A supermarket trolley has a mind of it’s own." This little gem was provided by Cllr Richard Brodie from Dumfries and Galloway Council in a Live Chat this afternoon on www.bigvote.org.uk. He also provided us with a couple of poems which I’m sure he won’t mind being published here: Dalbeattie, Read more
The IDeA have published a report on the personality types of councillors and how they differ from the general population (hat-tip Mike at OpenEye). Councillors are more likely to be extravert (sic – IDeA are obviously followers of Jung) – 68 per cent compared to the general population’s 52 per Read more
There’s still several months to go before Local Democracy Week and the final deadline for signing up for I’m a Councillor, Get me out of Here!, but we’ve got a record-breaking 24 councils signed up so far – a lot of them returners from last year, who we’re glad to Read more
I’m a Councillor preparations are steaming ahead. I’m just finishing the text of the teacher’s packs, ready to send off to the designers and then the printers. Lots of fact-checking and arguing with Shane about whether long-winded, chatty stories (me) or terse, numbered lists (Shane) are the easiest way to Read more
After an initial hiccup with the printing, the IAC 2007 information packs are now done. They look great, if I do say so myself. So information packs are now ready, for councils who are interested in taking part. Get in touch with me on 01225 869413, or sophia@gallomanor.com if you Read more
Hi, I’m chief moderator every year, although until the event starts I’m the only one. It’s not too bad, I boss myself about a bit and then sneak off for sly tea breaks when I’m not looking… I’m mainly doing prep at the moment, except when something’s happening in Dumfries Read more
It’s been a hectic day today calling all the councils who have expressed an interest in I’m a Councillor but from whom we’ve not had a definite yes or no. We’ll do a final count tomorrow but it looks like we’ll have about 35 councils taking part in October which Read more
The LGA’s first magazine are hopefully running an article in September about what it is like to participate in I’m a Councillor from a councillr’s perspective. In pulling together some material for the article I came across this quote from Cllr Pat Todd in Canterbury. "I found the experience rejuvenating. Read more
Last week I was invited to speak to a Citizenship Co-ordinators Network event in Bristol. It was held at a City Learning Centre at Brislington College and the facilities were superb and, judging by the number of students who tried to get into the computer room where we were meeting, Read more
Cllr Bob Piper, the author of one of the more entertaining councillor blogs, wrote a very interesting post about loyalty to the "party" a couple of days ago. I think it must be weighing on his mind because today he follows up with another post on the relevance of political Read more