Mayor of Worcester Blog

As Mayor you get to learn about the many and varied parts of Worcester’s varied cultures. I recently attended the Malayali Christmas celebrations that happen in January each year. It was a riot of sarees, food, music and dance with an amazing Father Christmas throwing sweets and dancing his way through a cheering crowd.

There are over a thousand Malayali families living in Worcestershire who originally came from Kerela in southwest India. Due to their good English and medical training many of these families came to the UK in the 90s and noughties to work in our NHS and as consequence we have lots of Malayali residents living here in Worcester, many working at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

It’s perhaps dangerous to generalise but the Malayali community are generous to a fault and are a friendly and an incredibly polite group of people. In fact, unless you have been a patient at the hospital you may not have known that the community existed.

A big part of their culture is that they are mostly Catholic, the other for me was to learn that they are very keen on tug of war competitions. Our Worcester team is very good – in the past they have been UK national champions and they sometimes travel abroad to compete. Tug of war is a popular sport in southeast Asia – you don’t need a big space and the only equipment you need is a rope. It’s a very competitive sport – it’s not just strength or weight it’s about timing, technique and teamwork. There is lots of talk about getting just the right type of shoe for getting the best grip.

 

I know that local councillors are working with council staff to try and find a place for the local team to practice. It would be fantastic to see tug of war given more attention in Worcester and I’m sure that if the council can support the community with a space to practice it will be possible to see this great sport taken up by all sections of the community.

 

Last week I met with several members of SpeakEasy N.O.W. during their visit to the Guildhall.

SpeakEasy celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. The group was created to give people with a learning disability the opportunity to speak up about things that make life difficult for them and to flag the things that need to change. It brings together people from across the county to gather views and opinions and to bring these issues to the attention of the local authority.

Like many third sector organisations, they often fill service gaps that used to be provided by statutory organisations. Despite financial constraints SpeakEasy continues to run a network of Speak Up groups across Worcestershire, these feed into monthly Forum meetings and various project groups such as Health Checkers and the People’s Parliament. To their credit they lead by example and maintain their user-led philosophy with a management committee comprised entirely of their members and a Board of Trustees which includes people with a learning disability.

By supporting people to speak up they achieve many things:

• increasing people’s confidence and self- esteem, giving people a sense of purpose and recognising the individual value that each of them has to offer.
• they help people develop knowledge and skills that can lead to paid employment.
• they offer paid roles within their own organisation for people with a learning disability
• they provide opportunities for social networking, helping people to develop and maintain friendships and receive peer support. This helps address the loneliness and isolation that affects many people with disabilities.
•  they provide accessible information on a huge variety of topics including maintaining physical and mental health, managing finances, keeping safe and accessing their communities.

SpeakEasy provide both learning disability awareness training and an Easy Read service to help organisations become more accessible and improve the quality of services they deliver. More information can be found on their website at www.speakeasynow.org.uk

 

What a soggy autumn it was with record December rainfall and now floods in the city. A number of streets have been under water, dozens of homes seriously affected and some business and travel disruption. What a miserable way for many people to have to face the new year! It is hard to imagine how dreadful it has been for those who are rough sleeping in such harsh weather. Floods may be receding but now the weather is turning cold.

Thank goodness for the severe weather protocol (SWEP). In Worcestershire this is jointly run by organisations which support homeless people, including the City Council. SWEP is triggered if there is a risk of temperatures falling below freezing for one or more nights. It was activated for five nights over Christmas and again last weekend to make sure all homeless people had a safe and warm place to stay.

I am reminded of the phrase “think global, act local” – good advice even if its origins are disputed. The world can seem a scary place at the moment with climate changing, countries at war, populations moving and nature under threat. The links between these are complex and difficult to resolve. It can lead to a feeling of helplessness in the face of overwhelming challenges.

The key is to focus on what we can individually do in our daily lives, to live at peace with those around us and engage with our community. Let us celebrate the excellent work of local charities and their volunteers, including the Worcester Foodbank which helps those in crisis. Our community has to choose how to prioritise its resources. Politics matters at the national and local level and we can all play our part through the ballot box. So, let’s face the new year with confidence. Spring is around the corner and the snowdrops are coming out in the garden!

 

 

Before this year as Mayor, I had only a vague idea of what the role of Mayor of Worcester really entailed. Even in my year as deputy, I hadn’t really got a full insight to the day-to-day life representing our city. It isn’t until you fully start the role that you realise it is a full diary of events run by the well-oiled machine managed by the exceptional organisation of the civic office staff.

It’s quite funny how soon I became used to the weekly routine that is now a normal part of my life. On a Friday I am sent the diary for next week with details of each event, who to meet, do I wear the chain, where to park my bike etc. I then spend time finalising details with the office, researching businesses and charities I will visit and writing speeches when asked. It is fantastic that so many people want the Mayor to visit and I need to make sure I am prepared to give everyone the best of my time.

One of my favourite duties is to show groups around the Guildhall and Mayor’s parlour. Visitors, exchange students, local groups and charities all enjoy hearing the history and visiting parts that they can’t usually get to see, like the cells. The tour started off with the basics I had been told, but people on these tours have given me all sorts of snippets so that the tours have got longer and longer.

It’s such a privilege and honour to be in the role. It is also a great pleasure and I can honestly say that I am really loving it. I never cease to be amazed at the diversity of things going on in Worcester and by the hard work of so many volunteers and workers which makes Worcester such a great place to live.