Last Friday, I visited Krystyna Griffiths and her fabulous team at Downside Nursery, for their annual sportsday (pictured below). Many parents also joined the occasion, creating a wonderful atmosphere in the glorious sunshine. The children were fantastic - incredibly well-behaved, and very enthusiastic about the races! I also got the chance to catch up with Nifi Nima, the nursery's first apprentice, who has now completed her Level 2 in childcare development.

I always think of the Saturday just gone as the 'Super Saturday' of the local calendar, because there's always a string of fantastic community events on. This year was no different, with Claygate Flower show and Molesey Regatta both blessed with glorious sunshine - despite all the forecasts.

I'm afraid I was over-booked this year, so I couldn't make the regatta. But, Claygate flower show was simply amazing, an increasingly popular village event that draws an incredible turnout. Each year, there is something different. This year, I had the privilege of handing out the awards for the children's fancy dress competition. Chairman Barry Fitzpatrick and his dedicated team really pulled off an amazing event. It's a brilliant family day out, and it was a special pleasure to enjoy the show with Erika and Peter (see below on the Flinstones' train ride!).

After the flower show, we hot-footed it over to East Molesey for The Foley Amateur Boxing Club summer party and awards. I love training at The Foley (based in Weston Green) and try to do my best to support their shows. It's a great club with a really strong ethos. The trainers, led by Paul Dawson and Gary Ball, give up a huge amount of time, as does club secretary Bev and club chair Lee Martin. After an excellent season, it was an honour to hand out the well-deserved awards (pictured below).

Four local charities have been shortlisted for Elmbridge funding from the Lloyds Bank Community Fund. You can vote for the local charity you think most deserves this funding by clicking here and searching under 'Elmbridge' or in any local Lloyds branch. Voting closes on 1 November – so make sure to register your vote by then!

The two local charities who receive the most votes will each receive a grant of £3000 and the other two groups will receive £300 each. Congratulations to all four of the charities for making it this far. They all do superb work in the community.

The four charities nominated, for Elmbridge, are:

Princess Alice Hospice, Esher

Oasis Children’s Centre, Cobham

Stagecoach, Walton on Thames

Yorda Adventures, Surbiton

The London Marathon is coming up this weekend. I suspect a fair few of you will be gearing up to run, know someone who is, or are just glad that you’re not running 26 miles on Sunday morning!

As is traditionally the case with the London Marathon, apart from being an elite sporting event, many run in the name of good causes. One of those is Sarah Chalmers of Cobham. Sarah will be raising money and awareness for the Harrison’s Fund.

The fund is named after local 6 year old boy, Harrison, a friend of Sarah’s son who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a disease, which leads sufferer’s muscles to deteriorate at alarming rates, eventually leading to the loss of all muscle function in the body. The Fund was set up by Harrison’s parents, Alex and Donna, to help promote research into fighting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

You can find out more about Harrison’s Fund and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy here. I am sure you will agree it is a very worthy cause. If you feel able to support Sarah’s sponsored marathon run, please visit her site here. I wish her the very best of luck on Sunday!

I have been volunteering again at Fight For Peace, a boxing and martial arts academy in Newham, in East London, that has a wider remit to help get youngsters from tough backgrounds on a positive path into study, training or work.

The Academy has centres in London and Rio. You can find out more about the Academy and its ethos here. They interviewed me recently on my interest and involvement down at Newham. You can read it here.

Throughout August, I have been dropping by on a range of Summer programmes for youngsters across the borough. It is good to see a lot of creative thinking going in to this kind of Summer holiday project.

Last week, I joined Elmbridge Housing Trust, Surrey Youth Services, Elmbridge Council and Surrey Police to celebrate the Stamp out Bordeom project. It keeps youngsters busy - and out of mischief - by getting them involved in a whole range of activities, including team-building exercises, graffiti art, football training, giving interviews on Brooklands Radio, and putting together a video explaining the scheme itself. The project has proved a real success, popular amongst both children and parents.

I joined them on their final day - pictured below - and took part in a team-building game, watched the film they recorded of the scheme, and handed out the awards to those who took part. It was a lot of fun, and a great credit to all the youngsters and local agencies involved.




On Wednesday, I dropped in on Lower Green Holiday Club. Around 30 local children have been attending each day. Activities on offer have included basketball, judo, making rock music, skipping, martial arts, craft, street dance, cake decorating and art. There is also a Happy Days toddler group running for the under 5 year olds and their parents. I joined them - as pictured below - during a cricket session.

The activities are funded by generous support from Shrewsbury Lodge School. Waitrose in Esher have also provided volunteers and support. It is a great local initiative, giving youngsters something positive and fun to do in the holidays - as well as offering some respite for parents!

Last night I joined the Cobham, Oxshott, Downside and Stoke d'Abernon youth group (CODS) for one of their regular quiz nights at Costa Coffee, in Cobham - see photo below.

Local volunteers present included Rick Westley (quizmaster), Vicky Cannings (secretary), Syd Brier, James Mawson, Cathy Marland, Jane Emsell and Ian Nelson (treasurer). They hosted a trivia quiz night and then a round of bingo. It is a great opportunity for youngsters to get together, off the streets, engage in positive and constructive activities and have some fun.

CODS was formed three years ago by the local Police, and is now run by volunteers. It has over 80 members in the 11-16 age group. Activities include quiz nights, football coaching, fishing lessons, golf classes and catering sessions. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the youngsters and volunteers who give up their time - it is a tremendous local initiative, especially in the Summer holidays when there is plenty of scope for children to get bored.

I have had a number of emails and letters querying the local contingency planning for the Olympics. One line of inquiry concerned police coverage given their additional duties. I raised this directly with the Chief Constable, and received a detailed explantion of the planning that has gone into the local preparations. Part of this relates to security during the cycling events on 28 and 29 July and 1 August. Part also relates to ensuring proper cover so that we maintain local policing at the same time as dealing with these major events. For example, training and leave has been suspended for the period, to make sure operational policing levels are maintained. We will also be receiving external support from other forces.

In addition, I know some people are concerned about the impact of the local events on traffic and parking. Yesterday, I attended a meeting convened to discuss this in Whitehall, chaired by the Transport Secretary, with representatives from the department, Surrey Country Council, Surrey Police and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I checked a range of particular issues, for example, arrangements for non-emergency services for the elderly.

An enormous amount of work has been done, but it is vital that the information is disseminated. Surrey County Council have already done one leaflet drop, and plan another. However, for those with specific queries - on routes, traffic and parking restrictions etc - there is also a dedicated website, here, and you can also call their helpline on 0300 200 1018.

Last Thursday, I visited Walton Army Cadets, a detachment led by Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Charlie Cooper. I am a big fan of the army and sea cadets, and was thoroughly impressed by the Walton detachment. The cadets is a great - positive - way to engage youngsters in learning practical life skills, team-building and having fun.

The cadets take girls and boys from the age of 12. They take part in various activities (including working towards Duke of Edinburgh awards), go on weekend camps, and undertake fundraising events and collections for charities – including the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes. You can find out more about them on their website here.

As you can see, below, no-one gets off lightly. I enjoyed taking part in a team-building exercise, getting logs, cones and team-mates across a series of barrels. A big thanks to all the cadets for a great evening - and their patience with me getting across that log!

I am a big fan of sport in schools. So, it was a great pleasure to join Rosalita Edwards' Nursery for their sports day in East Molesey last Friday. It was great fun, with various races (including all against the MP at the end!), a magician, a cake competition and tremendous support from local parents.

Last Saturday I went along to support Paul Reynold's pioneering efforts to get more young people involved in sport across the community. He organised a POP Lacrosse day at Claremont Fan School, bringing in a whole range of local schools and youngsters, from those playing for the first time to England internationals. Claremont Fan School hosted a fantastic day - and I got a full briefing from the girls on the tactical intricacies and rules of POP Lacrosse (below).

(At the winner's enclosure with pupils from Esher High,
David McKinnon from Sandown and Rhydian Morgan-Jones, Chairman of BHEST)