Happy Christmas!

From Father Christmas, and me!

Keeping it Local

On Saturday, the village of Westbury-on-Trym united in promoting shopping locally. There were all sorts of special deals on offer for those who chose to do their Christmas shopping in Westbury, instead of joining the traffic queues and crowds of shoppers at the Mall or Cabot Circus.

St.Peter's Hospice shop was giving away sustainable shopping bags with every purchase above £5, there was a prize draw in Cafe Interlude and the community worked together to promote its local stores.

As the credit crunch hits, it is not only high profile and much-loved chains like Woolworths that are casualties - small, family run businesses that make our high streets personal and interesting will be struggling as well. To put it simply, we've got to use 'em or lose 'em.

And on a day when traffic was gridlocked to the Mall and friends tell me the place was swarming to the point of paralysis, I was very glad to be supporting my local shops, with space to breath!

A new tradition is born ...

It started as a bright idea by Sue and Mike Drysdale of Kondi cafe, on Henleaze road.

It turned into a Christmas Fayre extraordinaire to rival the best Germany has to offer. Henleaze Fayre was a raging success, with a big wheel, countless crafts and charity stalls, mulled wine, candy-floss and free mince pies -which I am enjoying here, next to the Henleaze Library stall.

It was a real family event, running from 3pm right through the evening till 9pm, and there really was something for everyone.

I hope I am not putting undue pressure on Sue and Mike when I say the fayre had all the hallmarks of a long-standing tradition in the making. A wonderful community event, thank you.

No to Henleaze School Amalgamation!

Thanks to the intense lobbying, and gathering of petition signatures, local campaigners, headed by Liz Radford (pictured) have managed to get a halt on the proposed amalgamation of Henleaze infant and primary school.

The halt is a triumph for parent power - a campaign run by parents, for parents - and with success.

However, an amalgamation is not completely off the cards - this is simply a delay to the decision. I'll be supporting parents in their campaign when decision time comes.

We are not terrorists, Mr.Brown

One of the most astounding things about the incredible arrest of Damian Green MP, is that it was handled by the terror - sorry, anti-terror- police. It reminded me that Gordon Brown used anti-terror legislation to freeze the assets of the Icelandic Bank. Has Stalin Brown finally replaced the less dangerous Mr. Bean version?

Read my Guardian Blog HERE

Harmony at Christmas

If I can get the technology right, you'll soon have the chance to hear this lot sing.

These are the ladies' Barbershop choir, and they put on a superb Christmas fayre in Westbury-on-Trym on Saturday.

But it was their singing that impressed me most- and the fact that the singers spanned so many generations.

It's Christmas, so I am allowed to be a bit clichéd - but wouldn't it be great if this kind of harmony could exist across the generations more often?
Now bear with me, while my computer labours to upload a shaky video...