Thursday 28 August 2008

Life and how to live it

On Wednesday I had intended to spend several hours at an event at Barton Hill Settlement, where various stakeholders - the police, youth services, voluntary sector organisations - met to discuss issues relating to Somali youth. The first hour was taken up by lunch, however, and although it gave me the chance to catch up with a few people, I had to leave soon after the official business started, to attend Frances Easton's funeral.

Val Davey, the former MP for Bristol West, gave a moving tribute to Frances, telling how Frances, her husband George, and her little sister Margaret became involved in the Labour Party in their teens and had worked in every General Election since. Even during my election in 2005, when Frances was in her late 80s and in failing health, she spent hours in the office folding leaflets and stuffing envelopes. (Margaret, only slightly younger, was still CLP Secretary at the time). She never sought political office herself - though George was a councillor - but did it simply because she believed passionately in the Labour Party and what it stands for. She was also very much involved in St Lukes church, and the work of the Church Mission Society in Uganda.

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