PARLIAMENTARY RECESSES give MPs the opportunity to get out and about in their constituencies, catch up with family and friends and attend to long overdue domestic chores. My diary over the last month has been packed with advice surgeries and meetings with key local decision-makers in our public services and visits to workplaces, community groups and voluntary organisations.  

Chester has an above national average population of older people and I have particularly enjoyed joining residents of Kingfisher Court for early morning bacon butties and listening to the concerns of residents at coffee mornings at Newton House and Kings Lea House. Worries over the threat to local bus services have been the number one concern for the residents. Indeed, I have received letters and emails from passengers across the constituency who are concerned about the withdrawal of bus services they regard as a lifeline. I have lobbied the Managing Director of First Bus and raised the matter with Cheshire County Council which subsidises those vital services the bus operators say are loss-makers. I will continue to keep a watchful eye on the situation. Meanwhile, if you need to check on a local bus service ring Traveline on 0871 200 22 33. Calls are charged at local rate. I also passed on to County Hall complaints from shoppers over the removal of the bus shelter in Sealand Road to make way for the cycleway. The County Council has promised to provide a new shelter.
 
THE CLOSURE OF THE ODEON CINEMA was another recurring topic of conversation and prompted a number of reminiscences. "My husband proposed to me watching Singin' in the Rain in 1952" said one, while another commented that in the 1940s the usherettes in the Odeon were not "salacious young ladies" but grumpy old men who took great delight in shining their torches on courting couples. More recently, a number of the residents have enjoyed regular trips into town to watch the Senior Screenings at the Odeon. If you support the campaign to re-open the Odeon as a picture house, do come along to the public meeting at St Mary's Centre, by County Hall, at 7pm on Thursday 27th September. All are welcome to attend.

LAST WEEK I MET PETER FAHY, Chief Constable of Cheshire Police, at the HQ in Winsford. Following the tragic death of Gary Newlove in Warrington, Mr Fahy sparked a national debate on the problem of anti-social behaviour and alcohol-fuelled violence. I agree with the Chief Constable that there is an urgent need to change Britain's drinking culture. Legislation helps and gives the police more powers but Acts of Parliament alone do not change behaviour. We have to stop condoning binge-drinking and strengthen parental responsibility. After all, children only spend 14 per cent of their lives in school. Neighbourhood policing is working; our streets are safer and overall crime was down by more than seven per cent in Cheshire last year. However, groups of under-age drinkers congregating in public places can be intimidating to passers-by and can deter other young people from using parks and playing fields.
 
FIREFIGHTERS no longer sit around in fire stations waiting for 999 calls. They take their fire engines out into the community to give fire safety advice, fit smoke alarms, and carry out free fire risk assessments. It was a pleasure to join a team when they carried out home safety checks in Handbridge. The service is free and if you would like a home assessment call freephone
0800 3890053.

Safety concerns are also uppermost in the minds of parents as their daughters and sons leave home for university or college. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has issued some timely advice to students to check that gas appliances in their accommodation have passed safety checks. By law all rented properties must have a gas safety record, if you need further advice ring the HSE Gas Advice enquiry line on 0800 300 363.  

If you'd like to contact Christine about this column or on any other subject, please click here. 

If you have a comment you'd like to make, use the box below.  Please note all comments are moderated and will not appear immediately.