Lord Lieutenant, Your Honour, Ladies and Gentleman

It has become the practice of newly declared High Sheriffs to say something about their year in office and, without detaining you long, I shall follow suit.

To begin with I would like to explain why I decided to make my declaration in this fine building. It was not because the size of the court has become inadequate to accommodate the number of people, increasing by at least one a year, though that is indeed a good reason for finding a new venue, but for a more personal reason. The last time I made a solemn promise before a large number of people was in church at my wedding. Forty years on I can say that that turned out all right so I have chosen to make my Declaration in church too, appropriately enough with the Judiciary Coat of Arms of Queen Victoria above us, and in Holy Week.

After Her Majesty was good enough to prick my name on the Roll, the Warrant was sent to me in the usual way by post. Unfortunately the postman delivered it when our ten month old labrador was at home alone. She unwrapped the Boden catalogue first, obviously, and then set about the envelope containing the Royal Warrant. Fortunately she did no worse than to bruise the bottom of that splendid document, but I did have to ring the Privy Council Clerk's office to ask for another copy of the Declaration so that we could have one without a hole in it. Not a good start, especially when the Warrant requires me to take the Custody and Charge of the Isle of Wight and duly to perform the duties of High Sheriff thereof according to Her Majesty's Pleasure, whereof I am duly to answer according to law.

Turning to the law, I seem to have spent most of the past 40 years involved, largely on a voluntary basis, with the Criminal Justice System, beginning with a now discontinued part of the parole system, the Local Review Committees at Camp Hill and Parkhurst prisons, then the Board of Visitors (now known as the Independent Monitoring Board) at Parkhurst, followed by the Parole Board and for a long time membership of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Probation Committee, later to become the Board. With this experience I looked first at the Criminal Justice System when considering what to do during my year, after all, this is where Sheriffs have their roots. However, after so many years of considering criminals after they had embarked on their criminal paths, I realised that I wanted to look at ways of preventing children and young people going anywhere near offending. To that end I have already consulted a variety of people all of whom have been encouraging and enthusiastic about this approach. As a non-executive and someone in office for only a year I do not fool myself that I can move mountains, but what I can hope to do is to draw attention to the very good and imaginative work already being done by both statutory and voluntary agencies and to help them in their aims to develop new initiatives. This then is the area of work that I shall be concentrating on.

At the same time I am hugely looking forward to the wide variety of events and activities that former High Sheriffs know to be such fun and so rewarding. I anticipate learning a great deal about what people on the Island get up to, particularly when they are endeavouring to improve life in some way for others, as so many do. People are very kind in their encouragement to Sheriffs in nomination and one in particular has even sent a present. Major General Ephraums, a friend of Anne Springman, has given the Island Shrievalty a very splendid boat cloak. One size fits all so each of us in our turn can wear this wonderful garment with thoughts of gratitude winging their way to our benefactor.

My predecessor's act will be a hard one to follow, particularly in what feels like Austerity Year, but I know I have the good will of many people and will do my very best during my year in office.

I now have pleasure in wishing John Matthews a very happy birthday and appointing him as my Under Sheriff.