Singing the Chattanooga Choo Choo

To St Paul's Church this evening to see the Three Valleys Male Voice Choir perform in aid of the Harlow Canal Boat Project, an excellent community charity I have blogged about on a number of occasions. I was really pleased to be there and had been invited by Ian and Kuzna Jackson, who are great supporters of the CBP.

The Three Valleys Male Choir were magnificent. At one part of their performance, they called all the men in the audience to come to the stage to sing Glen Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo. It was great fun! As you can see, I am at the front singing most heartily. I knew the song well, as I am a good fan of Glen Miller, particularly his Moonlight Serenade and Pennsylvania 6-5000.


by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

A Perfect Sunday with Harlow Canal Boat Project

I was very privileged today to be invited by the Canal Boat Project for a ride on one of the Canal Boats.

Although cold, It was a beautiful sunny day, and we sailed from the Moorhen to just past beautiful Parndon Mill. We would have gone further, were it not for the icy river.

It was great to be on the boat. I was given some 'steering practice' by some of the dedicated volunteers - which was great fun. They also gave me a good education about canals and the issues affecting British Waterways.

It was also good to be sailing with a number of others, including Ann Wafula Strike, the Harlow Paralympian and some of her family.

I have been to Canal Boat Project a few times now, but until today, I had never had to chance to sail in one of the boats. It is a great experience. You get a feeling of just how much, the groups of youngsters - many of whom have significant disabilities - who use the Canal Boat Project - enjoy the experience. Definitely one of the nicest Sunday's I have had in recent times.

I hope you like the pictures.

Mr Black is so wrong about Harlow. Its a great place to live

After reading Mr Black's letter in the Harlow Star last week (7 January), I have to say I am truly mystified. At best his criticisms of Harlow simply perpetuate a number of myths about our town, at worst he provides unthinking ammunition to all those who wish to denigrate Harlow, of which sadly there are plenty. He criticises our education, yet schools like Holy Cross have been shown to be one of the best in England.
He says there are no landmarks. I ask him, has he been to Parndon Mill, not only picturesque but also one of the most romantic places in Essex? Or even Parndon Nature reserve or the Town Park and Harlow Common to name just a few wonderful places that ensure Harlow really is a special place.
Has he not seen our sculptures that many other places in England would give their right arm to possess?
Mr Black totally ignores the great community spirit in the town. Organisations like the Civic Society that do so much to preserve Harlow's rich heritage.
The charities and voluntary groups that work day and night to help those in need. Voluntary groups like the Harlow Homeless Centre, the Canal Boat Project and St Clare Hospice are ground-breaking in their own way and have been recognised nationally for the work that they do.
From Glenn Hoddle, to Paralympian Ann Wafula Strike, Harlow is also proud of the many famous people that come from the town.
Not forgetting its many famous political representatives, ranging from John Perry Watlington in the 19th Century, Winston Churchill from 1924-1945 (when Harlow came under the Epping constituency), Leah Manning, Norman Tebbit, Stan Newens, Jerry Hayes and now Bill Rammell.
The truth is that Harlow is a great place to be. We have everything here. A history and heritage, great shops and restaurants and countryside all around us.
Of course there is some unsightly concrete - which the new town centre regeneration proposals will largely get rid of. But far from talking Harlow down, Mr Black and any other detractors should get behind those who want to make Harlow an even better place to live.

IDS to visit Harlow today

It should be a really good day. Iain Duncan Smith MP, Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice is visiting Harlow.

We have a jam packed visit. IDS starts off as Guest Speaker to the Essex Chamber of Commerce Lunch.

After, he will be visiting the Canal Boat Project and Raktrain. Both - in a different way - are community ventures which transforms the lives of young people.

The Canal Boat Project gives youngsters - many with disabilities - the chance to explore our canals and enjoy our beautiful scenery through the eyes of a canal boat.

Raktrain helps equip young kids - who may have dropped out of full time education - with the skills they need to give them a chance for the future.

After these visits, IDS is guest speaker at Harlow Conservatives Ladies Committee annual dinner.

We have over 100 people attending in what should be a remarkable event. Ladies Chairwoman, Sarah Dangerfield - with her committee - has been working day and night to make the event run smoothly. It is a mammoth task: organising the venue, selling tickets, doing table plans and much more besides.

Our dinner is called 'The Churchillian' in recognition that Winston Churchill represented Harlow when he was MP for the Epping Constituency.

I am looking forward to IDS coming very much. He is a man who has transformed Conservative politics with his emphasis on social justice and helping the vulnerable through empowering community organisations. It should be fascinating to hear what he has to say.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Local and National - Harlow is at the forefront for helping the disabled

As I mentioned earlier, Mark Harper, Shadow Minister disabled people visited Harlow today. I wanted Mark to see some ground-breaking organisations that help disabled people and those who have had other difficulties of some sort or another.

First stop was Motabilty, just by Harlow Greyhound Stadium. Motability is truly one of the great charitable endeavours of our time. It empowers disabled people by enabling them to get a car, without having to worry about huge costs. The cars are also adapted for their needs. I myself, am a Motability customer since 2007, having bought my car from the excellent Kia Garage in Potter Street. I have to say, Motability has made my life much easier in terms of travel.

Today, Mark and I met the senior management of Motability, but also toured the offices meeting hard working staff, many of whom, I am glad to say, are local. Motability has 500,000 customers across the UK - and it is good that it bases much of its national operation in Harlow. I was astonished to meet one employee, who remembered my application of 2007 and had the responsibility of deciding whether my application was valid! All the staff were clearly passionate about Motability, and many have worked at the charity for over a decade.

After Motability, I took Mark to see The Canal Boat Project, which I visited not so long ago and wrote about HERE and HERE. Mark set out some useful funding ideas, particularly from the County Council. I was again struck by the passion of the volunteers involved. Mark also met with Para-Olympian Anne Wafula Strike at the project. Anne was able to set out some of the difficulties disabled athletes faced - because of Government cuts to sports funding.

We then drove to the Latton Bus Centre to meet up with clients and workers from Employability. This is a charity that helps those with mental health difficulties find jobs. It has great success in doing so. Mark spoke with a number of clients who had found work through Employability. They all the made the point that the difference between Employability and a Government Agency, is that they were not treated as digits on a computer, but were given mentoring and real support that valued their dignity as human beings.

Mark said after, that it was good to get away from Westminster - from the Ivory Towers - and see real organisations on the ground doing important work. As someone who has a walking disability, I am glad to be the Prospective MP for a town that is at the forefront of helping the disabled.

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Shadow Disabled Minister to visit ground-breaking Community organisations that help disabled people

I am really pleased today to be welcoming Mark Harper MP, Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Harlow has some ground-breaking charities that help the disabled and I wanted Mark to see them at work.

He will be visiting Motability, whose HQ is in Harlow, The Canal Boat Project and Employability at Latton Bush.

Full details are below:

Mark Harper will be visiting charities that help disabled people in the constituency, including Motability. Charities play a leading role in our community and Mark will be visiting clients who use Employ-ability services to see at first hand what they do.

Journalists and photographers are welcome to cover Mark's visit to:Motability - between 10am and 12.30pm - Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow,CM19 5PX. For more details, visit http://www.motability.co.uk/main.cfm?Type=CU

The Canal Boat Project - 1pm. For more details, visit http://www.canalboat.org.uk/ For directions visit http://www.canalboat.org.uk/findus.php

Employ-Ability - 2.15pm. For more details, visit http://www.employ-ability.

About Mark:

Mark Harper stood as the Conservative candidate for the Forest of Dean in the 2001 general election, cutting Labour's majority from 6,343 to 2,049.He was re-selected as Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the Forest of Dean in July 2002. He was elected as MP in May 2005. In December 2005, he was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Defence. In July 2007, Mr Harper was appointed a Shadow Minister for Disabled People.

Some more pictures of the Canal Boat Project.

See some more pictures of the excellent Canal Boat Project, above as promised. Hope you like them. Apologies for posting a bit later than planned.

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com

The Canal Boat Project

I have just visited, with my friend Anne Wafula Strike, the Canal Boat Project today in the glorious sunshine. The weather just added to the beauty of the view and the Canal boats gleamed against the river.

The Canal Boat Project, really is an extra-ordinary organisation. It has a small fleet of boats that are used to take disabled, or disadvantaged youngsters, down the river for a day or even night trip. What is really fantastic about the Project is that it is manned by over 100 volunteers, many of whom drive the boats, provide training and do a host of other duties. I was shown round by Doreen who looks after the Project and ensures things are running smoothly.

All of the boats are in immaculate condition and have sofas, kitchens and shower rooms inside. There are special lifts that ensure those in wheelchairs can get on and off with ease.

I am looking forward to visit the Canal Project again, especially as I have been promised a trip down the river by Doreen!

The best thing about the Project is that those who have set it up, run it, and help on a day to day basis, do it because they love what the Project does. From what I have seen today, I can understand why.

P.S. The picture shows Doreen, Para-olympian Ann Wafula Strike and myself, standing by one of the boats. I shall put some more pictures and add web-links on later, when I get home.