VIEWPOINT FOR 31 JANUARY 2008
FROM DR RICHARD TAYLOR

Two happy events took place last weekend. 
The Oldington and Foley Park Pathfinder Oscars, took over the Town Hall for their awards ceremony followed by buffet supper and entertainment by the Abba Girls. These awards pick out local people who have contributed greatly to the quality of life in their local community and the nominations and winners were greeted with loud applause.

Then there was the charity concert last Saturday in aid of Leukaemia CARE (sic), the charity that helps and informs patients and their families who are affected by any of the blood cancers. The charity runs a 24-hour, all the year round, telephone advice service. That it is always contactable and can supply detailed answers about the illnesses, their treatment and the support available, make this service uniquely valuable.

The concert was stunning and I heard people comment that it was the best evening at the Town Hall that they had ever enjoyed! Russell Painter and Beth Dunn, both well known, home grown, superb talents were joined by the equally exciting Catherine Fish and David Stout and accompanied by Sara Weaver, also with local roots who excelled with the violin as well as the piano. The programme included operatic items with the well known Flower Duet, Pearl Fishers' Duet and Gendarmes' Duet. Flanders and Swann were represented by David Stout's gorgeously lugubrious Gnu. He also challenged Paul Robeson with his beautiful Ol' Man River. There was a riotous extract from Pinafore with the Admiral and his three memorable 'female' relations and other show stoppers like "I Know Him So Well" and "Master of the House". To crown the evening with variety Jack Ludwig, still at Wolverley High School, amazed us with his spectacular Irish Dancing and legs that did not appear to obey any of the limitations of anatomy! We had an interesting, affable compere in Lord Digby Jones who also demonstrated his skill as a salesman by raising nearly £2000 on an auction to add to the other proceeds of the evening. What a superb evening! I cannot wait for (hopefully) next year's concert.

It was a tribute to the late Councillor Mike Oborski that the Holocaust Memorial service was again well attended last Sunday. The theme continues to look back at the horrors of genocide during the Second World War but also looks forward to how we can avoid the same ever happening again and how we can act against the killing, the rape and the unimaginable child cruelty going on now in parts of Africa.

A meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Local Hospital Group brought together medical experts who have written a report on Acute Health Care Services and the Chair and Chief Executive of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP). This report is the first authoritative medical paper that brings together the aspirations of health professionals with the hopes and needs of local people about their own acute health care. 
I organised the meeting to make sure the IRP was aware of this influential report to influence their work on contested changes to acute hospital services.

R.T.