December was partly business, partly celebration and partly time with family and friends. Earlier in the month I met with senior police officers to be briefed about their priorities for Denbighshire and their plans for managing their properties. We discussed how we might share buildings and facilities to save on costs.

The Leader and I hosted meetings with businesses in Prestatyn and Rhyl to discuss how the council can help, particularly in the current difficult economic times. In Prestatyn, businesses are concerned to ensure that the town developments are managed as smoothly as possible. In Rhyl, businesses wanted to discuss the council’s strategy for regenerating the town and also the impact of the Rhyl market.

I attended the meeting of Llandyrnog Community Council to discuss a number of issues, ranging from road works and gritting to health and safety and the look and feel of the village.

We had the Denbighshire Carol Service at St Asaph Cathedral. The Cathedral was full and the children from our schools were the stars of the night with their brilliant singing and display of musical talents.

I had a week off and spent the time inLondon. We wanted a quiet Christmas and New Year and spent the time reading, eating and watching movies. I read and enjoyed ‘The Sisters Brothers’ and on New Year’s eve we went to the cinema and watched the new Mission Impossible film with Tom Cruise. I can’t tell you what it was about because it didn’t really have a plot, but it was good escapism!

In November the Leader and I continued our programme of meetings with local businesses. We met with business owners in Denbigh and Corwen and agreed to take action, where possible, to help businesses in the run up to the Christmas period and beyond. The direct engagement with businesses is vitally important because we are able to receive their messages and concerns first hand and discuss what, if anything, we can do together in difficult economic times.

The planning for the council elections in May 2012 is progressing well and I have begun to turn my attention to the council’s priorities for the period 2012-2015. I have led consultation sessions with staff and we are about to do the same with the current councillors. We are also using information from the recent resident’s surveys and the meetings, such as the ones I’ve talked about above, to inform our thinking. My hope is to present the newly elected councillors with a reasonable draft of our top priorities soon after they are elected so that we can agree them quickly and proceed to implement them as soon as we can.

According to my Welsh tutor, the group I’m in is particularly strong (honest). We were expecting ESTYN inspectors to come in November so we prepared and rehearsed and even dressed more smartly than usual, all ready to show off our skills. They didn’t turn up. Our tutor was obviously disappointed and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed too, mainly because she was. I never thought I’d be sorry not to be inspected.

The Community Forum meetings were completed and while the quality of discussion at these meetings was very good, attendance was poor. We won’t be able to justify holding another round of these meetings. While Community Forums were only one way of engaging with local people they were effective but perhaps we’ve now moved on and need to develop new approaches. I’m discussing these with our partners on the Local Service Board.

This month, following the appointment of the new Chief Executive in Conwy, the senior management teams of Denbighshire and Conwy met to discuss our joint approach to collaboration. Both teams believe that collaboration will bring benefits to both authorities, including financial benefits that should prevent cutting services to our residents. The two most important projects we have with Conwy are the integration of Highways and Planning and Public Protection services. We are working hard to deliver these within the current financial year.

I had the pleasure of attending the Chairman’s Civic Service at St Asaph Cathedral. I thoroughly enjoyed the address by the Reverend Val Rowlands. Her theme was ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’. Not being a Christian I hadn’t quite appreciated the modern interpretation of Leviticus, but she explained it extremely clearly and convincingly.

At the staff meetings the Leader delivers his address and I present the council’s approach to the budget, collaboration and next year’s local elections. One of the corporate directors presents the main findings of the staff survey and our plans for responding to what staff have said. We then have an open session when staff can raise any issue.

The community forum meetings focus on local issues and the business meetings will focus on how we work with businesses to improve the local economy. These meetings are very important to me because I have the opportunity to directly address key audiences and listen.

This year, Denbighshire has been ranked as the ‘best council inWales’ by the Local Government Information Unit. This ranking is based on 146 performance indicators reflecting everything the council does. I am obviously delighted because this is the second year in a row that we’ve been ranked as the best performing council and also because being a High Performing Council has been my overall priority for the past two and a half years. However, doing well against performance indicators does not necessarily mean residents experience a consistently good service from all council services. We know we can and will still improve.

The Welsh Government has askedCardiffUniversityto carry out research into collaboration activity inWales. The researchers are particularly interested in what is happening inNorth Walesand I was one of the people they interviewed. Later I participated in a regional conference on the same theme.

You learn a lot living in the country. The other day I witnessed a horse drop what looked like six mole hills just outside my house: starting from one end of my gate and ending at the other – made to measure. I thought about asking the rider to clear it but then realised that the council’s policy probably only applies to dogs. I actually couldn’t drive out without leaving a very big mess on the road and my car. Have you ever tried clearing that stuff off the road?

During June and July I attended a number of meetings with chief executives acrossNorth Wales and also with Minsters to discuss our work on collaboration. We’ve been working on collaboration for a while in Denbighshire and some of this is now beginning to come to a head. All six councils in North Wales will consider whether they will commit to a single regional school improvement service at their meetings in September.

I was delighted by the GCSE and A level results this summer. They are a significant improvement on last year and that means more of our young people are better prepared for work or further study than ever. Collaborative working will provide further opportunities for improvement.

I’ve met with colleagues from the Countryside Council forWales to discuss our involvement with the Wales Coast Path and preparations for the London Olympics next year. Our preparations are going well and Denbighshire will be involved in the spirit of the Olympics.

This summer seems to have passed much quicker that the previous ones. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t go abroad. Instead I spent most of my summer leave sorting things out at home and trying to get rid of a mole in my garden! I’ve tried all the methods: cans with coins in them, hosing, traps – but the mole is still there!

The summer has also been pretty hectic on family matters. My daughter has been offered a year teaching post in China and she’s going off in late September and my son is going to study Sports Sciences and Exercise at the University of Brighton so we’ve been running around sorting out visas, student accommodation etc while trying to get that mole. Nevertheless I have managed to take my mind off work matters for a couple of weeks and feel refreshed for the year ahead.