Labour select candidate for Rutland & Melton in May 2015's General Election

The local Labour Party has selected a candidate for Rutland and Melton Mowbray constituency for the forthcoming Election in May 2015. The candidate is Dr James Moore a Lecturer in Modern British Social History at the University of Leicester, where he specialises in Modern British Social History. Well sort of modern, in fact nineteenth century political urban history and political culture of Britain and her empire.

Dr James Moore studied politics, philosophy and economics from Christ Church, Oxford before undertaking a PhD in British political culture at the University at Manchester. After being awarded his Doctorate he continued to work at the University at Manchester before taking up a post in London at the Institute of Historical Research. Eventually he became a Senior Lecturer at British University in Egypt before moving to current position at University of Leicester in May 2012, where he teaches subjects such as: "The Cultural Politics of Heritage", "Classical Greece since the Enlightenment" and something called "Heritage Field Project" which is a work placement unit for people wanting to work in the heritage industry.

Politically his first home was with the Liberal Democrat Party and for a number of years he severed as borough councillor in Hinckley and Bosworth. It was while he was on the council that he stood for the parliamentary seat in the 2005 general election for Hinckley and Bosworth as the Liberal Democrat candidate. His time at serving at council and representing his ward of Barwell was not without its share of controversy, when it came to light that he had attended 38.24% of the councils meetings in a article published in the Hinckley Times which he later explained to the press was due to the way the three Barwell councilors had agreed to represent the ward. Things came to a head with local residents when he failed to turn up for a debate on a Tesco store which was given the green light despite local opposition. He didn't stand for re-election for his seat in Barwell in the 2011 local elections.

After the Rutland and Melton Mowbray announced that Dr James Moorewas going to be standing for the parliamentary seat in 2015 he said:  "I will fight hard to secure a bypass for Melton. I will work to attract well paid jobs for locals and I will defend the National Health Service from being sold off to big business." The lack of comment about what he is going to do for Rutland where he lives was striking. Maybe the Labour Party have forgotten that we exist, after all the lack of Labour candidates for local elections in the country is disgraceful. If he was to be elected, which is doubtful, I hope he would turn up to Westminster more than than he bothered to turned to council meeting in Hinckley and Bosworth.

Melton Mowbray

Over the recent months I have spent a lot of time traveling though and waiting for buses at Melton Mowbray. It was just a town before I never really thought much about before. It was just a place I popped to now and again when I needed stores like Argos and alike, but once you start looking there is so much more if you take the time to look. The town has a twice weekly market, a the famous "Ye Olde pork Pie Shop", the home of Stilton Cheese, some beautiful architecture of various styles and relaxing parkland. Here are a few of the many pictures I have captured on my phone:

The Anne of Cleves Public House and beautiful St Mary's Church

Setting up the Market the twice weekly on early on a Tuesday Morning

The Market Square in Melton Mowbray 

Home of the world famous Pork Pie that bares the towns name

One of the small streets leading to the Market Square

Melton Mowbrays refurbished 1930's Art Deco Cinema

Small green near St Mary's Church that seems untouched by the years

The beautifully kept Town Estates park in the center of Melton Mowbray 

Personally I think the town is completely underrated by many that live there and around the town. There far more to see if one just has the time to look. For example the normal church of St. Mary's is stunning in the summer with the light streaming through the stain glass windows and a real testament of faith of the people that built it in 12th to 15th century without the modern building aids of today. Them at the other end of time a 1930's Art Deco Cinema still delighting audiences today as it did when it first opened with it friendly atmosphere that makes seeing a films so much more enjoyable than some faceless multi screen. If you are passing through this market town, do stop and take a look.

A Sunny Autumn Saturday

It was the most amazing way to woken up with a smiling face and shouts of "Daddy it's sunny" followed by are you getting up. When I looked out of the window Lucy was right it was a lovely start to the day and the weather forecast was right for once. It seems a long time since they got it spot on, it has been changing from one minute to the next. 

Hand in hand we trotted down the stairs and Lucy sat on the sofa with her blanket and I put on the television for her. After I made a coffee I sat down next to her and we had a cuddle while we watched "Bob the Builder" together. It wasn't long before her little tummy was rumbling and soon she was asking for breakfast. With a bowl of coco pops in front of her she settled down to eat with one eye on the television. Soon the bowl was empty and she settled down to watch a little  bit more television before she went off to find something to play with while I had a sit down and finished waking up. 

While Catherine and Emily were having a lay in after all their early mornings, Lucy and me set about making bread for lunch. She is so good at adding the ingredients for me. I just measured them out for her. Once again the only thing she didn't do was the flour, although she did try and help me sieve the flour but it was just to heavy for her. We used the same recipe that we used on Tuesday and we were hoping for the same results. She loves baking and making cakes, they all do.

With the bread on Lucy decided it was time to find some playmates and I agreed it was time that Emily and Catherine made an appearance. After all if they sleep in too long they wouldn't get to sleep later tonight, and it would put their sleeping pattens out. Soon Lucy was off upstairs to get them and all I could hear was Lucy telling them to wake up and that it was sunny. I followed her up after I heard movement to remind Catherine that her maths tutor was coming to day to do some work with her. It wasn't long before they were all downstairs and in the family room together and having fun.

At half ten, Catherine's math's tutor arrived and she settled down at the dinning table to get on with her work while Emily and myself put Plan A in place, "Operation Distraction". Thankfully it worked as there was no Plan B, Lucy was suitably busy not to disturb Catherine. It all revolved around playing outside in the garden and if need be taking George for a walk to the Church and back. The later wasn't needed and we managed to take up most of the time on the bicycle or doing stuff on the table outside by the shed. Meanwhile Catherine had a super lesson with her tutor as they worked out the things she needs help on to improve her grades.

Just before Catherine finished her lesson the bread maker went ping and the bread was done. It smelt absolutely yummy while it was cooking and when it came out looked just as good as it smelt. The idea behind the bread was to have it with some soup, but Emily and Lucy loved the pasta with the tomato sauce so much and they wanted that again. So in the end Catherine was the only person to have soup with her bread, which she cooked herself. They all sat down at the table to eat. Lucy and Emily ate most of their pasta and Lucy even finished off the last bit of soup that Catherine left. They all loved the bread and I must say it did taste as wonderful when I had some with my soup. 

With lunch over it was back to playing for the girls while I sat down and had a nice cup of coffee. Occasionally I was joined by Lucy jumping on my lap and giving me a cuddle before heading back off to play. I just love the way she does that and I will miss Lucy doing that when she grows out of it, like Emily and Catherine.

With the weather being so nice it would be have been a shame not to make the most of it so we headed out to the country park in Melton. As you will know if you are a regular reader all three of them love it there, so it is an ideal place to go with them and not too far away from Langham. So with Lucy in her wellington boots off we headed for some fun.

They were all excited by the time we got to the park. Emily was out of the car first quickly followed by Catherine. As they headed off to the climbing area Lucy headed off to the playground. Soon she was on the horse bouncing backwards and forwards before she headed off to the climbing frame. There she was pretending that the covered area was a house and that it was raining and she kept having to go indoors. At one point she found a stick and preteneded to put under bed in her house and went to sleep, but I'm not sure why. This game seemed to form the theme of her play even when she was on the other things to do in the playground. The only thing that stopped her game was when some other children came along and she wanted to make friends and asked them their names before she started following them and get them to play with her.

After playing with her new found friends for a little while, Catherine turned up to find out what Lucy was doing. Soon Lucy was playing her game again and this time roping Catherine in to play with her until Catherine got bored and they started playing chase. At first Catherine was the one being chased until Lucy decided she couldn't catch her so she swapped it round so she was the one being chased. Once Catherine had caught her they headed off together to go and find Emily. 

Emily was in woods where she had built a den the last  time she was there. Surprisingly it was still standing and other children had added to it and now there were bridges across a ditch to the climbing area. Emily was over the moon as you can imagine, she thought it would have been pulled down and wrecked the day after she built it. Clearly someone had been looking after it, maybe the boys that helped her build it. 

When they were all together they went in to play in the climbing area. I had managed to secure the aerial runway from some departing children. Lucy watched Catherine go down before deciding she wanted a go with Emily. She is not yet big enough to do it one her own, but I can see she wants to try. Moving from the runway to tree houses Lucy found some more friends to play with including a little girl a month younger than her. You could see how confident Lucy is when climbing and running around, the little girl she met need far more encouragement and help in doing things to do thing Lucy does with out thinking although they were the around same age.

Just before we left Lucy and I went round the flower garden. Even though it is late in the year there are still a few late flowing plants there. Soon Lucy was pretending it was my birthday and saying the flowers were all mine. It was really rather cute. Just before we left Lucy decided to jump in a large muddy puddle and made the biggest splash I had ever seen her make. Of course her trousers were covered in mud. If you ask me Peppa Pig has a lot to answer for!

When we got home Emily, Catherine and Lucy headed off to the family room to play while I got on with cooking dinner. On tonight's menu, Spaghetti Bolognese. As we had Catherine favorite yesterday it was only right that it was Emily's turn today. Every so often one of them would come into the kitchen and ask for a taste of the sauce. This procedure went on until the dinner was on the table, good thing I allow for it or there wouldn't be any sauce left. They all sat down at the table and when they were finished there was hardly anything left on their plates. For pudding they had strawberry trifle and it turns out that Lucy loves it, she ended up having third's although she didn't quite finish it she really gave it a good go. 

After dinner there was an hour or so for Lucy before bedtime. She made the most of it burning off all the energy on her bicycle and toy car and racing around the house. One of the good things about not having carpet at least she can have some of her outside toys inside as long as she is careful, which she is. At bedtime she had her bath and was soon listening to a stories in from Catherine, Emily and finally me. As usual I had to read her Q Pootle 5, before she got her kisses and cuddles and slipped off into the land of nod. I can't wait for it to come out on television so we can cuddle up and watch it together in the morning. 

With Lucy tucked up in bed it was time to rejoin everyone downstairs who were watching the X-Factor together in the living room. The show really getting interesting now and the count down to Christmas begins next week with the start of the live shows. I can't wait to have a coal fire again as the nights get colder and we can all cosy up together and watch the show. It will be interesting tomorrow night to see who has made it through to the final. Normally by now I have a few people that I want to make it through to the end, for some reason this year I don't but I'm still enjoying every minute of it. The end of the X-Factor signalled bedtime for Emily and Catherine and after helping me clean up the kitchen off they went to bed.

It has been a lovely day and I'm so glad the sun has come out and we got the chance to get outside and get some fresh air. I fear tomorrow going to be wet again and as I finish this the rain is pouring down outside. Although Sundays seem rushed it still would be nice to get out and at least take George for a walk with Lucy to the Church, who knows we might see the squirrels again. 

A Grey Autumnal Friday

What a contrast to the warmth of last few days. The weather started changing yesterday and today the wind is blowing the leaves from the trees and the rain is falling. A completely different day from when Lucy was last here at home with me and about ten degrees colder too. Clearly the coming of the Harvest Moon truly has brought autumn along with it.

Emily and Catherine got up at seven thirty and got themselves ready for school. All to soon breakfast were made and eaten, pack lunches made and in the case of Emily extensive hair grooming was done, as today is the day of the school photograph. The pupils at Catherine's school is having their photographs done early next week. With hair done and her bag packed Emily and myself set off for Oakham to get her to school. The traffic was light again and I was soon home to wish Catherine well as she headed down the walk to school.

After a coffee and a wash and brush up it was soon time to get Lucy, something I had been looking forward to all morning. I just love having her with me and I'm sure she loves being here with us too. I think anyone who reads this blog knows how much I care for her and love her. When I got her mummies she was the first thing I heard through the door. You could tell it was her from the excitement in her voice. The pick up went really well and soon I was walking down the street with Lucy chatting away before heading back to our home in Langham.

When we got home we were rushed by George who is always pleased to see Lucy. I just love the way she orders him about now and tells him to get down and sit. Catherine had forgot to feed him so it was the first thing we did. I got the food ready and Lucy gave him the bowl. With the dog fed we set about playing for a bit. Today she wanted to play with her push chair and her dolls and babies, so I got them down for her bedroom and off she went to play with them in the living room as I watched and joined in with her game. Towards lunch she seemed to flag a bit and brought me the Pinocchio DVD to watch with her and soon we were sitting down and watching it together with Lucy cuddled in my arms.

For lunch Lucy had a sausage roll, some baked mini cheddars and a red shinny apple for her pudding. She loved it and after eating most of it she as soon on my lap again and we watched the rest of the film together while she drank some ice cold milk. The last two times she has been here she has really been into milk and now I'm having to buy extra just for Lucy.

After we finished our film we set off to do some shopping. Lucy insisted in riding her little red car down to the car from the house. There was no way she was going to leave it behind without a big fuss. I just made it clear she could take it as long as it remained in the car until we got home and she said that was ok. She was very careful going down the paths to the car. I'm proud of how her road sense is coming along. Her mummy is doing a good job.

Instead of going to Tesco's in Oakham we headed out to the Tesco's in Melton for a drive and to get out of the house for a bit. I don't think there is much to choose between the two stores. Melton seems a bit bigger but then again it's freezer section doesn't have the same range as the Oakham branch where as the Melton store has a bigger fresh meat range. Lucy loves rides outside the store and with fifty pence her hand that is where she headed when we arrived. She beamed for ear to ear as she had her ride before we headed inside to do the shopping. In the shop Lucy picked what she wanted for dinner from some choices I gave her and then we went to get some small sweets for later before paying and leaving for home. As always she was as good as gold in the shop and made the checkout person smile with her cheerful thank you and goodbye.

When we got home there was enough time to put the shopping away before Catherine came home. Lucy tried her best to help by passing me things to put away and soon the job was done. As we sat down Catherine came home and after a hug and kiss we were off out to get Emily from School in Oakham. Emily was so pleased to see Lucy and Lucy to see her. They had a quick cuddle and kiss in the car and then we all headed home to play.

When we got home they all headed off to Emily and Catherine bedroom and all you could hear was them chatting and laughing as the girls got changed back in to their home clothes. Soon Catherine came down hand in hand with Lucy and head for the family room, while Emily stayed in the bedroom to do her homework so she had the weekend free. In family room Catherine stated to play the Simpsons on the X-Box with Lucy who wanted to play the game earlier in the day. This took them through with a few other games thrown in until dinner. 

When I put the cutlery out Lucy went to round everyone up from around the house for dinner and soon they were all at the table sitting down to burgers, beans and one of Lucy's favorites smily potato faces. She loves them so much she even had the two that Catherine left on her plate. With dinner done and pudding eaten they set off to play again.

After dinner Lucy mainly played with Catherine. Catherine really loves young children and at one point they were playing a dressing up game where Lucy was a princess. It was nice see Lucy in some of the clothes I have for her that she has never really got round to wearing and probably never will. They are mainly summer clothes that will be to small for her by the time the next summer comes along. As part of the dressing up game Catherine put on her old cat outfit to become the princesses pussy cat. Lucy loved ordering her about and telling her what to do. Of course not to be out done Lucy wanted a turn at being a cat too. It is lovely to see them playing like that together. 

Time soon got the better of us and it was time to get Lucy changed and on her way back to her mummies. As we drove to Oakham we chatted away to each other while music played on the car radio. As we arrived she said she loved me and I said I love her too. We had our parting cuddle after she got out of the car and we started the short walk down the road to take her back. Soon we arrived and the door was open and closed again and she was gone.

With Lucy safely home at her mummies we returned to Langham to pick up Emily and Catherine and take them down the A1 to met their mum. Thankfully for a Friday the drive wasn't to bad and they were soon dropped off and I was on my way home to a much quieter and more empty house.

Even though the weather was bad and we didn't do as much as we normally do on a friday it was still a lovely day and full of fun and giggles. It such a pleasure to spend so much time with some of the people I love so much even if it does mean that money is tight at times. I'm hoping we can have a family reunion some time in the future.

Strange Day

It been a funny sort of day. It started off dull and grey that really matched my mood. Thankfully I don't normally feel like this is the morning and I'm more your happy soul, but today was different. Even the thought of Lucy coming didn't seem change things. My mind was somewhere else and thinking about other things. It is one of those days when you know where you want to be, but you don't how to get there, that's if getting there is possible at all.

Emily was late out of bed this morning and everything got behind. She was even late to school for the first time even though I was hurrying her a long, although she just made her first class more by luck. It will interesting to see how she does tomorrow when she has to get up even earlier. Catherine on the other hand was up on time and true to form made it to school with loads of time to spare. She so much better at getting up than her sister.

After the school run there was time for a coffee, a shower and shave it was off out again to get little Lucy from her mummies. I returned two of the boxes of books to her she left behind when she left our home, although there are two more boxes to take back on Friday. I got a nice thank you for my efforts. Lucy was in true chatty form and gave me a nice hug as she got in the car. Then she started to tell me about giving the sweetie she had with her last time to her sister I dropped off. It was lovely to have her with me again.

Lucy is at the "What is that stage?". She started with the bread maker and then it just didn't stop for ages. She was also very cuddly for most of the morning and would hardly let me out of her sight. She was always calling me to be with her if I moved away from her to do anything. It took a good couple of hours for her to find her independence again. It was so unlike her to be like that. That period is normally over and done with quite quickly which allows me to do small jobs between playing with her.

At lunchtime we popped out to the shops in Melton. We had a few things to get and it always makes a change to go somewhere other than Oakham shopping which is where we go most days. While we were there we looked round the shops and had some lunch in town. Then we popped into the supermarket for something for dinner before returning home, with Lucy singing along to some of "You could be Happy" by Snow Patrol. I didn't know she knew any of the words to the song. 

When we got home we sat down and watch a DVD before heading back out to pick up Emily from school. Lucy watched some more of Pinocchio which she was watching on Friday before time caught up with us and she had to go home.

We were a little late leaving to pick up Emily so we went get to get Catherine from school first. Catherine's face lit when she saw Lucy and she ran towards and gave her the biggest hug. Thankfully given it had started to rain Emily was a little late leaving school and in the end she didn't have to wait for at all. Emily got her hug in the car.

When they all got home again they played loads games together but I think the one that Lucy enjoyed the most was hide and seek. When it was Lucy turn to be the seeker I had to do the counting for her and she was really good at hiding eyes and didn't cheat. It is lovely to hear them all laughing and giggling around the house until dinner was ready when they all sat down together to eat.

After dinner Lucy mainly played with Catherine. They started out playing doctors with me as the patient before move on to playing around the house. It was when the sun finally came out they both headed off into the sunshine in the garden. I had managed to keep Lucy's little tricycle dry so that became the focus of there game. The game somehow involved a flower pot that was a pretend hat, thankfully a clean one. They had great fun together. 

When it came time to take Lucy back to her mummies the day had completely changed. The sun was out and the sky was blue as we headed back to Oakham with Emily and Catherine. I think Lucy liked having her sisters with her for a change and she blew them a kiss before she went inside of her mummies house.

With Lucy back at her mummies, we popped to the shops again for the orange juice I had forgotten for Emily's and Catherine's packed lunches. When we got home Emily and Catherine settled down to watch some television together before bedtime, they both love the soaps now. We never did get to make cakes or make more bread but that can wait until another day when Lucy is here again.

As always I have loved having them altogether again, I just wish they weren't parted in the first place so much. The mood I started off the day lifted in the evening Hopefully I will have a good nights sleep tonight it's an early start in the morning. All in all it's been a strange day.

Sunday at Home

After all the excitement of the parks yesterday afternoon and a Sunday lunch to cook for everyone I decided we should all have a nice day at home until after Lucy returned to her mummies. in any case it was a cold grey start to the day with a chilly wind and there was cakes to make to keep people busy.

Lucy had a bit of restless night. I think she is starting to dream and the dreams are waking her up sometimes, she woke before six this morning and I got her back to sleep until eight. She was still tired and she went back to straight back to sleep, all I know that something disturbed her, but she seemed alright.

When Lucy did wake for the final time we came downstairs to a lovely good morning from George in his cage. Lucy had a banana and then we settled down together to watch some television together in the chair before Catherine came down to join us. After a cuddle from Catherine for Lucy, Catherine went off to make them both a bowl of cereal each which they sat down and ate together. I love the way Catherine just makes her breakfast without even asking.

When Emily got up we started making chocolate chip cakes. Nine in total. One each after they cooled and two each for after dinner. They had great fun mixing the ingredients, pouring the mixture and of course the best bit licking the bowl. Little Lucy was covered in cake mix by the time she had finished and the clean top I had put on her a few hours had to go back in the washing machine. If mess equals fun for a two year old then Lucy had lots of fun.

After the cakes came out of the oven they were replaced with the chicken for our Sunday dinner and while the cakes cooled Lucy and myself went off to the farm shop to get some potatoes for dinner. While we were there I showed Lucy the chickens that had laid our eggs that we had yesterday and that we used in the cake. She loved them and every time we pass she say's hello chickens so it was nice for her to see them all.

When I got home they all had the first of their cakes and I had a coffee. As soon I had finished that I went back into the kitchen with Lucy and I started to prepare the vegetables. Lucy standing on her blue stool was taking the peelings and putting them in a jug and mixing them like she was cooking. If that wasn't fun enough the radio started playing "We No Speak Americano" and we both started dancing to the beat with me chopping carrots in time. It was one of those lovely moments that are so special. I can see us playing that in the car when it all fixed and working again.

For dinner today we had roast chicken, garlic mini roasts, roast parsnips, spring greens, carrots, runner beans and yorkshire puddings. A meal fit for a princess and with three princesses in the house just what was needed to feed hungry tummies. It  was really nice and with the promise of chocolate cake for pudding Lucy tried everything and ate quite well. 

While we were having dinner we got a text saying that Lucy's mummy was delayed in B&Q and would be 30 minutes late home. I didn't mind too much, it just meant we had to change our plans as regards doing the shopping and take Lucy with us. The problem was I couldn't grantee the drop off time and in the end she went back nearly an hour after her normal drop off time on a Sunday. The least said about the drop off the better, but I did send Lucy off with the sweets she brought for Mary at the supermarket yesterday and some more that she got today, it didn't end well today.

After Lucy left us we head out to Melton country park to have some fun and take George for a walk. At last he is getting better in the car and sat in the back with the girls and looked out the window on the way there and sat on Emily's lap on the way back. At the country park Emily made some friends and started building a shelter out of dead wood that was laying about against one of the trees and when Catherine found her she joined in. Unfortunately the aerial runway was in use nearly all the time but I'm glad they had a great time with the shelter. I know George enjoyed his walk with Catherine. I also manage to get a couple of great photographs of a toad I found in the woods when I was getting wood for Emily.

When we got home we had a quick dinner and Emily and Catherine settled down to watch a film before it was time for Catherine's shower and then bed for both of them. 

It has been a lovely weekend and I'm so glad Lucy is staying two nights instead of one. It feels like this is her home again and not just somewhere she passes through and that is important to me. I want her to know it is her home and she is always welcome anytime. I love all my children to bits and always will. It is just a shame they can't be together all the time but that will never happen now.