Mayor of Worcester Blog

The Swedish Nightingale

One of the great privileges of being Mayor is to nominate a charity. My chosen charity is Age UK Worcester and Malvern Hills. One of my predecessors, Mayor Padmore, assisted with choosing which charity would benefit from proceeds raised at a special musical event in 1849.

Jenny Lind, an opera singer known as the Swedish Nightingale, visited Worcester by invitation of the Bishop, the Right Reverend Henry Pepys, to perform at College Hall for ‘one night only’ on Friday 2 February 1849 in aid of charity. He called a meeting of local dignitaries and requested suggestions for which charity should be the beneficiary. Mayor Padmore was among the group and helped with the selection of Worcester Infirmary.

Ms Lind and her company of performers raised £840. The proceeds were given to the infirmary for the creation of a chapel and to assist with other monetary needs. The sum of £840 was quite considerable in 1849, today it would be equivalent to over £87,000, an extremely generous donation.

2024 will be the 175th anniversary of this remarkable philanthropic achievement.

I recently met Michele and Cat Lammas, from Hatpin Productions CIC who are working with a team of volunteers and project partners to create celebrations of the event during the 175th anniversary year. We discussed the outline arrangements and I offered to support the venture wholeheartedly, initially with introductions to members of our local musical community. I look forward to seeing the development of this anniversary celebration and being involved in the plans as they move forward.

Hatpin Productions CIC is a non-profit company based at The Kiln Co-working offices in the city centre. The chosen charity for anniversary event donations is Acorns Children’s Hospice. www.hatpinproductions.co.uk

It was a real privilege to be invited to make a speech at a very special event this week to mark Ukraine Independence Day. The event was held in Cripplegate Park and around 100 people attended.

We joined in a circle holding hands, joining in the worldwide chain of unity and sang along to the Ukraine national anthem as others did across the world, both as a sign of unity and to express their gratitude at those countries which have supported Ukrainian refugees.

I was given a beautiful handmade wreath to wear on my head and some other ladies wore them too.

After the circle we gathered in the pavilion which has been recently painted and decorated by the Friends of Cripplegate group.  We enjoyed traditional Ukrainian food and soft drinks – a lot of food, including some rather nice potato and some mushroom savouries – my description does not do it justice!  Ukrainian music was then played and there were Ukrainian national dances.

People gathered outside and dancing was continuing as I left.  The tables inside and outside were beautifully decorated. I met one of the family hosts too. The kindness I was shown was second to none and  I am very touched to have met such warm and amazing people.

I have had a busy first few months as deputy mayor  and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have attended art exhibitions, musical performances, summer fetes and, of course the wonderful Worcester Show. I was also pleased to lead the parade for the Worcestershire Pride event – it was lovely to see so many young and positive people, plus a bright array of clothes and some talented make-up.

 

 

I recently had the pleasure of attending the ABI Game, hosted by Headway at Worcester University Sports Arena. This was their second such event and I was astounded by the number of adults with acquired brain injuries (ABI) that took part from all over the UK. It was a well-run event and I even got to judge the woodwork entries!

I also visited Headway’s office in Gregory’s Mill Street, to meet the staff and clients. I now have an understanding of the funding challenges that the charity faces on a daily basis and how they still manage to offer a diverse range of support services for adults with acquired brain injuries. I met the art group and was invited to come back to join in a session on another day after I admitted I have never actually held a paintbrush in my hand. Challenge accepted!

I managed to sit in on a mindfulness session where I learned how to relax using breathing techniques. Again, another first. I felt very touched that the group shared their personal stories with me in what was clearly a safe space for them to be themselves.

We live in a busy world with a lot of stress. Living with stress for a long period of time can cause a stroke. I take away an understanding of the necessity of looking after myself and bringing better balance into my own life. If we don’t value and don’t look after ourselves how can we help others?

For more information on Headway and their outreach services do refer to their website.

Recently I was invited to a Repair Café organized by Transition Worcester and whilst there I was asked if I would also like to take part in a food rescue. I had a vague idea what this was – maybe something to do with rummaging through supermarket bins for food that has gone past its sell by date?

The reality was quite a bit different. Worcester Food Rescue are super organized and do around 16 collections each week from places like Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Booker. So far this year they have rescued 12 tonnes of food equating to nearly 30,000 meals for people in need.

I took part in a food recue at Waitrose at 9pm when the shop was closed to customers. By invitation of the management we backed our car into the rear entrance normally used by the delivery lorries and awaited to see what posh, but very welcome food, would be making it’s way to feed, amongst others, people at Acorns, Ukrainian families and St Paul’s Hostel. Suffice to say no bin surfing was needed as we transferred the lovely food directly from trolleys to the back of our car.

Transition Worcester also run the Teaching and Display Garden, a community garden located at the Old North Stables on Pitchcroft encouraging people to grow their own food. They also run an energy group that supports local residents to reduce their home energy costs. A subject dear to my heart and as we come to the colder days of autumn will no doubt be the subject of a future Mayoral blog.

Worcester is an amazing place but the volunteers and people who give their time so freely for others are the real treasures. Thank you, Transition Worcester, for all that you do. Find out more about Transition Worcester.