Ben's Column

<table width="100%" height="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="bottom"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""><tr><td background="../../graphics/180601_pages/pat.jpg"><img src="../../graphics/180601_pages/top.jpg" width="760" height="54" alt="MP for Exeter" usemap="#Map" border="0"></td></tr></table> <map name="Map"> <area shape="rect" coords="38,21,223,37" href="../../biog/" alt="Biography" title="Biography" target="_parent"> </map> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="150" height="341" background="../../graphics/buttons/bottom.jpg" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/home.gif" alt="Home" width="150" height="34" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../exeter_labour/index/" target="_parent"><img name="Image6" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/party.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Exeter Labour Party"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img name="Image7" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/speeches.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Speeches"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../column/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/column.gif" width="150" height="24" alt="Ben's Column"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../faqs/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/faqs.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="FAQs"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/local.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Local Information"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/newsletter.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Newsletter"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/links.gif" width="150" height="23" border="0" alt="Links"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../contact/contact/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/contact.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Contact" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="left" valign="top">  <title>Welcome to Ben Bradshaws Website</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#cc0000" vlink="#cc0000" alink="#cc0000" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.legendsofgaming.co.uk/" style="padding: 5px 10px;">Betting Sites Not On Gamstop Uk</a></div> <font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a name="top"></a></b></font> <table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" summary=""> <tr> <td align="right"><a href="../../column/column/" target="_self"><img alt="Back" src="../../graphics/new_bio/back.gif" width="90" height="22" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-3"><font size="4" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#CC0000">Christmas — 15 December 2004</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-6"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As often happens at this time of year I have lost my voice. (No bad thing, I hear some of you say)<br> <br> I�m not quite sure whether it�s the bug that�s going around, or singing too many carols, or a combination of both.<br> <br> I don�t mind the heavy schedule of carol services because they provide a break from the office treadmill and a chance to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. <br> <br> With all the pre-Christmas parties and frantic preparation it often isn�t till Boxing Day that we can take a breath and wonder what it was all about. <br> <br> Most people, even if they don�t go to Church, know something about the Christmas message from childhood, school or well known stories. <br> <br> The �incarnation� � God becoming human � is central to Christian belief. It tells us that the Kingdom of God, talked about in the Old Testament and shared with other faiths, is not somewhere else in another life or world, but to be built here in the world we live in now. <br> <br> Most Christians have always been engaged in the world around them. The first schools and hospitals were founded by the churches. The Labour Party owes more to Methodism than Marx. The old Liberal Party had strong non-conformist roots. The Church of England used to be known, rather unfairly, as the Conservative Party at prayer. <br> <br> All the opinion polls suggest that people who are involved in a church of some kind are also likely to be more involved in other areas of community activity. <br> <br> In Exeter we are blessed with a strong sense of civic identity and community spirit. On an almost daily basis as local MP I come across new examples of people giving their time for others. Youth work, helping the elderly, sports activities, charity work. None of these could work in our city without the army of committed and enthusiastic volunteers to keep the true spirit of Christmas alive the whole year through. <br> </font></td> </tr><tr> <td height="-7"><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" src="../../graphics/180601_pages/back_top.gif" width="100" height="27" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </body></td></tr></table>