Many people will have read with interest the recent report which showed that the high-speed rail service, which over the past ten years has been so vital for Ashford’s progress, adds about £73 million to the wider Kent economy.

One of the best features about Ashford has always been how many people are prepared to spend time and effort helping their neighbours, or even complete strangers.

In the midst of all the controversies swirling around Westminster about Brexit and other matters it is important to remember some long-term issues which transcend politics.

Damian Green MP for Ashford, has shown his support to Breast Cancer Now’s flagship fundraiser, wear it pink, which will see thousands of people across the UK adding a splash of pink to their outfits on Friday 20 October and raise vital funds for breast cancer research.

The next couple of weeks are a really exciting time for the future of education in Ashford. The first students are arriving to enrol at the new Ashford College, whose splendid building now dominates the view as you turn left out of the domestic side of the station.

One of the charities I have enjoyed being associated with for many years is Ashford Access, which has done a great job since it was formed twenty years ago. The Annual Meeting last week was the last in the current format of Ashford Access, so it is worth marking.

I have had the pleasure over the past week of attending two different events which I enjoy because they plug the modern world into history, showing the sense of continuity which is so strong here in Kent. The first was the Kent Show, and the second the annual civic service in Tenterden.

Last week I enjoyed one of my regular breakfasts with businesses in Ashford at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. Alongside the bacon rolls and coffee came a very wide-ranging discussion, which covered some new topics as well as the hardy perennials which often dominate.

It is perhaps appropriate that as I approach my twentieth anniversary as Ashford's MP and write my last column in this space before the General Election I should celebrate another significant anniversary.

This week I can only add to the many tributes being paid to Councillor Harold Apps, who died last week after more than fifty years of public service. He was truly an inspiration to anyone who thinks that becoming involved in local politics is worthwhile.