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I hope you have all had a pleasant Christmas break (those who got one!) and are ready to face the challenges of 2014. This year will certainly be a challenge for those of us involved in national politics.
You can be assured that I recognise the great privilege it is to represent the people of the Rangitikei Electorate in Parliament, and I will be working very hard to be returned for a further term.
During the summer break, Sue and I spent two weeks in China, where we had the bonus of accompanying a New Zealand polo team to Tianjin. Tianjin is a city of some 12 million people approximately 130km from Beijing and is home to one of the largest ports in the world.
While it is 130km from Beijing, you pretty well never leave the built-up area as you drive between the two cities.
The fast rail link is definitely worth noting as it heads out into rural China - a vast, flat area which, while highly productive in summer, is totally dormant at present as the daily temperatures seldom even reach zero. The train is pretty special and covers the trip in some 35 minutes, reaching speeds of over 300km/h.
Visiting the Great Wall in temperatures of -18C was interesting. It is difficult to imagine the effort that must have gone into building this extraordinary structure.
China is certainly a vast place with a huge population and much opportunity. But, like all other markets, it will evolve quickly and we will need to be very cautious as we continue to develop the export market there. One encouraging factor for me was the large amount of sheep meat on the menus in their hotels, restaurants and other eating places.
The other thing that particularly impressed me was people's driving skills and, in particular, their consideration for cyclists and walkers, who appeared to be able to share the roads equally - even the busiest of them.
Back to reality, and this week has seen the Prime Minister in the electorate for the Ratana celebrations. Whilst here he visited a couple of education facilities and met the electorate's head boys and girls and the principals of our secondary schools.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by 18 members of the National Party caucus to Ratana, where he delivered a strong message covering a number of topics.
The following day, Sue and I opened the Turakina Highland Games 150th event, which was attended by a very large crowd in beautiful weather. It was a huge success and a great credit to all who put so much effort into making it the spectacle it was. This is further proof of the vibrancy and resilience of our small rural communities.
Tomorrow we are back to Parliament and on with the real work of an MP - developing legislation to implement government policy and make New Zealand a better place to live.