An afternoon with Ann Widdecombe

PICTURED: (from left to right) Julia Cook, Sally Lowe (Solicitor - Milford & Dormor), William Bennett (Practice Manager & Consultant - Milford & Dormor), Domenica Fazio (Partner - Milford & Dormor), Ann Widdecombe, Emma Webb (Partner - Milford & Dormor) , Matthew Clarke (Milford & Dormor Financial Planning)

It was lovely to see so many faces at our annual Afternoon Tea event at The Shrubbery in Ilminster this week.

The event was attended by representatives from the local village, agents, carers, clients and of course Ann Widdecombe herself.

In showing the Firm's support for the work of the Charity Silver Line, Julia Cook, a community engagement volunteer, was invited to speak at the event and gave a moving account of Silver Line's work.

The Silver Line objectives fit perfectly with the ethos of the Firm where offering a personal service to address the immediate needs of individuals is always a priority.

The event was lead by Sally Lowe at our Ilminster office who was recently accredited with the older client law in practice award by the National Organisation Solicitors for the Elderly ('SFE'), SFE is a community of trusted highly qualified professional advisors who have additional skills to help them work with older and vulnerable clients. There are now four accredited SFE solicitors across our offices; Domenica Fazio (Chard), William Bennett (Chard), Nicola Edwards (Axminster) and Sally in Ilminster.

The guest speaker and highlight of the afternoon was of course former Conservative MP and Givernment Minister, Rt Hon Anne Widdecome. Ms Widdecombe proved to be an entertaining, interesting and informative speaker. We were confident that Ms Widdecombe would offer a great insight into her life both in and out of Westminster and she certainly did not disappoint.

In addition to entertaining our guests (and staff) with anecdotes from life in Parliament and her various TV appearances Ms Widdecombe rounded off the event with an impromptu question and answer session and signed her books to raise funds for the Silver Line Charity.

On behalf of everyone at the Firm we would like to thank all those who attended this year's event. How will we top it next year?

Special thanks to our Sally Lowe for organising the event and to Ms Widdecombe, Julia Cook and all guest speakers and attendees.