THE spectacle of parliamentary roundheads fighting it out with royalist cavaliers in a recent Sunday skirmish on the Monmouth School playing fields may have come as a bit of a surprise to some.

The Sealed Knot's passionate re-enactment of the English Civil War Battle of Monmouth was a reminder of days when the British constitution was in a bit of a mess.

Fast forward four and a half centuries and the Scottish referendum represented another key crossroads for Britain.

The No vote may have left Unionists breathing a huge sigh of relief but the closeness of the result has led to a number of different views on where we go from here.

I'm pleased the prime minister has ruled out "federalism" and that there will be a referendum before the introduction of any income tax raising powers for the Welsh Government.

The Assembly and Scottish parlia-ment may be a fact of life but that does not mean that all parts of the UK should look the same or we should rush headlong into uncharted territory.

Any change must be organic and most importantly sanctioned by the people not by those once infamously labelled by the late Sir Robin Day as "here today, gone tomorrow" politicians.

This year's Assembly budget may have seen an long overdue and limited injection of cash into the NHS but this doesn't make up for the funding that the Welsh Government has cut from the health budget over the last three years and it still falls short of the full protection the NHS has been given across the border.

Properly funding the health service should be our number one priority. We also desperately need a compre-hensive cancer treatment fund like that available to cancer sufferers in England and currently the subject of a petition that has gathered tens of thousands of signatures.

Funding has at last been achieved for Monmouth Comprehensive School's long-awaited and much needed new school building as a result of Monmouthshire County Council's participation in the 21st Century Schools programme.

The exciting plans promise a world class learning environment that both pupils and teachers can take pride in. They also promise a new swimming pool. This is a good point to pay tribute to retiring chair of governors Mr Stuart McLester who has served the school so faithfully over many years. The school is now entering an exciting new phase of its life.