THIS week I will be meeting representatives of the Tolbooth steering group to discuss the future of the Tolbooth.

THERE is barely a day at the moment when the Strategic Defence Review is not in the papers or on the agenda in some forum.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Forres Highland Games and the Dallas Gala at the weekend, and a huge pat on the back goes to the scores of volunteers and organising committees involved.

THE last wee while has seen increasing speculation and rumour regarding the long term future of the RAF bases in Moray.

I HAD great pleasure at the weekend having the opportunity to present a number of the prizes at the local Burgie Horse Trials.

THE Queen's Speech is the major subject of debate as the Westminster Parliament works through the process of setting the agenda of bills to be legislated on the coming year.

THE first thing I will do in this, my first column of the new parliamentary term, is thank everyone in Moray who once again placed their trust in me to represent them at Westminster.

THE obvious story of the week for everyone has been the Budget.

I ATTENDED my first ever Scotland v England rugby match at Murrayfield earlier this month, and given the balance of play a draw was a fair result.

I RECENTLY had a productive and most informative meeting with the group that is seeking to take forward plans for the future use of the Tolbooth.

LAST week saw the Scottish Government's budget passed in the Scottish Parliament.

LIKE people all across Moray and, indeed, well beyond, I have been shocked by the prolonged and extreme winter weather we recently faced.

THERE was fantastic news from the Scottish Government with a commitment from my SNP colleague and Cabinet Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop, to provide funding towards a major refurbishment of Kinloss Primary School.

FROM both a Moray and Defence perspective, the past week has been dominated by the publication of The Nimrod Review, carried out by Charles Haddon-Cave QC.

THE SNP's annual national conference took place last week in Inverness in the recently refurbished Eden Court Theatre.

THE long-running campaign to set-up a hydrotherapy pool in Forres looks to be in difficult waters at the moment.

THIS week's column obviously starts with massive congratulations to everyone in the Forres in Bloom team who last week achieved a Gold Medal in the Entente Florale European-wide Competition.

I WAS delighted to spend a pretty full day in Forres last week with a number of constituents.

FIRSTLY, congratulations to neighbouring Nairn businessman Brian Turner, whose eagle eye spotted that the Ordnance Survey's 1:250 000 scale map omitted the beaches between Nairn and Findhorn!

AS the constitutional debate continues, my own party, the SNP, has presented proposals for an 'Oil Fund' similar to that operated in Norway.

WHEN I've been in Forres over the last couple of weeks I've noticed how fantastic the town was looking for the Entente Florale judges.

LAST week saw Westminster's last bill to be passed just before the summer recess.

LAST week saw Moray's celebration of Armed Forces Day, which took place in Forres.

IT has been widely reported in the last week that the Prime Minister is set to announce an inquiry into the war in Iraq this week.

IN the last few weeks there has been a growing call for new elections to give the public the opportunity to make their views known on the expenses scandal and on the ongoing economic crisis.

HAVING just turned 40 at the weekend, I was reflecting on what has happened over the last few years – aided enormously, of course by the plethora of embarrassing photos dug up by family and friends of the "I don't remember having a hairstyle/fashion sense/music taste like that" variety.

THERE have been several recent lottery awards to organisations in Moray. Of particular note in the Forres area is an award to the Dava Way Association and another to Moray Bio Energy Centre Ltd.

I WAS delighted to be asked along to the opening of the new look Moray Waste Busters site a couple of weeks ago.

A BIG thank you to everyone who turned out for the latest Moray Lecture, held last week at Forres Academy.

LAST week, I launched the Rivers Trust which includes fishing on the Findhorn, Lossie and Nairn.

LAST week saw a further presentation of proposals for a new edge of town development in Forres.

I WAS delighted to learn last week that the hard work of Transition Towns Forres (TTF) has paid off with the good news about their allotment.

G20 - Proof of the pudding is in the eating: The biggest event in the news in the last week has been the G20 summit of world leaders held in London.

I FULLY support the new "adopt a street" initiative, and hope it is a great success in Forres.

LAST week it was revealed that parcel company TNT have been awarded a multi-million pound contract by HM Revenue and Customs to handle the government agency's internal mail.

AS with all my constituency surgeries, a range of interesting issues were raised at my recent surgery in Forres Community Centre.

ONE of the big issues that is grabbing the attention at Westminster is the UK Government's proposals to part-privatise Royal Mail.

CONGRATULATIONS to Franklin's at the Cluny Bank Hotel for getting on the shortlist for the Taste of Grampian Restaurant of the Year Award.

THE last couple of weeks has been the usual up and down of Scottish Rugby Union.

JUDGING by the correspondence I have received from constituents, feeling on the Forres allotments is running high.

THE extreme weather seen in recent days has caused massive disruption throughout the country and will have come as yet another blow to businesses struggling through the current economic problems.

LAST week brought the sad news that Forres community stalwart Hilda Cumiskie had passed away.

THE ongoing military conflict in the Gaza Strip has caused great distress and concern for people across the world and Forres is no exception.

AS we enter a new year, many people will be concerned for their jobs and households continue to struggle with sky-high fuel bills and other bills that dropped through letterboxes in 2008.

MANY see the end of the year as a time for reflection on the happenings of the past 12 months. However, I'd like to look forward to 2009.

LAST week I had the pleasure of hosting the second of the Moray Lectures – a series of events which, along with my office, I am organising to bring prominent speakers to give guest lectures.

LAST week I was delighted to join the launch of the Red Cross hovercraft in Findhorn.

IT WAS great this weekend to see so many places all across Scotland celebrating St Andrew's Day and more places than ever treating the day as a holiday.

THE BUZZ around Forres surrounding the proposals for the redevelopment shows no signs of abating just yet.

I WAS thrilled to be at the Forres bonfire night with my family. It was a perfect night for it and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

THIS weekend sees the commemoration of the memory of all those who have fallen in service of their country over the years.

THIS week saw schools in Forres return following their two-week break.

AS I write, the SNP Annual National Conference is about to begin in Perth, with a packed agenda on a wide variety of issues.

THE recent industrial action on the railway and potential future strikes by Stagecoach staff has highlighted a fundamental issue in our transport systems.

FIRSTLY, congratulations to everyone involved in the preservation and restoration work at Kinloss Abbey.

AFTER meeting them at the school I was delighted to welcome a group of enthusiastic S5 pupils from Forres Academy to the Parliament last week.

I SPENT a most enjoyable day in Forres and the surrounding area last Friday, starting at Forres Academy.

SPIRALLING energy and fuel costs have dominated the political agenda in recent months and the Scottish Government is calling for Scotland to receive a fair share of the new package announced by the UK Government last week to promote energy efficiency measures in our homes.

AS colleagues returned to the Scottish Parliament last week, one of the first major topics of discussion was the SNP's Programme for Government, which laid out the Scottish Government's legislative plans for the coming 2008/2009 parliamentary year.

ON Friday, I will launch Scottish Food Fortnight, in association with Scottish Countryside Alliance, at Glamis Castle, which sees the best of Scottish food celebrated all over the country.

LAST week, I attended the celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the completed rail connection between Aberdeen and Inverness.

PARLIAMENTARY recess allows me the time to get out and about and to hold surgeries in venues other than my office, so I was delighted the surgery I recently held in Forres Community Centre was so well attended.

THIS week sees the judging of Forres in Bloom, and, as in previous years, there has been a tremendous amount of effort from both Forres in Bloom enthusiasts and supporters and also from the sterling work of the Moray Council Lands and Parks team.

THE news that the closure of the Forres East Post Office Branch has been confirmed is a bitter blow to the many Forresians who made their views known during the consultation.

THE history-changing result of the Glasgow East by election last week clearly demonstrated that not only are people entirely fed up with the current Westminster administration but also that there is credible and trustworthy alternative in Scotland.

ROAD accidents have been on the agenda in much of the press over the past couple of weeks, and Forres has been the focus of some of this attention.

AN ISSUE very much to the fore this past week and continuously recently is that of fuel prices.

LAST week saw the Scottish Government announce plans for the year of Homecoming 2009, and I am delighted that the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival kicks off whisky month in May.