I SHOULD start by thanking the many Vale school children who took part in my Christmas card competition this year.

It was really difficult to narrow the winners down and I was extremely impressed with the overall standard.

In the end we chose four designs and the winners were Amelia Tuckley, Katherine Boyd, Annie Wright and Freddy Sunderland.

I also enjoyed visiting the excellent Penarth Christmas market last week, where we launched the Welsh Conservatives’ ‘Open for Christmas’ campaign.

Whilst the internet has changed our shopping habits forever, high streets still have a key role to play and we need to take innovative steps to breathe life back into them.

We have long called for measures to improve fortunes for high street retailers and have on a number of occasions met with traders in Barry to discuss the issues they face.

Let’s not forget that smaller high street retailers take well over half of their annual revenue during this festive period.

In Penarth I met with a number of ‘pop-up’ traders who have set themselves up for the Christmas period.

It’s a great concept and many small businesses have gone on to establish themselves long term after cutting their teeth in the market.

We believe that better use could be made of empty premises over Christmas.

Another local project which has really impressed me has been the redevelopment of St Cyres school into the Penarth Learning Community. I met with sixth formers recently and had a tour of the site which was very impressive indeed.

I always enjoy doing a Q&A session with pupils and this was no exception; some great questions from the floor and an impressive insight from the young politics students!

I have also pledged my support of Barry’s east and west end Boxing Clubs which have been without a home since the close of the Windsor pub. I met with Gerwyn from the club last week and I will do all that I can to help them to secure an appropriate permanent site.

Clubs like these play a huge role in the community and I was pleased to see figures like Lee Selby offering their support for the club!

With the weather having turned a hazy shade of winter, attention has also turned to seasonal pressures on the Welsh NHS and, in particular, emergency services such as A&E units and ambulances.

Earlier this month an elderly lady slipped on the pavement in Sully and had to wait over two hours for an ambulance to take her to hospital.

Sadly, occurrences such as this are all too common and ambulance response times in the Vale of Glamorgan have not been met in the last two years.

During the winter months NHS services are in much greater demand and we should pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of frontline staff who will keep all of our public services running over the festive period.

It is also worth sparing a thought for our neighbours at this time of year, particularly the elderly and vulnerable.

Christmas can be a lonely time for people who do not have family and friends nearby and whilst it may seem like a small gesture to you, popping in to check on your neighbour could make a real difference to them.

If Christmas is an opportunity to reflect on the year behind us – and it has been an eventful year for everyone– then the New Year brings with it an opportunity to set resolutions.

Here’s one for the Vale council: do the right thing and give the Woodland family the recognition they deserve for Paul.

Many readers will be aware of Sian’s campaign to have Paul’s name added to the cenotaph in Penarth after he died tragically on special forces training.

The Vale council maintain that only those who have died on “active military service” may be named on the memorial. Though there are, in fact, a number of civilians on the cenotaph – including Emily Pickford who died in a tragic accident when her car slid on an icy road into the river Somme in 1919. Mrs Pickford had been in Belgium organising a series of popular concerts for troops fighting on the frontline.

For me, Paul’s exceptional service justifies a similar exception in his name. He served his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, and died tragically during active special forces training. His name is also honoured on the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, the main memorial for fallen soldiers in the UK.

Surely he also deserves to be recognised by the community in which he was born and raised.