The last official function of this Mayoral year took place in the upstairs meeting room at Havant’s United Reform Church, As was also the case last year, this was the Annual General Meeting of the Havant & Waterlooville Child Contact Centres. Started in the 1990′s, the centres provide a safe place where children are able to meet up with an absent parent in a friendly environment in the company of an independant volunteer. The centres operate from two sites and the aim is to provide a...

Starting from Havant’s BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, or Hindu Temple, this was a 10 kilometre walk that went along the Billy Trail as far as the ESSO garage on Hayling Island and back to the Temple at the rear of Havant railway station. Before setting off. This was a charity walk, with the funds raised being split between their own charity,  KIDS, which is the national charity working with disabled children, young people and their families across England, and one of my own charities, Smile...

Early this afternoon, Elaine & I visited the Classic Vehicle Show and Autojumble that is a regular feature at the Hayling Billy public house in Elm Grove, Hayling. We were met by Dave Smith who kindly escorted us while we looked at the many interesting cars and motorbikes. There were many old cars present, with many old manufacturers, such as Triumph, Austin and Morris, represented, as well as several different models of Ford, Rover  and Vauxhall cars. Also in evidence were a number of people...

Straight from Waterlooville we went to the AMF Bowl in the retail park on Portsdown Hill Road, Bedhampton. The main reason for this visit was for the presentation of Sport England’s ClubMark accreditation to the Havant Youth Bowling Club. The aim of this award is to provide a focus around which all organisations involved in sport can come together to support good practice in sports clubs working with children and young people. The ages of those members of the HYBC who enjoy Ten-Pin Bowling range...

Started in Liverpool by Tom Morris more than 30 years ago, Home Bargains now has more than 280 stores throughout the country and is still privately owned. With some of the manangement team. The store that Elaine and I opened this morning in the Wellington Retail Park in Waterlooville, and which occupies part of the old Focus D-I-Y store, is the first to be opened in Hampshire. Many of the employment positions in the store have gone to local people, and there should be more...

During the first two or three weeks of May the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and all of the Hampshire Mayors and Chairmen come to the end of their year in office. This year the Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Derek Burke, decided to hold a farewell dinner in the Southampton Guildhall. All were invited but, due to other engagements, not all were able to attend. There were however, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, six Mayors and Mayoresses and three Chairmen with their consorts. On the...

This afternoon Elain and I went to the new hair and beauty salon, TreatYourSkin.com in North Street, Havant. Having traded online for almost 7 years, working from a warehouse in Downley Road and selling health and beauty products, it has been decided to open the first, of what is hoped to be several, high street salons. Chris & Rachel. About to cut the ribbon. We were met by the owner, Chris Hobbs, and Rachel Willis from NatWest Bank, who explained the ethos of the company,...

Straight from Hayling Park we went to Hayling College to visit their ‘Growing Together’ project. This is a project that brings together pupils from the College to grow their own fruit and vegetables and to keep and look after about 40 free-range chickens. Some of the funding has come from Hayling Lions Club, so the official opening of the new, and quite large, fruit and vegetable cage was performed by the President of Hayling Lions, Gill Sutherland. Having been given the bird! We were all...

Safer Internet Day 2013 has made the shortlist for the prestigious Nominet Internet Awards 2013 in the category making the internet a safer place.  Competing in the most popular Nominet Internet Awards ever, the UK Safer Internet Centre is delighted that Safer Internet Day 2013 has been shortlisted for the Nominet Internet Awards, celebrating the wide reach that SID 2013 achieved and the fantastic range of partner support.  The Nominet Internet Awards celebrate the achievements and innovation of UK internet initiatives, aiming to showcase projects which...

 Ofcom have published their annual Adults: media use and attitudes report, providing a rich overview of media use, attitudes and understanding among UK adults aged 16+. Key findings include: Over half of UK adults use the same password to access internet sites. More than half (55%) of adult internet users admit they use the same password for most, if not all, websites. Around one quarter (26%) say they tend to use easy to remember passwords such as birthdays or names, potentially opening themselves up to...