Hundreds of Vodafone customers in Monmouthshire have been in touch with me after network problems in the area left them without a signal for over five weeks.

I think we all accept these things can happen. However, what angered people more were the lame excuses and broken promises made by Vodafone who just couldn’t seem to grasp the urgency of the situation.

I wanted to discuss this with the CEO, Guy Laurence, and directly convey my constituents’ frustration over the length of time it took to restore network coverage, as well as the derisory level of compensation now being offered.

He has point blank refused to have a five minute telephone conversation with me and instead passed on the message that talking to Members of Parliament about the company’s poor level of service would “set a precedent”.

I am with O2 and I will certainly not be swapping for a Vodafone contract in the near future.

It will come as no surprise that I was at Baroness Thatcher's funeral, although I was there on duty in my other role as a Special Constable with British Transport Police. With most funeral guests arriving by underground, I saw lots of fellow MPs making their way through the station at St Paul’s, often in full morning dress.

As I recognised them, I wandered over and said hello. After an hour of this a ticket inspector came up to me looking amazed. “You must be the most popular police officer I have ever seen,” he said. “You know all those posh people walking through and they are acting like they are your friend!"

I didn’t let on.

Patients living on the England-Wales border who are being denied the right to be treated in England and are having to wait for longer periods in Wales are fighting back.

A campaign group - www.action4ourcare.com - has been launched. The health service is supposed to be national, yet Wales is completely self-governing in the area of health as a result of devolution and the Welsh Government can dictate where and how Welsh patients are treated.

I am of course angered by this and urged people to vote no in both referendums. I have also discussed the matter with the chief executive of Aneurin Bevan Health Board, who has told me this is what the Welsh Government wants and he therefore has no choice but to implement these absurd cross-border rules.