My week ahead, 24 - 30 August 2015

Monday 24 August, 6pm – Labour campaigning in Central Ipswich

Wednesday 26 August, 11am – Labour campaigning in Rushmere Ward

Saturday 29 August, 10am - Labour campaigning in South East Ipswich

Last week of August, and the last week with no meetings till Christmas but a good opportunity to get some Summer campaigning in.

Today has been a fantastic day as the Sky ride returned to Ipswich, Brilliant to see the thousands of people from young to old cycling the car free Ipswich streets. And what a show British Cycling put on – a cycle tricks show, a GB BMX star, bikes on show from Wiggo and Victoria Pendleton and all that was at the Alderman Rd rec Hub – there were further activities on show at the Town Hall, with tandems and penny farthings to try and ride.

Even the local paper quoted a couple from Colchester who wished their home town had an event like this.

Sky and British Cycling do not just pick our name out of the hat it happens because we have some great Council Officers in the events team, we have good local partners like Elmy Cycles, Crafted and others but we also have a Labour run council who believe this is the sort of thing we should be doing. Today proves the hard work is all worthwhile.

What we do not get is any praise or even a quiet ‘well done’ from our two Tory MPs but that should not come as surprise to anyone!

My week ahead 20 - 26 August 2012

This is the time of the year where we tend not to have many meetings but it does give us the opportunity to get out and talk to residents. This week we have also been daytime campaigning, which has been a success - Ipswich Tories commented that it was not with doing it for them as all their voters work!

We have been campaigning for Jane Basham as she seeks to be elected as the Police & Crime Commissioner for Suffolk. Not many residents were impressed that the Tories have chosen a farmer - residents worried that those of us in Ipswich will be treated as second class citizens when it comes to policing, as like Suffolk County Council we will get a rural bias.

Today we had the good news that in September we will see Bradley Wiggins - Gold medal winner, Paul Weller and Gordon Brown fan - entering the Tour of Britain race that will start in Ipswich, I am sure we will get a massive crowd at the waterfront to see the start of the race. Hopefully something similar to the attendance we have had this weekend for the second Ipswich Maritime Festival. I we nt toady and there was a real buzz amongst the crowd - I would like to say a big thanks not only to the residents who attended the event but the Ipswich Borough staff who worked so hard, the Events team, security, Fire Marshalls, and street cleaners - you did a great job.

Maritime Festival

Comedy waiters join the festival

My week ahead 29 August - 3 September 2011

Tuesday 30 August 6pm - Ipswich Council Executive. Grafton House

Thursday 1 September 4.30pm - Scrutiny Committee, Tour of the Ipswich Waterfront

Saturday 3 September 10.30am - Campaigning in North West Ipswich

This week started with a Labour Group meeting on Monday. Tuesday should have been the highlight of the week, but the 5 mile cycle ride that was part of the media launch for the Tour of Britain was cancelled!! - A severe weather warning put pay to my opportunity to pretend I was Bradley Wiggins or Mark Cavendish!



Bradley Wiggins - not Cllr Ross!

Wednesday I attended a morning meeting at Gainsborough Sports Centre, looking at the plans for the new Ipswich Academy, who will becoming our close neighbours quite soon.

Saturday, saw yet again a large number of Labour activists out in East Ipswich, informing residents of the Suffolk County Council plan to switch lights off at midnight.

Today (Sunday) I got my chance to follow in the cycle tracks of Wiggins, I joined 10 Ipswich residents on the Sky/British cycling local ride. we left Northgate School, dodged the showers and visited a number of villages to the east of the town. But where did they get those hills from!