Mayor of Worcester

My first photo call this week was alongside a large inflatable banana. There was a second (human) banana in the picture – one of the perils of being a communications intern with the city council!

More seriously, the banana photos were all about the fact that the city is celebrating Fair Trade Fortnight. Worcester can feel proud of its status as a Fair Trade City, and many of us now buy Fair Trade items locally. As discerning shoppers will already know, FT products are good quality and pocket friendly, so look out for the Fair Trade logo!

 If your city councillor has been a bit jet lagged in the last couple of days, it is probably because Tuesday’s full council meeting lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning, as next year’s budget was discussed. Thank you to everyone involved for their participation and patience. A special thanks also to our council officers for their hard work, both before and during the meeting.

 Two lively groups visited the Parlour this week: the KGV Grandees Club and the Weight Watchers Group from Pump Street. Phil and I spent a very pleasant few hours showing them the civic treasures. Several of our guests had fascinating connections with the Guildhall and will be exploring them further.

 Phil and I attended the Twinning Association Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening. This year sees Worcester adopt a temporary twinning arrangement with Gouzeaucourt in France to mark a special relationship following World War I, when we helped to restore Gouzeaucourt’s fresh water supply.

The Love History event at the Commandery attracted re-enactors from across the country. I bumped into some Vikings in the World War II tea room who threatened to relieve me of the mayoral chain, but decided I could keep it when I told them I have a Viking name – yes, I really do!

The ancient Greeks and Romans were shivering in their warm weather costumes. I came across French troops and Brunswickers from the Napoleonic Wars and elegant Georgians dancing in the great hall. Worcester’s own civil war re-enactors were there, as well as troops from the Zulu Wars, and First and Second World Wars.

Phil enjoyed a pint of real ale in the World War II pop-up pub and I especially enjoyed the RAF World War II operations room. Their 20 minute show was a “Must see!”

On Friday evening, we braved the weather to attend a charity dinner in aid of the Mayor of Evesham’s charities.

As the water rose in Worcester, some council staff worked 12 hour shifts over the weekend to ensure local people were safe and had emergency help if needed. Now, the big clean up is under way and shoppers are returning to the city centre, but it will be a while before flooded households can get back to normal. The City Council will be doing all it can to help.

At the height of the floods, Phil and I visited Cherry Orchard School, where year six pupils were reporting on the floods during an English lesson. They were extremely impressive – I can imagine some of them going on to careers in broadcasting!

Businesses and schools in Worcester have been carrying on regardless this week, as water levels have risen on the River Severn. Although the city centre has been quiet, shops and businesses have been tweeting that they are open for business, so there is no need to feel under siege.  All of our main shopping streets are well above water level.

At the Guildhall, we are carrying on as normal, and Phil and I have continued to get to our engagements, with the exception of one at the cricket club.

On Monday, I welcomed a group of French students to the parlour. The students, who come from the celebrated cathedral city of Rheims, are visiting Kings School. It was a real pleasure to meet this polite and knowledgeable group.

The Guides celebrated 100 years of Guiding in Worcester this week, with a service and a wonderful historical pageant at the Cathedral. It was marvellous to see so many Guides together for this landmark event.

Thanks to Frankie Tsang and the hard work of the local Chinese Association, Worcester celebrated the Chinese New Year in style. The highlight was a spectacular performance from the Happy Panda acrobatic troupe.

Frankie Tsang and the Four Seasons team in Powick has had an exceptionally busy week. On Tuesday evening, they gave a sumptuous New Year Banquet in aid of the Mayor’s charities. Frankie’s guests came from as far away as Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. Thank you to all of them for their tremendous generosity to Asha, Maggs and St Paul’s.

Our local citizens’ advice service, CAB-WHABAC, were outside Asda this week to promote Energy Saving Week. They had a range of information about how to save money and use less energy in your home or get help with energy bills. Their winter checklist and energy saving booklet are really useful.

I recently met with artists Caro Sweet, Amanda Lewis and Anne Renshawe. Caro will be exhibiting her sculpture at the Guildhall soon. Amanda will be painting my portrait – watch my blog in a few weeks’ time for the finished result.

The energetic Anne Renshawe is also hoping to bring the Worcester Festival of Young Singers back to Worcester in 2016. They will be singing Faure’s Requiem and Five Days That Changed The World. If you want to hear the young choirs before that, they will be singing The Armed Man at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28 this year. Over 300 young people from Worcestershire will be taking part.

It was a real pleasure to welcome the Samaritans and Ronkswood volunteers to the Mayor’s Parlour at the Guildhall for tea and a tour. Thank you to both groups for all that you do for our community.

Les Miserables at Blessed Edward Oldcorne College was spectacular! The students brought pathos, passion and comedy to a sustained three-hour performance. It was a wonderful show. I felt tired just watching them.

Worcester University Arena was formally opened by Sir Philip Craven, Chair of the International Paralympic Association. Sir Philip goes back to Sochi in a few days’ time to prepare for the Winter Paralympics. Sir Philip also presented a trophy to the Tudor Grange Basketball Inclusive Zone team for winning the local schools BIZ competition.