It was an honour to welcome a distinguished Chinese delegation from the city of Hezhou, Worcestershire Ambassadors and their guests to a reception at the Guildhall on Monday evening.

Hezhou is a city of about five million people and expects its population to double in the next five years (London’s population is approximately 4 million, to give some idea of the scale!)  The delegation was led by the Vice Mayor of Hezhou, Ms Grace Pan Ming. As a former Worcester University Business Studies student, Ms Pan Ming knows the city well. She has since gone on to a successful career in Chinese local government.

Monday also marked the start of Armed Forces Week – local reservists and veterans gathered to raise the Armed Forces Day flag over the Guildhall.

At the Worcestershire Summer School Games in Bromsgrove, the indoor rowing was particularly thrilling – and exhausting just to watch!

Phil and I were guests of the Worcester News at the Twenty20 cricket match between Worcester and Glamorgan. The covers were on and off as rain interrupted play, but the players gamely went on to produce 14 overs, as the weather lifted.

The Worcester Symphony Orchestra treated us to a programme of Mozart and Beethoven in St George’s Church on Saturday evening.  Their wonderful rendition of Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony made Dolby surround sound seem pale by comparison!

I also welcomed some Tanzanian guests, who are visiting the county as part of “One World Link,” and attended a production of “The Curry Bean” at RGS The Grange. 

We ended the week as guests of the Rotary Club at the inauguration of their new President, Sheila Sonley – Many congratulations to her!