Mayor of Worcester

• I was immensely honoured to have taken the salute outside The Guildhall at the march-past of the Worcester District Scouts St. George’s Day Parade, after having been entertained to a “dragon fight” in the Cathedral. The City is enormously proud that so many of our young people are in this organisation, doing something constructive and undertaking a great deal of community work for others.

The Worcester Male Voice Choir gave yet another superb performance, this time in St. Martin’s Church for a St. George’s Day Concert. Somehow, the new sleek and very fitting lighting in the church seemed to enhance the sound. Rendition of “The Impossible Dream” is always so moving, and there was much vigour as the audience waved their flags. Let’s keep these English traditions going.

I absolutely loved my Desert Island Discs live interview on Choice Radio at The Royal Hospital, talking about my political career and Mayoral year. My six choices reflected the various emotions and moods that a politician goes through. Tony Deakin is a superb interviewer; his questions were carefully crafted to tease out more information, which neatly led on to more questions. And he had done his research. Well done Tony, and Pete the technician, for putting it all together so smoothly.

The weekend started very happily with the opening of the Riversides School Spring Fair, so successful that I hope it becomes an annual event. Tom, one of the pupils, offered to be my guide for the morning and he did it so well that I have invited him to The Parlour for tea-tour-chat, as a little thank you. Mind you, when the bouncy castle sprung a leak, I did tell people that if they could somehow plug it in to a Council meeting, they would get enough hot air to keep it pumped up for at least a week!

And please, please visit the Museum of Royal Worcester. As I again saw, not only are there so many world class beautiful porcelain items, but it also reflects a vital part of our City’s heritage.

My Parlour guests this week included the Creative Group from St. Paul’s hostel, certainly one of the nicest groups of people I have met. Thank you Damian and Tom for the very kind words you wrote in the Visitors’ Book.

 

 

 

How fantastic to start the week with a Spring Concert of music from film and stage, performed by Worcester Concert Brass in The Guildhall for the Mayor’s Charities. It certainly was a magnificent musical moment, leaving the audience with many magical memories from the mood-defining melodies. Our City is indeed fortunate to have such talented musicians under the very able direction of Chris License – thank you all so much for a cultured and charming evening.

More civilized activity when I hosted the AGM of the Oxford University Society, of which I am a member, in the Mayor’s Parlour. It was so good to reminisce about those golden years of my life and open new memories of my time at Oxford. I met Robert Garvin again, a contemporary from St. John’s College, who reminded me – all those years ago – that I helped him carry his trunk up to his room on our first day. Oh happy days!

I have really come to enjoy and value the evening lectures I have been hosting in The Guildhall lately, the last one being the Worcester Civic Society’s Mayor’s Lecture on “Listing 20th Century Buildings”. Michael Bellamy from English Heritage gave a fascinating talk; and thank you to Chairman Phil Douce for maintaining this traditional lecture.

As I have come to expect, a very high class and polished event at the dinner hosted by 214 (Worcestershire) Battery Royal Artillery in Dancox House. Our troops know they can always count on my strong support and loyalty and I’m pleased to see that they are keeping alive a great English tradition of celebrating St. George’s Day.

The Mayor has to be versatile in carrying out his duties so it was a first when I participated in the All Creatures Great & Small Pet Blessing Service in the Cathedral, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Retired Greyhound Trust. It was quite a sight to see so many dogs in the pews in what was a packed service, reflecting how important pets are to people, in particular as company for the elderly.

I ended my week of culture at a sold-out opening night performance of West Side Story at The Swan where the enthusiasm of the audience was matched by the energy of the cast, which I just sat back and absorbed. Well done Peter Brown, President of W.O.D.S.

 

 

Gosh, what an exciting week, starting off with a visit by Princess Anne to officially open the Oncology Centre at the Royal Hospital.

The evening at The Monday Night Club’s Big Spring Party at the Barbourne Ex-Services Club was tremendous fun, with some 100 youngsters and their carers there. It is some time since I had been to a disco and this one had the distinct advantages of there being loads of food and the music being not too loud, so that you could have a conversation. It was very amusing when, as I went outside to admire the sunset across Pitchcroft, the DJ announced: “I see the Mayor is going outside for a quick fag”, given my fierce anti-smoking activities over the decades! It is always important to join in the spirit at such events – even at the slight risk of losing one’s dignity – so I let myself go on the dance floor to do the YMCA dance – I sincerely hope there were no photographers around! A big thank you to Helen Gill for organising these immensely important and hugely popular events.

I was inspired by my visit to Sight Concern in Sansome Walk where I saw just what vital support and care they provide to people across the whole range of blind and partial-sightedness.  It was very humbling to see the incredible achievements and determination of people with these conditions. Sight Concern punches well above its weight in successfully helping people – but they desperately need more funding for a service that is life-changing to those who receive it.  Well done Jenny Gage and staff.

I was delighted to have maintained the tradition of the Annual Mayor’s Medical Lecture in The Guildhall, which this year was on Anaesthesia, Anaesthetics and Anaesthetists. In a format understandable to the lay person, Dr John Prosser gave us a fascinating reminder of how vital and skilled is this essential but often overlooked aspect of medical practice.

Among my guests to The Parlour was a group of Exchange students from Mondonedo in Spain.  It’s amazing how perfectly these 15 year olds all spoke and understood English, reinforcing my long-held view that we Europeans should live and work more closely together.

 

First of all, hearty congratulations to Worcester Wolves for beating Newcastle Eagles at the University Arena last week. It was the first live basketball match I had attended and I knew Newcastle were top of the League so Worcester was up against it. However, I soon learned that only Worcester had beaten Newcastle this season, and they did it again. Worcester remained just marginally ahead throughout most of this nail-biting game. I must confess though, on occasion, the nerve-racking atmosphere did cause my verbal emotions to show through!

The 55+ Retirement Roadshow at The Guildhall was extremely worthwhile and I was very encouraged to see such a large number and wide range of stands offering advice for older people. It was organised under the umbrella of The National Careline which, through these exhibitions, offers free information about care and support covering the issues that concern people as they grow older. Of course, 55+ these days is not old so the range of stalls did not only include information about pensions and health, but also about volunteering, rambling, and U3A (University of the Third Age). A big thank you to Barbara Davies for organising it all again.

As an Honorary member, I was delighted to host the Worcester Lions Club Grant Scheme awards which gives money to local good causes, and hand the cheques to Severn Sound Festival; Mumsnet; Age UK; Asha; St. Paul’s hostel; Sons of Rest; Make Time Friendship group; and Powick Playing Fields Association. Very worthy causes. Well done Gordon Templeton, President of the Club, for maintaining this tradition.

Being Mayor carries the responsibility of representing our great City across Worcestershire and beyond, just as I routinely invite Mayors from other cities, towns, and districts to join in Worcester’s events. Collectively, we’re rather amusingly but accurately known as “The Chain Gang” because we all turn up wearing our chains of office! Recent events have included attending Worcestershire County Council’s Civic Service in the Cathedral; the Mayor of Pershore’s Charity Concert in Pershore Abbey; the Civic Service for the Mayor of Malvern Hills District Council in Great Malvern Priory; and a Charity Dinner for the Chairman of Wyre Forest District Council in Kidderminster.