Mayor of Worcester Blog

Last Wednesday started with me giving a tour of the Guildhall to some visiting French exchange students who were being hosted by the Blessed Edward Oldcorne College.  They showed considerable interest in the building and were really enjoying their time in Worcester.

That afternoon at the Cathedral, l attended the funeral of Mrs Hope Rowden, a former City Councillor and Mayoress.  Some lovely tributes to her life were paid by her husband Robert, daughter Anne and son Julian.

That evening Alison and I were at the Vesta Tilley studio of the Swan Theatre to see a brilliant performance by Liz Grand in Chris Jaeger’s play, Where is Mrs Christie?  The eleven days Agatha Christie went missing in 1926 has been subject to much speculation but I think Mr Jaeger’s research may have captured much of the truth.  Well done to all those involved.

I was privileged to be asked to open Worcester’s first Pride event and so on Saturday I visited South Quay where the ‘party’ took place.    The organisers were keen to show that no-one should suffer discrimination and that all hate crime should be reported to the appropriate authority.  But this serious message was just part of the proceedings which included music, poetry and speeches, all much enjoyed by those that were there taking part in this significant occasion.

Then later that day I was at Shrub Hill Industrial Estate where I opened the newly refurbished premises of the Worcestershire Martial Arts club.  This is yet another group run by volunteers which provides youngsters with new skills and physical activities outside of school. Some good equipment there and really dedicated leaders.

And finally that evening, Alison and I were entertained by the Worcester Male Voice Choir at College Hall.  This was on the occasion of their annual concert, which proved to be a very enjoyable evening with the choir in very best voice.

This Wednesday the Guildhall hosted the Worcester City Allotment Award Ceremony.  The number of allotment holders that attended was surprising but just goes to show what a popular activity this is, with quite a competitive spirit among the participants.  Well done Timberdine Allotment Holders, on gaining the Best Site Award!

 

 

A busy few days began last Thursday evening, with the City of Worcester Sports Awards 2017 seeing a number of honours being awarded to those contributing to sporting activities. The University of Worcester hosted partners, sponsors and recipients, with the prizes being given by Steve Cram CBE.  At the conclusion both he and his partner Allison Curbishley answered questions from the audience.

On Friday morning I was pleased to open the Festival of Business in Worcester.  Now in its fourth year this event, organised by Stuart Allen, is all about businesses in the City showing what they have to offer, and being on hand to give advice to start-up companies.  This includes the City Council, which offers similar assistance as well as financial support to new businesses.

That evening I visited the Museum and Art Gallery in Foregate Street, where the Worcester Society of Artists opened their annual exhibition.  Their works in different mediums really showed off their talents.  I was allowed to choose a picture to display in the Mayor’s Parlour and selected Steve Letchford’s Castle Path, Weobley: a lovely water-colour.

Saturday morning saw me visiting Perdiswell Fields, where the newly refurbished football pitches were officially opened. The work has been funded by Section 106 money from developers – refurbished changing rooms will soon be added too..

And then moving from sports to the Arts, Alison and I listened to a performance by the excellent Worcester Concert Brass in the evening at Nunnery High School.  This included a great rendition of ’76 Trombones’ which was certainly appreciated by the audience.

Sunday morning brought about the starting of the Worcester Half-Marathon, 10K and junior races.  There really was a wonderful atmosphere at Croft Road for this event, which was so well organised.  Everyone was enjoying themselves and all those taking part showed real determination.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who took part in the event.  And not to forget, a big thank you to all the volunteers that helped out on the day, making the events possible.

That afternoon we went to the Cathedral to take part in a service which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Stanley Baldwin MP, three times Prime Minister of this country.

The Heart of Worcester College held their awards ceremony at the Cathedral last Friday.  This was an impressive event to celebrate the achievements of their students who had graduated with many varied qualifications.  I was able to see first-hand that the commitment of those receiving their certificates was a credit to the teaching staff of the College.

And from the Cathedral I walked over to Cripplegate Park to attend the unveiling of the metal Worcester Pear which forms the part of a heritage trail created by Planet Art.  Walking from there to the Bull Ring and various other locations in St John’s, anyone can watch out for the plaques denoting Roman finds and the butchery trade – as well as other historical connections to Worcester.

On Saturday afternoon I went to what was really a street party in York Place.  The residents there had for a number of years been attempting to have their pavements replaced.  The difficulty was that each house had a cellar making the work very difficult.  However, with a very determined residents association and with the help of a local councillor, they were able to celebrate the work having been done and the street looking much better.  Not often a Mayor opens a new pavement!

The next day brought with it the Tour of Britain Cycle event.  The weather held and by 11o’clock I had started the race and they were all off, en route to Pershore where they really started to race.  Great to see crowds of people out for the event enjoying themselves and seeing some famous faces.  Great for Worcester too with all these visitors to the City.

Then on Tuesday evening I went to Sixways arena where I handed out awards for young people who had taken part in the National Citizens Service.  I commented in a past column about how such a group had helped out at the Worcester Headway (charity’s) building.  This evening was to celebrate what all the groups in Worcestershire had achieved over the past few months.  Although it was their time that they were giving to the community they were really appreciative of the organisers who had given them the opportunity of taking part in various challenges that gave them some life and work skills.

Amongst various meetings held at the Guildhall this week I was able to visit Lichfield Cathedral where we joined the Mercian Regiment for the celebration of their tenth Anniversary. The senior officers present extolled the achievements of the regiment in that period at various locations around the globe.

On Sunday, despite the evening being rather damp, a number of people came to the High Street where together with Civil War re-enactors, we processed to the Vue Cinema to watch a film about the Battle of Worcester during the English Civil War.  The director Joe Gaffney made the film particularly for younger viewers, giving a short overview of the Battle and conditions at the time.

From there we marched on to the Commandery before moving on to Fort Royal Hill.  With drums ringing in our ears, we progressed to the top of the hill where the Rev. Canon Alvyn Pettersen gave a service to commemorate the lost lives on both sides.  A minute’s silence was held after the firing of muskets, after which the procession returned to the Commandery.

The following day Alison and I went to Kidderminster to an Awards Ceremony hosted by the Mayor there.  The winners of the Queens Award to Volunteers (equivalent to an MBE) were a group who have done so much to promote the awareness of and raise funds for prostate cancer.

Kidderminster and Worcestershire Prostate Cancer Support Group were granted the award for supporting those in the County suffering from the disease.  The group, which has been going for some 17 years, was given the award by the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, Lady Morrison.