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Berkshire
County News
2010/2011
It is amazing how external events can change the year of a High Sheriff. I, like all the other High Sheriffs taking Office in 2010, made my Declaration shortly before the 2010 General Election of early May. Although the question of cuts in local authority funding and central government grants had been discussed by all parties during the previous few weeks, it was only apparent after the election had taken place how deep and extensive these reductions in funding would need to be. Overnight the charitable landscape in Berkshire changed.
I had taken Office intending to visit the prisons, police stations, fire stations, in fact all the emergency services, but I decided early on that, apart from my local stations and the headquarters of the Thames Valley Police at Kidlington, I would give priority to seeking to help the myriad of local charities within Berkshire. The County is split into six unitary authorities, each of which appears to have its own charity for every conceivable cause, leading to a total of over 4,000 charities. The more I went around the County, the more I heard of the dire straits many perceived themselves to be in and the more they asked for help.
I discussed their dilemma with our Lord Lieutenant, Mary Bayliss, who was having exactly the same experience and I decided the first thing to do was to try to get the charities to talk to each other to see, for example, whether the back office services of HR and accounts or the costs of printing and supplies could be shared to reduce costs. With the help of the very good and hard-working Community Foundation we have in Berkshire, I wrote to about 200 of the medium-sized charities (not including religious, educational apart from those specialising in special needs, and national charities). At the beginning of February, about 60 of those contacted sent members of their staff to a seminar which was held just south of Reading in a building most kindly provided free for the day by SEGRO plc. Seven excellent speakers spoke about how changes in the law affect charities, how to promote a charity in the media, how the local authorities commission services, how local giving can be promoted on-line, and much more. Probably the most useful of all, though, were the two speed-networking sessions that were held. Each of the 90 participants talked for two minutes to another person, who then talked back for the next two minutes, after which half the participants moved round to talk to the next person. This enabled people to connect with other people in their sector and beyond, and many most useful relationships were forged.
It is not only the charities providing social care which have found their funding cut but also those involved with the judicial system. There is an exceptional charity, Blue Sky, currently operating principally in the Thames Valley, for which the only requirement for employment is that the prospective employee is an ex-prisoner. This applies to everyone except the Chief Executive, but includes the patrons. The charity gives six-month contracts to men (and occasionally women) who then work in teams providing landscaping services, refuse collections and recycling work. As High Sheriff I was able to provide the charity with contacts in the six unitary authorities within Berkshire and with the High Sheriffs of the neighbouring counties, many of which proved extremely fruitful. The advantages of providing work for ex-offenders are many, particularly the reduction to about 15% from a national average of over 60% in the re-offending rate, but the local authorities also benefit greatly because the charity employs ex-offenders from within the local community. I attended several tree planting sessions with the men, one in torrential rain with the local MP for Maidenhead, Theresa May the Home Secretary.
The Judiciary and the Magistrates were extremely welcoming during the year. I sat several times with the judges in both the Crown and the County Court and was continually reminded how extremely lucky this country is in having people of such quality to administer justice on our behalf. They were unfailingly patient with prosecution and defence alike, and each day I left feeling sure the accused was getting a very fair trial.
This welcome extended to the Mock Trials competition when 28 teams from Berkshire schools argued their case in the Crown Court in Reading over three sessions in March. Numerous magistrates gave of their time to adjudicate and advise, judges attended to lend their support as did many neighbouring High Sheriffs, and I sensed that the students left with a very much greater understanding of our judicial system.
Although I had known that the High Sheriff was the Returning Officer for the County at General Elections, the declaration of a result was not something which I had expected to do. Nor had I ever expected to leave my house, fully dressed as a High Sheriff, at 11pm, not knowing whether I would return before dawn. The result I chose to declare was that of Bracknell, where there were new candidates for most of the parties because the previous MP had stepped down. As I had never been involved in politics, it was my first experience of a count, and I was hugely impressed by the quiet efficiency and determination for accuracy displayed by the tellers. My fears of a dawn bedtime evaporated and I was able to declare the result at 3am. It was a truly extraordinary experience.
Although little unites Berkshire itself except the Lieutenancy and the Shrievalty, it is part of the Thames Valley grouping of counties and part of the Thames Valley Police Force’s area. For the first time, the three 2010 High Sheriffs of the Thames Valley were all women, Elizabeth Howe of Buckinghamshire, Marie-Jane Barnett of Oxfordshire and myself. I have very much enjoyed the companionship of my fellow High Sheriffs, attending many functions with them and joining in several awards ceremonies. The sight of the Three Musketeers, or even the Three Graces, will not soon be forgotten although I was asked, on one occasion, whether we were the wives of the Sheriffs!
The three Thames Valley High Sheriffs for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, with the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley, Sara Thornton, at the Thames Valley Police Shrievalty Award Ceremony, in March 2011 at County Hall, Oxford.
In spite of the difficulties of some of the people within the County, I met with nothing but kindness and interest wherever I went. My visits ranged from several to refuges for women to the State Visit by the Emir of Qatar. I was involved because his visit started on the Royal Dais in Windsor, where the castle provided a wonderful backdrop to the pomp and pageantry on display below.
It was a fantastic year, full of extraordinary people doing an enormous amount of good in their communities and I feel extremely privileged to have been given the opportunity of meeting them.
Lady Stevenson
High Sheriff of Berkshire 2010/2011
Winter 2010
As my year drew to a close, many people asked me what had been the ‘highlights’ of the year. The question perplexed me: one highlight was certainly the State Visit to Windsor of the President of India, Mrs Pratibha Patil and her husband, Dr Devisingh Ramsingh Shekuwat , in October; the other ten Royal visits were also highlights in different ways, as were those to Berkshire Police Stations, and sitting with a High Court Judge and Crown Court Judges in the Crown Court in Reading.
The day we spent with the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service was certainly a highlight. I doubt if I shall ever be invited again to steer an extended ladder from a vantage point 100 feet above the ground! Entering their Fire House was also a novelty, and watching how firemen can create fires in any room in the house at the press of a button, and then venture inside for training purposes.
Other highlights included making the first visit ever by a High Sheriff to an organisation, such as to the Youth Offending Service in Reading, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Maidenhead; and being the first High Sheriff for some years to observe the Swan upping on the River Thames and to watch the Royal Swanherd at Caversham Bridge catching and marking swans for the Queen.
 The three themes of my year all included worthwhile and rewarding events which were all highlights. The first, Bringing the Generations Together, included Beating the Bounds of Berkshire in May, the 135- mile circuit of the County’s perimeter to raise funds for Berkshire Age Concern. In October I was Patron of a Concert in Newbury performed by very talented musicians, Berkshire Maestros (formerly Berkshire Young Musicians Trust), to raise funds for Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People Ltd and the Berkshire Maestros. I was also invited to present Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Certificates to successful entrants, and to initiate a ‘time capsule’ in the new headquarters of the Dolphin Centre, the young people’s canoe centre by the Thames in Pangbourne, where young offenders and mixed ability groups are among those participating in training.
The second theme, Health – especially Mental Health – included being a judge and rapporteur on the East Berkshire Health Achievement Awards (a competition for schools) in Slough, and helping to launch Newbury Lions’ initiative ‘Message in a Bottle’ ( a simple idea enabling vulnerable people to take their medication safely). I was invited to promote National Depression Awareness Week with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Mental Health provider. The importance of Mental Health was underlined on a visit to HM Prison Reading, where young offenders are detained. About half of those serving sentences in prison have either mental health issues or substance misuse problems, or both.
The most moving event under the Health theme was being invited to present certificates and make a speech at the Reading Relay for Life to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Many of those participating had either lost close relatives to cancer or were cancer victims themselves. Somehow, with determination and courage, they managed to complete the circuit, which presented huge physical challenges in many cases.
 The third theme of my year, the Environment, included the launch of Berkshire Gardens Trust at Englefield near Reading in July, the last of the County Gardens Trusts to be founded. The Trust has grown rapidly since it was first established in 2008 and it is a huge honour for me to be its Chairman. The launch was attended by the Lord Lieutenant and many Mayors and Civic Dignitaries from across the County. We refer to the Trust as ‘ the last piece in the jig-saw’ and it was a particular pleasure that the official launch took place during my year.
The final project of this theme, the High Sheriff’s Berkshire Spring Clean, was an enormous success. Many were sceptical that the initiative would take off, but groups as far apart as Horton Parish Council in East Berkshire and Hungerford Town Council in the West rose to the challenge. I presented 18 certificates to Town and Parish Councils, Environmental Groups and individuals during the year, and will present more retrospectively beyond it.
On reflection, the true highlights of the year have been meeting so many dedicated and talented people during the year, the friends I have made and above all the great honour of being invited to serve as High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire for this year.
Dr Christina Hill Williams DL
High Sheriff of Berkshire 2009/2010
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