Right, then Here we go.

So, yesterday - the hottest October day for a gazillion years - saw a room full of local Labour types crammed into Exeter Labour HQ to select the candidates for the Exeter City Council elections in 2012. I have been working as a Labour councillor in Weymouth & Portland (home of the 2012 Olympic sailing events) for 8 years, but work and a new relationship has brought me further south west in the last 3 years, so ever eager to serve the party I love (yeah, I know...!) I put myself forward for wherever I could help, and the party have selected me for the Pinhoe ward. I am honoured and excited!

Now, I already knew of Pinhoe. Kind of. Firstly, it is home to my favourite Chinese restaurant in Exeter, the Oriental City. Secondly, and possibly more importantly Pinhoe was the site of a glorious victory for councillor Moira MacDonald who won here for Labour in May. Pinhoe is a great community of mixed housing, some owner-occupied private housing, but also with its fair share of rented and social housing. A strong, mixed community - part of the city, yet with a "village" feel too. A community with a robust identity. Much like Littlemoor, my ward in Weymouth.

So, right now I am living in Rawridge just outside Honiton. I desperately need to move from here as it was the first place IN MY LIFE where I didn't vote. Last May my partner, Jenny, and I strolled through the village and saw the notice of election... we could vote Tory or.... well, we could vote Tory. Or not vote. So we did that.

At the end of this month I shall be moving back to the civilisation of Exeter, and am now scouring the internet and local paper for places to rent in Pinhoe... there's not a lot of choice just now! Fingers crossed things improve soon. I am very much looking forward to moving into the area, though with the proximity of the Heart of Oak and Oriental City, I fear for my cholesterol levels. Still, walking what is a big, spread-out ward to deliver leaflets has to count for something in the calorie-burning stakes!

So.... the journey starts here. This is a place to discuss, to interact, to debate, and to tell me what Pinhoe is all about, and what the place needs from its representatives and the local authority. I work at Exeter Council for Voluntary Service, and really enjoy and promote community action and active citizenship. Please make this page dynamic with me!

Finally, feel free to follow me on Twitter, I'm at @Simon4Pinhoe , or you can contact me directly on simon4pinhoe@gmail.com

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible!