What a way to start the week by attending the Chinese New Year Celebrations. The huge crowd saw an incredible display of colour, energy, and extraordinary acrobatic skills. I was exhausted just watching it all. I was actually born in the Year of the Dragon which rates me as “a born leader!” Thank you, Frankie Tsang, for organising it all – and we look forward to next year’s celebrations too.

I was hugely honoured to have been asked by Worcestershire County Cricket Club to officiate at a special ceremony to unveil a Blue Plaque at the Whitehouse Hotel to commemorate the actual date (3rd March) when the Club was founded there 150 years ago, officially marking the beginning of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations. Also, a special thank you to the Hotel’s Leisure Centre Manager who, in giving me a tour of the facilities, was almost certainly being polite when he said the gym could actually do something for me! I did promise to consider joining up after my Mayoralty!

Earlier that morning at The Arena, I had experienced the success of school sport in the County today, clearly demonstrated at Sainsbury’s Winter School Games 2015. A lot of young enthusiasm and talent lies out there.

Having recently judged the winners of the Fairtrade Poster Competition held amongst local Primary Schools, it was a pure delight to welcome the children and parents to The Parlour for tea (with Fairtrade chocolate) and a tour. The quality of the drawings demonstrated a high level of skill and imagination, which made choosing the winners very difficult.

Saturday evening at St. Peter’s Baptist Church had me hearing Manuel and Jill Queiroz’s account of their Ultimate Road Trip from north Alaska to southern Argentina. As it involved seven months’ camping, it was not a trip I could ever do but – as a voracious traveller myself – that only increased my admiration for their achievement. Also, well done to Carole and Tony Langford for organising the event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The week’s guests to The Parlour included a group of students from New College (formerly the Blind College). It was humbling to see these youngsters take on the world in such a positive and enthusiastic way. They make our routine moans and groans look completely pathetic.