Last weekend I did a number of menopause related events, including the brilliant Staying Strong evening at Bradbeers. Rachel Cardy's efforts in putting on a wonderfully interesting evening resulted in £1000 being raised for Romsey's own cancer care charity Jane Scarth House, who I know have helped so many local families.
It was a privilege on Wednesday to be in the Chair for the debate on hospice services, which took place in Westminster Hall. My colleague and neighbour, Paul Holmes the MP for Eastleigh, led the debate. His office manager Sue recently passed away at the Mountbatten Hospice in West End, and not only was the debate a fitting tribute to Sue, but he is also doing a skydive at the end of the month to raise money for the hospice in her memory.
On Thursday I travelled to Birmingham to give the keynote speech at a conference on so called honour based abuse. My Select Committee is shortly to publish the findings of an inquiry we have done into this heinous crime, but obviously parliamentary rules prevent me from trailing our recommendations, so I spent my time focusing on the very harrowing evidence we received about the prevalence and impact here in the UK.
Finally on Friday I am being shadowed by Nicole from the Epilepsy Society, as part of their #MeandMyShadow campaign. It is a busy day and hopefully she will find it interesting and it will give me the opportunity to learn more about her condition and the impact it has.
