Why did I mention the weather?

At least the rain didn't stop a very good turnout for the memorial service in Winchester for firefighters Alan Bannon and James Shears.

The cathedral was full and the ceremony was very moving.

Bagpipes played well are always a haunting sound and the standards being carried of all the country's fire and rescue services made a colourful and very impressive tribute.

Let's hope it's a long time before we have another such event.

Next week is the 'topping out' ceremony at our new station in Southampton.

The building is looking great and it's now less than a year before we will be in.

With the other developments such as Guildhall Square coming on well and all the work on improving some of the city centre roads I think we can see the start of a real transformation for the City.

I hope we don't forget the outlying areas though. I was at Holy Family Primary School Millbrook yesterday.

Their recent developments have created some great accommodation and the kids there were certainly not put off their sports by a bit of rain. Schools are still at the heart of communities and I want my police officers and community support officers to continue to build better relationships with schools and colleges.

Despite the headlines about cuts for all public services and some dramatic assessments of potential drops in police numbers we will not pull back from some of the really important work we do to communicate and engage better with individuals and communities. Better buildings are important but it will always be people who matter most.

We might have a shiny new station but it's what we do out in the community that really counts.