Friday 22nd September 2017 Veronica and I attended a Graduation Ceremony at Harper Adams University, at which Adam Hanson of Countryfile congratulated all the graduates and prize winners. It was an extremely impressive event that reflects the considerable achievements of the the University over the last few years.
Veronica and I visited the Qube in Oswestry and met Laurel Roberts, Chief Executive of Oswestry Community Action. This is an important charity for the Oswestry area, operating Dial-a-Ride in North Shropshire and as well as running a volunteering centre and providing a varied programme of different educational courses. There is a particular focus on …
Thursday 19th September 2017 At the invitation of the Mayor Jane Carroll, Veronica and I visited Veronica’s home town of Bishops Castle. We were met by the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and the Town Clerk and were joined by local farmer Simon Bedell, for a discussion regarding the challenges facing the farming industry. We were …
Tuesday 19th September 2017 Veronica and I attended the Private Viewing of the 2017 Drapers Company Textile Design Awards at St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury. The designs were of a very high standard and gave the judges, Leila Corbet and Stephanie Kemp, some difficult decisions to make. The Shrewsbury Drapers Company’s main activity is now the …
Sunday 10th September 2017 Veronica and I attended a Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration for the 125th Year of Packwood Haugh at St John the Baptist Church, Ruyton-XI-Towns. The congregation was welcomed by the vicar of this beautiful church, Reverend Lucinda Burns, and The Right Reverend Mark Rylands, Bishop of Shrewsbury and a Packwood old …
Sunday 17th September 2017 Veronica and I attended a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving for those who participated in the Battle of Britain at St Chad’s in Shrewsbury. It was an extremely impressive ceremony with an inspirational address by the RAF Padre, Reverend Alastair Bissell. The service was followed by the laying of wreaths in …
Saturday 16th September 2017 Veronica and I attended Merefest 2017, a country festival that is held each year beside the lake in Ellesmere. We were met by Luke Neil of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, which runs the festival. There was a wide variety of different activities – mountain bikes, a climbing tower, zip wires, canoeing, …
Friday 8th September 2017 Veronica and I attended the Ludlow Food Festival and I gave out prizes for the “Best New Product”. We were extremely impressed by the wide variety of different stalls offering excelllent food and drink, most of it produced in Shropshire or surrounding counties. We took advantage of the visit to do …
Thursday 7th September 2017 Veronica and I attended the Autumn Reception at RAF Shawbury on Thursday 7th September 2017. The Station commandant, Group Captain Norris, explained the history of the base from its formation as a Royal Flying Corps airfield in 1917 and the plans for the future. We enjoyed some splendid singing from the …
Sunday 3rd September 2017 Veronica and I attended an open day at Monkmoor Police Station in Shrewsbury. The purpose of the event was to enable members of the public to gain an insight into police work and to meet police officers. The event was very well attended despite the poor weather, with particularly long queues …
Thursday 31st August 2017 I accompanied Doug Jones of the Shropshire Library on the first part of route 4 – through Llanymynech, Pant, Redwith, Crickheath, Maebrook and Maesbury – on the morning of Thursday 31st August. I greatly enjoyed seeing the mobile library service in action, and was very impressed by Doug’s encyclopedic knowledge of …
Wednesday 30th August 2017 Veronica and I visited the offices of Independent Living Partnership (http://www.ilp-ltd.co.uk/), which provides independent advice and information for the elderly and disabled, and carries out assessments of needs, on behalf of Shropshire Community Services. This is a very valuable service for those who are experiencing difficulties coping with the practicalities of …
Monday 28th August 2017 Veronica and I attended the Whittington Vintage Village Fete, where together with the Brownies I followed the tractor-drawn trailer taking the Queen of the Fete and her two attendants to the centre of the Fete behind the Castle. I then carried out the formal coronation of the Queen and said a …
Sunday 27th August 2017 Veronica and I attended a wonderful service of “Evening Worship with the dressing of the Knight” at St Bartholomew’s Church in Tong. We received a warm welcome from members of the congregation and the vicar, the Reverend Prebendary Pippa Thorneycroft. After a tour of the church, which was built in 1410 …
Saturday 26th August 2017 Veronica and I attended the Oswestry Charity Balloon Festival at the British Ironwork Centre in aid of Nightingale Hospice, a Wrexham charity that provides vital palliative care for terminally ill patients both in Wales and across North Shropshire. I arrived in time to announce the arrival of a stunt airplane, which …
15th August 2017 At the invitation of the High Sheriff of Staffordshire, Humphrey Scott-Moncrieff, DL, Veronica and I spent a very memorable day at the National Memorial Arboretum (see http://www.thenma.org.uk/), together with the High Sheriffs of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Worcestershire. It was both moving and inspirational to see over 300 memorials set amongst beautifully arranged …
Saturday 5th August 2017 Veronica and I attended the Oswestry Show at Park Hall, where we were asked to judge the Indoor Trade Stands for the quality of content and layout. These included stands in the Food Hall and in the Craft & Business Marquee. The standard of the stalls in the Food Hall was …
Friday 4th August 2017 Veronica and I visited the Guide Dogs for the Blind at their stall in the Bailey Head in Oswestry, where we were joined by Cllr Vince Hunt, Mayor of Oswestry. The Organiser of the Oswestry Fundraising Group, Lin Stapley, showed us round and introduced us to the staff and volunteers. There …
Thursday 3rd August 2017 Veronica and I attended the Burwarton Show, an excellent country show which goes back 125 years to 1891. It offers a wide variety of entertainment including a number of riding events (including the Shetland Pony Grand National), as well as parades of vintage tractors, of decorated and Heavy Horses and of …
2nd August 2017 Veronica and I visited the TG Quarry in Wood Lane, Ellesmere on Tuesday 2nd August. Billy Griffiths, Chairman of TG Group, kindly showed us round the quarries where the sand and gravel are extracted and cleaned, and the conservation work to return the land to its original state. We were extremely impressed …
