Mayor of Worcester Blog

I was delighted to help launch a week of celebration by welcoming Worcester Twinning Association members and visitors to the Guildhall to start a week of activities to mark 25 years of Twinning.

It was a particular pleasure to welcome Neville Swanson and former councillor Cliff Lord. They have been active in the association since the beginning and played major parts in cementing the relationships our city has with cities and towns in Germany, France, Lithuania and the USA.

Monday evening saw the Mayoress and I head to Evesham to join the Mayor of Evesham, Councillor Robert Raphael, for his charity Monk’s Supper.

Jill and I joined an exhibition preview on Tuesday, making the centenary of the life of Alice Ottley who played such a part in providing private education for girls in Worcester.

To the Swan Theatre on Wednesday, to see the Swan Theatre Amateur Company’s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. What an excellent production – congratulations to the small cast of only four. So much hard work goes into these productions; it is a pity they are not better supported.

Jill and I attended The Myriad Centre in Barbourne on Thursday, where profoundly handicapped adults are cared for. The importance of day services cannot be underestimated, and it was clear to see how much the attendees benefit from such a supportive environment.

Later, we attended the annual City of Worcester Sports Award, held at the Cricket Ground, where I helped present the awards. It was a privilege to meet so many inspirational people, following the remarkable summer of sport.

The challenge now is to ensure the legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics is recognised in our city and to ensure facilities are available to meet the demand.

Special guests Zach Purchase and Mel Clarke, silver medalists at London 2012

The week ended as it began, with the culmination of the week of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Worcester Twinning. On Friday Jill and I enjoyed the concert by The Elgar Chorale, with the selection of music from all the Twinning Countries being appreciated by all.

Saturday saw a procession with Ann of Cleves and Henry VIII in the city centre, followed by events in St Andrew’s Hall. My thanks are due to Worcester Concert Brass, local cubs and performers who made it into such a successful community event.

That evening the 25th Anniversary Dinner was held at the Guildhall, where it was great to meet visitors and Twinning Association members at the culmination of such a successful week.

Jill and I started Heritage Day at the Guildhall with doors wide open and plenty of visitors, many of whom are not aware that the Assembly Room is open to the public during the week. Many thanks to the councillors who entertained visitors with numerous anecdotes about the Council chamber.

We attended the Homestart Annual General Meeting and were really pleased to hear so many true life stories about how volunteers have helped. The Mayoress spent four years as a volunteer and understands the importance of a little help at the right time in a person’s life.

Later we welcomed Trustees  from the Porcelain Museum to present them with a copy of the porcelain plate I had given to Her Majesty the Queen when she visited the City. It was good to meet Francis Clark the artist; what a tragedy that these sort of skills have been lost to the City with the closure of The Porcelain.

Photo left to right: Cllr Roger Berry – Mayor of Worcester, Duncan Sharkey – MD of the City Council, Gill Berry – Mayoress of Worcester, artist Francis Clark, Amanda Savidge – Museum Director and Sam Driver White, Chair of the Trustees.

In the evening we enjoyed a most stimulating lecture from visiting Professor Keith Brown on ‘Caring for vulnerable citizens’.  As a society we all have to remember the need to care for the vulnerable and make sure sufficient resources are available.

On Wednesday we had an interesting meeting with Worcester Model Engineers Club, who hope in 2013 to celebrate their 60th Anniversary.   Their presence at Diglis is often unknown; they hold regular steam-ups  on the third Sunday each month until October.

We attended the funeral of George Randall, Freeman of this City on Thursday.  He had clocked up over 48 years service as a City and County Councillor and was the first Labour leader of the City Council.

In the evening we processed to the Cathedral to celebrate the graduation of over 400 students at Worcester College of Technology.  It is easy to forget how much hard work goes into studying, and how necessary the support from families and friends is.

On Friday I opened  Rachel’s Art in the Hopmarket.  Congratulations to Rachel Hall on what is a most interesting venture, and the culmination of years of hard work.

Later the Mayoress and I held a small reception for  His Honour Judge Robert Jukes and wife Fran, to mark his  appointment as Honorary Recorder of Worcester.  He was presented with a certificate to mark the occasion.

The week was rounded off with a great evening at The Swan Theatre, to attend the Friends Variety Show. Congratulations to all those performers who made the evening so enjoyable for the audience and raised much needed funds for the Theatre.

The week began with an enjoyable walk in the Worcester Woods as part of Strength Walk 2012, an event designed to raise awareness for Victim Support in the county.  It was great to launch it and speak to staff and some of the many volunteers.

We enjoyed a half-day trip to Bourton- On-The-Water with residents of Berkley’s and Nash’s Alms-houses.  We were fortunate with the weather and enjoyed the lovely Cotswold scenery.

On Thursday Jill and I took the Oath of Allegiance from junior recruits to the Army. It was pleasing to meet so many of them and their families on this very special day.  My brother joined as a young soldier and enjoyed seeing the world, before he returned to Civy Street as a bursar in a Girls School in London.

Later we joined guests for Worcester Bosch Group’s Golden Anniversary event at Sixways. What a story, growing from humble beginnings in the City centre to a multi-national Company with employment for nearly a thousand people. It is important to recognise the need for long term investment in the development of a company, combined with an active training programme. Many thanks to Richard Soper and colleagues for the warm welcome.

We joined a packed Cathedral on Friday to attend the memorial service for Michael Brinton, the late County Lord Lieutenant.  It was evident what high esteem he was held in by the excellent address and packed attendance.

The service was followed by a meeting of the Committee to commemorate World War I in the Mayor’s Parlour.

In the evening we enjoyed a dinner courtesy of St Paul’s Kitchen Project at St Swithun’s Institute. The event was to showcase the successful kitchen project where residents have been trained in hospitality.  We later presented certificates to those who had worked so hard. The meal was certainly a testament to its success and suppliers, volunteers and staff thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

With the completion of the summer of Olympics thoughts must turn to its legacy, and how we recognise the raised profile of people with a disability and their culture of achievement.  As a society we must ensure opportunities are available to all!

A week of contrasts with that “morning after” feel coinciding with the end of the Worcester Festival week and the August holiday period.

Jill and I attended the funeral of John Griffith, a colleague and fellow ward Councillor for many years. Our sympathies to his family and in particular Ida, who gave him such tremendous support.

We were also saddened to hear of the death of another colleague, George Randall, who is a former Labour leader and Freeman of this City.

Back to a normal packed schedule, with meetings of the Worcester Community Trust and of the Scrutiny Committee.  On Thursday Jill and I waved goodbye to The Annual Rotary Boat Trip on the River Severn; great to recognise so many friendly faces. What an excellent day out for so many elderly and disabled people!

In the afternoon we joined The Christian Aid and Church Action on Poverty Tax event in St John’s.  This is an issue that won’t go away and I was pleased to sign the petition and again meet so many old friends.

We then joined The Princes Trust Presentation evening for team 164, who demonstrated the success of their twelve week programme.   It was good to meet the participants, award certificates and hear of their plans for the future.

On Friday we were joined in the Guildhall by the Burrows family who enjoyed coffee and cakes and looked around the Guildhall.  In the afternoon we attended The (Warn)Don Festival at Shap Drive, in brilliant weather. The event had been completely organised by young people who were all from Tudor Grange and were on a course supported by Worcester Community Trust staff. I was impressed with their abilities and again presented Certificates in recognition of their efforts.

We joined a procession to The Cathedral to attend the University’s presentation of Honorary Awards for alumni who had completed courses between 1947 and 1968. It was great to see so many sprightly 70 and 80 year olds who had attended the City of Worcester Training College, founded in 1946 as one of the 55 emergency Teacher Training Colleges set up by The Ministry of Education after the Second World War.

The University has grown to meet the needs of 10,000 students, employing over 1,000 staff.  It is a major contributor to the City’s economy.

It is the annual Open House event next weekend, where buildings and areas not generally open to the public fling their doors open across the UK.  We would like to welcome as many people as possible to join us at the Guildhall, which will be open to the public on Sunday.