This weekend was certainly a busy one for the Moorlands. Which of course means that my weekend was busy too. Friday morning started with an appearance on Moorlands Radio. We are really lucky to have a local, community radio station, covering those local issues that matter to us. And I am always pleased to appear on Moorlands Radio to talk about those issues.
On Friday afternoon, I had the honour of officially opening the new Community Fire Station in Leek. As well as providing fantastic facilities for fire fighters to deal with emergencies and carry out prevention work, the station doubles up as an area for groups to use for meetings and get-togethers. Being in parliament during the week, it is great to come home and enjoy the friendliness of the moorlands, made possible by places like the Community Fire Station. Congratulations to everyone who has put in so much work to make sure that the Station is a success.
From the official opening, I went on to surgeries in Biddulph, followed by the John Pointon and Sons Liaison meeting, which I chair. And then it was back to Leek for the switching on of the Christmas Lights. I always love this event, but this year I thought we surpassed ourselves! What a great celebration and how lovely to see so many of you there enjoying the festivities – a fantastic way to get into the Christmas spirit.
I was joined on Friday by Jake, who was shadowing me for the day thanks to the Whitehall Takeover challenge. The Takeover Challenge was set up to give children and young people, and particularly the most disadvantaged, opportunities to learn more about how the world works. It was great meeting Jake, who was full of fresh ideas and gave me an interesting new perspective on decision making in this country.