Last year I bumped into Ian Thomas, chief executive of the City of London Corporation, at The MJ Awards. We didn't win, but the conversations at the event were very valuable and, fingers crossed for this year at the Awards!

Northumberland CC and the City of London are such contrasting places. Our county is vast – the largest geographical authority in England. We are also the most sparsely populated, with some of our main towns more than 60 miles apart. This scale presents some challenges for services. I often say Northumberland is more akin to running a small country than a large county.