CHILTERN Railways plan to start the through-train service from Kidderminster to Marylebone at the end of September.

Initially, trains will run to London in the early morning, returning in the evening, but from June next year they hope to extend the service.

This will be a boon to me to avoid the delays that may occur when making connections in Birmingham.

Broome Country Fayre last weekend attracted many people to the lovely old Broome House gardens.

The weather was kind and an incredible £7,700 was raised for St Peter's Church and the County Air Ambulance.

Hospital supporters in Alveley opened their gardens to the public last Sunday.

We saw ingenious ideas for low maintenance and contrasting elaborate designs in a range of small gardens, and larger gardens with shrubberies, colourful herbaceous borders and concealed paths - so exciting for exploring children.

I returned to London for a meeting about MMR vaccine and at last heard a straightforward explanation that the evidence against the use of MMR cannot be supported scientifically.

The strongest argument to reassure parents is that although the awareness of autism has increased since the introduction of MMR in 1988, the actual incidence has not increased.

Because measles is such a dangerous illness with serious complications - particularly in babies up to two years old - and because it is so infectious, measles inoculation is vital.

For established scientific reasons the single vaccine should not be used because to obtain full immunity the different elements in the MMR vaccine have to be given at intervals, thus delaying protection in vulnerable children.

Constituents who have problems with the Child Support Agency can be assured that Baroness Hollis, the Minister with responsibility is fully aware of its shortcomings.

She believes the new computer system to be installed in the next 12 months will improve the service.

Meeting her recently, I was impressed with her openness and realism and hope her confidence is well placed.

The parliamentary group on flood prevention has met and been addressed by Elliot Morley, MP, the Minister responsible for flood protection.

He understands that postcodes bear no relation to areas at risk of flooding for insurance purposes.

The method of assessing priority for flood defences that at the moment rests on cost benefit analysis will be widened to take into consideration environmental factors and the numbers of people affected.

I hope to ensure that this group will support the work of the National Flood Forum based in Bewdley.

Participants in the Trade Justice lobby last week have carried out a survey of local supermarkets.

They inform me that of the stores surveyed, the West Midlands Co-operative superstore in Stourport carries the widest range of goods bearing the Fairtrade logo.