What a lot of nonsense about England flags! I am pleased that I have been able to assist police chief, Dave Wakelin in putting the record straight: Of course you can put an England flag up in your window. As we approach the World Cup, the more England flags and shirts the better. The Football Association has called for an England Day on 12 June, the day on which we take on the USA. I say wear your shirts and fly your flags with pride. And as the police point out, there is nothing wrong with being patriotic.

I met hospital chiefs this week to ensure that there were no plans to cut the key services at Bassetlaw Hospital, and especially Accident and Emergency. They guarantee that there are none, but I have also tabled questions to the new government Ministers to make sure they keep their noses out of our local health priorities. There is no way that our hospital is going the same cost cutting way as Newark's is.

I attended the posh buffet to thank George Robinson for his many years of service as editor of this paper. He is going off to sell dinky and corgi toys on Ebay, which is something Grundi will doubtless wish to pass comment on. We will watch to see who his replacement is with interest.

My annual Veterans Event takes place on the afternoon of Saturday 26 June starting at 3pm. Please contact my office for tickets, which are available for any services veteran and serving armed services personnel living in Bassetlaw. It remains of huge significance that we recognise the role played by those who have actively served in our armed forces and this event remains a real highlight of the calendar.

Visits to Parliament were extremely popular last year and therefore I am opening up the Palace of Westminster to Bassetlaw residents again. Any large group is welcome to have their own personalised visit, but for families and individuals I also have coaches running trips to Parliament in September. Again please contact me if you are interested in booking a place. My office number is 01909 506200 or email me at mannj@parliament.uk.