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’! 

 

The Meath Supports International Epilepsy Awareness (Purple!) Day In Style

Amongst many supporters from far and wide helping CEO, Lindsay Hill (centre), and The Meath team promote ‘PurpleDay’, were Surrey’s first purple Mayor and Mayoress, Dan and Sarah Adams (left) from Surrey Heath! Dan and Sarah have selected The Meath as one of their charities for the year, and spent the entire day helping Lindsay, Tania and the many supporters to raise funds for their wonderful organisation.

The High Sheriff and the Mayor of Guildford looked very dull in comparison, with yet another purple Mayor, Denise Le Gal, soon to join the enthusiastic gathering!

 

 

 

GSC's 'Spirit of Youth' Version of Romeo & Juliet Delights!

An intergenerational drama project from Guildford Shakespeare Company, ‘Spirit of Youth’, tackles social isolation within local communities by bringing together 10 children from Weyfield Primary School and 10 residents from The Queen Elizabeth Park Care Home, to deliver their own unique interpretation of ‘Romeo & Juliet’! 

The informal photo captures the spirit of the performance, which delighted everyone present – including Kate (left), Community Foundation for Surrey (thanks for the funding!), and Fran (fifth left) and Ant (extreme right) who directed this talented ‘cast’. GSC Co-founders, Sarah and Matt, deserve enormous credit for creating this astonishingly powerful vehicle which clearly means so much to young and not-so-young alike!

 

    

'Music With A Heart' (and Soul!) At Mayor of Elmbridge's Charity Concert

Mayor of Elmbridge, Shweta Kapadia (centre) and Consort Ramesh, were joined by Mayor of Spelthorne, Jean Pinkerton and Michael Aspel, for a truly unforgettable evening of superb entertainment from Surrey Music – Elmbridge Ladies Choir (led by Chris Parker) followed by the full Elmbridge Choir, featuring the irrepressible Cliff van Tonder. And all in support of Shweta’s chosen charity, the impactful Elmbridge Rentstart, represented by Tracey (below left) and volunteer Pippa. Shweta, this was a wonderful event – many congratulations to Amanda, Pastor Chris and everyone involved in making it all possible!