Madam Mayor's Diary
Monday 2 June
The Mayoress and I attended the
celebration of Italy’s National Day at the Malmaison Hotel. We were joined by Mayors and Mayoresses
from other boroughs, the High Sheriff Mrs. Conn and her Consort and many Consuls from different countries.
Wednesday 4 June
The Mayoress and I welcomed
students from our twin town of Clermont-Ferrand who are staying in Salford on work experience, they
were accompanied by some of the employers. We had a short talk on the city’s history from Mr. F Reid,
the Mayor’s Officer and this proved very enjoyable for the visitors. They all were very impressed with
Salford and said they were enjoying their stay. Thank you to Mr. S. Fletcher who facilitated the visit.
Thursday 5 June
We were the guests of Mr and
Mrs C. Parry at the Warrington Peace Centre. The President of Ireland was on a State visit and she spoke
very movingly of the real need to understand each other as a way of avoiding conflict in the future.
She was very impressed by the work the Peace Centre is doing and spoke to many of the volunteers and
children there. The Peace Centre is one of my charities this year- there is s a very real need to help
young people resolve conflict without resorting to violence.
Later on the Mayoress and I were guests of Salford University School of Arts and Design to a private viewing of the final years students work at the Cube Gallery in Manchester. We were joined by the Vice Chancellor and Stephen Hodder, Architect, who opened the exhibition. Once again the young people of Salford demonstrated their amazing talent.
Friday 6 June
In the evening we joined the Head
Teacher, govorners, parents and pupils at James Brindley Primary school who welcomed their partners
from schools in France, Finland, Greece and Poland. The children from James Brindley community school
put on a fantastic display of English songs and dance including a song about the round heads and cavaliers
at Salford Bridge.The parents and teachers are proud to have such a talented set of pupils, they are
a credit to the city. Congratulations to Mr. Sheedy, Head Teacher of Holy Cross and All Saints primary
school on his appointment as an ambassador to the Comenius project.
Saturday 7 June
We attended the Mini soccer event
at Salford Sports Village to watch the under 10s teams playing football and learning to keep fit. Also
there was Peter Shilton, the former England football player. He was happy to present some of the trophies
and sign autographs. Congratulations to those teams who won the Fairplay awards and thank you to the
organisers who all worked very hard to make the day so successful.
Sunday 8 June
With the Mayors and Mayoresses
from the surrounding boroughs we attended the Greater Manchester Athletic Association Annual Championships
at Longford Park in Stretford. As usual there was very keen competition between the competitors, I am
happy to say Salford won its share of medals.
In the afternoon we attended an open air service of celebration held by the Churches Together in Eccles at Monton Green. This is an annual event when we can all witness our faith. Thank you to Imogen Stewart from the Salvation Army for organising the service.
Monday 9 June
The Mayoress and I met with Mr.
David King, Director, City Light Trust Chair of Salford Prayer Network to plan the forthcoming Prayer
Evening which will be held on the 9th July in the Council Chamber at Salford
Civic Centre.
Tuesday 10 June
We were invited to Fit City Worsley
to meet with a group who suffer from chronic lung problems. This enterprising group have got together
to continue exercise and networking so they can support each other. I must congratulate them on their
first anniversary. If you are interested in finding out more you can contact Gareth Davies, Fitness
Development Officer at Fit City Worsley.
Wednesday 11 June
We attended and presented NVQ
certificates to staff from our Learning Disability Care Homes, Home Care, Mental Health care, and Management
services.
Anne Williams Director of Adult Social care and Councillor Maureen Lea were there to support the staff. Anne was able to tell us that all staff working in social care are qualified to NVQ standard and that is one of the reasons we can offer such high quality of care to our clients. Congratulations to all who received a certificate and thank you for your hard work.
In the evening we joined parents and children at the investiture of the Beavers and Cubs of the newly formed 3rd Pendlebury Scouts group. We were entertained with a really good performance by the beavers and cubs, they were really proud to receive their neckerchiefs and badges. We wish them good luck for the future.
Thursday 12 June
The Mayoress and I attended
a meeting of the Town Twinning Forum chaired by Councillor Derek Antrobus at the Civic Centre. The meeting
was attended by representatives of our Town Twinning Associations, Saint-Ouen, Claremont-ferrand, Narbonne
and Lünen. We also had a presentation from Salford Music and Performing Arts. The discussion centered
on plans - we have a city to promote economic development in Salford and our twin towns. Again thank
you to all the volunteers who work so hard to further our twinning relationships.
Saturday 14 June
The Mayoress and I attended
a memorial service and laid a wreath in memory of the miners who lost their lives in the pit disaster
of 1885 at Clifton Hall Colliery.
The service was held at St Augustine’s church in Pendlebury known locally as the Miners’ Cathedral. It is a very beautiful church and a listed building.
All the names of the victims were read out in church and some as you can imagine were very young, as young as 13 years old. Whole families of men were killed, fathers, sons, brothers, cousins and husbands. The suffering for them and the many wives and children who were left behind must have been terrible. It is right that we remember them and our history in this way.
Sunday 15 June
The Mayoress and I along with
The Secretary of State for Communities Hazel Blears M.P, The Leader of the council, Councillor J Merry
and Councillors Connor and McIntyre attended a celebration of Partnership at the Hershel Weiss Children
and Family Centre and the Bnos School Nursery which the Secretary of State opened.
In the afternoon we attended, together with the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Manchester and the Mayor and Mayoress of Bury, the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the service given to this country by Jewish service men and women.
Monday 16 June
The Mayoress and I attended an
award ceremony for school governors who had served their schools for 25 years or more. School governors
are volunteers; they give valuable support to schools, staff and pupils. They ensure that our children
have the best educational opportunities they can. Their time, commitment and experience are a real asset
to our schools. Those receiving the awards were:
Cllr Bernard Lea - St. Johns CE plus Grosvenor Road Primary Schools - 30 years plus
Mrs. B. Egan - St. Georges RC High School - 25 years plus
Mrs. F. McAvoy - All Hallows RC High School - 28 years plus
Rev. F Houilhan - All Hallows RC school - 26 years plus
Mr. A Johns - Wardley CE Primary School - 26 years plus
Sandra Preston - The Cathedral School of St. Peter and St. John - 25 years plus
A real heart felt thank you to all our governors across the city - you are doing a really worthwhile job.
In the evening we were again at an Award Ceremony – the Ellesmere District Cub Scout 9th Worsley, St Andrews Boothstown. Cubs had worked hard to achieve their Scientist badge. It is a real privilege to join our young people and recognise their achievements.
Also present were Councilllor B. Pennington, District Scout Commissioner, Bill Beecroft and Assistant District Commissioner Susan Leonard as well as parents.
Tuesday 17 June
This morning I held my first
Mayor’s Charity meeting to plan events for the year ahead. We welcomed people to the Salford community
who were sworn in as British citizens and afterwards received them in the Mayor’s Parlour.
In the evening we attended The Albion High School who were hosting a Ready Steady Community Cook event to celebrate Refugee Week. A variety of food was available from Europe, Asia and Africa. It was an excellent way to get to know and understand each other. Congratulations to The Better Together Partnership who arranged the event.
Wednesday 18June
In the afternoon I chaired a
special meeting of the council.
In the evening along with the Mayors and Mayoresses of surrounding boroughs we attended a reception at the home of the Bishop of Bolton so that the newly installed Mayors could meet all the clergy of the area.
Thursday 19 June
The Mayoress and I along with
the police and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Mrs. Lorraine Worsley-Carter, were
guests of Walkden Rotary Club who hosted a Citizen event at Salford University.
Our hosts and President of the club Mr. A Critchley and Mr. J Worsley had invited schools to participate and the schools who took up the challenge were:
Bridgewater Independent
Harrop Fold High
Irlam and Cadishead High
Mooreside High
St Georges High
Walkden High
On arrival the young people tended to stay in their own groups but as the day progressed they joined teams from across the schools, they then developed presentations on different citizen issues that affect us all. In the afternoon each group did a presentation and individual and team awards were presented.
It was a really fantastic day, all the young people worked hard and gave serious thought to the issues being discussed. Well done to all who took part and thank you to the Rotary club of Walkden for facilitating the day.
Saturday 21 June
We celebrated with the parish
of St Mary Magdalene’s in Winton the 20 years of service that the Vicar of Winton Father David Sutton
has given to the parish. We were also celebrating the anniversary of his ordination 35 years ago. Many
other clergy were present as well as the Bishop of Beverley. Father Sutton will be leaving the parish
at the end of the month for a new post at Greater Manchester West Mental Health Trust so thank you for
all your years of service and good luck in your new post.
In the evening the Mayoress and I attended a charity night quiz at the Brown Cow in Winton
Sunday 22 June
The Mayoress and I attended Salford
Museum and Art gallery to view A Small World exhibition to celebrate refugee week. Later we attended
the University of Salford to view an art exhibition by Year 9 pupils of Hope High school and to present
the awards. These two events were part of a collaboration between the University, the Museum and Hope
High school, it is hoped many more events can be planned. All the work was of a very high standard and
all the young people who took part are to be congratulated.
Tuesday 24 June
The Mayoress and I were guests
of 236(Greater Manchester Squadron) Royal Logistics Corps (Territorial Army) on the occasion of the
Presentation of the Freedom of Eccles Banner and Scroll originally awarded to the R A S C (Motor
Ambulance ) Company in 1964. It was a great privilege for me as an Eccles Councillor to do this. We
all need to remember and be grateful for the dedication and service to our country of these young men
and women, not only in the past but to the present day.
Wednesday 25 June
The Mayoress and I were present
along with the Mayors and Mayoresses from surrounding boroughs at the ceremonial signing of the roll
by the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Mrs. Edith Conn. Also present were the Lord Mayor of Manchester
and the Lord lieutenant, Mr. Warren Smith.
We later attended an Information Day event in Little Hulton facilitated by the Salford Disability Forum This is a group of volunteers who are themselves disabled or are carers. Their aim is to help other people who have similar problems, it was well attended and was of great benefit to everyone there.
In the evening we were hosts to the Salford and Swinton Rotary club who had sponsored awards to recognize the young people in our city for their endeavor and achievements. The young people were nominated by their schools for a variety of effort. We all enjoyed the evening so thank you to the Rotary Club and to the young people who took part.
Thursday 26 June
We were host to the school
council from Lower Kersal Primary School. This group of children acts on behalf of their fellow pupils
to ask the head teacher about the running of the school. They came in with a list of questions about
the role of the Mayor, the Council and the civic history of the city. They visited the council chamber
and the clock tower. They were shown the Mayoral robes, the mace and chains of office as well as the
city’s original charter granted in 1230. They showed great interest and were very well informed.
At lunch time we attended the retirement of Tom Turnbull who has worked for the council for 42 years and as well as his job has helped over the years with the Children’s holiday camp committee. I hope you enjoy your retirement Tom with best whishes from all your friends.
In the evening we attended a fashion and film show by pupils from St Patrick’s RC High school, St Gilberts RC primary school and Holy Cross and All Saints RC Primary school.
The theme was to highlight environmental issues and sustainability by recycling old clothes into fashionable items and then showing animated films entirely produced by the children. It was extremely well done, well supported by parents and teachers and demonstrated once again what a vast amount of talent and commitment our young people have.
Friday 27 June
We attended the Greater Manchester
Mini games 2008 which were hosted by Salford. The venue was Wentworth High School, Chatsworth and Eccles
College.
Once again the young people from across Greater Manchester demonstrated their talent and commitment, everyone enjoyed themselves and thanks to Wendy Walker and her Team for organising the day
In the evening we joined Salford City Reds to watch the match between Salford and Halifax. The man of the match was Karl Fitzpatrick so well done Karl.
The council was the main sponsor of this match and the Reds did the city proud by winning. Good luck in the cup final at Black pool on Sunday.
Saturday 28 June
We attended a concert given
by the Salford Choral Society conducted by Dr James Eastham. It was an absolutely brilliant performance
by the choir with many favourites including Peter and the Wolf, Oliver and Last Night at the Proms.
Please do support them, they are all volunteers and are brilliant ambassadors for the city.
In the evening with my guest Mrs. C Hudson I attended The Monton Music Fest, a week long festival launched at Monton Unitarian Church on Monton Green. What a brilliant idea - well done to Mr. Paul Ashton for arranging this event. We were entertained by Manchester Choral society conducted by Jill Henderson-Wild. Again we had a really wonderful evening listening to some truly beautiful singing.
Sunday 29 June
We joined the Lord Mayor of Manchester
along with the Mayors and Mayoresses of surrounding boroughs to celebrate the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state of Israel. There was a parade through Manchester plus
a party in the park. Congratulations to the Jewish community on their celebrations.
In the evening we were guests at the Showcase, a gala concert in aid of the Genesis appeal and When you Wish upon a Star. There were over 200 performers from seven musical theatre societies who presented excerpts from their favourite West end and Broadway shows. What a performance, everyone enjoyed themselves it was a really fantastic night to a packed audience. Truly well done to you all. Again please do support your local society either by watching or joining a really worthwhile activity.
This page was last updated on 23 July 2008
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