The sudden death of Rhodri Morgan shocked and saddened so many people.

It was a testimony to the man that campaigning for the General Election was postponed the following day.

The tributes were gracious and sincerely felt across the political spectrum.

Rhodri Morgan gave Wales a political voice and political leadership that was unique and tapped into the intrinsic values of the Welsh people.

As Assembly Members and staff gathered in the National Assembly to pay our respects to Rhodri the stories of what Rhodri meant to us flowed.

Mark Drakeford AM, the finance and local government cabinet secretary, reminded me of the 2003 Assembly election.

I was a young Welsh Labour candidate standing in Ceredigion.

My opponent for Plaid was Elin Jones, now the Presiding Officer in the National Assembly.

Mark Drakeford had driven Rhodri and they had parked up a short distance away to walk to meet me. I looked at my watch. This was odd, it was taking them longer to walk down the hill than the distance justified.

When they finally reached me I found out why. Rhodri had attracted to him along the short walk a myriad of residents keen to meet and chat with Wales' First Minister, their Rhodri.

I was delighted to attend the Annual General Meeting of Caerphilly County Borough Council last week.

Cllr Dave Poole was elected leader of Caerphilly Council.

I know Councillor Poole will make an excellent leader for all the people of Caerphilly County Borough.

The return of the Labour administration was the first time in the authority's history that a ruling party had been returned for a second term.

This was testimony to the wonderful work of the late Cllr Keith Reynolds and his team.

These continue to be difficult times for anybody in local government as the austerity cuts decreed from the UK Tory Government continue with no end in sight.

The current General Election has allowed the opportunity to, once again, get out on the doorstep and listen to people's concerns.

Political parties do not have the sheer number of volunteers and people willing to knock doors as they did in earlier generations but it is still politics as its truest and best.

People are rarely shy to offer their viewpoint and generally appreciate the effort you have made in knocking their door.

Our democracy can only be sustained if people take a small amount of time out of their day to read the literature pushed through their doors, answer their door to the knock and tell their politicians what their priorities are.

I'll continue to clock up the steps on the streets of Islwyn before June 8 to ensure Islwyn returns Chris Evans as our Member of Parliament.