High Sheriff of Rutland 2024

Stamford Mercury

The High Sheriff of Rutland Richard Cole at his Declaration Ceremony in Oakham Castle, Rutland on April 11, 2024

Transcript

00:00My Lord Lieutenant, outgoing Vice-Sheriff, High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Mayors of

00:06Oakland and Buckingham, honoured guests. Welcome to you all and thank you for joining us here

00:11today. I very much appreciate you giving your time and support to this occasion as I know

00:17many of you have travelled long distances to be here. It's greatly appreciated. Congratulations

00:23to our two cadets on their handover as well. Before I start, I would like to thank Linda

00:30and Lee from the Castle and the Café for facilitating this event today. I think this is

00:36Linda's 12th High Sheriff declaration today and I believe Mark Hellinger was her first.

00:44There's a real symmetry to that. So Linda, to you and your team, thank you very much on everyone's

00:48behalf. For those of you who have heard me speak before, you'll be delighted to see no powerpoint

00:55screen behind me. I think Kate has given me only 10 minutes. I'd like to begin by congratulating

01:02Jeremy on her year in office. I know she has driven up around the county, engaging with a

01:07broad range of people across our towns and villages. I'm honoured to follow her, to serve

01:12at the county. I'd like to thank Dr Sarah Finesse for so kindly nominating me for this role during

01:19the very years I'm Sheriff. Like most people, I was completely overwhelmed when I read the letter

01:25but I must admit I was absolutely convinced I'd opened somebody else's mouth. It was only real

01:31when the doors closed behind us in court 4 at the Royal Courts of Justice and the lady next to me

01:37said, this is it then, that it really struck home. We are fortunate in London to have a very

01:44supportive group of former High Sheriffs, many of whom are here today, and thanking to all of them

01:50for your good wishes and generous advice. As our Lord Attendant and caterer have said, I was

01:57originally nominated as High Sheriff in 2021 and Covid suddenly changed the world, forcing Margaret

02:03and I to stand in a cold, wet car park to do our homework. I'd like to thank the county nomination panel

02:11for putting my name forward to the Privy Council a second time. I believe there are five of us

02:16across the country who've had this unique opportunity to serve two monarchs. The last

02:21person to serve government twice was Ezekiel Johnson in 1676, according to Wikipedia, so

02:28first of all, thank you. As someone born in our largest county, to be High Sheriff of our smallest

02:35is an amazing honour. London is the secret jewel of our counties and whilst we are fortunate to

02:41live in such a beautiful place, there are still too many links back to the times of Covid.

02:47The world faces many challenges, so the opportunity for the High Sheriff to cast a light on those

02:52working in our local communities, doing good for others, has never been more important.

02:57Clearly, the traditional roles of the High Sheriff in a county are to support the maintenance of law

03:03and order, actively support the work of the police and emergency services, encourage public sector

03:09agencies such as the probation service and prison service, and the voluntary technical

03:14organisations, especially those involved in crime and social reduction and social contingency.

03:20So what of my year ahead? Guidance this year from the High Sheriff's Association says

03:28do it your own way. I'm really not sure what that means. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you

03:33what I mean next year. Some High Sheriffs have a theme or a focus. I will not. I've been a journalist

03:40all my life, so I want to embrace everyone across our county who does good. The Queen should

03:49owe half a million hens during her reign, so I want to meet as many of our 41,000

03:54loved ones as I possibly can. Someone said High Sheriffs wield a superpower, the power to say

04:02a simple thank you. The third sector is underpinned by volunteers who quietly get on day in and day out

04:10and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Like many High Sheriffs who put a lot of effort into

04:17fundraising, I admit that is not one of my skills, but I firmly believe taking the time to show

04:26interest and thank people for what they do is absolutely key and that can have just as much

04:31value to them as money. High Sheriffs have found long ways of raising funds. One of King John's

04:38Sheriffs kidnapped the mysteries of local clergy, returning them to their lovers only when high

04:43ransoms have been paid. I mentioned the role of High Sheriffs in encouraging law and order

04:49and those wanting to improve the lives of others. National Crime Beat is the charity of the High

04:54Sheriffs Association which recognises youth-led crime prevention initiatives. Margaret is here

05:00who works with them. In Leicestershire and Loughborough, High Sheriffs support the work of

05:06the brilliant Warning Zone which teaches key life skills to 10 and 11 year olds as they prepare for

05:14secondary school. I speak to Lucinda who is here as well. I will also promote the work of our Community Foundation

05:21which supports charitable groups meeting local needs. This is absolutely in line with the core

05:27values of the High Sheriff, that is to take an active part in supporting and promoting the

05:33voluntary sector and giving all possible encouragement to voluntary organisations in the county.

05:39Katie's words and she's sitting there so do speak to Katie as well. There are links to both the Warning Zone

05:46and the Community Foundation on the Northern High Sheriff website and the QR code on the back of my

05:52business card takes you directly to it. Please follow those links to learn more and donate to

05:58the High Sheriffs on the Community Foundation website. If I can't say it today, then you can.

06:03Clearly, I'm organising events during my year. A county service as our Lord Lieutenant has mentioned

06:09and our cathedral in Peterborough in the spring. A service to celebrate volunteering in the autumn.

06:15A concert later in the year. A comedy night with Warning Zone as part of the Leicestershire

06:19Comic Festival and walking down Rutland to get to as many villages as I can along the way.

06:26I'm very much a team player and developer of building on other people's better ideas.

06:31I will follow the High Sheriff's mantra of thank, convene and act. My grandfather told me always

06:38to put other people first and respect others. These are tough times for many in our community

06:44and I want to promote that value of mutual respect. As Dr Finesse mentioned, our county motto is

06:51not to make harm much in little and we have many unsung heroes doing so much with so little.

06:58So my focus will be everyone involved. Showing love is doing good for others in whatever way

07:05you can. If I can recognise and empower those who do right by others, then that I think will

07:11be worth doing. I want to give as many High Sheriffs Awards as possible to those people.

07:18Again, there is a link on the website to nominate anyone who goes the extra mile in our communities.

07:24Schools, prisons, courts, libraries, sports clubs, wherever. Please put them forward and I'll

07:31happily recognise them. If I can put a smile on someone's face and make them feel valued in my

07:36gear, I will be delighted. So please send me your nominations. You might invite me to their events,

07:43anything to help shine a light on the good work going on in Rutland.

07:48Encouraging young people to fulfil their potential and make good life choices is

07:52vitally important to us all. So I'm keen to see as many schools and youth projects along the way.

07:59I'm delighted that Rachel has agreed to be my chaplain this year

08:03and she's at last able to wear her stole the right way round again.

08:07Rachel came to Rutland from Burnley in the Blackburn Diocese and I've worked in Leicester for

08:12nearly 20 years. So we appreciate very much that Rutland is not the most diverse county,

08:20with only 1.6% of residents being Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu or Jewish backgrounds.

08:27But we will work together to meet people from all faiths and none.

08:32I feel very fortunate to have met people like Frida Hussain, Rabina Shah and Riaz Revat,

08:38who have all inspired me with their outlooks on opportunity, faith and multiculturalism,

08:43and I will endeavour to follow their examples locally.

08:48Before I finish, I mentioned the association guidance of doing it your own way,

08:54and I'm delighted that Hattie has agreed to sing for us today.

08:58Counties do these declarations in their own unique ways. Over the years we've added music

09:03to ours, and my thanks to Andy for playing a trumpet for us. It really added to the ceremony.

09:10But differently this year, is times like these by the Foo Fighters.

09:16Sadly David Croll isn't able to be with us today, but it was a song that resonated

09:22across our society when it was so disconnected during Covid,

09:25and still does so today, as too many people suffer hardship in their lives.

09:30The High Show song is increasingly relevant, as we need to refresh our relationships

09:35and encourage those who bring hope, opportunity and positivity.

09:41Jeremy recommended, do this job with a smile, and I will.

09:46Nick Hopkinson, who was the energetic High Show from Cheshire whilst fighting cancer,

09:51said his aim in his year was to make his late mother, his family and his county proud.

09:57I will try to live up to his ambitions as I serve here in London.

10:02Thank you all for your support.

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