WOW WHAT A WEEK!

If anyone thought last week was manic, this week was incredibly manic and one I'll never forget!

MONDAY

Firstly, thank you to everyone who joined Marie and I on Monday for our Parliamentary visit which has incredible. If you've ever thought about going to London and going on the tour, then do it! What an amazing building and to be surrounded by history and taking in all the sights of Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, the chambers, the décor and the architecture was incredible.

We had 21 of our NNBN members join us for the tour and it was lovely to hear their feedback and what the day meant to them. We had a 60 minute tour of the Palace of Westminster before heading off for a group photograph on the balcony overlooking the River Thames on the most glorious of days.

We then met with three of our Northamptonshire MPs in a round table Q&A, Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Andrew Lewer MBE (Northampton South) and Gen Kitchen (Wellingborough and Rushden) for our members to ask questions to them about matters that concerned them and, pre the PM's announcement this week, we had some actions from the meeting, however...... since the announcement that Government will be dissolved next week, everything is on hold until the General Election on 4th July so watch this space......

A big thank you to Philip Hollobone for helping to facilitate the tour and also ensure that we were in a prime position to witness the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, parade through the entrance to the Chamber for the afternoon's proceedings which we were able to stay on to witness from the Spectator Gallery as MPs met with Ministers to talk about Defence. Again, thank you to everyone who joined us from their businesses, charities and organisations from across Northamptonshire to enjoy a day out together and I even got to chair the meeting in one of the most famous places in the world where a lot of business decisions are made!

TUESDAY

Well what can I say about Tuesday ? A few months ago I received and invitation to one of this year's Royal Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace for my commitment to the business and local community and co-incidentally, the party was the day after our Parliament visit so it made perfect sense for Marie and I to stay in London for the night.

After a relaxing morning walking from our hotel in Russell Square, Marie and I arrived at the Palace under our umbrellas in pouring rain and queued to enter the Palace with our VIP tickets. Walking into the Palace forecourt was an incredible experience not only as it was invite only, but also I had spent my early years as a child visiting London and walking past the gates admiring the architecture and where the Royal Family lived.

Having walked into the garden, we met some incredible people from all over the UK from different backgrounds who were invited to attend for their services to their communities and it was a surreal experience. I kept pinching myself as Marie and I waited patiently for the Royal Family to join us at 4pm.

When 4pm came, the band started playing the National Anthem and there stood before us was Prince William, deputising for King Charles, together with other members of the family. They then walked around the Garden towards their VIP tent meeting their guests and spending time to talk to them which was incredible to witness first hand.

At this point, we were delighted that we could spend time with both Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York who spoke to us about what we do in Northamptonshire and, of course, we joked about the horrendous weather! It was a really special moment for both Marie and I as we just do what we think is right for local people. We aren't super heroes, we're not from high flying families, we're just us enjoying what we do and helping others along the way and here we were at this year's Royal Garden Party!

With the rain continually pouring down and having enjoyed the buffet and taken in the sights of the Palace, we lined up with all the other attendees as the Royal Family and their distinguished guests returned to the Palace meeting people as the passed.

Before members of the family came through the corridor of people, former Prime Minister Theresa May passed us followed by Nigel Farage and I'm sure there were others there that we didn't see, but it was incredible to think we were in the same place at the same time as people known all over the world.

We were joined by Zara and Mike Tindall who spent time with us talking to us about the weather and speaking to people about where they had travelled from which was, again, simply amazing before HRH Prince William passed before our very eyes again meeting people on his way back to the Palace.

We left the party on such an amazing feeling and one we will never forget.

WEDNESDAY

It was back to business and catching up on emails and actions from Monday's meeting and I went over to meet with Commercial Executive Lead at Northampton Town Football Club, Chris Langsford, as NNBN are proud to have joined their new Business Club! We're really excited about working with the club especially as I'm a football fanatic and I would like to thank Chris for looking after me on Wednesday, especially as I was exhausted from the previous two days!

I had a great meeting with new NNBN member Crysin Braines who runs Incognito Systems in Kettering getting to know him and his business and we're looking forward to working with him as a new member.

The day's activities didn't end there though as I headed over to the Northampton Town Centre Hotel in Northampton which is soon to rebrand to the Accor for a great event lead by Rachel Mallows MBE talking about this year's Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards. These awards celebrate what's great about the sector and we're delighted we've been involved in the judging process in the past and also as a Media Partner.

The evening ended catching up on the announcement from the Prime Minister as he called the General Election for 4th July and I knew it was going to be a busy day yesterday!

THURSDAY

Yesterday was another busy day as we headed over to the new offices of Commsave Credit Union to hear more about what they offer people with their savings accounts and how they are helping people to borrow money when they need it most. Thank you to the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce for organising this as part of their event schedule. We value our partnership with the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce and we're looking forward to working closer together with them as we head into the future so watch this space on future news and events. We also enjoyed seeing the new Commsave HQ which was great to see and hear how they are growing as a business here in Northamptonshire.

After that it was a quick drive over to meet with Rachel Mallows at her office as we recorded some video footage about her 40+ years in business ahead of NNSTARTUP DAY which celebrates entrepreneurship on 19th June here in Northamptonshire. It was great to talk to Rachel and also record some further footage ahead of the forthcoming Northamptonshire Food and Drink Week sponsored by Wilson Browne Solicitors which starts on 1st June. Watch this space as we help to share news from around the County that week!

The afternoon ended with a visit to Hawsons Chartered Accountants as I met with Will Amos and recorded a video for our NNBN Awards which take place on 4th October in Northampton. It was great to talk to both Will and Aimee Smith about Hawsons and their 170th anniversary which the company is celebrating this year.

My evening was spent editing the video for our announcement as NNBN joins the NTFC Business Club and continuing to pinch myself over this week!

FRIDAY

My day started today with our Bedford College Services Board Meeting which, fortunate for me following the business of this week, was at the Kettering campus meaning I didn't have far to travel! I enjoy the positions I have on the Boards with Bedford College Services, KCU and the Business Exchange in Kettering and working with like minded individuals. When you work on your own, it's good to give time to local charities and organisations as you engage with professionals on a business level and I always look forward to them.

And so to this afternoon. Well apart from writing this article, it's been catching up on the 400+ emails I have had since Saturday. Never in my life would I have expected to have led a meeting in Parliament for local businesses, charities and organisations followed by an invitation to a Royal Garden Party and I'm truly grateful for the invitation and opportunities to both of these events so, as you can imagine, catching up is something this weekend is for although....... on Sunday, I'm taking on the Northampton 10K and I'm running for the Northamptonshire Health Charity. I've yet to share my sponsorship link as I've been juggling too much in the last week and a bit, so watch this space with the photographs of me crossing the line and you can donate from there!

As I reflect on this week with personal pride, I've stepped back a couple of times and smiled. Yes I'm running a small business, yes it's hard work and yes it's not for everyone. There have been times when I've "snapped" and walked away, there have been times when I've been up against it and there have been times when I've failed, crashed and burned. But events like this week make it all worth it and I'm really excited about the future and look to it with positive thoughts.

Now onto a restful weekend catching up on emails and turning my focus to next week!