Ellee Seymour

I have just heard that the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, visited Cambridge today. He has been speaking at the Cambridge Union Society. I asked if I could have a press pass, but was told that all names for those wishing to attend had to be submitted to police in advance and vetted by them.

Geoff called me after noticing the intense security checks and sniffer dogs in the area, he said he had never seen anything like it before.

My name has now been added to the Union Society’s media list for future invites, they do have great speakers.

Update: The President told students that US and British troops need to stay in Iraq for another one or two years. He also met Tony Blair during his visit and described him as a “dear friend” and “great leader”.

Well he has to say that if he wants out troops to remain.

A treacherous stretch of the A14 in Cambridgeshire has been dubbed the “road to hell”, it is a regular accident blackspot. Cambridgeshire’s top 18 movers and shakers are lobbying Government about it. I am thankful I don’t need to use it daily. 

My MEP Robert Sturdy is calling for a ban on lorries overtaking in those hotspots during peak travelling times to avoid congestion and help reduce accidents. He said similar bans have proved successful in Germany and parts of The Netherlands.

A local radio station has just called me and is keen to follow up on this and interview Robert, but he is speaking at a conference in Madrid today, I hope they can reach him.

Robert has written to the Highways Agency and Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman asking them to consider introducing this ban, saying:

“Because of the high number of accidents on the A14, it is crucial that action is taken to improve safety there for all drivers. This very busy road is simply not large enough to cope with the large volume of traffic using it and something needs to be done urgently. This is a cheap and effective way of helping solve the problem – the sooner it starts, the better. There is no good reason why the A14 trial in Northamptonshire cannot be extended here, it makes perfect sense.

“A recent poll by MP James Paice found that 75% of people asked were in favour of a ban on lorries overtaking on that stretch of road. The Highway Agency has suggested that a ban of this sort wouldn’t have any benefit, but successful schemes in Europe would suggest otherwise. In Germany, lorries are banned from overtaking on dangerous or less developed roads, and this has proved to be very successful.

“There is a similar ban in The Netherlands which is in force during the busiest times for lorry drivers, to cover the periods when the roads are most congested.

“The Netherlands has one of the lowest accident rates in Europe. This clearly demonstrates that this ban can successfully reduce the number of road accidents, as well as congestion during peak travelling times. I have written to the Highway Agency and the Transport Minister urging them to consider this ban.

“It is obvious that we can learn something from our European counterparts on the issue of road safety. For the sake of public safety we must do everything possible to improve our roads. We need a ban like this on the A14.”

It can be easy to envy those who you think “have it all”.  But what you see on the outside can be just an act, their real lives could be very different to what you perceive.

Veronica Callanan reflects about this on her latest post after reading about Meg Matthews’s determination to win the battle of the booze, and says:

It was interesting reading her story because in many ways she’s had such an amazing life, rock and roll lifestyle, parties, famous friends, rich, successful, pretty, she basically had the best this world had to offer and she still wasn’t happy.

She spoke of her dissatisfaction and unhappiness, in particular just not feeling ‘good enough’, although she says she doesn’t regret it most of it she says she’s lucky to have a second chance at life.

Whenever I read of a celebrity who is getting sober I relate so much to what they’re describing. My life was as opposite to Meg’s as it’s possible to get, there was absolutely no glamour and no rock stars to speak off. So that part I don’t relate to in fact I used to envy. Yet here is a woman who supposedly ‘had it all’ and was still not happy, still felt dissatisfied and not good enough which is exactly how I felt.

It seems that it doesn’t matter what you have on the outside, if you feel empty on the inside then nothing can change that, all the money and glamour in the world just highlight the incongruence of your ‘insides and outsides’ not matching, and just how painful that is.

I remember feeling worthless, no confidence, unattractive and my friends told how attractive I was, how any guy would be lucky to have me (like Meg I couldn’t get a date for love nor money, and had resigned myself to singleness). I knew they meant it and weren’t just being nice as they were genuinely shocked that I could feel that way about myself. But it didn’t matter that they were incredulous and my lack of self belief, it didn’t matter how many people told me how great I was, or pretty etc, I didn’t feel it myself, I didn’t feel good enough and there’s something about believing that about yourself that makes it manifest itself in your reality.

Because I felt and thought badly about myself, I became that person. We are what we think we are.