A DAY TO REMEMBER – IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE! October 20th was the day that Peter Kelly received his British Empire Medal (BEM), awarded in recognition of his tireless work in and around St Andrew’s churchyard. The investiture took place in County Hall, Chelmsford with the presentation being made by The Lord-Lieutenant of Essex, Mrs. Jennifer Tolhurst. However, that wasn’t the only event which made the day so memorable! You may recall that Monday 20th was the day it decided to rain very heavily after weeks of drought; so heavily in fact that it flooded the restaurant in Leigh where we were having a pre-investiture lunch and Peter found himself with a wet suit jacket having left it on the back of his chair! Undeterred, we set off in the rain at about 3.30pm heading north on the A130 for a 6.00pm start to the proceedings – OK at first but things got slower and slower as we found ourselves in horrible traffic jam apparently caused by a serious crash on the A12. 18 We crawled on to Chelmsford but the traffic there was as bad if not worse! Finally, we made it and were actually the first group to arrive – you see everyone else had the same problem and even The Lord-Lieutenant was yet to arrive! The presentation had to be delayed and Sue Kelly was to be heard drying Pete’s jacket in the ladies’ toilet! Proceedings finally got underway in the very ornate and prestigious council chamber and all was well, culminating in the singing of the National Anthem. We congratulate Peter on behalf of the Parish for his achievement on a day most definitely to remember! Geoff Price PCC Secretary 19
South Shoebury: St Andrew with St Peter
