A Fascinating and Educational visit to Surrey Coroner’s Court.

Suzanne and I were warmly welcomed to the Coroners Court in Woking by Senior Coroner Richard Travers and Area Coroner Simon Wickens.

Being my first visit to a Coroners Court, it was fascinating and very educational, learning why a death might be referred and the stages of investigation that a coroner may request, from a post mortem, to an investigation to an inquest. Unlike other courts it is not adversarial with two parties opposing each other; instead it is inquisitorial with the coroner leading a fact-finding investigation into who, when, where, and how someone died. The investigation of the coroner can lead to a Prevention of Future Death Report if it believed action should be taken to prevent future similar deaths.

Suzanne and I were given a tour of the five courts, two are designed for juries; which interestingly in a coroners court only have 11 jurors. A jury is required for specific types of deaths, primarily when a death occurred in custody (like prison or police), was violent or unnatural, the cause is unknown, or if it resulted from police actions, a work-related accident, poisoning, or disease.

Christmas Day at the Salvation Army Church and Community Centre in Staines.

In all honesty, I don’t think I have ever put a pinny on before on Christmas Day!

However, when Suzanne and I turned up on Christmas Day at the Salvation Army Church and Community Centre in Staines, it was all hands to the pump. After helping serve teas and coffees we joined the volunteers preparing food bags for everyone to take home at the end of the day, before being on hand to serve Christmas lunch. The kitchen team did an amazing job as they turned out over 70 Christmas lunches with all the trimmings.

Those present enjoyed singing carols before lunch and had a visit from Santa afterwards, before watching the King’s Speech on a large screen.

It was a meticulously well planned occasion, with some Christmas lunches also being delivered to those unable to attend, and huge thanks and congratulations go to the army of volunteers which ensured everybody had a wonderful day out and a very Happy Christmas.

Sir John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration.

Suzanne and I have been thoroughly entertained at a number of festive events but it seemed we left the best to last as we enjoyed a wonderful night in the company of Sir John Rutter at Guildford Cathedral. The Guildford Cathedral Choir was joined by Septura Brass along with organ, harp and percussion as we were treated to a selection of traditional carols, excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” and four carols by Sir John himself. In between, the packed audience chipped in singing some of the well known carols finishing with a rousing Hark! The Herald-Angels Sing.

It most definitely got us in the mood for Christmas!

I Wish Lab22 Had Been Around When I Was at school. 

Based in the offices of PE Limited in Guildford, Matias and Sabrina Seijo have created a wonderful learning environment for junior school children which provides a hands on introduction to science. They encourage children to observe, question and hypothesise and then help them develop skills that are applicable in various areas of life not just science.

In primary Schools, due to class sizes, space and time pressures and sometimes the inexperience of teachers, science is often not taught in a constructive or stimulating way and therefore young children do not become curious or aware of the possible future directions a love of science could take them. Lab22 provides a space for school children to come and learn about different aspects of science through hands on experiments wearing lab coats and then they are given further experiments to take away with them. PE Limited very generously cover all costs including transportation of the two hourly sessions.

Matias and Sabrina are looking to expand the number of participating schools and their concept is something which hopefully could be scalable in the future to enable many more young children to creatively explore the magic of science.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HIGH SHERIFF OF SURREY.

Find out more about Artventure at – https://www.art-venture.co.uk/

Age UK Surrey Christmas Carol Service.

I do not think I have ever seen Guildford Cathedral looking so packed and so festive than at the Age UK Surrey Christmas Carol Service. Suzanne and I, together with the Lord Lieutenant, the Mayor of Guildford and many other dignitaries from across the County, thoroughly enjoyed joining in with the rousing carols and listening to the wonderful music provided by The Guildford Cathedral Singers, Rock Choir and Tormead Prep School Choir (the latter turning up and performing in their school uniform despite the term already having finished!)

Age UK has been supporting older people across Surrey for 60 years and this was an opportunity to celebrate everyone who supports Age UK and all their volunteers who make such a difference.

Surrey Youth Focus – The End of an Era.

Suzanne and I were delighted to drop in to say thank you to Cate Newnes-Smith and her wonderful team at Surrey Youth Focus, who are sadly closing their doors at the end of this week. Over the years, they have been worked charities, community groups, health, education, police and social care and more, from across Surrey and beyond. They have supported and delivered a wide range of initiatives that inspired new thinking and amplified lived experience, including The Big Chat, Hidden Talent, Time for Kids, Unheard Voices, CommuniLAB, Care Leavers, Inclusive Communities, the Surrey Wellbeing Partnership, VCSE Alliance, Peer Research with the University of Surrey, Communities of Practice, Coffee & Chats, Skill Sharing, Speed Dating events, and many more. Each reflects the power of connection, collaborative learning and collective action.

I am personally also very grateful for all the input and support Cate has provided for my Shrieval theme of helping to stop young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and I hope we see Cate and the other members of her team resurface soon in pastures new.

East to West – Bringing Hope to Young Lives.

I have been looking forward to meeting the ‘east to west’ team for a long time. Much of what they do chimes with my Shrieval theme of helping young people and their vision is of a world where every child, young person and family experiences hope through meaningful long-term relationships and restore, strengthen and help them thrive.

They operate in 48 primary schools, 28 secondary schools, 6 GP surgeries and a hospital and having started in Surrey they have now branched out into Greater London, Berkshire and Hampshire. In 2024/25 they undertook over 21,000 sessions positively impacting the lives of countless young people and their families through one to one and group interaction. 93% of the 2,865 children and young people they supported said that the help they had received had met their current needs.

Find out more at – https://www.easttowest.org.uk

A Temporary New Role Assisting St. Nicholas at a Ukrainian Christmas Party!

I achieved a life-long ambition when St Nicholas asked if I could help hand out the presents to the children at the Ukrainian Xmas Party held at The Lighthouse in Woking. It was a wonderful occasion with Ukrainian music, singing and food with craft activities, face painting and a puppet show. Hosted by Erik and Rebecca Jespersen and wonderfully choreographed by Irina and her army of volunteers, Suzanne and I were soon put to work, with Suzanne helping out in the kitchen and myself as part of the welcoming committee on the door. It was lovely to see so many traditional costumes and happy faces and when St Nicholas arrived with his sack full of toys and chocolates the excitement was palpable (and that was just me!).  The support given to the local Ukrainian Community by the Lighthouse and their supporters is helping to alleviate some of the difficulties they are facing, but there were some tears as well as smiles. Suzanne and I welcomed in an Ukrainian family in the early stages of the conflict; they have become part of our family, and we have learned so much from each other. We are welcoming a second family in the coming weeks and it is reassuring to know that support from organisations like the Lighthouse will hopefully help them put their lives back together.

Artventure Trust – 41 Years of Helping Adults with Learning Disabilities, Physical Impairments and Autism to Build their Confidence & Self Esteem Through Art.

Peter Cluff – High Sheriff of Surrey visists Artventure in Merrow to meet the designer of his Christmas Card and meet other artists

My family and I are very much lovers of art and one of my proudest moments during this past year has been witnessing the conception of ‘Guildford Festival of the Arts’ which was co-founded by our daughter Charlie. 

It was therefore very fitting that the High Sheriff’s Christmas card this year was designed by one of the amazing artists – Nico, from the Guildford based day centre for adults with learning disabilities, physical impairments and autism – The Artventure Trust. 

Our timely visit had two purposes – to meet and thank Nico for his wonderful design whilst recording a festive greeting and also to find out more about Artventure and meet more of the people who benefit from this brilliant organisation.  

Suzanne and I were greeted by manager Mariann Kehrling, who escorted us to the purpose built facility in the grounds of St. Peter’s School in Merrow. From the moment you enter the building it is a visual delight with brightly coloured artworks occupying every space on the walls.  The standard of the art is impressive with a wide range of media and subject matter and the environment is perfect for the artists who enjoy a safe space in which to be creative at the same time as making friends with a shared interest.  

Founded in 1984, the charity which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year with a reception to launch an auction of artworks at West Horsley Place, (recently renovated and featured in the TV sitcom – ‘Ghosts’), now also has a branch at ‘Gosden school in Bramley. The dedicated staff of volunteers, some of whom have been in situ for many years, are all very passionate about their roles, adding to the stability of the charity. As well as Nico, we spoke with regular attendees,  Peter, Tom, Amy and Sophie about their  current projects and experiences and were very much inspired by their achievements. What an amazing facility and it is very obvious that having a place like Artventure gives the artists the chance to develop their creative and communication skills, building their confidence and self esteem – art really can make a big difference. 

Find out more and donate at www.art-venture.co.uk. 

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Photos by Andy Newbold