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Category: 2022-2023 Mayor Adrian Gregson

Mayor’s Week May 29 – June 4

Mayor’s Week May 29 – June 4

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I still think in terms of school holidays (probably because both my parents were teachers) but this ‘Not Bank Holiday Monday’ had me discombobulated. I was one of 700 guests at the Lord Lieutenant’s Jubilee Garden Party. The rain pretty much held off for the two hours.  Most people had a greater right to be there than me – local community service workers recognised for their commitment during the pandemic.

Similar people are at my chosen charity, OnSide and it was great to meet the team at their open day. Working with anxiety, social prescribing, loneliness, dementia and wellbeing, this group are providing essential care, support and advocacy in these uncertain times. Well done Kate, Mo, Viv, Susanne, Alan, Adrian and everyone else.

On Wednesday I called in at Worcester’s trademark Royal Porcelain Museum which is showcasing its historic royal designs alongside Platinum Jubilee plates designed by schoolchildren from Stanley Road. The museum has had further funding to take its pop-up museum to people in the community who would not normally get into the Severn Street attraction.

On Thursday evening, Edward Elgar’s birthday, I was on Fort Royal Hill to launch the Jubilee celebrations in the city. Around 1,000 people came up to watch me light the beacon. It was amazing to see so many old and familiar faces. Many had made an evening of it, with camping chairs, wine and quiche. Others had wandered up as it got darker. They came from across the city, and also internationally. I met at least three groups of American visitors who reminded me, as an historian, of the great irony of lighting a Jubilee Beacon for HM The Queen, on the ground where liberty was fought for and the two US Presidents stood to recognise one of Worcester’s other great trademarks, the English Civil Wars.

It has been a rewarding week full of links with the past but celebrated in highly modern fashion, marking 70 years of great social, economic, cultural and political upheaval across the Commonwealth and the world. Seventy years of service by one woman who has also changed but who remains, for many, a symbol of stability.

 

Mayor Cllr Adrian Gregson
Mayor’s Week: May 22 – May 28 2022

Mayor’s Week: May 22 – May 28 2022

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We were sitting next to a couple of guys in the pub on Thursday who were talking about Worcester politics and the mayor etc, when a third person said: ‘well that bloke next to you is the new one’. They were so thrilled and interested in the role and my views; it was a real eye-opener to what the year may bring. We talked about beer and Californian rock bands, cricket and rugby – and most importantly, Worcester and how great it is, with so much to offer. If the mayoral year ahead of me provokes similar conversations in pubs across the city, or better still, across the country, I will be happy.

Talking of music, my first official engagement was at St Clements Primary where Severn Arts had parked their Music Box Bus – full of technology for the pupils to make music with professional guidance. We went to their Year 4 drumming class too. Drumming is important. I was a drummer.

Severn Arts is one of my charities. They are the force behind Light Night and other Arches projects and we plan to do a range of activities through the year across music, art, theatre and culture, fulfilling their aim of offering inclusive activities that focus on widening access to the arts for all, with a particular emphasis on children and young people.

My other charity is OnSide, an advocacy organisation that works with people who find it difficult to navigate the world of bureaucracy we have created. They work in employment support, dementia, loneliness, mental health and wellbeing and I am going to their open day at the Guildhall on Saturday 28 May.

This coming week is all about Elgar and the Queen. When The Hive opened 10 years ago I chatted to Her Majesty about her predecessor’s visit in 1575. I was also pleased to go to a Palace Garden Party before the pandemic (I hope Stephen and Lucy enjoyed their day there despite everything). And the Elgar Festival is back, over the same Jubilee weekend so I hope to see many of you at one or other of the events lined up.