Madam Mayor's Diary
Wednesday 1st August
An early start! We met scout groups from Swinton at the front of the Civic Centre at 7-45 am where they renewed their scouts promise as part of the 100 year celebrations of scouting. After the short ceremony some of the scouts had a tour of the Civic Centre.
At 9.15 am my Consort and I joined the Mayors of Greater Manchester for a tour of Tameside. The weather was good and we had a very enjoyable day.
Thursday 2nd August
I invited last year’s Mayors for afternoon tea in the Mayor’s Parlour. Not all of them could attend but it was good to see some of them again and have a chat about their year and what they were doing now.
Friday 3rd August
I was invited to go on patrol with the police to see how Operation Brocade worked. The operation is to address issues relating to anti social behaviour and under age drinking. I was very impressed with the work being carried out by the police and was witness to a few occasions when they had to take action.
Sunday 5th August
My Consort and I met the Chairman and members of the Tame Valley Vintage and Classic Car Club at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum and took part in the A6 Charity Run. We were invited to ride in a Model T Ford, which was very exciting. The club’s charity is the Children’s Adventure Farm at Millington. The farm is a holiday home for children with special needs. At the end of a great day I was invited to present trophies to the winners of the various classes of cars that had taken part.
Monday 6th August
My Consort and I attended a short service in memory of those who have been killed on the roads of Greater Manchester at the Road Peace Memorial Garden, the Grange Community Centre, Beswick, Manchester. It was a very moving service and many other Mayors of Greater Manchester attended. Many of the bereaved families brought flowers to lay in memory of their loved ones and I also placed a floral tribute on behalf of the city of Salford.
Wednesday 8th August
I was invited to open the Swinton Moorside Children’s Centre alongside Sammy McIlroy (who used to play for Manchester United). The weather was glorious and I met many of the children, mums and dads who will attend the centre in the future.
In the evening we were invited to a reception and talk on Freedom and Democracy and to meet the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir at Davenport Green Hall, Hale Barnes, Cheshire. It was an interesting night and we enjoyed meeting the prime minister.
Thursday 9th August
My Mayoress and I attended the Presentation Evening for Team 14 of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Prince’s Trust. After listening to the reports on the project from the young people, I presented them with their certificates and congratulated them on completing the course and wished them well for the future.
Friday 10th August
My Consort and I attended “Adam Day” organised by the Azeemia Foundation (UK). This was an event to promote community cohesion with a theme of “Unity in Diversity.” Many people of different faiths came together in prayer, reflection, song and entertainment.
Sunday 12th August
We attended the Pakistani Community Centre, Longsight, Manchester, to take part in the 60th anniversary celebrations of independence day of Pakistan.
In the evening we attended a cultural evening to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of India’s Independence Day where we were entertained by many fine dancers, jugglers and speakers.
Thursday 16th August
My Consort and I set off to Manchester Airport to catch our plane to Lünen. We had been invited by the Mayor of Lünen to open the new Tudor Garden which the citizens of Lünen-Brambauer had built. We were met at the airport by the twinning officer who wisked us off to our hotel to meet some of the people who had designed and built the garden.
That was the start of a very busy 3 days when we visited many interesting places in Lünen-Brambauer including a U.F.O. This was originally a pit head that has been turned into rooms that are used for meetings and a viewing platform. In the evening we met the Mayor and 20 guests for dinner at the “Civic Jug” restaurant.
Friday 17th August
We strolled around Lünen centre and visited the town hall. We then visited a Miners Museum in Brambauer. After lunch it was time to go to the Tudor Garden for the official opening by the Mayor of Lünen and myself. Over 200 residents attended and after the opening I did 2 newspaper and 1 radio interview. The press write up was in the local papers the next day and I was given a copy by our driver, Dieter Luhmann. We then saw a film of the making of the garden and were entertained by some very fine singing by the women gardeners. It was very clear that all the people involved in the garden were very proud and pleased that we attended the opening.
Saturday 18th August
Our day started with a visit to a restored mill and Dr. Lennemann gave us a pocket history of the mill and how it had been restored. Later we made our way to the open air swimming pool in Brambauer where the residents enjoyed a fun day. Every kind of activity was on hand for all the family to take part in, including a fire engine that my Consort really enjoyed looking at. Later that afternoon we visited a new sports facility to see the local team play football on the new pitch which was made from synthetic grass. The whole facility cost over £500,000.
Sunday 19th August
We had our last opportunity to meet all our new found friends before we left for the airport. My Consort and I were very pleased to accept the invitation to visit Lünen and came away with some very fond memories and lots of photographs of our visit.
Monday 20th August
I opened the Valley Pride Week. The week was a huge success thanks to all the organisers.
Tuesday 21st August
My consort and I attended a Citizenship Ceremony at the Civic Centre when 13 applicants became British citizens. I welcomed them to the Civic Centre and wished them well for the future.
Thursday 23rd August
My Mayoress and I attended the retirement of a member of staff who had worked for Salford Council for 50 years - what an achievement. I congratulated him and wished him a long and happy retirement.
In the afternoon we attended a discussion on home care, organised by the Salford Forum for Older People at the Broadwalk Training Centre, Salford. I chaired the session and it was good to hear the views of the older people on what they expect from the different agencies delivering home care for them in Salford. The findings will be fed back into the scrutiny group looking at home care for older people.
My Consort and I took a holiday from 24th to 31st August, 2007.
This page was last updated on 18 September 2007
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