Constituency Week 3

Friday was absolutely packed.
I started off meeting some of the leadership of Suffolk Coastal District Council to discuss a miscellany of items. From there, I went to see our local press in their Ipswich offices. I was able to get back to Woodbridge to meet some guests of the local Rotary (thank you Roger for lunch at The Cross - delicious!) and then onto BT HQ for an inaugural meeting of Suffolk Business Forum, pulled together by the FSB and I was joined by neighbouring MPs Dan Poulter and Peter Aldous - a really good session, focusing on rural internet access. Homework was given out!
From there, back to Woodbridge, to do a surgery and then, finally, to a thank you party in Woodbridge.
Good news circulated was that John Gummer had received a peerage in the Dissolution Honours. It is traditional that Cabinet members received peerages, though this had not been followed in recent years. (GB seems to have handed them out to loads of people, not just cabinet ministers - obviously payback time (in loyalty, not money).)

Saturday - I did a bit of shopping in Leiston (thanks to the ladies who continue to raise so much money for the East Anglian Ambulance). I enjoyed visiting the Flower Festivals at Blythburgh - some spectacular displays from each parish in the Sole Bay Ministry - and Cratfield. I finished the afternoon at the Old Chapel in Walpole, surprised to join a concert given by Waveney Brass - good fun. (I used to play trombone in my school's brass band, so it brought back happy memories.)

Sunday - After church in Southwold, I headed to Leiston and managed to catch the big Bed push, raising money for a ward in a local hospital, then down to the Cakes&Ale Holiday Park near Leiston for the Friends of Leiston Airfield (FOLA) Remembrance Service which was spectacular and very moving.
After Leiston, I was able to pop back to Thorpeness to have a look at what has happened since my last visit. Work has started (well done SCDC) but it still hasn't reached along the shoreline.

After a long warm day, we retired to our local for some supper and to my surprise, there was another Conservative MP having dinner with his family. He had come to visit Minsmere on Bank Holiday. It was a pleasure to see him and to meet his family.

Monday - unusually, I was in the constituency today - started off at Southwold Lions' Fete on the Common. The Southwold and Reydon Corps of Drums led the way with the Town Mayor, Cllr Sue Allen, in tow with her partner Philip and the Town Crier. The fete was well attended with a number of attractions. From there, back home and then onto Bawdsey Fair - a slightly smaller affair but with the added attraction of a dog show. I didn't enter Rizzo, there was no scruffy dog category but good to meet a number of constituents at both events.

Getting ready for the week ahead and new staff starting. I hope to get an office and then sort out IT stuff, including some snazzy software which will help with the casework.

Thanks to everyone who sent me kind notes / phone calls / texts about the Maiden Speech. I was surprised how many people knew about it. Glad it's over and done with, now on with the interventions and oral questions.