I know it’s been a few days since I last updated my blog but it’s been a combination of tiredness (yawn, not again!), school holidays (hence the tiredeness) and being wrapped up in a local issue (what!).

In brief, I live in what used to be called a village, not the countryside rural type, but the type that is not big enough to be a town.

I have lived here a long time and have always been fairly precious about it especially as we have always been seen as ’second rate’ to the next town.

I like it or I should say I did until recently when the council (’they’ from now on) have started to over develop it.  We have as many car dealerships now as we do supermarkets (why don’t they combine, they have with everything else!).

Quite simply they want to make us into another clone town.  The residents don’t want it.  But they are insisting we do.  Although planning permission hasn’t gone through the final channels yet, it is really strange that buildings have already been demolished in the area they are going to develop.  Mmm do they think we are stupid?  The answer to that is obviously yes.

There is a group committed to stopping this action and my hat is off to them for the work they have put in so far.  They have called upon residents to write to Ruth Kelly (personally I think Ruth Badger would be feisty enough to fight the battle) to call for a public enquiry.  I may still do this.

I decided to go one step further.  As the council in question are Conservatives, tonight I emailed the Conservative leader himself, David Cameron MP and copied it to the local Lib Dems and the action group.  It has taken me a while to compose the letter, checking it sounds okay, getting my husband to read it to make sure I have come across fairly professional etc etc.

So with much anticipation tonight I completed the task and pressed send.  I was rather pleased with the outcome of my writings and was just taking one last glance at it when I was rather brought to heel.

I am very hot on spelling and grammar (within my own scope) and there sitting in one of the paragraphs was a typo.  Because it was a real word in its own right, the spell checker missed it and I must admit I had mentally decided the other day to check it in the dictionary before sending it.

As I was on a roll tonight I forgot, so I spelt what should have been councillor as counsellor.  That one error robbed me of my elation at what I had achieved.  What will they think when they read it?

I am a known terror when it comes to spelling so you can imagine how daft I felt.  Still hopefully it won’t detract from the message I sent.

I have to say that even if I don’t get a response, the fact that I felt able to write to a shadow Prime Minister was very empowering.  I know the content probably doesn’t rank with all the major problems happening in the world right now, but you also shouldn’t take your eye off the ball with local issues either.

My thought is if they can pull the wool over people’s eyes at local level, it will go to national level and so on.  Anyway I think I have now made up for my tardiness at not having written for a few days.

We shall see what happens and I will let you know the outcome.