ST Lawrence parishioners officially thanked their former Constable, Geoffrey Fisher, for his six years of service in that office with a presentation at the parish hall.

The evening, which was attended by about 100 members of the community, took on a Scottish flavour with the former Constable and his Scots-born wife, Elizabeth, entering the parish hall to the sound of the bagpipes.

Although it was a total surprise to Mr Fisher, his wife either had an inkling or demonstrated great prescience in her dress sense by wearing a tartan suit for the occasion.

Members of the St Lawrence Amateur Dramatic Society and others kept the musical theme going with specially adapted versions of popular tunes.

Their songs included Father of the Parish to the tune of Master of the House, from the musical Les Misérables, and There’s Always a Boat in the Morning, to note Mr Fisher’s love of his own boat.

He also received a number of gifts. In thanking the parish for the evening, Mr Fisher said that the sense of community spirit in St Lawrence was strong.

‘That is what we set out to achieve when I came into the job and it seems to have been somewhat successful,’ he said.

‘I was talking to some friends last week who attended a community event and they said that they would love to be able to move to St Lawrence because of the strong sense of community here.’
The former Constable thanked many of the people he had served with for their assistance during his time in office.

The 64-year-old former bank manager now intends to spend as much time as possible using his boat.
‘I am getting it ready to go and I have to get myself ready, too, because sailing is a physical sport,’ he said.

He also intends to travelling in his retirement and said that travel vouchers presented by the parish would enable him and his wife to take a holiday.

• Picture: Mr Fisher (above) says that the sense of community in the parish is very strong