With the sun daring to show its face, I hopped on to my metal steed and headed to Portland. My destination was HMP The Verne, where I was met by Prison Officer Kim Damen. She'd kindly invited me back to the prison after we met at the House of Commons some months ago. After introducing me to her team, I was taken on a short tour of the wing Kim is responsible for. The wing caters for the more elderly prisoners and is arranged to fit that requirement. I was then taken to a large room where I met and talked to about 40 prisoners. I spoke for five minutes and then took questions. I was forthright in my answers. The prison is now exclusively for sex offenders and it was strange meeting them all, knowing that they had committed crimes that most of us cannot understand. I was then taken to another room, where I met some of the civilian staff and prison officers. They were all charming and I thanked them for the challenging job they do. They raised several points, which were noted. I raised a few of them with Governor David Bourne, who was the last person I met on this visit. It was a most interesting couple of hours and I always come away from both the Verne and the YOI with huge respect for prison officers. I call them the forgotten army, as too often they are, working, as they do, behind walls and closed doors. My regular surgery took some time as several constituents wanted to see me and it is always a pleasure to do all that I can to help. Finally, I drove across to Budmouth Academy to meet the new Head David Herbert. The school has been through a few ups and downs recently and, although not in my constituency, many students do come from S Dorset, hence my interest. David and I chatted in confidence for more than 30 minutes. He's a most impressive Head and I left feeling the school was once again in competent hands. Back to the office as the temperature dropped and I resorted to turning on the heaters on my handlebars. Thank goodness for the bike, as it does enable me to get around quickly and efficiently. Even the roadworks on the roundabout at ASDA did not delay me.