Lord Mayors Charity Event

Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery (FoSOC) were honoured , on the evening of 28 March , to host a charitable event for the Lord Mayor, Cllr Valerie Laurent in the Non-Conformist Chapel in the Old Southampton Cemetery.

Inge Foster from Southampton Tourist Guides Association (SGA) did the honours by introducing the Lord Mayor & speaker for the night. STGA were co-helping the Lord Mayor’s charities.

This was the first time such an event was held in the Non-Conformist Chapel, and we shall be looking at having more. Geoff Watts (FoSOC Committee & a Founder member of the group) was the speaker for the event. He spoke of only a few of the many Mayors who are buried in the Old Cemetery & how each Mayor contributed to the history of Southampton.

The Lord Mayor thanked Geoff for his talk & she was amazed by what she heard.

After the slide show/talk there were refreshments laid on – cakes from the Lord Mayor, biscuits & refreshment from the host FoSOC.

The event was a great success & enjoyed by all who came & they did so even with the wind & rain!

If you missed the talk or would be interested in other talks we may arrange in the Non-Conformist chapel this summer, please keep an eye on this Facebook and our website. Capacity in the chapel has to be subject to a limit so we would have a booking system, talks being offered free and a donation to FoSOC, if possible, would be appreciated to help with our very important work in the Old Cemetery for the benefit of all who visit it. If you would be interested in one of us coming to your group to give a talk please do enquire through our e-mail address.  

Geoff wishes to thank the Lord Mayor for her very kind remarks, Inge for arranging the event and Val for all her organisation of the evening and for much appreciated technical assistance.

Text Geoff Watts Photos Val Ferguson