Mayor of Worcester

After a fascinating talk by Lord Faulkner on how Britain’s railways were saved, I was left wondering if Sir Humphrey of “Yes Minister” had been involved. It was a complicated and devious tale. I feel sure the book will interest both railway fans and the politically or historically inclined.

Saturday brought a change of pace – I joined the Worcestershire Chinese Association for their monthly meeting and attended a garden party with past mayors from around the county. I also found my dream kitchen at the opening of “Dream Doors,” a new family business on the Tything.

Phil and I received a warm welcome from residents and staff when we attended the Shaw Red Hill Care Home fete. We had a tour of the home and chatted with residents.

Planning for the World War 1 commemoration is gathering speed. A specially designated website will launch in autumn, so it will be easy to advertise your event or find out what is going on.

I welcomed the winners of the Rotary Club’s “Junior Youth Speaks” competitions from St Barnabas and Gorse Hill Schools to the Mayor’s Parlour. The children asked some searching history questions and informed me that the origin of the phrase, “to kick the bucket,” referred to kicking the bucket from under someone about to be hanged. This interesting nugget of information came up during a visit to the cells.

Last week, local Samaritans celebrated 40 years of supporting people experiencing a crisis in their lives. Nationally, the Samaritans have been in existence for 50 years. Congratulations to them and thank you to the volunteers, for all the hard work that you do.

It was an honour to welcome a distinguished Chinese delegation from the city of Hezhou, Worcestershire Ambassadors and their guests to a reception at the Guildhall on Monday evening.

Hezhou is a city of about five million people and expects its population to double in the next five years (London’s population is approximately 4 million, to give some idea of the scale!)  The delegation was led by the Vice Mayor of Hezhou, Ms Grace Pan Ming. As a former Worcester University Business Studies student, Ms Pan Ming knows the city well. She has since gone on to a successful career in Chinese local government.

Monday also marked the start of Armed Forces Week – local reservists and veterans gathered to raise the Armed Forces Day flag over the Guildhall.

At the Worcestershire Summer School Games in Bromsgrove, the indoor rowing was particularly thrilling – and exhausting just to watch!

Phil and I were guests of the Worcester News at the Twenty20 cricket match between Worcester and Glamorgan. The covers were on and off as rain interrupted play, but the players gamely went on to produce 14 overs, as the weather lifted.

The Worcester Symphony Orchestra treated us to a programme of Mozart and Beethoven in St George’s Church on Saturday evening.  Their wonderful rendition of Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony made Dolby surround sound seem pale by comparison!

I also welcomed some Tanzanian guests, who are visiting the county as part of “One World Link,” and attended a production of “The Curry Bean” at RGS The Grange. 

We ended the week as guests of the Rotary Club at the inauguration of their new President, Sheila Sonley – Many congratulations to her!

I welcomed four groups of young people to the Mayor’s Parlour this week – the College of Technology’s Life Skills Class; two groups of students from Kleve, our German twin town; and an American group who are visiting Worcester University.

My visitors told me that their home towns do not possess the kind of traditional Mayoral Regalia that Worcester is fortunate enough to have.

On Tuesday morning, I joined local Rotarians at Gorse Hill Primary School for their Junior Youth Speaks competition. Congratulations to all of the finalists for a really superb effort and a very enjoyable morning.

Since then, I have joined the High Sherriff of Worcestershire and his guests for a garden party, attended the re-dedication of the Post Office war memorial at Wainright Road and chatted with young people at a Prince’s Trust event.

What made their event so special was the new deck and barbecue pit built by the young people for the Rainbow Hill Scout Hut. This multi-talented youth group is making a real difference to their community. Well done!

The RGS Springfield Sports and Open Day in Britannia Square gave me an insight into a high achieving school. I greatly enjoyed seeing the children’s work on a tour of the school.

A particularly special event for me was the launch of St Paul’s Hostel sleep out. St Paul’s is one of my three charities this year; the other two being Maggs and Asha. Participants were clearly having fun. Obviously, it is much less fun if you have to do it because you are homeless. A tip for anyone who might try it in the future – onesies are a great way to keep warm if you are sleeping under the stars.

Phil and I ended the week with our Civic Service. We processed to the Cathedral to start our Mayoral year with a thoughtful service.

It was a wonderful day, when we were joined by many friends, local people whom we have met through the year and dignitaries from around the county, and further afield. We’d like to say a sincere thank you to everyone who attended –you helped to make the day a very memorable one.

 

 

 

Early this week, I chaired a planning meeting for the commemoration of World War 1. Starting next year, the Worcester commemoration is expected to be the largest outside London.

Mid-week saw us at the West Midlands Young Enterprise finals at Worcester University. Entrepreneurs from Kings School had already made an astounding profit in excess of £1,000 from making and selling pewter jewellery – look out for Wigwam products in fashion and jewellery outlets!

On Thursday Starr’s Circus were raising funds for Acorns Hospice. We were treated to agile and daring performances by Khazakstani and Kenyan acrobats, a Ukranian Lady who balanced a tower of glasses on a knife tip while climbing a ladder, a Romanian lady trapeze artist and a really wonderful clown. We will certainly go again when they are in town.

Sinister stories and poems about the number thirteen delighted literature fans at the launch of Worcester Literature Festival on Friday. We now have a new Worcestershire Poet Laureate in Tim Cranmore. Congratulations also to our new Poet Laureate Emeritus, Maggie Doyle. Don’t miss the exciting programme put together by festival founder, Lisa Ventura and her team!

Local Rotarians attracted a lot of attention on Saturday with their annual “Boardwalk,” a parade of sandwich boards advertising local businesses.

During the afternoon, I enjoyed the Girl Guiding Showcase at Hanley Swann and got a first hand view of camping and barbequing. Their cakes were terrific, too!

Phil and I ended the week with the intrepid Race for Life runners, who have raised a staggering £200,000 for cancer research. Well done, ladies! It was a superb effort.

Our last engagement was the wedding and reception – “Walima” – of Rahena Sultana and Rezwan Rahman at Perdiswell. Mubarak! (Congratulations!) and best wishes for your new life together.