Mayor of Runnymede's Britannia Charity Ball!

Mayor Dolsie Clarke (centre), with magnificent support from Consort Dr Brian Perry (left), hosted a patriotically themed Charity Ball for over 150 local dignitaries, friends and supporters at The Runnymede Hotel. Another very welcome opportunity for us all to enjoy the wonderful singing of 16 year old Liberty Grant (centre) – what a voice!

The evening raised substantial funds for the Mayor’s charities, including Ashford & St Peter’s Hospital and 1st Chertsey Scout Group, and was supported by many of the other Surrey Mayors, mayoresses and Consorts – a great team effort!   

 

RAAS Co-Curricular Ambassadors Present Charity Choices!

Royal Alexandra & Albert School has over a dozen Ambassadors who work within their own year groups and houses (often helped by sixth from mentors) to identify their favourite charities and to create innovative ways to support that organisation, and raise awareness of the issues they address. Eleven of the students (seven pictured above) delivered highly professional presentations of their choices, together with well developed plans for taking future voluntary actions to provide consistent support in the future. The excellent list of charities identified is a testament to the careful analysis undertaken by the Ambassadors; Sleep Easy YMCA; Wheels For All; Stripey Stork; Little Roo Neonatal Fund; Shooting Star; Open Arms Malawi (a long standing School partnership); School Foundation (and the unique nature of the association with RAAS) and The Lucy Rayner Foundation – what a brilliant collection! Congratulations to leaders Jo (right, below), Deputy head of Co-Curriculum, and parent volunteer Matthew, a very knowledgable charity volunteer with close connections to ‘Wheels For All’

   

 

Mayor of Elmbridge Visits Local Community Champion, Toni Izard!

Mayor Shweta Kapadia (right) had no hesitation in nominating Toni Izard, champion of the local community in Long Ditton, for a High Sheriff’s Award for Exceptional Service, and last night many friends and Borough dignitaries joined the enthusiastic young members of the Long Ditton Youth Club to recognise Toni’s wonderful contribution to local life! Toni has been involved in the Youth Club from the very start some 15 years ago, and has been Chair for much of that time. Based now at St Mary’s Junior School, her impact on hundreds of young people has been enormous, but of course Toni simply emphasises the importance of the brilliant team she has around her – our best wishes to you all – keep up the great work! (Just look at what some lucky Mums will be receiving tomorrow!!)

 

 

Cedar Court Residents Share Shrieval Reflections!

Michael Gains (centre), holder of an Award For Outstanding Contribution To Social Care, has been organising nearly twenty different events for Cedar Court residents each week for the past 10 years. Today we investigated the history of the role of High Sheriff, and shared some of the many experiences from the current Shrieval year. Two of the experienced audience were pleased to join a photo on behalf of their fellow residents, and to give the High Sheriff a break from the many questions!

  

 

ExxonMobil The Perfect Location For The High Sheriff Youth Awards Annual Celebration!

ExxonMobil hosted the HSYA event for an incredible 26th year last night, and provided superb hospitality for everyone attending – distinguished guests, charities and in particular the young people involved with the various projects funded through HSYA during the past year. Thirteen individual stands were on display, and three excellent presentations were delivered with passion and professionalism by Eikon, the Guildford Shakespeare Company and Thrive Youth Dance Company. Live interviews were also held with students from Woking High School (who won the Mock Trials competition held at Guildford Crown Court – much to the delight of an ex-student, Will Forster, now Mayor of Woking!) and some of the enthusiastic young people from Bushey Hill Youth Club, run by the Matrix Trust team. A celebration of exceptional talent indeed!

  

 

Cookie Bar, Hindhead – Inspired By Harvard!

Sparked by discussions at Harvard; designed by Debbie (centre) and her team; proud membership of Surrey Hills Enterprises and supported by students from Stepping Stones School, this brilliant example of a successful social enterprise is now in it’s eighth year and thriving!

The Cookie Bar was packed this morning and Alison (right) and student Ollie were rushed off their feet meeting the demand – no surprise because the cookies, cakes and gifts all lived up to the stringent requirements of a Surrey Hills Brand Mark Holder – excellence in terms of local provenance and quality! (Yes – the gluten free cakes were superb!) Alison is responsible for all events and promotions, and keen to discuss any ways in which to use the facilities (there is even a renowned London bus which can deliver all of the excellent products and service to locations across Surrey!)

  

Stepping Stones School Outstanding!

Now in year three on the Undershaw site (home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), the Stepping Stones School is understandably rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted for personal development, behaviour and welfare – and a visit is all it takes to understand why! 

Executive Head Teacher, Melisa Grigsby (right), was proud to explain the impressive abilities of all of the pupils, and Tom (left, displaying his excellent drone-assisted photography of the school site!) joined Harry in finding out exactly what a High Sheriff was all about!

G-Live Welcomes Guildford Junior & Primary Schools Music Association Festival

Mayor of Guildford, Mike Parsons (left), and Mayoress Jean (right) joined a sell out crowd at G-Live to be delighted by the orchestra and choir comprising pupils from nine schools across the Borough. Special guests also included Pamela, wife of the inspirational Musical Director and Conductor, George Jones, and past Conductor, Richard, who is determined to maintain the family tradition through his appreciative young grand-daughter! Congratulations to Chairperson, Clare Brunet, and her dedicated team for organising such a wonderful evening of entertainment, and to the pupils themselves for sharing their collective and individual talents!

'ServiceDogs UK' – Training PTSD Assistance Dogs

 

The ‘ServiceDogs UK’ Charity was created in 2015 by Garry Botterill (to my right below) and Judith Broug, and Garry kindly invited me to see the PTSD Assistance Dog Programme in action (there are now 7 Assistance Dog Partnerships operating). This exceptional programme is open to all men and women from the Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Coast Guard, RNLI and UKSAR, who have a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. The Assistant Dog Programme is free to the veteran, and the broad range of support delivered by the dogs is truly amazing, from providing comfort for the veteran when signs of PTSD are evident, right through to retrieving medicine from storage when alerted by a particular ring tone on the phone (Jerry, above, was a real star in training!)

Garry and Judith are constantly on the lookout for volunteers – including fosters for the dogs themselves!    

 

'Shrek The Musical' – GSA Style!

Another stunning production from GSA at the Yvonne Arnault Theatre. As the conservatoire of the University of Surrey, GSA enjoys not only a strong connection with our local Surrey community, but national and international renown. An evening in the company of ‘Shrek The Musical’ proves the point; as Dean, Graham Miller, observes ‘sometimes it is important to just sit back and revel in the pure pleasure of a performance’!