There is nothing like Christmas
to bring our communities together and this week, Camborne and Redruth have both
been getting into the festive spirit with both towns turning on their Christmas
lights last Saturday.
It is also the time of year
when we start to think about sending Christmas cards. As in previous years, I
ran a competition with local primary schools to design my Christmas card. We
had over sixteen schools enter, which is a record, and local children really
rose to the challenge with some fabulous artwork. The panel of judges had
a difficult task as always.
This is also a good time of
year to acknowledge some good news. Earlier this week I had the
chance to catch up with the team at the Cornwall Air Ambulance who were
attending an event at Westminster. They have just been awarded £1 million from
the Libor banking fund which is a major boost to their fundraising for a new
helicopter.
I can remember when the
Cornwall Air Ambulance began in 1987. It was a great example of Cornwall's
"one and all" approach because people in Cornwall really rallied
behind the idea. It was the first air ambulance in the UK and now many
other parts of the country have followed Cornwall's lead. Since
1987, it has completed more than 26,000 missions and saved many lives. It
is a great initiative and I wish them every success in raising the funds that
are still required to hit their target.
Last week I also had the chance to visit a new housing
project run by the Addington Fund at Ruthvoes. Addington does excellent work
providing homes for farmers who have had to leave their farm either due to
hardship, retirement or ill health. They now have over eighty homes. For many
farmers, leaving the farm and having to sell their herd or flock is an
emotional wrench and they often find it hard to get alternative housing too.
Having a specialist housing provider with people who really understand
farmers is a life line for many.
