Fever in June, with her local amateur dramatic group.
Two other firsts this month revolved around food – a visit to Alder Carr Farm by Needham Market where a friend and I ate great fishcakes but resisted the cake! Then visiting Wyverstone Community Café – a brilliant initiative that has been going for 6 years now. A lovely bacon bap and some homemade goods and a great feeling of community.
Canvassing this month started in Elmswell with the help of John Levantis and Ian Dowling. Meeting local residents and discussing their concerns for the area was the theme of the morning. As the beginning of April appeared exceedingly fast, canvassing has stepped up another gear. I managed to get out and about in a number of the smaller towns and villages within the constituency. Accompanied by Roy Barker in Badwell Ash, Lesley Mayes and Paul Ekpenyoung in Stowmarket Central and Kay Oakes in Needham to name a few.
I have met with the district councillors in Stowmarket to get a more informed idea of the changes that they feel would be best implemented in the area. Gary Green and Barry Humphreys were both extremely passionate and informative about their biggest issues within their area and we met local residents in Chilton Fields to discuss their concerns.
My information gathering focus of the month has been on the roads and our networks in and out of the constituency. Regular delays on the A14 are hindering many people. I was invited to attend a Business Leaders Breakfast where the main focus was “No more A14 delays in Suffolk”.
Having focused on the rail network last month I was pleased to be invited to Needham Market for a public meeting in relation to supporting the Gipsy Lane level crossing closure. I understood the passionate debate the local residents had with National Rail, with the demand of an underpass, rather than a footbridge to make the crossing safer for future residents.
I am very interested in hearing from the young people within the constituency and their views on all things political. This month I have been to Thurston sixth form for their Question Time event, an interesting debate covering a number of relevant political issues. In addition I was invited to attend ‘Deep Dive Politics’ at Thurston Community College, explaining the importance of voting to these young people. An intense session was held at St Benedict’s where the student’s grasp of politics and insightful questions was most impressive. I was delighted to be invited by Gislingham Primary School to their ‘taste of India’ at the Rose of Bengal on Risbygate Street. The Year 1 and Reception pupils, only one of whom said they had eaten a curry before were exposed to the wonderful flavour combinations of Indian food. Keeping fit can be hard however the Bacton Community Middle School, ‘Skip2bfit’ initiative is one which I really enjoyed learning about and completing. Managing a personal best of 154 skips, I re-discovered the joys of skipping, although the photo shows more pain than pleasure! I was delighted to present the children with their certificates of achievement here. The opening of South Lee’s Sports Hall showed once again how partnership working can benefit everyone. A great effort had gone into sharing the site and funding and a huge community benefit so now there is a great facility everyone can enjoy.
Visiting businesses across the constituency was once again a focus spanning the construction industry to retail via manufacturing. Discussing issues facing their business and what their aspirations were for the next 5 years. A particularly interesting afternoon was spent with a major hauliers. Once again a major challenge of business is poor broadband. I had a good visit to a Havebury building site where the students from West Suffolk College are actually on site and getting real work experience. Luckily it was sunny or I probably wouldn’t have gone to the top of the scaffold!
A memorable visit was to Papworth Trusts Workwise Unit – which offers adults with PAN disabilities the chance to develop new skills in a supportive work environment. I learnt how their stepped approach has a huge success rate in getting people back to work – some of the retail products are beautiful and are on sale in their shop in Whiting St in Bury.
All in all March has been a very successful month, and as the short campaign begins I am looking forward to more canvassing in the constituency and meeting as many of you as possible over the next 37 days.