Mayor of Worcester

One of the main roles of the Mayor is to chair the full meeting of the City Council, and the February Council meeting that was held on Tuesday is one of the most important. This is the time of the year when the council’s budget is set, and many reports must be put to the vote. The budget had three amendments that also required separate votes. On top of that, the meeting included three separate motions from Councillors.

Ahead of the main meeting, an additional extraordinary meeting took place, at which the Council made the historic decision to recommend that all-out elections are held every four years, rather than the current model of one-third of councillors being elected each year. I felt exhausted by the end of a long but important night during which many votes were required.

My next visit into the city centre was for more fun reasons, to visit the Light Night Worcester event. Despite the terrible floods, the Arches Festivals team put on another great show that was once again well attended, with long queues to enter the various performances. When I arrived at the Guildhall, the Mayoress and I witnessed Luma the giant illuminated caterpillar, made by Air Giants, in the Lower Hall. Certainly, the queues outside were much longer than they were for Tuesday’s meeting!

Walking around town we saw the Neon Dogs by Deepa Mann-Kier, that featured on the front of the festival’s promotional leaflet, and the amazing Lips by Puppets with Guts in Cathedral Square. Across the road from there the trees outside the Cathedral were lit in red, and the walk through the garden led us to Submergence by Squidsoup in the Old Palace. Everyone was mesmerized by the lights constantly changing colour.

We saw the other performances was we walked to the Crowngate car park where the popular Silent Disco was taking place on the floors 5 and 6. The headphones gave the user the choice of three music channels that glowed in either blue, green or red. I went against my usual political preference opting for the green channel that played 1990s dance music, which worked well with the disco lights.

This week I had the rarity of no official mayoral engagements, which has given me the opportunity to plan for the weeks ahead. I am receiving invitations to events on a daily basis and my diary up to May, when my mayoral year ends, is filling up rapidly.

On Wednesday I had a meeting with Gill Preece, the mayor’s secretary, and Julie Micklewhite from Aspie and Bridget Stradden from the Stroke Association (my two mayoral charities) to discuss arrangements for a Charity Banquet which will be held on Friday 29th April at the Guildhall. This is going to be a fantastic evening with a Prosecco reception followed by a three-course meal, with a Charity auction and live entertainment. I hope we can sell out and raise plenty of funds for these charities that help so many people.

On Friday 25 March I am hosting a Charity concert that features Worcester Concert Brass “In Celebration” of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  Tickets for this and the Banquet are available from The Mayor’s Office: civicoffice@worcester.gov.uk

On Wednesday evening I joined members of my Rotary Club to watch the film premiere of “Unlocking the Severn”. The film has been created by award-winning filmmaker Nina Constable and is presented by Monty Halls, successfully capturing the aims and successes of the project. Last October I attended opening by the Princess Royal of the new fish pass viewing gallery, that is a part of Unlocking the Severn Project at Diglis.

The story about the twaite Shad on the River Severn is an interesting one, and scientists have used trackers to monitor the fishes’ movements that will hopefully see them returning to their traditional spawning grounds on the upper Severn now that the series of fish passes have been constructed. There will be the opportunity for members of the public to visit the viewing gallery, the only one of its kind in the UK, in the Spring so I would strongly recommend going to their website at www.unlockingthesevern.co.uk/through-the-fish-window/

On Sunday the mayoress and I attended the lunchtime matinee performance of Kay’s Theatre Group’s pantomime, Little Red Riding Hood. This is the Theatre Group’s 67th production since their first in 1954, which was also Little Red Riding Hood! The Swan Theatre was full, and the audience of children and adults were treated to an excellent show that included young performers from the Harlequin Stage School.

The pantomime was directed by Paula Dymock and written by Paul Tate, with the music directed by BBC Hereford and Worcester’s Andrew Easton. Two weeks ago he also interviewed me on his Saturday morning programme whilst I was out in Parma.

The Kays Theatre Group have many talented amateur performers and their productions have received numerous local area National Operatic and Dramatic Association awards over the years. Proceeds from the production also support their chosen charity, St. Richard’s Hospice. Their next production will be Alice in Wonderland in 2023.

On Friday the mayoress and I were invited to The Old Palace to Bishop John Inge’s At Home evening, which he hosted alongside his wife Helen Jane Colston. John Inge has been Bishop of Worcester since March 2008. He also holds the ancient title of the Lord High Almoner and is responsible to the Keeper of the Privy Purse for the arrangements for the annual Maundy service. The only time the Maundy Service has been held in Worcester was back in 1980.

Finally, I want to mention my Charity Banquet that will raise funds for Aspie and the Stroke Association on April 29. The event at the Guildhall is something to look forward to so please contact the civic office  if you wish to join us on what should be a memorable evening. I would also love to hear form anyone who can provide raffle prizes for the evening, to help these worthwhile causes.