| Weekend community event |
| Monday, 20 June 2005 10:19 |
|
This weekend I was at a variety of events
around the constituency, all of which underlined for me what a great community
we are part of. On Saturday I went to the Furzedown Funday – the first event of the Furzedown Festival. With the added advantage of copious amounts of sunshine it was a great event, with a five a side football competition, face painting, tug of war, keyboard classes, complementary therapies and much much more. Everyone there was obviously having a great time. My daughters particularly liked the bouncy slide and the face painting, although I passed on those myself! On Sunday I went to the Furzedown Interfaith Celebration, also part of the Festival. This annual celebration goes from strength to strength, and having a theme of “Make Poverty History” was very apt this year. The event included prayers, songs, hymns, readings, a string quartet and poetry. It was great seeing so many youngsters present – all local, but of different faiths and backgrounds. I particularly enjoyed the performance of the Tibetan Monks. It was a real privilege to witness the ancient dances and instruments. More details about the Furzedown Festival, which goes on all week, can be found on their website - http://www.furzedown.net/new_pages/festival.htm. On the theme of “Make Poverty History” I was also at St Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church this weekend. The church have organised sashes signed by parishioners to be worn by members in Edinburgh at the G8 summit, when protestors will make a giant ring around the summit. The commitment the church and its worshippers have shown to this important cause is immense. This campaign is an excellent example of grassroots politics at its best. It is right and proper that citizens should be demanding that their leaders do more. I am proud of all we have done so far as a Government but there is a long way to go. I know what a great contribution faith communities have made to this campaign and the Chancellor also recognised this in answer to a question I asked him on the floor of the House at Treasury questions. Last week I met with the International Development Minister, Hilary Benn. He is determined that real progress is made so poor countries benefit. I am very proud of the contribution made to this campaign by my community, here in Tooting, and shall be passing on the petitions and sentiments. |
Promoted by Tooting Labour Party on behalf Sadiq Khan and Tooting Labour Party, all of 273 Balham High Road, London, SW17 7BD. Hosted by 34SP.com, 349 Bury Old Road, Manchester, M25 1PY.