My first photo call this week was alongside a large inflatable banana. There was a second (human) banana in the picture – one of the perils of being a communications intern with the city council!

More seriously, the banana photos were all about the fact that the city is celebrating Fair Trade Fortnight. Worcester can feel proud of its status as a Fair Trade City, and many of us now buy Fair Trade items locally. As discerning shoppers will already know, FT products are good quality and pocket friendly, so look out for the Fair Trade logo!

 If your city councillor has been a bit jet lagged in the last couple of days, it is probably because Tuesday’s full council meeting lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning, as next year’s budget was discussed. Thank you to everyone involved for their participation and patience. A special thanks also to our council officers for their hard work, both before and during the meeting.

 Two lively groups visited the Parlour this week: the KGV Grandees Club and the Weight Watchers Group from Pump Street. Phil and I spent a very pleasant few hours showing them the civic treasures. Several of our guests had fascinating connections with the Guildhall and will be exploring them further.

 Phil and I attended the Twinning Association Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening. This year sees Worcester adopt a temporary twinning arrangement with Gouzeaucourt in France to mark a special relationship following World War I, when we helped to restore Gouzeaucourt’s fresh water supply.