Mail Column
The people of Hartlepool are the towns greatest asset. One of the great things about my job as Member of Parliament is the opportunity to meet with many, many of the great characters of the town. Ive said it many times before but Ill keep on saying it the towns strong sense of community spirit is something which is both special and valuable, and should be protected and cherished as much as possible.
From time to time, the Prime Minister asks some MPs to nominate a community hero to invite to Number 10 Downing Street so that he can say thank you for the work that is done in the community.
Ive been able to take a number of people to No 10 over the past few years: Ian Fraser, a great man, proud Veteran of the RAF and long-suffering Pools fan (as indeed, we all are these days). I have also taken Dawn McManus, who set up the Red Dreams charity following the tragic loss of her talented young son Kyle, and who I was proud of when, at No 10, she as bold as brass pushed a copy of Red Dreams annual report and CD into the hand of the Prime Minister and made him promise to read and listen to them.
When you get the call from No 10 to invite a community hero, it is always difficult to specify a particular person, because of the great number of people in the community who are doing fantastic work. As I have said in the past, Im keen to acknowledge the work of the likes of Julie Hetherington from the Furness, Cameron and Belk Street association, Norma Morrish and Clive Hall from Burbank, Brian McBean from the Hart Road area and Tom Stewart from Rossmere. Id also like to recognise the formidable and great women from St Cuthberts Residents Association like Anne Hall, Beryl Clark, Debbie Lake, Mary Horner and Beryl Horner, although, when they visited me in Parliament last year, they caused a security alert when they insisted on keeping the chamber of the House of Commons open past midnight.
We are as a town very fortunate to have so many dedicated champions for the community much more, it has to be said, than other similar towns. It is right that these people should be thanked for what they do.
Last week, I took John Cambridge from the Headland to No 10. John is arguably Mr Headland, although he would really hate me using that phrase for two reasons: first, because he is a very modest and gracious man; and secondly, he would argue with me (as he did on Wednesday) that the Headland should really be classed as old Hartlepool.
John does a tremendous amount for Hartlepool. He has worked hard for the Boys Brigade on the Headland sorry, St Hildas. His expertise in the history of the place is second to none. He is currently working hard on the Carnival for the summer. He expects nothing in return for all his hard work, other than a determination to make the place he lives better. He is a great example of all that is best about Hartlepool - a real community champion.
From time to time, the Prime Minister asks some MPs to nominate a community hero to invite to Number 10 Downing Street so that he can say thank you for the work that is done in the community.
Ive been able to take a number of people to No 10 over the past few years: Ian Fraser, a great man, proud Veteran of the RAF and long-suffering Pools fan (as indeed, we all are these days). I have also taken Dawn McManus, who set up the Red Dreams charity following the tragic loss of her talented young son Kyle, and who I was proud of when, at No 10, she as bold as brass pushed a copy of Red Dreams annual report and CD into the hand of the Prime Minister and made him promise to read and listen to them.
When you get the call from No 10 to invite a community hero, it is always difficult to specify a particular person, because of the great number of people in the community who are doing fantastic work. As I have said in the past, Im keen to acknowledge the work of the likes of Julie Hetherington from the Furness, Cameron and Belk Street association, Norma Morrish and Clive Hall from Burbank, Brian McBean from the Hart Road area and Tom Stewart from Rossmere. Id also like to recognise the formidable and great women from St Cuthberts Residents Association like Anne Hall, Beryl Clark, Debbie Lake, Mary Horner and Beryl Horner, although, when they visited me in Parliament last year, they caused a security alert when they insisted on keeping the chamber of the House of Commons open past midnight.
We are as a town very fortunate to have so many dedicated champions for the community much more, it has to be said, than other similar towns. It is right that these people should be thanked for what they do.
Last week, I took John Cambridge from the Headland to No 10. John is arguably Mr Headland, although he would really hate me using that phrase for two reasons: first, because he is a very modest and gracious man; and secondly, he would argue with me (as he did on Wednesday) that the Headland should really be classed as old Hartlepool.
John does a tremendous amount for Hartlepool. He has worked hard for the Boys Brigade on the Headland sorry, St Hildas. His expertise in the history of the place is second to none. He is currently working hard on the Carnival for the summer. He expects nothing in return for all his hard work, other than a determination to make the place he lives better. He is a great example of all that is best about Hartlepool - a real community champion.