Mayor of Worcester

Firstly I would like to say thank you to the wonderful staff at Fairfield Learning Centre for giving me a tour of their refurbished and expanded learning facilities last week. It was really lovely to meet some of the students, see the art, hair and make-up that they were working on and try some of the food they had been cooking. The cheese scone was fantastic. I was also very happy to cut my first ribbon of my Mayoral year. One down, hopefully many more to go.

At the start of this week I welcomed descendants of John Sanders to the Guildhall. They had travelled from Canada for a few days to trace back their family history. It is believed that John Sanders painted a portrait of William Shakespeare in 1603. The painting has stayed with the family for over 400 years, travelling with them across the Atlantic. Whether or not it is an authentic portrait of Shakespeare has not been confirmed but, if it is, it would be the only portrait of him painted in his lifetime, 13 years before his death.

Both mother and daughter who came to visit were really surprised by how large and historic the Guildhall was. The daughter described it as “like a palace”. They were also pleased to hear that it was open to the public six days a week. I think this is what makes the Guildhall so special. It is a beautiful asset to our community and visitors to our beautiful city.

My theme for the year is “community”, because I believe there has never been a more important time to celebrate the power of people coming together.  This world can often feel polarised and divided but it is important to recognise what unites us rather than what separates us. Worcester is a wonderful mixing pot of historic traditions mixed with new ideas, culture and creativity. It is wonderful when I get the opportunity to make people feel welcome here, whether visiting for the day or setting down roots.

This weekend I am looking forward to the Elgar Festival! Their motto for the festival, “Elgar for Everyone”, really sums up the work they do to make the great composer accessible. I am excited to hear a talk from independent recording producer Andrew Keener about his work in the studio with Elgar conductors. I am sure it is a very different set up to my time spent in the studio recording sixth-formers’ music technology projects.

Hello!

You might have already seen my face absolutely everywhere, on every social media platform, or that might just be my experience every time I unlock my phone.

My name is Tor and I am the new Mayor of Worcester.

I am also a musician and teacher, or I was a teacher until this week as I have just finished teaching at Worcester Sixth Form College. I will miss teaching at the college, especially the students, but I won’t miss having to chase them for homework.

This week has shown me that Worcester is a city of kindness. Since being elected as Mayor, I have received so many positive messages from residents, community groups and local organisations. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to get in touch with me.

This year, my chosen charity is Onside Advocacy. All their work stems from a belief that everyone has the right to be a valued and to be treated in a just and fair way. They support people who are vulnerable, disadvantaged or discriminated against, ensuring these people have the support they need, whether this is representation in important meetings or help to improve their mental health.

They are the kind of charity that if you call them up with a problem, they will figure out the rest of the steps to help you solve it. I have already heard so many fantastic examples of the work they do from people who have reached out to me and I am looking forward to raising funds for them this year.

This week I had the pleasure of giving my very first Guildhall tour to students from the Gregorio Marañón School in Toledo, Spain. It was wonderful to welcome young people to the Guildhall and to share a little of our city’s history and civic life with them.

They were a wonderful crowd of about 25 students aged 11 and 12. I was very impressed by how polite but enthusiastic they were throughout the whole tour. Their teachers were encouraging them to use the English phrases that they had learnt throughout their visit and they did so with varying levels of confidence.

It has been quite a few years since I taught students their age, but it is good to know that children from any country have the same interests at the Guildhall: they wanted to look at the cells, try on the hats and hold the sword. I am sure many adults who visit feel the same.

At the end of their visit, they presented me with gifts from the Mayor of Toledo, including several history books and a poster of their Town Hall.

A building a similar size and for a similar purpose over 800 miles away. I thanked the children and teachers, but I will have to write to the Mayor of Toledo to thank them similarly.

I also attended the opening of the newly extended Fairfield Learning Centre. This is a wonderful hub that supports adult learning in Warndon. A vital resource for the city and I am glad to see it grow.