| Students from St Elizabeth's to join Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant |
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Posted: Thursday, May 24, 2012 10:17 pm
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l-r: volunteer Roger Badger, St Elizabeth’s student Umut Ozturk
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Students from St Elizabeth's College in Hertfordshire will be joining Queen Elizabeth's flotilla in their canal boat Red Watch, run by Harlow’s Canal Boat Project.
St Elizabeth's is the only national college for students with epilepsy. The Canal Boat Project was founded in 1989 to provide specially adapted boats on the River Stort for people with disabilities. They now have a fleet of four boats that are used all year round. The Project has been awarded one of only 40 places for canal boats in the Pageant on Tuesday, 3 June.
In 2007, a close liaison was formed with St Elizabeth’s College whose learners now look after the grounds surrounding the moorings including the manufacture and decoration of many planters to bring a splash of colour to the area.
The Canal Boat charity also enjoys the support of over 100 of its own volunteers who undertake training to qualify as skipper and crew for the day trips. They also undertake the maintenance and repair of the fleet.
From their base in Harlow volunteers are used to cruising the picturesque rivers Stort and Lee. Very rarely do they venture onto the Thames so the news that their boat Red Watch was to be part of the pageant created great excitement.
1,000 boats will gather on the Thames and accompany The Queen on her procession to mark her Diamond Jubilee. Preparations are well underway to ensure Red Watch, her crew and passengers play a full and successful part on the day.
The numbers on each boat in the pageant are strictly limited by the organisers so the trips to and from London are being used to ensure that as many volunteers and residents as possible can be included and share in the experience.
Canal Boat Chairman Geoff Hill said: “We are very pleased that our colleagues at St Elizabeth’s are sharing this event. It is fitting recognition of the work achieved by both charities”. James Connolly, St Elizabeth’s CEO said “this is a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved, and is a shining example of partnership working at its best. My thanks also go to the Boshier Hinton Foundation for their support with the costs of this event.”
St Elizabeth's was started by The Daughters of the Cross of Liège in 1903. For further information see: http://www.stelizabeths.org.uk/
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