Thursday 27th April 2023 - Getting Impatient, Local Elections and Fund Raiser

Those who read my blog on a regular basis will have probably noticed, once we get past Christmas, I start looking for signs of spring. Now spring is with us, I am getting impatient for everything that summer brings with it – warm days, early sunrises, long light evenings, vegetables and fruits of the season, sitting with a drink in the garden, barbeques, swifts squealing across the skies, watching butterflies, walks wearing shorts and t-shirts and so the list goes on. I think, I am particularly eager for summer this year because spring has, so far, been a cold one. For the past couple of mornings, we woke to condensation on our bedroom windows, which shows how chilly it has been at night, the heating continues to fire up as it has done throughout the winter, we continue to wear our winter jackets on our walks and only occasionally have my gloves remained in my pockets. Surely a bit more warmth, is not too much to ask for?

Yes, there is still a week before the local elections on 4th May, but so far, we have only received one leaflet from a candidate. Having said this, tomorrow we may well find details from the other four, through our letter box! Of the five listed, only one lives in the Poppyland Ward, two live outside the ward and the other two have not published their addresses, apart from indicating they reside in the North Norfolk District. Can’t say I’m impressed; there is a definite lack of ward residents standing for election. You may ask, given my thoughts, why don’t I stand for election. Well, there are a couple of factors. One is age; it takes me a lot longer these days to take on board new information and ideas, which I would need to be able to do in the position of District Councillor. Secondly, there is so much legislation governing local authorities and although I have worked with laws, I am sure I would be frustrated with what can and can’t be achieved along with the amount of time involved to get anything done. I have seen instances of this with our Parish Council. This brings me on to Overstrand Parish Council where six candidates have put their names forward for election. However, with there being eleven vacancies, no election will be needed and the six will automatically become Parish Councillors. When we first moved to Overstrand, there was a full complement of eleven Parish Councillors but over the years numbers have fluctuated and have now dwindled to a meagre six. This leaves me with the question, I wonder why?

Something a bit different today, in the way of a photo, it’s a scan of a fundraiser. Village resident, Jeanne Smith is walking from Runton Road in Cromer to The Holkham Estates, 26.2miles, to raise money for the charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. As most of us will be aware, this charity offers individuals suffering from cancer, specialised support. If anyone would like to donate, then I am sure Jeanne will be most appreciative.