What a dump!

No, I am not insulting the beautiful tree lined boulevards of Stroud Green – I am referring to the disgusting habit of dumping which serves to turn a lovely neighbourhood into a municipal tip.

Spending as much time as I do ambling through the streets of Stroud Green, I cannot help but gasp – still! – when I see mattresses, bed bases, TVs, pallets, Christmas trees, kid’s bikes (the list goes on, but you get the picture) dumped unceremoniously on the pavement. Sometimes people put things next to litter bins, like that makes it ok. Clue: it doesn’t.

I report what I see to the council and then go back to make sure it’s been taken away, as promised. But that’s not a sustainable answer – we could go on forever like that.

Obviously, there will always be those people who dump their stuff, no matter how easy/cheap/free you make it for them to be able to get rid of the unwanted items. Maybe they get a perverse thrill out of dumping a three piece suite at 3am, who knows. It’s not an experience I think I’ll be trying somehow.

But there must be ways of making it happen less. The council provides free collections for fridges, freezers, ovens, tumble dryers, washing machines, TVs and car tyres, car batteries and gas cylinders – hands up how many people knew that? Perhaps not those who dump their fridges, freezers, ovens, tumble dryers, washing machines, TVs and car tyres, car batteries and gas cylinders!

But what about furniture? Bed bases, mattresses, arm chairs and settees are the things I see dumped the most, I think. You have to pay to have those things taken – hence the dumping.

If elected in May I am going to see what I can do about this – whether it’s extending the list of things the council collects for free, encouraging the use of Freecycle and also establishing a council repair service for household goods – just like Green Party Cllr Katie Dawson, in neighbouring Islington, has just done! Repair, reuse, recycle…

Resting on their LGBT laurels?

Last week I asked a question about the council’s record on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. I framed it as a question about LGBT History month, which is in February.

You can see me watch my question here – and hear the answer I received from Cllr Amin:

http://www.haringey.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=35376&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB#the_data_area

(Click on Index Points tab, then, under section 11. I am 'Speaker' at 01:19:50, 01:24:31* and 01:24:47)

*don't miss this bit!

I was dismayed to discover that although Haringey have a Sexuality Equalities Related Review Action Plan, but it is several years out of date. Several of the points on the plan are marked as 'not achieved'. You would expect a council to be engaging with, consulting and encouraging the involvement of all sections of society. I am not confident this is happening as much as it could in Haringey.

With hate crime reported to be rising nationally, and a homophobic attack and subsequent death of a gay man in Trafalgar Square in September, I would argue that the council cannot ‘rest on its laurels’ when it comes to sexuality.

Although society is much more accepting of same-sex relationships, ‘gay’ is still used as a term of abuse in schools. As someone who has had relationships with both sexes, I know that there is still unfortunately a big difference between the way one gets treated by society when in a same-sex relationship to when in a heterosexual one.

The council needs to address this head-on rather than assume the problem of homophobia has disappeared.

Cllr Amin assured me that the 2004-7 Action Plan is not the most up to date of its kind. I emailed her and asked her to send me the most recent plan – and am still awaiting a reply!

Update! I have a reply: 'We are no longer carrying out individual equalities reviews but include sexual orientation as part of the Corporate Equalities Scheme and Action
Plan. A revised action plan covering the period 2010 to 2013 is currently being prepared and when completed will be available on the web.'

Amnesty Event was a big success - again!

A bit of an update on this year's Amnesty International card signing event which we held a few backs ago.

We posted the record 358 cards and letters today - the traditional'posting in action' video is below. This year my daughter Clementine posts them...veeeeery slowly.

Around 50 people came to pen messages of goodwill and solidarity to 32 case studies; people around the world who have suffered human rights abuses and those in danger for defending human rights.

Green MEP for London, Jean Lambert, who attended the event in Stroud Green for the second year running, said: “It’s easy to forget prisoners of conscience at Christmas time. Events like this change that. As well as offering hope, courage and comfort to those unjustly imprisoned or seeking justice for loved ones, this greetings card campaign shows authorities that the world is watching. I would like to thank everyone who came and supported this event.”

We handsomely beat last year’s number of 268. The day was a real success. A lot of people commented that they were glad they came and that it felt like a special afternoon. It reminds you of the freedoms we have and not to take them for granted.

For anyone who missed the event but would like to support the Amnesty Christmas Card signing campaign, it’s not too late to get involved. Simply email iar@amnesty.org.uk or call 020 7033 1572 for a booklet. For updates on cases in the campaign see: www.amnesty.org.uk/gcc

Councillors as baubles mean xmas cheer

I didn't even notice the rubbish Christmas tree that has been shoved on the corner of Archway Road and Muswell Hill Road, until I read about it in yesterday's Evening Standard. The dishevelled-looking specimen is leaning against the oh-so-attractive safety railings and has been hastily 'decorated' with cheapo lights.

Oh, and it's cost £1,500. Somehow. Perhaps the council had to do a consultation, asking what colour lights people wanted. 'Multicoloured' they replied. So of course the council put white ones on. Thems the breaks...

Anyway, the thing that really bothered one local resident was not the odd angle of the tree or the fact that it cost a small fortune, but the simple fact that it didn't have any baubles on it. For shame.

Said resident then went about making some decorations - hey, there's a recession and a war on, times are tough, right?

Because the tree screams 'Haringey Council!' the resident decided it should holler this joyful refrain even louder. So what did they decorate it with? Stars with of 12 of our wonderful councillors pictures on them.

The decorator has taken a cross-party approach - this tree is certainly democratic.

12 stars though. I don't think Haringey will ever get 12 stars, somehow, do you?

The decorator explains "The 12 stars represent the 12 days of Christmas. I am rather chuffed with the finished results. I would urge Haringey's councillors to come and see if they are one of the chosen ones."

Midwifery Under Fire

I have fought for decent maternity services since giving birth to my daughter at London’s Royal Free back in January 2007. I was always heartened to hear about the gold standard of care given by the Albany Group in Peckham, south London. It supports women to give birth wherever they choose – almost half give birth at home – and medical intervention rates are low. All women have their babies delivered by the midwife they first see and the group's caesarean and medical intervention rates are low. This is in great contrast to birth elsewhere on the NHS – as my own experience echoes.

However, the future of the Albany has been put in doubt after south London’s King's College Hospital terminated its contract, alleging that a disproportionate number of the babies it delivered suffered damage during the birth. Such brain damage can be caused during birth – for example, if the cord gets wrapped around the baby's neck – but it can also occur in the womb.

King's decided to terminate the contract after commissioning a report from the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE). It is claimed that the investigation was triggered by the death of Natan Kmiecik, one week after he was delivered at Kings by one of the Albany midwives. The parents' lawyers claimed proper procedures were not followed, because the baby's heartbeat was monitored only by a small hand-held device so she could have a water birth.

Supporters of the Albany group are outraged by what they consider an attack on the philosophy of independent midwifery and non-medicalised delivery. A vocal demonstration took place at the weekend outside the hospital, where women and children chanted: "Save the Albany".

"I'm very angry and very keen to see the Albany continue," said one. "This is just the beginning - the tip of the iceberg."

The fact is, birth on the NHS is in trouble. The existence if the Albany is in some ways an embarrasment to the medical establishment, highlighting as it does how wrong our general approach to birth is these days. We need a non-medicalised delivery setting to exist in order to remind us what birth can – and should – be like.
More demonstrations are planned and I hope to take part – along with my daughter, whose traumatic birth got me passionate about this issue in the first place.

Please get involved with the campaign and sign the petition:

www.savethealbany.org.uk

Climate Marching

I was at the annual Climate March in central London on Saturday, this year dressed as a Suffragette as part of the group Climate Rush. That's why I am dressed thus in the picture.

There was a great turnout, brilliant atmosphere - plus a sense of both optimism and urgency, I thought.

My Green Party colleague Pamela is going to Copenhagen this week, the lucky thing. I hope to hear all the news from the front line when she returns. A minibus of activists is going from Haringey to the summit, helping, with thousands of other protesters, to put pressure on world leaders at this incredibly important moment.

Carlisle Rd - sign up at last! And a poo update.

I've been badgering the council to put this sign up since the Summer - see my earlier blog. After (another) reminder, they've put it up. Hopefully this will mean less lost motorists driving up there and then noisily reversing out.

A small victory for Stroud Green residents...but one that got me a bit excited, despite the rain, as you can see.

On a separate note - back to dog poo again. The Hornsey and Crouch End Journal today report that there's to be a 'crackdown' on dog fouling in Stroud Green, Crouch End, Hornsey and Harringay wards. This is because, reportedly, there has been an increase in the number of people reporting the problem in these areas. I find this surprising as the enforcement team told me that only a handful of people in Stroud Green had reported the problem in the last 18 months. (This despite the fact it is a problem - as my shoes can report. Nice).

Whatever is the case, I am glad they're going to be attempting, at least, to enforce the rules. One small step - ooh, mind the dog poo!