There was a very good attendance at the first meeting of the new season of the Tenby and Saundersfoot branch of the Labour Party, held in St. Teilo's church hall, Tenby, on Saturday.

It was good to have a chance to talk with members and supporters of Labour at a time when the party is going through a period of difficulty in the nation.

The chairman, Tony Wales, welcomed members, after a welcoming coffee, and thanked them for the success of the summer barbecue held at Manorbier. He went on to speak at length about health issues in which he is involved in various official positions and gave the good news from the Assembly of the proposed Renal Unit for Pembrokeshire, which is a firm commitment of the Health Minister, Mrs. Edwina Hart.

There followed an interesting, impromptu discussion about health related matters in which concern was expressed about the seeming lack of cooperation between GPs, community hospitals, like Tenby's and the district general hospitals.

In correspondence, the secretary was able to announce that Dr. Kim Howells had agreed to be the guest speaker at the annual dinner on January 16 next year. Kim is an excellent speaker, a Welshman of 'the old school', whose appearance at a branch meeting some time ago brought the largest ever attendance.

After the cessation of business matters, the guest speakers for the morning were Christine Gwyther and Mark Healey, who are focusing on the prospects for the next General Election and preparing papers for discussion and information gathering. A good discussion followed.

The secretary, Marjorie Bevan, reminded members that the programme for 2008/2009 meetings was available and that next month, MP Nick Ainger would be guest speaker, reporting on what really happened at conference.

In November, Eluned Morgan MEP will be addressing the meeting.

Anyone interested in attending the talks given by Nick or Eluned are welcome after the close of business, usually at about 11.30 am. Meetings are on the third Saturday of each month (expect in December) and begin at 10.45 for coffee, 11 am for business. The venue is St. Teilo's church hall.