This has been a very spiritual week for me. On the last day of term at the King’s School Service at the Cathedral, the Bishop of Worcester gave a radical and innovative exhortation to school leavers not to fear failure because, by not taking risks, people will achieve nothing and be nothing.  How right he was – fortune favours the brave.

 The Cathedral service a few days later for the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire was a suitably grand event with the address reminding everybody in a timely way that nobody has any secrets from God. Then, the Procession to Evensong at St. Swithun’s Church to mark St. Swithun’s Day revealed one of the City’s many hidden historic and architectural gems. You must visit it – right in the heart of the City, free Friday lunchtime concerts, part of our heritage, and waiting to be more fully used by the people of Worcester!

 Also a free-entry must is Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, which is running a “Fancy Pants” exhibition celebrating Style – 1920-1945, just proving how many styles come back into fashion!

Because of our great British summer weather, I haven’t been to an outdoor performance for years – but A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Commandery was an absolutely perfect evening, a truly polished performance (thanks to Chris Jaeger and Ben Humphrey). Please support Shakespeare at the Commandery, which has now become an annual event.

Again, proving the diversity of our City, I opened the SOSFest14, the South Worcestershire Community Safety Day at the Racecourse to celebrate partners working together to deal with problems, particularly following this year’s flooding. With the ambulance service and the army there, amongst many others, I was proud to see the wide range of public safety and security skills and resources always available to us. Hundreds of people were there on a hot day enjoying a great range of activities and entertainments.

Well done and thank you to the police – and in particular Superintendent Mark Travis – for organising it all.