Ted Brown

Photo:

Favourite Thing: I can’t think of anywhere else in the world that I would rather be. Straight talking folk, vibrant communities and twenty thousand acres of sky. Sitting in my garden overlooking the town, hearing with the sound of the pipe band practice drifting in and out on the wind and the sun setting over the hills on the other side of the valley. That’s special.

Me and my council work

No two days are the same. Sometimes you feel that you have made a difference. Othertimes you just have to keep on going until you do. Read More Updated 23/09/10.

I serve on the Planning Housing and Environmental Services Committee and on the Education Committee in addition to attending Full Council Meetings. I do occasionally take part in teacher and head teacher job interviews.

I regularly attend both the Annandale & Eskdale Area Regulatory and Community Committee meetings, which take place by rotation in Annan, Lockerbie and Moffat and I also serve on the Annandale & Eskdale Licensing Board.

My other commitments include:-

Being Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Diversity Advocate for Faith & Culture.

Attending “Outside Bodies” on behalf of the Council including:-

D&G Access Forum

D&G Area Tourism Partnership

South West of Scotland Transport Partnership (SWESTRANS) as a substitute board member.

Dumfriesshire Educational Trust.

West Coast 250

I also serve on:-

Lockerbie Rail Liaison Group (Chair)

Lockerbie Syracuse Trust

Lockerbie Trust

Lockerbie Common Good Fund

Samuel Elliot Trust

Lockerbie Jazz Festival Steering Group

I sometimes attend the monthly meetings of the:-

Lockerbie Town Hall Management Committee

And the 8 Community Councils, 6 parent councils, 2 tenants & residents associations and two local initiatives that are active in my ward. Off course I can’t attend all 19 of these meetings each month, so I generally only attend their meetings if they have a particular issue that I may be able to help them resolve.

My Typical Day

Start at 5AM. Finish at 10:30pm

5AM Check Emails and respond. 6:30 AM Shower & Shave. 8:30AM Drive to Dumfries taking mornings post. 9AM grab an all day breakfast at Morrisons.

9:30AM in the Labour group room at the main Council building reading post, then having final discussions with colleagues before the start of a 10:30 AM committee meeting.

1PM 30 minute lunch break. 1:30 pm back in the group room to discuss an afternoon committee. 2pm Another committee meeting. 4pm leave Dumfries to return home.

4:45PM take 1 hour power nap. 5:45pm Gather papers and prepare for an evening meetimg. Grab some food, shower. Check answer phone for messages. Phone back as required.

7pm Arrive in Annan for a meeting. 10:30pm get back home and chill out for an hour or so before going to bed.

What I'd do as "Youth Champion"

Work to understand the needs and hopes of young people better and then use that knowledge to influence council policy to address their concerns.

More soon

My Interview

How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

very slightly mad

Who is your favourite singer or band?

Janice Joplin

What is the most fun thing you've done?

Riding my motorbike at (Censored) mph :-)

If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

To win the lottery. To be able to play my guitar like Jimi Hendrix. To stay fit and healthy for the rest of my life

What did you want to be after you left school?

A forester. Well that was realy before I left, which I did at 15 with no qualifications. From then on it was just about getting a pay packet, until I got wise and started studying again.

Were you ever in trouble in at school?

No, I was perfect all the time. Not. :-)

What's the best thing you've done as a councillor?

Found emergency accommodation for a homeless family with very young chidren.

Tell us a joke.

A very popular Scotsman dies in Glasgow and his old widow wishes to tell all his friends at once so she goes to the newspaper and says “I’d like tae place an obituary fur ma late husband” The man at the desk says “OK, how much money dae ye have?” The old woman replies “Ji 5” to which the man says “You wont get many words for that but write something and we’ll see if it’s ok” so the old woman writes something and hands it over the counter and the man reads “Peter Reid, fae Parkheid, deid” He feels guilty at the abruptness of the statement and encourages the old woman to write a few more things. The old woman ponders and then adds a few more words and hands the paper over the counter again. The man then reads “Peter Reid, fae Parkheid deid. Ford Escort for sale”

My CV

Councillor for:

3 years and five months. I was a community councillor for about five years before that.

Party:

Scottish Labour Party

Council job:

Opposition spokesperson for the Planning, Housing and Environmental Services Committee

Profession:

Information and Communications Technology Consultant (Geek)

My profile link:
https://dumgal.bigvote.org.uk/profile/tedbrown/