A huge collective pat on the back is in order after the events of Saturday and we should indulge ourselves by celebrating that success for a day or two, so long as we keep in mind that it's a milestone on the road and not journey's end. Well done Lingfield and Dormansland!
As an example of teamwork I don't think I've seen anything better. The success of the march and rally was down to the combined efforts of a lot of people who all made significant contributions.
Firstly and most importantly of all we should recognise that the people of our two villages turned out in majestic force - no apathy, no half-hearted token gesture; this was a display of wholehearted and passionate support for a cause that is close to the hearts not only of parents and children, but to an overwhelming majority of those living and working in Lingfield and Dormansland. Many people who attended spoke of the tremendous Community Spirit
and the fact that it had brought the people of our two villages closer together.
There have been different estimates as to the numbers on Saturday and I don't think anyone made a precise count, however, one of the journalists thought the turnout was close to 1,000. Among the campaign team we were sure that we exceeded 800 and could have been anywhere up to 1,000. We certainly gathered people along the route and a number of supporters joined just for the rally in the church. Anyhow, we've said between 800 and 1,000 to the press - certainly they were stunned by the turnout - one of the journalists simply said massive
.
If you had not turned out on Saturday, no matter what was involved in the organisation, then it could have fallen flat. As it was, it exceeded all expectations and sent the strongest possible message to Surrey County Council. So..................
Thank YOU for showing your support and determination by attending and by buying the t-shirts; we sold over 500 and it made a glorius picture to see that wave of orange marching down the street and filling the church to overflowing.
There were quite a few people working very hard behind the scenes to organise these events who deserve recognition. For sure I'm not aware of everyone's name and role in this because more and more people became involved as the date grew near.
Ron Gandolfo and Sarah Marlow took charge of organising the marshals throughout Saturday.....for the gathering at the school, the car parking, the march itself and then the follow-up at the church and back at the school. There were several logistical hurdles to overcome and it was important that everything was spot on. It seemed to me that the job of the marshalls and their supervisors was perfect - everything went so smoothly and we barely noticed them. The marshalls included teachers, parents and ex-pupils from our schools who worked quietly and efficiently without the chance to be at the centre of the action where most of us were and where they might like to have been......big, big round of applause for them please.
Our local police were extremely helpful and flexible and I believe their working hours were adjusted to help us out with the march so sincere thanks to all of them - I know that Sergeant Mike Simmonds and PCSO Julie Watson were present - somebody told me afterwards that a third officer had attended; if so, and I don't have the name, thank you to you too.
Thank you of course to Ron and Sarah and the school staff for allowing us access to the facilities on Saturday and making everyone welcome.
As so often with these things, you plan and plan and then you have to change and adapt on the day...our photo opportunites got ahead of themselves and merged into one but it didn't matter a bit in the end - in fact it was better the way it happened. One of the main reasons (apart from the size and enthusiasm of the throng) was down to the children's pictorial petition..................it was absolutely perfect...a beautiful piece of work by the children, which suited the setting of the reception playground...being unfurled in the round there gave great opportunites for the cameras and as so may were gathered in a half circle watching the children it became an inclusive and inspiring stage. Many congratulations to the children for a fantastic pice of work here and we must pay tribute to Sue Miller for coming up with the idea and making it happen - it really was perfect Sue, just what was need to start things off - you are a star, as are our children.
The t-shirts for the rally were organised by Debbie Marshall, Ian Miller and Alison Bruce - originally we ordered 400 and upped that by another 120, resulting in over 500 orange-clad bodies on the day. Alsion Bruce did the lion's share of organising the sales at Lingfield - not sure who did that at Dormansland but to both of you and all others who helped you well done - great job - and thank you. The placards and banners were organised by Debbie and a band of intrepid helpers at both schools (stand up and be praised if you're out there - Debbie, maybe you can acknowledge the support in this area in a separate note as you'll know who did what). Debbie also arranged costumes for our robbers (and thank you to David Pearl and your colleagues for volunteering for this stunt). The colour and visual impact of these adornments made our march look the business and on the TV images and photographs I've seen so far it all appears very professional and organised. Thank you all for the hard work that went into this presentation.
We've had continuous and prodigious output of printed material for the campaign in general and especially leading up to the march and rally on Saturday..........different people have been involved at different times. Debbie Marshall has organised and supervised most of our printed output, which has involved flyers, posters, petitions, banners etc.. and has received tremendous support from Anna Campbell (petitions), and Jacqui O'Sullivan (posters), Liz Moor (placards and posters), Simon Dawson (designs and artwork), Ruth Norman (flyers) plus others I'm sure........Ruth and Debbie please give a mention to others involved that I may have missed out.
Liz Moor organised tables in the village (thanks to all the volunteers who manned them) on Saturday morning tp publicise what was going on and get pople to sign up to consultation docs etc... and Liz was also responsible for organising the balloons for the start of our march. Thank you Liz for all your hard work.
Jill Dyer was tasked with organising the children's chanting before and during the march and did a tremendous job of that - they made a great deal of noise all the way round and in the church later...assisted of course by the whistles, which was a brilliant late addition thanks to Tony Dale - I'm not sure all the parents will thank you over the coming days Tony but on Saturday they worked a treat. We should also thank the class teachers who on Friday rehearsed the children at the schools. I think the kids really had fun and were kept busy all the time thanks to the combined efforts of Sue (pictorial petition), Jill, Tony and the Teachers (noise and entertainment).
Of course the kids made so much noise that we couldn;t hear the church bells ringing for their 8 minutes but at least the rest of the village would have heard that musical message so Stephan please thank them for their work on our behalf.
And so to Stephan whom we must thank for letting us hold the rally in the church and for being such a great Master of Ceremonies. It was wonderful to see the church brim full and still people trying to get in and the atmosphere inside was just brilliant. Stephan did a terrific job of keeping everyone motivated, introducing our keynote speaker and then sending us off with a rousing farewell.
Peter Ainsworth delivered a speech that seemed to meet with everyone's approval - telling us what we wanted to hear, and it's really important to have his support in this campaign - though I think he enjoyed himself too....a bit different from speaking in the House of Commons or at the many meetings he has to attend......he got a tremendous reception and certainly understands that we value his help and that there is very great strength of feeling among the people of Lingfield and Dormansland - it was important to show him that. Thank you Peter.
Ken Rimington (our County Councillor), the district councillors - Lisa and Brian for Lingfield and Mike for Dormansland and parish councillors all attended and expressed support for our campaign to the media which demonstrates a united front - thank you one and all.
Back at the school after the rally Jane Munday and Ruth Norman had organised two teams of helpers from Lingfield and Dormansland to deal with the consultation documents and letters to Peter Ainsworth and also the tean and coffee service - I know some of the names but not all so perahps Jane and Ruth you'd acknowlege the efforts of your teams here so we know.
A big thanks also to the Lingfield team who manned the refreshments:Alison Bruce, Jill Dyer, Ruth Hindmarch, Donna Lovering, Tracey Coleman and Kay Savvides.
Many thanks also to Jane our school cook who very kindly donated donuts and delicious home made biscuits - I don't think any of us have ever seen so many donuts disappear in such a short space of time - definitely appreciated by the children!
Thanks again also to Mel Carter and the Dormansland helpers.
David Howson not only wrote most of the letters (based on the input of the technical team) but also managed to copy and distribute large quantities of them along with others. I'm happy to tell you that after Saturday we were able to deliver 534 signed letters to Peter Ainsworth and there may be more to come as Debbie has a group of people willing to write/sign letters too. Well done David and all involved here. Several key people from Dormansland School who worked so hard towards Saturday and in the campaign so far - Louise Nash, Sarah Floyd, Lisa Felton and her team of people door-knocking, Julia Searle, Sue Alfrey, Karen O'Loughlin, Sandy Norton, Anne Robinson, Mel Carter and her PTA team helping with teas on Saturday, Stuart Tagg, Paul Halford, Graham Nash and Clive Robinson.
Claire Peverley as Treasurer and Ruth Hindmarch and others for Fund raising deserve our thanks for the fact that we hae some money in the bank and have been able to pay for printing and publicity material when we needed it -which of course we very much did on Saturday.
Hy Money who has come on board as our Campaign photographer attended throughout the events and ahs taken some great shots...we'll get them up on the web site as soon as possible and distribute to the press also. Thank you Hy.
Kevin Black who runs County Border News and has a guest spot on BBC Southern Counties radio every Friday morning has been a mine of information and advice throughout this campaign and helped a good deal with preparation for Saturday...he's also been constant in support of us from the very beginning - we've had the front page of County Border News every single week and Kevin has mentioned us on his radio slot every Friday. Although journalists our strictly impartial of course, Kevin is as close as it comes to having our own campaign jourmalist and is very helpful - please thank him when you see him and keep reading his pieces and listening to his shows.
Finally, this campaign would not be what it is if it hadn't been for its leaders Cath Hearnden in Lingfield and Ruth Norman in Dormansland. Cath and Ruth were at the fore on Saturday, presenting Peter Ainsworth with his t-shirt and being interviewed by the assembled media and it is they who have guided the activities of a diverse and very noisy campaign team and in particular have led the technical and reasearch work since the start, assisted by Jane Munday, Tony Dale, Debbie Marshall and David Howson. A special vote of sincere thanks to the huge amount of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes by Cath and Ruth and their technical team.
Paul Dalrymple
P.S. Paul wrote the copy above and doesn't credit himself, modest fellow as he is, for any of the work. Paul took on organising the march and without his hardwork, attention to detail and organisation NONE of it would have happened. Thank you Paul, from the team members and all of Lingfield and Dormansland.
Date Created: 15th January 2008 Last Updated: 17th January 2008