Last weekend's One Romsey Festival was such a lovely and colourful event in the heart of the town, and as so many have said, I very much hope it turns into an annual event. The sun shone and hundreds of people turned out either to take part or just spectate. I loved the performance by the Solent Gay Men's Chorus, maybe a little bit of bias on my part as there was a superb rendition of Sweet Caroline as they headed back into the Memorial Park!
I was able to reflect that very little could happen in our town if it were not for the hundreds of volunteers who make events possible. Whether it is the Town Marshalls who work so hard to keep roads closed and us all safe, or the countless charities and community groups, many of whom, like RomDag, had stands last weekend and will, no doubt again, for the forthcoming Mayor's Picnic.
There were also volunteers aplenty last Saturday for the weekly Park Run at Ganger Farm, which seems able to go ahead however hot or cold the weather is. The stewards for the run (and walk) enable us all to take part safely and enthusiastically, even if 5k in the heat of last weekend did get the better of me. But a few weeks ago they were struggling for volunteers, which was a useful reminder that the events we love cannot go ahead without others putting in some hard work. So a note to myself, I will definitely help as a volunteer in the coming weeks, and the added bonus is it will save me the horror or running when it is far too hot to do so.
It looks like the coming week may be a little stormy in Westminster, with the Second Reading debate of the Welfare Bill still scheduled for next Tuesday. I will be back in the Chair for at least part of it, and it remains to be seen whether the 120 (or so - the number keeps fluctuating) who have signed the amendment will go ahead and vote against the Government. I would imagine the debate will be quite impassioned, and rightly so. But it does take guts to walk through the lobby to oppose your own Government, so I suspect those numbers may drop off if it comes to an actual vote.