IT’S been a busy few weeks.

I was proud and honoured to lay a wreath at the war memorial in Haddington. I joined members of the community council and volunteers, along with serving members of the armed forces, to remember those who gave their lives so we could enjoy our freedoms today.

It’s also been busy in Parliament. At Holyrood last week, I raised the issue of the Covid booster vaccines. The early rollout has been shambolic. For some residents, the process has worked. But for others, serious problems have developed. One Dirleton constituent received a fourth letter inviting her for a vaccine, while her 88 year-old friend experienced huge inconvenience trying to rebook her booster jab appointment.

In response to a question I asked at Holyrood, John Swinney conceded there were serious issues in the vaccine appointment system in NHS Lothian.

To help reach our communities, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership launched a vaccine booster bus. While this was welcome, the demand significantly outstripped the availability of appointments and this led to frustration and disappointment among many residents.

I hope that the Scottish Government, working with local NHS bodies, will now get a grip of the system.

I am also continuing to press for the restoration of the X5 bus, connecting North Berwick, Dirleton, Gullane and Aberlady to Edinburgh.

So far I have not had anything close to satisfactory response from East Coast Buses, which has failed to explain why this service has been mothballed while other services have been restored.

I intend to present a petition with over 900 signatures to Lothian Buses, East Coast Buses and East Lothian Council. Hopefully this will persuade the powers that be that the X5 must be restored as soon as possible.

This petition can be viewed at craighoy.co.uk/x5-bus