Whitehall

Nonsuch HP paid a brief visit to Whitehall in Cheam today. This is a beautiful Tudor building, built in about 1500 as a farmer's house, which has now been restored as a museum. There are a fascinating collection of rooms on display to the public, reflecting the various "improvements" the house underwent during its life. From 1741 to 1963 it was home to the Killick family who were also closely associated with Cheam School. There are exhibitions about the family, the school and also Nonsuch Palace in several of the rooms - the Palace exhibition includes several Tudor jugs and pieces of crockery that were found when the site was excavated.


The most interesting thing in the museum is the "graffiti door". On it is written the word "Remember" - the last thing Charles I said before his execution, showing that the Killicks clearly had close sympathy with the royalist cause. Whitehall also used to be known as "The Council House" as it is said that Elizabeth I had an impromptu council meeting there to sign papers while she was out hunting from the palace. The house seems a little cramped for this sort of thing, but makes for a good story!

You can find out more about Whitehall (including opening hours) here. It's well worth a visit and also has a good tea garden!

PS: You can find out more about other interesting historic places in Cheam here.

Sutton Bookshare

Sutton Borough Council has just announced an interesting new scheme to encourage people to share their books with each other. People who sign up can search for books they find interesting, and then make contact with the owner to borrow the book for a convenient length of time. The council considers this to be a "world first" and hopes it will encourage a greater sense of community and interest in books. Others, as shown in this Guardian article, are concerned that this could be used as an excuse to make cuts to library services - the Council has already stated its intention to make savings, mainly in reduction of opening hours rather than closing the libraries themselves.

You can access the scheme here. Let us know if you find any interesting books!

Big Society comes to Sutton

David Cameron's plans for a "Big Society" will include our borough of Sutton - the only London borough (and one of only four councils) to be included. The idea appears to be that communities will be given greater powers to run their own facilities, such as post offices, libraries and transport services. Sutton itself will concentrate on sustainable transport services and youth projects and hope to be "champions of green living"... Funding will come in part from dormant bank accounts, although it has been pointed out that costs would be reduced if much of the work was now done by enthusiastic volunteers rather than council workers and civil servants. There have been concerns that this is a front to mask spending cuts. Ed Milliband has described it as a "cynical attempt" to "dignify its cuts agenda by dressing up the withdrawal of support with the language of reinvigorating civic society". What do you think about all this - do you think the borough is a suitable place for these plans - and what would you change first if you had the chance?

Paul Burstow holds on to Sutton and Cheam

Paul Burstow has held on to his seat in Sutton and Cheam in a very tight contest. Here are the results

Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat) 22,156 45.7 -1.2
Philippa Stroud (Conservative) 20,548 42.4 +1.7
Kathy Allen (Labour) 3,376 7.0 -4.9
John Clarke (BNP) 1,014 2.1 +2.1
David Pickles (UKIP) 950 2.0 +2.0
Peter Hickson (Green) 246 0.5 +0.5
John Dodds (English Democrats) 106 0.2 +0.2
Matthew Connolly (Christian Peoples Alliance) 52 0.1 +0.1
Martin Cullip (Libertarian) 41 0.1 +0.1
Brian Hammond (Independents Federation UK) 19 0.0 +0.0

Majority 1,608 3.3
Turnout 48,508 72.8 +5.5

Paul Burstow TODAY

Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam will be answering questions today in the library at 1.15. All are welcome! Please let us know how you think he gets on, plus your opinions on tonight's third leadership debate - here are 12 things to watch out for...

PS: Has anyone watched Dermot O'Leary's political interviews on BBC3? What did you think of them?

BBC Radio visits Nonsuch Park

The BBC's PM radio programme visited Nonsuch Park yesterday, with an analysis of the impact of Nick Clegg's debate performance on the local campaign. It includes interviews with David Cameron (the hairdresser in Cheam!) and various Sutton residents. Click here to listen to the programme and go forward 21 minutes.

Stroud v Burstow

Paul Burstow and Philippa Stroud have now both spoken at Nonsuch. What did you think about what they had to say? How do you think their campaigns in Sutton are going? Who do you think will win? Please post your comments below!

Philippa Stroud Visit

Philippa Stroud, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for Sutton & Cheam, is coming to Nonsuch on Tuesday.
She is currently the Executive Director for Social Justice, a right wing think tank and lives close by in Sutton. She has had a fascinating career so far, working with drug addicts in Hong Kong and developing policy on social issues. She has three teenage children and her husband is a Church leader. See her website here and an article today about her in The Times here as the 'new face' in Tory politics.
Come along to hear her speak and ask her questions on Tuesday 26 January at 1.20pm in the library.