On the election trail: Day 3 - C is for Craster, Camelias, Cats & Castles
Social media never ceases to fascinate and intrigue me, in terms of its impact and how people communicate their views and anxieties with me. My Dog of the Day tweets having generated a strong response from cat lovers calling for parity, I set myself the challenge of seeking out and capturing cats today. But it really is not easy!
Starting our campaigning in Craster this morning, with the wonderful wafts of Craster Kippers as we knocked on doors, we caught up with the National Trust coastal team at Dunstanburgh Castle, and heard repeated calls for a better parking and traffic system for the village. I shall continue to work with local landowners and the parish council, and our new Conservative County Council for a modern and flexible solution which ensures residents can still get to and from their homes.
On similar lines, our time in Chillingham (of haunted castle fame) elucidated further car challenges. This village has a national speed limit for the road which goes through the middle, and - like a number of other villages like Harbottle and Ancroft - residents are keen for this to be reduced to at least 40mph if not slower. I shall be setting to as we have for other villages to get this sorted out for those families.
The "old A1" as its known, which runs north from Alnwick, goes up to Chatton, one of the constituency's finest picture postcard villages. It has a marvellous pub in The Percy Arms which fed me and my campaign helpers well before we set off to chat with villagers. I spoke at length to several elderly residents living alone - and was concerned by their view that they did not want to disturb their neighbours when they needed something. Reliance on the bus into Wooler does leave them quite isolated without the confidence to engage with neighbours.
A final stop of the day in Berwick this evening and a really educational lecture from the campaign group RoadShare on changing the law to give cyclists and pedestrians more protection in civil law from vehicles which cause them harm. I came away informed in a number of ways, and keen to work with my fellow candidate John Lamont, from across the border, if we are fortunate enough to both be elected on 8th June.
So, I have a cat and a dog of the day, and indeed a flower of the day too. North Northumberland has many castles, what with it being such an ancient place, but I dont think I can do 26 of them!
Tomorrow, D is for..... a source of cheese & ice cream.
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