As part of our Windrush Celebrations this Year, Winterbourne Junior Girls’ School hosted a fantastic day of celebration for special invited guests including Councillor Alisa Flemming; the Civic Mayor of Croydon.
The amazing event today was put together to pay special homage to some veterans of the Windrush era, including Ms Cashita Charles who came from Antigua as a teenager. She settled in Leicester where she started a career in textiles. She later joined the NHS and became a midwife and served the nations mothers to be in this role for over 40 years. The honoured guests were organised by Charlene Charles of “Pamper Indulge and Give” and daughter of Ms Cashita Charles.
The Dinner:
We also welcomed back Gilbert Clarke who came to the UK in 1943. When he arrived he joined the RAF where he gallantly served the United Kingdom through WW2. Young Gilbert came to the UK from Jamaica because he always dreamt of seeing the world.
We started the celebrations with a wonderful Caribbean lunch of Jerk Chicken, rice and a selection of vegetables. The guests sat together with our Head Girls. The dinner gallery can be seen below.
The Mayor Arrival:
At around 1:30pm the Mayor arrived accompanied by her consult Wayne Trakas-Lawlor. Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor was elected to represent the South Norwood ward in 2010 and, in addition to serving on several council committees, has served as deputy shadow cabinet member for culture, libraries and sport, and as deputy cabinet member for economic development, working closely with communities to develop the borough’s district centres.
The current Civic Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Alisa Flemming is a proud Croydonian who was born and raised in the area, Councillor Flemming worked in national government for over 12 years supporting two members of Parliament including one in their role as cabinet minister across various portfolio areas.
The Steel Band Performance:
As the Mayor and other guests settled outside the hall, they were greeted with some amazing music performed live by our gifted and talented steel band. The girls did an amazing job as always and all of our guests thoroughly enjoyed the music.
The main Performance:
We then joined the rest of the school and took our seats in the hall for the main performance, which consisted of historical dramatic performances of people arriving in the UK back in the Windrush era, some fantastic dance performances and much more. It was a truly triumphant show.
