Since I wrote my diary last week we have heard of the sad death of the Duke of Edinburgh.  My sincere condolences go to the Queen and all the Royal Family who are now mourning the loss of a dearly loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.  I attended a Memorial Service at the Cathedral on Friday afternoon to remember and pay respects to a man who devoted his life to public service and who will be sadly missed by many.

On Monday we experienced the first lifting of the lockdown restrictions and I visited the Tourist Information Centre at the Guildhall to wish them well.  By the time I had arrived at 9.30am, someone had already been in to make a purchase, which was a good start to the week.

I popped to the shops again on Wednesday to say hello to Mr. Simms Sweet Shop in the High Street and I am pleased to say that they had been very busy since re-opening on Monday.

Business was also good for the traders at the Angel Market.

 

Afterwards I visited the newly opened cycle store in the Crowngate.  Here you can leave your cycle safely, protected by CCTV, while you do your shopping and then if, when you return, you have a flat tyre, there is a repair kit on hand to help get you home.  What more can our city cyclists need?  Well done to Mike Lloyd at Crowngate Shopping Centre for thinking up this super idea.

It is not only the Mayor who has had an unusual year in office.  On Thursday evening I was delighted to join the Rotary Club, Worcester Severn, for the presentation of the Geoff Palmer Awards to three people who had been outstanding in their volunteering work.  Both the President of Worcester Severn and the District Governor of Rotary spoke of how their year in office had been very unlike anything they had expected.  Thank you and well done to the recipients of the awards and all our volunteers in the city.

I hope you are all enjoying meeting friends and family again in the open air – simple things which we have missed and now value hugely.