SUCCESS FOR MY WILSTEAD BUS CAMPAIGN

After a long campaign I have persuaded Bedford Borough Council to improve the Wilstead - Ampthill bus service so that Wilstead residents can travel to and from their doctor's surgery in Ampthill, with a long wait for a return bus. With no mid day Ampthill-Wilstead bus people were stranded people in Ampthill for hours.

Bedford Borough Council has agreed to give a special grant to Grant Palmer to run 3 more daily buses so that my Wilstead residents can travel to and from the surgery in half a day. The new bus service started on Tuesday 26 May on a 3-month trial basis. I announced the good news today at Wilstead Methodist Church's weekly coffee morning to a group of pensioners who were very pleased with the success of my long and determined campaign.

Urban residents enjoy better bus services and amenities than village residents. We have a high percentage of elderly residents in Wilstead, many without cars who suffer from mobility problems, so it is very important that they can have good access to their chosen doctor and many have doctors in Ampthill.

I am taking 24 hours off from my election campaign to spend with my 4 grandchildren Today I helped my daughter Sarah organise a cooking party in her Watford garden to celebrate Emma's 7th birthday. We made pizza, biscuits, 'chocolate aliens' and a fancy cocktail with 10 little girls who had a great time. Tomorrow I am meeting Sarah and my younger daughter Helen with all 4 grandchildren - Emma, Jessica, Oliver and Thomas - at Gulliver's Land in Milton Keynes. I worked throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, so it will make a nice change to have a family day and escape canvassing for a day.

ALL SAINTS PARISH CHURCH, WILSTEAD

Wilstead has two churches - All Saint's, the Parish Church, and Wilstead Methodist Church. Recently I gave grants from my Community Leader's Fund to both churches, and above is a photograph of Wilstead Parish Church and me presenting 2 wooden collecting bowls to the Vicar, Stephen Toze and the Church Warden Robert Heeley during one of their services. They were also able to buy some audio equipment and CDs for use in the services. The beautiful wooden collecting bowls were carved by Wilstead resident Ray Terry,a gifted wood turner who makes wonderful wooden items for the regular Wilstead Arts & Crafts Exhibitions.

This evening I took my two lovely daughters Sarah and Helen out for a birthday treat to Milton Keynes Theatre to see an excellent performance of Cabaret, starring Wayne Sleep and Samantha Barks, with a haunting final scene depicting the looming menace of Nazism in Germany in 1931. Beforehand we enjoyed a good dinner at the Taipan Chienese Restaurant and afterwards we headed home in three different directions - Sarah to her family in Watford and Helen to the Midlands.

Tomorrow I will have my photograph taken in Bedford Park along with all the other Conservative Bedford Unitary Coucil candidates for the Election on Thursday 4 June.

Enjoy your weekend.