Week Ahead: A century after the first female MP was voted into Parliament candidates get their nominations in for December’s General Election

Armistice

With Armistice Day on Monday, the UK will honour the service and sacrifice of the nation’s armed forces community.

Though the National Service of Remembrance in London took place today, people up and down the country will also fall silent for two minutes at 11am tomorrow.

It is in homage to the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month back in 1918, when an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War began, as a prelude to peace negotiations.

However, it is a time to reflect on and honour the courage and dedication of not only those that served a century ago, but those that have been involved in all conflicts that have followed, from British and Commonwealth veterans, to the Allies that fought alongside this country and the civilian servicemen and women.

Anniversaries

Whilst November 11 is one of the most significant anniversaries in Britain’s calendar, several other milestones are also being celebrated this week.

On Tuesday, the Society of Editors, which is this year marking two decades of campaigning to protect and maintain press freedoms, will hold a 20th anniversary conference to celebrate its successes and look ahead to battles yet to come.

On Wednesday, The Duke of Cambridge will help youth homelessness charity Centrepoint celebrate its 50th birthday when he attends its anniversary gala dinner.

Since 2005, he has been charity Patron, taking over the mantle from his mother. It is hoped the event can raise £1m to help homeless young people, particularly with accommodation, health support and life skills to get them back into education, training and employment.

Meanwhile, Thursday will mark 25 years since the Eurostar began running trains between London Waterloo and Paris, Brussels and Lille. The high-speed rail service has recently unveiled a picture gallery celebrating travellers’ memorable images from the past quarter of a century, with contributions from well known faces including Dame Kelly Homles, Lily Cole and Russell Tovey.

On Friday, it will be 100 years since the first female MP was elected. Lady Nancy Astor became the first woman to sit in the House of Commons after being elected to Parliament for Plymouth Sutton in a by-election on November 15, 1919. She replaced her husband who had previously been the MP and arrived in Parliament to take her oath on December 1.

The 100-year fight to get more women into ParliamentMusic

In West Yorkshire, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival will get underway on Friday. The annual, international festival of contemporary and new music, in partnership with the University of Huddersfield, takes place over 10 days.

It is made up of around 60 events from concerts, to music theatre and dance performances in a mix of traditional concert spaces, churches and bars.

Showcasing the work of artists and composers from the UK, Europe and as far afield as Georgia, Romania and Egypt, it also gives a platform to more unusual feats of performance including an ice cello which melts as it plays, and a showcase for one of the oldest electronic instruments in existence. It runs until November 24.

Election

Aside from Christmas, the forthcoming general election will be the December occasion on everyone’s lips again this week. With a date set for December 12, candidates around the country are already preparing their message to take to the doorsteps in their constituencies.

'Election will be won or lost in the North' as political rivals promise to promote region's interestsCandidates must hand in their nomination forms by 4pm on Thursday and a statement of those nominated will then be published.