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Saturday, 28 November, 2009
 | REBECCA HARRIS |
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 “Last night some of our young members and I joined members of Benfleet Rotary by accompanying the popular Santa’s sleigh on a Christmas tour of the Town collecting money for charities.
As the parent of a very excited 3 Year old I can appreciate the complete pandemonium in the house when the Rotary Club’s sleigh arrives in your road. As well as bringing a lot of joy to local children, all of the money raised makes a real difference to the various groups supported by Rotary.” |
Wednesday, 25 November, 2009
 | REBECCA HARRIS |
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Last night I has the daunting privilege of being a judge. I was invited to Cornelius Vermuyden school to be one of an X Factor-style panel, judging a public speaking competition for primary school pupils on the Island .
I was blown away by the high standard of contributions from the children who had had to write their own short speech and deliver it to a large audience with clarity and personality. It was almost impossible to judge.
The topics covered were really varied. Charlie Cole gave a funny and moving account of the death of his pet lizard! Liam Radley from Leigh Beck was a natural performer and I wouldn't be surprised to see him doing stand-up or starring in a sitcom one day. Jack Duffield also from Leigh Beck gave a great speech about his love of books. Louise Goddard from Lubbins Park was also formidable. I could go on as there were so many superb and memorable speeches.
Eventually, the panel decided to award first prize to a Micaela Tapsell from St Joseph's, who talked passionately and persuasively about the destruction of her home country, Zimbabwe, by Robert Mugabe.
It was a really inspiring evening, and all those who contributed, their teachers, Speakers Bank the great organisation which ran the competition and school authorities who helped organise it should be very pleased.
Saturday, 21 November, 2009
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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"I felt a little guilty leaving my husband looking after our son on Saturday morning. Normally, on Saturdays I join my team out canvassing or have a meeting in the Borough or arrange to see someone who has contacted me to raise a concern. However, I don't generally leave before breakfast.
On this occasion, however, I had the treat of a spectacular Full English Breakfast at St Nicholas' on Canvey. The Church holds regular monthly breakfasts for women and another for the men on a different Saturday. It is just a very nice relaxed and informal occasion - this week there were thirty or so women from teenagers to those in the 80's - and no evidence of anyone worrying about calories!
Afterwards we had a sneak, private preview of the Girls Brigade fundraiser that was set up in the church hall for later. St Nicholas' has always had a welcoming, warm atmosphere. It's value to our community goes far wider than purely as a place of worship. Their Christmas Celebratory Breakfast on December 5th is for both sexes and it's so popular that they are having to take bookings"
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Tuesday, 17 November, 2009
| ADRIAN ROPER - ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT |
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This letter was featured in this evening's Echo newspaper.
Dear Sir,
Les Harrington (Echo, 6th November) is entirely wrong to attribute the selection of Rebecca Harris as the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Castle Point to “political correctness”.
One hundred and twenty-seven men and women applied to be the Party’s candidate in Castle Point. The selection process was described by some of those who went through it as one of the most thorough in the country. All candidates were interviewed by senior local activists, the local party members and a panel of local people from outside of the Party. At the end of the process, which lasted three days, Rebecca was selected for one reason and one reason alone – she was the best candidate.
I have worked closely with Rebecca over the last 16 months and have only become more convinced that the local Conservative members chose wisely.
Rebecca Harris will make an excellent, hard working and committed MP for the people of Castle Point.
Yours faithfully
Adrian Roper
President
Castle Point Conservatives
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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"Over the last few months, I've spent quite a lot of time visiting organisations whose functions and operations are extremely important to the Borough and our community in Castle Point.
Last week, I was invited by the Port of London Authority for a tour in one of their launches around Canvey. We were incredibly lucky with the weather after three days of torrential rain and high winds, including the Benfleet tornado. The sky was blue it was sunny and calm.
Starting from the PLA jetty next to Coast Watch at Holehaven Creek, we went right round the Island, up Benfleet Creek towards Pitsea where the barges were bringing landfill from the crossrail digging and back to Holehaven again. We took a short detour into Smallgains Creek where the fear is that silting up, especially as a result of Thames dredging elsewhere may become a major problem.
The tide was well up near Benfleet, and I wondered whether we were going to get under the road bridge at one point. My hosts mentioned the problems caused by uninsured jet skiers and the danger they can pose to other water users especially in the summer in places like Thorney Bay. Apparently, jet skiers who join an organised club are much more responsible.
I raised the concern about a new Thames Crossing idea that has been proposed for Canvey. The PLA could foresee problems from a barrier because of the importance of the shipping lane. We also touched on the current and possible future uses of the Calor and Oikos sites.
The PLA's authority extends right up the Estuary, and the waters among or near us in Castle Point are a small part of their responsibility. We should not underestimate the importance of
Commercial shipping along this busy waterway, and it significance the local, regional and national economy. It is an important body"
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Monday, 16 November, 2009
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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 Today, I attended a short but moving Armistice service led by the Reverend David Tudor in the Knightswick Centre on Canvey.
My family and I have attended several Remembrance events in Castle Point over the last week. Last weekend I went to the Salvation Army's Festival of Remembrance at the Hadleigh Temple. On Sunday I had the honour of putting down a wreath at the War memorial in Benfleet. My husband took our son to watch the wreath laying and parade on Canvey.
I have signed up to support the Royal British Legion's "do your bit" campaign. Like so many people who want to "do their bit" to support our forces and remember the fallen, it can never feel enough.
Across the UK this year, the spotlight has inevitably been on Afghanistan. A lot of people are reflecting on the human cost of this war, with the almost unwatchable scenes at Wootten Bassett yesterday, and on previous days. However, it is shocking to also reflect that there has only been a single year since the end of WW2 in which a British soldier has not be lost in conflict somewhere around the world.
This year, of course, there are no WW1 veterans at the Cenotaph. This underlines the importance of remembering previous wars and the fallen, as the veterans of these conflicts grow older and less mobile. We can be proud of our community in Castle Point, that there were so many people, especially children and young people wearing poppies, or collecting for the British Legion, or doing mad charity feats for Help for Heroes.
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Thursday, 12 November, 2009
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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 This morning I was invited to visit the Coastwatch station at Holehaven on Canvey.
The Coastwatch stations around the country perform a really valuable function, despite the fact that the organisation which runs them, the National Coastwatch Institution, is a charity and its stations are all manned by volunteers.
When many of the original coastguard lookouts were shut down over a decade ago to save money, people felt that there was still a role for the visual look-out. Volunteers came forward, and the first stations were established. The charity has gone from strength to strength. The station at Holehaven Creek has been running for 10 years now.
I was impressed by the knowledge and dedication of the team I met on Canvey. And it is amazing that they can keep the station fully manned during daylight hours entirely by local volunteers. Mind you, watching the view and all the river activity is quite an enjoyable was of passing a few hours.
The area they are surveying is, of course, a really important stretch of water, with all the industrial and other shipping on this part of the Estuary. And the list of incidents which the station, and others across the country, have helped resolve is testament to the
importance of the work they do.
However, I think there is another less tangible benefit from the work the Canvey station does, which is deterring irresponsible or criminal behaviour around out coast because people know someone is paying attention.
Having visited, I can well see the benefits to the local community of the operation being moved East around the sea-wall to give better sight-lines of the beach. I will do whatever I can in future to help make that happen.
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Monday, 02 November, 2009
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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 I was very honoured on Saturday to be invited by the Lowther family to attend a presentation for their son Aaron at the Island Yacht Club. I brought my husband and son along with me.
For the second year running, Aaron has won the national youth championship for RIB Powerboat racing. It is evident that Aaron is not only has an exceptional talent, he has also worked incredibly hard for his achievement. RIB racing requires great discipline and precision. I learnt that Canvey, and the Estuary more generally, is not the easiest place to train for this sort of racing, involving lots of early mornings to manage the challenge posed by the tide and all the cleaning to keep the boats workable.
There was a great atmosphere at the club. His family are justifiably proud of his achievement, as is the rest of the club, and the young cadets, who were there in force. I thought Ray Howard summed it up just right when he said how proud Canvey as a whole was of what Aaron had achieved. Indeed, more than 80 islanders had travelled to Southampton to support Aaron when he won.
By winning the championship, Aaron has won another RIB powerboat for the club. Penny from St.Nicholas' blessed the boat before its launch. And there was a RIB challenge race for some of the members and the cadets. I was given a ride, at high speed, out into the Estuary, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
We've been reading in the press this week lots of depressing stories about the bad behaviour of young people. I'm really glad that there's also been good coverage of Aaron's brilliant achievement. But Aaron himself said that he couldn't have achieved what he'd done without the support of the club and his family.
The club itself is really positive towards young people, and my impression is that this attitude is reflected in the behaviour of the youngsters who were there. The children there immediately took my three year old off to join in their games. The children had perfect manners.
It was a great morning. Thank you to Rhonda, the rest of the Lowther family and the Club officials and members who gave my family such a warm welcome. |
Sunday, 01 November, 2009
| REBECCA HARRIS |
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On Saturday night, I was kindly invited by the Salvation Army to be a guest at their Annual Festival of Remembrance at the Hadleigh Temple.
It was brilliantly organised evening, with some wonderful and inspiring music both from the Hadleigh Temple Band and also the Royal Naval HMS Nelson Volunteer Band, which had come up from Portsmouth. I also loved the singing of the Dedicated Divas, plus the Temple songsters and the timbrel players.
It was a remarkable mix of remembrance and contemplation, nostalgia, a celebration of some high quality band playing, an insight into the contribution the Salvation Army makes to the support of our forces, and a wider reflection on what is going on at the moment in Afghanistan and other theatres.
I've written before on the current situation in Afghanistan. The death toll is appalling and tragic. But we also need to consider all the young men who were returning with what is euphemistically called "life-changing injuries", caused by the roadside improvised explosive devices that are proving so difficult for our forces to deal with.
Nor must we forget those who return with psychological wounds and terrible memories which are so difficult to come to terms with. The Salvation Army and its volunteers have done amazing work over the years supporting veterans struggling with some of the problems which affect our troops after conflict, including the shocking number who find themselves homeless.
Thank you to all at the Hadleigh Temple for such an enjoyable and thought-provoking evening.
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