![Put the Blog into Room 101]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2007 | News |
I started blogging a couple of weeks after being elected to open up another way of communicating with residents. I spend a lot of time in front of the PC anyway as do a lot of people these days. I shop, bank, book flights and check maps and timetables online so finding out what my elected representative is doing via the web seems natural.
This is my 101st post since I started, hence my celebration with Paul Merton in the photo on the right. (Actually its Boris Johnson’s body before I get comments on how well fed councillors are.) I have been getting about 200 readers each week which isn’t too bad. It’s hardly designed to compete with Newsnight. I know that many of my colleagues read this from both sides of the political divide (or should that be on all four sides, at least it is four at time of writing but changing fast.) Somewhere amongst the anoraks are a few residents reading this. This is for you. Keep leaving comments, keep the debates going. Let me know what you think.
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2007 | News |
If listening wasn’t enough to scare you off, here’s the video. A little shaky and a belch from stage right but you get the idea.
One of the comments in the thread below bemoaned the fact that Robert Elms didn’t ask us for requests and wondered what we would have picked. The fact that he played REM’s “End of the World As We Know It” might have been prompted by the fact that it took him 2 hours to get to Sutton from Highgate in a taxi that morning. Suggestions please…
![Put the Blog into Room 101]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2007 | News |
I was looking forward to visiting Russell Smith’s experimental house in Carshalton Grove which was open as part of “Take Part, Take Pride” week and was not disappointed.
Russell runs a consultancy called Parity Projects, advising clients how to reduce the environmental impact of their homes and buildings. In order to offer the very best advice he has put his money where his mouth is and bought an ordinary semi detached house in Carshalton, used different techniques to insulate each room and installed thermocouples to monitor temperatures and heat loss over a year.
His website seems to have lost the direct links to the regular newsletters that he produces, so I have added links here:-
July 2006, August 2006, September 2006, November 2006.
Many of the Take Part, Take Pride events were designed to cover a wide area affecting many people. This was superbly unique in being one person making a difference in one house. All of the techniques used were affordable, paid for themselves within four or five years and didn’t take long to install. I used to refurbish flats and houses myself and so really admired the approach that Russell had taken and the commitment that he has made to investigate this important topic. I wish him well and would urge you all to visit the house if you get an opportunity.
![Put the Blog into Room 101]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2007 | Carshalton Central, News |
Sorry about the pun, but Eric and I had a joint family outing to some of the treats of Carshalton including the Water Tower on West Street. I’ve gone past it so many times over the eighteen years that I have lived around the corner but not ventured up.
For the bargain price of 75p, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the grounds in St Philomenas and the old Carshalton House which is now the school’s main building. The fact that we were also afforded aerial views of the red splurge that is traffic calming in West Street shall be painted out of my memory in much the same way as the black asphalt has been, under the over-eager workmen painting the town red.
![Put the Blog into Room 101]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 12, 2007 | News |
If you have nothing better to do for 10 minutes or so. Have a listen to my radio interview with Robert Elms and Cllr Sean Brennan about Take Part, Take Pride and Sutton in general.
![Put the Blog into Room 101]()
by Paul Scully | Jun 9, 2007 | News |
Another stall at the Carnival had the right mixture of fun and games, underpinned by a harrowing international message.
White Pigeon UK is a charity working to rehabilitate those disabled by landmines in Sri Lanka. The ongoing hostilities between the Sinhalese Government and the Tamils who seek an independant homeland in the north continues to take its toll on ordinary citizens including many children.
The game alongside the stall was to walk through shredded paper without bursting any of the balloons that lay underneath. This illustrated the dense undergrowth where landmines remain concealed, long after they were originally planted, waiting for an unsuspecting innocent.
Since there were only balloons, I was happy enough for my daughter to have a go! She won a prize and learned a valuable lesson.
