We?re lighting up some of the city?s most iconic buildings blue tomorrow as part of a weekend of celebrations to mark the 73^rd birthday of the NHS on Monday 5 July. The Council House, Wollaton Hall, Green?s Mill and, I?m pleased to say, the newly-revamped Castle will all pay tribute to the fantastic work of our National Health Service ? not least because of its efforts throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We will also use this as an opportunity to remember those who have lost their lives to the virus in the last 18 months.

The best way of protecting the NHS is to protect ourselves from Covid-19 ? and the best way to do that is to get vaccinated. Unfortunately infection rates and hospitalisation numbers are on the rise again across the country so it makes it all the more important. Everyone over 18 can now walk into any vaccination centre to get their jab. Why not go this weekend and see for yourself the amazing job being done by our doctors, nurses and teams of volunteers. The location of the vaccination centres, along with the opening times, can be found here. Please take this opportunity to help keep our city safe. It is also important to remember that there are free Covid-19 home testing kits to help protect family, friends and loved ones. As well as being able to pick up home testing boxes at local pharmacies and testing centres, there are a number of sites across Nottingham that people can pick testing kits up too. Find out more here.

Whether you're working from home, walking or cycling more, or staying local for your shopping, the Covid-19 pandemic has made us all think more about how we travel.

We want to hear how your travel has been affected so far and how you think it's likely to be impacted in the future.

The more people who take part, the better we'll be able to plan for future transport needs in Nottingham, making sure that the options and infrastructure we provide continues to meet and support the needs of our residents, commuters and businesses.

You may have taken part in a similar survey last year - if that's the case we'd love to hear from you again as we'll be using both surveys to look at how habits are changing.

The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and will be open until 30 July 2021.

Take the survey.

I am proud that the Council?s focus on house building is not only providing much needed affordable accommodation for local people but is also providing them with opportunities and jobs in the construction industry.

Nottingham residents looking to get into construction had a great day this week on the site of our new council housing development in Top Valley.

The open day was part of the Women in Construction initiative run by Nottingham City Homes, which works to encourage more women into construction careers.

Everyone who attended the Eastglade open day had a site visit to see how we?re building 106 new homes and what goes into a development of this size. They also got to hear from various men and women about their journeys into construction, including our construction partners Robert Woodheads.

NCH hold various Women in Construction taster sessions throughout the year. These include workshops where you can find out what it?s like to be a plumber, electrician, joiner, plasterer, gas engineer, painter and decorator, or bricklayer. These are open to all Nottingham city residents, even if you aren?t an NCH tenant. You can find out more details here - https://bit.ly/3xefeWK

Nottingham is home to some of the best and biggest independent stores in the entire U.K. From fashion to food, coffee, gifts and much more; you're sure to find just what you're looking for.

This weekend we are celebrating local businesses on National Independents? Day, which is a campaign that promotes independent shops and encourages people to shop in them.?

Nottingham's independent?districts are some of the most exciting and vibrant, from Cobden Chambers to Hockley and St James Street, there are several hubs for independent shopping across the city.?

I know it has been a difficult year for most businesses, especially smaller independent ones, but now they are reopening I would encourage as many people as possible to go out and support local and shop at one of Nottingham?s great independents.

You can find a list of city independent shops from Nottingham BID here -https://www.itsinnottingham.com/directory/

You?ll find more information on National Independents? Day here - https://www.independentsdayuk.org/

Today I joined The Lord Mayor, Cllr Dave Trimble; Deputy Leader, Cllr Sally Longford; Lilian Greenwood MP; Alex Norris MP and other councillors to unveil a new Serenity Garden at Highfields Park which the local charity Forever Stars has brought to fruition to help bereaved parents of stillborn babies and early baby loss. Forever Stars has already done so much to support people on this issue with more than ?250,000 raised to create serenity suites at QMC and City Hospital. The new garden looks amazing and will benefit many local families by providing a space for peace and reflection.

I want to wish Gareth Southgate and the England squad good luck in the Euro quarter-final. At the start of the Euros we unveiled a 60-foot St George?s flag on the Council House to show our support for the team and we are wishing them all the best for tomorrow. I would also like to wish good luck the British tennis players still at Wimbledon. There are lots of hospitality venues in the city that will be screening sport this weekend and I hope people enjoy them in a safe, sensible way and also ensure our public spaces are treated with respect and kept clean.