Romsey Advertiser 2 March 2007

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 2nd Mar 2007

Last weekend was a nice one from a constituency point of view. On Friday evening I saw "A day in the death of Joe Egg" at the Plaza. I am always very impressed by RAODS productions and this was no exception - we are lucky to have such a wealth of talent in the town.

Some members of RAODS turned up at the Crosfield Hall the next day - leading the sing song at the seventh "Reminiscences of Romsey". This is an event for our senior citizens, organised by the Rotary Club of Romsey Test. It was originally envisaged as a one off but, popular demand, has become an annual event. For some people I spoke to it was clearly one of the highlights of their year and it was good to see some familiar faces. Once again it struck me that there are a number of people in the area who give a lot of time to the community. This is very heartening in what can sometimes seem a selfish world.

Sunday was not a constituency day as I had been asked to speak at a conference in Birmingham. I usually travel by train so that I can use the travelling time profitably but track repairs meant that the journey timings became impossible so I drove.

All too soon it was time to turn around and come back to Westminster. I arrived just in time for a photo call with other local MPs. We had hoped to present a petition on behalf of Southampton pensioners to the Department of Transport but they informed us that there was not an available Minister. This was disappointing as all of the major parties were represented on this occasion.

Later that day Hampshire MPs met up again. This time it was at a dinner hosted by the heads of FE colleges in the area. This was a very lively and engaging dinner during which many educational issues were discussed. Again, all parties were represented but it is often interesting to see how opinions do not always divide along party lines.

I had to be up early as the Select Committee visited Medway as part of the Inquiry into public and patient involvement in the NHS. This was a very worthwhile visit and we heard from a lot of people.

On Wednesday diaries have been somewhat disrupted due to important votes on the proposed offender management service. I'm hoping that I will be able to get away from Westminster for an hour so that I can attend a meeting of the Women's Environmental Network, of which I am a "Matron". I'm not quite sure how I feel about that particular title.

Also on the agenda later today is a meeting with representatives of First Great Western who now operate the trains through Romsey. The feedback from constituents is not good so I have a feeling it could be an uncomfortable meeting. I will report back!

Published with kind permission of Romsey Advertiser