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I hope
you all enjoyed an excellent Christmas Day and had the chance to get out
and about on Boxing Day between the various attractions of local dips,
runs, hunts and football derbies. I joined the crowds in The Square in
Elham to see off the members of the East Kent Hunt for their annual
festive meet.
Christmas is a time for people to come together, from friends and
families gathering, to carol services and even the collective experience
of The Queen’s speech and the TV Christmas specials.
There
used to be more interest in the race to be number one in the Christmas
music charts, but this year the ‘Military Wives’ choir with their hit
‘Wherever you are’ based on the letters written to their husbands and
partners serving in Afghanistan, has really caught the public
imagination.
There are probably a number of reasons for its popularity, and not least
that the funds raised from the sale of the record are going to the
excellent ‘Help for Heroes’ charity. But I think we also all really
admire the fantastic have a go spirit of the wives themselves. The one
hundred members of the choir were mostly complete amateurs with little
or no experience of singing and performing in public, let alone live at
the Royal Albert Hall, as they did for this year’s festival of
remembrance.
What they have accomplished shows that when challenged we can all reach
out and achieve things we might never had previously thought of.
People have also long believed that group singing is good for the heart
as well as the soul. The local Folkestone charity, ‘Sing for your Life’
has been conducting research to demonstrate the health benefits of group
singing as well as running a programme of classes. These have proved to
be particularly popular with more mature singers, and you can find out
more about their work at
www.singforyourlife.org.uk if you would like to have a go.
Just before parliament broke for Christmas we had the opportunity to
debate the Government’s programme for apprenticeships. Good quality work
based training is increasingly important and extra public funding has
been announced to support the creation of 100,000 new places for
apprentices.
Additional financial support is also now available for smaller
businesses to help them offer more opportunities for work place
training. However, the system can be complex to navigate, and some firms
may be missing out.
That is why I was keen to highlight a new scheme being set up by Shepway
Council, where they will provide a brokerage service helping to connect
businesses looking for apprentices with the appropriate training
providers. Shepway are also looking to support schemes for small
businesses who would like to share an apprentice with two or three
similar sized organisations. I think this is an excellent initiative and
if you would like to make your New Year resolution either hiring an
apprentice or looking for a training place, please let me know or
contact the council for more information.
Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast
News 2011©
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