Monday 5th: A most enjoyable lunch in the Worcester County Cricket Club with the Worcester Rotary Club. This is the first opportunity I have had to attend since my inauguration as an honorary member.

It is important for the Mayor to get out to the wider communities of the City. Therefore Jane and I were pleased to be invited to, and to address, the Warndon Parish Council meeting held this evening in the Lyppard Grange Community Centre. The Parish Council is so important for the management of a number of issues that affect the day to day lives of the community.

Tuesday 6th: The UK Chinese Education Foundation helps young Chinese in Britain to understand and learn about their homeland and culture. With the invitation of Mr. Frankie Tsang, Jane and I enjoyed a fund-raising banquet at his “Four Seasons” restaurant in Powick. It was fascinating to experience Chinese company, entertainment and of course the excellent food.

Wednesday 7th: The Mayor has a small capital fund dating from 1986. The committee, which I chaired today, decided on how to award small grants to needy applicants.

Did you all remember to change your television over to “digital” today?!!

Thursday 8th: Worcester is proud of its charity St. Richard’s Hospice Foundation. Jane and I attended the 25th Annual General Meeting this evening at Wildwood Drive and chaired by John Bawden. In my previous life as a Consultant Physician at the Worcester Royal Infirmary and since I have seen an amazing advance in our care of people suffering life-limiting conditions. St. Richard’s Hospice provides “a free, unique and individual package of support, whatever the patient’s physical, emotional or spiritual needs”.

Friday 9th: A group of twenty council officers from Bangladesh came to the Guildhall for a meeting with City Council officers to hear about our shared-services arrangements. I had the pleasure of welcoming them to the Parlour and then later took them on a tour of the Guildhall. Yes, the cells were the highlight!!

The Worcester Society of Artists has arranged its 64th Annual Exhibition in the Worcester City Art Gallery from tomorrow (10th September) until 15th October. Jane and I were privileged to have a private viewing this evening and to officially open the exhibition. It was wonderful and so well worth going to see. I was given the choice of a picture to hang in the Parlour until next year. The Society, established in 1947, exists to “encourage the appreciation, understanding and practice of the visual arts and is open to everyone”.

Worcester Society of Artists 64th Annual Exhibition at Worcester City Art Gallery

Saturday 10th: A day off!! As Chairman of the Worcestershire Branch of the Oxford University Society I accompanied a full coach of Society members to Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire. The picture of the Mansion House is what is always brought to mind but there are numerous old huts and buildings that were used throughout the Second World War. The breaking of enemy codes and cyphers, the Enigma machine cypher being the most famous, by the hundreds of men and women at Bletchley was crucial. The war was probably shorted by a year or more.

Mansion House, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire

“Cabaresque” at the Swan was outstanding and a great credit to Katie Love and her “De:Fault” Theatre. Jane and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Sunday 11th: Heritage Open Days for 2011 are 8th -11th  September and celebrate England’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public. It is an annual chance to discover hidden treasures and to bring to life local history and culture. Entrance to our Guildhall is of course always free although not usually open on a Sunday. So for most of today it was open with Frank my sword bearer, Paul Harding one of our mace bearers, Jane and myself all being available to welcome anyone to the Parlour and the rest of the Guildhall. We were delighted by the numbers of people who came in and these included visitors from Belgium, The Czech Republic, China and Wales. Everyone seemed thrilled by what they saw.

I am sure that “9/11” is a day when we can all remember where we were in 2001. I can. I was working in Masaka in Uganda. My son telephoned me to tell me of the terrible news from America: at that moment a television newsflash came on in the hotel where I was staying and I saw for myself. Everyone of several nationalities was stunned. I remember how the local Ugandans reacted… we all felt the same horror.