Sixteen years ago, in the spring of 2007, I was a newly selected parliamentary candidate to stand as MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire. It still feels like yesterday.

Sir, Thank you for your outstanding campaign to improve the quality of our water. Here in Herefordshire, it has taken more than two years to assemble the cross-border, all-catchment group of agencies, local councils, Welsh Water and other parties needed to address the problem of phosphates in the River Wye.

Under normal circumstances, the news last week that Herefordshire is to receive £19.9 million from the Government's Levelling Up Fund would have sent me into a jig of unrestrained rejoicing.

Local MP Jesse Norman visited Ultrafilter GB Ltd at their site at Alton Business Park in Ross-on-Wye and met with their CEO Dustin Kronsbein.

It has always been part of the long term vision for our new university project NMITE, not only that it should boost the economy of the whole county, but that it should act to regenerate Hereford itself.

The visit of his Majesty the King to the Royal National College for the Blind last week was a historic moment for the county, marking the King’s first visit to the West Midlands since his accession, and I felt very proud to have been invited to meet his Majesty.

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.