Mayor of Worcester Blog

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.

Last week I reported that I would be going to Parma in Italy to support the Worcester Warriors, and hopefully I would meet the Mayor Federico Pizzarotti. On Saturday morning I met him in the town hall where I was able to view their council chamber and see the mayor’s office. Their council chamber is set up very similarly to the one in our Guildhall, and they even use the same microphone system as us.

Whereas I am principally a ceremonial mayor with a term of office of just a single year, the Mayor of Parma is directly elected by the citizens of the city on a five-yearly basis. We exchanged gifts, and I was given a beautiful book on the city of Parma which I have left in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall for visitors to look at.

After my visit to the Parma town hall, I attended the rugby match, as the only travelling Warriors supporter. Along with the girlfriend of Sione Vailanu, the Warriors number 8, we were the only people cheering them on to their 36-26 victory over Zebre. Hopefully the win will take Worcester into the next round, and the easing of Covid travel restrictions will mean there will be a few more of us cheering them on.

This Thursday was Holocaust Memorial Day, and a Civic Commemoration was held at the Guildhall. The event was introduced by the Deputy Lieutenant Mrs Patricia Bradbury MBE JP DL, followed by a moving speech from Dr Mindu Hornick MBE. She is a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and has devoted her life to educating all of us about the horrors of the Nazi holocaust.

A musical contribution was made by three talented students from Worcester RGS, who performed part of the score from the film Schindler’s List. This was followed by contributions from students from all the Worcester high schools. Students from the University of Worcester also read out commitments that pledged our intention to tackle the issues that have led to geocide.