Early morning workers are grabbing that all important first cup of coffee (the latest addition to the town's coffee culture has opened its doors this morning) so why have I got Christmas on my mind in July?

It's because the Beck Theatre in Hayes is already advertising in our papers this week its Christmas panto which will star Leslie Grantham (of Dirty Den in EastEnders fame) no less in Peter Pan - http://www.becktheatre.org.uk

Do I really want to be reminded of Christmas in early July - NO.

However, I am sure there will be people who will now be booking their panto tickets on the back of the adveretisements such is the way that we now plan our lives often months in advance.

Returning to the newsroom on Monday will be our Uxbridge reporter Libby Jones who has been holidaying in Slovakia.

And I was interested to read the latest travel blog from our former Hayes reporter John Hugill in this week's Gazette.

He has now reached Nepal so amazingly still seems to have some money left!

John writes:

"Every driver seems to beep excessively.

Let me elaborate on this one.

It seems because the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, are so crowded with people that all drivers tend to do is speed down the smallest of alleyways while giving a little toot on the horn to warn the 300 or so tourists and locals in front of them they are coming through, whether they can get out the way or not.

At first, I just assumed the beeping was aimed mostly at me, on account of my fairly useless road sense. It happened when crossing Uxbridge Road in Hayes every week during my patch sessions, so I merely thought it was a case of history repeating itself. But no.

Next stop for John is Thailand and you can follow his travels in the Gazette or on the website.

The news agenda is still quite slow - I am putting it all down to the recent sunny weather - so the forecasted change over the coming days to rain might perhaps liven things up a bit.

And with our news editor Chris Longhurst off for a couple of days I am hoping for some strong stories for next week's edition.

I will not be able to blame the newsdesk if next week's paper is not up to scratch because I will be the 'newsdesk' along with some much needed help from my production editor.

The latest sales figures for the Gazette have put a smile on the face of everyone in the newsroom because they were one of the best week's of the year - so they might be a hard act to follow. I will keep you posted...

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After a promising start the news started to dry up a bit and although I would not describe any of our front pages on the four editions as real 'big sellers' they all have strong stories that will be good talking points across the borough.

Tuesday's are always a slog until the final deadline no matter how much we plan things and today was no different with some last minute changes (mine) to pages probably also slightly slowing up the process.

With holidays and training looming later in the week there is little respite for the news team and they are already cracking on with next week's paper in mind.

They are also probably looking enviously at our sports editor Scott who, all in the line of duty of course, has bunked off to Uxbridge Cricket Club to bask in the sun and watch Middlesex's County Championship match with Northamptonshire. Oh to be a sports editor!

Before leaving he left a note on my desk to point out a typo in a heading on a cricket story I have posted on the website. I must admit I do have the odd habit, as a dear friend is constantly reminding me, of the odd typo on my postings also.

I think I will have to self impose on myself the golden rule we tell all our reporters - 'check your story before sending it.'

With the paper now gone I am busy preparing for a recruitment selection day tomorrow for a new trainee reporter on the Gazette.

We will be putting a number of wannabe journalists through their paces in what is likely to be a gruelling day for them and possibly me!

The display outside the Civic Centre also looks pretty spectacular and I have to say congratulations to all concerned for adding a real splash of colour to the town centre.

I know that The Uxbridge Initiative has worked hard to bring back the hanging baskets after an absence of several years and their efforts are to be commended as it does give a feel good factor to the town.

Later today I am going to lunch with John Comfort and his wife Kay. John has just retired after many years with the company, the last 21 as sports editor of our sister paper the Harrow Observer.

John is something of a sporting legend locally and was also sports editor in Uxbridge for a number of years before switching to Harrow.

He is retiring to live in Cambridgeshire and will be much missed around the local sporting scene. As a former sports editor myself I am sure there will be plenty to talk about over lunch.

This has the potential to be one of the most important developments in Uxbridge and it's crucial that all views are taken in to account before the council comes to any firm decision over what goes on the prestigious site.

Get it right and Uxbridge could have a development to be proud of but get if wrong, and it could haunt the council for many years to come.

As Councillor Keith Burrows says in this week's Gazette: " This stands to be the biggest development in Uxbridge in many years as RAF Uxbridge is a huge site and the potential to develop it is almost limitless."

There is already talk of a museum, restaurants, a new theatre and more than 1,500 homes for the site.

However, it is important that all views are taken into account and that is why the public of Uxbridge should ensure they join in the debate and contribute fully to the plan which will shortly go out to public consultation.

You can also voice your views by posting comments on http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/forums on our new look website.

Already this week's news list is looking a lot healthier than it did this time last week and we have a number of potentially good stories on the boil.

And look out for some more revelations in the on going saga of travel firm Atlantis Travel which has been quite a topic of conversation around the borough and in the Gazette in recent weeks.

However, it seems that according to one leading high street retailer children are already just about to return to school.

Confused?

Well I know that retailers always work well ahead of themselves but it does seem a bit odd that large promotions for 'Back to School' wear currently fill the window of Marks & Spencer in Uxbridge High Street - surely they can let the kids have a few days off first before reminding them that they have to return to school!

On the subject of the high street, with another large chain coffee shop shortly due to open it seems that people in Uxbridge must top the league when it comes to needing their daily fix of cafine.

When the latest addition opens its doors there will be no less than nine (yes I have counted them) coffee shops in the space of just over 100 yards in the high street!

However, with a distinct lack of hard news this week and the Gazette's deadline fast approaching I think I may need several strong cups of coffeee myself.

It really has been a quiet news week - apart from the Niaomi Campbell media circus which has already been flogged to death - and we have been scratching around for some decent front page splashes for all the editions.

The other problem is that this week's paper is extremely tight in pagination so, if we hopefully get some breaking news stories this morning it will end up with some of the already completed pages having to be torn up and started again.

That will mean a grumpy production editor and no doubt more cups of strong coffee!

His dying wish is for an increase in the numbers registered on the bone marrow register and we have featured Adrian's campaign in the Gazette.

Well Adrian’s campaign has been highlighted on The Prime Minister’s Question Time, where Gordon Brown mentioned him personally and said: “the issue of the promotion of the donation blood, bone marrow and organs is a priority for the department of health. We are looking at what we can do."

And this week, Adrian has received a letter from Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Education Secretary Ed Balls, announcing that a talk about donating blood, bone marrow and organs, will be rolled out in schools nationally from September. The scheme, called Give and Let Live, will be for 14 to 15-year-olds.

This is fantastic news but Adrian urges the need for the scheme to be expanded to sixth formers. At 17 and 18, young people are in a position to choose whether or not to become donors. At 17 you can give blood and at 18 you can join the bone marrow register.

Adrian also recently received an unprecedented standing ovation when he was announced as ‘Multimedia Journalist of the Year’ at this year’s Press Gazette Regional Press Awards.

He was recognised for his blog about dealing with leukemia. It is the latest in a series of national and international awards for his work. Adrian’s parents picked up the prize on his behalf as he was too ill to attend the award ceremony in person, but he addressed the event with a prerecorded video message. http://www.silverstream.tv/rpa/

You can follow Adrian's story at http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk

I am currently looking out on a deserted newsroom - and it looks like remaining that way for most of the day!

News editor Chris Longhurst has gone to the races for the day (pleasure not work), two reporters are training and with other things going on that leaves just our Ruislip reporter Charlene Mitchell and a work experience student as the sum total of the newsdesk.

It promises to be a busy day and with the newslist for next week's Gazette looking a little thin on the ground at the moment we will have to really start cranking things up first thing on Monday morning.

It's still very much a case of work in progress but the site has a number of new features and is now far easier to navigate around.

We will also have dedicated websites for key areas in the borough like Harefield, Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip and Eascote bringing you the ultra local news from your area.

Please go to http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk and let me know your thoughts and views on the site as it continues to develop.

Apart from the website development it has been a bit of a torrid week so far at Gazette House with shortages in the production department (subs) meaning we have been really under the cosh.

So far we have just about managed to meet our deadlines and I think everyone will breathe a huge sigh of relief when this afternoon comes and the final deadline of the week is over. And then of course we start all over again ....

Apolgies to all our readers of the Hayes edition of the Gazette for the cock up on the front page with a story being obliterated by an advertisement.

Mistakes do happen and in the scale of things this was a pretty big one. However, there is no point dwelling over it for too long and we have to move on and ensure that it does not happen again.

I feel particularly sorry for our new Hayes reporter Sarika Sharma whose first front page story ended up not appearing - as they say things can only get better!

Word has reached me that our former Hayes reporter John Hugill has already run in to problems on his world travels.

Two weeks in to the trip (I believe he has reached Kathmandu) and he is reportedly already running out of cash!

He may be back sooner rather than later but you can keep track of his travels in the Gazette and also on the website.

Our content editor David Tilley is moving today to our sister paper the Harrow Observer to take up the editor's role.

David has been at the Gazette for the last two years and has overseen a number of content changes to the paper and although he is movonig down the road I am sure he will still be a regular visitor to Gazette House on his press day.

Chris Longhurst is taking up the role of news editor at the Gazette, stepping up from his current position as chief reporter.

Local boy Chris has been at the Gazette for a number of years now and his knowledge of the area is invaluable along with the many contacts he has built up over the years.

I will be working closely with Chris on further developing the content of the Gazette and Leader titles and also the website.

And it really is all change in the newsroom as our Hayes reporter John Hugill has departed to embark on the backpacking trail.

You will be able to read all about John's adventures in his blog as he travels the world for the next four months. It will appear regularly in the Gazette and also on the website - so watch out for some exciting tails from our intrepid former reporter.

Replacing John is Sarika Sharma, who has been working for our titles in Buckinghamshire, but lives in West Drayton so she is more than familar with the Gazette patch.

Apart from all the changes in the newsroom it is a very busy time at the moment - hence my lack of recent postings.

A lot of this revolves around some really exciting developments taking place with our website which I will soon be able to tell you about - so watch this space for some more news on this.

He recently had a high profile audience with the Prime Minister, where he explained that he is spending his final weeks raising awareness about bone marrow donation in colleges/sixth forms and universities.

Adrian wants information about bone marrow donation to be a formal part of either the curriculum or the pastoral care programme.

As a result of this meeting there is now an on-line petition to support Adrian on the Downing Street website. This is the best way of ensuring the government acts.

You can do so by clicking on this link http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/bone-marrow. The deadline to sign is July 23.

Adrian is an inspirational person whose dedication shows no boundaries and I would urge anyone reading this to seriously consider supporting his petition.

I don't know Adrian personally but have read his blogs and been aware of his fight against a terrible illness.

It's a story I feel the Gazette as a paper must tell.

Adrian is a fellow journalist who works for another newspaper within our group in Huddersfield. He is a young ambitious reporter and should have the world at his feet, but within weeks he will probably be dead.

He has leukaemia and his treatment has failed. Rather than sit and dwell on these facts he has decided to use the time he has left to try and get each and everyone of us to become bone marrow donors so another family don't have to go through what his is.

Read Adrian's words and then honour his life by adding your name to the list of donors.

I'm 26 years old and will be dead in a matter of months.
I will die from the leukaemia I have been battling for nearly a year and a half.

There is only one thing left for me to try and achieve.

My dying wish is that everyone reading this will think again about bone marrow donation.
In around 75 per cent of cases the procedure is not too dissimilar from giving blood.
If more people knew that then the 7,000 children and adults, who are still waiting for a transplant, might have a chance of surviving.

As it stands they will die.

Everyone of you reading this has the unique opportunity to save another human being's life – or at least give them the chance that I had.

Please have a look at my blog http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/a_plea_for_more_bone_marrow_do.html#more and the videos showing you what it is like to be a donor.

If it wasn't for the kindness and generosity of a 30-year-old woman in Germany I would have died well over a year ago.

I suppose it's always nice to be a world first but I was diagnosed with two types of leukaemia in December 2006 – a specific combination the doctors had never seen before.

Up until then I was a fit and healthy 25-year-old working for the Huddersfield Examiner.
I played football – not particularly well – did boxing training, was a good runner, ate sensibly and didn't smoke.

Then for some months I noticed that I was getting regular chest infections and couldn't shift them.
Progressively I started to deteriorate.

I became increasingly pale and then this chronic fatigue set in. The levels of exhaustion were extreme so much so that I needed to lie down half way through washing the pots.

Naturally I went to see the GP only to be told I had a virus.
His advice: "Go home, rest, and have a warm drink of honey and lemon."

Although this beverage was tasty it did little to alleviate my symptoms.
The next day I drove myself into Sheffield's A&E and basically didn't leave.
The doctors there realised that something was seriously wrong and referred me up to the specialist haematology ward.

It was quite a scary experience.

I could see all these "bald-chemo heads" and emaciated figures. The medical teams were talking about taking a bone marrow sample and I knew from that point that leukaemia was the most likely outcome.

When the diagnosis was finally made it was heartbreaking for me to see my family.
This is something I write about happening to other people – or read in the papers – not something that would ever happen to me.

My girlfriend Poppy, my parents and sister, all met with the top consultant who explained my diagnosis and the treatment that would follow.
I remember asking: "How long would I have lived if I hadn't driven myself into hospital?"
He replied: "Maybe another fortnight – it's hard to tell."

I suppose there was no other choice but to crack on with treatment.
The doctors were treating me for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. The first line in the fight against this disease are several cycles of chemotherapy.

For some cancers you can come in, receive your chemo, then go home.
Leukaemia and other blood cancers are more challenging.
The cancer is in your bone marrow; the tissue responsible for making red blood cells and white blood cells.
White blood cells form the foundation of your immune system.

When the chemo destroys these cells you have to stay on the ward until your immune system regenerates. This can take up to three weeks.

During this time you are either incredibly bored or incredibly ill.
The chemo itself was awful and I reacted very badly. It often caused me to be sick, it made my mouth and insides burn and left me with a disgusting metallic taste.
It was around this time that I decided I wanted to write about my experiences.

Just so you know I generally loathe blogs. It seems like if anyone gets ill these days they have to share it with the world.

I decided that if I was going to write this blog it would have to be something a bit different and make full use of the multimedia facilities we now have at our disposal.

Although it looked as though we were making progress tests showed that the leukaemia was still there and the only option then was to have a bone marrow transplant.

Thankfully, as I mentioned before, there was a match for me in Germany. I still can't express adequately how grateful I am for this incredible act of altruism. There are strict anonymity rules governing donation but I would have loved dearly to have met her.

The transplant itself is easy – it's just a half hour infusion of cells.
It's the five weeks in a special isolation room that's the nightmare.

Of course I tried to stay positive but I hated my experiences in there.
You are only allowed three visitors and you are constantly tired, feeling ill, sore. Randomly I lost the use of my legs for two days and had to be wheeled into the shower by the nurses – but it wasn't all good fun.

I think the hardest aspect for me was that it seemed like the toughest regime outside of Guantanamo Bay.

Treatment continued throughout the night and the constant interruptions and sleep deprivation were so hard to deal with.

The only positive I could see was that at least journalistically I was doing something original.
We had filmed my bone marrow transplant and a number of key stages during my stay in isolation.

Finally when those five weeks passed I was safe to come out and come home.
It was simply the most incredible feeling.

Things then looked like they were improving and on September 11 (I kid you not) I got the double all clear.

I was making good progress and aiming to make a full recovery and return to work.
Unfortunately another kick in the face was just around the corner.

I developed a post-transplant complication called chronic Graft versus Host Disease which left my skin flakier than a flap jack.
The only cure for this was a massive dose of steroids.

Now despite these drugs expanding my face by approximately eight times, and making me look like an entrant in the World's Strongest Man, they had their plus sides too.
I could eat and drink like I used to and had an unnatural amount of energy.

After feeling so weak for such a long time this was a most welcome change.

During this time Baldy's Blog picked up some major awards too. It won best feature writer at the Yorkshire Press Awards, best online feature from the national Guild of Health Writers and - bizarrely - an international award at the Weblog Awards in Las Vegas.

For a pretty difficult year it was great to pick these up and really enjoy the good times that came with them.

Christmas came and I proposed to my long-term girlfriend Poppy.

She accepted and everyone seemed to be incredibly happy looking forward to a great August wedding.

Starting last month my life suddenly and spectacularly derailed.

First of all Poppy said she didn't feel the same way about me anymore and wanted out. She left me.
I was heartbroken and utterly lost.

Then the bone marrow test results showed that the leukaemia had come back big time.
A further test confirmed that it was out of control and that further treatment would be unlikely to cure it.

My decision was simple.

Now I just want to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible - as well as raising a bit of awareness.

For more information on how to become a donor, visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk, contact the charity on 0901 88 22 234 or visit www.blood.uk. To find out more about Adrian and his campaign, visit www.examiner.co.uk.

Adrian's story will also be appearing in this week's Gazette.

Adrian Sudbury

The first ever awards were launched in March to recognise excellent customer service in the shops, restaurants and bars in Uxbridge town centre.

The Gazette was delighted to be part of these awards along with the Chimes Shopping Centre and The Uxbridge Initiative.

I think we have all been surprised by the number of nominations received and also the high quality of them - which made judging an extremely diffcult task. At this stage I am sworn to secrecy as to who the various winners are.

Later today at Baroosh the winners in the categories will be announced at a special awards lunch which is a a great climax to what has proved a highly successful initiative and highlighted the importance of good customer service in all establishments in our town centre.

I know that Chimes marketing manager Michelle Moffitt and town centre manager Andy Stubbs have worked extremely hard on promoting the awards and as we speak are putting the finishing touches to preperations for the presentation lunch later today.

I can only see these awards going from strength to strength and the Gazette has already pledged its support for the 2009 event.

We are often accused of only reporting on bad news but as I have said a number of times before all our circulation figures point to the fact that this is what sells us most newspapers - and the aim of the Gazette is to sell as many copies each week as possible.

This week's main Uxbridge front page splash is the tragic tale of the dad who died while trying to save a teenage girl struggling in the River Colne at Denham Country Park.

It's a particularly sad story which has also prompted a number of tributes being posted to our website following the death of Leonard Woodman.

With a story about a late night stabbing in Uxbridge also on the front page this week it's sometimes important to try and get a balance to the week's coverage and that's why there is some good news on page three with the story of two mums who conquered their fears to skydive to raise funds for a hospice.

This week's Gazette is a strong paper across all four editions and well worth a read.

On the subject of our website the 'have your say section' usually provides some lively debate on a number of subjects and these don't always relate to stories that have appeared in the Gazette or on the website.

I have been following this week's 'hot topic' with interest as a number of people join the debate on the rights and wrongs of people smoking in public. What ever your views might be it's well worth a look or you can even join in with the debate at http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/haveyoursay

The other big debate in the office today is on who is going to win tonight's Chanpions League Final.

Best comment I have heard so far came from an Arsenal fan who said they will be supporting Manchester United because they don't want Chelsea to lift the cup before Arsenal!

On Monday we had a visit from Sly Bailey the chief executive of our parent company Trinity Mirror plc.

Hence my previous comments about cleaning up the newsroom for a special visitor. The trick now is to keep it tidy and prevent the mountain of cereal boxes buildimg up again by a certain reporter's desk.

Other things going on this week have seen the lanuch of our new online buy a photograph site. You can now purchase any picture which appears in the Gazette or Leader online by simply going to http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/buyaphoto

While on the subjects of websites our colleague at the Harrow Observer have this week re-launched their site and it's well worth a look at http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk

The benefit of the website was once again to the fore on Wednesday when we had a number of big breaking news stories across the borough - and all too late for the Gazette which was already out on the streets.

We were able to follow these stories closely on the website to ensure that readers got all the latest news and we will also be expanding on them in this week's paper, which is already shaping up nicely with a strong looking newslist.

I will shortly be heading down the M25 and looking forward to a relaxing start to the weekend with an evening out in a country pub with a friend.

Have a good weekend.

It's amazing what a bit of sun can do to raise spirits and there is a vibrant feel about the town as people stroll around and eat and drink outside in the sun.

On the subject of the town centre this week I have been helping to judge the nominations in the first ever Uxbridge Customer Service Awards.

The awards were launched in the Gazette in March and are being run in conjunction with the Chimes Shopping Centre and The Uxbridge Initiative.

I have to say I was amazed by the number of nominations received covering a large number of the retail outlets and bars and restaurants in Uxbridge town centre.

It was not an easy task for the panel of judges to come up with a shortlist of finalists and all will be revealed at an awards lunch later this month.

Our popular Hayes reporter John Hugill will be shortly leaving his colleagues at Gazette House having decided to embark on his travels around the world. I am sure that everyone will give him a good send off when he leaves early next month!

I spent part of this morning at the office of one of our sister papers in Harrow. The newsroom was a hive of activity due to the explosion in South Harrow late the previous evening which tragically left one person dead and several others injured.

The paper's website enabled the news team to fully cover the blast both in words and pictures and give regular updates to readers throughout the day. See http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk

This is a far cry from a few years ago when it would not have been until the following week's paper that such a major breaking news story could be covered.