HOW fortunate we are to live in South Dorset when there’s so much turmoil around the world.
If ever there was a moment to count our blessings, this Christmas is it.
It’s time to enjoy our families, homes and security and to put aside our daily worries.
I am heartened as always by the wide and wonderful array of constituents I have met this year.
Many serve our communities with selfless zeal, nowhere better exemplifying this than on the island of Portland.
The network there provides invaluable support for the vulnerable, none more so than Island Community Action.
To the councillors, volunteers, emergency services, health workers, my team and the many unsung heroes who do so much, I say thank you for making my constituency the very special place it is.
Wider afield, sadly, the picture is less optimistic.
For the first time in years, Christmas will not be celebrated in Manger Square in Bethlehem in Palestine.
And the horror being experienced by Israeli hostages held in Hamas tunnels, and the families of those massacred on 7 October, can only be imagined.
Even here in the UK, British Jews feel unsafe in their homes, schools and on the streets.
And the thousands who march in support of Palestine only add to that intimidation.
This is what terrorism aims to achieve and we must fight it with all our strength.
The wider Middle East is little better, while Russia’s assault on Ukraine grinds on, Iran foments disorder wherever it can and China continues to test US resolve over Taiwan.
So, while not everything is right in our country, we live in peace and stability.
That’s worth savouring, surely.
May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful 2024.