Herefordshire has long been renowned for its extraordinary sense of local community, and a key part of that has been its vibrant local media outlets.

It's not often you get to see Hereford FC on Match of the Day! So after that breathless game on Friday night, it was great to sit back and watch the edited highlights, with the whole thing -- all 149 minutes of coverage of it -- online for a month as well.

My beloved wife Kate Bingham has been hopping around for the past 10 days like an expectant mother, because her first book is published this week.

The wheel of politics has turned again, and I have found myself appointed as a Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.  And at a quite extraordinary time, which -- to me at least -- has brought home some vital truths about this country.

By the time this column hits the news-stands, Liz Truss will be our new Prime Minister and her new government will be in place.

Hereford Times readers will know that I try to stick to local issues in this column. But my subject this week is so important that it is both national and local.

As this goes to press, we have had the dreadful news of the sudden accidental death of Dean Kronsbein, who has brought so much new energy and so many new jobs recently to Ross-on-Wye as founder and MD of Ultrafilter, the Covid mask manufacturer.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the joy of leading a hike on the newly relaunched Herefordshire Trail. 

After months of delay, Philip Dunne MP and I were at last able to bring the issues of water quality and the dire state of the River Wye to the floor of the House of Commons for a debate last Thursday.