Mayor of Worcester Blog

This past week I was privileged to have attended the Licensing and Installation of Rev’d Jo Musson as Priest in Charge of St. George with St. Mary Magdalene, surely one of the most beautiful churches in Worcester.

Then a most unusual but fascinating visit to our University for the opening of the Air Spectrum Environmental’s analytical odour laboratory, which is an odour threshold testing facility to forecast, detect and control air pollution. This is one of only four in the whole of the UK, so full credit to Worcester.

The 25th Birthday Honours for BBC Hereford & Worcester saw seven fantastic people win titles for bravery, volunteer work, and service to others. It was a very humbling experience to see such worthy people receive their awards.

My ardent love of books (real ones you can touch and hold, not the other sort) was titillated when I opened the fourth Worcestershire Literary Festival and witnessed the excitement of the selection of the county’s new Poet Laureate. I also heard some fantastic prize-winning readings from young people. This is certainly expanding to be one of the great events of the year, with a huge diversity of activities arranged for the following week. Many congratulations to the organisers and participants who have made this such a success.

It was a lovely summer’s morning when I launched the Rotary Club’s Board March through the City Centre to raise money for charity. I really do take my hat off to the Rotary Club who are continually doing so much selfless work benefitting so many people.

I was honoured and pleased to officiate at the Worcester Ramblers’ Group 25th Year Anniversary Celebration and learn about the tremendous amount of good work they do, in particular, footpath repair and maintenance. It was somewhat ironic that, whilst I was congratulating the walkers for the example they set to the rest of us and encouraging more people to join, it really should have been the ramblers encouraging me to get a healthier lifestyle! But then, as I’ve often said, if I were fit enough to do exercise, I wouldn’t bother!

Did you know that all the pollen count forecasts on BBC television weather forecasts come solely from our University in Worcester? Again, something to be proud of.

This was a really mixed week. It started off with a very civilized afternoon tea in the Parlour with a small group of people one of whom now lives in Australia, so it was fitting to visit the cells to where a number of prisoners had been transported.

I was impressed by the Royal Grammar School’s Graduation Ceremony in the Cathedral where the school demonstrated some impressive young talent, but a little sad at the thought that all this hope and enthusiasm may shortly collide with the reality of the harsh big wide world outside.

My visit to St. Richard’s Hospice at Wildwood made me stop and realize just how lucky we are that there are so many wonderful and selfless people around who, in this case, devote themselves to looking after the terminally ill. Professionals and volunteers – I salute you all. It puts all our own problems and concerns into perspective.

Back on familiar territory at the Fairfield Centre Open Day to celebrate Adult Learner’s Week, I was reminded of the vast diversity of our community in Worcester. It was gratifying that so many adults are prepared to make a real effort, often in difficult circumstances, to pursue their keenness to learn.They are an example to us all, especially when too many people today seem to have lost interest in life’s wonders.

Whilst certainly maintaining all the good traditions, I have spent some time undertaking a radical review of various functions of the Mayoralty, in particular the Inaugural Banquet and the Mayor’s Charity Dinner, in order to modernize these key events and make them both more exciting and relevant for ordinary people. I’ve also been discussing the organization of our World War One anniversary celebrations.

An amusing incident occurred when the Guildhall Manager suddenly implored me not to sit on a particular chair in the Parlour. Whilst accepting that I may be a tad overweight, I was reassured when he told me that this prohibition applied to everybody and not just me!

A little know fact is that, as Mayor, I still have the power to raise an army. Anybody like to join?

Being elected Mayor was one of the most exciting days of my life, particularly since it is the highest honour that the City can bestow on anyone.

When I climbed the stairs to the platform and took the Chair I was surprised how high it was above the other Councillors and I got a superb view of the whole room. I suppose it must have been a bit like a Headmaster at a school assembly, except this was so enjoyable.

Because being Mayor is normally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you won’t have had any experience of doing the job beforehand so you have to learn very quickly and hit the ground running. My first day including learning about protocol; about robing, which is not just wearing a gown but a great deal of other accoutrements such as ruffs and gloves; about how to fix the very heavy chain of office onto my jacket – something which sounds simple, but isn’t. But, above all, it was the Mayor’s diary that is so central to everything and engagements were already in there until next May.

The Mayor’s office is called the Parlour, a large wood-panelled room with a massive array of souvenirs and other items of memorabilia collected by Mayors during the past decades. I must get to know the history of each one as that’s the question visitors always ask about.

My first public engagement was a delightful afternoon with the Friends of Worcestershire Royal Hospital, particularly apposite as my Mayoress is a nurse there. The meeting was actually held in the chapel of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary, now part of the University. The tour guide turned out to be a good friend of my brother – what a small world Worcester is! During the tour, we discovered that it has now been confirmed that there is a tunnel between the old prison (where County Furnishings now stands) and the former hospital through which executed prisoners were taken to be dissected.

What an extraordinary 24 hours!