A Christmas for all our children

At this time of year, my head is crowded with memories of Christmases past, especially ones from my childhood. At school of course, the build up had been building up for weeks: drawing pictures, making cards, constructing paper chains and meeting Santa at the school Christmas party. And then at home, I can still recall and feel that simple overwhelming almost excruciating excitement of going to bed on Christmas Eve with such expectation and delight. I can conjure up than one Christmas morning when my brother and I got up at 4am to open our present of a Skalextric set and watching the cars race around the track in the darkness with their tiny headlamps shining.

So many memories, so many feelings.

And here I am, here we are, about to dive into Christmas 2018. Please accept my deeply heartfelt Christmas good wishes: please have wonderful time over this season of good will. May you be surrounded by love, joy and peace with your family and friends. And may you feel refreshed come the beginning of January to face the year ahead with all that you need to have an amazing year, full of love, hope, peace, friendship and good times.

And in addition may I ask you to always think about our children over these coming days and beyond into 2019. And I mean this collectively: we all have a part to play in the upbringing of all children and young people in our town. Every action we take, every word we say, and every piece we post: all help to shape the future in which our children will live. And I believe we all have a responsibility to make that future the best it can possibly be so that the next generation, and the next and the next... can all live lives full of ambition, joy, creativity, freedom, love and fulfilment.

Merry Christmas!!