When it comes to musicals, I find myself far more comfortable watching them from behind the sound desk. However, it has been a long time since I laughed as hard as I did at the performance of We Will Rock You by WODS at The Swan Theatre last week. Every time someone came on stage, wearing an amazing outfit, fitting a very bizarre plot to a collection of Queen songs, I was laughing. It was so lovely to meet the musicians and performers after the show and I will definitely be back to watch their rendition of Legally Blonde in the spring. Thank you to the whole crew for inviting us to watch.

Over the weekend we launched the Poppy Appeal and the commemoration of the battle of Gheluvelt, both events with the Royal British Legion. It was beautiful to watch the poppies cascade from the upper windows of the Guildhall and to take a moment to think about the great sacrifices made by soldiers and their families in pursuit of peace.

And at a time when war continues to bring suffering to communities across the world, the lessons of the past remain profoundly relevant. We must never take peace for granted. We must never forget the human cost of conflict, and we must ensure that the stories of those who came before us continue to be told so that we may prevent them in the future.

The same thoughts were shared at the memorial event on Sunday at Gheluvelt Park. 112 years ago in October 1914, the First World War was still in its earliest months and right at the heart of it was our regiment, far away in the fields of Belgium.

Many men lost their lives in Gheluvelt and, to mark them in history, we dedicated the park to them. The park stands as a living memorial to all those who have lost their lives in battle. Each year the marking of the battle of Gheluvelt remains one of the largest memorial events.

Over the same weekend I had the pleasure of meeting people visiting Kidderminster from Husum. This year marked 50 years of twinning with Husum and Kidderminster. It is fantastic to see a connection still going strong. The connection was originally set up to try to heal some of the wounds caused by the Second World War and make links between English and German towns so that the same division would never be seen again.

Thank you to the Mayor of Kidderminster, Shazu Miah, and their civic team for inviting me to the wonderful concert and the lunch. It was lovely to see the renovations of the Town Hall and return to the town where I spent many years studying music.