Mayor of Worcester Blog

If you can’t get to Venice this year, pop down to the Museum and Art Gallery on the Tything and see a fantastic collection of beautiful paintings of the city by Canaletto. This is a real coup for us to be able to see so many masterpieces in one place. His paintings are so accurate they have been used to rebuild cities and chart climate change on the canals, which seems bizarre but of real interest to attendees of the first City Environmental Summit, held last week. Let’s hope we make real progress here, so that we don’t have to rely on an 18th century painter to remember what our planet looked like.

It is 50 years since the first Pride march in London and the need to celebrate and protest in equal measure was shown on Saturday when I was able to walk with our MP at the head of a great parade. Well done to everyone taking part and raising our awareness.

That need for profile raising was shown later in the day at the launch of Black History Month, an opportunity to confront our past but also to celebrate the way in which Black History has contributed to Worcester’s own story, and continues to do so.

Community and volunteering is so often the theme of my visits, this time to mark the 20 plus years of the Bridge Counselling Service, and also the promotion of new and developing community activity in Rainbow Hill – my own Council area. The depth of support and activity is a constant surprise to me.

Finally back to the past – 40 years on Radio Wyvern was re-launched this week, along with those DJs, Sammy Southall, Mike George, Muff Murfin. Names that people of our generation probably remember the most. And the tunes! Takes you back doesn’t it, Tramps, Images…

 

I officially opened a new Migrant Centre to help people develop skills to be more self-reliant and adapt to UK living. Sometimes complex job and benefit applications, sometimes simple driving etiquette! Great to see local assistance for this terrible international situation.

I caught up to present the final trophies to winners from the Worcester Show, albeit slightly delayed, and was then honoured to present more awards for users of the Wildgoose Rural Training Centre, an amazing group of carers, staff and volunteers showing how caring for the environment, growing things, and looking after farm animals can help people with mental and physical challenges, thrive. Many of them too had won at this year’s Worcester and Hallow Shows.

Manufactured artistic talent was on display at the Royal Porcelain Museum for a new exhibition of their Showstopper treasures. This is a great museum, and central to Worcester’s industrial and social history. Go in person or visit this new trail online, it’s well worth it.

The annual Mayor’s Dinner saw lots of representatives from local charities, community organisations, businesses mix with civic guests. It was a fun occasion and lovely to see friends and family too. My charities, OnSide Advocacy and Severn Arts were well represented and Behind the Smile and the local Parkinson’s Group were also invited. Link Nurseries from Powick, a centre for improving mental and physical health through horticulture, supplied sustainable pots of bulbs instead of cut flowers.

The event’s aim is to make new connections and generate future collaborations across the city and our keynote speaker, Jim O’Toole, gave a clear insight as to why Worcester is so interdependent across sport, culture, economic development, community organisations, volunteering and business. He had some words about Warriors of course but what is said on tour, stays on tour, as it were. It did prompt a couple of us to ruck up at Sixways on Monday night with no other plan than to see the locks being put on.

 

We watched Queen Elizabeth’s sad and solemn funeral programmes last Monday and must say that seeing someone from Worcester, Bishop John, so closely associated with proceedings gave me a much more direct connection. It can often surprise how quickly things move on after someone leaves, work or life, and perhaps never more so than in the passing of an hereditary monarch. Times have indeed changed.

For one reason or another, it has felt that the actual interregnum has been so much longer than the reality. But now, cost of living, war in Europe, energy bills, jobs, relationships, mundanities loom again.

Also, fun of course – don’t hold back if there is excitement and enjoyment to be had. It’s not all doom and gloom, but there are serious issues to be dealt with.

One feature of the last couple of weeks that has been high on everyone’s list is that of community and coming together. I was at an award ceremony this week for people in ‘grass roots cricket’ across the county. Volunteers, from coaches to grounds staff, from young to the lifetime achievers, celebrating their love of cricket in countless towns and villages across Worcestershire, with a backdrop of the County side giving Nottinghamshire a bit of a pasting.

This was not so much about cricket, but a celebration of the value of sport and volunteering to any local community. And it was great to see a new award committed to environmental sustainability this year too.

My class from school hits 60 this year. As this coincides with these recent momentous events, it serves as a time of reflection to see what we can learn from our history and how we can change things for the better in the future, personally and institutionally.

Many mayoral engagements, cancelled out of respect, are now being rearranged if they can be, and the calendar is filling up. I still hope to see Warriors this weekend though.

Anyway, “Strictly” is back. Must be time to look forward again.

 

In Arkwright’s words, it’s been a funny old week. Mourning and reflection:  pageantry and moments of exultation. Despite years of planning, much of the detail has been last minute and so the full range of communications has had to be employed. The instancy of social media is fine, but sometimes, as at the Proclamation on the Guildhall steps, we have to resort to age-old methods of getting the message across!

Hundreds of people were part of history on the Guildhall steps at the Proclamation of the new monarch by County and then City. This was followed by a short council meeting where councillors paid their respects and tributes to Queen Elizabeth II.

There has been wall to wall coverage, tribute programmes, news report, across most TV channels 24/7, as well as daily written memories and comment. Some programmes bear the hallmark of having been made a while ago and held ‘in the can’ until ready for use. Others have been sprightly and incisive and delivered with raw immediacy. Both have their place.

For some, saturation coverage is not welcome. For political reasons, or more personal, perhaps dealing with their own grief or troubles. We must respect each other’s views and need for space at this time.

Since I opened the Condolence Books at the Guildhall last Thursday evening there has been a steady stream of hundreds of people of any age, creed, and persuasion, residents and visitors. I want to thank publicly the Guildhall staff, especially the small team of Macebearers, who worked over and above expectation to add dignity and solemnity to this week. I have been struck by the amount of children and young people expressing their sorrow and respect here, and also in the floral tributes at the Cathedral. The books are open until Tuesday 20th September.

One of the condolence messages Worcester received this week was from our twin city of Kleve, Germany. Fitting then that one of my visitors was John Cave, a retired member of staff who for many years was involved with the Twinning Association.