Happy Christmas Dad

This time of year means many things to many people, and for me Christmas Day is extra special ever since I woke up on Christmas morning in 1995 to discover that my Dad, friend and life time mentor had passed away.

I am writing this very personal blog not only to mark the 15th anniversary of Dad’s death, but to share with you just how influential my Dad was to me.  I am not claiming to be unique because there are millions of similar stories that can be told of how the father-son relationship has shaped generations, but for me at the end of an historic year in my own life, I really do owe it all to everything my Dad taught me.

My election as a councillor in May, as the newspapers reported at the time, had a remarkable similarity to my Dad’s achievements of a quarter of a century earlier.  We both won our council seats as independents, we both took seats in perceived Tory strongholds and we both defeated candidates who had been Mayors of Harrow.  In my case, the sitting Mayor was ousted to the disbelief of political rivals and commentators alike.

Becoming the second generation of Bond on the council is not unlike taking over the hot seat of the family business.  First you are the apprentice, listening and learning, stockpiling the pearls of wisdom along the way and then before you know it you are being given a bit of responsibility.  For me it was attending council meetings and taking notes of what was said about the decisions being taken.  The requirement to understand how local government works is paramount to making things happen.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the year gone by and almost eight months serving the people of Headstone North is no different.  It has been said that my election has been a breath of fresh air and my presence on the council has put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons! I will leave it to others to judge how they think I have done because that is another thing my Dad taught me.  Never rest on your laurels.  Complacency and taking the people who elected you for granted is political suicide.

Dad also told me that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, and many things that you want to do will take forever and a day but with determination and a steely resolve you will be able to achieve some of the things that you set out to do and in the process make a modest difference to people’s lives.

Dad warned me that politics is a dirty business and only a few politicians, of all parties and none, actually mean it when they claim to be serving for the good of the people, so as I wish both friends and foes a happy Christmas, I am proud to dedicate my election to the council to the one man who made it all happen. Happy Christmas Dad.