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From the Editor
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Whether you need help in any way and are
unable to get it. It’s horrendous that people are
dying simply because of lack of support from others near
them. Why do we rely so much on local councils?
We are so divided up and categorised by the 'powers that be'
that we have lost so much by not knowing each other and
seeing ourselves as one community sharing a space.
However, there are so many wonderful voluntary groups that
work quietly in the background, so let's change things this
year starting here (see "Creating
Paradise") |
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| After all, how often have YOU
wanted to have a say but didn't think anyone would really
listen to you? Well, now you have a chance to
make your thoughts and feelings known and who knows - you
may be able to bring about your own little corner of
paradise and even make some new friends too. We are fortunate to have had many visitors to
date and have been contacted by local councils, newspapers
and even TV stations but there is still a great deal of
information to collate. It is only thanks to volunteers
over the years that we have managed to get this far. PS If you
would like me to visit your organisation as a
Speaker, then please
email |
17th August
2010
In case you are wondering why
the background is now grey instead of green, it's because
the bright colour was hurting my eyes as I worked on the
pages. Does it look better or worse?
15th August
2010
Well, I started visiting my
neighbours on Wednesday and I am thrilled at their response
to my efforts. Nobody is perfect - least of all me -
but having the desire to make things better for one's self
and others around them may be considered "idealistic" by
some but so what? For inspiration just look at....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY&feature=related
Here where I live, started with
me..................what is your excuse for not doing
something better?
19th July
2010
I've finally made up my mind!
No more procrastinating, no more excuses - I am starting
PROJECT: CREATING PARADISE. The first thing I want
to do is create a forum (a great suggestion by
Dr Peter Shapley) which brings together academics,
tenant group reps and civil servants/politicians then we it
would be possible to get views/ideas etc discussed and
debated. To do it properly, however, would cost a few
thousand so I remembered the quote "A journey of a thousand
miles starts with one step".
I am, therefore, asking RAs in
each area to think about this idea and how we can start
locally with the aim of having a conference next year to
discuss our findings. I would like to involve schools
too so that youngsters can participate in creating their
future world.
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What would you like to do to
create "Paradise" in your area?
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How do you picture it?
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How would people treat each other?
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How would you encourage them
to do so?
There are so many questions and
I'm sure you could think of many more so start with the
questions and then think about the answers and START doing
something to make these changes ... Let me know how you get
on, please.
CREATING PARADISE - WILL YOU PLAY
A PART?
8th July 2010
Many years ago the last thing I
wanted to be was a "council tenant". I managed to buy
my own house after many long hours of work but because of
illness ended up getting behind with the interest only
payments. I was very grateful my family and I were
re-housed by our local council and have now been a council
tenant for nearly twenty-five years. I am still
grateful for this tenancy but because of a low income I
cannot afford to spend much money on making it look the way
I would like. I have a huge garden but am unable to
maintain it properly (i) I don't have the gardening
equipment (2) cannot afford a gardener (3) do not have the
energy or ability to do gardening on such a large scale.
I would love to move but all the two bedroom places are
much smaller than mine.
The reason I write this is
because there is such a stigma attached to being a council or social
housing tenant. (See the comments on
Netmums.com). Yes, some irresponsible, problem
people give us a bad name but on the whole most of the
properties I have seen are beautifully maintained and the
tenants are no better or worse than house owners.
I have been asked how to include
tenants in a Residents Association when there are also home
owners and I have thought about this a great deal. The thing
is - who are we to judge other people? Most people
want to live in nice homes in good areas. To make this
possible we have to try and bridge the gaps in the community
by creating a common ground - making the area everyone lives
into one to proud of! Residents Associations can
achieve so much by getting residents in the area to work
together rather than being divided. Adults would set
the example for the youngsters to follow rather than
encourage prejudice and bad behaviour. What do you think?
27th June 2010 - no response yet (8.7.10)
Yesterday I sent off six letters
to various MPs about the state of the legal system.
This was because I have been helping some friends with their
legal cases and it has been so frustrating to see the
tactics used by solicitors to sidetrack the cases. I
was reading that it's all about words and how we use them.
That was a bit of a surprise because I always thought it was
about the laws. Anyway, I would love to hear from
anyone who has had to handle their own cases or helped
someone to do so.... I will let you know if I get any
replies. Update: Received a letter from David Cameron's
office thanking me for mine but not saying much else.
19th April 2010 Rachel from www.metrosafety.co.uk wrote to us saying 'We are wanting
to get in touch with residents associations following the
tragic Lakanal fire. We are aware that some residents are
now deeply worried about the fire safety in their tower
blocks and concerned that their housing association or
council are not carrying out the right checks. We are one of the leading fire
safety companies in the UK and social responsibility is
central to our company ethos. We have already written to all
Housing associations and Local authorities in the UK
offering them free fire safety advice. Now we'd like to
contact the residents associations and give them a checklist
of fire safety routines that should be carried out on
multi-occupied residential buildings, so they can be asking
their landlords the right questions and ensuring that they
are carrying out the checks that will keep the residents
safe. PS. Do please
contact her if you want more information - we
don't know the company or Rachel but are just
passing on her request.
13th April 2010
I would like to develop this website more and although I have some ideas, I would love to hear from other people with ideas too - please
email me ...
1st April
2010
After writing the Blog below - I
went into my local chemist and joined in a conversation
about Cyprus (my dad was Greek Cypriot).... one of the
ladies turned out to be be one of my neighbours living in
the same road as myself! There is no such thing as a
coincidence.... and I say this simply because I have learnt
about Universal Laws, the greatest one being the Law of
Attraction. I had been think about wanting to make
some new female friends to go out with and happened to look
in a local newsagent (interestingly not far from this
Chemist) and saw a postcard advertising someone looking to
make new friends. I responded and now have a new
friend ..... try it sometime.
I was reading this week's local
Guardian & Gazette and came across the Editor's Comment headed "It is better to love thy neighbour once more'. The full article 'Roof with a view for neighbours after handshake' explained how two families, residents of Elm Terrace in Woodford Green, Essex, wanted to extend their historic homes and worked out a way together of doing so which suited everyone involved. Such joint ventures are becoming so rare but by co-operating closely with each other and the council's planning department, they were able to achieve their goal without any of the animosity and opposition so often sparked by such ambitious projects when people fail to consult their neighbours. What was even more impressive was that there was nothing put in writing but was based solely on trust although involving a £250,000 gamble.
The Comment then says ...'Many of us see the person living next door more often than we see close members of our own families. We rely on them to keep an eye on our property or feed our pets when we are on holiday, or to look after a spare set of keys in case we get locked out......'
And this is how it should be so after writing the following on 1st February 2010, I felt such a mention of these neighbours worth putting on this website with the hope that others will be inspired by the Shelleys and the Youngs. Thank you .....
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