High Sheriff visit to the Badlands

Members, volunteers and staff at ADCA's Tuesday Day Club at Hankelow Methodist Chapel were on the best behaviour last Tuesday when Mrs Susan Sellars, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, paid a visit for afternoon tea.

Susan delighted everyone with her talk about how the role of the High Sheriff goes back a thousand years.

The Saxons established the role under Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror carried on with it as High Sheriffs were very good at maintaining law and order as well as collecting taxes for the Crown from which they kept a cut – think of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

It was Susan's first visit to our area of Cheshire which we did describe to her as the badlands which certainly needed her judicial oversight!

She did refer to Jesse James and the American Wild West and confirmed that the sheriffs there did get their name from us.

So it was appropriate that she visited the Day Club on a poetry reading day and that our own resident poet, Jesse, read out her latest poem, 'A Nightdress'.

High Sheriffs now have largely a ceremonial role and are unpaid volunteers who are nominated locally and appointed by the Queen for a one year period of office. They do have a role in hosting High Court judges who visit the County and in supporting the courts and the police.

Susan's theme for her year of office is to support and encourage volunteering and the ten ADCA volunteers who were present were thanked by her for their input to local services for older people.

Surprisingly, Susan is only the fourth female High Sheriff of Cheshire although many more are now being nominated and appointed.

She finished by describing how she had made her own uniform and cape but had borrowed her hat with ostrich feathers from a friend. Male High Sheriffs have to wear eighteenth century court dress with knee breeches and a sword!

We said we could think of one or two local male volunteers who would look good in this regalia.
All in all, a very enjoyable and well behaved day!

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