An American who came to Dorset on a university work placement in 1985, Sybil Fine King fell in love with this beautiful county. Now, as the 2022 High Sheriff of Dorset, she’s helping people using the justice and law enforcement systems to promote better social cohesion and find healing in nature

by Faith Eckersall

What is a High Sherriff and what do they do?
It’s an historic position going back more than 1,000 years to the Saxon era where the ‘Shire Reeve’ used to be responsible for things like executions, collecting taxes and administering justice. Thank goodness I don’t have to do any of that! Now, I am the Queen’s representative to the legal system in Dorset, and matters relating to law and order. We also connect to what we’d call the Blue Light services, fire, police, and the paramedic service, as well as voluntary organisations that help victims of crime, and other vulnerable people. Really, it’s a platform for someone to make things happen in these areas and I feel very humble to have been asked – I feel as if I’m in a line-up going back hundreds of years.

You’re from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – did you choose to come to Dorset, or was it a happy accident?
It was very much a happy accident. When I was at university, I knew I wanted to do my work experience abroad and the university office that arranged these things gave me a choice of England or Italy, so I chose here. I found myself working in health promotion in this beautiful county of Dorset and at the end of the placement there was a job with my name on it. Looking back, I feel I was ‘dropped’ here in the most wonderful place in the world – it’s the most unique, happy and glorious county. Dorset has the right balance; it’s calm, off the beaten track a little but not too much, there is beautiful countryside and so much to discover; little towns and villages and amazing little cafes.

Do you still discover new Dorset places?
Oh yes, only recently I was travelling round Gillingham and suddenly realised I was going past the Neal’s Yard factory, right in front of me. It’s things like this that make Dorset so unique.

You’ve worked a long time in healthcare and health promotion – have you found a big difference between healthcare here and the USA?
It is so different. It still seems so unbelievable that you can go to a GP who knows who you are and there’s no need to bring out a credit card to pay. Even more than the money, it changes the atmosphere of healthcare; it makes you feel as if you can go when you need it and they are happy to see you. It seemed incredible to me as an American and I still feel so relieved and happy when I think about the NHS being affordable to everyone.

Are there any other contrasts between our two countries that you’ve noticed?
There are so many things – even the activities, I’d say. They somehow seem less materialistic. I had never really gone for a walk in America, unless I was on holiday or something, but that’s what I do most of the time now. I think the people here have a drier sense of humour, too. Finally, I think I find England not so glossy as the USA and that makes it more interesting to me.

Can you give us a flavour of how your shrieval year will look?
When they ask you to take on the role they like you to come up with a theme and I wanted to combine the beauty of Dorset, the healing power of nature and my history in health service. I will be encouraging different partnership projects which give people opportunities to try new things in nature. There will be larger-scale projects I’ve described as Saplings and smaller-scale, community-led projects I’ve described as Seeds.

Can you give any examples?
Yes – one thing that we are working on is putting a pond in a prison and trying to introduce dog training for prisoners. People would learn to handle dogs, which involves a skill, as well as learning about positive reinforcement, trust and communication. Other projects include introducing a surfing hub for veterans, a project with Birds of Poole Harbour to do sessions for young people to learn about bird ringing and other specialist outdoor experiences, surf therapy for children in Bournemouth with disabilities and projects for young carers

Tell us something unusual about yourself!
When people invite me to events, I send them a form with questions like ‘where should I park?’, and ‘would you like me to give a speech?’. On that form I also say that I have a nice cockerpoo dog and would they like me to bring her along? I would never bring her if people didn’t want it, but it’s lovely when I can, as she’s a real ice-breaker!

Find out more about Sibyl Fine King’s projects at
www.highsheriffdorset.co.uk/projects