BEDFORD CHORAL SOCIETY and BSO

Tonight I am in for a musical treat. Bedford Choral Society are performing King Olaf by Edward Elgar with the Bedfordshire Symphony Orchestra at the Corn Exchange and I have been invited in my capacity as Vice Chairman of Bedfordshire County Council. The standard of music in Bedford is extremely high, so it will be good.

Today I organised an Autumn Lunch for 28 members and friends of Bedfordshire Branch of the European Union of Women, which I chair. Our Speaker, Jacek Gajewski, EU Counsellor at the Polish Embassy in London, gave us an insight into Poland's development before and since joining the European Union. We enjoyed an delicious lunch of guinea fowl or trout and raspberry brulee at the Hunt Hotel, Linslade, which provides a first class customer service.

The European Union of Women was founded in 1953 by Dr Lola Solar, an Austrian MP to stimulate an interest in European affairs and enable women to make a contribution to international understanding. The EUW has sections in 21 European countries including the UK.

On Thursday/Friday I attended an interesting new Conference at the Business Design Centre, London on Public Services Innovation - sharing bright ideas to improve people's lives. We had inspirational talks from Charlie Leadbeater, a top corporate thinker, Paul Sloane, ex IBM Managing Director and author of 18 books on creative problem solving, Sir Michael Bichard, Director, Institute for Government and Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA, a £350 million body which fosters innovation in science, technology and the arts. Lots of ideas were generated on how to maintain high quality of public services when finances are increasingly tight.

UPDATE ON ANTI BULLYING WEEK IN BEDFORDSHIRE

This is the yellow Anti Bullying Bus which arrived at John Bunyan Upper School on Monday morning, marking the official launch of Anti-Bullying Week in Bedfordshire.

Tuesday was "Be Kind and Make a Difference Day" and children from two schools, one pictured above, went to the Grove Theatre to watch a showing of "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" - my daughters' favourite book when they were little. On Friday Chiltern FM will host an event for young people from 9 Middle Schools to display their musical, dance and drama talents before a judging panel.

Today I attended the 5th and final Bedfordshire Countywide Assembly at Cranfield University with 180 representatives from 100+ organisations including 4 local Councils, NHS, Police, Fire Service, Parish and Town Councils, voluntary organisations etc.

We were discussing our Local Area Agreement and the challenges facing the people of Bedfordshire in 4 main areas - Health & Children, the Economy & Environment, Safer and Stronger Communities and the setting up of the two new Unitary Councils, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford, which replace Bedfordshire County Council on 1 April 2009.
Topics covered included Child Obesity and Poverty, Enterprise and Carbon Reduction, Civic Participation and Domestic Violence.

Tomorrow I am off to London for a 2-day Public Services Innovation Conference, organised by the Local Government Association, to share bright ideas on how to improve people's lives. This Councillor's life is never dull, just very busy!