New Besom

Wednesday 31st October

I bumped into Mrs Katia Malcaus Cooper this week at a children's Hallowe'en Party at the Briar's Community Centre in Lightwater West.

Katia is standing for election to the Windlesham Parish Council next month, which as you know, is a parish that includes the three villages of Windlesham, Bagshot & Lightwater.

I know Katia both personally & professionally. She is a friend of a very good friend of mine, we have children of similar ages and we have met on a number of social occasions. Most recently mine & Katia's paths have crossed in respect of funding streams for the Briar's Community Centre in Lightwater, the committee for which Katia was recently Chair of.
On that occasion the County Council was able to make funds available to assist the first phase of the renovation of the centre, which was starting to show signs of poor repair, certainly unsustainable for use by children.

I'm delighted that Katia has decided to stand for election in Lightwater West this time and I wish her every success. As a local Lightwater West resident, her interest in and subsequent leadership of the committee at the Briar's Centre proved to be very capable, with determination and good spirits displayed in equal measure.
More importantly than that is that Katia showed that she has local interests very much at heart. While standing beneath a Conservative banner, she is not a career politician; she is not standing to grandstand on issues in order to facilitate a career in local politics. Katia is simply a very committed local resident looking to benefit the residents of her local community.

And in this business, and in this part of the world, I must say that I find that outlook particularly refreshing.

Lucky Lightwater West.
Good luck Katia!