On Wednesday, Parliament was recalled so members of the House of Commons and House of Lords could pay tribute to the life and legacy of the Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven LG OM – or Mrs T, as many of us remember her.
Last year's film, The Iron Lady, reminded a new generation of some of the remarkable events which took place in Baroness Thatcher's time as Prime Minister, as well as the fact that like the rest of us, she was not immune from getting older.
However, what the tributes in Parliament did this week was to tell a more rounded story about Baroness Thatcher's life – particularly in the speeches from those MPs and peers, from all parties, who knew her and worked with her.
Both the Prime Minster and leader of the opposition spoke generously about her contribution to British politics.
Of course, anyone with firm convictions is going to arouse strong feelings.
The fact is she is still the only female leader of a major political party, she was the last Prime Minister to oversee a military campaign to repel invaders from British territory and also survived a direct assassination attempt.
On a personal note, she was hugely influential in leading me to get involved in politics and the Conservative Party.
I am proud that, although I did not serve alongside Baroness Thatcher, I am included in a small number of Conservative women who have stood for Parliament with a mandate to serve our constituents.
It was Ed Miliband who quoted Baroness Thatcher in saying, "If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman!" Quite right!
The House of Commons has been in recess since just before Easter.
As I have written previously, the recess offers a chance for MPs to spend more time in their constituencies.
One of the most inspirational visits I made over the past few weeks was to the Brush Academy. Anyone who knows Loughborough will know the Brush site, next door to Loughborough station.
At one time, the site employed about 5,000 workers. Now there are nearly 1,000 Brush employees there and, having met their learning development and apprentice managers at the Oak FM Pride of Loughborough awards in November, I wanted to find out more about their apprenticeship scheme.
The Brush Academy is hugely impressive – a building dedicated to helping both apprentices and more senior employees to learn new skills and share knowledge, as well as providing a training base for customers, too.
Investing in the education of the workforce is taken very seriously by the company. It was great to meet a few of the apprentices and hear how they are combining college studies with practical experience.
Finally, I've been pounding the streets during the recess because, on April 21, I will be running the 26.2-mile London Marathon.
I am raising funds for Rethink Mental Illness and Home-Start Charnwood.
Having now completed my final long run, my only goal for the next week is not to trip over and injure myself.
I am very grateful for the donations and sponsorship pledged so far for these two worthwhile organisations.
If anyone wishes to add to this, they can do so at:
www.justgiving.com/ NickyMorganVLM
