Mayor of Worcester

I was greatly honoured to host a reception on Friday evening for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The Archbishop’s interview by Jeremy Vine, followed by audience questions from a packed University of Worcesterer Arena, revealed a man with a real depth of compassion and humanity.

Archbishop Justin spent years in the oil industry before his ordination into the Church of England. He was candid about doing his school homework behind his hymn book in school assemblies. He also spoke with emotion about his discovery that the man who raised him was not, in fact, his biological father and about his daughter’s depression.

Challenged over issues such as celibacy and abortion, the Archbishop’s carefully crafted answers showed understanding of the wider issues whilst honestly explaining the church’s position.

Many people in Worcestershire and Dudley will have heard and seen our Archbishop during his very busy schedule on this diocesan visit. I hope they were as impressed as I have been in his presence.

On Sunday morning, Lynn and I visited Worcester Gymnastic Club in Diglis, where we watched very talented youngsters working hard to improve their skills. This successful club has about 1,000 members and a waiting list. We hope that some of them will achieve regional, national and international recognition in future.

Later, we presented medals to cyclists completing the Worcestershire Tour. Our busy day ended in Gloucester Cathedral where we attended Gloucester Mayor Neil Hampson’s civic service.

On Monday we were back in the Arena for the Pride and Prejudice Conference about hate crimes. It is very sad that, in 2016, a number of our residents still think it is acceptable to make other people’s lives miserable by abusing them simply because they are different. Moving accounts by the mother and sister of a hate victim who was killed emphasised why we all need to be ready to challenge this behaviour.

Summer’s over and my diary is getting busier! Lynn and I returned from a short break (partly to celebrate my latest “noughty” birthday).  Many thanks to the deputy mayor and mayoress, Steve and Alison Mackay, for attending a number of functions while we were away.

The annual “world’s biggest coffee morning” organised for Macmillan Cancer Care took place last Friday (29^th) and I visited two events at the Guildhall and Tesco St Peter’s.  Both were very successful and contributed towards the total of £2 million raised so far in the UK, to support Macmillan’s vital services.

I attended the presentation by the Lord Lieutenant, Colonel Patrick Holcroft, of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise to PCA Predict, one of our most successful local IT companies. PCA Predict supplies online automated data look-up and verification systems, both in UK and abroad. Their young and enthusiastic employees deserve to share the credit for this royal recognition of their achievement.

On Saturday morning the Rotary Club of Worcester invited local charities to showcase their activities, attract new volunteers and raise some money in the Guildhall’s lower hall. Smaller charities cannot afford to spend much on advertising, so this event is really useful for them.

The county Harvest Festival service took place in the Cathedral on Sunday and it was good to show our gratitude for those who produce, deliver and supply the food most of us just take for granted. We also remembered the many without food in several parts of the world – including users of our foodbanks.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the rugby club on Monday to celebrate 30 years of YSS, an important local charity which supports vulnerable young people and their families – including young carers with ill and disabled parents. Princess Anne is patron of YSS and gave an excellent speech about its achievements and future plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s column is penned by Cllr Steve Mackay, Deputy Mayor of Worcester

 

Last Friday the Chief Executive of St Richards Hospice, Mark Jackson, kindly arranged for me and others to tour the hospice to gain a greater understanding of what St Richards can offer. While the 17 bed unit provides In-Patient care, St Richards also receive Out- Patients at its clinics and their nurse specialists visit those who are seriously ill in their own homes.  But it does not stop there with Family Support as well as Bereavement Support being offered to relatives at such difficult times. Worcestershire must be grateful for having such a caring body of people ready to step in and help when families need the most assistance.

That evening I took up an invitation to watch an incredibly exciting first match of the season by Worcester Wolves Basketball Team at the University Arena. And what a match, with five minutes to go the opposition, Cheshire Phoenix, were leading the Wolves by five points.  Full time saw a draw, so the game went into extra time.  This was great for the Wolves, who ended up winning 88 to 85. Worcester fans were terrific and gave tremendous support.

On Saturday afternoon I joined the St John Ambulance team in Angel Place, helping with their Save a Life campaign. While we were distributing information on CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation), we found many people asking for the leaflets and wanting demonstrations.  The team were able to show exactly what needs to be done by using their resuscitation dummies.

That evening I watched the Worcester Male Voice Choir sing their way through a number of songs in their repertoire. College Hall is a great setting for the choir, who gave us many different styles of song and obviously enjoyed entertaining as much as the audience appreciated their efforts. If you haven’t heard the choir sing you might like to obtain a ticket for one of their upcoming concerts; you won’t be disappointed!