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.