It has certainly been an eventful few weeks in Parliament
but this week will see the start of the Christmas Recess. I am looking forward
to being able to be home in Cornwall for a couple of weeks spending time with
my family as well as being able to attend some of the local Carol services and
other festive events.
As the year draws to a close many of us will be able to have
time off from work and it provides an opportunity to stop and remind ourselves
of what is important. I am sure that many of us will have faced all manner of
challenges, as well as things to be thankful for this year.
Christmas can clearly mean many different things to
different people. Central to Christmas is the message of faith and hope of the
story of the birth of Jesus. For me it is important to not lose sight of this
in the midst of all of the commercialism and partying.
Regardless of how you see Christmas and choose to celebrate
at this time of year, I believe it is important to remember where it came from
and to hold this in our hearts, not just over the few days of the Christmas
period but throughout the year.
For many, Christmas will be an important time for family to
get together. In our increasingly busy lives the value of having a few days
when families can come together cannot be overstated. But of course, for some
Christmas will also remind us of those we loved who are no longer with us.
Although
it is more than 10 yeas since we lost my Mum Christmas always brings back the
memories of her and the regret that she is no longer a part of our
celebrations.
It is also important that we remember not everyone will be
able to be off work over Christmas. Many of the staff who continue to run our
essential public services will be working over Christmas – our Police, doctors
and nurses, care workers, paramedics and the SW Ambulance team, fire fighters,
our armed forces and others will all continue to keep us safe and look after
the sick and vulnerable. I am sure we all appreciate their dedication and I
want to say a personal thank you to them for all they do at this time of year
and all year through.
May I take this opportunity to wish all readers a very Happy
Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year for 2019.
My team and I are here to serve the whole constituency and
work hard to make a real difference to the lives of everyone needing support. My
office will formally be closed from 12.30 on Friday 21st December
until 10am on Wednesday 2nd January. However, we will continue to
monitor emails and telephone messages so if anyone is in need of urgent help we
are still here to assist. You can contact me on either 01726 829379 or
office@stevedouble.org.uk.
