Invited to talk about the Shrievalty past and present to the Witness Care Unit team of Surrey Police in a series of presenters named Sharing Our Unique Perspective – SOUP – my efforts were rewarded with a great response from those present and a welcome mug of hot soup!
Joined in the Inspection of the Parade of Police Officers being promoted to Independent Patrol Status. A great ceremony in front of Loseley House with a military band and very proud families in attendance. The Parade was followed by a proper English Afternoon Tea.
Invited to visit the Woodhouse Centre in Oxted this morning. This is a day centre for retired and disabled local residents and is run by the indefatikable Dee Graham. Over 80 members attend morning sessions up to four mornings a week with a wide range of activities from knitting to carpentry, furniture repair and making remembrance poppies. A wonderful friendly atmosphere and a real home from home. A stellar example of a wonderful local community service.
The charity Eikon (see previous blogs) held a reception @ 11 Downing Street last evening. Eikon are based in Philip Hammond’s constituency and the Chancellor did attend for part of the event and spoke. A great celebration of the work of Eikon with personal stories from two young people whose lives Eikon have transformed.
HRH the Duke of Gloucester celebrated Mark Robert Motion Control Company receiving the the Queen’ Award for Enterprise. MRMC designs and manufactures amazing robotic rigs for the film industry. You now know how all these film scenes which look impossible to have been filmed by an individual with a camera had been shot. MRMC is a world leader, based here in Surrey, in this technology. Congratulations to them.
Surrey is blessed with thousands of volunteers working unsung in thousand of charities across the County. This evening I attended a reception for the Nominees for the Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service. There were volunteers from 13 charities presenting the wonderful work they do. It was a privilege to meet them all. My photograph is of the Swingbridge Project funded through the Surrey Care Trust which is supported by the High Sheriff Youth Awards. We hope all thirteen charities’ nominations are successful.
Attended the Specialist Crime Command Awards Ceremony for Surrey and Sussex Police Forces. With the High Sheriffs of West and of East Sussex we handed out the awards to Staff and Police Office recipients many of whom are working as the name says in very specialist roles such as Digital Forensics. All very impressive and very well deserved awards.
Invited to the Send and Ripley History Society by Clare McCann the Curator to open an exhibition (Send Inside Out) in their Museum. The artwork was by seven inmate artists of Send Prison who had been in the art workshops in the prison delivered by the Watts Gallery. This was a sequel to the Our Time exhibition in the prison last June involving many of the same artists. This programme is generously funded by the Michael Varah Memorial Fund. It was an honour to speak at the ceremony at Ripley Museum and to be able to recognise the therapeutic power of art for those in prison.
Was interviewed for an hour live by the co-founder of Surrey Hills Community Radio, Dave Smith. Good opportunity to talk about everything from the charitable causes in the County I have been supporting to our charity in Zambia. Keep an eye on my web site where the interview will be posted shortly.
You can listen to the interview here: https://www.mixcloud.com/surreyhillsradio/dave-smith-talks-to-the-high-sheriff-of-surrey-16-02-2018/
Visited the Sandy Hill Youth Project in Farnham yesterday evening, a project supported financially by the High Sheriff Youth Awards. Organised by Farnham Maltings (Emma Jones and Sue Ellis) and SCC Family Services (Tracy Scales) , the project involves young people from the Sandy Hill area coming together for evening activities. This month they are receiving tuition from graffiti experts to create designs for the repainting the outside walls of the Hut where they meet. The 11-19 year olds are benefiting from developing their social skills and an introduction to arts and culture. Had an enlightening conversation with Tracy Scales, a very experienced and knowledgable youth worker about the challenges facing young people living in this area.
