Shropshire businessman Robert Bland taking over as county's High Sheriff
Shropshire's new High Sheriff takes office this week ushering in another year of service to the county. Shirley Tart talks to the new man about his hopes for the next 12 months and looks back at the outgoing Sheriff's eventful year.
Incoming - Robert Bland:
Businessman, country lover and county devotee Robert Bland officially takes over as Shropshire's High Sheriff this coming Saturday.
His installation will be at St Peter's parish church in Cound and his chaplain for the year will be team vicar, the Rev Judy Davies.
And so another chapter begins in Shropshire's long and proud history of the High Sheriff story.
Chatting to Robert and wife Tricia in their comfortable farmhouse kitchen with its lifetime of memories, along with Tarka their dog and a merry cockatiel, was a very nice way to spend an afternoon.
The tea appears, the cake is cut, then it's notebook-and-pen time to find out a little more about Robert John Bowring Bland, born in Shrewsbury in 1951, and in 2014 is now joining the formidable list of Shropshire's High Sheriffs.
He says: "Tricia and I are going to do this as a pair.
"My particular passion is going to be helping young people and focussing on small businesses.
"I think there is a unique opportunity in the current climate for young people without jobs to be able to start their own small business.
"These days, you can do so much if you simply have a computer to research and work from and I would love to see more young people really trying to do this."
From 1973 when he came home after school, university and a year in the USA, Robert has been part of the Oakley's Group of Companies.
He became managing director in 1978 and chairman in 1987.
Today, there are two separate businesses, Oakley's Fuel Oils Ltd in Telford and Tamworth and Oakley's Ltd which is based at Cressage.
He is keen to also promote the future – the company's pioneering Midland Wood Fuel based at Redhill in Telford.
Robert, also a former chairman of The Prince's Trust in Shropshire, says: "It's a growing business and increasingly people know me through that."
The couple's sons Ross, Alexander and Sebastian have also found their own way in the world on rather different pathways.
Alex has just rowed the Atlantic with friend Harry Martin-Dreyer in support of leukaemia and juvenile type 1 diabetes charities.
Harry's mother was treated by Cure Leukaemia before she sadly died last year and Alex's elder brother Ross has type 1 diabetes.
Ross has also spectacularly supported that cause himself. Tricia says: "Five years ago, he went over the Andes on a bicycle – to prove that he could do it."
The youngest Bland brother Sebastian is design director for a fashion and travel magazine called Suitcase.
Now, their father, ably supported by mum, steps into the local limelight for a year in which he hopes to make a difference in county and communities.
Outgoing - Diana Flint:
Diana Flint took over the role of High Sheriff determined to support and encourage volunteering and she has done that with considerable style and care.
Indeed the Anglican Bishop of Shrewsbury, Right Reverend Mark Rylands, said publicly that her work in the community had been "a servant ministry".
We were also delighted to welcome her to the Shropshire Star recently when she was pushed the button to start the presses.
Her High Sheriff's activities have included learning about a wide breadth of business, activities and charities throughout the county.
But Diana's main focus has been on supporting legal life in Shropshire – though since her husband Charles is a prominent barrister, maybe she did have something of a head start!
She says: "This year as High Sheriff of Shropshire has been a revelation to me as I have come into contact with so many interesting people, organisations and events. It has been a fascinating insight yet a very humbling experience too.
"In supporting the volunteering sector, I have met wonderful people who give generously of their time to help others. There has been a huge variety from those who work in areas of patient care, young people, schools, the elderly, with offenders, museum volunteers and so the list goes on.
"As the Queen's representative for Law and Order, I have been privileged to see from the inside the work of judges, magistrates, prison staff and the probation service.
"Like the probation work carried out at Willowdene Care Farm, near Bridgnorth, where offenders learn agricultural skills. The similar nature of work carried out at the only prison left in Shropshire, HMP Stoke Heath where prisoners work and study to achieve qualifications was also inspirational."
Last autumn the High Sheriff welcomed the Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees of Ludlow, to give a lecture at the Enginuity museum complex in Telford.
And it was appropriate that her final major evening earlier this week paid tribute to so many of the county's young people at the High Sheriff's Young Citizen awards.
The previous week, Diana had hosted the traditional annual Legal service, one of the highlights of a Sheriff's year.
Husband Charles joined High Court judges, Lord Justice of Appeal, the Bishops of Shrewsbury and Ludlow and others who were part of the processions, as well as four visiting High Sheriffs.
The other special moment for Diana was that the service was at Ellesmere College where she had been the first female student.
A final word from the outgoing Sheriff: "I hope to have gone a small way towards meeting the challenge made by the last Bishop of Liverpool that the task of a High Sheriff is to identify what is good in a county and to shine a light upon it."
The High Sheriff what does the role involve?
The Office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment, and each representative serves for one year
The origins date back to Saxon times, when the Shire Reeve was responsible to the king for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown
Today, there are 55 High Sheriffs serving the counties of England and Wales
While the duties of the role have evolved over time, supporting the Crown and the judiciary remain central elements of the role today
In addition, High Sheriffs actively lend support and encouragement to crime prevention agencies, the emergency services and to the voluntary sector
Many High Sheriffs also assist Community Foundations and local charities working with vulnerable and other people both in endorsing and helping to raise the profile of their valuable work
High Sheriffs receive no payment, and no part of the expense of a High Sheriffs year falls on the public purse
The main formal duties of High Sheriffs today include attendance at royal visits in the county and support for High Court Judges
Many High Sheriffs give their own personal awards to individuals, often unsung heroes within small voluntary groups, who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities or neighbourhoods in some way
As the Office is independent and non-political, High Sheriffs are able to bring together a wide range of people with the community they serve
