Mayor of Worcester Blog

Monday 29th: Last Wednesday (24th. August) I helped the local Red Cross Society with the planting of a “Family” oak tree in Gheluvelt Park to raise awareness of the International Day of the Disappeared (30th. August) and the International Tracing and Message Service. Today Jane and I visited the Red Cross stall in the High Street set up to yet further remind us of the plight of the “Disappeared” and their families.

I spent a couple of hours writing an article on “Poisoning with drugs and chemicals in South Sudan: how big is the problem?” for the South Sudan Medical Journal. It’s a big problem in parts of Africa: kerosene (paraffin) in children and organophosphates (herbicides and insecticides) in adults. We need to know more of the situation in South Sudan.

The “Worcester Festival” has been a resounding success: we all owe a great big “Thank You” to Chris Jaegar and his team. And what a fantastic fireworks display enjoyed by thousands of people assembled in South Quay beside the river! There were patterns and colour combinations I certainly have not seen before.

Worcester Festival Fireworks 2011 taken at Fort Royal Park – Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelsall

Worcester Festival Fireworks 2011 taken at the Riverside, Worcester – Photo courtesy of Dave Grubb

We have the Chinese to thank too because it was in China that fireworks originated in the 7th century. The Chinese firework-masters (pyrotechnicians) became a highly respected professional class developing many kinds of fireworks and explosions, effects and colour.

Royal Fireworks – Image from Wikipedia

Tuesday 30th: A day of planning for future events. I met representatives of my three chosen charities (Leukaemia Care, Noah’s Ark and Worcester Farmers’ Overseas Action Group). The two main events are still on track: A “Murder Mystery Evening” on Friday 14th October and a “Business School Evening” and talk on “The History of Medicine in Worcester” at the Castle Street campus of the University on Wednesday 9th May 2012. If you know of anyone who would like to contribute by sponsoring part of these do let me know.

Some of the FOAG team during a visit by The Right Hon. Andrew Mitchell, MP

Susan O’Kane, Cllr Roger Berry (Deputy Mayor) and I gathered in the Parlour with Lt. Col. Gerry Taggart RE (Retired) who has worked tirelessly with the planning for Armed Forces Day celebrations next year (30th June 2012). He has “put out feelers” to the various organizations and has had a most encouraging response. Now comes the hard work of putting everything together. And we are also thinking about what we may do in 2013!!

The third meeting was to discuss, with the Rotary Club of Worcester, our joint charity dinner event on Friday 10th. February 2012. The plans are going well and it should be a great evening to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee of her accession to the throne. Food, entertainment, costumes (“Coronets and Tiaras”) and decorations all in the style of the 1950’s: don’t miss it!!

Wednesday 31st: Mike Harrison, Head of the Cleaner and Greener Department of the Worcester City Council, leaves tomorrow after 34 years’ service. He is the last of the Senior Officers who were here when I was first elected in 2004. He has helped to guide the Council through difficult times. I was privileged to speak at his farewell party in the Guildhall.

Mike Harrison’s Farewell Party at the Guildhall

Thursday 1st: A most memorable day. Twenty eight Junior Army Enlistments came to the Guildhall for a ceremony to swear the Oath of Allegiance for joining the Army. They had been carefully selected by Major H.L. Kennedy MBE Rifles (Area Recruiting Officer) and his team. Although life will be tough for these young men and women during their training over the next year or so I have no doubt that they will all get through. I had the honour of presenting each one with their Oath Certificate. The City, County and their families should be proud of them. To reflect the importance of this event I invited the recruits to sign the Mayor’s VIP Visitors’ Book.

Junior Army Oath of Allegiance at the Guildhall

Professor Omar Faruque, Editor of the “Dhaka Post”, is visiting friends in Worcester. He paid a courtesy visit to me in the Parlour and presented a copy of his recent publication of a detailed study of the Bangla Deshi community in the UK.

Friday 2nd: The “Big Bag Donation 2011” appeal is made by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). From today until Friday 16th. September “Big Donation” bags will be available from the Cathedral Plaza Shopping Centre. Everyone is asked to fill a bag with saleable goods from books and CD’s to bric-a-brac and then return it to the BHF shop on Mealcheapen Street. Jane and I attended, with John Kendrick, Centre Manager of the Cathedral Plaza, the launch of this appeal and to donate bags of books and clothes. BHF shops have a problem with maintaining their stock due to commercial collectors – companies that collect stock on behalf of charities for financial gain. The need to extend research into heart diseases and improve care continues to out outstrip the resources available so the BHF is vital. For more information visit www.bhf.org.uk.

Saturday 3rd: For the first time since the Battle of Worcester on September  3rd 1651 a Service of Commemoration was held in the Cathedral at 11am. The procession, which Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Jane and I joined as it passed the Guildhall, was spectacular with pipes and drums and costumes of 360 years ago. Canon Paul Tongue conducted the service beginning with the construction of a Drumhead on the Quire steps. Prayers of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I were recited and Canon Tongue gave a history about Thomas Tomkins (1572 – 1656) who was organist of Worcester Cathedral from 1597 – 1654. Lord Faulkner spoke of the fascinating story and importance of 3rd September 1651, this being the date of the last battle of the civil wars which had begun in 1642. We also enjoyed organ music composed by Thomas Tomkins. The proceedings ended with a “March Past” the Guildhall with Lord Faulkner, Robin Walker MP, Jane and I and others taking the salute. Great Britain is as it is today because of the defeat of Charles II by Oliver Cromwell.

This evening there was a gathering of the Battle of Worcester Society at the Commandery. From there we processed to the top of Fort Royal Hill with its wonderful views of the City and where a short Drumhead service was conducted by Canon Paul Tongue and Ben Humphreys to commemorate the closing stages of the Battle of Worcester.

Battle of Worcester Procession to Fort Royal Hill – Photo Courtesy of Andrew Kelsall

Ben reminded us that in 1786, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (became the second and third presidents respectively of the USA) visited Fort Royal Hill. John Adams was disappointed at the locals’ lack of knowledge of the battle and said “And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground, much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill, once a year”. We too should take note of this.

Battle of Worcester – Fort Royal Hill – Photo Courtesy of Andrew Kelsall

Sunday 4th: It seemed as though most of the Mayors and Chairmen across Worcestershire were at The Blue Lagoon in Evesham this evening. It was a “Curry Evening” to raise funds for the Mayor (Cllr. James Bulman) of Evesham’s charities.

Remembrance Sunday is on 13^th November. Meticulous planning goes into the arrangements so a meeting was held in the Parlour with representatives from the Cathedral, The Royal British Legion and the Police. The length of the service in the Cathedral needs to be timed carefully to ensure everyone is in place around the War Memorial for wreath laying and the 11am two minutes’ silence.

Tuesday 23^rd: A day off!! Fantastic crop of lovely red crab apples: ideal for jelly making!!

Wednesday 24^th: The International Day of the Disappeared focuses on those who are missing for whatever reason: disaster, migration, war and imprisonment. The British Red Cross Society marks the Day on 30^th August. The International Tracing and Message Service (ITMS) run by the Red Cross and Red Crescent and is crucial for the location of lost family members. The success of the ITMS is demonstrated by its finding family members as far back as World War II.

It must be terrible not to know the whereabouts of a loved one especially if they are thought to have died. I have great affinity with this having spent time in Uganda and especially Rwanda over the last 40 years. In both these countries people have been killed and the places of their remains are unknown to this day.

Today I helped Penny Thompson, Andrew Roche and Tom Malone, of Red Cross Society Worcester, with the planting of an oak tree sapling in Gheluvelt Park. The planting of a memorial “family tree” is aimed at reminding us of the anguish of families facing these problems.

For more information see the web site: www.redcross.couk/trace.

A word about Gheluvelt Park: it was a lovely day and families were out in force enjoying the water feature facilities. I was impressed especially by the beds of drought resistant plants including the sedums and grasses. Just the year to test them out and it has worked. The Parks Department is rightly proud of what it has done.

Jane and I were delighted to welcome Katie Love and her parents for “tea” in the parlour. We all remember Katie taking part in the TV competition “So You Think You Can Dance” earlier this year. She came out as the top girl dancer. What an achievement by this Worcester lass. She started dancing at two years old and by the age of 16 years was studying theatre performance at Bird College before working front of house at Wicked in the West End. She used to be a member of Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Youth Society. Katie now teaches theatre workshops in Bird’s and has formed her own company, Default Theatre.

On 9^th and 10^th September Katie’s Default Theatre presents “Cabaresque!” at the Swan Theatre. Come and see this dance and music cabaret for the whole family…not to be missed!!

Thursday 25^th: I discovered the “Mayor’s Prayer Book” in a cupboard in the Parlour. It’s huge and contains the Book of Common Prayer, the Psalms and New Testament. Printed in 1700 and bound in crimson “turkey” leather. Well, I wonder if this story of “turkey” leather is true really? Maybe there is an origin from the Turkish word s??r?/ç??r? ‘rump of a horse’ or the prepared skin of this part. I have also found another reference of interest: Ostrich Foot Leather (often called “Turkey” foot) is made from German raised Ostrich. It is beautiful, tough and is available in a wide range of colours.

Among the pages of this “Prayer Book” were three pieces of paper: one is dated “1707 – 08”, but that cannot be right because it is written in biro!! It states “Pd. Mr. John Mountfort for a Book of Common Prayer, New Testament and Psalms on Royal Paper and extraordinarily bound in Turkey leather for the Mayor’s use. £03.04.06d” (£3.23p). The second paper is headed “WORCESTER CATHEDRAL. June 26^th, 1902” and records  Psalm 71 sung at “MORNING PRAYER”. The third document was for the “Thanksgiving for Victory, Order of Service 1945”.

The cover and binding of the “Prayer Book” is not in a good state so I took it along to David Morrison in the Cathedral Library. We have decided to have the cost of renovation estimated.

The Frontispiece of the Mayor’s Prayer Book

Friday 26^th: Friends from the City’s twin town of Kleve in Germany are here on a week’s visit. This evening we had a most enjoyable meal and very pleasant social event held in St. George’s Catholic Church Hall. It all ended with an hilarious game of Bingo!!

Our twinning with Kleve is now in its 24th year of which we are all very proud. Kleve (Cleves in English) is in the Lower Rhine region of north-western Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. The name “Kleve” may originate from the German word “Kliff” perhaps referring to the promontory upon which the Schwanenburg was constructed. The city’s coat of arms shows three clovers (German “Klee”) so that may be a link. The Schwanenburg, built on a steep hill, is where the dukes of Cleves used to live resided.

Night view of Schwanenburg and Stiftkirche, image from Wikipedia.

Kleve’s famous daughter is Anne of Cleves (1515-1557), who briefly (6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540) was one of Henry VIII’s six wives.

Anne of Cleves, image and caption from Wikipedia: Portrait by Hans Holbein the younger, 1539. Parchment mounted on canvas, Louvre, Paris.

Saturday 27^th: Some years ago the people of Kleve gave the City of Worcester a statue of a black swan. This was placed on a plinth beside the river on what has been named Kleve Walk. Sadly the Swan was stolen but then through the kindness of Peter Telford was replaced. But disaster struck again when the plinth itself was badly damaged by an earth-moving vehicle. At last all is back in place thanks to the stone masons of the Cathedral. The Worcester Twinning Association, our visitors from Kleve, Jane and I gathered around the statue to celebrate and renew our gratitude for the original gift. As we were speaking it was amazing that about a dozen white swans flew past along the river….a wonderful “fly past”.

(The “Black Swan” statue was presented to the City of Worcester approx 14 years ago in celebration of the twinning with Kleve in Germany. This is the second casting because the original was stolen some years ago. The sculptor is Dieter Von Levetzow. © Copyright Derek Bradley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)

Sunday 28^th: Another day of rest!! Well, not quite as I had to catch up with some editing jobs for the South Sudan Medical Journal (SSMJ). South Sudan gained its independence only recently. The SSMJ is the only regular quarterly medical journal easily available: it is a privilege to be on the Editorial Board with colleagues in South Sudan and the UK. See www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com

Monday 15th: Twenty two Italian students came for a tour of the Guildhall. They were here on a month’s English Language Course including cultural and educational visits. One is never quite sure if the presentation has been sufficiently appropriate for the particular audience. Have I taken into account the standard of the visitors’ English and above all have I made the history interesting enough to hold the attention? I am always relieved after these tours to have favourable feedback. Descent into the cells is never without interest. These cells may have their origins in the Tudor era although the present ones probably date from 1721 when the Guildhall was rebuilt. They were used to hold prisoners awaiting trial in the Court Room above.

Tim Clark, of the Worcester Standard, and I had our routine monthly meeting in the parlour when we discussed recent and forthcoming events. It’s always a pleasure Tim: it makes one realise just how much is going on!

As part of the Worcester Festival there was a Choral Mass celebrated at Old St. Martin’s Church. A most uplifting experience.

Tuesday 16th: No mayoral duties but plenty of other things to keep me busy! First thing I chaired the committee of colleagues organising the next visit to Adentan Municipal Assembly in Ghana. The plan for the week next month is gradually coming together. There will be a huge amount to do in those few days: assistance with forming a “Federation of Small Businesses”, enhancing their production of a local newspaper (“Adentan News”), a course on how to run business efficiently and the beginning of a “Master Plan” for Adentan.

I chaired the Committee of the Worcestershire Branch of the Oxford University Society this evening. We’re planning a visit to Bletchley Park next month: the home of the vital team that broke the “Enigma” code. The Germans used the Enigma machine during the Second World War to keep communications secret. The machine is an electro-mechanical device based on a series of rotating ‘wheels’ so that text is scrambled into incoherent ciphertext. The key is to determine how the machine has been set up then the ciphertext can be interpreted. Some Polish mathematicians managed to get hold of a machine before the War and code breakers at Bletchley Park managed to crack the Enigma code. It is likely that this achievement shortened the War by two years.

Wednesday 17th: Each year recruits to the Army receive their certificates of selection. The ceremony is held in the Guildhall. I met Major H.L.Kennedy, MBE, Rifles, Area Recruiting Officer and Warrant Officer 1 Dale Norman this morning to plan this important event.

Thursday 18th: Viewing the riverside from the river itself is quite revealing. This is what Jane and I experienced when we joined the Rotary Club of Worcester for its Annual River Cruise for the elderly and less able. Everyone had a most enjoyable and relaxing few hours as we sailed south from North Quay and some distance beyond Kempsey. The new Diglis foot/cycle footbridge looks most elegant. The riverside of the “southern loop” is such an asset and a marked improvement from a year or so ago.

Friday 19th: Councillor Barry MacKenzie-Williams died on 14th January 2010. He was first elected to the City Council in 2002 and served on the cabinet from 2003 becoming deputy leader in 2006. A devoted servant of the City and as one councillor said at the time he was a “voice of reason”. It was therefore very fitting for a lasting memorial for Barry to have a bench placed on South Quay near the fountains and beside the river.

The Right Reverend Christopher Mayfield (retired Bishop of Manchester) conducted a short service of dedication today in lovely sunshine.

Councillor Roger Knight spoke words for all of us saying “How fitting it is to have this memorial to Barry in a location he enjoyed and in a city he loved and served. Barry was a good man, a good Councillor and more importantly a good friend. He achieved more in his life by far than most people would in three lifetimes, yet was quite humble about this, to learn of his life one had to drag information from him and as he spoke the significance of his achievements never failed to impress. I miss him as do our colleagues.”

Monday 8th: “Two Pennies Money Advice” (previously called “Community Advice Support and Help”) is a small charity but does a great deal of work with those who get into financial difficulties. It also runs courses to try to prevent money problems occurring or re-occurring. I met with Neal Murphy who wanted to discuss future ideas.

Tuesday 9th: The Chairman of the Three Choirs Festival, Sir Michael Perry and Lady Perry, held a pre-concert Reception on the Old Palace lawn this evening. It is such a privilege to meet those who are working so hard for this Festival.

Wednesday 10th: Cllr. Jo Hodges (Chairman of the Worcester Twinning Association), Cllr. Roger Berry (Deputy Mayor), Cllr. Roger Knight (Deputy leader of the City Council), Doreen Porter and I met this morning to discuss a request from the Mayor of Ukmerge, our twinned city in Lithuania. This centred on what we could offer in terms of help and advice  on how we run our council. A number of ideas were debated including several that we had used when our colleagues from the Adentan Municipal Assembly came here in February. We also discussed how we can assist with the 25th Anniversary International Week of Twinning in September next year.

Mr. Frankie Tsang is chairman of the Worcester Chinese Association. I was delighted to welcome him, Mr. Gu Yawei (the Chairman of Tongling Society for Returned Overseas Chinese) and five colleagues to the parlour. They were fascinated by the story of the Guildhall and past Mayors. Tongling is located in Eastern China and spans the Yangtze River. It has produced copper since 256BC and is now the Copper Production Base in China. “Tong” means “copper” and “Ling” means “hilltop”: so a very apt name for this city. It has a “small” population of “only” 740,000. There are 20,000,000 people within an hour’s drive!!

Thursday 11th: For half an hour before Evensong in the Cathedral Peter Dyke gave a magnificent organ recital. All five pieces were new to me. Evensong is a liturgy used in the Anglican Communion. Originally it was formed by combining the Roman Catholic Vespers and Compline. Choral Evensong from the Book of Common Prayer lends itself to a wonderful variety of musical scholarship. This is what was heard this evening in the Cathedral when Hereford Cathedral Choir. It was a delight to be there.

Friday 12th: A Reception this evening on the Old Palace Lawn was followed by a Three Choirs Concert. Two works were performed: “An Oxford Elegy” by Ralph Vaughan Williams for which The Dean, The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, acted as narrator and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. It was an outstanding experience. A firework display and then a Dinner completed the evening well passed our bed time!!

Saturday 13th: The final and 64th. Concert of the Three Choirs Festival: “A Night at the Opera” in the Cathedral. It was a musical extravaganza with works by Rossini, Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and Borodin. Adrian Lucas (Conductor and Artistic Director), The Festival Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra placed Worcester at the centre of excellence. The packed Cathedral was enthralled and the applause lasted and lasted. Jane and I hosted the traditional end of festival Supper for the Festival Chorus in the Guildhall. It was clear that this has probably been one of the most successful Three Choirs Festivals ever with record seat sales. Sir Michael Perry, Adrian Lucas and everyone involved must be congratulated: as the President of the Three Choirs Festival Association, HRH The Prince of Wales, says in his letter published in the 2011 Festival programme: “The music on offer is, as always, a rich blend of the comfortably familiar and the intriguingly new, and the choice of ensembles and artists strikes a parallel balance between maturity and youth”.

Now that was a week that was! Worcester City really has shown its cultural prowess. In spite of the “recession” people came to Worcester from all over the country and world to attend the oldest Classical Music Festival. Our Three Choirs Festival (Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford) has been running for almost three hundred something of which we should all be very proud.

A little piece of interesting history I only discovered in the last few days. Hubert Leicester was Mayor of Worcester five times in 1904 – 05 and 1913 – 15. He was a friend of Elgar and closely associated with the Festival Chorus. We have discovered a large and magnificent portrait of Leicester in the City Museum’s store room and I am hoping that eventually it can be hung here in the Guildhall.