Julian’s 10 Downing Street petition

Posted by Ellee on Jul 11, 2007 in updates | 2 comments Julian Sturdy has just launched a petition on the 10 Downing Street website for the dualling of a desperately needed ring road in York, only the local paper omitted to included the link where they could sign up! How frustrating! The York Press did not understand that the whole story was based around this one link, and getting local people to support it. This ring road is a hot issue...
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Are you a water snob?

Posted by Ellee on Jul 11, 2007 in updates | 16 comments Water is my favourite drink, I drink loads of it throughout the day. I’m quite happy to drink tap water in restaurants too, except I get the feeling it is frowned upon by waiters who cannot then charge for it. My husband hates asking for it, he feels embarrassed, so I usually have to. I always like a jug of iced water on my table with wine when eating out. I prefer still...
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David Miliband might write Foreign Office blog

Posted by Ellee on Jul 11, 2007 in updates | 3 comments There is a chance that David Miliband might write a Foreign Office blog once he has settled into his new post as Foreign Secretary. It has not been ruled out, according to Ross Ferguson, Director of the Hansard Society’s eDemocracy programme, who I met yesterday. There is no reason why it cannot be done with sensitivity and regard to confidentiality, while at the same time facilitating an...
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The missing – Eve Askew

Posted by Ellee on Jul 11, 2007 in updates | 6 comments Eve Askew ran away from home aged 14 after being grounded for smoking. No  contact has been mad by Eve to her family or friends since her disappearance in Fitzgerald, Tasmania in 1991. She is now 30. Tragically, Eve is unaware that both her parents have since died. She has also become an aunt. In memory of those who are still...
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My missed phone call

Posted by Ellee on Jul 10, 2007 in updates | 11 comments I was deeply engrossed listening to Austin Mitchell tell me how the whips were hot on his tail if they felt he was being indiscreet on his blog when my phone rang. I thought I had switched it off beforehand, and immediately did so, without giving it a second thought. I checked it when seated on the train home and picked up a voicemail from my son David telling me he was  having to...
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A day in London with MPs and their blogs

Posted by Ellee on Jul 10, 2007 in Uncategorized | 11 comments Who was the first MP to write a blog? And which party has the most parliamentary bloggers, can you guess the ratio? These are some of the recent findings from my research project into MPs who write a blog. I will tell you the answer when I return from London at the end of the day. I have interviews lined up with Ross Ferguson, Director of the Hansard Society’s...
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The missing – Bernard Cook

Posted by Ellee on Jul 10, 2007 in updates | 4 comments Bernard Cook is the first mature adult I have highlighted in my posts about missing people. The link was sent to me by the charity missing people, Bernard’s family are desperate for news of him. He disappeared in November 2005 aged 54 after going to work at the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company in Seaforth, Merseyside. He is a well known and much respected figure on Merseyside It is a...
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A good Labour blog

Posted by Ellee on Jul 9, 2007 in Uncategorized | 7 comments I came across Labour MP Paul Flynn’s blog during the course of my research project into MPs who write blogs and two-way communication. And I really think it is a good read. Paul is not afraid to speak his mind, he understands the essence of political blogging – that writing propaganda will turn people off, that the last thing you want to write is a political leaflet. Oh,...
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Could the lesson in happiness please follow the one on debt management?

Posted by Ellee on Jul 9, 2007 in updates | 9 comments It’s a sad reflection of  life today that teenagers need to be taught how to manage their debt as part of the school curriculum. Isn’t school meant to be the happiest days of your life?  While it makes good sense to prepare our young people about the realities of everyday life, it also highlights the gloomy future they could face. We are told our future...
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The missing – Eddie Gibson

Posted by Ellee on Jul 9, 2007 in updates | 3 comments The helplessness must be multiplied thousands of times when a child goes missing in the Far East, somewhere like Cambodia. Eddie Gibson has not been heard from since 24th October 2004 when he emailed his mother to say he was planning to return to UK from Cambodia on a flight due to leave Bangkok on 1st November. He never arrived. His parents Jo and Mike have worked tirelessly to keep...
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My survey on MPs and their blogs

Posted by Ellee on Jul 6, 2007 in updates | 11 comments When I asked readers last month to estimate how many MPs wrote a blog, those key people at the forefront of our democracy, the answers revealed a total lack of awareness. There were estimates as high as 300, when the truth is closer to 40. I would now appreciate it if you could answer five speedy questions on my survey  about MPs and blogging. The responses will be...
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The 7/7/07 wedding date

Posted by Ellee on Jul 6, 2007 in updates | 14 comments If only that was all it took for a happy marriage – choosing a date with a triple row of magical 7s to tie the knot. When covering numerous golden weddings as a cub reporter, I always asked the secret of their wedded bliss and the answer was invariably the same – you have to give and take. Of course, most women knows this means that we do the giving and the men do the...
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Norwich uni today

Posted by Ellee on Jul 6, 2007 in updates | 12 comments It’s all very well for the government to say today they will give thousands of students more grants from September 2008 - and yes please – but my concern is whether David will be offered a place of his choice at university. After visiting two unis in the last week, we were told both days that applicants far exceed the places available – by as...
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Good luck to James

Posted by Ellee on Jul 6, 2007 in Uncategorized | 7 comments Good luck to James Tumbridge at Monday’s open primary where hopes to be selected as Conservative parliamentary candidate for Waveney, which has a Labour majority of less than 6,000. There are three other finalists contesting the nomination. You may remember that last October, James made a dramatic transatlantic dash back to the UK after flying to Canada to take...
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The missing – Katrice Lee

Posted by Ellee on Jul 6, 2007 in updates | 6 comments Katrice Lee vanished in 1981, on her second birthday, during a visit to the Naafi shop on an army base at Paderborn, near Hanover. Her parents, Richard and Sharon, still cling to the belief that she may be alive. The computer-modified picture, showing Katrice as she might have looked in the year 2000 as a 21-year-old. She is now 28. Her mother said: “As a family, all we want is an answer....
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Guardian pays £75 compensation for bearded insults on blog

Posted by Ellee on Jul 5, 2007 in updates | 9 comments How much compensation should be paid to a journalist who is insulted by comment is free readers over his beard? The Guardian decided on the princely sum of £75. This was apparently the amount paid to Paul Markillie, special features editor of The Economist after his report Blue sky thinking was posted on their site last month. As well as the content of his text, some readers took...
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An important lesson for Alan Johnson

Posted by Ellee on Jul 5, 2007 in Uncategorized | 10 comments When Alan Johnson visits his “forgotten” constituents in Hull, I hope he grabs a mop and joins in the clean-up operation, that he shows some genuine concern by his actions, not just empty words. An important lesson for him to learn is that he still represents his constituents, thousands who feel their suffering from the recent horrendous flooding has been ignored by government. The...
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The missing – Jacob Wetterling

Posted by Ellee on Jul 5, 2007 in updates | 2 comments Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped by a masked gunman in 1979 aged 11. He was cycling home from a convenience store in Minnesota where he had rented a video with his brother and a friend when the gunman appeared from a  driveway and ordered the boys to throw their bikes into a ditch and lie on the ground. He later ordered the other boys to run off and not look back else he...
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Off to Leicester today

Posted by Ellee on Jul 4, 2007 in Uncategorized | 16 comments David and I are off to Leicester University today and I am very much enjoying venturing into this totally unknown territory and trawling the campuses. I  missed out on university as I was fortunate to have a job offered on a local rag as a cub reporter straight from school. That doesn’t happen much these days. Looking back, I wish I had gone. Thanks to everyone for the really...
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Today’s wonderful news – Alan Johnston is freed

Posted by Ellee on Jul 4, 2007 in Uncategorized | 9 comments I woke up to the most wonderful news today that Alan Johnston has been freed after nearly four terrifying months in captivity. It seems ironic that he is released at a time when the UK is on a critical security alert fearing an imminent terrorist attack. At this time, let’s not forget other political prisoners around the world who don’t have the same powerful contacts and...
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The missing – Derek Burns

Posted by Ellee on Jul 4, 2007 in updates | 0 comments Derek Burns has been missing since 10 March 1989 when he was 20. He left his home in West Calder, Scotland saying he was going to meet friends for a drink but did not return. It was later discovered that Derek had gone to Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, to see his girlfriend. He has not been heard from him since. His family are very concerned for Derek and they long to know that he is safe and...
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This is the time for Muslims to show their Britishness

Posted by Ellee on Jul 3, 2007 in Uncategorized | 13 comments  I like this letter in today’s Times. It made me think that this is the time for Muslims to show their Britishness: As a Muslim myself, I believe that it should not be unreasonable to expect the British Muslim communities to come out and march under the banner of “not in my nameâ€?, openly renouncing such acts of terrorism as a repudiation to the true Islamic faith. It seemed...
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Villagers train as traffic cops

Posted by Ellee on Jul 3, 2007 in Uncategorized | 7 comments Villagers in Norfolk are being trained as traffic cops to advise police on “real, and not perceived” speeding areas. Of course road safety is important, but I’m pretty sure that parish councils already know their hot spot problem areas. Eight villagers in Hopton have been trained to use speed guns for the trial scheme and will report the offenders to police. Police...
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Chip fat fuel championed by MacDonald’s

Posted by Ellee on Jul 3, 2007 in updates | 7 comments You could one day be driving a car fuelled by chip fat, just like MacDonald’s plans to do with its delivery vehicles in the UK. This has thrilled my Euro-MP Robert Sturdy, who is a firm believer in biodiesel, and hopes it will boost rapeseed production in the region too which will also be to make the fuel. I remember Robert telling me about a German MP who is a farmer...
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The missing – Elizabeth Swann

Posted by Ellee on Jul 3, 2007 in updates | 5 comments It is now 33 years since Elizabeth Swann went missing in early 1974. At the time she had been staying with a brother in Birmingham. Elizabeth said she had accepted a receptionist job in Gloucester and that she intended to hitch-hike there to take it up. She has not been heard from since.  She was 23. Her family are still desperate to know that Elizabeth is safe and well. Even if...
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