Steve Brine joins with visitors from Kenya for a sing and dance (and debate) in All Saints Church, Winchester.
It’s not every day that a group of Maasai warriors comes to a Winchester church to sing and dance.
One of their members also took part in a 'Question Time' style event with city politicians and the clergy.
It was held at All Saints' Church in Petersfield Road, Highcliffe, last night (July 22).
The warriors from Kenya are on a two-month tour of Britain. It includes two events in Hampshire, with the second one being a business workshop at Butser Hill.
Some of the warriors' engagements will involve speaking to firms as part of team-building exercises.
However, the one in Winchester was designed for the whole community. After their performance the eight Maasai warriors told the 80-strong audience about how their sense of community and culture differs from ours.
The subject of "community" was discussed with a panel, which included Lib Dem county councillor, Pam Peskett, and Prospective Winchester MP, Steve Brine.
They discussed parenting, youth justice, the work/life balance and binge drinking. Richard, one of the Maasai Warriors, told the audience that younger members of their community have to wait for permission from tribal elders before they are allowed to drink alcohol.
The Rev Paul Kennedy, who chaired the debate, said the warriors' visit came about thanks to a friend, Anthony Willoughby. Mr Kennedy said: "The aim of the evening at the church was to invite the community to reflect on what it means to be part of a community, and how ours compares with that of the Maasai warriors."
Steve Brine added; “It was fascinating and definitely one of the more unusual evening’s I have had so far doing this job. Our cultures are clearly very different but there is so much we can learn from their way of life. I though the discussion about drinking culture was especially interesting and sparked much thoughts among those of us present.”
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