Anne-Marie's Blog

 

It has become public today that I am standing as part of Forward Together for the CF Elections.

 

I will be winding down this blog (as you can see I wasn't particularly brilliant at regular blogging), but to keep up to date with what I'm up to please see my website www.ambray.co.uk which I will be keeping very up to date.

 

If you want to contact me with a question then please do email me on info@ambray.co.uk

 

Thanks

 

Anne-Marie

 2^nd May 1997              

As a deeply sad and unconventional 13 year old, I go in to school and declare that the end is nigh.

 Autumn 1997              

The BSE Crisis rears its ugly head again.  The government handle the issue terribly and allow the media to blow the whole issue completely out of proportion.

5^th November 1997     

Mike Foster, sanctimonious MP for Worcester, publishes a Private Member’s Bill to try and ban Hunting.  My friends and I instantly despise the man, and Danny Smith of St Mary’s Convent school lectures him for 20 mins on the issue in front of her peers.

Spring 1998               

The cost of the Millennium Dome seems to be escalating out of all proportion.  I feel sick and angry and wonder why they couldn’t build a massive homeless shelter and a hospital on the site.

Autumn 1998              

It comes to my attention that the Millennium Dome is only going to be open for 1 year!!!!!!!!!!!!! My anger on the issue escalates and I tell all relations that I will refuse to go if they offer to take me. 

February 1999            

I get my first part time job in a coffee shop in Worcester, seeing as the new minimum wage doesn’t apply to those under 18, I get paid £2.50 an hour.

6^th July 2000               

Euan Blair is arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour.  Oh how I laugh before heading out to the pub with friends.

Early September 2000             

I start my A-Levels – I discover I am part of the ‘Curriculum 2000’ experiment cohort (which has now failed and is to be replaced with a new 6-4 initiative in 2008).

Mid September 2000              

Farmers and hauliers start the fuel protests, which are initially supported by the public, and then support begins to wain.  I beg my Dad to let me go to one of the blockades with him, but I’m not allowed L

September 2000          

I hear I am to receive ‘Education Maintainance Allowance’ of £20 a week for staying on to do A-Levels.  It’s meant to mean I have more time to study so I don’t have to have a Saturday job (or at least work fewer hours).  I ignore the state’s meddling advice and go out and get 2 part time jobs and use the EMA to go out drinking.

October 2000             

Doing A-Level Politics is really becoming a daily eye opener to how terrible both the government, and socialism as an ideology is.

19^th February 2001     

Foot and Mouth disease breaks out in the UK.  Dark times all around as we can’t go anywhere without dousing our car in disinfectant.  All countryside social life comes to a bit of a standstill and farmers everywhere mourn and worry. Blair and Brown obviously grin to themselves.

7^th June 2001  

Despite having an A-Level Politics exam the next day, I stay up watching the Election programme until the Conservatives win a seat….this isn’t until 3am.

8^th June 2001 

I use the most contemporary examples possible in my A-Level Politics exam!

8^th June 2001  

Devastation prevails when the Rt Hon William Hague stands down as leader of the Conservative Party.  I really thought he’d carry on!

13^th September 2001

IDS is elected new leader of the Conservative Party, I am taunted by my socialist Politics teacher who can’t understand the party’s obsession with balding men.

November 2001

Seeing as the government is crying out for physiotherapists and funding 1,000 extra training places; I jump on the bandwagon and apply for Physiotherapy degrees across the country.

March 2002

Mike Foster MP visits my politics class and refuses to answer my question, by completely ignoring me - it's almost as if I don't exist!

September 2002          

I start a BSc Physiotherapy degree in Bristol, Euan Blair starts uni in Bristol at the same time.  There are unsubstantiated claims that my flatmate’s best friend was in a bar downing flaming sambucas with him.

Winter 2002/03           

A war in Iraq looks likely, I think it’s a stupid idea and we should wait for the UN.  I can see through Bliar a mile off. There's no way Saddam really has those weapons!

March 2003                

I get really pissed off with the apathy of physiotherapy students towards the illegal war that we are starting, and decide to go on the Stop the War march. I later find out that I have a compulsory lecture that day on NHS targets. Bugger.

November  2003         

Despite record spending in the NHS, I go on clinical placement and work on a ward that has 1 wheelchair for 30 patients.

2004   

I continue to train in an NHS where the staff are committed experts, drowning in an ocean of bureaucracy and guidelines.  I see hospital contract cleaners treating nurses with disregard and failing to do a good enough job on the cleaning.  I witness managers trying to get elderly people out of hospital before they’re truly ready, all in the name of bed spaces.  More worringly, physiotherapy graduates from this year haven’t all found work, after being promised it.

10^th February 2005     

The ID Cards Bill goes through Parliament.  Despite having a dissertation to write, I begin reading 1984 to see what life has in store for me from this point onward.

18^th February 2005     

The Hunting with Dogs Act comes in to force.  Hunting becomes ever more popular.  Local countryside policemen put parking tickets on the cars of anti-hunt protesters who park illegally whilst campaigning, and arrest a few for trespassing.  Hunts across the country report record attendances.

May 2005       

I graduate, a qualified physiotherapist.  Across the country hundreds of graduate physiotherapists are unable to find work.  An estimated 28million of tax payers money has been wasted on training physiotherapists alone.  If you include the graduate doctors and nurses who are unable to find work as well, this figure increases grotesquely.

August 2005    

After many years of following and supporting the Conservative Party, I join; deciding that the Conservative Future website is probably not a reflection on the whole organisation which must be far more professional.

Spring 2006    

I end up sitting next to Labour MP (Walsall North) David Winnick on a train.  I challenge him about wastful spending of public money, in particular the £28 million training uneeded physiotherapists.  He condones the waste with the justification ‘it’s a small drop of money in a big pot’.  I feel like an angry Daily Mail reader for the rest of the journey.

June 2006       

After years of only hating the Labour party, I declare war against the Liberal Democrats after witnessing their despicable treatment of Bob Neill in Bromley and Chiselhurst.

December 2006          

I am involved in a head on collision, luckily sustaining only minor injuries, but the police take 25 minutes to arrive and when they do neither officer has a breathalyser on them.  In an extremely good use of tax payers money a policeman drives to the hospital later to breathalyse Ray (which he passes by the way).

3^rd May 2007              

We gain 911 seats in the Local Elections – Labour, polling 27% have the perfect ‘springboard’ for a General Election victory.  Gordon Brown (the man who will most likely be fighting the election), fails to comment on this.

12.00pm 10^th May 2007

Tony Blair announces his resignation.

3.00pm 10^th May 2007

I call my local GP surgery for an appointment as soon as possible and am offered one at 5.10pm.  I wonder to myself if maybe I have been a bit too harsh on old Blair over the past few years.

5.20pm 10^th May 2007 Spending nearly £15.00 on my prescription leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, I decide that there is no NHS legacy to speak of and I wasn't too harsh after all.

 

I am completely uninspired with blog writing at the moment, I just can’t think of anything to write about.

On CF matters, last Thursday I went to a fantastic event organised by Birmingham Uni CF. It was basically like New Members, New MP’s but in Birmingham.  They had a really good turnout and some brilliant MPs and PPCs in attendance. Philip Bradborn MEP gave an interesting address about the work of the Conservatives in the European Parliament.  Peter Luff MP, Caroline Spelman MP and Richard Shepherd MP all gave notably rousing speeches which all seemed to inspire people to want to go out and get campaigning.

Today, I went to Worcester to meet the new agent, Matt Edmonds and to also plan activities for building the branch over the next few months.  More details will follow soon, but if anyone has any ideas or thoughts about what they want to happen at the next few events do get in touch. 

 

Right, so yet again I am extremely sorry for the delay blah blah blah.

Last Friday I was on the panel for the Area Forum event, with Peter Luff MP, Julie Kirkbride MP, Pat Bullivent and chaired (brilliantly) by Nigel Hastilow.  It was a great night and I felt very honoured to be asked as I had always wanted to be on a panel discussion!  It all seemed to go smoothly (and extracts from this very blog were used in the introduction!), and my aversion to the implementation of any form of road pricing went down extremely well with the audience:

In other news, I have a small dilemma.  Last week I joined a leisure centre in Solihull, in order to try and regain some fitness.  It is a great facility apart from one small issue.  Other users of the car park are some of the most selfish thoughtless people you have ever met.  Obviously rushing to their (or their children’s activities) they park their cars (often people carriers – although I am trying desperately not to stereotype here) over two car parking spaces, or really wonkily, therefore significantly decreasing the number of available spaces in the car park.  I wouldn’t normally mind, but the car park is often busy and it really seems to impact on the number of spaces. Now here is the dilemma – and I would appreciate all your thoughts on this please.  Do I ignore the problem (even though it is really annoying me) and just hope that these people get better at parking?  Or do I take some kind of ‘Consideration Comes Cheap’ campaign and leave polite notes on the windscreens of the offending vehicles, pointing out their thoughtlessness?

I would welcome all comments ideas on the issue!

 

 

Dear all readers of my blog (if there are any left) please please please accept my profuse apologies for the deplorable lack of posting here recently.  I can now confirm that I am back online with a broadband provider (I’ve been surviving with dial-up for 2 weeks now and can confirm that it is as bad as everyone recalls – 1998 was not a good year for using the internet). All the chaos of moving house, buying cars, going on holiday and starting a new job is now all over and I promise to blog more from now on.

Firstly thank you to everyone who attended the Worcester CF event last Friday (see pics attached).  Jonathan Isaby from The Daily Telegraph spoke brilliantly and everyone had a great time.  Thank you also to Robin Walker (PPC Worcester) and Mark Clarke who also attended and sat on the panel discussion which followed.  CF in the county is definitely growing and things are really looking up for Worcester CF.

I promised to advertise Jonathan’s blog ‘Little and Large’, it’s a great read – I tend to look at it everyday and you all should too!  You can access it here -

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/politics/littleandlarge/

Congratulations must also go all around; firstly to Julie Kirkbride, MP for Bromsgrove who was voted sexiest MP last week in a Sky News Valentines Survey; secondly to Mark Clarke for being selected for Tooting, he was definitely the happiest person I have ever seen when I saw him last week.  And finally congratulations to Ray who has become an OC fan after buying me the box set for Valentines Day!  I never thought that he would like it, but he clearly saw the light! (Or Mischa Barton).

Anyway, more blogging of a much better calibre coming this way soon – I promise!