The piper Charlie put us all in the mood by piping guests in as they arrived.

The haggis was cooked to perfection by Andy and Caroline and was duly attacked vigorously by George.

Diana Johnson MP gave an amusing speech followed up by two young members Sarah and Scott who toasted respectively the Laddies and the Lassies

The speeches finished with our PPC Ian Saunders giving a vote of thanks to all concerned.

Then came the dancing - and what a superb effort Sue and The Mountain Ash band made to get the dancers to the right place at the right time!

A singing of the Red Flag followed by Auld Lang Syne gave us a warm glow of comradeship - a glow which was intensified by the news that we had made over £600 for campaigning funds!

A new 30 bed hospital for Beverley will be built which will include among other sevices a minor injuries unit, outpatients facilities and diagnostic services.

Sadly Hornsea did not receive an equivalent present as its campaign to keep the Cottage Hospital beds has failed. Instead a new 24 hour health service clinic will be built on the same site.

Jim Downie - our 86 year old member from Thorngumbald - has personally delivered 896 cards!

The cards are a way of keeping in touch with you , introducing you to our parliamentary candidate Ian Saunders and providing you with a handy list of useful telephone numbers to stick up on your mantelpiece!

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A very exciting time was had by all.

Tony Blair came to say thank you for John's sterling support over the last ten years - In an amusing almost double act they reminded us of their many difficult days together.

Three of our young members enjoying themselves!

A Yorkshireman who lives in Sheffield with his wife Beverley Ian is now doubly committed to Beverley as he says! As well as being totally committed to Holderness.

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I look forward to visiting as many community groups, town and parish councils, businesses, and other special interest groups as possible.

. Do please make your problems and issues known to me so that if necessary I may take them up with the relevant Labour government minister.

Lovely food and drink and an excellent raffle made us a good sum to add to our bank balance, Ian and Beverley were in the winning team - has to be a good omen!

The move is the latest development of the multi-million pound regeneration of the medieval waterway, and has been hailed by East Riding ward councillors Laurie Cross and Simon Pickering as an important boost for the transformation of the area.

The Amnesty Greetings Card Campaign runs from Ist November to 31st January.

This is a really easy way to make a small contribution to bring human rights to the attention of governments everywhere.

To find out how go to www.amnesty.org.uk/gcc

For a more sustained campaign would you be interested in writing letters to prisoners of conscience nominated by Amnesty International?

For the small sum of about £15 a year three letters come by email to you each month. You can edit them if you wish, then print them out, sign them and post them. My last three were to Kenya, China and the United Arab Emirates.

If you are interested please contact Julian Hall who runs the letter writing service admin@appealsww.com and ask for details of his free 3 month service running now.

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Councillor Simon Pickering, leader of the Beverley Town Council Labour Group, says: Many of the key elements for Beverley's infrastructure are falling into place, but little has been done to address the housing needs of young and vulnerable people. We are losing an entire generation of young people who want to live independently in the town, but simply cannot afford to do so.

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Hundreds of residents depend on the Grovehill Branch, many who are elderly or have mobility problems, so it also provides a massive social benefit and is at the heart of the community.

The only viable alternative to this vital resource which serves the Grovehill, Beckside, Cherry Tree and Swinemoor areas, is a trek to the main Post Office in the centre of town.

As several small branches in Beverley have been closed we are working with the Grovehill Post Office to run a proactive campaign to ensure that it survives .

We need your help to show that the local community supports this vital service.

If you agree with us that this branch should stay open, please complete and return the slip below to the Labour Group Office in County Hall, Beverley or you can leave it at the Grovehill Post Office.

The more replies we have, the stronger our campaign will be.

Labour Councillor Laurie Cross, ward member for Minster and Woodmansey, said: This is wonderful news! For years we have been campaigning for funds to make this integrated traffic scheme a reality.

It will free up over-congested roads in the heart of the town and massively improve the quality of life for the many residents who currently experience traffic jams and heavy goods vehicles quite literally on their doorstops.

Now the government has agreed to fund the scheme we can forget our past disappointments. We are delighted with the announcement.

Councillor Simon Pickering, also a Labour member for the ward, added: “The addition of the vital park and ride scheme which will be connected to the relief road, will immeasurably improve the parking situation we currently experience. Workers and visitors will have ease of access to Beverley and residents will have a greatly improved town.

The response was huge - 98 people gave their views in only two hours. All those surveyed believed that pensions were an important issue, and surprisingly 45% felt they knew a lot about pensions.

In the light of more people living longer and therefore creating a need for a greater level of resources for pensions, the survey asked how people would like to see the pensions issue solved.

72% would pay more tax for pensions, but there was also a strong recognition that people should save for their own retirement, with 69% seeing that as an option. Though many added that for people on low incomes this would be very difficult.

The one unpopular option was having to work longer. 54% were against working longer, but 24% still saw this as an option to solve the problem. (The rest were undecided)

Many people commented that health was an important factor when deciding whether to work longer. Some jobs are physically demanding and therefore impossible to do when older.

Women and Carers

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