Attended the Annual Awards Ceremony for the cadet units and the individuals who raised the most funds for the Royal British Legion Poppy appeal last November. The event took place in the Chapel of the Royal Alexandra & Albert School in Reigate and included some great music from the school choir and orchestra. Inspiring to see the smart turn out, salutes and the smiles on their faces as the winners received their certificates from the Lord-Lieutenant.
Delighted to attend a Supporters’ Lunch for Transform Housing and Support hosted by Baroness Bottomley in the House of Lords. Although the purpose was not to mark Paul Mitchell’s imminent retirement all present recognised the enormous contribution Paul has made to the success of Transform which has supported so many thousands of individuals in Surrey during his time as the boss.
Invited by the Lord Lieutenant to attend the presentation of British Empire Medals to six very deserving recipients. A splendid ceremony in the stunning location of the Great Hall at Loseley. Pictured is one of the ladies who received a medal. She has worked in a primary school in Haselmere for the last 34 years and through her efficiency and friendliness provides enduring support to pupils and staff alike. A very real delight to meet her.
Attended a Surrey Gypsy Traveller Communities Forum at Ash Manor school in Ash (Head Teacher the wonderfully Scottish Agnes Bailey). This school has the highest number of Gypsy Roma Travellers children in the County: around 1 in 8 of the pupils. An inspiring talk from Jo Luhman who recently left Ash Manor school after 18 years and is now Head of Kings International School in Camberley. She described the journey from when teachers didn’t bother with GRT pupils because they “had low expectations” to now when all children in the school are fully integrated and engaged in school life. The key has been trust between pupils and staff and between staff and parents. Such dialogues being encouraged by a restorative approach and a vocational agenda for learning not driven by academic results’ tables.
Very beneficial for GRT pupils but the interventions and school culture are also essentially the same for supporting any children who for example are at risk of exclusion.
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.
