Portsmouth High School 133rd Birthday Celebration Service – 9th February

I had the pleasure of attending the 133^rd Birthday Celebration Service at the Portsmouth Cathedral of St Thomas today.  It was an especially enjoyable occasion as one of my granddaughters, Jessica Hughes is a student in Year 12.  A very moving and happy service with children of all ages taking such an important part in the service.

The lunch prior to the service in the Beckett Room of Cathedral House was an opportunity to see and appreciate how beautifully behaved and how proud the children were who shared the lunchtime with us.

Before going in to the Cathedral some of the children from the Junior School presented us with a posy of spring flowers which was a delight.

Courtyard Food Market – 2nd February

I was invited to open officially the inaugural Courtyard Food Market held in St Peter’s Square, Emsworth – a delightful little courtyard in front of the Greenhouse Café. This is going to be a’ regular’ market which will be there every 1^st and 3^rd Monday of every month from 10.30 until 2.00 pm.

This market is special because it is a) the smallest market in Hampshire and b) most importantly it is entirely for local produce acknowledging that Emsworth is a real ‘foodie’ destination!   The idea for this came from Harry producer of ‘Harry’s sausages’ and Phoebe Atkinson-Eberle of ‘Mill Pond Cakes’ who brought it to fruition with the help of Alistair Gibson and the whole of the Emsworth Business Association.  The stall-holders today were, Mill Pond Cakes, Thrift Cottage Preserves, Harry’s Sausages and the Crafted Coffee Company.

I was presented with a fabulous cake to mark the occasion.   This was to take back and share with others to celebrate the start of this new venture.

This new food market deserves to do well and grow, as far as it is able, within the confines of the Courtyard! Thank you for inviting me.

Red Cross Quiz Night – 31st January

I and 3 friends joined up with members of Red Cross to form a Quiz Team. This was great fun. We didn’t win! It did however raise funds for the British Red Cross, an organisation which does so much good throughout the World.   We chose the round of Kings and Queens to play our joker – disaster this was our worst round of all!

It was a lovely fun evening bitterly cold but very enjoyable.

Holocaust Memorial Day Service – 27th January

This year, which marks the 70^th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, also marks several other significant anniversaries. It is 40 years since the start of the genocide in Cambodia, during which over 2 million people died; it is 21years since those terrible 100 days in Rwanda when between 500,000 and 1 million lost their lives; it is also 20 years since the genocide and ethnic cleansing took place in Bosnia.

This year Havant Council has been chosen by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust to host one of 70 candles specially designed to mark the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.  A prominent resident of the Borough, Steven Schrier was asked, along with Erin Stott and Sam Chadwick, pupils from Oaklands School to light this candle.   These pupils were chosen because they had recently visited the concentration camps at Auschwitz.

I read extracts from a beautiful poem “I was There” by Iby Knill who was a concentration camp survivor. Other readings were given by Ben Ayres a representative from the gypsy community, Reverend Pennie Payne (who discovered in recent years that some of her family had been subjected to the gas chambers), Mark Mills-Goodlet the Assistant Provincial Grand Master of the Freemasons, Councillors Gerald Shimbart and Leah Turner.

This was a very moving service the theme of which was “Keeping the Memory Alive” and by involving local schools we hope that indeed this will happen.

Funeral Service for Roy Howe – 26th January

It was with great sadness that I learned the news that Roy who was member of the Facilities Team at Havant Borough Council died, after a short illness, on Friday 2^nd January and I attended his funeral at Portchester Crematorium today.

For over 20 years one of Roy’s duties was to act as Mayor’s Attendant on official Mayoral engagements.   You can only imagine how many people he met over those years and how many Mayors he had helped and assisted with their duties. The crematorium chapel was full with family, friends, officers, Past Mayor’s and Honorary Aldermen all there to say a sad farewell.

He will be missed enormously.

Special Tea for Peter Craddock – 23rd January

Peter Craddock, the founder of both of the Havant Orchestras, retired as conductor of Havant Symphony Orchestra in December 2012 after fifty years in the post he also had to step down as conductor of Havant Chamber Orchestra at the same time due to increasing mobility problems has been awarded a BEM by HM The Queen in this New Year’s Honours list for services to music.

I had the pleasure of entertaining him, his wife Sandra, Stella Scott (Administrator of Havant Orchestras), Steve Bartholomew, and David Willetts MP to tea in the Mayor’s Parlour to congratulate Peter.   What a wonderful ambassador of Havant Borough he and his wife have been over the years and it was such a delight to meet them.