I owe readers an apology about a party. Not a recent one you will be relieved to hear, but in my column last week I referred to fond memories of being ‘gunged’ for the Diamond Jubilee party on Broadwater Green and I have now found the photo. I was in fact out by a year and the gunging took place for the Royal Wedding of Wills and Kate in 2011, again organised by then mayor elect Ann Barlow. There were of course plenty of street parties and other fun community events for the actual Jubilee the following year which I hope we can outdo this June.
There was certainly a big party at St Mary’s Church in Shoreham on Saturday to mark the retirement of Reverend Ann Waizeneker. Ann has been a pillar of the local community through good times and bad over the last 10 years and will be greatly missed as she moves to Worcester for her retirement. She will be particularly remembered for the crucial role she played after the Shoreham Air Show crash when she provided much needed comfort for shell-shocked local people and has continued to give support to the families of the victims as they still await the long-delayed coroner’s inquest.
More recently Ann has been determined to keep the church open to those seeking companionship during the pandemic, and we have often had common cause in challenging some of the more illogical aspects of restricting services and locking down churches at a time when they are needed most.
It is good to be able to get back to visiting schools in person again and with this week’s announcement students and other visitors will be welcomed back to Parliament for tours from next month too. Last week I had a challenging hour of non-stop questions from a very environmentally minded group of Year 5 and 6 pupils at Whytemead Primary in Worthing keen to do their bit to counter climate change. It was good to be able to update them on plans by the EYE (Eco, Young & Engaged) Project to get back to physical events and an Eco Summit this year.
