First day of my stomping the streets of Hornsey & Wood Green to meet local shops and small businesses. Whilst local residents and I are in virtually constant contact of one sort or another – businesses are far more reticent about coming forward to see me – and yet I am here to represent them in Parliament too! So – my summer program includes visiting them all (as many as I can) to say hello; say I am here to help and ask them for their views on a number of business issues so I can then raise them in Parliament or with Haringey Council.

What is fun is their faces when I explain that they don’t have a vote, that there isn’t an election – but yes – I am still interested in what they have to say!

In the evening I go to Haringey’s Dinner in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slavery Trade Act. Crossing a picket line to enter (more of a silent protest with placards) I go up to the protesters who quite rightly are furious because Haringey Council has cut funding to a school which helps black youngsters. The juxtaposition of celebrating the end of slavery with the cutting of funding to this school is pretty clear. However, on the face of it, my understanding is that it is Haringey Labour Council making a huge cock-up having discovered that they had been funding the school and the teaching and didn’t even realise it.

Suddenly when they did – and found out that meant this school was getting way more than other supplemented schools – they literally cut and run. The kids therefore left in the lurch!

The dinner was a good occasion and there were speeches and dancing and histories – a generally good evening and a truly important occasion in our borough.