Naomi House Children's Hospice 10th Anniversay Service

Naomi House is a hospice for terminally or long term sick children at Sutton Scotney near Winchester. It celebrated its 10th anniversary with a service at Winchester Cathedral on the 30th June. The Hospice serves the six counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Berkshire, and I was invited to attend to attend to represent Newbury.

The service was at 2.00pm and as requested I arrived at 1.15pm to be greeted at the specially erected marquee outside the east door of the cathedral by one of the trustees. Andrew Rolls the Chairman of West Berkshire was there as well as Mayor’s of most of the towns of the six counties, plus chairman of District and County Councils. The deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire was also there as well as the Lords Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Berkshire. The cathedral itself was full of trustees of the hospice, parents, supporters and some of the children of the hospice, mostly in wheelchairs.

The service, attended by the Bishop of Wiltshire, Michael Scott-Joynt , was not the normal order of service, more of poems, solo singing, reminiscences, interspersed with vocal pieces sung by the Broughton singers. Alistair Stewart, the TV presenter, gave his own reflections on Naomi House, comparing the love and caring of the hospice with the barbarity of terrorists and terrorism in general. The closing words were given by Khalid Aziz, the Chairman of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust. It was a very moving service and I was pleased to be invited.

Shades Day

I was invited to visit Jason Perritt outside the Town Hall on Friday 29 June to help promote Shades Day. This day is given over to encourage everyone to wear sunglasses in strong sunshine, in order to prevent eye damage or even blindness over a period of time. This initiative is from the Royal National Institute of the Blind who have launched their nationwide campaign.

Jason Perritt is an employee of the National Westminster Bank in the Market Place who lives locally. He is blind and has a Labrador guide dog. This disability does not apparently phase him, he is confident and positive and I certainly warmed to him. As he walked away, guided by his dog back to work, I felt very grateful that I have good eyesight.

"Think Big" Inter School Final, Vodafone Pavilion

I am always pleased to be invited to schools and the schools “Think Big” competition final between four local schools was not to be missed. The Think Big project is to introduce year 10 students to the business environment of financial, business planning, sales, creativity and marketing. Working as teams with the guidance of school staff and members of the business community, they developed a new product for the year 2020. This they then have to present, including the prototype of the product, a financial statement on the product and anticipate sales together with a business strategy.

The four school teams were the Downs, Willink, Trinity and Theale Green. They had set up their respective projects on exhibition boards and each team were visited by the judges, Adrian Martin of NWN, Ali Conway of Vodafone, Ian Vickerage of Imago and David Danielli of Vodafone. The teams were then invited to give a stage production of their products. I did not envy the judges their task in deciding the winners, as they all produced high standards of work and their presentations were both dramatic and effective. The judges concluded that the Downs School was the best, the product being pixel chameleon paint, which changes colour on a product whenever needed.
The competition was very rewarding for the students, teachers and business community, the latter in particular, as they would benefit in the future from young people who are confident, articulate and who want to be successful. I congratulate all concerned for their excellent work.

Veterans Week 27/06/07 to 01/07/07

A ceremony was organised by the Royal British Legion to dedicate plaques to the Burma Star Association the Royal Berkshire Regiment, Royal Artillery, Royal Naval Association and the Royal Air force Association at Shaw Cemetery on 27 June to mark the beginning of the newly instated Veterans Week. This was to celebrate the contributions and sacrifice of the armed forces veterans to serve the country in past conflicts. The forces Chaplin Keri Eynon dedicated the six plaques which had been placed in the Cemetery. I gave a short speech in which I acknowledged the veterans valuable service in the many conflicts around the world since the Second World War. A copy of my speech can be found below this below.

It was a very moving ceremony with the standards of the three services flying and a great number of veterans present. I stood with the Royal British Legion president Colonel Michael Westroppe and I was very proud to have been part of this ceremony of dedication.

There was a short service held at the War Memorial on Wednesday 27 June at which the Reverend Keri Eynon officiated. I had the honour of laying the first wreath on behalf of the town.
The formal ceremony to conclude veteran’s week was the Veteran’s parade and church service in St Nicolas Church on 1 July. Town councillors and I, robed up with the Macebearers, processed into the Market Place and a contingent of veterans with their standard bearers marched past. This was followed by a church service in St Nicolas church. The service was conducted by the reverend David Stone with the Reverend Keri Eynon leading the prayers. A moving aspect was the congregation singing Amazing Grace to the accompaniment of the bag pipes by Pipe Major Jim Motherwell. It was pleasing to note a good turnout of both Councillors and Veterans at church and was a fitting conclusion to veterans week.

Lion's Club of Newbury 37th Charter Anniversary Dinner

I was invited with Edwina Cooper, my Mayoress, to the 37th Charter Anniversary Dinner of the Lions of Newbury at Donnington Valley Golf Club. This was a black tie dinner and dance and we were met by the current president, Jon Davies and his wife. I did know a number of the Lions so we were able to see some familiar faces. The dinner and wine were excellent and at the conclusion of the after dinner speeches, I was invited to say a few words. I thanked them for inviting Edwina and myself and complemented them on the organisation of the evening and their kind hospitality. I commended them all for the work they do for the community and said that the town was proud of them and their achievements.

Afterwards, the disco began and soon the dance floor was full of whirling bodies. It was non-stop dancing almost, and I have to admit that I was ready for home at around midnight. It was a memorable evening and we were very grateful for their hospitality.

Organ Masterclass and Recital, St Nicolas Church

I have never been to an organ Masterclass before and I had been invited by Carolyn Greenwood, the Secretary of the Newbury & District Organists Association to attend, I was really looking forward to this. On arriving, the first person I met was David Reynolds, whom I see most Sundays as he is the current organist at St Nicolas Church, but who is retiring in a week or so’s time. I noted from the programme that there were four ‘volunteer’ organists who had offered themselves up as students although all four were established organists. The first was James Woodhouse, a freelance organist whom plays in various churches in southwest Newbury. He gave a very polished performance of the third, the allegro imarziale, piece from 3 organ pieces by Frank Bridge. Ann Elise Smoot, who is an internationally recognised organist and much sought after teacher, applauded his playing and made a myriad of comments, including not to be too dramatic about the pace of playing “allegro imarziale”.

Steve Bowey, who is the organist at St Mary’s Shaw-cum-Donnington, gave a confident rendering of Sir Hubert Parry’s Chorale Prelude on "Dundee". If the name Parry sounds familiar, he did indeed write the music to “Jerusalem”, which everyone sings at the last Night of the Proms. Ann Elise gave Steve some useful hints on the phrasing of some of the passages.

The next performance was Billy Kirkpatrick, the organist at the United Reformed Church in Cromwell Place, Newbury and the musical adviser of the Good Companions, a group of singers who, dressed in early 20th century costume, entertained the members of Fairclose and other elderly residential houses. He played what I believe to be the most difficult piece the prelude and fugue in G minor by Dietrich Buxtehude a German 17th century organist and composer. Buxtehude spent most of his life as organist the Marienkirche Lubeck in north Germany. It is a beautiful church and I would recommend a visit there, with its fine organ. Billy played the piece with great confidence and Ann Elise commended him for it.

The fourth and last performance was Alistair Davis, who currently plays at St Mary’s Church, Stockcross. He played the prelude from the Prelude and Fugue in E minor by the great Johann Sebastian Bach, another north German, who was significantly influenced by Buxtehude. Alistair is a very accomplished organist who played who played the piece with great confidence. Ann Elise had very little comment on his performance, which must have been very encouraging for him.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Masterclass and it brought back memories of sitting up in the organ loft, listening to my father playing. I regret not having time to speak to any of the organists, I had to dash off home change into dinner jacket, collect Edwina from her house as we were off to a Lion’s Dinner after attending the subsequent organ recital at 6.00pm given by Ann Elise Smoot herself. She played four organ pieces, Epiphanie by Gaston Litaize, a blind French composer who wrote the piece in 1984 followed by a choral Partita by J S Bach, very contrasting styles but both beautifully played. The last two pieces were the Theme and Variations in D by Felix Mendelssohn , another north German followed by Fete, a modern piece, with a jazz beat to it, written by Jean Langlais another blind french Composer and organist. The playing was quite outstanding and the church rang with sounds that the church has not heard in years. Congratulations to him, and his four “students” for a wonderful afternoon of organ playing.

High Sheriffs Garden Party at West Woodhay House

Friday the 22nd June was yet another wet day which was not the weather for Harry Henderson’s Garden Party that evening. However, the rain stopped late into the morning so it boded well for a successful party. Some of the approach roads were flooded but were passable, but on reaching West Woodhay House the small lake was overflowing across the road. On entering the car park, one of the fields, I noted that some metal sheeting had been placed over areas which were very wet, to prevent cars bogging down. Edwina and I successfully walked to a large marquee without incident, although we noted a lady with high stiletto heels sinking somewhat.

Harry Henderson, the High Sheriff of Berkshire and his wife met us and introduced us to other quests, some of whom reflected his role, being magistrates, judges, court officials, police officers. There were also Mayors from all over Berkshire and it was a pleasure to met them and swap stories. It was a wonderful setting for a garden party with the glorious house overlooking the grounds. It was good that the rain held off so we returned to Newbury in good order.

Cocktail Party and Beating Retreat at Dennison Barracks

The Royal Engineers Officers’ at Denison Barracks, Hermitage held a cocktail party and Beating Retreat on Wednesday evening. We were greeted by the Commanding Officer, Colonel Rupert Dash his officers and were introduced to both serving and retired officers. Several of the officers were attending a long course and two were American Officers, over from Washington – the other from New York. They were accompanied by their wives. They were intrigued by the Mayor’s Chain and I gave them a brief outline on its creation and history.

After the Cocktail Party, we were escorted to a parade ground, where seats had been positioned under a canvas awning. Although the ground was wet, the rain thankfully kept off during the Beating Retreat. The Beating Retreat was carried out by the band of the Corps of Royal Engineers, dressed in the traditional red jackets and blue shakos with white plumes. The formation marching was led by Drum Major Libby and the band played some traditional marches as well as some taken from themes from the opera Carmen and The Great Escape. The evening ended with a moving rendering of the Retreat, followed by the National Anthem. The band then marched off to the Corps March, British Grenadier & Wings.

This was the culmination of a splendidly hospitable evening which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Newbury Society’s Garden Party at Welford Park

Welford Park was the venue for the Newbury Society’s summer garden party on 3 June 2007. Welford Park is a splendid Queen Anne country mansion set in delightful and well maintained grounds and this could not be a better setting for this annual event. Edwina Cooper and I had been invited to the Garden Party and were welcomed by Gwynneth Bullock, their President who had recently ended her term of office as Mayor of Hungerford and the Secretary, Elke Holden-Bell. In her speech, Gwynneth gave a potted history of Welford Park and its previous and current owners and then thanked all those members who had helped with providing the very substantial and delicious tea. We were able to talk to a great number of members, including Anthony Pick and Jeremy Holden-Bell whom I see occasionally at Town Council planning meetings, giving the views of the Newbury Society on planning applications.

We were invited to help sell and draw the raffle, and the prizes seemed endless, indicating how generous the members were who contributed the prizes. As we were leaving I met outside the house the current owner John Puxley. I thanked him for allowing the grounds to be used for the garden party.

We had a really pleasant afternoon and even the weather was fine and sunny, which made it even more enjoyable.

Launch of Belvoir Newbury Office

On 1st June I was invited to the launch of the Newbury office of the Belvoir Property Management company. This company was formed some 12 years ago and it deals exclusively with providing local communities with a professional residential lettings service.

This franchise is managed by a husband and wife team, Stephen and Karen Bennett. Although they had been living and working in New Zealand, they decided to return to Newbury where they had previously started their early careers. After an extensive and detailed recruitment process, they were chosen to run the new Newbury office which is located at 109 Bartholomew Street.

I was very pleased to have been invited to the launch of the Belvoir office and to carry out the opening ceremony of cutting the ribbon. I wish Stephen and Karen every success and happiness for the furure.