Attending ‘Guru Nanak Gurpurab’ – A Sacred Sikh Festival.

Suzanne and I were given the great honour last week of being invited to participate in one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism, Guru Nanak Gurpurab.

Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the festival celebrates his birth in 1469. It is usually held on the day of the full moon in November and he is one of ten Sikh Gurus celebrated as being responsible for shaping the beliefs of Sikhs.

We were invited to the Gurdwara in Camberley which only opened in May of this year. Previously there had been no Sikh place of worship in Surrey, and Sikhs had to travel to Slough or Reading to worship. We were made to feel so welcome by everybody and were escorted and educated by Kam Kandola and her colleagues from the outreach team. What was very evident immediately was how contemporary the Gurdwara was. Whilst observing the strict teachings and the removal of shoes and covering of heads, the feeling was very relaxed and reflected an understanding that encouraging the local community in the twenty first century to embrace religion requires a more modern approach. Anybody is welcome to visit and food is prepared all day long and offered to all. People all sit on the floor in the Langar (free kitchen) to designate that everyone is equal. The Gurdwara opens at 4am and people can attend at any time for whatever time period and as such it provides a continuous worship rather than having designated services.

The Gurdwara was created out of an old disused building which has been transformed into a vibrant community hub. The Outreach team have been keen to embrace the local community, establishing relationships with the local churches and mosque and Suzanne and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit.   

Breakfast with The Aurora Rotary Club.

As High Sheriff you frequently have to sing for your supper when attending engagements across the County but singing for my breakfast was a new experience. The Aurora Rotary Club in Shepperton meet regularly early in the morning at the Warren Lodge Hotel in Shepperton and I was very keen to join them, not only because of the promise of a Full English, but because they very generously donated to the High Sheriff Youth Awards (HSYA) recently, which I currently chair. The HSYA supports local organisations which help reduce potential anti-social behaviour by supporting young people and the Aurora Rotary Club kindly helped us through their donation.

Ron Enticott, a fellow trustee of HSYA, and a Rotarian, kindly helped form a double act, where I spoke about the history and the current role of the High Sheriff, whilst he enlightened the audience with information on the HSYA.

It was wonderful meeting such an active group of people and hear all about their upcoming activities, particularly in the build up to Christmas; whilst enjoying that delicious Full English.

Claygate Youth and Community Hub.

Any event involving sparklers and toasted marsh-mallows was going to be enjoyed by Suzanne and myself but we had an exceptionally great time being hosted by the Claygate Youth and Community Hub. It is a remarkable place being in an old village school hall provided by Surrey County Council. It offers fun, youth activities and support to all young people aged 11-19, providing a safe and welcoming space for them to socialise, learn new skills, and get support and advice when needed. Open as a drop-in centre on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays each week as well as offering holiday clubs for 11-16s.

It was wonderful to see the rapport between the staff, volunteers and the young people who are encouraged to express themselves whilst enjoying activities from cooking, playing games, trying new activities and developing social skills. The Hub believes in empowering young people, helping them to achieve their full potential and to make positive contributions to their communities. This sits so well with my Shrieval theme this year of preventing young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training), and Katie Holmes the Hub Manager and her wonderful team and trustees deserve tremendous credit for what they have created for their local community. There was a very touching moment when one of the young people came up to me to specifically tell me how Katie through a number of one to one sessions, and by encouraging his involvement in the Hub, had changed his life.

Suzanne spent most of the evening in the kitchen, helping prepare pumpkin soup and cakes, whilst I was diligently carrying out quality control testing on the marsh-mallows!

Spelthorne in Bloom Awards.

One of my early engagements as High Sheriff was to attend the launch of this year’s Spelthorne in Bloom competition back in April. So some seven months later, Suzanne and I were delighted to return for the results with Grace one of my Police Cadets.

The initial event had been hosted by Squires and the Awards evening by Notcutts and all 12 awards were sponsored by local businesses which is a testament to both the commitment of local businesses to the Community and the hard work the Committee put in to ensure the success of the event which is now in its 35 year. Cllr John Doran, Mayor of Spelthorne, local MP, Lincoln Jopp, Chief Executive of Spelthorne Borough Council, Daniel Mouawad and Inspector Matthew Walton, Borough Commander Surrey Police, were joined by many members of the local community avidly awaiting the results.

Notcutts kindly provided some refreshments and the evening was expertly compered by Chairman of Spelthorne in Bloom, Nick Wood-Dow DL.

[picture is of all the winners from Stanwell]

Eikon – Helping Young People, their Families and Carers.

I had wanted to visit Eikon since before my Shrieval year commenced, as I was aware of the amazing work they do to help young people, their families and carers.

Providing mentoring support to young people at an early stage can change future pathways and help prevent young people from becoming NEET (No in Education, Employment and Training). Eikon’s core values recognise that growing up in today’s world can be incredibly challenging, every young person deserves to feel safe, we should help children learn the skills they need to be safe and well, early help often stops problems from growing, we should listen to young people as they understand better than anyone what’s happening in their own lives and that schools, parents, and carers sometimes need help to support and empower young people.

Chris Hickford MBE who started helping young people initially through a youth club 30 years ago is the inspiring CEO and he gave Suzanne and I a tour of their facilities, including their amazing community garden which provides a calm, safe space when needed. He also explained how Eikon operates in schools, community groups, youth clubs and on-line across the County to be there when needed for those most in need.

The Surrey Military Support Group

One of the privileges of being the High Sheriff of Surrey is to sit on the Surrey Military Support Group which is chaired by the Lord Lieutenant. It serves as a strategic liaison group between the military and civil society in Surrey and its purpose is to enhance understanding, trust and mutual support between the armed forces and the communities the serve. Our most recent meeting was held at the Tower of London which enabled us to witness the wonderful installation of thousands or ceramic poppies to reflect on the lasting impact and devastating scale of loss caused by the Second World War 1939-1945. The installation was designed by Tom Piper and the poppies by artist Paul Cummins and the installation commenced ahead of VE Day and lasts until after Remembrance Day.

The Wonderful Nepalese Gurkha Association in Camberley

Suzanne and I spent a special couple of hours with the wonderful Nepalese Gurkha Association in Camberley. They meet weekly at High Cross Church in Camberley.

We were very warmly welcomed and we were informed about how the association had recently set up as charity to promote the social inclusion of Nepalese and Gurkha veterans and their families in Camberley who may be socially excluded from society due to limited English language skills, ill health and old age. They provide English training, social and recreational events, whilst continuing to advance the education of the local community about Nepalese Culture.

They would welcome the opportunity to have access to some permanent space in Camberley which would enable them to meet together on a more regular basis and help reduce the affects of isolation and loneliness within their community.

They shared some delicious food and wonderful stories and we thoroughly our time in their company.

Learning Space – A Children’s Emotional Well-being and Mental Health Charity.

It is said that good things come to those that wait and perhaps also those who preserve. Having endured a car breakdown, delayed trains and a near vertical route-march from Redhill station, I eventually arrived at the haven of Learning Space and enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours in the company of CEO, Mark Lister, Head of Trustees, Stefan Nahajski, fellow trustee Mike Lightfoot and head of fund-raising Rebecca Wheaton.

Learning Space is a children’s emotional well-being and mental health charity that provides individual and group support for 5 – 18 years olds in Surrey. They offer a strengths-based, therapeutic mix of solution focused support together with a variety of creative activities customised to the individual needs and interests of the child, young person or adult. They are an alliance partner of Mindworks Surrey, a group of organisations working together to deliver the new emotional wellbeing and mental health service for children and young people in Surrey.

Whilst I was there I was delighted to be asked to join a Youth Voice session with a number of young people. Sitting in the round everyone was encouraged to participate and open up through friendly conversation and games. It was wonderful to see how the young people started to relax and laugh in the safe space that was generated, and I felt very privileged to be allowed into their circle.

Learning Space is looking to expand it activities and the number of young people they can support, and they would particularly like to hear from any local people and businesses in the Redhill area who would like to become involved in helping them help young people in their local community.

Find out more at https://www.learningspace.org.uk

The Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Awards 2025.

Suzanne and I together with my police cadets, Imogen and Grace, thoroughly enjoyed a celebratory evening at the Dorking Halls recognising the achievements of a number of individuals at the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Awards and Commendations Ceremony.

I was delighted to part of the awards team which also included Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Andrew Latham, Chief Fire Officer, Dan Quin, Vice-Chair of Surrey County Council, Bernie Muir, and the Cabinet Member for Surrey Fire and Police and Resilience, Kevin Deanus. I was also kept on my toes by being informed I was making a speech only after I had arrived, but fortunately I was provided with some words of wisdom to help me thank those present for their unwavering commitment. Awards were given for years of service and meritorious actions and conduct. Dan Quin said that they were not just a service but a community and acknowledged the families and loved ones also present and the dedication of all the teams from frontline firefighters, control room staff, support teams, volunteers and everyone who plays a part in keeping Surrey safe.

The Green Hub at Witley.

It is not often you have a meeting in an old stationmaster’s house on a station platform, but Suzanne and I were delighted to meet up with Green Hub at their charity’s headquarters on Witley station. We met with Vanessa Lanham-Day (Chair of the Management Board), Flo Headlam (Patron) and other members of team and heard how Green Hub is a local community charity based in Milford, Witley & Godalming supporting teens (10-18) in Waverley, Surrey and NE Hampshire, who are facing social, emotional & mental health challenges. They provide ‘social therapeutic horticulture’, and they come along to their Green Teens programme for a couple of hours each week for 12 weeks, working in one of their local Green Hub gardens, whatever the weather. The idea is to teach them strategies that they can use for the rest of their lives, based on their ‘5 ways to wellbeing’. It was great to hear how the charity is growing and their enthusiasm to help young people in the local community. They have the capability of helping more young people and details of how to join in can be found on their website. – https://greenhub.org.uk.