It was a great privilege for my wife and myself to attend the presentation of the loyal addresses to the Queen in Westminster Hall. This was a combination of pageantry and simplicity. Richly uniformed trumpeters silhouetted against gloriously coloured stained glass appearing above the guard of honour epitomised the magic of the event. Despite the pomp, the Queen was simply dressed in a smart suit and the messages were plain and straightforward, avoiding sentimentality and hyperbole.

At a reception afterwards, the Queen mingled and I was surprised at her naturalness and vivacity as she talked to staff and members.

In the House, the Tobacco Advertising and Finance Bills have passed further hurdles on the way to Royal Assent.

At home, I attended one of the best conferences I have ever been to. This was on Alzheimer's Disease, organised by the Wyre Forest Branch of the Alzheimer's Society and attended by 320 delegates, largely from the caring professions. The speakers were excellent. One, a clinical psychologist, explained the behaviour of Alzheimer's patients with amazing insight. He detailed why such patients are so often labelled as abusive, aggressive, wandering and incontinent. Until then I had never been to a conference on a Friday from which no delegate departed before the end. The committee of the Wyre Forest branch are to be thanked and congratulated for putting on such a valuable event in Wyre Forest.

I also attended a performance of The Slipper and the Rose by Stourport Choral and Operatic Society. It was a highly professional original performance with soloists of such talent that one could understand their words with ease. It was a tremendously enjoyable performance for all ages by a group of performers of all ages. It underlines the importance of the Stourport Civic Centre as an essential venue for this sort of event. 

I have had a useful meeting with district councillors of three political parties and the chairman and chief executive of the Primary Care Trust. We described the appalling standards of care at the new hospital in Worcester that is being experienced by so many people who write to me.
We were listened to and pleased to hear that the PCT intends to have ordinary citizens involved in its plans for the future of health services for our people. The PCT representatives were in agreement that gradually we should see increasing services available locally and we pointed out the model proposed for County Durham that would be so appropriate for Worcestershire.