LL News Blog

I am so looking forward to the varied and beautiful events organised to celebrate this centennial Armistice in Rutland. My own weekend kicks off with music in my own village, Whissendine, at 7.30pm prompt in our beautiful ‘village cathedral’, St Andrew’s Church. Come and join me!

Great excitement at the Games of Remembrance 2018;  7,000 young people (and some a bit older) are here at the Notts County FC football ground for a women’s football match between English & German teams! Game on!! Now friends & allies, we all remember them.

£500,000 has been awarded for ‘Resilient Rutland’ from the National Lottery! This will provide mental resilience training & counselling to help young people, prevent mental health problems and equip them for modern life. All of Rutland’s schools and their pupils will benefit and youth mental health resilience will be increased. Congratulations to Ann and all those involved in this project.

Yesterday afternoon I watched an ex-servicemen team play the Royal Signals Army Rugby team at Coleville RFC ground, for a commemorative match. Good fun was had by all (the Signals won) and the Royal British Legion raised funds for Poppy Legion.  Thanks for having me!

Thanks again to Mark & Tracey Taylor who run the Veterans Breakfast Club at The Grainstore on the first Saturday morning of each month. Good company & good breakfast guaranteed – come along next on 9.30 December 1st. Veterans of any age and their families are welcome.

While there I was asked whether anything is happening in Oakham to celebrate the Armistice actually at  11am on the 11th Nov.   I didn’t know – I’ll be attending the service in Uppingham at that time – but I have discovered that the answer is yes.  A “Homage on the High Street” will be  taking place outside Crown Walk at  11am.

The main Oakham Remembrance Parade through the town is at 2pm and the Remembrance Service at All Saints starts at 2.30pm. All are welcome.

I have just been given a 15 minute video of the highlights of the Gurkhas ‘Sounding the Retreat’ on Oakham Market Square on the 12th September. For those who missed it, I have made it available here:

I am very grateful to the author, but I’m afraid I don’t know his/her name;  I was just given a DVD!  If you know who the author is, please tell me.

I was delighted to welcome over 300 guests to the Officers’ Mess at Kendrew Barracks yesterday evening, to celebrate the amazing work of Rutland community heroes and volunteers.

Referring to a recent survey that put Rutland at the top of ‘happy places to live’, my speech to our community champions and assembled guests included:

“Rutland is a happy place not only because we have beautiful countryside and stunning market towns but because we have a community culture of altruism, doing our best for others and volunteering…”

Thank you to everyone who attended this community champions event. It has been a true honour having the chance to celebrate the successes of our community together, at Kendrew.

More information about (and photos of) some of the stars and the highlights is available on my  Twitter pages – see https://twitter.com/RutlandLL .

 

Good to see Oakham buzzing with people enjoying the sunshine and the many stalls of Rutland’s Food & Drink Festival. Delicious smells from food of all kinds being cooked in the market square; cakes, charcuterie, cheeses, chocolate and more. Rutland is obviously a county of good taste.

 

What a community play! Utterly gripping, compelling and it made me laugh – and also want to cry. I knew that ‘The Rutlanders Return’ would be good, but I have to admit I didn’t expect it to be this outstanding! Brilliant staging, acting, music, singing and local research. The after-effects of WW1 in Rutland in the years immediately after the war, brought to life. Congratulations to all involved.  Funds raised go to the Royal British Legion.

In one week  two great community happenings, making all think about the lessons of WW1 – this play and the display of 10,000 ceramic poppies at Oakham Castle. Both outstanding & original. Congratulations to all for engaging all generations. Do not miss the poppies @oakhamcastle & try for play tickets at  http://a4r.org.uk/event/5184/?in .. , if there are any left…

 

Did you know how powerful a dog’s sense of smell is? Apparently it is equivalent to being able to taste a teaspoonful of sugar dissolved in three Olympic-size swimming pools. No wonder sniffer dogs are so  effective. Thanks to the 1st Military Working Dogs Regiment for a fascinating visit.

The photo is of Mollie and Flossie, my dogs.  Flossie (the Cocker Spaniel) has been described as ‘a machine for transporting a nose, at high speed, less than an inch above the ground’.