Mayor of Worcester

When it comes to musicals, I find myself far more comfortable watching them from behind the sound desk. However, it has been a long time since I laughed as hard as I did at the performance of We Will Rock You by WODS at The Swan Theatre last week. Every time someone came on stage, wearing an amazing outfit, fitting a very bizarre plot to a collection of Queen songs, I was laughing. It was so lovely to meet the musicians and performers after the show and I will definitely be back to watch their rendition of Legally Blonde in the spring. Thank you to the whole crew for inviting us to watch.

Over the weekend we launched the Poppy Appeal and the commemoration of the battle of Gheluvelt, both events with the Royal British Legion. It was beautiful to watch the poppies cascade from the upper windows of the Guildhall and to take a moment to think about the great sacrifices made by soldiers and their families in pursuit of peace.

And at a time when war continues to bring suffering to communities across the world, the lessons of the past remain profoundly relevant. We must never take peace for granted. We must never forget the human cost of conflict, and we must ensure that the stories of those who came before us continue to be told so that we may prevent them in the future.

The same thoughts were shared at the memorial event on Sunday at Gheluvelt Park. 112 years ago in October 1914, the First World War was still in its earliest months and right at the heart of it was our regiment, far away in the fields of Belgium.

Many men lost their lives in Gheluvelt and, to mark them in history, we dedicated the park to them. The park stands as a living memorial to all those who have lost their lives in battle. Each year the marking of the battle of Gheluvelt remains one of the largest memorial events.

Over the same weekend I had the pleasure of meeting people visiting Kidderminster from Husum. This year marked 50 years of twinning with Husum and Kidderminster. It is fantastic to see a connection still going strong. The connection was originally set up to try to heal some of the wounds caused by the Second World War and make links between English and German towns so that the same division would never be seen again.

Thank you to the Mayor of Kidderminster, Shazu Miah, and their civic team for inviting me to the wonderful concert and the lunch. It was lovely to see the renovations of the Town Hall and return to the town where I spent many years studying music.

This week I have been celebrating some of the things that make Worcester the city we all love.

I have seen this in the stories of those who came before us and from some of our enthusiastic young people who are still writing their futures.

I had the pleasure of celebrating the active travel achievements of some of our primary schools.

Many schools have worked hard, alongside parents and governors to get their pupils walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to school.

As a former teacher, I am always excited to see young people taking an active role in improving their communities.

Walking or cycling to school is a fantastic way to start the day, helping children feel energised, confident and ready to learn. It also means fewer cars on our roads, reducing pollution and making the streets around our schools safer for everyone.

These may seem like small changes, but collectively they can have an enormous impact on our city and on our young people.

I also had a fascinating behind the scenes tour of the Museum of Royal Worcester.

The museum houses an extraordinary collection of porcelain, showcasing the craftsmanship and creativity that made Worcester famous around the world.

However, I was particularly captivated by what was hidden away in the archives.

We explored historical documents, including the original timesheets of factory employees.

It was remarkable to see these records and think about the thousands of ordinary people whose skills and dedication helped build our city.

Every name, every piece of pottery, represented a real person, with their own ambitions, struggles and experiences.

So many of these people’s stories no longer remain but they are just as much a part of our city’s heritage as the intricate porcelain on display.

Thank you to the museum team for such an insightful visit.

Finally, I visited Oasis Hub in Warndon.

From youth work and environmental projects to toddler groups, family learning, holiday activities and adult education, there is something for almost everyone.

My theme for this mayoral year is community and Oasis Hub is an excellent example of what that means in practice.

Spaces like this offer far more than activities. They create friendships, build confidence and ensure people have somewhere to turn when they need support.

Thank you to everyone at Oasis Hub for your dedication. It is often the determination and generosity of people working quietly behind the scenes that makes the greatest difference to our communities.

I think Autumn is my favourite season. The darker evenings, the colourful leaves and one of my favourite events: Halloween.

That’s why I was so pleased to see that Worcester City Pride was holding an October “spooky” event this year.

Both me and Alaric (the Mayor’s Consort) had so much fun dressing up and taking part.

Thank you so much to the whole team and all the volunteers for inviting us along to the event.

We very much enjoyed giving a speech about the importance of celebrating the achievements of LGBT+ members of society and we enjoyed visiting all the stalls.

The Worcester Cathedral team have played a huge part in many events this week, starting with Prison’s Sunday.

Prison’s Sunday marks the start of Prison’s Week which aims to encourage prayer, and awareness of the needs of prisoners and their families, victims of offenders, prison staff and all those who work within the justice system.

To mark this, Revd Hugh Nelson, Bishop of Worcester, hosted a talk from Revd Jonathan Aitken.

Aitken spoke about his journey through the prison system to becoming a priest working with prisoners.

He also explored how the prison system could be improved to make justice more efficient, fair and effective.

Both Alaric and I found the talk absolutely fascinating and we would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped organise it.

On a similar theme, the Shrievalty Service took place at Worcester Cathedral this weekend.

This is an annual service held to give thanks and to recognise the year of office of the county’s High Sheriff.

The sermon and readings explored difficult themes of mercy, forgiveness and justice, concepts that our judges have to manage every day.

I feel honoured to have been invited to celebrate the Shrievalty Service with the High Sheriff, Maynard Burton and so many brilliant judges.

I attended my second service of the week on Tuesday and enjoyed the “long time no see” jokes with the Cathedral team.

This time we celebrated 10 years of the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven Service. This is a fantastic and unique centre we have in Worcester which offers separate and calming services for people being screened or treated for breast cancer.

We are so lucky to have this resource within our community and I commend all of the work their staff do.

The service, given by the wonderful Reverend Canon Claire Lording, was about hope and love; love that fights cancer and supports loved ones.

After the sermon, I couldn’t stop laughing at the Sister Act piece performed by the nursing team and Worcester Operatic & Dramatic Society (WODS).

Thank you to everyone at the Unit for all the work you do and for a lovely evening.