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Constituencies, wards and local councils

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Constituencies (a.k.a. parliamentary constituencies): each electing one Member of Parliament (MP) every 5 years to the House of Commons (Parliament). There are 650 constituencies in the UK.Wards (a.k.a. electoral divisions or electoral wards) is the primary unit of English electoral geography for borough and district councils, county councils or city councils. Each ward elects either one or two councillors to be members of the local council. There were 9,456 electoral wards/divisions in the UK and each ward has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population can vary substantially.Local council is made up of a number of Councillors (Cllr) who meet regularly to make decisions about the direction of the council and the work it does for the community. As elected bodies local councils are responsible to their local community. Attending a council meeting is the best way to find out what they do and how they make decisions. Members of public can attend public council meetin…
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Children's Centre and Family Visitors

By Jim Sheng
Unlike G.P., midwife, health visitor, nursery, school, family visitors are hardly known, and Children's Centre is seldom visited by families with babies and toddlers.

Actually, local family visitors are quite helpful, they work in partnership with parents/carers to provide improved outcomes for families with children under 5.

Family visitors can offer

  • Support and advice on parenting,
  • Help with accessing local services,
  • Home visits,
  • Supporting families with additional needs.
Family visitors also lead PEEP groups.

PEEP(Peers Early Education Partnership) is a national Family Learning Project for the under fives and their families.

In Northern Ireland, Children's Centre is called Family Centre. My wife used to take my daughter there every week when we lived in Derry, she also took part in a self-esteem training project and received a golden-lettered certificate. She also enjoyed orange juice and biscuits, because she doesn't like a cup of tea or coffee. Most of all, the family centre gave my daughter a second hand cot-bed, it's a cot convertible to junior bed. When we moved to Belfast, we took the cot-bed with us (very heavy!), but we couldn't bring it to Derby when moved home again last year. I don't know if the Ulster University accommodation officer threw it to the skip, because that building block would be demolished soon after we left.
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coat-of-arms

By Jim Sheng
Heraldry probably began with the knights in armour. When wearing a helmet in battle or in tournaments a knight could not be recognised; so he used symbols to decorate his shield and surcoat. The surcoat was the loose garment worn over the armour to protect it from rain or hot sun and actually was the "coat-of-arms"; it was decorated on the front and back with the same device as on the shield.
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Is Aladdin a Chinese?

By Jim Sheng
Aladdin is an Arabic name, but he lived in China.  Is he a Chinese?
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The Meaning of Derby City Council Logo

By Jim Sheng
The logo of Derby City Council looks quite abstract and modern. I wonder what's the meaning of it? The lower-left part of the logo looks like a snail (or the initial letter D in Derby?), the upper-right part seems a river, (Derwent river?) these two parts are connected by a straight line at the bottom.

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