This week has seen the definite approach of Spring, with warm weather, sunny blue skies and some new lodgers in our house.  Not invited lodgers, I hasten to add!  I am talking about two birds’ nests which have appeared in our guttering behind the fascia boards on two corners of the house.  I was alerted by a lot of noise and on further exploration the nests were discovered.  At this time of year if nests are empty then they can be removed, but if they have eggs or fledglings in then they are protected by law.  As I am unable to discover what’s there without disturbing the nests, I guess they are with us until August.  Oh, the joys of Spring!

On the theme of Spring, I was very pleased to visit Astwood Road Cemetery this week to meet with a group of serving soldiers who had volunteered to clear the cemetery grounds of litter and to tidy up the area.  When I met them, they had collected about 20 sacks of rubbish and with the sun shining and the flowers and shrubs beginning to bloom again, the whole area looked smart and tidy.  A huge thank you to these men and women who have given up their time to do this job.  Our visits to the cemetery will be that much more pleasant because of their work there.

I met with officers and councillors this week to discuss a joint bid with the police to the Home Office Safer Streets fund to improve security on our streets. The sad event of last week with the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard has alerted everyone to safety on our streets and I hope that by working together, we will be successful in securing additional funding.  Improved security measures and more work to educate young men to respect women; know how to behave towards women and more discussion around the issue of consent will help to make this world a safer and better place.