Just so that you know what you're looking out for...

The lady in the picture is Cathy, and the vehicle behind her is the 'Club 88' Taxibus, which serves Creeting St Peter twice a day during the week on a scheduled run, and on demand otherwise.

The fare is an astonishingly reasonable £1.20 for the journey to Stowmarket, and the telephone number to call if you want to use the service is 01449 616000. The telephone line is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the service can be booked up to a week in advance.

A bus stop for Creeting St Peter?

Whilst our twice a day, six days a week bus service might not be very well known, I was moved to wonder whether a bus stop might raise its profile. So, as the Parish Council will be discussing the matter next month, does anyone have any views on whether we need one, where it should be placed, and whether there is demand for other services?

The Parish Council co-opts its newest member

The Parish Council have been laboured at something below full strength for some time, putting out repeated requests for new blood, so to speak.

Here at Creeting St Peter Blog, we are always willing to step into the breach if required, and I am delighted to announce that Mark Valladares, editor of this blog, has been newly co-opted to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the Council's term, i.e. until scheduled elections in 2011.

So, as the Code of Conduct has been signed, this blog will no longer report on Parish Council meetings, except to post a link to the calling notices, agendas and minutes of meetings as posted on the official Parish Council website. However, if there is anything that you'd like to contribute by way of ideas or suggestions for things that the Parish Council might do, use the comments section, or contact any of the Parish Councillors, whose details can be found on the, you guessed it, Parish Council website...

Taxibus: getting bigger and better

I was planning my trip back to the village for this evening's Parish Council meeting when it dawned on me that I could actually use the Taxibus. So I rang Optua to find out whether or not it was available to pick me up off of the 16:32 service from Liverpool Street and, to my pleasant surprise, it was.

So I made my booking and noted that I would look out for the London cab that they use, only to be told that this was not the case any more. The Taxibus is now a people carrier, converted to carry passengers in wheelchairs or with mobility issues. Good news for anyone in the villages surrounding Stowmarket, I think, or for anyone wanting to visit our village...

A more civilised journey from Stowmarket to London

For those of us who regularly travel to London, one of the consolations of having to make the journey was that the restaurant car was probably the best in the country, and there was much distress when National Express East Anglia cut it during the winter.

Clearly, the muttering from regular users of the service has been heeded, as today sees the introduction of an at-seat menu on the 19:30 service from Liverpool Street to Norwich. Choices include steak and merlot pie, lamb shank, a vegetarian tartlet, chicken salad, crayfish salad, pasta dishes, cheese and biscuits plus a range of desserts.

Alright, it won't be the award-winning service there once was, but it's a start...

Election Result: Stowmarket North and Stowupland

So, no change at County Council level here in Creeting St Peter. The result;

• Gary Green (Conservative) - 1211 votes
• Nicky Turner (Liberal Democrat) - 586 votes
• Nigel Rozier (Green) - 575 votes
• Suzanne Britton (Labour) - 261 votes

The turnout, a slightly disppointing 31.9%, somewhat less than that in Creeting St Peter itself.

Across the county, with two seats still to declare, the result is;

• Conservatives - 54 seats
• Liberal Democrats - 11 seats
• Labour - 3 seats
• Greens - 2 seats
• Independents - 2 seats
• UK Independence Party - 1 seat

Election frenzy: the state of the poll thus far

I wandered over to our polling station this evening, just to see how things are going at the Church Hall. The presiding officer and his assistant have probably drawn one of the easier polling station, as the parish has an electorate of 215, but they have stoically awaited voters all day, since 7 a.m. in fact. As at 7.45 this evening, the turnout was 65, or 30.2%. Add postal voters, and the turnout will probably be close to 40%.

Now that equates to approximately one voter every twelve minutes, which might not sound very impressive, but the presiding officer asked me to note their view that voters here are really polite and friendly, and that they've enjoyed being here. Violet has made sure that their day is comfortable by sweeping the hall, making sure that the toilet is properly supplied and that the kitchen is spotless, and they are very grateful.

So, well done Creeting St Peter voters, and thank you for turning out today!

It"s Polling Day in Creeting St Peter - you know what to do...

Polls opened just over an hour ago for the European and County elections.

Regardless of your political beliefs, this blog urges you to use your vote. After all, you can hardly be upset about the outcome if you don't try to influence it!