Unveiling of Plaque at Warblington Cemetery – 30th November

On a very cold but beautifully bright and dry afternoon I had the honour of unveiling a plaque to commemorate all those who have lost lives in war since 1914.   The plaque bears the words ‘In memory of all those who lost their lives in war since 1914’ followed by ‘Dedicated by the people of Emsworth’ because the cost of the project were borne by a donation from The Emsworth Residents Association.

The ceremony was conducted by The Rev’d Simon Sayers and attended by General Sir David and Lady Caroline Richard.  The General who had been the Chief of Defence Staff gave a moving speech on the importance to soldiers of the relationships they have with one another.

Following on from this, I then unveiled the plaque and we then went to the Brookfield Hotel to have a warming cup of tea and cakes and we all enjoyed the opportunity to speak to many service personnel past and present who had attended this special occasion.

A big thank you to Richard Swaine and also Councillor Brendan Gibb-Gray for all the thought and hard work that went into the planning and bringing to fruition of the memorial.

Mencap Carol Service at Waterlooville Baptist Church – 29th November

This was not only a carol service but a tableau as well.   As each carol lead us through the story, a group came up to the front until we had the complete picture of Mary and Joseph cradling the baby Jesus surrounded by Angel Gabriel, the Wise Men and the shepherds. Readings were given by people with learning disabilities, who read their lines beautifully and obviously enjoyed participating. It was a beautiful scene at the end and I am sure all the families involved were very proud. Congratulations to all those who took part and those who organised the service.

Switching On of the Christmas Light at Emsworth – 28th November

I came to this immediately following my previous engagement. When I arrived Emsworth Square was full of people waiting for the lights and being entertained. I went round to some of the shops and imbibed of fabulously warming cup of home made mulled wine – it was a very cold night and just what the Doctor ordered!   When 6.00 pm came I did the count down from 10 to 0 along with the crowd and the youngest child at St James Primary School turned on the lights.   As usual Emsworth put on an excellent event which was well supported by residents.   Thank you for inviting me.

CDG Wise Ability Rewards and Recognition Event at the Brookfield Hotel – 28th November

CDG Wise is an organisation which helps to place disadvantaged people who have had difficulty finding work into positions which suit them.   During this event awards were made to some of the young people themselves along with some of the organisations that work together in supporting these people into and in employment.

Proud to say that one of our local establishments won the’ Employer of the Year Award’ this employer is The Brookfield Hotel. Well done to Amanda Thomas and all her staff on this wonderful achievement.

Havant Light Opera Performance of ‘Christmas in Hawaii’ – 27th November

Last year Havant Light Opera performed the Christmas Carol as their Christmas production; as you will recall from this story Scrooge changed character and became a very charitable individual, so much so that he awarded Mr Cratchett a pay rise.

This year the Cratchett family have managed to save up enough money to take the whole family to Hawaii for Christmas! This was the story of how they spent their Christmas on a tropical island. It was great fun and stared a Past Mayor of Havant, Cllr Paul Buckley!

Opening of the Leigh Park Grotto and Lantern Procession – 27th November

Christmas came to Leigh Park with a vengeance this day!     A lot of volunteers have put together a beautiful grotto that can be enjoyed by all. Having listened to the children from three local schools sing, I had a peep into the grotto. I also tried out Father Christmas’s transport just to make sure it was safe for him to drive!   Following on from this a few hours later there was a Lantern Procession through Greywell before I had the pleasure of turning on the lights and listening to more carols.