Mayor of Worcester

It was mid January and freezing cold, but the reception we received at Worcester Early Years Centre in Manor Farm, Lower Wick, was very warm indeed. Owned by Alice Bennett and built to a very high specification, it is beautifully equipped with every imaginable requirement catered for.  From babies through the pre-school years, the care and environment is second to none and the children present were clearly enjoying their time there.   The Manager, Sue Foster, spent some considerable time, together with Alice, showing us around –including the beautiful grounds surrounding the building.

She has a great team working with her. Veronica Dowding manages the Nursery Unit, with Jo Graysmark looking after the catering based in an amazing kitchen.  We also met Julie Margetts, Nicky Thompson and Jane Gordon, who looks after reception.

Another of Worcester’s gems was uncovered, tucked away in Wylds Lane: the home of the Talking Newspaper!  Founded in 1978, by Colin and Beryl Chance, this organisation has provided blind and visually impaired readers with a weekly local talking newspaper, a monthly magazine and an extensive library of some 4,000-plus recorded books.  These are freely available to blind and visually impaired people throughout Worcestershire.  All services including equipment are provided completely free of charge.  The service is entirely run by volunteers and does not benefit from any Government funding.

They are always looking for volunteers to help just a few hours a month as administrators, editors, readers, visitors and audio /IT engineers. They would also like to hear from anyone who might like to receive their services.  Worcester Talking Newspaper can be contacted on 01905 767766.  A remarkable organisation, doing a remarkable job.  As I’ve said before, Worcester Volunteers and Charities are the mortar that holds the bricks of our society together!

Our University continues to grow and develop and we are fortunate to have such a progressive and highly respected organisation here in Worcester. The Mayoress and I had the opportunity to see the new Geology Garden, a quiet external learning and relaxation area.  We also toured the Biological Science facilities in the Charles Darwin building, went on to the Biological Science Labs and spent some time with the trainee Paramedics and Physiotherapists.  They are a great bunch, training for vital roles in society and, in the process, thoroughly enjoying it.  Everyone we met welcomed us and had time for us.  It is always a pleasure to visit our University and this was certainly no exception – thank you.

Well here we are in 2016 – where did 2015 go? A year that seemed to flash by for me – no doubt due in part to the busy schedule that is expected of any Mayor, but it probably also has something to do with the fact that time seems to speed up with advancing age!! 2015 was a very busy year, but an enjoyable one. May I take this opportunity to thank everyone that I have met and worked with during my Mayoral year, for helping to make this experience so pleasurable and rewarding.

My first duty for 2016 was to work with Scout volunteers to plant a row of fruit trees in Battenhall Park, the green space between the end of Leven Drive and Battenhall Rise. These trees are helping to fulfil my pledge to have some 2,000 trees planted in Worcester during my year in office and these particular trees will deliver an edible bonus, as they are pear and apple trees. I look forward to sampling the fruit!

I am indebted to Parish Councillor Alan Tidy, who has taken over the role of Chairman of Friends of St Peter’s Parks. Alan has followed my fellow Councillor Mike Johnson in taking on this role, and has carried on where Mike left off. He has been so supportive, not only encouraging volunteers to help with the tree planting scheme, but for actually getting out there himself and digging holes to plant the trees in. Thanks Alan – your efforts are greatly appreciated.

First Worcester Bus Company is also rallying to the call and has committed a sizeable sum of money to plant some specimen trees here in Worcester. First Worcester staff will be planting an oak tree and two ornamental varieties in the Cripplegate Park: the Foxglove tree (Paulownia tomentosa) which has trumpet-shaped, violet-blue flowers and the Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) – the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that dates back beyond the time of the dinosaurs. In total they will be donating 230 trees over a two year period.

Nigel Eggleton, Managing Director for First Worcester buses says: ” As part of our commitment to improving bus provision in and around the City of Worcester, we are also committed to the environmental impact and making our green spaces more attractive and enjoyable for residents and visitors to the city.” Thank you Nigel.

There will be more planting events over the next few weeks to help ensure Worcester thrives as a green city. Don’t forget that if you have a garden, you can help too by planting a tree or two!

I wish you all health and happiness in 2016.

For many Worcester residents, this has been the first week back to work after the festive break. As Deputy Mayor, I am no exception; I run my own small business and it’s high time to get back to it! I’d particularly like to thank all those people who worked over the festive period to make sure transport was running, shops were open, vital public services were accessible and news got reported. Our city simply couldn’t function without your efforts.

I am Councillor Mike Whitehouse, and am stepping in to write this week’s column while the Mayor takes a short but well-earned break from a hectic schedule.

The weather will be at the forefront of many minds as we enter 2016. How much more rainfall can the River Severn take? The signs so far are that we won’t get flooding of anything like the severity which occurred in 2014. Rest assured that even if things do take a turn for the worse, Worcester is a very resilient city and we will remain open for business, whatever the weather.

This week we’ll be focusing on the Mayor’s pledge to plant 2,000 new trees in Worcester. Local Explorer Scouts will be in Battenhall Park this Saturday to plant hazel trees which the Woodland Trust has kindly donated to our city.

Over the next few weeks, several other community groups and businesses will be giving up their time to help plant trees in other locations including Cripplegate Park, the riverside and King George V Playing Fields. We are extremely grateful for their help.

This is just the latest example of the remarkable benefit that volunteers bring to Worcester. Indeed, last year volunteers collectively contributed over 2,700 hours of their own time to help spruce up our city’s parks and spaces, operate allotment sites, organise community events and undertake conservation work.

I had the pleasure of recently meeting Jane Moorhouse, Vice Chair of the Arboretum Residents Association.

She told me: “I really believe that you only get as much out of your local community as you put in. I moved to Worcester two years ago and think it’s a fantastic city – I was keen to get involved and gain a great deal of personal satisfaction from volunteering – you get to meet some great people along the way too.”

If you haven’t made a resolution for 2016 yet (or have made one and already broken it!) then I hope you may find her words inspiring.

Wishing you and your families a very happy and prosperous New Year.

 

Councillor Mike Whitehouse

Deputy Mayor for Worcester

A highlight of the Christmas season is always the Cherry Orchard School Carol Service held in the Cathedral – and this year was no exception! It is a bit of a military exercise getting that many children to and from the Cathedral safely and without losing any – and ensuring they are all in the right place with the right equipment, on time. However as always, it went off without a hitch.

The children sang beautifully and this year, we were treated to a performance by the staff choir, which was also very good. Those in the nativity, the Tableau actors, were dressed in some splendid costumes and they really looked the part. As we have seen in other schools’ carol services, the children enjoy performing and taking part was obviously great fun for them. The mix of traditional carols and popular songs was new and worked very well, giving a slightly different slant to previous years. Those in the group singing “Oh Happy Days” were excellent, and the boy soloist was superb. Well done Cherry Orchard – another excellent year!!

St Paul’s Hostel put on a film and poetry show in St Paul’s Church, on the corner of Spring Gardens and St Paul’s Street. Firstly I must comment on the building, this being the first occasion I have entered this church, I’m sorry to say. It is the second largest religious space in our City, after the Cathedral, and in its former days it had the Revd. Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy as its minister. A hero of World War 1, he was awarded the Military Cross for bringing in wounded troops under fire and is better known, of course, as Woodbine Willy. As a military Chaplin he not only gave out copies of the bible to those along the troop trains at Rouen, but packets of the famous Woodbine cigarettes from which his nickname came.

Back to the Church – it is a magnificent building and well worth a visit, you will be surprised! The St Paul’s Hostel performance was impressive, not only were the videos and brilliant photography excellent , the poems were written and read with incredible feeling, and so well presented. One member of the group has a placement at the Heart of Worcestershire College to further his skills as a poet and special thanks has to go to Claire Badsey for both her writing and the reading of her work. The host and mentor of the group, Gerry Lowman, led us through an enjoyable evening.

Simon Geraghty and I met at the Wainwright Road GPO main sorting office, to thank our postal staff for the incredible hard work in getting our parcels and letters delivered on time and before Christmas. There are 225 employees working out of Wainwright Road and they handle one million items to be delivered each week.  Throughout the year they close on only one day: Christmas Day. They are the unsung heroes of Christmas.

Our visit to Worcester Royal Hospital on Christmas Day was a lovely experience.  Patients and staff alike were so welcoming and it was great to see how happy and positive everyone was. One lady over from Ireland for a family Christmas sadly found herself in hospital rather than the family home, but she was smiley and happy and so pleased to meet the mayor, she said how she was looking forward to telling her family all about our encounter! It was quite humbling really – a lovely lady, hope she is home with friends and family very soon. Another lady was about to be discharged and looking forward to going home when I made a very unthinking remark, saying, “You’re on the way out then are you?”!! Fortunately she saw the funny side and we all had a good laugh; must choose words more carefully in future….

My thanks to all our hospital staff for their dedication and work – may I take this opportunity to wish them all a very happy and healthy New Year.