Mayor of Worcester Blog

Christmas is on the way and on Saturday afternoon, consort Andy Lee and myself, celebrated all things Christmas with the Ukrainian community at Hope Church.

It is brilliant to see this once run down and empty building fully refurbished and in use.

The order of the event was to persuade St Nicholas to come out and visit the children in his stocking-filled grotto.

Snow and some very creative snowflakes were made and snowmen were built, with noses made of carrot of course. This was done with the help of some very eager children.

There was some entertaining dancing with a diva of a dinosaur and some beautiful Christas songs sung.

St Nicholas made his appearance and the more than enough stockings were given to some very excited children.

Seeing so many happy faces gave such a lift to our entire day.

On Wednesday evening the Elgar Chorale of Worcester performed the Mayoral Christmas Charity Concert.

Piers Maxim, a very talented Director of Music, alongside this stunning choir entertained with festive carols and readings.

I am proud to announce the turnout was the largest ever and I certainly recommend booking very early next year, to ensure you have a seat.

Mince pies, wine and juice was on offer for the adults and I found some oranges for two lovely grandchildren who attended with consort Stuart Wild, wife Liz and daughter-in-law Katie.

Consort Andy Lee sat with myself at the front and consort Mike Mullins sat in the middle with his wife Pam so all three consorts were in attendance, thank you consorts!

On Thursday morning I was able to meet new City Council staff as part of their induction.

I found it fascinating to meet staff from across many departments, including audit, housing, outdoor conservation, the crematorium, the museum and bin collection.

Mince pies were happily shared.

My theme for the year is ‘youth matters’ and my charity is Perdiswell Young People’s Leisure Club, which is the largest provider of youth services across the city.

This week has been all about young people and has completely reinforced why ‘youth matters’.

I started the week at RGS The Grange for their Christmas celebration.

Children in reception, year one and year two combined for a significant cast of 82.

Joseph, Mary, angels, wise men, shepherds, a fantastic array of animals, narrators and the persona of some staff members, all came together for the story of the nativity including songs, dancing and much more.

The staff leading the production were excellent and had a real rapport with the children.

I have been to many schools, state and private and regardless of their status, I can see how important education is to the teaching staff and making sure that their students do well, both academically and pastorally. Teaching staff thank you for all that you do.

This week I also watched the film production of “Dancing Moon”, created by the amazing volunteers at Dancefest.

The group are located at five of the buildings Worcester Community Trust manage, they hold regular weekly classes for children aged four to 16.

Many genres of dancing are clearly taught and with excellent choreography “Dancing Moon” was born.

The children loved seeing themselves in the film and it was a treat to give out certificates rewarding them for their hard work.

Towards the end of the week, I went to an event hosted by the Hereford and Worcester Army Cadet Force Charitable Trust.

Army cadets are not funded by the army, which one could be forgiven for thinking and the funding they do receive is being significantly cut.

More support is needed for this valuable institution, our future generation.

It was an honour to open the Worcester Community Rail Partnership annual event for the second time. The Partnership is all about linking rail stations and communities, so as a self-confessed fan of all things rail, I thought there was absolutely nothing here not to like!

I then zipped to Crown Gate, where the Worcester Ukulele band and Pudsey were in full swing. Looking to raise £20,000 for Children in Need, I could see that this lively band were clearly doing well!

That evening I went to Worcester Musical Theatre production of Stand By Me at our Swan Theatre – a vibrant array of colour, sound and talent, with the raffle proceeds going to Perdiswell Young People’s Leisure Club, my charity for the year. It was fascinating to meet attending members of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association too.

I went to the Lollipop Youth Theatre production of Frozen at the Norbury Theatre. It boasted a large cast, clever choreography and stunning solos, and having met Olaf the snowman I am now very much in the Christmas spirit!

I joined the Mothers’ Union Worcester Diocese Festival Service at Worcester Cathedral to celebrate long service awards and a birthday during a very uplifting service with freshly brewed tea and coffee in the lovely Cloister Café afterwards.

The next day I opened Bizfest, hosted for the second time in our city, this time in the Army Reservist Centre. Small business do a large amount for the economy and it was great to be there to support our local entrepreneurs.

That afternoon I listened in on the Worcester Primary School’s debating competition at St Barnabas CE Primary School. Eight fantastic teams entered, and Nunnery Wood Primary School won with the hosts as runners-up.