‘Mumsentinmyphoto’

WHEN I arrive at the Board of Deputies’ office on a Friday morning, I take it for granted that the latest issue of the will have been delivered and is sitting reassuringly on my desk, ready for me to read.

Of course, I’m always keen to see which of our outputs, quotes and activities have resonated with the Jewish press and also to get a sense of how the community is feeling. For this, the is invaluable. More often than not, my eye is also drawn to the diary column and features on culture and lifestyle. For many in the community, the is an integral part of keeping up to date with what’s going on in their part of the world and beyond. We inform ourselves about what our communal friends and colleagues are doing and thinking, read some distinctively British perspectives on the situation in Israel, and check out the letters page. But it is also a vital link to the Jewish community for those who live on the periphery and in small communities.

One of my earlier memories of the

is from my days as a student at Lancaster University where I was an active member of the Jewish Society.

After I graduated, I was elected vicepresident of the student union and unbeknown to me, my proud mother contacted the to spread the word. In the following week’s edition, I was horrified to see that she had also sent in a picture — which I hadn’t approved!

Even when I did not actively seek out the it found me. During my time as the MP for Lincoln, I received a copy each week — an invaluable way of keeping a finger on the community’s pulse in terms of political concerns.

And for me, a member of Lincoln’s Jewish community, the promotion of what is happening in small communities across the country is vital. Before I became so heavily involved in national communal life, one of the most rewarding things for me was supporting our small and thriving community, and in 2009 I penned a piece for the entitled

The is a newspaper that truly embodies the vitality and diversity of our community in its own unique style — here’s to the next 175 years! Gillian Merron is the chief executive of the Board of Deputies