Service for the Judiciary 2025

The Service for the Judiciary – 3rd October 2025

One of the main events in the calendar of the High Sheriff is to hold a service for the Judiciary and all who uphold the Kings Peace. Traditionally this has been held at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford, and commences with two processions from the Guildhall to the church up Guildford High Street. The Civic Procession, including the Mayors and Chairs of Surrey Boroughs & Districts led by the Town Crier, and the High Sheriff’s Procession withthe Resident Judge of Guildford Crown Court and other members of the Judiciary including coroners, circuit and district judges and Surrey Magistrates joining me, the Under Sheriff and my two police cadets. I was also delighted this year to welcome Dr Tim Foutts, the High Sheriff of West Sussex, to join in the occasion. We were all suitably robed and brought some colour and pageantry to entertain the early morning shoppers who were also serenaded by trumpeters from the London Banqueting Ensemble as we processed. Thankfully, the rain abated just long enough to ensure that robes and wigs did not get sodden.

The Rector – Simon Butler led a wonderful service which included the amazing choir from the Royal Grammar School, whilst pupils from Holy Trinity Pewley Down School watched from the balcony. A Big thank you goes to Will Todd for not only allowing his anthem ‘Lighting the Way’ to be sung but also for attending himself and providing the music before the service. 

During the Service, I reaffirmed my Shrieval Promise and the upholders of law and order, both judicial and civic vowed to continue their faithful service. All present then made a faith and community declaration for Surrey declaring that we would work together to ensure our County should continue to be a place of welcome generosity and equality, with respect to all.

After the service as the fanfares once again sounded from the trumpeters, we processed back to the Guildhall, again avoiding the raindrops and with enthusiastic cheers from local schoolchildren lining the route, where we were treated to some light refreshments.

Tim, Suzanne and I were then delighted to join a few members of the Judiciary for lunch at The County Club opposite the Guildhall, to round off a wonderful occasion.

Photos by Andy Newbold

HMP Send and High Down

Recently I have been performing my pleasurable duty of supporting the Judiciary and all who uphold the King’s Peace. Prior to the Service for the Judiciary, which I have already written about on Friday October 3rd, Suzanne and I were invited to visit two of the prisons in Surrey, HMP Send and HMP High Down.

I had visited HMP Send earlier in the year when attending the Art Exhibition co-ordinated with The Michael Varah memorial Fund and Watts Gallery; but this was the first time we had actually toured the prison. It was a beautifully sunny day which made the tour round the extensive horticultural areas most enjoyable. They grow a substantial amount of food for their own consumption and many of the inmates have their own patch in which to grow vegetables or plants of their choice.

Prison Governor, Esther Dainton, gave generously of her time to give us a tour of all areas and to explain many of the innovations within the prison; from more secluded quarters for some of the older inmates to be located together, to an area where inmates who are willing to stop their dependency on drugs can reside in en-suite pods next to each other in a small, more open, community. They are regularly tested to ensure they are remaining drug free and it is helpful towards their rehabilitation. As is, the ability to learn many skills inside, for example working with charity Fine Cell teaching soft work skills.

Later that week, Suzanne and I made a return visit to HMP High Down. When we visited earlier in my Shrieval year, we noticed that they were putting the finishing touches to installing an immersive suite which was a collaborative project with East Surrey College called Empowering Education and Sustainable Skills for a Fresh Start. Prison Governor, Emily Martin, kindly invited us back for the official opening and it is an incredible piece of kit. Richard Jackman, Business and Community Engagement Manager at High Down, who gave us an extensive tour of the prison on our previous visit, acted as MC and introduced the various partners, including BT Metaverse Learning and the Greater London Authority, who had contributed to the initiative, which had been complicated by the need to keep access to communication networks restricted within the prison confines. 

We were then given a demonstration to show how the immersive technology could be used to teach certain green jobs such as installing solar panels or heat pumps; how it could provide immersive instruction on adjusting to the outside world, from leaving prison and walking to a train centre or entering East Surrey college for the first time; and how it could play immersive videos to both stimulate active engagement or reduce anxieties for those with neurodiversity issues. 

It is an innovative project, the first of its kind in a prison in the UK aimed at reducing reoffending by equipping learners with valuable knowledge and practical skills.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester opens a New Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames.

Suzanne and I were honoured to join His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Lieutenant at the wonderful new Eclipse Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. It is an astonishing building boasting a 200-station gym, two swimming pools, sports hall, squash courts, Clip ‘n Climb, and four rooftop 5-a-side football pitches! It is one of the world’s largest Passivhaus certified leisure centres – meaning it has been recognised for its outstanding environmental efficiency and sustainability performance credentials and is one the first certified Passivhaus leisure facilities in the UK .

We were treated to a tour of the amazing facilities and met, amongst other users, the Spelthorne Parkies, a local club numbering over 120 members with Parkinson’s disease who were enjoying an active gym session.

We were escorted round by Daniel Mouawad, the CEO of Spelthorne Borough Council, who was rightly proud of this wonderful new community facility.

His Royal Highness unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit.

Brooklands Innovation Academy – Inspiring Britain’s Future Scientists.

The Brooklands Innovation Academy inspires Britain’s budding future scientists, engineers, mathematicians and innovators; especially on a day when some 480 Year 8 pupils get the opportunity to try some of the 24 workshops put on by an array of businesses operating in the STEM space, including McLaren, Surrey Satellites, British Airways and Ringway. I joined in an analysis of detecting invisible particles hosted by Stanhope Seta, and Suzanne and I failed miserably with my two cadets Imogen and Grace in robotic coding to navigate our submarine led by BAE Systems. 

The activities were interspersed with some keynote inspirational speeches and the event was put on by the Science Summer School whose co-founders Lord Andrew Mawson and Professor Brian Cox, provided further inspiration. Events like this often provide a lightbulb moment in young people’s lives as they see the future possibilities that exist for them, before they embark on their GCSE studies. It was evident how absorbing the events and talks were by the hush during the tuition and the very astute questions that followed.

Huge thanks must go to the sponsors of the event, Haleon, BAE Systems and  Stanhope-Seta; together with Alex Patterson and the amazing team at Brooklands Museum for providing such an inspirational setting and a huge number of volunteers, supported by the Bourne Education Trust.

New Developments at Brooklands Technical College

It was wonderful to see the impressive new developments both completed and in progress at the Brooklands technical College. £45m has been committed into the Weybridge campus providing new classrooms, sports hall, gym, community hub and a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities facility.

Suzanne and I were given a tour by Christine Ricketts, Principal & CEO, of some or the varied activities studied; including construction, car maintenance, hair-dressing, beauty salons, hospitality and many more. Although the college mainly caters for 16-18 year olds, it also has over 500 adults which attend in the evenings and some seventy 14-16 year olds which attend up to 13 hours of classes a week of having previously been home-schooled, or have struggled in mainstream education. This latter initiative of providing alternative learning is to be greatly applauded as it significantly helps reduce the risk of a young person becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) by providing opportunities not usually available until they leave school. Whilst we were on our tour we met a group of 14-16 year olds having a hairdressing lesson and all were diligently focussed and clearly enjoying the experience.

Meisha Harding is the Director for Foundation and Pathways co-ordinating the interaction with schools and parents to allow these young people to flourish and is pictured on the left here with Christine and myself.

The Mayor of Guildford’s Charity Calendar Launch

It is always a pleasure to see the creative side of my home town of Guildford and this weekend has been a joy on that score. Following the launch of Guildford Festival of the Arts, co-founded by my Daughter Charlie, I was also invited to the launch of the Mayor of Guildford’s 2026 Charity Calendar, in which Charlie was also involved as a judge of the final selection, as was my Friend from BBC Surrey – Mark Carter DL and my PR and Media Advisor Andy. The thirteen images selected, (one for each month and one for the cover), were revealed dramatically at ‘Art & Grind’ a fabulous art themed Cafe situated opposite the Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s Church on Guildford High street.

The stunning images – all taken in the Guildford area and around 100 initially, were chosen from entries to the Mayor’s photography competition, organised by the Guildford Photographic Society. The Mayor of Guildford – Howard Smith, who came up with the idea to raise funds for his four chosen charities, Phyllis Tuckwell, The Cheryl King Trust, Guildford Shakespeare Company and The Mayor of Guildford’s Local Support Fund said at the event; “There were so many wonderful entries that the judges had an incredibly difficult task selecting the final collection. This calendar is a celebration of Guildford Borough’s natural beauty, captured through the lens of our talented local photographers. I hope others will be as captivated by these images as we were, and enjoy them day by day through this stylish and practical family calendar. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life.” the Mayor continued “I’m especially grateful to the Guildford Photographic Society for organising the competition and to the judges for their expertise and thoughtful choices. Thanks to our generous sponsors every penny raised will go directly to my chosen charities.”

As High Sheriff I was there to help with the reveal which I am pleased to say added a touch of theatre to the proceedings – appropriately so during the Festival of the Arts. The evening continued with a lovely reception hosted by Art and Grind and lots of calendars being sold! The calendar is available for £10 and can be purchased online, at the Guildford Tourist Information Centre, Art & Grind, and Paper Moon bookshop.

Photos by Andy Newbold

The Mayor of Guildford – Howard Smith

Guildford Festival for the Arts.

It was such a great honour to join the Mayor of Guildford – Howard Smith and Guildford’s MP – Zoe Franklin, to officially launch the Inaugural ‘Guildford Festival of the Arts’ at Tunsgate Quarter on Thursday. (25th September). It was even more personal to me as it was created by my Daughter Charlie and her friend Lauren Gerrard along with a team of volunteers which included my Wife Suzanne.

Co-founder Charlie outlines the concept, “Guildford Festival of the Arts is a creative festival in the heart of Guildford designed to promote and celebrate creativity, within the community. The important work of the creative industry often gets overlooked and we wanted to give a space to those who work in the arts to help promote the wonderful work that they do and showcase the amazing opportunities on offer to creatives, or those that just want to try something new.”

“Guildford and the surrounding area is much more creative than people may realise. There are some amazing spaces that offer workshops and events, exhibitions and art history that not many people are aware of. Other places may have art fairs and stamp trails lots of these places don’t have the diversity that we do. The town does have other creative events and festivals of course – for example, Guildford Fringe is an amazing creative organisation and we love going to their events each year – however, we felt that there is little attention on the visual artists that live and work within the local area and that’s why we felt that the Guildford Festival of the Arts needed to become a reality.”

A key feature of the festival is the walking/stamp trail which showcases Guildford’s creative community – all based within walking distance of Guildford town centre. Whether that’s a drop-in-drop-out workshop, an exhibition or something to just observe, you can turn up and get involved in one way or another. At each of these locations there will also be able to get a stamp on a stamp map (which can be collected along with a brochure during the festival) and on the completion of the stamp trail there is an opportunity to win a prize! 

With eleven venues signed up to the art trail, and 20 venues taking part in the festival, an amazing street art experience, (where a select team of local artists will be transforming the exterior of a building that has been abandoned for years), screen-printing drop-in workshops hosted by Ochre Print, a creative pottery workshop by Watts Gallery, talks and events hosted by local artists and workshops for young people there is plenty going on that will inspire and entertain and many of the venues have cafes including New House Art Space, Art + Grind, the Guildford Institute, Yvonne Arnaud, Solar Sisters, and Supporting pubs and bars include The Star Inn, Britannia Pub and Growlers.

Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre will be hosting workshops throughout the festival as well as showcasing the video work submitted to our Open Call and Sustain Film festival. John Walmsley will be showing his photographic work there and they will also be hosting their own exhibition ‘Designing for our stage’ which will include: Sketches, sets, costumes and photographs of Yvonne Arnaud original productions where the public will be able to see how designers have created concepts for their productions, and how they’ve been brought to life on stage.

The Festival is in town until Sunday 28th of September and a great place to start is with a visit to Tunsgate Quarter where you can pick up your trail map and find out what is going on for the day. Be sure to pop inside Charlie’s Memory house installation which is an amazing visual experience from the inside! You can find out more too on the website – www.guildfordfestivalofthearts.co.uk and please follow and share your photos on Instagram: @guildfordfestivalofthearts.

Photography by Andy Newbold

Whitmore Vale – A Wonderfully Tranquil Place.

I had a most enjoyable couple of hours attending the Whitmore Vale AGM which was held in the Royal British Legion in Hindhead on Friday September 26th. I had visited Whitmore Vale House a couple of weeks earlier meeting the wonderful staff and some of the residents who have severe learning difficulties. It is a wonderfully tranquil place, set in beautiful woodland, and the newly decorated home with its high ceilings and large comfortable rooms gives a wonderful homely feeling which is magnified by the warmth of the members of staff to the residents and each other. Sonja Jones the CEO, and Deborah Robinson, Chair, have overseen a massive transformation at Whitmore Vale, improving the finances and the care offered through adept management of the space and concentrating on the welfare of their staff as well as the residents. Incredibly, they have no staff vacancies currently which is almost unheard of in the care sector. This is due to the attention they give their staff in terms of advancing their training and personal welfare. They are also keen to introduce young people into the sector by demonstrating what a rewarding career it can be.

At the AGM, I had an opportunity to meet some more of the residents and their families, together with the staff and a number of the volunteers which are so important to the smooth running of the various services. There was a wonderful joyous atmosphere all round, helped by a wonderful lunchtime spread.

Warhol in Woking – a viewing at the Light Box by Invitation of Home Start.

Suzanne and I enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Lightbox Gallery in Woking where Home Start kindly invited us for a Private Viewing of the Warhol Exhibition.

Home Start are a charity I have known for a long while and supported through the Community Foundation for Surrey and Guildford Philanthropy. They offer an early intervention service in supporting families who are struggling to cope. They have a wonderful group of trained volunteers but also employ experienced family support workers to deal with some of the most complex cases. Statutory funding for such provision has sadly fallen away and they are competing with many other charities for donations necessary to sustain their services. Please consider becoming a Home Start Guildford Angel as an individual or company, details can be found on their website https://hsguildford.org.uk/

Do also check out the amazing Warhol exhibition. It is amazing we can bring such artwork to Surrey and hats off to the Lightbox. 

Surrey & Sussex Heroes Recognised at the 14th ‘Make A Difference Awards’

Suzanne and I enjoyed an inspiring evening full of uplifting stories about community heroes in Surrey and Sussex at the 14th Make a Difference Awards held at Lingfield Park Racecourse. The BBC event saw awards in eight categories with judges including Sally Gunnell and Ray Mears. These awards began in Sussex and Surrey in 2011, and are now run across BBC Local.

I was honoured to be giving out the award in the Volunteer category and there were four very worthy finalists. The winner was 85 year old Terri Collins who co-founded the Elmbridge Community Link and later The Counselling Partnership, for which she undertook a skydive to raise money on her 85th birthday! But in truth everyone present was a winner and have collectively done so much to enhance their local communities and help their neighbours. 

Photos kindly forwarded by Emily Coady-Stemp