Happy 10th Birthday to The Include Choir!
This amazing choir is a place where people with and without learning disabilities, autism or communication needs can come together and sing; using a mixture of Makaton signing, pictures and objects to ensure everyone is included.
The choir treated us to a wonderful concert over tea and birthday cake on the Village Green in Brockham to celebrate.
Dancing in the Street!
This Bank Holiday weekend enjoy live music and a drink at the Dorking Westival in support of ESDAS (East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services). 70 bands over 7 stages across 5 venues: The Star, The Old House, The Spotted Dog, The King’s Arms and The Bull’s Head.
ESDAS delivers a fantastic service: it supports survivors of domestic abuse and their children in East Surrey. Sadly, the demand for its services is increasing and ESDAS need your support. What better way to do this whilst listening to music and visiting some local pubs?
Find out more at: https://www.hellodorking.com/event/westival-1st-3rd-may/
On Saturday in the sunny surroundings of the Reigate Beekeepers’ Association Apiary near Dorking, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey – Michael More-Molyneux CVO – presented the prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) to the volunteers of The National Honey Show.
The KAVS is the highest honour awarded to local voluntary groups in the UK and is the equivalent to an MBE. The KAVS was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee (then known as a QAVS). The Awards are awarded for life and are announced on the King’s birthday each year, the 14th November.
The National Honey Show is unique. The Show is staged annually over a 3-day period at the end of October and provides education in beekeeping and environmental issues. The Show provides a gold standard by which beekeepers can compare their produce with others. Visitors to the Show can buy honey and products of the hive from beekeepers and producers, as well as learn about becoming a beekeeper.
The Show is entirely organised by local unpaid volunteers and has been run successfully every year since 1923, except for a few years during World War II. Every year there is growing demand for entries from all over the world as beekeepers recognise the kudos of winning a class at the Honey Show. Yet, the organising group and whole team of volunteers for the days of the Show just see themselves as a group of local beekeepers.
The National Honey Show is truly exceptional, and it is the combination of a passionate and highly skilled 100% volunteer core team with dedicated local volunteers delivering the Show, that make it so. The KAVS is very well deserved.
A “posse” of three Lord Lieutenants (former, current and future) as well as 15 former and one current High Sheriff of Surrey came together to thank Caroline Breckell for keeping them on the straight and narrow for the past 18 years.
Earlier this month, Caroline retired from her role as Under Sheriff of Surrey. A role she started in 2008 when the then High Sheriff Sally Varah MBE DL asked Caroline to accept the position alongside her job at Surrey County Council and role as Clerk to the Surrey Lieutenancy. Ever since then, Caroline has been invaluable to the smooth running of the Surrey Shrievalty.
The Surrey Shrievalty shall miss Caroline’s unparallelled knowledge of the inner workings of the County, her sound advice, and good humour.
Thank you Caroline!
Photos; Andy Newbold.
It is always a great pleasure to attend the presentation of a King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) – the highest honour awarded to local voluntary groups in the UK, and to be able to celebrate the extensive work carried out by the volunteers of the recipient group.
Equivalent to an MBE, the KAVS was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. The Awards are awarded for life and are announced on the King’s birthday each year, the 14th November.
Last Friday, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey – Michael More-Molyneux CVO – presented the prestigious Award to Cranleigh Arts.
Cranleigh Arts was established over 50 years ago and provides a central point in Cranleigh for people to get together and enjoy all kinds of cultural activity. Its founding principle is “to enrich, entertain and inspire”. The facilities available and the range of programming at Cranleigh Arts rivals any art centre in the country. What is different about Cranleigh Arts is that it is run by volunteers with all the funds being raised by volunteers and less than 20% of the centre’s funding is reliant on fundraising. For any arts organisation that is exceptional.
Cranleigh Arts is a very deserving recipient of the KAVS. It has grown out of the community, provides for the community and is run by volunteers from the community.
Photo by Martin Bamford
The Scouts did their best!
On Saturday, I had the honour and pleasure to attend the Chief Scout’s Gold Awards presentation of the Surrey Scouts at the Aldridge Theatre near Farnham.
The Chief Scout’s Gold Award is the highest award in the Scout Section (aged 11-14 years’ old). The Award requires the scouts to complete nine different Challenge areas: World, Skills, Creative, Outdoors, Adventure, Expedition, Teamwork, Team Leadership and Personal. As well as completing each of those nine challenges, the scouts need to gain six activity badges in areas of their own choice.
Completing the programme is a true feat. It was therefore a great pleasure to present this prestigious award to an impressive 34 young scouts and to chat to them about their enjoyment of being part of the Surrey Scouts. The camps seem to be the most popular activity and I was told exciting tales of building campfires, kayaking, climbing and lots of fun games.
There will not be many people who have achieved what these young people have gained over the past few months and years. It will make them stand out – in a good way! Teenagers normally do not want to be “different” and just want to blend in, but “being different” in this regard is a bonus – now and in a later life.
As my first official engagement as High Sheriff, I had the pleasure of meeting the security team at the Guildford Law Courts before attending the swearing in ceremony of Surrey’s newest magistrate.
It was an impressive occasion in front of Her Honour Judge Lees, the Resident Judge at Guildford Crown Court, with the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux CVO, and the Chairman of the Bench, Dr Mike Kelly JP in attendance.
Magistrates fulfil a highly important role in the English justice system. 95% of all criminal cases are heard entirely in the Magistrates Court with only the most serious criminal cases being moved on to the Crown Court. Uniquely, all magistrates are volunteers.
It was an inspiring afternoon.
Life is full of surprises. If anyone had told me 30 or even 5 years ago that a girl from the northern Netherlands would hold one of the oldest secular offices in the UK after the Crown, I would have been rather incredulous. But here we are.
It will be an interesting and exciting year and I am hugely looking forward to it.
It will also be a challenging year as I have rather large shoes to fill. Peter Cluff DL has been a very active and highly effective High Sheriff and has done a phenomenal amount for the young people of Surrey who are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training”. If I can manage half of what Peter has done during his Shrieval Year, I shall be happy!.
Thank you to everyone who attended my declaration Ceremony as High Sheriff of Surrey last Friday. I felt very supported by you all on that beautiful sunny Spring day and ready to assume this important and historic appointment.
I very much look forward to working with the Under Sheriff Dr Mike Kelly JP, Reverend Clare Marren the Chaplain, and the police cadets Dylan and Husam. Together we will have a wonderful Shrieval Year to celebrate what a vibrant and innovative county Surrey is.
Mrs Hamilton from Betchworth, was appointed at a ceremony on the 10th April before Mrs Dee Wilkinson JP, at the historical Guildhall in Guildford. After being handed over the badge of office by outgoing High Sheriff – Mr Peter Cluff DL, she introduced her Chaplain for the year – Rev. Clare Marren and her Cadets Dylan and Husam. Also appointed was a new Under Sheriff – Dr Michael Kelly JP who took over from Caroline Breckell MVO DL after 18 years of dedicated service as Under Sheriff.
Following the time-honoured ceremony which was attended by past High Sheriffs and civic Dignitaries, were speeches from the outgoing and new High Sheriffs and the Lord Lieutenant- Mr Michael More-Molyneux CVO.
Find out more about this ancient role and the work of the High Sheriffs past and present at; www.highsheriffofsurrey.com
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My biggest thank you goes to Suzanne for being as fully committed to my Shrieval year as I have been. The year has been so much more rewarding and enjoyable because we have shared it together and we have spent more time together this year than in any of our previous 29 years of marriage; and as a consequence I know, to an even greater extent than before, what a lucky man I am!