(In photo: Kieran with Kristin Syltevik owner of Oxney Organic Vineyard in Beckley)
On Tuesday morning, I was due to attend the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast with local pastor, Ed Jones, from Battle Baptist Church. Sadly, the summer cold that seems to be doing the rounds caught up with me and I didn’t think it sensible to attend and help spread it further! But I am grateful that Ed was there to represent the constituency.
Each year, the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast event brings together over 700 MPs, Peers and church leaders gather in the Houses of Parliament to pray for Parliament, government and politics, to build relationships between church leaders and their local MPs. It is organised by Christians in Parliament, an All Party Parliamentary Group.
MPs who attend this event do not have to be Christian or have any faith at all. Whilst I fall into the latter category as I do not have a faith and consider myself to be a humanist, I believe this event is a great opportunity for parliamentarians to spend time with church leaders to talk about issues of local and national importance. Faith groups of all denominations play a very important role in our communities. As well as providing a place for worship and practising a faith, they are also integrated into and support community life.
Locally, there are Christian groups which provide a myriad of activities in their local communities including cafes, community pantries and foodbanks, debt advice, toddler groups, preschools, homelessness support groups, activity clubs and sports clubs. Our communities are richer for the range of activities and services which have been started by faith groups of all denominations. I have seen this first hand on constituency visits and I’ve heard directly from those whose lives have been greatly improved as a result of joining these groups, activities or services.
In Parliament, we still start each session with Prayers which follow the Christian faith. It is a custom thought to have started in 1558 and is still retained today. MPs stand for prayers facing the wall behind them. It is thought this practice developed due to the difficulty Members would historically have faced of kneeling to pray while wearing a sword. Thankfully, swords are not allowed in Parliament today and attendance at Prayers is voluntary! I find the words of the prayers meaningful. The Lords Prayer has messages of universal relevance.
Another event going on this week is English Wine Week. Sussex is an important area for the English Wine Industry. Boutique and large vineyards in this region have built a reputation for world-class wine production and play an ever-increasing role in our local economy. Sadly, being in Parliament, I could not attend the launch of the ‘Rother Wine Triangle’ which is being held to coincide with English Wine Week but I would urge anyone with an interest in wine, beautiful landscapes or walking to explore this new local wine tourism initiative. The Rother Wine Triangle is the first initiative of Sussex Winelands and marks the launch of a new series of wine trails across the region.
The vineyards and wineries in the Rother Wine Triangle include including Oxney Organic, Sedlescombe Organic, Carr Taylor, Mountfield and Oastbrook in the Bexhill and Battle Constituency. Each vineyard proudly displays a map of the Rother Wine Triangle Vineyards and the logo for Sussex Winelands.
Sussex has over 140 vineyards, the largest concentration of vineyards in the whole of the country which currently contributes £25m per annum to the local economy and has an ambition to grow to £283 million by 2040.
I’m pleased to have had the chance to visit many of the vineyards in the constituency to understand more about this growing sector. I’ve learnt that Sussex is successful for winegrowing as it has the same chalky soil as found in the Champagne region in France, an average of 1400 hours of sunshine and a long, steady growing season. Sussex Sparkling has even won blind taste tests over Champagne and Sussex Wine has achieved Protection of Designated Origin (PDO).
We’ve had some great weather over the last couple of weeks, a little too hot for some. However, it does give us the opportunity to enjoy all that our beautiful countryside and coastline has to offer. From long days on the beach to vineyard tours and visits to sites of historical importance. I am looking forward to spending more time enjoying all that the area has to offer over the summer recess as well as meeting residents, businesses and local organisations which play such an important role in our lives and the local economy.
