A wonderful weekend spent with our daughter and her family working on their house with a deadline to be met before plasterers descend on them this week. A couple of hours with no electricity in a house with no gas appliances as the temperature dropped below zero focussed the mind on the plight of people around the world who face deprivation all the time. Fortunately the work was completed, the power came back on and dinner could be cooked before any of us suffered too badly.
Today I was back in the real world - more missives about Egglescliffe school and Preston Park; potholes that seem to have grown just in the last few days; snow on the ground - where did that come from?
There was a good article in the Gazette about the Facebook group which has been campaigning to save Preston Park. Facebook is proving a powerful tool in campaigns but it's not one which any politician has any chance of controlling. People will say what they want when they want on it and it's not open to editing or easy censorship. The future of election campaigning is going to be interesting!
I've also joined another Facebook group (it's becoming a habit!). This one is the Friends of Tees Heritage Park and seeks to conserve and enhance the Tees River corridor from the barrage along beyond Yarm. I've been a member since the group was formed though deliberately not on the committee so that it didn't become a political thing in any way. Now it's a well established community group which has a seat at the table when Stockton council is discussing issues to do with the river and how it can best be used and enjoyed. Another very different example of a community growing in influence, this time through more traditional means.