Last weekend saw the vibrant Vaisakhi celebrations in Southampton, with the flag raising ceremony at the Civic Centre which I attended, lunch at the Gurdwara and then the procession through the City. Vaisakhi originally was a celebration marking the start of the Spring harvest in the Punjab region, but it took on religious significance in 1699. It was then the 10th Sikh Guru-prophet founded a formal order dedicated to defending the Sikh community, known as the Khalsa Panth.
Southampton has an active Council of Faiths, and I can sometimes be heard to say that we are lucky to have such a tolerant inter faith community in the City. In fact it is not down to luck, but to the hard work and commitment of a small number of faith leaders in the City who permanently work to foster greater understanding. They could be seen very much in evidence last weekend, joining the Sikh community as a mark of respect.
This coming weekend the Guiding and Scouting community locally will have their annual St George's Day celebration. That is an opportunity to celebrate England's own patron Saint, and it is great to see the young people proudly wearing their respective uniforms and reaffirming their promise. I was challenged during Parliament week to recite the Brownie promise, which I was very smug about having achieved word perfectly. Or so I thought. It is however 4 decades since I left the Brownies and the promise has been updated since. Not least because I managed to include, "and serve the Queen". My justification being I had been asked if I remember my promise, and of course those were the words I would have used.
The Brownies were also my inspiration for my vote on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on Tuesday of this week. When the PM announced his intention to bring in a ban, which means that anyone born in or after 2009 will never be able to buy tobacco, I was scheduled to visit the Nursling and Rownhams Brownies that evening. So I asked them what they thought. Their words were ringing in my ears on Tuesday when I voted, and it is that generation we are doing this for. As many have said over the course of the last few days, you will never find a smoker who wishes their children or grandchildren would take up the habit.
