The Bedhampton Social Hall Association invited us to their Big Celebration Tea Party this afternoon.
With a theme of red, white and blue, we were pleased to join the party and very much enjoyed the afternoon. Cllr Ken Smith arrived and sat with us throughout the festivities.
There was music, and a magician and we all joined in with the singing. We were served a lovely tea and I judged the Hat competition and presented the prizes.
This morning we enjoyed the family fun day at Waterlooville arranged by The Waterlooville Business Association.
As this was to celebrate Her Majesties 90th Birthday, Andy and I decided we would join in the fun by wearing red,white and blue.
We were met by the Waterlooville ATC, who were very smartly turned out. Andy much enjoyed using their Flight Simulator. I think they had to close Heathrow after his crash landing though.
We met firemen from Waterlooville who were fundraising by running/walking from Horndean to Southsea. Wearing B.A. and carrying ladders they were obviously fit young men.
This evening Andy and I were pleased to attend the reopening of The Barley Mow on Hayling Island after it’s extensive refurbishment.
As well as the Carvery for which it is well known, they now provide a range of Pizza’s and Burgers. With a salad bar as well, it is looking fresh and up to date and it was packed for the first night’s business since the rebrand. The meals were good value and cooked to order. The Carvery now has four different meats and numerous vegetables.
I am sure they will do very well with both local residents and holiday makers.
What a wonderful morning Andy and I have had today. We attended the ninth St Georges Day Parade in Emsworth, where serving soldiers from 12 Regiment Royal Artillery marched with Veterans along the High Street. In addition today is the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, so the crowds sang Happy Birthday to HM and sang the National Anthem.
The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth joined us today as our guest as we in the Havant Borough hold celebrations for St Georges Day whereas Portsmouth did not.
Music was provided by a Pipe Band for the march and The George Regis Jazz Band in The Square.
Andy and I were pleased to entertain Patrick, Peter, Robert and Brian, the gentlemen who so kindly help organise The Classic Car Rally, to tea in The Parlour today.
Over a delicious cream tea, we discussed the recent Rally and the success it had been. Although attracting the highest ever attendance, we are still collecting sponsorship from the attendees so do not have a final figure of the monies raised.
This afternoon we had a visit from 12 pupils and two teachers from Barncroft Primary School. What a good time we had, answering questions about the Mayorality, the chains and the robes. Most of the children were on the school council and had come prepared with some very searching questions for us. They were all beautifully behaved and a credit to their parents and their school.
Tom our Facilities Team Leader had our Regalia on display and even had a small version of the robes and hat for one of the children to try on.
A successful visit we think where the children learnt more about democracy and their local Mayor.
We were pleased to be invited to the Annual Commodore’s reception this evening at the Langstone Sailing Club.
We met some lovely people from Hayling, Langstone and further afield. There was a delicious buffet and drinks.
Andy watched a beautiful sunset and couldn’t resist taking a photo.
Today Andy and I enjoyed a very nice lunch in good company at Havant Rugby Football Club. It is traditional that the Mayor of Havant becomes a Vice President for the duration of their Mayoral year.
The President holds a lunch each year at the end of the season, this year the food was excellent as I am sure it is every year.
I had the pleasure of presenting rugby balls to the ball boys who were in attendance at today’s game.
This afternoon Andy and I joined the 5pm-3am shift at Waterlooville Police Station for a Friday night shift. We were interested to see how busy and varied an evening shift was at the weekend.
We met friendly, professional Police Officers doing their job under sometimes trying circumstances. We started the evening in a “van” with one male and one female Officer, then at eight pm at Havant Police Station I transferred to a fast response vehicle with two male Officers.
I was surprised when after a short while we answered a 999 call in Waterlooville, only to find an empty telephone box with the receiver hanging off. Apparently a regular occurrence, what a waste of police time.
We patrolled Hayling Island, where apart from speaking to three young men who were walking around the streets and we had a friendly exchange with, everything was quiet.
I do think we are lucky to have the police service we do and very much enjoyed speaking to our four Officers this evening.
This evening we were pleased to join the St John’s Ambulance Cadets in Bedhampton to celebrate their achievements in 2015.
Two of them had raised sponsorship and fundraised to go on an International Camp last December in Hong Kong. We did enjoy hearing about their trip. We also watched several young people being enrolled into this local St John’s Ambulance Unit.
St John’s do such good work in our Community, it was a pleasure to support them this evening.
Today with other members of the “Chain Gang” we attended the chairman of Hart’s Civic Day.
Our first visit of the day was to Stratfield Saye House where we were greeted by The Duke of Wellington. After a tour of the house we also went to see the First Duke’s Funeral Carriage, a magnificent vehicle which was pulled by 12 black shire horses.We then visited The Royal School of Engneering at Gibralter Barracks, Minley, where we watched various displays and had lunch.
Our last visit of the day was to The Basingstoke Canal where we had a trip on the John Pinkerton 2. A very enjoyable day when one of our neighbours could showcase their District.
Tonight I chaired the last HBC Full Council Meeting of the Municipal and my Mayoral year.
With one contentious motion, it was the most interesting meeting of the year. As always the HBC Officers advice was essential to the smooth running of the evening.
I felt quite sad, but also amazed that 11 months had passed so quickly.
This afternoon I was pleased to meet with Julian Wadsworth MBE in The Mayor’s Parlour. Julian and his team formerly called Big World Impact, are now amalgamated with the Active Communities charity. They are doing excellent work with young people in Leigh Park and hope to expand in The Borough in the next few months.
It was good to hear their plans for the future.
On a windy but dry and sunny Sunday morning, in excess of 200 Classic Cars and Motorbikes assembled at The Plaza in Havant.
We flagged them off at 10.30am on four different routes across the Hampshire countryside.
We hope to have raised a reasonable sum from sponsorship by the entrants in this the 12th Mayor of Havant’s Classic Vehicle Run. All monies raised will go into our Community Chest, to be distributed to good causes within the Borough of Havant.
As our favourite Rock Opera, we were very much looking forward to seeing the Hayling Musical Society perform Jesus Christ Superstar. What we hadn’t realised was just how brilliant the performance would be.
The singing, acting and dancing were first class. With performances by the leads worthy of the West End.
A wonderful evening, thank you so much for inviting us.
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