From Our MP, Steve Brine We have, in recent weeks, announced details of almost three thousand organisations being offered grants and loans to help the culture and heritage sector reopen Steve at the Railway Inn, Winchester and recover from Covid. As a member of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport of science centres in educating Select Committee, I have taken a very school children in STEM subjects. close interest in the Culture Recovery We are fortunate to have Winchester Fund (worth some £1.57 billion of Science Centre locally which has been public money) but as our constituency focussing on education 5-12 year olds MP, I’ve watched it like a hawk! since 1986, giving almost 4000 children Last month, in tranche two of the the opportunity to have informal science fund, some £1.8m in further grants were activities in the past year. Winchester awarded to our area including Winchester Science Centre plans to reopen on Cathedral, Theatre Royal, Integr8 Dance, Saturday 22nd May and I hope their Mid Hants Watercress Line Railway, main customer base – organised schools Unit 12 in Winnall and the very special trips – will flock back trusting they can Railway Inn down in Winchester. do so safely. The science saviour of the Working with the Live Music Trust I have next pandemic may just be among them. taken special interest in this one because You can watch back my roadmap speech these grassroots music venues are the very at www.stevebrine.com/roadmapintolaw heart of our world-beating music industry. and STEM education remarks here I realise for some it may sound trivial www.stevebrine.com/sciencecentres to spend such vast sums of money on Finally, if you need a lift in difficult theatres and ‘fun’ but we have taken the times, here’s a story of hope over fear and view from the start that we must have a the power of prayer. During Lockdown strong society to return to post-pandemic. 2.0, some very good friends of Susie and And, of course, tens of thousands of I suffered a hammer blow. Andy suffered freelancers rely on the creative industries an agricultural accident at work which for a living so it matters and I am left him clinging to life. His injuries were proud we’ve stood with the sector. so severe we prepared for the worse. Secondly, and as well as speaking in His wife Helen, and their friends at the key vote to put the ‘roadmap’ out of Hope Church, formed a prayer circle and Covid into law, I have been speaking in what happened next was truly remarkable. Parliament recently about the importance Watch their amazing 7-minute 14
The Dever - May 2021
