Mayor of Worcester

As my favourite band, The Smiths, sang: “There is more to life to books you know, but not much more.”

As a confessed bibliophile (as well as 1980’s indie music fan) it was a great pleasure to open Worcester’s new Alchemy of Words Festival – a vibrant celebration of literature, creativity, and community in the heart of our city.

Books have always meant a great deal to me. Growing up in the 1970s, I often found comfort and meaning in stories, starting with Enid Blyton and Anthony Buckeridge, and later discovering Orwell, Greene, and Hemingway.

The festival was a chance to honour that magic – and Worcester’s proud literary tradition – with writers, poets, publishers, and our wonderful bookshops like Script Haven leading the way. It was wonderful to meet Leena Batchelor (owner, spoken word artist, published author, poet and former Worcestershire Poet Laureate) from Script Haven who helped make it all happen. We also crowned our first Worcestershire Literary Champion, Pete Thompson. This is a role designed to inspire a love of reading and writing across the county and I look forward to working with Pete. With panels, performances, workshops and debate, there was something for everyone. We came together to celebrate the voices that challenge and inspire us – and the books that open our minds. Watch out Cheltenham and Hay: there is a new literature festival in town!

The festival also fitted in with my mayoral theme for the year which is learning. Part of my goal for the year is to promote learning in all its forms and across all ages.

Therefore, it was great to do my first guided tour of the Guildhall and the Mayor’s parlour with a group of 24 German students from Stuttgart on an exchange visit to Worcester.

The Guildhall is a literal treasure trove of historical artifacts housed in a beautiful building. Even though I have lived in Worcester for 24 years there were things about our city that I learnt for the first time doing my homework.

I really enjoyed showing our visitors round the building and explaining all the aspects of our rich and varied history which make Worcester such a special place. If you fancy having a tour, please apply via the council website.

In recent years, the term “fast fashion” has become synonymous with affordable and trendy clothing, churned out at lightning speed to meet consumer demand. However, behind the facade of convenience and low prices lie a host of negative issues that have far-reaching consequences for both people and the planet.

The industry is notorious for its excessive use of resources, including water, energy, and raw materials. From the cultivation of cotton to the dyeing and finishing processes, each stage of garment production contributes to pollution and environmental degradation.

Equally troubling are the human rights abuses that pervade the fast fashion supply chain. In pursuit of ever-lower production costs, many companies outsource manufacturing to countries with lax labour regulations, where workers are subjected to long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions. Reports of child labour, forced labour, and exploitation are all too common, highlighting the human toll of the industry’s relentless drive for profit.

Maybe that sounds all a bit too worthy? Thankfully, there are so many alternatives of which Worcester can be proud. There is a fantastic local group called the Social Sew In which, in their words, “is encouraging the public to be inspired to rethink, reuse, repair, and rework items of clothing and textiles to reduce carbon emissions and the colossal wastage and pollution of fast fashion”. For those that need a bit of professional help step forward Lucy Akehurst, the owner of Worcester’s The Zip Yard. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Lucy to recognise her achievement of reaching her 30,000th customer.

Thursday saw the culmination of months of hard work to create the Mayor’s Charity Fashion Show in aid of Age UK. Nunnery Wood High School, Christopher Whitehead Language College and Heart of Worcestershire College made an incredible fashion show out of donated second hand clothes. The students sourced their materials, made their designs and produced clothes that were then shown, often by themselves, on a catwalk as the culmination of the charity dinner. What an experience for some of Worcester’s most talent young people – I’m so proud of you.

Our weapon of choice this year was duck. Thankyou Mr. N. It was preceded by a festive mayoral pint in our local, The Plough, Christmas jumper and chain. We exchanged presents, texted family, watched the King’s speech, ate and drank. And that was it.

The crowd in the pub inspired my “Seasonal Notable Message”, striking a happy medium. Some went home alone, happy, some less so. Some were tipsy, some were not drinking. Some had fish, or turkey, or vegetarian spaghetti bolognaise. Some went to friends or family. Some gave presents, some got them. A few may even have been to church, given the main message of the day. Some took a cab, with a driver of a different faith, but a faith, nonetheless.

Talking of fowl, my other mayoral duty this week was feeding swans in the river’s Swan Sanctuary. Inches from a wartime bomb site, we threw food pellets to one of those beautiful and iconic images of Worcester, serene atop, beating their legs furiously beneath.

A great metaphor for our challenging times. Costs dictate how many presents you buy, what you eat, and can you heat your home for three extra days off work. If you are in work. Travel disruption can keep you from loved ones. Some worry about facing a health emergency. Maybe some are hosting refugees from a war in Europe, or other persecution. For many, the climate emergency adds impetus to our recycling wrapping paper and Christmas trees.

But we can still have fun because it is a holiday and you can leave troubles behind for a few days, but God help you if you just wanted to watch the telly. There was only one programme worth it, The Boy, the Mole etc.

Simple message for the New Year: build confidence in others and be kind.

 

 

I chaired the first full Council since the summer this week, lasting three-and-a-half hours. We saw the end of one Leader but fully expect the new one to be safely in place at the next meeting in November. Meanwhile, the Council staff and members continue to operate consistently.

The Big Worcester Sleep Out event reminded us why a lot of us came into politics. The issue of homelessness still needs money and awareness and other resources, not least empathy. Several participants had been through or close to homeless periods in their lives, bringing a reality check to the situation.

Worcester’s annual Film Festival ran last weekend and was a very successful multi-dimensional step-up from last year, with the prospect of a great future. I was able to get to one showing, a fascinating remastered 1950s documentary about making porcelain. This festival has great potential.

This week Worcester hosted the visit of HRH Princess Anne, attending the Clothiers’ Company 500th Anniversary Dinner, to which I was pleased to be invited. The Princess Royal spoke highly of the Guildhall and the city.

The next day we greeted HRH Princess Alexandra, a sprightly 86, visiting Henry Sandon Hall to meet representatives of community and voluntary groups including the Film Festival, Engage with China, Monday Night Club, Soft Lads, and my own Elgar Festival. Tea and cake was enjoyed by all.

 

The Civic Society’s Annual Lecture in aid of mayoral charities was from Marcus Binney, an expert in campaigns to save and, crucially, re-purpose historic buildings and heritage. Helpfully, he has just moved to Worcester.

The weekend had me in church again, firstly supporting the Mayor of Redditch’s Civic Service, and later, the High Sheriff in the Cathedral. Tea and cake twice there too.

Now, who was it that said something about princesses being like buses….