We had a bit of a delay this morning. The Labour party had booked the church hall at Broadfield, but had to wait outside as the previous hirers were over-running.

The previous hirers were a Quranic class. In the Christian church hall. I think its a great example of how well we all get along down here.

The whole day showed Broadfield in a good light, and the community centre as a real hub for the neighbourhood.

Today was karate and kick-boxing grading day so the Sama organisation had all three main halls booked and the place was full of martial artists all day. During the morning there was a Christian Fellowship coffee morning and a few locals dropped in to sit around chatting.

The church foyer was also used all through the day as a quieter place for martial artists or their families to sit.

You only have to look at the photo of the noticeboards in the church area to see how much stuff is going on. There are several other noticeboards around the centre too, just as full, with more secular information about the Credit Union, council events and community centre news.

And all this only costs the borough council about £26,000 a year. Thats the size of the grant it gives to the charity which runs the centre. Unlike every other neighbourhood in town the council do not provide a community centre in Broadfield any more, as the BYCC is so successful. If the council had to provide this sort of facility itself it would cost a lot more than £26,000 (as it does elsewhere) and yet there are still complaints sometimes about the size of the grant.

The council could give twice as much to the Broadfield community centre and still be getting a bargain!