WALKING across the Thames to work one day this week I saw 12 cormorants catching their breakfast. two of them were successful in the few minutes I was watching, testifying to the cleanliness of the river.

Marauding gulls above tried to rob the workers of their hard-earned breakfast but I was relieved the cormorants' swallowing reflexes were too quick for them.

During the past week, I have been busy but not actually in the House of Commons Chamber itself.

I attended a meeting with the cardiac services tsar who gave us the welcome news that services and waiting lists for cardiac surgery throughout the UK are improving.

The Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, an invaluable publication for practising doctors, celebrated its 40th birthday and continues to go from strength to strength.

I took part in a discussion at the Nuffield Trust about ways of making citizen involvement in the NHS effective now that the Government has recognised the vital contribution this could make.

I was pleased to open the new facilities at Kidderminster Ambulance Station and had the chance to remind managers that developments at Kidderminster to assess and stabilise emergency patients would make ambulance staff's work much easier.

I know they support this to save unnecessary journeys and to lessen the stress on staff.

I attended the prizegiving at Baxter College and found the citations of the major award winners very impressive.

The determination at the college to grasp the chance of radical improvement was obvious.

I remember the chairman of the governors' stated aim when the extra money was announced to help the college - to turn the school into one that parents and students will choose.

I wish the school every success. I also met some sixth formers at King Charles I High School and had a first-hand experience of reasons for voter apathy among young people.

Politics is not entertaining, it is incomprehensible and is for old people. The message of irrelevance was very clear.

I was glad to learn that at least some attention to this gap in young people's knowledge is expected under the curriculum.

I hope to join a group to study how to make politics and democracy more relevant to young people and was grateful for this insight into some of the problems that have to be overcome.

An enjoyable occasion was the annual Hospital League of Friends volunteers' Christmas Buffet.

About 130 friends attended, emphasising that this large body of local people are ready and waiting to support developments at our hospital.

It is vital that now developments are being planned no further losses take place. Hence the importance of retention of the hospital switchboard and worries about claims that hospital beds are being sent to Afghanistan.