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Category: 2018-2019 Mayor Jabba Riaz

Mayor’s Week: 1 – 8 January 2021

Mayor’s Week: 1 – 8 January 2021

HAPPY NEW YEAR.  A phrase we have no doubt repeated several times over the last few days, but never said with more meaning than this new year with all the hopes for the future that it brings.  When we reflect on 2020, our thoughts are bound to be clouded by the very unhappy and cruel year it was for many people.  My most sincere wishes go to the people who have lost a loved one; to those in the NHS and care sector who have cared for the sick and dying with the most extraordinary devotion; to the key workers including teachers, police officers and housing and service providers; to the students and school children who have lived with uncertainty about their education but managed to stay positive about their studies;  to their parents and carers who have had to pull out all the stops to become home educators; and to all of us whose lives have been upset by coronavirus in 2020.  A huge thank you.

Since I last wrote to you, I enjoyed some Christmas cheer in the two Worcester News Carol Services held at the Cathedral on the Monday before Christmas.  I read a lesson with others telling the Christmas story and the Kings School choir sang beautifully.  This message we celebrated tells of a hope for better things to come in the future.  We certainly need that reassurance right now – and we have it in the roll out of the vaccines that are now available to protect us against this terrible disease.  I can’t wait to get my call to go for my vaccination, so I will feel safe again.

As we enter our third and hopefully our last lockdown, I am full of optimism for 2021.  I know it will take time to vaccinate all those who are at the most risk, and that our lives may not return to our old idea of normal for some time, but we have endured this before and we will do so again.  We will come through this, so with that in mind I say again HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Mayor’s Week – 12 – 18 December 2020

Mayor’s Week – 12 – 18 December 2020

It was with a sad heart that I stood outside the Cathedral on Friday 11 December to pay my respects to a very well-loved Freeman of Worcester, Cecil Duckworth CBE.  Many people were there to mark the final journey of a man who brought so much good and joy to Worcester citizens and visitors alike.  As well as the Bishop, the Dean, the High Sherriff and the Leader, Deputy Leader and MD of Worcester City Council, there were many others who came to see this kind, benevolent and quiet man pass by.  Cecil made a difference to so many people’s lives through his generosity and the benevolence he brought to this City.

Similar roadside tributes were made at Acorns Hospice where he was a major original benefactor; at New Road where he was President of the Worcestershire Cricket Club; at Sixways where his foresight made the club the success it is today and at Worcester Bosch where he developed the first combustion boiler. Cecil’s success not only brought him happiness but it also brought happiness to the community, as he enjoyed sharing his financial success with others.  I feel proud to have known him and offer my sincere condolences to his family for their loss.

I am looking forward to attending two Worcester News Carol Services on Monday.  The pandemic has curtailed the activities of us all this Christmas and the Mayor would normally attend six or seven carol services brought to the Cathedral by various organisations.  It is very different this year.  I hope that you all spend your Christmas and New Year period safely and happily and when I next have a chance to write this column in 2021, that we are well advanced with the vaccination programme.  People keep saying to me “What a year!” and I agree, but if we come through it valuing the simple things in life more such as good health, kindness and care for others, then some good will have come out of it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Mayor’s Week – 17 – 23 October 2020

Mayor’s Week – 17 – 23 October 2020

This week started off with Dave and I visiting the Wildgoose Rural Training Centre at Grimley.  What a joyful and encouraging educational setting this is.  It has livestock, gardens, workshops and classrooms for the students to study and enjoy.  All the students we met were engaged in a sponsored walk to raise money for a tarmacked pathway around the facility – and what fun they were having at the same time!  I would like to thank the staff, students, trustees and volunteers who showed us around and made us feel so welcome.  Good luck and I hope you reach your target.

On Monday I was also pleased to welcome some friends into the Parlour.   It is easy to forget how unique a room it is – I do enjoy sharing it with others.  I can also report the Parlour saw its first streaker, little Harry Hatt – albeit he is only four months old!

This week saw another step towards the re-launch of the TalkToMeWorcester initiative.  I recorded a message for the website encouraging everyone to spare a thought for their neighbour – young and old – who might be lonely and isolated and feeling down, especially at this difficult and frightening time.  Have a chat directly or remotely with a neighbour, go for a walk together or think up a new and different way to make contact -you might win a Christmas shopping voucher!  You can find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at  www.talktomeworcester.com .  Go on, give it a go.

Its been a week for recording!  On Thursday I created a message for new staff and took them on a virtual tour of the Guildhall.  I hope that they will watch it and have a happy and productive time with the City Council.  The Guildhall is a beautiful building, which the tour demonstrated.

Winter seems to be setting in and the nights are getting longer.  This is a time of year when we start to prepare for Christmas – but who knows what we will and won’t be allowed to do when Christmas comes?  This is why we must all try to follow the rules which this seemingly endless pandemic is forcing upon us – with the hope that things will get easier as we approach the festive season.

 

Mayor’s Week: 27 March – 3 April 2020

Mayor’s Week: 27 March – 3 April 2020

The majority of us are approaching the end of a second week of staying at home.  We are gradually developing new routines and different ways of keeping in touch with one another, where face to face conversation isn’t an option.

As by nature we humans are a fairly social species, staying at home can be really challenging.  It may sometimes also feel that being at home = doing nothing constructive.  But I do want to urge you all to stay with it – because for every day that you follow the guidance and socially distance yourselves from others, you are indirectly helping to save at least one person’s life.

My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one during this crisis.  This virus will only continue spreading from person to person if we let it – we are all in the front line fighting this same battle.

Of course, many people who are running essential services to keep Worcester functioning do not have the option to stay at home.  In addition to all the amazing staff at the NHS, I’d like to thank all City Council staff who are working hard to collect our bins, keep areas clean, make sure homeless people have a roof over their head and make sure our hard-hit businesses get the support they need.  Their roles may not be as visible as those in our hospitals, but their work is nevertheless vital.

In times of crisis, our city has and I believe always will come together.  The last few weeks have seen thousands of individual acts of kindness take place in Worcester.  Whether you’ve been able to buy a loaf of bread for a neighbour, chatted to someone in isolation or waited patiently in a queue to pick up someone’s medication, you have played a part in this city’s recovery.  We can and will get through this – and when we do, our communities will be even stronger as a result.  Keep it up, citizens of Worcester!  And for now, Stay at Home – and Stay Safe.

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