Attended a Reception at County Hall hosted by Peter Martin the Chairman of SCC to celebrate the work of the charity Surrey Clubs for Young People and to present awards to volunteers. I was pleased to present the Club News Award to Michelle Watson of Beare Green Youth Club which is very enterprising with their communications and with their involvement of the young people in the running of the Club.
I made a second visit to Furzefield Primary School in Merstham today and was invited to entertain 200 or so primary children in a question and answer session about the role of the High Sheriff. The questions varied from “do you get paid?” to “do you have a gun?”. The answer to both was no! It was delightful to spend time with Susan Chrysanthou, the inspiring Headteacher, who is a firm believer in inclusivity and in children not being excluded from school.
The Reigate and Banstead Volunteer Cadet Unit was the 6th and last of the Surrey units to visit. Last but not least, a fine group of young people on parade this evening. Some had been cadets for over a year and were proudly in their uniforms and others had been cadets for only a few weeks and were still in mufti under the tutelage of local Police Officers very committed to their training and personal development. Next Monday evening is the High Sheriff’s Award Ceremony for Volunteer Police Cadets. Watch this space.
Guildford Family Court was one of my last visits (my Ex-tillation is in seven days time) of my Shrieval year. As in previous visits to the Magistrates Courts and to the Crown Courts I was made very welcome. Spent the morning sitting in on two interesting cases. Family Court Judges have a challenging job frequently dealing with family problems and issues with children the focus of the Court decisions. Currently the Family Courts are also facing
the demands of increased case load but limited personnel and physical capacity. Had an educational and enjoyable sandwich lunch with the Judges.
There are 4,000 scouts across Surrey. I, in the company of the County Commissioner Joe Rogerson, presented the annual Surrey wide Chief Scout Gold Award Certificates to some 50 young people last evening at a great and well organised ceremony in Oxted. The scouts were all very smart looked you in the eye and had good handshakes. All supported by justifiably very proud parents. A very happy evening for all concerned.
Delighted to be invited to participate this morning in the annual Mothers’ Union Lady Day Diocesan Festival Eucharist at Guilford Cathedral and reading the first lesson. The refurbished Cathedral looked magnificent with sunshine streaming through the windows. I was very impressed with the ladies of the Mothers’ Union carrying in and out of the Cathedral splendid (heavy ) banners as in the photograph.Patricia and I enjoyed being included in the Festival.
Invited to attend a donor event of the Community Foundation for Surrey and had the opportunity to talk about the role of the High Sheriff and in particular my interest during my Shrieval year in the troubling issue of young people being excluded from schools. This was very relevant as the CF have recently established an Education Fund. Since its establishment in 2005 the CF has raised an amazing £22million to help those in need in Surrey.
FISH = Fun In School Holidays and is a week of activities run by Guildford Borough Council for 120 young people. Visited today at Kings College Park Barn and saw a huge range of activities from climbing to art to sport all under the watchful eyes of trained staff. A great atmosphere with relaxed and confident looking attendees, many from families on benefits. The charity SATRO (supported by the High Sheriff Youth Awards) was present with their Mobile Construction Classroom brilliantly managed by Robert Mancini to the great benefit of the participants.
YMCA East Surrey is active in the Goodwyns Estate in Dorking working with 30+ 12-16 year olds living in that area. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Tina Antwi we witnessed an art and craft session with girls who were very engaged. They were clearly enjoying and benefitting from the YMCA staff support.
Visited Staines Police Station yesterday, HQ of one of the three Divisions of Surrey Police. Was warmly welcomed by Chief Superintendent Lynette Shanks and her colleagues. Lively conversations included topics of community behaviour orders, child exploitation, offenders’ management, burglary and neighbourhood policing. All very encouraging that such committed and experienced Police Officers are keeping the Surrey public safe.
