Mayor of Worcester Blog

Summer’s over and my diary is getting busier! Lynn and I returned from a short break (partly to celebrate my latest “noughty” birthday).  Many thanks to the deputy mayor and mayoress, Steve and Alison Mackay, for attending a number of functions while we were away.

The annual “world’s biggest coffee morning” organised for Macmillan Cancer Care took place last Friday (29^th) and I visited two events at the Guildhall and Tesco St Peter’s.  Both were very successful and contributed towards the total of £2 million raised so far in the UK, to support Macmillan’s vital services.

I attended the presentation by the Lord Lieutenant, Colonel Patrick Holcroft, of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise to PCA Predict, one of our most successful local IT companies. PCA Predict supplies online automated data look-up and verification systems, both in UK and abroad. Their young and enthusiastic employees deserve to share the credit for this royal recognition of their achievement.

On Saturday morning the Rotary Club of Worcester invited local charities to showcase their activities, attract new volunteers and raise some money in the Guildhall’s lower hall. Smaller charities cannot afford to spend much on advertising, so this event is really useful for them.

The county Harvest Festival service took place in the Cathedral on Sunday and it was good to show our gratitude for those who produce, deliver and supply the food most of us just take for granted. We also remembered the many without food in several parts of the world – including users of our foodbanks.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the rugby club on Monday to celebrate 30 years of YSS, an important local charity which supports vulnerable young people and their families – including young carers with ill and disabled parents. Princess Anne is patron of YSS and gave an excellent speech about its achievements and future plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s column is penned by Cllr Steve Mackay, Deputy Mayor of Worcester

 

Last Friday the Chief Executive of St Richards Hospice, Mark Jackson, kindly arranged for me and others to tour the hospice to gain a greater understanding of what St Richards can offer. While the 17 bed unit provides In-Patient care, St Richards also receive Out- Patients at its clinics and their nurse specialists visit those who are seriously ill in their own homes.  But it does not stop there with Family Support as well as Bereavement Support being offered to relatives at such difficult times. Worcestershire must be grateful for having such a caring body of people ready to step in and help when families need the most assistance.

That evening I took up an invitation to watch an incredibly exciting first match of the season by Worcester Wolves Basketball Team at the University Arena. And what a match, with five minutes to go the opposition, Cheshire Phoenix, were leading the Wolves by five points.  Full time saw a draw, so the game went into extra time.  This was great for the Wolves, who ended up winning 88 to 85. Worcester fans were terrific and gave tremendous support.

On Saturday afternoon I joined the St John Ambulance team in Angel Place, helping with their Save a Life campaign. While we were distributing information on CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation), we found many people asking for the leaflets and wanting demonstrations.  The team were able to show exactly what needs to be done by using their resuscitation dummies.

That evening I watched the Worcester Male Voice Choir sing their way through a number of songs in their repertoire. College Hall is a great setting for the choir, who gave us many different styles of song and obviously enjoyed entertaining as much as the audience appreciated their efforts. If you haven’t heard the choir sing you might like to obtain a ticket for one of their upcoming concerts; you won’t be disappointed!

 

This week’s diary is written by the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Steve Mackay.  

Friday started with me opening the Worcester Festival of Business. Many local enterprises left their offices to use stands to promote their services.  Good to see Worcester City Council advertising how it can provide funding for business ‘start ups’ and growth funding.

That same morning I visited the Church of Latter Day Saints in St Peters. If anyone is thinking of researching their family tree, the Church has a wonderful resource there and would be very pleased to help you…. and it’s free.

That evening we attended the annual Hereford and Worcester Fire Service Awards, where fire fighters received awards for long service and good conduct. These are important awards, reflecting their commitment to the public.   An award was also given to Mr Phil Hall of Malvern, whose act of heroism in entering a burning home saved the lives of a disabled man and his pet.

On Saturday evening we attended Pershore Abbey where Sue and John Fletcher celebrated what would have been their son Paul’s 40^th birthday, had he survived.  The congregation were treated to the music of the Morriston Orpheus Choir, together with a soloist Huw Euron.  Paul’s niece Megan also sang beautifully to the congregation.  All proceeds from the event went to St. Richard’s Hospice.

Of course the event of the week in Worcester was the 10K run attended by celebrities Steve Cram, Jennie Meadows and Louise Minchin of the BBC. A fantastic morning with some 2,600 runners taking part (not including the under 16’s). The events included wheelchair competitors and a Run, Bike, Run event.   A fantastic day for Worcester– we must keep this going year on year.  So many happy people – congratulations must go to the organisers for such a well presented occasion.

I finished my week by attending the AGM of Headway Worcester, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of those suffering from brain injury. I was privileged to give awards to some very dedicated staff and volunteers.

 

Last Friday morning our four mace-bearers, our sword-bearer, the mayoress and I joined the principal of the Heart of Worcestershire College and other academic leaders in procession to the Cathedral.  This annual event precedes the splendid graduation ceremony.

It was wonderful to see so many proud young people being presented with their hard-earned degrees and diplomas.

In the evening we visited the studio of Caro Burberry, a local sculptor whose work is critically acclaimed both at home and abroad. There were many fine examples of her work on display, which were much admired.

On Saturday we attended a charity riverboat cruise from Stourport-on-Severn, at the mayor’s invitation.  This helped raise money for Midlands Air Ambulance, which is one of my own mayoral charities.

In the evening, we travelled to Wolverhampton to watch the final of the Nuneaton and District Junior Swimming League. Teams of swimmers aged 8 to 12 compete to win the prizes. This year, Worcester Swimming Club’s junior team were not only in division one, but made it to the final. Congratulations to them all for their effort and for bringing home a couple of trophies. I’m sure they will do even better in future with the advantage of training at Worcester’s new swimming pool, which will open in the New Year.

Charlotte Whitehead, Callum Strickland and Tom Banks rescued a man in trouble in the River Severn in Worcester on 3 July.  I welcomed these Pershore High School students to the parlour and presented them with Bravery Awards on behalf of our city. Their parents and school are rightly proud of them.

Later, I attended a meeting of City Parish Relief in Need Charity, where I am a trustee. My week ended with a visit of French students on an exchange visit with Edward Oldcorne RC College.

The presentation of the annual community sports awards at the University Arena rounded off our week.