Mayor of Worcester Blog

Christmas must be soon, because this week we have watched three nativity plays! The first was at Kings St Albans School in Diglis, where we were enchanted by over 30 small children performing in Prickly Hay.

Later we experienced the 16^th Worcester Scouts’ version of the Christmas story in the Cathedral.  They had produced a sequence of scenes from the nativity using Lego, and photos of them were displayed on a large screen. Never before have I seen a giraffe in the Bethlehem stable but this, and many other twists on the familiar tale, raised many a smile from the audience! This was part of the annual District Scouts Carol Service, which I highly recommend.

Our third was at RGS The Grange, where over 50 year one and two children performed.

Last Friday afternoon I switched on a large number of Christmas trees in the Cathedral cloisters, which look magical and deserve to be seen by everyone. The trees were decorated by many different local charities, schools and groups to raise money. This is an annual Christmas Tree Festival organised by Daisychain Benevolent Fund, which provides for children in hospital.

We were privileged to attend the launch of a superb book of poems called Can We Inspire You written by the Creative Group at St Paul’s Hostel. These very talented people prove beyond any doubt that, just because someone has been homeless does not mean they cannot, with support and encouragement, make positive contributions to society.

Yet more creative talent was on show at the Worcester Society of Artists exhibition, which I opened at the Museum and Art Gallery in Foregate Street. It was hard to decide which painting I liked most!

The magnificent Worcester Male Voice Choir sang their Christmas Concert in Pershore Abbey. As always, it was a real pleasure to hear them. Not long till Christmas!

Our week started with Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre, which was the best ever. Record numbers of visitors arrived, bringing a welcome boost to our city’s economy. We visited almost every stall to make the very difficult decision on which ones should win awards as the best presented. Stall holders made superb efforts to dress in Victorian outfits and to offer attractive wares.

Feedback from both visitors and traders was generally positive. Some first-time visitors told us they thought our city was wonderful and that they would be back in summer. People thought the Fayre was well organised and enjoyed the entertainment and lively atmosphere.

Worthy of a special mention is the Deaf Direct Choir. This enthusiastic group performed using sign language and received rapturous applause from the crowd.

On Saturday, we attended the Twinning Association dinner where we met our visitors from Kleve, Le Vesinet and Ukmerge who all had stalls near the Guildhall.  I was pleased to thank them for adding an international dimension to our Fayre.

We judged Christopher Whitehead Language College Bake Off Competition on Monday. Around 100 entries had been reduced to six finalists but deciding the winning order was a real challenge. We decided that appearance alone should not decide the outcome, so had to taste them all first! Congratulations to the worthy winners.

Wednesday evening was the Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College Presentation Evening. It is always a real pleasure to see our young people being recognised for their achievements and I had the honour of presenting the Citizenship Award.

I hosted visits to the Mayor’s Parlour and Guildhall tours for students from Regency High School and the 2nd Cub Scouts.

We also attended the launch of MyTaxiApp, a mobile phone app which allows local taxi users to call a licensed cab and know when it will arrive. Journeys are tracked and credit cards are accepted.

Pre-Christmas activities help us to overcome the depressive effects of shorter days, longer nights, colder weather and the recent heavy rain. The High Street in front of the Guildhall was thronged with a large happy crowd of children and adults last Thursday when Pudsey Bear helped me switch on our Christmas lights.  BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester presenters Elliott Webb and Matthew Boyden hosted two hours of live entertainment before the High Street was flooded with light from our beautiful gold and silver Christmas decorations.

The mayor of Ross-on-Wye invited us to their Christmas Market on Sunday afternoon where we witnessed the lighting of their Christmas tree. Whilst on a completely different scale to our own Victorian Fayre, Ross is a charming town and their Christmas Market had about 40 stalls selling a wide range of goods to enthusiastic visitors.

I opened Worcester’s annual Victorian Christmas Fayre on Thursday which, as usual, attracted large numbers of visitors to our city. I was also delighted to welcome guests from our twin towns in Germany, France and Lithuania. Every year groups of people from Kleve, Le Vesinet and Ukmerge sell their traditional wares from stalls in our Fayre. They are most welcome here and I arranged to fly their national flags in Cathedral Square and over the Guildhall in their honour.

Jeffrey Carpenter, Clifford Lord, Derek Prodger and Robert Rowden are four former councillors who served our city for a combined total of over 100 years.  I was delighted to host a ceremony at the Guildhall in their honour and to confer upon each of them the title of Honorary Alderman. Councillors work long and antisocial hours for the benefit of local people – work which few are prepared to do, so it is right that we thank those who give long service. Friends and families came to support our new aldermen at a very happy event.

 

Last week was dominated by services of remembrance for the large number of people who fought to protect our country during the two world wars, and those involved in armed conflicts since that time. Many local people are related to these heroes. We are grateful to the Royal British Legion for organising events and selling poppies. The money raised helps care for injured service personnel and families of those killed or maimed.

I laid wreaths at the war memorial in front of the Cathedral at 11am on 11th November and on Sunday 13th. I also laid wreaths in St George’s Chapel inside the Cathedral and at the grave of Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (Woodbine Willie) in St John’s Cemetery.

These services were very special and people turned out to show their respects. Two minutes of silence in Cathedral Square was especially poignant.

Serving soldiers, volunteer reserves, cadets, British Legion members, police cadets, St John Ambulance and others formed a magnificent procession on Sunday from the Cathedral. The Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire and I took their salute as they passed the Guildhall.

On Friday evening the Cathedral hosted the Lights of Love service for St Richard’s Hospice. A candle-lit service was followed by a gathering at St Andrew’s Spire where the names of loved ones who died from life-limiting illnesses are listed. Those left behind are grateful for this opportunity to share with others their fond memories of those no longer with us.

A much happier occasion was the presentation by the Lord Lieutenant, on behalf of HM The Queen, of a British Empire Medal awarded to the family of Dawn Clements, who passed away before she could receive it herself. Dawn helped save thousands of lives by raising awareness of polio. The infection took the life of her first husband, Birmingham City and England player Jeff Hall, in 1959, aged 29. She worked tirelessly to spread the word about the importance of vaccination.