Like many contributors I guess! to the Elstead News I was wondering the other day what I could write about this month, well this problem was  solved very quickly one evening recently by one of my daughters. I was at home relaxing reading a newspaper whilst watching football on the  TV (yes men can multi task) when I overheard one of our daughter's telling my wife that her (our daughter's) current facebook status was 'not long to go now' this she said was a reference to our forthcoming family holiday, I suddenly took a little more notice of this conversation that was occurring on the next sofa. Now I know next to nothing about facebook, bebo or twitter but I do know that these sites can be accessed by people that you would not like to read them, they are in essence only as strong as their weakest link. I said to our daughter " what's the point in cancelling the milk, papers etc when your telling half the nation ( slight exaggeration ) that we're going away" like any teenager she took some convincing that I was  right, but she eventually agreed it was a silly thing to do, and changed her status to " we're not going away anymore " Actually we are but the in-laws are dog sitting for us, because we have 4 Rottweiler's, and 2 German Shepherd dogs to look after, I jest but you get my point, please be careful who you are letting know that you won't be at home.

One of my regular public forums was held at the URC on the evening of the 7^th of May and for the first time ever there was not a single local issue that was raised for me to work on, many of the those who attended  raised certain points but it was decided they were not actually issues   where the police could lend assistance, and may I take this opportunity to thank those residents who take the time and trouble to attend my meetings your support is very much appreciated.

Last month we invited Kidsrome Mobile Farm to visit our setting for the children to enjoy. There were lots of furry and feathered friends for the children to see and hold. Among the animals were lambs, a calf, a pony, ducks, chickens etc. We were delighted that the reception class from St James School joined us for the morning. Everyone had a great time and a special thank you to the parents who helped out.

As a result of parental requests we have extended our opening times. We are now open until 2.45 pm on a Tuesday for our older children and this is proving very popular. We hope to continue with this provision if there is sufficient demand. Peter Pan Pre-school is a registered charity, owned and managed by a committee made up of parents. Our aim, as always, is to provide high quality, affordable pre-school education for the local community.

Earlier in the year we ordered some automatic awnings to provide shelter over our outdoor play area. These are now installed and they also provide cover during drizzly mornings. We are lucky to have the sun shining on our outside area during most of the summer but this does means we need to provide some shade for the children.

This year we are collecting Sainsbury and Tesco vouchers again. We collected over 9,000 last year that enabled us to select a whole variety of equipment including 2 new trikes and sports equipment. Thank you to those of you who supported us last year.

Finally, a date for your diary. On Sunday, 19^th July we have our annual Barbeque during the afternoon. This is an event open to everyone in the local community with free entry and lots of fun and entertainment for little ones. The bar at the pavilion will also be open. We hope some of you will join us down at the recreation ground.