It’s been a quieter week, for which I was grateful as it allowed a little space to deal with a very sad family matter. However, it’s still been quite lively, starting with a Rotary lunch at the Cricket Club during which I was enrolled as an Honoury Member. Rotary do some remarkable work in Worcester and the Mayoress and I have attended a number of school events where Rotary members have committed considerable amounts of their time and resource to help children express themselves through speech and poetry. They quite often roll their sleeves up and really get stuck in on projects, an example being the creation of the children’s garden at Holly Mount School.

This year’s outdoor production of Shakespeare, A Comedy of Errors, took place in the garden of the Commandery. Unfortunately we managed to pick the only evening during the week when the weather wasn’t good. It drizzled and drizzled but it was still a very enjoyable evening; the casting was superb, the performance great and, even in the rain the ambiance was just so good. A production masterminded by Ben Humphrey and as always, with these outdoor performances, the audience just loved it. Put a date in the diary for next year, it’s a great evening out!

The annual service on St Swithun’s Day in St Swithun’s church, just off the Trinity, is an interesting event. The church is one of few that have a Mayor’s chair and above it, to the rear, is a rack to hold Worcester’s Sword of State. The chair is set at a forty five degree angle to the congregation leaving one with a rather exposed feeling – and it’s designed for a very tall person! The bells are now back in order and sounded very good, much to the pleasure of Stephen Inman, a former Mayor, who campaigned for the restoration of church bells across the City.

The Mayor’s Banquet was a great success, even if I do say so myself! The setting, in the Assembly Room on the top floor, is always excellent and this year the flowers, guests and food were all exceptional. The Deputy Mayor, Mike Whitehouse; Deputy Leader, Marc Bayliss and Ben Humphrey all gave great speeches. The evening was based on a Celebration of Worcester and Ben gave an extremely informative and entertaining talk on the history of Worcester; he had all those present in the palm of his hand. A really enjoyable evening!

Frankie Tsang, owner of Worcester’s Four Seasons restaurant, was one of 150 guests at the Mayor’s Banquet.