I hadn't realised how long I'd been away! Not actually away for the most part though - I have had one weekend away, for my Dad's 60th birthday celebration, but unfortunately the 'quiet' time for council business coincides with one of the busiest times for the day job, so I've mainly been working to build up my flexitime. It's also been a surprisingly busy time for casework, and for advice bureaux - I still tend to assume that people go away in August, so getting 8 people at a bureau, as I did tonight, is a bit of a shock. That said, it's better than sitting there for an hour and having nobody show up, which still happens from time to time..

I've gotten involved in two steering groups this month for projects in the ward - the Kingstanding Youth Inclusion Project, which aims to work with the top 50 'at risk' young people in the area, and the Management Support Group for the Wyrley Birch Children's and Family Centre, which will be opening next year. Both are interesting projects, and though neither of them are unique to Kingstanding, it is nice to see that we are getting the additional investment coming in from a number of sources to address some of the key issues in the ward.