IT was a week of saying “Welcome” and also “Au Revoir” in the Devizes Constituency.

Last Friday I joined the excited throngs outside Wadworth Brewery in Devizes waiting to greet the Prince of Wales, who was visiting as part of his work supporting the Pub is The Hub Initiative.

Launched in 2003, this work aims to put local services such as post offices, parcel collection and village shops back into communities through partnerships with pubs – an idea which makes so much sense, both for local residents, pub owners and managers looking to increase trade.

I have met His Royal Highness and other members of the Royal family several times but it is always such an honour to be presented to them by our superb Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Mrs. Sarah Troughton, the first woman to hold this post since it was created in the 16th century, and to enjoy a few moments of chat.

I am always amazed at how well informed our esteemed visitors are, and I was pleased that I remembered how to perform the appropriate curtsey (right foot back in case you were wondering, not always so easy in heels). HRH The Prince of Wales took lots of time to personally greet the assembled school children and adults, making it a day I’m sure they will never forget. I still recall the first time I saw the Queen when she visited Weston-Super-Mare as part of her Silver Jubilee tour, and that was at a distance as part of a crowd thronging the sea front!

We also this week said “Goodbye and come back safely” to troops from Bulford-based 5 Battalion the Rifles who have been deployed to Estonia as part of a major NATO mission in the Baltic States.

Around 120 soldiers landed at the Amari airbase on Friday, 25 miles south-west of the capital Tallinn, and this number will grow to 800 British troops over the next few months.

The British deployment is being joined by others from France and Denmark to form a battlegroup, led by the Rifles, that will be a defensive, but combat capable, force including armoured infantry equipped with Warrior armoured fighting vehicles, tactical UAVs and troop of Challenger 2 Main battle tanks.

This is part of one of the biggest deployments to Eastern Europe in decades and reflects regional concerns about growing Russian aggression on the Baltic borders – a reminder that given our sustained defence spending and superb troop recruitment and training, we can exercise influence through our military might across the world.