By Hannah Blythyn

MS for Delyn

It’s recess in the Senedd this week and half term for schools and colleges and many Flintshire families will be keen to get out and about, so it’s worth mentioning that kids under 16 travel for free during off-peak times on Transport for Wales trains this week. It’s also the Welsh Museums Festival this week where museums all over Wales offer events and activities, many of them for free – you can find out more at www.museums.wales/our-events. There are also some events going on in Flintshire, including a Halloween and Bonfire Night crafts event at Holywell Market today at 2pm and Greenfield Valley has an art workshop on Sunday inspired by fireworks and Outside Lives is putting on a 70s disco night at Mold Rugby Club. Meanwhile, Flint RNLI is hosting its annual firework display at Flint Castle tomorrow, while Mold Alex FC will have its Bonfire Night celebrations on Sunday.

On the subject of fireworks, it’s always worth remembering that our furry friends are not fans and the RSPCA always offers advice at this time of year ¬– it’s worth planning ahead and ensuring that your pets stay inside at night and offer them safe spaces to bed down. If you’re planning to let off fireworks, be considerate and let your neighbours know in advance and always check that hedgehogs aren’t hiding in your bonfire. North Wales Fire & Rescue Service have also issued some advice on being safe around fireworks and bonfires – see www.northwalesfire.gov.wales/keeping-you-safe/in-your-community/firework-bonfire-safety.

Regular Leader readers will know that I feel great privilege in having lead responsibility within the Welsh Government for supporting the Armed Forces community and veterans in Wales. So it was again a real honour to join volunteers in Wrexham to launch the annual Poppy Appeal alongside the Royal British Legion. The annual appeal is only made possible by the many volunteers who give up their time to sell poppies and, this year, the Royal British Legion has introduced its first plastic-free poppy that’s made entirely of paper. While in Wrexham, I also took the opportunity to support and speak at the second Female Veterans Alliance workshop, pledging my ongoing commitment to working with our veterans in communities across the country.

Last week in the Senedd, I stopped by a transport drop in, which was a chance to meet with representatives from Transport for Wales, GWR and Network Rail and hear more about plans for improving accessibility across Wales and the work that Network Rail has been doing to ensure that each passenger can use the railway safely, confidently and independently. It was also an opportunity to see close up the proposed upgrades and illustrative designs for the improvements to Flint station – the plans look really good, not just for the station but the surrounding area too. Upgrades are set to be completed by autumn next year and I intend to get on site early next year to see progress for myself.

At the weekend, I joined Angela Bebbington and a team of volunteers at Mold Community Club house and gardens as part of their open day and to see the transformation they’ve made to the gardens. It was a real pleasure to do the honours, alongside Deputy Mayor of Mold, Sarah Taylor, in officially open the transformed site. For the past few months, the team has been upgrading the garden to make it more accessible, improving the plots and creating an outside meeting area and it was great to see all the autumn colours in the lovely location and open the new-look garden. The garden and clubhouse is a fabulous local resource for Mold and it also runs events and programmes including projects with students from Coleg Cambria, yoga and art classes, over-75 activity sessions and events offering wellbeing and promoting good mental health.

As always, if you would like advice and/or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on any of the following contact details – 52 High Street, Mold, Flintshire, on 01352 753464 or by email hannah.blythyn@senedd.wales. You can also keep up to date via my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/HannahBlythynForDelyn. Constituents are, of course, welcome to contact my office to arrange an appointment to see me, you don’t need to wait until an advice surgery.