Tucked in The Surrey Hills beside Silent Pool, is a special home to three Surrey producers; Silent Pool Gin, Norbury Farm Cheese and Mandira’s Kitchen – all very worth a visit. Delicious home made Indian food.
What a celebration we enjoyed at the Guildford Spectrum – thanks to Freedom Leisure, to mark the presentation by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, of The Queens Award for Voluntary Service to The volunteers of The Friday Swimmers.
For 50 years the volunteers of The Friday Swimmers have assisted swimmers with disabilities, to enjoy and recoup in the swimming pool.There are 23 dedicated volunteers with qualifications and experience who give time each Friday morning to help others. It is an amazing example of volunteering and so deserving of the Queens Award For Voluntary Service.
It was a wonderful gathering of swimmers, volunteers, and many guests including the delegation from Freiburg who are twinned with Guildford. We were packed tightly into a small room off the ice rink and there was lots of laughter and fun.
Congratulations to The Friday Swimmers.
Thank you to Jamie’s Farm, an amazing charity which has benefited over 7,000 young people in the 10 years that its four farms have been running. I was invited to a very special evening in the barn at Waterloo Farm in SE1, where 7 young ambassadors were interviewed by Jonathan Dimbleby (a founder Trustee of the Charity) on the issues facing their generation and how a five day stay at Jamie’s Farm had transformed their lives – inspirational.
“You are you at Jamie’s you can’t put a filter on”- a reference to the agonies of social media.
Click here for Jamie’s Farm Website.
A wonderful visit to The Meath epilepsy charity with Lucy,Tania and Lindsay. An inspirational home for 82 residents with so much happiness and activity in such beautifully cared for surroundings. I so enjoyed seeing the new initiative with mothers, children and babies for the residents to spend time with. Heart warming and fun for all. I hope to be able to share in some of the Tuesday orienteering groups with the residents, maybe even entrusted as a picnic carrier.
As part of the Surrey Police Cadets camping weekend at Mount Brown, we welcomed 70 cadets and volunteer helpers for a day of countryside fun. We enjoyed a BBQ of Hampton beef in the sunshine and held a glorified sports day complete with a sack race, egg & spoon race and a tug o war. It was a huge pleasure to host the cadets, with their charm and energy, a great credit to themselves. A big thank you to the volunteer cadet leaders for their time and energy.
This fantastic indoor skateboard park inside an old military chapel provides an opportunity for 2000 young people to have a brilliant time ollying and scootering. Over the 20 years Skaterham has been in existence there have been 40 000 young people involved. It is a great community asset where adrenaline runs high and young people thrive.
I was so pleased to present the certificate for the High Sheriff Youth Awards, in recognition of the fantastic work that Skaterham does. Thank you Marilyn, Jim and Darren.
There are moments when as High Sheriff you see inspirational collaboration. The work done by young offenders at the Carpentry Workshop in providing memory boxes and wooden equipment for stroke rehabilitation patients at St Peters Hospital is one of these.
The incredibly caring doctors and staff, on the special neonatal wards of St Peters are so appreciative of the beautifully made memory boxes and the help and comfort these can give to bereaved parents. The dynamic occupational therapists were hugely enthusiastic about the help that the imaginative wooden equipment is to the recovery of stroke sufferers.
The benefits of this carefully considered collaboration are only too evident, but think again, and realise the value to the young carpenters in creating something for people who are at a time of suffering and in need of empathy.
We need to do more of this positive and meaningful collaboration. Thank you to St Peters Hospital and to Ellie Patterson MBE for showing what can be done.
I was very interested and please to have the opportunity to meet with the Governors of HMP Coldingley and to see the benefits of an industrial prison where there is productive work for all the prisoners. I was so pleased that my stationary for my Shrieval year was printed at HMP Coldingley, the printing and sign making workshops are a useful resource that could be used by more of us in Surrey.
A great evening in Revive Coffee Shop at Chertsey for potential Crimetoppers ambassadors. There was much chat and some interesting updates on the importance and value of Crimestoppers in making Surrey a safer place, with an open invitation to all those present to become ambassadors. The setting was perfect, we were very well looked after by the volunteers of the Revive Coffee Shop which is becoming a go-to place for communities to meet. https://www.revivecoffeeshop.co.uk/
Thank you to Wendy Varcoe, Executive Director of Surrey Hills Enterprises for the opportunity to talk to the Members at the wonderful Great Barn, Birtley Courtyard. Of course, I used the chance to promote the use of our amazing Surrey Hills countryside as a resource in which to nurture young people. There was no need to preach to the converted on the beauty of the surrey countryside, but to link this and the sad deprivation found in parts of Surrey was thoughtfully received.
Thank you to Surrey Hills Enterprises and I hope that there are further opportunities to work together in the future.