Councillor's special presentation to Prince Philip -
16/11/06
The Vale of Glamorgan has been represented at a special event
to mark the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Duke of
Edinburgh's Award scheme.
Among 800 delegates comprising participants, helpers and
organisers from around the globe who attended the biennial General
Council in Edinburgh were Vale councillor Tony Hampton, Cabinet
Member for Education and Training, and Award Officer in the Vale
Dave Golding.
The two-day event included seminars, one of which was led by
news reader Martyn Lewis, a Young People's Showcase, Royal
contributions from Prince Philip and Prince Edward, the Earl of
Wessex, and a session which covered the five decades of the award
and culminated in an entertaining speech from explorer David
Hempleman-Adams.
The award provides youngsters from 14 to 25 with a challenging
and rewarding personal development programme, and Cllr Hampton
said: "The award offers young people the chance to try new things,
to learn more about themselves and to work together for themselves
and their community."
The 50th anniversary has been marked by a series of special
events across the country, one of which was a "Plant a Tree" event
in conjunction with the Woodland Trust at Porthkerry Park in
Barry.
During lunch with Prince Philip and Prince Edward in Edinburgh,
Cllr Hampton, who had recently returned from a visit to Corfu
accompanied by his partner, Marguerita, presented the Duke with a
book about Mon Repos Palace, the birthplace of Prince Philip in
1921.
Cllr Hampton said: "The palace has been restored and modernised
into the 'Museum of Palaeopolis' and curator Georgia Mougiou
presented me with a letter for the Duke to update him on all the
recent developments.
"The last time Prince Philip visited Mon Repos was in 1951 when
it was in a poor state of repair so he was delighted to hear that
it had now become a premier tourist attraction for the island."