• FIRST let me congratulate the CNJ on receiving the Newspaper of the Year Award.

It is a hugely well deserved accolade for a small independent local newspaper that “punches above its weight” but occasionally it does get things wrong.

Last week’s Peeps diary featured an article which mocked an initiative which I lead Conservative colleagues in.

Litter Pick Sunday was a genuine attempt to encourage residents to remove litter from their streets.

Litter is not only unsightly but can be hazardous to humans and animals. My plan is to encourage residents and traders to keep their patch free of litter.

A recent report suggested we are the dirtiest borough in the UK. Therefore, instead of mocking us albeit in a lighthearted manner, maybe the CNJ should be joining us in helping clean up our borough.

The article also suggested that former Camden councillor Theo Blackwell ruined the chances of a Beatle reunion on Millennium Eve at the Dome.

Indeed this was an idea I suggested to Sir Paul McCartney in early 1998 after I met him at the first Pride of Britain Award and he invited me to tea at his Soho office.

I also wrote to Jenny Page CEO of the company in charge of the Dome; she wrote back saying even if I was able to pull it off it was unlikely to happen because the plans were already set.

Theo admitted later that Downing Street did not balk at the idea and he was only joking when he suggested that was the case.

The article also mistakenly elevated me to chair of Holborn St Pancras Conservative Association when my position is chair of Holborn St Pancras South Central Branch a much lesser role.

The next Litter Pick Sunday will be in Belsize and Primrose Hill, October 31, 2pm-4 pm, meet outside Nisa supermarket, Adelaide Road, NW3.

CNJ readers will be most welcome to join us, gloves and litter grabbers provided.

NIC CAREEM
Co-founder, Litter Pick Sunday