I was delighted and proud to introduce Stewart Jackson MP to an audience in Shooters Hill yesterday afternoon.  As well as being a very good friend he is one of the rising stars of the 2005 parliamentary in-take, having been appointed a whip earlier this year.

He spoke on a wide range of issues from the rise in crime, illegal immigration and hospital infections which kill so many patients; but also of his experiences at Westminster, his belief that Greenwich could elect a Conservative council and his support for our armed forces.

As a godfather to Stewart and his wife Sarah's beautiful little girl, Isabel, I might be biased, but I think the people of Peterborough are very fortunate to have such an energetic and devoted MP.  From the comments after his speech, I can see people in Eltham now know what they are currently missing from their elected representatives.

I was delighted to visit the Eltham offices of Demelza House, the inspirational childrens' hospice which is building a new centre in Eltham.  I am planning a fundraising event in support of their capital programme and look forward to a tour of the construction site.

The hard working team have raised nearly a third of their appeal target which is fantastic news, but they need every penny available.  Could you attend their Christmas Carol Service in December or buy a brick for a fiver?  Please do whatever you can to help them - they do vital work for hundreds of very ill young children and let's not forget their families, for whom the work of Demelza is crucial.

There has been a huge response to my Safer Neighbourhood campaign. Even with the postal strikes of recent weeks, I have been a bit overwhelmed by the level of response, so thank you to everyone who has taken the trouble to send them back.

I have taken on a new volunteer to help get through the backlog but if I am slow in contacting you, please try to forgive me!

What is fast becoming clear is the huge dissatisfaction with the level of crime and the lack of police resources. The responsibility for that lies directly with the Government. For the most part individual officers do the best they can in very difficult circumstances. I will report more fully when I have had a chance to read more of the surveys.

I met with the Chief Executive and Medical Director today and was shown round the hospital.

We discussed a number of issues but I was pleased to report to the Chief Executive that people who have been treated there overwhelmingly say how well they believe they were looked after.

I was pleased to meet a number of medical staff and to see some of the excellent facilities on offer. Naturally, I indicated the reservations of many over the proposals put forward for cuts in frontline services. However, I was pleased to hear there will be a thorough consultation and that the aim is to improve services to patients. I think people will need a lot of reassurances before they accept the changes in their current form but it was useful to get a greater insight into what is being done at the QEH.