Elmbridge & Kingston Magazines

High Sheriff’s June blog

June 2012

The High Sheriff meets Roxy Walker

 

A big warm welcome to Karin Sehmer, Surrey’s High Sheriff who each month will be sharing details from her fascinating trips and experiences in her new online blog.  

 

June was, correctly so, a truly royal month with several royal visits to the county, a Buckingham Palace garden party, a school children’s appearance at the Royal Albert Hall and the highlight, the Queen’s visit to the Derby.

At the beginning of the month, I spent a day with the Duke of Gloucester when he visited Watts Gallery at Compton, now completely unrecognisable compared with the original.  Later that day, he unveiled a plaque at the restoration of the Lovelace Bridge at East Horsley. 

Go Surrey was a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in front of the Earl and Countess of Wessex in which Surrey children’s musical talent was demonstrated, particularly striking was a massed choir of all the children. 

Garden party at Buckingham Palace at the end of May when the weather was gloriously warm and sunny.  Our Lord-Lieutenant expects the High Sheriff to meet Surrey residents who are there.  As a result, people came to find me and introduce themselves as part of the County.

Derby Day was where we met the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and many members of the royal family.  Princess Eugenie expressed huge admiration for my hat! Epsom race course was overflowing with people determined to have a good time.  The weather was kind, the band of the Royal Marines played impeccably, the Red Devils parachuted down and Katherine Jenkins magical voice soared into the air as she sang God Save the Queen, with the entire race course standing upright in admiration for Her Majesty and the great occasion. 

Finally, in royal terms, the Surrey County Show at Stoke Park in Guildford, an unsurpassed annual event attended this year by the Earl and Countess of Wessex.  The Earl remembered we had met 48 hours earlier and suggested we should not keep meeting like this!  Tents filled with prize cattle, tents filled with sheep, tents filled with local produce for sale and a ring for show jumping.  The weather was very cold but at least there was no rain.

This month has fittingly been about the royal visits to the county but next month will be about my visits to the various Surrey prisons.