The Romsey Advertiser 1 February 2008

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Wed 30th Jan 2008

At the end of last week I emerged from the Committee Stage of the Health and Social Care Bill and now that I have dramatically reduced the backlog of e mails I feel as if I have my life back.

Friday was a pretty busy day. It started with a fairly heavy surgery in Chandlers Ford and it was one of those occasions when I felt quite drained at the end. It is often the case that people come to see me when they are at the end of their tether and don't know quite where to turn and it can be hard to distil some problems into a standard surgery appointment.

I overran - which was necessary at the time but frustrating as it meant that I only had limited time at the Romsey Youth Council event in the Town Hall. I would have liked to have stayed longer as there was a real buzz and the teenagers were brimming with good ideas.

Then to Winchester for a meeting on the x66 bus which runs between Romsey and Winchester Station. The message is clear - I believe there is a finite chance that the extra commuter buses will continue so please support the service as much as you possibly can.

In the evening I popped over to Mountbatten School to visit the youth club which seemed very happy in its new home. The children could safely let off steam without annoying local residents so the move seems to have had benefits all round.

It was a very youth oriented weekend because on Saturday Bill and I attended the Thornden School production of Aladdin which was hugely enjoyable. I always enjoy seeing young people performing and getting so much enjoyment from it.

Before heading for Westminster this week I had a meeting with the Better Bags group to discuss what could be done to reduce the number of plastic bags used in Romsey. I came away with a number of action points but also resolved to try harder on a personal level.

Back to Westminster and most of the week has been dominated by debates on the Lisbon Treaty. This will be the pattern for the next few weeks and already some of my colleagues (from all parties) seem less than enamoured of the whole exercise. Other Westminster highlights this week were the "Pleural plaques" lobby, a debate on Maternity Services and a meeting with representatives from the local Chartered Institute for Housing.

Published with kind permission of The Romsey Advertiser