Mayor of Worcester Blog

This week I have been back to pre-history and in a short hop across the river, seen the future! (By the way, it really IS quicker to walk at the moment.)

The ambition of Worcester University is undimmed by Covid or plateauing student numbers. The teaching techniques I saw on my first visit for several years are amazing. The Art House is a great resource for all of us. And the new Health and Wellbeing Centre is on track to bring medical students to the city with all the economic, social and health benefits that will bring.

In another iconic gold building I kicked off a very successful Archaeology Day, looking at our county’s historic foundations. If you don’t understand your history, you cannot transform the future.

The relevance of the comparatively recent past was recalled at the British Legion service marking Commonwealth and other war graves at Astwood Cemetery, including German, Czech and Polish servicemen.

And another group of service men and women were honoured at an awards ceremony for the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. As well as long service and good conduct, a number of incidents of real quick thinking and bravery were commended.

In the rain, the partnership between those public services, the private sector, BID and just the rest of us, culminated in Worcester being awarded the Purple Flag, recognising a safe and vibrant night-time economy, attracting visitors and securing investment.

My thanks to Worcester Rotary for their invitation to speak at a lunch which made me sit and think over the last six months. The variety of the city was shown off in just one week –  and (I almost forgot) – on Children in Need Day I was in the Crowngate and danced with the Ukelele Band. Again.

During this week’s Guildhall tour for 6th Worcester Brownies one of many questions was: “what do you like most about being Mayor?” The answer is a week like this! Talking about the Guildhall with interested and excitable youngsters, opening a pub, accepting a letter from the Inter-Faith Forum about climate change, welcoming Ukrainians to a business workshop, and several Remembrance events. Such variety.

It is an honour and privilege, as Mayor, to lay a wreath in memory of the servicemen and women, and their families and communities, who died in the Great War – as we did at 11am on the 11th of the 11th and at the grave of Woodbine Willie – and those victims of the 1939-45 and subsequent wars. The public crowds demonstrated their support and feeling on Sunday morning in what is a particularly poignant time, with war yet again on mainland Europe.

That sombre thought was with me at the start of workshops being run to assist Ukrainians seeking to start or develop their businesses, having been forced out of their own country and now settling in Worcester.  This was one of the practical developments of our welcoming event during the summer.

The visit from Brownies from my own ward was inspiring as much for me as hopefully for them! There were questions about being Mayor, how heavy is the chain, about politics, about climate, and one of the most insightful, what can young girls do for their community? I think my answer was stand up, don’t be afraid to say what you want, lead by example whether that is taking litter home, or planting trees for the environment, get involved – hopefully a relevant message for any young person in these challenging times.

By the way, the pub was the White Hart in Fernhill Heath.

 

 

 

It was good to see the University graduates able to mark and celebrate their academic successes at the right time of year again last week. A little blown and blustered by the weather maybe but I hope your friends and families enjoyed their visit to our great City too.

I met some really interesting young graduates at the Annual Dinner, keen to make their mark on the world. And it reminded me that with regret I had had to miss the Heart of Worcestershire’s college graduation events earlier in September due to mourning protocol. Nonetheless, Worcester is blessed with a host of talented young people – whether the Mayor turns up or not! Well done all of you.

I am not sure many of those students will get the next link but what do you get if you cross a yellow robot with a thing with long trailing tentacles on water? Yep, a jellyfishbot of course. Designed to clean up detritus, leaves, oil spillage and general rubbish floating on or just below the surface of our waterways, this machine made its Worcester debut this week in Diglis Marina.

In the week of COP27 – how many COPS do we need to have before something happens? – this is a pertinent reminder that we can protect the environment from the bottom up. Apart from the size, shape and the fact it floats on the water, it reminded me of the Yellow Submarine. A bit. It’s yellow.

It is however, a great technological asset to keeping canals and rivers clean, encouraging marine life, and making our environment look its best. Well done to the winner of the poster painting competition as well, though I fear your entry was a little damp as I plucked it from the water.

Thanks to Café Afloat for the coffee by the way!

 

 

This week has been a little less busy than the last, a time for pausing and reflecting on what is now nearly six months of mayordom. Quite a bit has happened since May, we were reflecting at this week’s Twinning Association Tea Party.

In many ways though, it is not the comings and goings of monarchs and politicians that seems most significant, but the opening up of events and places. The desire to go to something, to be with people. The slow but sure return to embracing things to do, people to see.

Of course, Covid is not over, it has not gone away and there are other things out there as well. And more vulnerable people continue to take care – but they are now, unfortunately, more obvious amongst the wider population than before. Let us continue to respect their space and to be careful with ours.

This mood was seen this week at the Launch of the Poppy Campaign by the Royal British Legion at the Guildhall, and at the annual Service of Commemoration at Gheluvelt Park, in memory of the men of the Worcestershire Regiment in October 1914. This year will see the RBL continuing to raise money for its causes, around the care and welfare of veterans and their families of all ages and conflicts, many of whom are in groups particularly affected by the cost of living crisis.

The desire to congregate and mix was also seen during the Rising Festival, a project part of the Arches Festivals, focussed on young (18-30) people. What an event they made of it! Enthusiasm, business acumen, creative talent, sharing. Owned and organised by young people in the Rising Voice themselves. Hopefully only the start of activities which carry on and bring vibrancy and something different to Worcester’s cultural heritage.