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My apologies to those, who have already viewed and commented on this picture. The original upload in my opinion looked awful - I'm still not sure why. Please let me know if the colour looks wrong on your screens.

Thank you very much for all your kind support of and interest in my photography. It is very much appreciated. I enjoy reading your comments and visiting your portfolios.

On 2nd November, 2011 Chichester Cathedral led the way by using Fairtrade Gold to reguild the weathercock atop the spire. This aroused much media interest as it is the first use of Fair Trade Gold on a public building. The Dean is seen here with the steeplejacks facing the cameras of the press. The BBC and ITV were also present.
Quoting from the press release:
"The gold covering the weathervane was responsibly sourced by Chichester’s Cred jewellers from the Sotrami Mine in Peru - one of the first mines in the world to be certified to Fairtrade standards. Both the Sotrami Mine and Cred are part of a new – and revolutionary – programme of Fairtrade and Fairmined Certified Gold launched on Valentine’s Day earlier this [last] year.

Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold is the world’s first independent ethical certification system for gold. The certification enables businesses, from designers and retailers to fabricators and distributors, to offer their customers the guarantee of a product which has been responsibly mined. Crucially, this means that small scale miners receive a fair price for gold, ensuring a more stable future for them and their communities."

"The Very Revd Nicholas Frayling, Dean of Chichester, explains why the project is so important: ‘Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold provides a lifeline for thousands of impoverished and exploited miners in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. If every jeweller, and indeed every customer, were to insist on only gold sourced in this way then thousands of small scale miners, and their communities, would be guaranteed a better future. The cost of this project has been borne by a private donor to whom we are very grateful, but the wider ambitions of Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold are priceless.’

Chichester’s Cred jewellers have been pivotal to the realisation of Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold and were one of the first ethical jewellers in the UK to produce collections sourced in this way."