I speak of peace...
This week saw the end of the Easter Holidays, and return to school for families across the country. We are now in the Summer Term, which of course includes exam season. What many of you may not realise is that the first GCSEs start in the fourth week back, which as you read this, means Year 11s and Year 13s across the country have about a fortnight of lessons left before they start taking exams. I am sure, like us, your thoughts are with them and their families as it will be a time of anxiety for them all.
In some ways, being back at school has provided me with a little relief from the holidays which were filled with the campaign. Donna and I had to prepare several things in advance as we knew I would be back at work, inside the M25, as well as dealing with the 'at the time' stuff like our share of delivering, social media posts and most importantly meeting and helping you.
Many of you will actually be casting your vote shortly after reading this week’s post, or will have just done so, because postal votes have been sent out. If you are a postal voter please exercise your right to vote. By now I am sure you will be aware that to continue to protect Selsey and the Witterings zero housing allocations, there needs to be as many Local Alliance Members of CDC as possible, backed by the weight of a majority on STC, the largest parish in our District after the City. Should you be in the Witterings, we are asking you to spare one of your three CDC votes for Graeme Barrett who is not connected to us in any way, but shares our concerns about overdevelopment, the A27 and Southern Water. We have never hidden the fact that we are a small, self-funding group, and felt we had to focus what resources we have on Selsey and Sidlesham.
These are details of our candidates.
View our area’s election information here.
Before we move on, what are becoming regular updates on 'Selseygate' - you may recall that the Local Government Association are clear that Conservatives cannot be Independents, but at least three of our nine opponents for Selsey Town Council are prominent members of the Chichester Conservative Association. You may also recall one of their number clarifying there is a “We” fighting us as “Independents” in the Town election and as Conservatives in the District. This week residents spotted several of them proving their collaboration by delivering each others’ almost identical literature (sometimes in the wrong ward) and campaigning in public together.
Despite everything else, we are still here for you. For instance, I have been discussing project management with one resident, trying to deal with other residents’ environmental concerns relating to the dumping of rubbish; meanwhile Donna, for instance, posted an example of what she has been dealing with: "Was speaking with a resident this morning who used Full Up - nutritious meals 4 kids for her children over the Easter hols. She is working her way through an enormously challenging situation at the moment, so the meals were very helpful. If you'd like to support this really valuable community initiative, you can pop into The Bubble Bar in the High Street, have a cuppa, and know that you are really helping our community."
Our Youtube channel is updated with every new video we produce; however in case you missed any, in addition to “Prioritise Selsey” which is on our website, there is to date: -
Speaking of our latest video, someone who is looking forward nervously to May 4 is one of our newbies, Ali, who I mentioned last week. She was so pleased to get a mention she has kindly written something to include this week, so before we move on its over to her:
"Let's start at the very beginning. I've never been a Councillor before so this is a starting point but Selsey is a very good place to start. Selsey is an incredible community and I've received a lot of positives since we started living here 8 years ago. I want to start paying back in
I've always said Selsey is like living up North, where I'm from. There's an old saying ...
"They know if you haven't taken your milk in and they'll come and check if you're OK." Selsey is just like that.
I was asked by various people in February this year if I would consider standing to become a member of Selsey Town Council. Initially I thought I wasn't experienced enough, never having done anything like this before but, after some weeks, I decided to look into it all. I'm not a political person, neither Blue, Red or Green etc so I would need to be independent but didn't feel I knew enough to be "independent" on my own.
I asked my friends Mick and Val Weller, one of whom is standing for District Council and both are standing for Selsey Town Council and are part of the Local Alliance. I felt I needed wisdom and support, in order to stand as a Town Councillor and, after discussions, with me being absolutely reassured by them that I would still be "independent" and not persuaded or controlled in how I want to react or vote on issues etc, I decided to stand as a Town Councillor and be part of the Local Alliance.
However I am truly independent within this “party” and an individual who will fight for Selsey, Sidlesham and its people.
I want to be a voice on behalf of people who need support or have concerns for our wonderful town and I will do my best for you all. I'm a volunteer in our community in various capacities:
Massage therapist on the ward at St Wilfrid's Hospice for over 8 years.
Massage therapist in various care groups in Selsey, including the Dementia meeting at Beacon Church twice a month.
Front Desk volunteer at the Selsey Care Shop since January this year.
Friends of Selsey Medical Centre committee member for 2 years.
Selsey Patient Group committee member, asked to join recently
I have had a career in accounting/book-keeping and payroll for over 30 years so I understand finance. If I do get elected, I am going to work with all the other Town Councillors for the good of our community, for the good of Selsey, Sidlesham and the wider Peninsula. Thank you"
Everyone in the UK will receive a test on their mobile phone of a new Emergency Alerts system this Sunday. The test alert will be a loud, siren-like sound with a message sent to your mobile phone at 3 pm. The emergency alerts don’t track your location or collect personal data.
Last week we told you about a WhatsApp scam. This week it seems appropriate to tell you about Remote Access scams, which are common with people who are less digitally confident. Remote Access scams will often begin with a browser pop-up saying that your computer is infected with a virus, or maybe a call from someone claiming to be from your bank saying that they need to connect to your computer in order to cancel a fraudulent transaction on your account. Regardless of the narrative the fraudster’s use, their goal is to steal your money or access your financial information by tricking you into allowing them to remotely connect to your computer. In 2021, Action Fraud received over 20,000 reports of people falling victim to Remote Access scams with losses totalling over £57m. Read more here with simple advice on how to protect yourself.
In other news, a pothole petition has racked up more than 20,000 signatures.
Donna's petition about traffic calming measures in Selsey's Manor Road is doing well too - please make the time to sign it at East Beach's Fruit Basket or Jabir indian Takeaway, or in Selsey's High Street - Village Flowers, Beauty Bakes or Totally Flooring, or Thrive gym.
If you fancy a nicely scented stroll, these are some highly recommended bluebell walks.
If you are thinking of getting a dog, but like to live life in the slow lane, have a read of this.
CDC are aware that people are impersonating Environmental Health Officers in a neighbouring district. It seems that scammers are trying to obtain access to food businesses in order to ‘inspect’ the premises, give a low food hygiene rating, and then request money to give a higher rating.
They haven’t received any reports of this type of scam in the our District, but they would advise businesses to be aware. Please remember that their officers:
do not make appointments (except for home caterers/premises);
always have their ID, introduce themselves, and state that we are from Chichester District Council and explain the purpose of their visit; and,
do not charge for routine food hygiene inspections.
It is important to note that while CDC do charge for food hygiene rating revisits and advice visits, you would never be asked to pay on site because payments can only be made in advance and are only taken via our website. If you are concerned about this scam, please contact their team.
We like to celebrate the success of our Local small businesses. ChatGPT was asked to pick five of the best places to grab ice cream across the whole of Sussex, and included Caroline's Dairy from Sidlesham - as you can read here.
Something else we are proud of is the NHS. This week Donna attended an information meeting organised by a department at St Richards, whilst I did the campaign work. Two consultants were there, two specialist nurses, and the wonderful lady who answers the phone whenever we need to call. It was a very interesting evening for all who attended and both consultants ended up in the kitchen! They'd all done a full day's work, but gave up their evening to inform their patients about developments in the treatment and management of their condition. It's not perfect, but the vast majority of people who work in the NHS are truly committed, and will always go the extra mile. We were extremely grateful to them.
WSCC held a Domestic Abuse Conference last month, to coincide with International Women’s Day, which explored and celebrated the life changing work of some of their specialist partner organisations including, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office, East Sussex County Council, survivors with lived experience and colleagues from their own team.
The aim of the event was to raise awareness and inspire thought, conversation, and collaboration to continue to work towards a county free of domestic abuse.
Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, sexuality or background, so if you, or someone that you know needs help, support or advice, details of all specialist organisations can be found at Safe Space Sussex.
Finally: -
As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.
Tim
Comments
Post a Comment