The start of the year has heralded some good news for The Plough Inn at Longparish, which was saved from closure, and is now run as a community enterprise. They have been awarded CAMRA's Pub Saving Award in recognition of their achievements. As a very minor shareholder in the pub I am very much looking forward to the celebration event which is coming up soon.
In less jolly news tax return time is upon us and I would like to commend the anti-fraud measures of HMRC, which flagged up that someone had submitted a fraudulent tax return on my behalf. Just the sort of aggravation you don't need at the start of the year! But I am very impressed with how quickly HMRC picked it up as "red flagged". It did make me wonder if it was one of the weirdo stalkers I seem to have acquired over the last year, but as HMRC said, "these fraudsters are very clever" and the sort of maniacs who harass and stalk MPs tend not to be.
I very much hope the New Year sees a swift return of the Kept Animals Bill, which I have been lobbying Ministers to bring back as quickly as possible. It has been one of the biggest issues in my post bag over the festive period, and it is an important piece of legislation which has been waiting too long.
Finally can I take this opportunity to wish you a very peaceful 2023? It can only be a less turbulent year than last.