Kumon Annual Awards Ceremony – 15th November

I was asked to attend this and give out medals and certificates to all the children, ranging from 3 years upwards.

As a past teacher education is of particular interest to me and it is vital that children are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Any help in this direction is always a great commitment on the part of the children and parents. There were obviously many proud parents and children in the audience this afternoon and I would like to congratulate them all on their tremendous achievements.

Congratulations and good luck for the future to both the organisation and the pupils.

Havant Camera Club’s Members Exhibition – 14th November

I was invited to open the exhibition – this year the title was ‘no title’ which meant that the members could photograph anything and display at the exhibition which resulted in a marvellously diverse exhibition. What talent we have overall in the Borough of Havant. It was a privilege to be invited and thank you for giving me this opportunity, I enjoyed it so much.

Energie Fitness Fundraising event for Children In Need – 14th November

I was delighted to start the Children in Need Day with a visit to Energie Fitness in Havant. What fun – I even went on a piece of equipment! The idea of the event was to raise funds they hoped to raise £500. The Co-op had created a beautiful wooden toy box which was filled with soft toys and others and these along with the box were being given to the new Smile respite centre soon to be opened in Waterlooville.

By the end of the day Energie Fitness had raised a grand total of £1072.56! Well done to Cheryl and all the staff and their customers.

Junior Citizen ‘Thinksafe’ at Fort Purbrook – 13th November

I went to Fort Purbrook today when Queens Inclosure School, Waterlooville went along to take part in the Safer Havant Partnerships Junior Citizen ‘Thinksafe’.

The year 6 pupils went through 6 scenarios, posing life-like situations for the children to experience.

The scenarios were so life-like and were designed to help children to see dangers in all kinds of situations raising their awareness of dangers alongside teaching them valuable life skills. I think the children will remember these because they were ‘experiencing’ them rather than being ‘ told ‘.

It was such a valuable experience for the children and they were obviously enraptured the whole time. Well done Havant Safer Partnership.

Havant Remembers – 11th November

This was a special afternoon of Reflection in the year that marks the 100^th Anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War and the 70^th anniversary of D Day which was held at the Public Service Plaza.

It was an opportunity for the Borough Council to thank all the local community groups and organizations that have held events and activities carried out in the ‘spirit of Remembrance’, specifically to remember the generation of 1914 – 1918 who lived through the Great War.

As part of the programme we were entertained by the Three Belles and Jim Booth who was part of the team that lead a secret underwater mission ahead of the D-Day invasions gave a talk about his memories and experiences.

Dedication of Additional Memorial Plaques at St Mary’s Church, Hayling Island – 11th November

A beautiful service was held at St Mary’s Church, Hayling Island where a plaque was dedicated to the 24 men killed in action in World War One.   These 24 men for some reason, were never included on the plaques already in the church commemorating the dead of Hayling Island. Research by the U3A on Hayling Island revealed their names.

Two schools sent pupils to this service and 24 of the pupils lit a candle each to mark each name.   This was a very moving ceremony.