Highlights and healthy choices

While many people will remember 2009 as a year blighted by the recession, many positive things have happened in Hull over the last 12 months.
For example, young people did the city proud by achieving the best ever GCSE results this summer, making Hull the fourth most improved education authority in the country.
There was also the spectacular two-day Freedom festival, which attracted more than 100,000 people to the city centre to enjoy live music, dance, and street theatre.
Also, during the same weekend in September, there was the launch of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from Hull – a great honour for the city and an event that really placed Hull on the world stage.
Other highlights to make 2009 memorable included a visit by Her Majesty the Queen, the opening of the new £15m Hull Truck Theatre in Ferensway, and Hull City AFC surviving its first season in the Premier League – by just one point.
Meanwhile, the new year is approaching, and if you would like to make a healthy start to 2010 by becoming more active, losing weight, and stopping smoking, services provided by Hull City Council and NHS Hull can help.
On pages 14 and 15, we feature the services provided by the council's Kingston Fitness Suites and show how they can help you live a healthier lifestyle.
If you want to stop smoking, the feature on pages 28 and 29 will give you useful information about where to find help – for example, by joining a stop smoking group or using nicotine replacement patches, gums and inhalers.
We do our best to keep you informed and I am pleased to say Hull in print recently won the silver award in the best magazine category of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations awards for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
The awards recognise good communication, and winning silver was an early Christmas present for Hull in print.
Finally, this Christmas staff from Hull City Council, Humberside Police, Humberside Fire and Rescue and other public and private bodies will be working round the clock to keep the city running during the holiday period.
I'd like to thank them all for their efforts and wish everyone in Hull a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Cllr Carl Minns
Leader, Hull City Council