Nearly 200 swimmers from across the country took part in the 12th gala organised by Shrewsbury Masters Swimming Club. The club that I joined after the Severn Mile Swim in an attempt to prevent death by canape. There were classes for competitors of all ages – from 19-year-old Claire Beddow, who was the youngest taking… :—-> Read Full Article Here
This was always going to be a tough one. Telford Detachment Cadet Leader, Vicki Ridgewell, had booked me to give a talk about the role and history of the High Sheriff – not a subject that was likely to grab the average 15 year old, and certainly not for the two-and-a-half-hour time slot I was… :—-> Read Full Article Here
David Hartington is the driving force behind Hands Together, an initiative to bring volunteers, the caring agencies, and local businesses from Ludlow together to see how they can support each other and to help avoid duplication. Held at the Helena Community Centre there were nibbles and wine and a quiz to break the ice.
What a pleasure to be at the Age UK Christmas lunch to thank volunteers from across the county for all their support. They are an inspiring bunch!
Hope, where Annabel and I live, is part of the Hereford Diocese but being over 50 miles from Hereford we haven’t spent as much time in theCathedral as we would have done were we closer. Being High Sheriff has created the impetus to get to Hereford more often and to support the never-ending work of… :—-> Read Full Article Here
You may have seen them around Shrewsbury late at night with their distinctive Street Pastor uniform. Street Pastors work with pub and club door staff, the police and the ambulance service to make communities safer at night. We joined the Shrewsbury team, run by the super enthusiastic Steve Jones, on the night that they christened… :—-> Read Full Article Here
In the afternoon we attended SORI, the restorative justice programme. SORI aims to encourage victim empathy in offenders and motivate them to change their offending behaviour and take responsibility for the harm they have caused. It consists of a four-day victim awareness course, and introduces the principles of restorative justice. The course includes role-plays in… :—-> Read Full Article Here
HM Prison Featherstone is a Category C men’s prison, located in the village of Featherstone in Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service. Annabel and I were given an introduction to the prison and its challenges by Governor Babafemi Dada, the first black prison governor in the UK, and then given… :—-> Read Full Article Here
The Shrewsbury Bookfest, now in its sixteenth year, brings the world of books and poetry alive for children in Shropshire. Bookfest Remembers, an evening of readings and music, commemorated the sacrifice made by soldiers of the First World War and celebrated its literary legacy. Shropshire composer Caz Besterman had, to great effect, set several poems… :—-> Read Full Article Here
An evening to celebrate the achievements of young people who have worked hard to make a positive difference to the health of their peers and wider communities. The evening was also the launch of the DiabeatIT Shuffle–the totally dench video that the Health Champions produced to help people understand Type 2 Diabetes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLF52NsYM0o
The Eid and Diwali Mela celebration at the HLC in Telford was put together by Sajid Younis the school’s Community Education Liaison Officer. A well-supported multicultural event that explained Eid and Diwali and ended up with me learning some Asian dance moves with Police Chief Superintendent Nav Malik. The £70m HLC opened in 2006 – it… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Mayor Miles Kenny (aka Maverick) hosted this fund-raiser for his charity – The Shrewsbury Ark – the drop-in centre for homeless and vulnerable people.
The AGM of a great charity lead by the impressive Julia Baron.
Thirty-four school children and twenty-five locals gathered around the British Legion bench by the side of the road at the remote Bentlawnt crossroads. It was windswept and grey but this slightly eccentric setting only adds to the poignancy of the occasion. Five children from Hope School read out the names of the dead from both… :—-> Read Full Article Here
What an extraordinary honour to be part of the service to remember our war dead and to lay a wreath at the war memorial in the Quarry. We processed from Shrewsbury Castle to St Chads for the service and then into the Quarry for wreath laying and the two-minute silence. We ended with a march… :—-> Read Full Article Here
The great thing about the legal services is that I am going to cathedrals and churches that I haven’t been to before and seeing them at their best with large congregations and, usually, choirs. Processing is fun too. It was a pleasure to be there to support Bill Holroyd.
There is a bug going round, a laryngitis bug, and I had it. Apologies to everyone there who had to listen to my rasping voice. I am not sure I made much sense after four Lemsip Max.
Prayers, music, and moving readings at a packed Severn Theatre in the lead up to Armistice Day.
A curry fundraiser. Great curry, great fun and excellent speeches including one from Major Nick Chavasse MBE.
Crime is changing and police budgets have been cut and will be cut further. The High Sheriffs of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire were given a fascinating insight into how West Mercia is facing up to the new face of crime and how these cuts are being managed. In the evening we celebrated great policing and… :—-> Read Full Article Here
What is it about the sword? I addressed the school at the morning assembly in the school’s impressive theatre. A whistle-stop tour of the history followed by questions….about the sword of course.
These are very tough times for small rural schools and with only 33 pupils at Hope and 45 at Worthen these are very small schools. Lively children in both schools wanted to know all about the court dress and, in particular, had I used the sword?
It seems no one in Shifnal knew that, before it was even called Idsall, the town of Shifnal was called Scuffanhalch. But whatever the town is, or was called, they have lots to celebrate, not least the incredibly successful Scout group which has grown and grown under the leadership of Michelle Gough.
Margaret Lewis is the best dancer in Shropshire.
12th, 13th, 15th October. Held at Shrewsbury Town FC, this was an inquest into the death of Stefan Boswell who died, following a police pursuit, when he crashed his Vauxhall Corsa at the Emstrey roundabout in the early hours of 6th June 2014. Contrary to police training, PC Gallagher in the pursuing police vehicle had… :—-> Read Full Article Here
In Ellesmere to support Mayor Ward and the council members at this service. We managed to make time to walk into town and around the mere on what was another lovely day.
The Shrewsbury Male Voice Choir and the RAF Shawbury Wives choir sang separately and together in this fund raiser put on by the Shropshire Rural Community Charity. The Shrewsbury Male Voice Choir would love younger members – they make a wonderful noise and clearly have great fun doing it.
An opportunity for Mayor Kenny and me to go up in a Squirrel helicopter trainer with Helicopter Instructor Rob Piper. With his RAF moustache, Mayor Kenny was Maverick to my Goose. Squirrel kills Kite might have been the headline if the Red Kite that we missed by a matter of feet had come any closer. … :—-> Read Full Article Here
This was my first visit to the Basil Spence designed Cathedral with the extraordinary Graham Sutherland tapestry of Christ. Built next to the remains of the old cathedral after the flattening of Coventry during WWII, it was completed in 1962. It was the then provost Dick Howard who called for forgiveness and not revenge. I… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Prince Harry charmed the large crowd that turned out in Ludlow to greet the team from Walking with the Wounded who had walked from Church Stretton that day. Dan Marino, the Miami Dolphins legend, who joined the wounded on this 20 mile walk through the South Shropshire countryside, added a bit more stardust and support… :—-> Read Full Article Here
A university in Shrewsbury is long overdue and this civic reception was to welcome UCS’s first undergraduate students and second intake of postgraduate students. The team behind this exciting new scheme have done a great job transforming the Guildhall into a wonderful centre for learning. The first wave of students, who have had the courage… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Gary Wright, the go-ahead head of Adcote had a spell teaching in the Czech Republic and has now set up an exchange programme with his old school. Annabel and I were on hand to greet a group of Czech pupils. It was a beautiful September day and the school looked at its very best. The… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Sixty heritage and vintage tractors gathered at Meole Brace park and ride before heading off through Shrewsbury for what will, I hope, be the inaugural Age UK and Severn Hospice Fund Raiser. The Mid Shropshire Vintage Club and especially Richard Haynes, did all the organisational heavy lifting. We had a great time and raised a… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Harper Adams has become one of the leading agricultural universities in the world attracting students from across the globe with amongst the very highest rankings for student satisfaction. The university has a link to Beijing Agricultural College so there were lots of Chinese students graduating. We sat next to the Dominican Republic Ambassador who was… :—-> Read Full Article Here
The Shropshire Society in London put on some fascinating events but this was the first one that our diary allowed us to attend. A rather wonderful group of Shropshire lovers from different parts of the country, led by the club secretary, Christabel Winny, gathered at the Royal College of Arms, the official heraldic authority for… :—-> Read Full Article Here
The Shrewsbury Draper’s main role now is the provision of almshouses but through this competition it maintains its connection with the craft that brought it into existence. Nearly 40 competition entries were on display including lots of frocks and dresses displayed on mannequins. I was wearing my court dress so I kept moving in case… :—-> Read Full Article Here
Eleanor Mason, the Community Legacy Manager, gave a presentation on the work of the Red Cross in Shropshire and some of the work being carried out by the International Red Cross. The work the Red Cross is doing in Shropshire very much links in with the theme of my year which is the Opportunity and… :—-> Read Full Article Here
I had no idea a ploughing match could be such fun. Organised as a fund raiser by Ian Pritchard, this was a wonderfully local ploughing match with lots of friens. It’s been nearly 40 years since I last ploughed and it was no surprise that I ended up with a dirty furrow. Ian helped me… :—-> Read Full Article Here
It was an honour to be one of the party to welcome the Duke of Gloucester to Shrewsbury. The Duke made a delightful speech after lunch and was clearly impressed by the wonderful new Museum and Gallery – if you haven’t been there it really is worth a visit. I will be returning. Photo: The… :—-> Read Full Article Here
A beautiful autumn day that started with a very moving service at St Chads with a good turn out from RAF Shawbury and the town. The address from the Rev Alastair Bissell, Chaplain at Shawbury, was extremely moving. Outside, in the glorious sunshine, we gathered to reflect in silence and lay wreaths. Police and RAF… :—-> Read Full Article Here
