Proud of Pubs Day

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am quite genuinely very proud of our nation's pubs - so it was a particular pleasure for me to take part in the national "Proud of Pubs" day yesterday.

I paid a visit to the only pub in Stoke Bishop - The Mill House, to chat to staff and the pub's area manager, and to talk about the future of our great British pub trade.

We agreed that cut-price, high-strength drinks like alco-pops and super-strength ciders are a problem, and that supermarkets should not be able to sell them below cost; and that there is a real problem of young people getting very cheap alcohol to consume at home before they go out to the pub.

But when I was at the Mill House, there were a good number of people there, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying a responsible pint and a bite to eat.

But if you're concerned about the threat to our great British pubs, sign up to the campaign to Back our Pubs HERE!

Stoke Lodge Adult Learning Centre Open Day ( or, 'the near death of a parliamentary career')

My parliamentary career very nearly took a turn for the worse today as I almost enrolled upon a French Speaking course, a course in wine-tasting, painting, life-sculpture and a cake-decorating course after some moments of extreme enthusiasm at Stoke Lodge Adult Learning Centre's open-day.

I was shown around the centre, which had on show exhibitions from a number of its varied adult learning courses.

I saw some really impressive pieces of work, saw work from people who started off as a hobby, who are well on their way to making a career out of their skill, and I also saw how adult learning courses like this can be a gateway to further education for those initially a bit intimidated by the formality of an F.E course.

I had also not previously appreciated how the courses take place across Bristol, from St. Pauls to The Greenway Centre in Southmead - it was fantastic to see the talent of local people from across Bristol under one roof - thanks to the organisers, and congratulations to all the contributers. Your work almost inspired me to drift from my parliamentary focus and pick up paint brushes and old french books!