Jim Fitzpatrick - On coffee mornings and Northern kick-offs

By John Hill on July 23, 2008 1:00 AM |

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Jim Fitzpatrick is the Labour MP for Poplar and Canning Town

I’ve been holding coffee mornings on a regular basis, the most recent one being this month, at George Green’s School on the Isle of Dogs.

These events provide an opportunity for local people to meet me on an informal basis, over a cuppa and a biccy, for a chat at the weekend. Not everyone wants to attend an advice surgery, or make a special appointment to see me.

Given the level of concern about anti-social behaviour in the area, I also invite local police along. This means people can not only ensure their MP is alerted to what’s going on near their home, but that the police hear all about it, too, and can gather very information about particular hot-spots. The most recent coffee morning saw a number of attendees referring to the same local park and the same streets nearby.

I am soon to stray farther afield when I undertake Voluntary Service Overseas in Bangladesh, with my wife, Sheila.

We’ll be working at an organisation for people living with HIV and Aids. Anticipation, excitement, trepidation, and a sense of the magnitude of the situation we’ll encounter, are just some of the things we’re feeling at the moment.

And finally, with the new football season nearly upon us, the Hammers are contemplating a hat-trick. In this case, it’s a hat-trick of matches against northern teams that gets the season started: Wigan, Man City and Blackburn. I’m just hoping it’s not grim up north. I’ve got a good feeling about this season, but I'll be touching wood just in case.