Going For Council

Right this might be a complete crack pot idea and I have had many of those like Robbing Reliant F1, where we take Robbin reliant cars and replace their engines F1 engines. Which I know is ridiculous and so very dangerous, trust me it would kill by the millions, having little little wobbly 3 wheelers with 500 horse power engines is never a good idea.

But anyway the idea I have is one seen in as many ways nowhere near as dangerous, which is that I might run for council, I know that will have some people running in fear and blow up my ego to about 20 times the size it is, trust me its big.

I am not sure of how to go about doing it, I dint have much in the way of funds and I sometimes am completely overwhelmed by tasks in hand or Hope to get my voice across in the right way. For some people I am way too loud and maybe a bit obnoxious.

There are some key issues that I feel very passionate about, like the fact that people in Bristol seem to concentrate on the past on not on the here and now. like when ever I have spoken to people about music in Bristol, they go oh yeah Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky blah blah blah and not see some of the fantastic bands that we have around now. i could list hundreds of great Bristol bands but I wont because I would probably lose the point that I am trying to make.

I personally feel that people from Bristol under sell themselves, I know this is something I have suffered with myself ala being unemployed pretty much my entire life, this is partly because I have never had a clear sense of direction. I will admit to being a complete ethereal dreamer and sometimes tend to get side tracked by my emotions.

Its like what my friend Joe said when we were having a discussion last night, what generally starts in Bristol dies in Bristol. Its almost like as we fear where we are from or live, we are completely embarrassed to admit where we are from.

If all the cities were school kids then, then London and Manchester would be big brash School bullies, Birmingham would be the hard kid and little ol Bristol would be the whimpish kid in the corner constantly looking down on its self, feeling scared of everyone else.

People do have the tendency to judge people on where they are from, we are generally seen by the outside world of Bristol as hippy, raving, peace loving nut cases. now this

Of course it is important not to forget the way Bristol has shaped this country in the past. I mean lest we forget that Bristol had a huge part to play in the fight for equal rights especially within different racial backgrounds.

Bristol used to be a really radical city, it was only back in the mid nineties that the st Pauls riots were kicking off. these were riots which would shape the Cities social and political divisions.

Maybe I am thinking to much about the past here, I don't know. but it almost feels like we don't know how to celebrate this city for all the great things that it has given us. we forget how great Bristolians are with humour I mean we are some of the most sarcastic people on the planet, some of the biggest names in UK stand up have cut their teeth in Bristol. I have got my sense of humour from people in this city.
Anyone who spends more then half an hour with me will realise I am as sarcastic as anything, even in making serious points.

As many people will know I love this city, I think it has some of the most amazing people in the planet, but it seems to lead by council that in general promotes it like as if it is London, meaning that Bristol has lost its sense of identity.

This may come across as big words from a jobless gob shite, I would like to promote Bristol in a positive way and that we are not just flower power hippies or drug taking maniacs. We are far more then just that

Sorry if I am over running this with stereotypes and it is probably foolish to do so, but this is how I think we are perceived by other cities.
I mean we may not be London or Manchester but we can make a difference, or I would like to make difference, wouldn't that be great thing to tell people that everybody counts.

I would like to try and represent people who may not hae the confidence to speak out. I guess I want to throw myself into the ring because I feel that I have got a lot to offer the council.

As a member of art and Power I am regularly in contact with people who aren't really being listened to by representatives for the council, weather they are people who suffer with disability or suffer social exclusion due to issues with self esteem

I am a member of a disabled arts group called Art and Power, who are an amazing arts organisation that have really helped to support artists who suffer with disabilities or social problems of one sort or another. They have really helped me out and developed me as a person.

Its like as if they gave me a bit of a purpose or a drive to say I am good at something.I probably wouldn't be here breathing on this planet if it wasn't for them, if you have read some of my poetry then most of the stuff you have read by me was written in the Creative writing group.

Its also thanks to these guys that I have been able to take myself a bit more seriously and discovered that I am a good performance poet and that sometimes I can see things in people, kind of like good qualities and I can be quite perspectives of people.

Your probably thinking there was a lot of ands in that last paragraph, which yes there was a lot of ands in that last paragraph, sometimes I use that word because I don't know how to link things together and I know by this point that I am warbling away from the stakes I was trying to raise.

I know that some people already see me as cultural icon, it is something that i was not prepared for in life, I don't think anyone could really be prepared for it.
If I was to brand my name about then I would like to use it for good things and not just for being a bit of a dancing weirdo who finds it hard to string together conversations sometimes.

I love helping characters to develop, I have seen many great things in people, if you are my friends reading this then you are great people, because I dont accept assholes.

Wouldn't it be amazing if we had a confident Bristol and not have one that is shouted at by its council. I mean not to have ago at the council members, because i don't like belittling people or using bully boy tactics which has taken politics from the public grasp. its also why I have never been a great business man and I am a completely irreverent day dreamer.

I am not quite sure what I would offer in a manifesto just yet, its something I have to put a lot more thought into and how do I word it, because it will have to appeal to both the ordinary public joe and to people and to people who like supposed 'sexed up dossiers'.

I don't know what people in the media mean when they use the term 'sexed up dossiers, its sounds a bit like an over the top MNS advert, you can just imagine it with the Torrie party which is quite frankly wrong in every sense of the word. Must get that David Cameron voice out of my head, because it is so wrong, no men with orange skin are not trust able.

I dont know how to write such things, this is partly because I have never written anything like manifesto, I mean i have written lists of dreams before, but not promises. I feel it might be like writing a death will if I croak it, or it could be a complete revelation.

I mean we might even be able to challenge the Torrie's with question like how much of a pay cut are they getting for all their fat pigged MPs? and how is cutting funding on all education by 80% going to get us out of the recession?. The way that the current government is leading us to a 3rd world styled education.

I know i wont be able to change much if anything on my own, but I would like to say that I have given it a go and not just been a moaning armchair fluesy complaining all the time.

I guess that I could be either amazing and inspire everyone or be or let my anxiety get to me an whimper about.

You may read this and think I am on about going on an egotistical trip, but all I can say is that I want to make a difference.