I love it when December starts. For me – that’s when my kids let me watch Miracle on 34th Street (which I do every year) and it starts to feel Christmassy. Then I panic – because Christmas when you don’t really have any free evenings or weekends – you cannot get your shopping done. I have put some half days or couple of hours in my diary between now and the 25th to get some shopping done but it is a real gamble as to whether it will all get done by what is an unmoveable deadline.

Anyway – today is pretty much a constituency day. First on the agenda is a visit to see a music concert at Stroud Green Primary School. Here the children are part of a project where all the kids in the class are learning an instrument. About 20 guitars first – followed by about 20 violins. I am amazed that the kids have learned so much and so well in just 8 weeks. A local secondary school has paid for this primary to hire the instruments – and it was soooooooooo lovely! And they were really good – amazing for 8 weeks only of the project.

The idea is to give the children some pride in something outside the academic; for them all to learn together; and to give them aspirations and confidence. I think it is a brilliant scheme – but sadly it is not funded by the Government and although they have had some help from a music charity the funding will run out in February – and they are desperate to find sponsors to raise more money so it can continue.

In fact part of the idea in me being there was so that the school might be able to get some publicity and attract funding or donations from local people who might read about it. The Head phoned the (Haringey) Council press office to ask them to publicise it – but was told that they wouldn’t because it was too ‘political’. This is an absolute disgrace. I don’t go as a Lib Dem MP. I go as the MP for Hornsey & Wood Green – non-political. I will find out from the Chief Exec what the policy is on this.

Second stop of the day is to bury a Time Capsule at Coldfall School. I imagined that we (the Mayor of the London Borough Haringey and myself) would dig a symbolic first shovelful of dirt in a corner of the playground. Banish such thoughts. In actuality we are taken with lots of children and other adults to a building site – unlocked for our entry – where the foundations for the new sports hall are being dug. And building site it was. And my shoes quickly become caked with sod – into which I sink with each step. Hitching up my trousers – I gamely march forth. The children (school captains) read out a letter to the future. The Mayor and I say a few words and then – a huge mechanical digger (lethal looking) roars into action VERY CLOSE (within a couple of metres) of where we are standing – and digs for posterity. The Mayor and I hold the metal case in which the artefacts of the children’s and school’s existence will carry forward the message to the future. We ceremonially lower it into the hole and the digger roars back into action to cover it over. It was all quite dramatic and thrilling – and pouring with rain!

A quick half hour with the staff, pupils and contractors – and then off to the next engagement.

And the next engagement is to speak at the local event for World AIDS Day at the Winkfield Resource Centre. Very happy to be involved in this. I think we have been burying our heads as to the rise of AIDS. When it first raised its ugly head in the 80s the public information campaign (whilst terrifying and probably responsible for the stigma surrounding this disease) certainly changed the sexual culture of the time. But despite the continuing rise in AIDS and HIV – we seem to not bother so much with safe sex. It’s as if the drugs which are indeed increasing longevity are making people believe it is under control – and continual pictures of the African continent with so many people over there suffering – also seems to contribute to us seemingly believing it is now an African problem just as we initially believed it belonged to the homosexual world. Wrong on both counts.

The users of the resource centre have made a beautiful wall collage expressing their experiences. A candle is lit and a beautiful woman sings a song – the words of which are a real cry of experience of what it is like to be stigmatised and the need to be loved and held. Very, very moving.

I gave my speech (short) and then spent an hour or so talking to the users and posing for pictures. Yes – ironically at this event the Council Press Office had sent a photographer. I wonder if that was because the Labour Executive member was there? Seems a stark contrast to their attitude to the school earlier today. Must find out.

I went traffic trouble shooting around and about in Muswell Hill this morning, meeting two Haringey Council officers to take them to look at some of the nasty traffic situations in my patch.

I dragged them to Coldfall Primary school so that if and when their bid for resources is granted (hopefully) they can begin urgent work to bring in safety measures. The children there are not protected and it is downright dangerous at both entrances.

I took them to the completely unacceptable situation at the top of Muswell Hill itself – where trying to cross the road you take your life in your hands where they have now created three lanes out of two – directly against what had been agreed.

And we glanced through the rotten junction at the bottom of Cranley Gardens, the speeding on Priory Road now it is cleared of parked cars and so on.

I went to meet concerned parents and the Travel Group this morning outside Coldfall School where they have been having a nightmare of a time with parents parking irresponsibly when dropping off children. And not only the dropping off – but the maneuvering of their cars to get out of the cul-de-sac in Coldfall Avenue is lethal. Over recent weeks, I had managed to get the local beat officer and the PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) to drop by to try by their presence to ensure better behaviour.

I had also gone to have a look at what might be done to deter parents from driving badly by physical means – perhaps bollards to stop people reversing over the pavement and a widening of the pavement itself which is extremely narrow in front of the school. There is a bid in train for money from the ‘Safe Routes to School’ pot – but even if successful it will take some time. Personally, I think Haringey Council needs to act quicker than that on a few of the small but really helpful measures. I will ask to meet an officer next week to look at the possibilities.

While there, the beat officer turned up in person. It was wonderful to watch the salutary effect he had on miscreants! One woman had double parked her 4 by 4 quite a little way back from the school, keeping what she probably thought was a safe distance from the police officer. But he caught her on the way out and hopefully put the wind up her enough to stop her doing it again. We can but hope!

But we also need the Council to get its act together on those other measures to reduce the problem.