Where did the summer go?

I cannot believe that it’s September 1st today. Where did the summer go? We are almost three-quarters of the way through the year and are well and truly into the run up to the next General Election!

Even if Gordon Brown clings onto power for as long as he possibly can - and judging by his past record he will have to be dragged, screaming and kicking, to the Palace to ask Her Majesty to dissolve Parliament – he will have to face the electorate by 3rd June 2010.

If the election is in June then Parliament will be dissolved early in May 2010, of course, if he decides to hold the General Election on the same day as the local elections, 6th May 2010, then Parliament will have to be dissolved at the beginning of April. That means we have only 7 months more in which to campaign.

I am determined to use that time well and have resigned myself to months of hard work, which is why I tried to ease off a little during the summer. Unfortunately my plans came to nought and I was as active in the community as I have ever been!

Some of the events I have attended are detailed elsewhere on my blog. In addition I had loads of meetings, including with Peel Ports to discuss their development plans and with the new Chief Executive of Swale Borough Council, Abdool Kara. Then there were the various problems that kept popping up in my email in box!

However, despite the almost constant call on my time, Louise and I made a concerted effort to spend more time in the garden. We have also looked after two of our grandchildren for a couple of days each week during the school holidays.

We kept them occupied by taking them to a number of places, including two wonderful days on Minster beach. We took them to the Wildwood Nature Reserve, The Whitbreads Hop Farm, Chatham Maritime and the Strand in Gillingham. Tomorrow we are off to Diggerland!

Next week I am visiting the Middle East as part of a Parliamentary delegation sponsored by Conservative Friends of Israel. That is the nearest that I am getting to a holiday this year! I will post a blog when I get back setting out my impressions of the current situation in what is such a volatile region of the World.

On my return campaigning work for the General Election really starts in earnest. We will be distributing a magazine to every household in the constituency and intensifying our canvassing programme.