So after Pete and Duwayne had been duly soaked, it was my turn…   

I have to say, being put in the stocks is one of the more bizzare things I’ve ended up doing since being elected - possibly even topping the Santa episode!   All in a good cause though - got to pay for those Focus leaflets somehow!

It starts this Saturday with Slumdog Millionaire. Full list for July below:

• Saturday 11th July - Slumdog Millionaire (12)
• Saturday 18th July - The Kite Runner (15)
• Saturday 25th July - Life is Beautiful (PG)

I really hope this iniative succeeds - one of the most frustrating things about living in Lewisham is the borough’s lack of a cinema, and it’s good to see the staff at the library stepping in to fill the gap in Lee Green at least.

To book a place, call in at the library or call 8852 0357.

But don’t take my word for it - see for yourself with my latest attempt at YouTube!

As part of the celebrations there will be fun family learning activities for children under five between 3pm and 3.45pm.

Between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, Community Education Lewisham will be offering people the chance to try their hand at crafts such as decorating a bag, creating pom poms, making sugar flowers and writing music. There will also be the opportunity to relax with either an Indian head massage or reflexology.

The Suzy Lamplugh trust works to raise awareness of the importance of personal safety and to help people avoid violence and agression.  I know they do a lot of work with vulnerable lone workers (like housing officers) so it’s a great cause.

If you’d like to sponsor Pete and Jo, you can do so here.

The whole committee was really impressed with the work that’s taking place at Grove Park.  You can see in the picture above the choice (and standard) of kitchen residents are entitled to under the decent homes work.  Residents are also getting new bathrooms.  We spoke to a few residents who were very impressed, and the surveys that have taken place have very high levels of satisfaction.

Of course, for Lewisham Homes tenants the picture is a lot bleaker.  7/10 properties managed by Lewisham Homes will fail the decent homes standard by next year.   That’s a disgrace, especially considering the basic naure of the standard.

Other points of note from the meeting:

• Housing benefit changes and applications doubled between February and March this year.  That suggests a lot of people are adjusting to changed circumstances as a result of the recession.  I wonder whether the service will be able to cope with such a huge increase in demand - but the cabinet member responsible assured me it will at the last council meeting.  I guess we’ll see.
• 38 people have approached the Council in mortgage difficulties. The council has been able to help 32 of these.  But not a single one has been helped by Gordon Brown’s mortgage rescue scheme.  That’s not surprising - Vince Cable has exposed that only 6 people in the whole country have benefitted from the scheme!

There was some delay in clearing this as the council first wanted to attempt to trace the owner of the land.  Having been unable to do so, I’m pleased to say the Council has finally cleared this and arranged for a gate to be erected to stop any repetition.

New Streetcars have now been added on Fernbrook Road by Hither Green Station and on Holme Lacey Road opposite the Citroen garage.  They join the existing Streetcar on Manor Park.

The move to put more car club cars on the street follows a report published by the Sustainable Development Select Committee, which I vice-chair.

We’ve been campaigning for more car club cars in Lee Green since we were elected.  It’s great there are now three cars in the ward, and we’re sure residents will take advantage of this alternative to car ownership which saves residents cash and will hopefully reduce the number of cars on our congested local roads.

They’re obviously proving popular, as when Sven and Pete visited the Holme Lacey car, it was already on hire!

Pete’s a local councillor in Whitefoot ward, a former local teacher, and well-known campaigner.

You can find out more about Pete and get in touch with him over at his (excellent) website.

Pete writes:

Our community and country are in urgent need of change.  We deserve representatives who listen, not lecture; that serve us, not themselves.  Only the Liberal Democrats can offer this change here.  I have spent my life in public service; as a local teacher, councillor and resident.  Please join me in helping change Lewisham for good.

Lewisham East has twelve Lib Dem councillors, compared to six Labour and three tory.  We’ve elected Lib Dem councillors - now we can vote for a Lib Dem MP - and in Pete Pattisson we’d have a great local representative.

Residents of Kimberley Terrace approached me back in February.  They’re a small terrace in the middle of Manor Lane, and didn’t have a street sign.  This had led to all sorts of confusion regarding deliveries and visitors, and after over 15 years of paying taxes to Lewisham Council, they thought a street sign was a reasonable thing to ask for.

So did I - but predicatably, the first response from Lewisham was ‘no’.  Kimberley Terrace was a private development, and therefore not the Council’s problem.  Residents should apparently tell people they live at Kimberley Terrace, 228 1/2 Manor Lane.   Naturally, neither I nor the residents thought this was good enough.

So I took this further, and after a few months waiting for the sign to be made up and installed, I’m pleased to say these residents now have a street sign.  A small thing, perhaps, but it’ll make a big difference to them.