Mayor of Worcester Blog

This week we passed a very significant moment in the history of the UK.  On Tuesday we looked back on the anniversary of this country going into the first national lockdown on Monday 23rd March 2020.

Looking back on all that we have experienced and learned from living with the Covid 19 virus for a year was a very sobering moment.  We remember those who have died and those who have recovered from this disease but are still feeling the effects (known as long Covid).  We remembered those whose livelihoods have been affected by the loss of jobs and businesses.  We remembered the fantastic NHS and all the other front-line workers to whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Some people observed the anniversary with a moment’s silence and some reflected quietly on an extraordinary year, the like of which we have never experienced before.  We are now moving forward with a programme of vaccination which is unsurpassed in the fight against disease, as well as a timetable for the lifting of restrictions to begin our return to a more normal way of life.

I have been the “Lockdown Mayor” and so my year in office has been unlike a normal year in the job.  Sadly, I have missed many opportunities to perform the usual mayoral functions which I would have expected.  I have however become an expert in zooming!!  This remote way of meeting with others has shown us a new way of carrying on with our business and social lives without the need to move from our kitchen tables.

This week I have attended seven zoom meetings in five days.  On Thursday as President of the Twinning Association I was present with people from the French towns of le Vesinet, Vernon, Gouzeaucourt and Worcester at an excellent presentation on the special relationship our city has with the small French town of Gouzeaucourt.  Many thanks to Terry Coles and Rosemary Campbell for an excellent talk.  If you want to know more, go www.worcestertwinning.org.uk and click on “Worcester and Gouzeaucourt – a story of two towns”.

This week has seen the definite approach of Spring, with warm weather, sunny blue skies and some new lodgers in our house.  Not invited lodgers, I hasten to add!  I am talking about two birds’ nests which have appeared in our guttering behind the fascia boards on two corners of the house.  I was alerted by a lot of noise and on further exploration the nests were discovered.  At this time of year if nests are empty then they can be removed, but if they have eggs or fledglings in then they are protected by law.  As I am unable to discover what’s there without disturbing the nests, I guess they are with us until August.  Oh, the joys of Spring!

On the theme of Spring, I was very pleased to visit Astwood Road Cemetery this week to meet with a group of serving soldiers who had volunteered to clear the cemetery grounds of litter and to tidy up the area.  When I met them, they had collected about 20 sacks of rubbish and with the sun shining and the flowers and shrubs beginning to bloom again, the whole area looked smart and tidy.  A huge thank you to these men and women who have given up their time to do this job.  Our visits to the cemetery will be that much more pleasant because of their work there.

I met with officers and councillors this week to discuss a joint bid with the police to the Home Office Safer Streets fund to improve security on our streets. The sad event of last week with the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard has alerted everyone to safety on our streets and I hope that by working together, we will be successful in securing additional funding.  Improved security measures and more work to educate young men to respect women; know how to behave towards women and more discussion around the issue of consent will help to make this world a safer and better place.

 

 

Do you have a child or grandchild who returned to school this week?  I think most of us will know of a young person who has been studying at home and is now returning to school.  Some of them will be reluctant to return enjoying the freedom that being at home brings and some will be overjoyed at the thought of seeing their friends again.  I think, however, that even though our teachers have been fantastic in setting work and zooming lessons, it is not easy to keep young people fully engaged remotely and they are now back where they should be.

You will remember the summer of 2018 when the city was privileged to host a gathering of animals you would not normally expect to see in a Cathedral City.  Every corner we turned delighted us with yet another treat.  I am of course talking about the beautifully decorated giraffes which graced our city that summer.  I am pleased to say that Worcester is once again set to host a pride of animals which will decorate our streets and grace our avenues with their colour and beauty.

This summer it will be elephants which we will spot in the city;  I am very much looking forward to the “hunt”!  This week I looked through 100 designs that have been submitted for the competition to decorate the elephants.  It was with great difficulty that I chose three designs which I felt would look good on Worcester City Council’s sponsored elephant.  I enjoyed being involved in such an exciting project and welcome the benefit that St. Richard’s Hospice will gain from the adventure.

My mind now turns to another competition organised by Worcester Live. As part of an Arts Council funded outreach project, 30 participants have submitted photos of winter scenes and once again I am spoilt by the beauty of the entries and finding a best will be very difficult.  Winter may be beautiful, but roll on better weather.

I would like to say ‘hello’ to the members of the 1st Worcester Cubs’ group, joined me for a Zoom call this week.   There were about 20 cubs in attendance and we had a question-and-answer session, with them asking the questions and me providing the answers.  I enjoyed the call and I hope I will be able to meet them in person and show them round the Guildhall before my year comes to an end.

I don’t know whether you realise that next Monday 8 March is International Women’s Day?  The theme this year is Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a post COVID19 world.  In national politics less than 25% of people are female – and yet women’s full and effective participation and leadership in all areas of life makes progress for everyone.

At Worcester City Council we currently have 13 women councillors out of 35; that’s more than a third, so better than in some other councils. The first female Mayor of Worcester was Diana Ogilvy in 1931 to 1932.  Only 16 women have held the position of Mayor in the 399 years that the role has existed in our city.  I hope that there will be many more women in the coming years who will wear the chain and the robes and take on the role of First Citizen.

I am sure that like me, you are looking forward to Monday 8 March, when we start to ease out of the lockdown.  Small steps to start with:  on Monday our children will return to school and outdoor after-school sports and activities will be allowed.  Most importantly people in care homes will be able to have one regular visitor with whom they can hold hands, and two people can meet up in an outdoor public space and have a drink or a picnic. Let’s hope we have good weather for that last one, but I bet you will see people out and about and meeting a friend whatever the weather.  Yippee, roll on freedom!!