IT is the measure of a good week when I get to open more things than I close. But last week was an extraordinary seven days when the 'ups' certainly outnumbered the 'downs'.

I have often thought of devoting one of these columns to a resume of my diary for a fortnight.

You would certainly get a flavour of the number of meetings in the Town Hall and elsewhere.

There is also the steady stream of emails and letters to respond to, calls to return to this paper and other media.

There are weekly interviews with both local radio stations and lots and lots of briefings and reports in preparation for cabinet, council, regional and strategic partnership meetings.

Rare, spare, moments are filled by folk putting their heads around my office door and inquiring 'have you got five minutes?'

It is a huge privilege to have this job. No two days are the same and I get to meet with so many fascinating (occasionally frustrating) but never dull people.

So long as you have the skin of a rhino and can cope with all the criticism, it's a job I would recommend to anyone.

The week started (if you count Sunday evening as the start of the week) with a welcome to the Gay Classic Car Club, who had taken over three Torquay hotels for a long weekend, and finished with the Robert Owen Communities ground breaking production of Flashpoint at the Palace Theatre.

In between there was lunch on board HMS Ark Royal, the ceremonial first squeeze of the apple press at the Growing for Life project at Occombe, a brilliant youth production of Hairspray at Westlands School, a truly superb, professional, production of Oliver! at Brixham, a wander around Ellacombe with Cllr Julian Parrott, the opening of the Iceland store in Torquay, a private visit to Torquay fire station to express my appreciation of their work to the crews who attended the Ellacombe fire, then dinner with Sir Ian Carruthers, chief executive of the South West Area Health Authority.

Sir Ian also spoke at the Strategic Partnership health and inequalities workshop on Wednesday and was hugely complimentary about health services in Torbay, also the council's partnership with the Primary Care Trust which delivers adult social care.

He said we were 'way ahead' of anywhere else in the country in making these arrangements work for the benefit of service users. It is always good to hear these things.

Other highlights included the launch of a £1 weekend parking initiative in the run up to Christmas, a £1 evening bus fare for youngsters travelling on Stagecoach (hats off to Chris Lewis for sorting both of these) and the news of a national recycling award for, among other things, improvements to the civic amenity site, known fondly by everybody as The Tip.

Also worth cheering are the super clean pavements along The Strand, Torquay. I saw the all-night team of gum blasters in action late on Monday evening. It really has made a big difference.

The appearance of the place is so important to both residents and visitors.

I was generally impressed by what I saw when I walked around Ellacombe on Friday: it is a huge improvement compared with just a few years ago and it is good to see investment in the parks, new sports and youth facilities, new school buildings underway, the 'Sustran' streetscene project at Ellacombe Road, also the well equipped Sure Start 'Zig Zag' centre for young children and families in Market Street.

Even the weather was kind for the week, so everybody could enjoy half-term.

There certainly seemed to be a bumper crowd of visitors in town, which hopefully gave an end of season boost to our tourism colleagues.

Equally welcome visitors were the bumper shoals of anchovies which have given Brixham something of the flavour of the setting for 'Whisky Galore'.

There was encouraging news from Plainmoor also: the Gulls won on Saturday and it was great to visit on Thursday and offer my support for the joint bid to host part of the World Cup in Plymouth in 2018.

This is a regional bid and the hope is we could host some training games at Plainmoor, also provide accommodation for the footballing elite and accompanying media in our top hotels. It certainly sounded like a good idea to me.

The absolute cherry on the top, as it were, came later in the week when I was contacted by the Times newspaper, explaining (and apologising) they had 'overlooked' making a payment for an article I had written in the summer.

This had been 500 words, or so, outlining my experiences in the Totnes Conservative Primary.

It had never occurred to me I might get paid: it seemed like an honour to have an article published, especially as it is a lifetime's ambition for many people to get a letter printed in the Times.

The sum offered was surprisingly generous and, dear reader, you will be pleased to learn it has now been paid into the chairman's fund which this year is supporting FISH (Fishermen in Sculpture Heritage) project in Brixham and the John Parkes Unit Respite Fund at Torbay Hospital.

Two final thoughts: First, if being Torbay mayor is this good, would I have been any more fulfilled as Totnes MP?

Secondly, if the Times is prepared to pay so generously for my scribblings, then perhaps I should start charging the Herald Express? (Joke).

All this and more can be discussed in my absence at next Thursday's Caravan Consultation at Victoria Street, Paignton from 10.30am to 3pm.

My deputy mayor, Cllr Chris Lewis, and cabinet colleagues will be on hand for most of the day.

Unfortunately, I shall be away in Taunton. I am now co-chairman of the South West Council's Transport Board and we have the rather important matter of the Regional Transport Advice to resolve.

As the agenda includes the Kingskerswell Bypass, it is important I am in Taunton rather than Paignton.

There really is never a dull moment in this job.