A Joke On Hounslow And 'Cannabis Farms' Fails To Cut The Mustard

A week in the life of a local councillor as told by Sam Hearn

Cllr Sam Hearn who represents the Riverside ward in Chiswick, is chairman of the Chiswick Area Forum. He has written this account of his week as a busy local councillor

Friday 13th November : Interesting to see reports of how the strong opposition to the imposition of wheelie bins bubbled over at the Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum. As with so many areas of council activity the devil is in the detail and the lack of a meaningful consultation process has allowed genuine anger and misunderstandings to flourish.

Saturday 14th November: Off for a couple nights away on the shores of Rutland Water. I have packed my papers for the Hounslow Pension Fund meeting and the special Chiswick Area Forum to discuss the CPZ consultations. We managed pit stops at Little Gidding (made famous by T S Eliot in the last of his Four Quartets) and Stilton. To Oakham for a wonderful meal at the Plough Inn.

Sunday 15th November: Cycled around Rutland Water stopping to observe wildlife, stare at the site of a Roman Shrine and visit the church of St Edmund the Martyr – the world of TVs “Last Kingdom” suddenly seemed very close. We also darkened the doors of excellent pub/restaurants at Manton, Edith Weston, and Greetham. I should have opted for the jelly saddle.

Monday 16th November: The AGM of the Hounslow Pension Fund. There was nearly a full house of staff and pensioners. Some excellent speakers followed by me as the last item on the agenda trying to introduce the newly created Hounslow Pensions Board to scheme members. My reward after the meeting was to be challenged by a pleasant young man who wanted to know why the Hounslow Pension Fund was still so heavily invested in tobacco. It’s a good question. My diversionary tactic of pointing out that the fund would probably invest in cannabis farms if they were legal and profitable produced a wan smile but did not cut the mustard. More work required.

Tuesday 17th November: Joined my colleagues for a well-attended meeting of CAF at St Michael’s church, Elmwood Road to discuss the results of the CPZ consultations. Once again the devil was in the detail. I think we managed to shed a little light on what was and was not possible. Proceedings were significantly enhanced by the clear and concise presentations by officer Mark Frost, ably supported by his colleague Caroline Stanyon who had carried out most of the hard work over the preceding months. Councillor McGregor (of Homefields Ward) is to be congratulated on the professional and friendly way that he chaired the meeting. Our thoughts are with officer Marilyn Smith, a CAF stalwart, who was unable to attend because of a bereavement.

Wednesday 18th November: Street cleaning queries ping into me email box. My guilty secret - I have not done anything about this in recent days because of other commitments such as preparing for the CPZ and Pensions AGM meetings. A few emails from good friends who are unhappy with the result of the CPZ meeting. I think that we managed to annoy both the pros and antis in equal measure. Not sure if this a good thing?

Thursday 19th November : Tried to deal with the street cleaning issue only to discover that it was beyond the pay grade of the officer I had contacted. Nevertheless some progress made. Contacted about an issue in Brentford and tried hard to off load responsibility for it. Sometimes you need “sloppy shoulders”. Dragged along after work to the Christian O’Connell comedy gig at the George IV on Chiswick High Road. Chris is a genuinely funny bloke with some interesting insights as well as the de rigeur foul language – some of it sad to say courtesy of our esteemed Prime Minister. The evening came with a tasty gourmet chef prepared meal. Excellent value.

November 20, 2015