Mr Mayor's Diary: June 2006
Thursday 1 June
During the afternoon, we went to the offices of Davis, Blank, Furniss Solicitors on Deansgate where we witnessed the French Consul, Guy Robson,present the Legion d’Honneur medal to Mr Robert Hoyle, for his bravery during the World War II when he helped to bring about freedom in Europe and was kept a prisoner of war for three years. He is now 85 years old.
Later we attended the Salford Pop Stars final at the Willows Variety Club in Salford. The finalists were all young people from Salford High Schools and a very high standard of performance there was too. The young people had been supported by music professionals from the City Learning Centre and the finalists were given the benefit of professional advice in the run up to the final concert. At the Willows, they had the opportunity to perform in a real club environment. Talent is not lacking on the Salford Scene and we know we are going to hear more from these young people in the future. The young people and their families also presented me with a surprise presentation cheque for £180 for my charities.
Friday 2 June
It was Volunteers’ Week and we attended the Spurgeons Family Centre in Swinton where I presented volunteers with certificates and flowers to celebrate their efforts for the charity. Some of the volunteers had been users of the centre before becoming volunteers and now bring the wealth of their experience to support others there now.
Saturday 3 June
I went to cheer on England during the second World Cup warm-up match against Jamaica at Old Trafford, before the England team left for Germany and the beginning of the real thing.
In the evening we joined another Spurgeon’s Event, this time at Cutnook Lane in Irlam, where the young people had attended a seminar in Fire Walking during the afternoon and were putting their new-found skills into practice. This was to raise money for one of their members to take to Mexico to help provide very poor children with basic needs. I gather they hoped to raise about £2000 to build a school for these children. Yes, they actually walked on red-hot coals – some of them several times!
Thursday 8 June
In the evening the Mayoress and I were guests of the Bishop of Manchester and his wife at Bishopscourt – the home of the Bishop of Manchester. The Bishop was hosting a Civic Reception for Greater Manchester Churches Together. We were joined by Mayors from other boroughs in Greater Manchester and representatives of different Christian denominations. It was a beautiful summer evening and we were able to sit outside and chat to each other.
Sunday 11 June
This was the day of our Civic Parade and Service. We processed from Broughton Library to St Thomas of Canterbury Church where we and many guests including the High Sheriff, Deputy Lord Lieutenant, British Legion Standard Bearers and Parade Marshall, the Leader and Chief Executive of the City Council, attended the 10.30am Mass. There were prayers for the Mayor and Civic Leaders. The parade was led by Cadishead Public Band who brought out many spectators on to the streets of Broughton. It was a hot day and we were grateful for refreshment after completing the parade and ceremonial lowering of the Standards outside the Church Community Centre. Everyone enjoyed the day.
In the afternoon we were guests of the Royal British Legion in Boothstown where I opened a new memorial garden behind the club building. The garden is well laid out and apart from being a memorial to those lost in battle, it will be a peaceful place for members and the local community to sit on a sunny day. It is a wonderful achievement for the branch.
Tuesday 13 June
Along with other Mayors, we attended the Annual Assembly of the British Red Cross. Long service awards were given to volunteers – for 5, 10, 20 and 30 years service. There was a presentation about the work of the Red Cross in 2005/6 which worldwide, as you will appreciate, was a year of great demand for their services with the Tsunami on Boxing Day 2004 and the London Bombings, just to mention two events where the service of the Red Cross played a crucial part. One of their current targets is to have a first-aider on each road or street. Two recently trained young people gave a demonstration of resuscitation procedure and the Mayors were invited to take part in a training day in the near future.
Wednesday 14 June
We were privileged to join Motorsave Ltd in their celebration of their Investor in People award. This is the only independent garage to have achieved this award so far in Greater Manchester. We spent an interesting morning meeting the workers and management finding out about what they had done to help their workers promote their skills and develop good working practices in the firm in order to achieve the award. Congratulations to Motorsave Ltd.
Thursday 15 June
We had an early start at Maxwell Hall, Salford University where we joined members of the Walkden Rotary Club for their Annual Citizenship Project working with young people form six of our Salford High Schools. The young people had to complete a range of tasks which challenged their creativity, understanding and practice of citizenship. After a thoroughly enjoyable day, awards were presented Deputy Mayor.
Meanwhile we were preparing for a visit to Clermont Ferrand, one Salford’s twin towns, with whom we are celebrating 40 years of twinning activities.
Friday 16 June – Sunday 18 June
We travelled to Clermont Ferrand via Brussels as there are no direct flights to Clermont-Ferrand from Manchester Airport. We arrived in Clermont-Ferrand which is situated in the centre of an ancient and extinct volcanic region. We were met by members of La Mission des Relations Internationales, which, is a special office dealing with their town twinning relations. We ate together in a local restaurant as their guests and the following day, while members of our group had business meetings in the town, we visited the Michelin Museum and learned about the fascinating history of the Michelin Tyre Company which was founded and has its headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand. It has a great history of innovation and creativity and is well worth a visit if you are in the area. On Saturday evening we were due to be guests of the Mayor and City Council at the grand opening of their newly refurbished town square and launch of a brand new tramway (complete with Michelin tyres). Unfortunately the outdoor rock-band performances and firework display had to be cancelled due to a huge thunderstorm which erupted during the evening. We did manage to see the tramway however and attended a reception with the Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand in their very splendid and awe-inspiring Town Hall where the Mayor presented us with a very large box of pictures and history of Clermont-Ferrand. On Sunday we visited a heritage site dedicated to the world history and geology of volcanic activity – another “must” to visit in the region, as too is the very old cathedral built from volcanic material and it is very beautiful and interesting inside. We had a wonderful time with our very gracious hosts and considerable work was done to promote further links in the coming year.
Monday 19 June
We received Jaime Costello in the Parlour. Jaime is a young person who has started training to be a nurse. She was awarded a sum of money from the Feryal Rajah Trust, a trust set up by the Council Leader, John Merry, in memory of his wife, a local GP, who died suddenly some years ago at a young age. The trust can make awards to any female who is undertaking professional training in medicine.
Tuesday 20 June
Today we welcomed a group of people in the Council Chamber who were being registered as British Citizens by the City Registrar. Afterwards the group joined us in the Parlour for a cup of tea and chat. There were people who originated from many nations and continents and we had some very interesting conversations.
Wednesday 21 June
We were privileged to receive Mr Terry Waite in the Parlour. Terry was visiting Salford to meet members of the Emmaus Steering Group, an organisation with which he now works to develop housing and work opportunities for people who have had difficult times. Many years ago Terry, while working as an envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury and negotiating for the release of hostages, was taken hostage himself and spent four of his five years as a hostage in solitary confinement.
Hot on the heels of Terry Waite came Mrs Linda Moss JP and her family. Linda was the recipient of this month’s Mayor’s Citizen’s Award which was given for her services to children in the City. She and her husband and family have fostered 99 children to date and are expecting their 100th child any time soon! This is a marvellous achievement; they have given love, laughter and stability to youngsters who are not able to live with their own families for the time being. Many of these children still keep in touch with her.
After the Presentation of the award in the Council Chamber, I chaired the monthly meeting of the City Council. Some members of the public were present to ask questions. The meeting gave rise to some lively debate and a number of matters received approval of the whole council. This monthly meeting is the only time when all the Councillors meet together in one body.
Thursday 22 June
We attended the Annual General Meeting of the Salford National Society for the Protection of Children. This remarkable voluntary organisation has done so much for children and their families over the years. They run a 24/7 phone line open to children who are in danger or need support. This line (0808 800 5000) takes over 174,000 calls a year. They also have services which support families to help them stay together and sort out any difficulties they may be experiencing. They strive to keep families together wherever possible. Always the safety and well-being of the child is paramount. We were pleased to meet executive, committee members and other volunteers who support the professional work of the society with their tireless fundraising. (The Community Appeals Manager is Deborah Hardwick Tel 0161 304 9815).
Friday 23 June
We joined the Captain and crew of Her Majesty’s Ship Ramsay at Eastham Dock on the Wirral. We sailed with her to a mooring point at Salford Quays where crew were looking forward to a relaxing weekend following a gruelling tour of duty incapacitating mines in the Baltic Sea. We were shown around this active defence ship and we marvelled at the organisation, discipline and good humour where so much is achieved in a very confined space – the living and working accommodation for a crew of forty for several months at a time. We were accompanied by the Mayor and Mayoress of Wirral, and by the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside and his wife.
We returned to HMS Ramsay in the evening as guests of the Captain at a reception for crew, family and friends and civic guests from Salford. The weather was fine and we witnessed a lovely sunset over Salford Quays as I assisted the Captain in the end-of-day lowering of the flag ceremony aboard ship.
Monday 26 June
We received greetings from the President and member of the Jewish Representative Council for Greater Manchester in the Parlour. We heard about the good work of the council for the Jewish Community in Salford and Manchester and received an almanac of their services. We thank them for their kind greetings and for taking the trouble to come and meet us.
Later we hosted a lunch for the Youth Exchange visitors from Lunen in Germany – another of our twin towns. The young people seemed to enjoy themselves and were very interested in the historical artefacts of the City of Salford, which are displayed in the Mayor’s Parlour and include the original Royal Charter and seal of Salford City, dating back to the thirteenth century.
In the evening we attended the Dance Festival of Salford Schools’ Dance Association held in the Quays Theatre at the Lowry complex, where we were treated to very high quality performances from primary and high school pupils of all abilities. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and congratulate the pupils and staff in our schools and Children’s Services for their expertise, infectious enthusiasm and commitment to this excellent work. Both boys and girls took part in this in about equal numbers and they certainly looked an extremely fit and talented bunch of young people.
Tuesday 27 June
We received David King of City Light Trust in the Parlour to complete arrangements for the Salford Week of Prayer organised by the Trust. The Week of Prayer was set up about four years ago by the Trust in Salford. Last year, Oldham expressed interest and this year ALL the boroughs of Greater Manchester are taking part. But more of this later.
We travelled to Broughton Library to open the Nicki Alliance Annual Art Exhibition at Broughton Library, Bury New Road. This exhibition will be showing until the end of July and is well worth a look. We were presented by a ninety year old member of the club with one of her paintings which now hangs in the Parlour.
Later we attended a reception of International Teachers and Students, members of INSITE (an organisation for university professionals involved in information technology and education). This is an annual international conference, hosted this year in Salford, England. We were very pleased to meet participants from Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, America, Canada, Sweden – to name a few. The guests were absolutely delighted to meet the Mayor and Mayoress of our city and there was a long line of people waiting to have their photos taken with us!
We went from there to present awards at the Sure Start Award Ceremony at Buile Hill Park Hall where registered childminders and early years’ workers in Salford received certificates of qualification in their work. They were a lively crowd of people (mostly women!) who obviously love their work and are on hand to give high quality care to Salford babies and young children. We congratulate them on their commitment and encourage other would-be child minders to follow their example. Things have moved on a lot since the Mayoress was a child-minder 25 years ago and there is a much better system of support available now through Sure Start.
Wednesday 28 June
With the Mayors from all Greater Manchester Boroughs, we attended the Race to Recycle Award Celebration at the Bridgewater Hall. United Paper Mills at Shotton, North Wales (who recycle all the newsprint in Greater Manchester) donate £1 for every tonne of waste paper collected and this becomes the first, second and third award for the three most improved boroughs in Greater Manchester in the past year in terms of recycling progress. This year’s first-prize of £22,000 went to Bolton. They will use this money to fund a community project, which either uses recycled materials or promotes recycling and will give a presentation about their project at next year’s awards. Salford Environmental Services Directorate won an award two years ago and used this to develop very innovative and interactive soft-ware material to be used in engaging young people to think about and engage in recycling and waste reduction. We congratulate Shotton Mills on their brilliant idea which enables councils to do something extra for local communities.
Later in the day we were at Buile Hill Park Hall for the launch of a new syllabus for religious education in our city schools. The syllabus is very impressive and has already in its pilot stage engaged a significant number of young people. It is certainly a syllabus which “respects diversity and promotes harmony” and young people have an opportunity to learn about many aspects of faiths. We congratulate all the people involved in its development, most of whom give their time freely over and above their main work.
Thursday 29 June
We attended the launch of the new Centre of Excellence at Fit City, Craven Drive, Ordsall. This is the newly located centre of excellence for gymnastics, which serves much of Greater Manchester. Young people gave energetic and spectacular performances in gymnastics and dance. We cut the ribbon and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion to much clapping and cheering from the youngsters, their parents, carers and families. It was lovely to see so many young people enjoying themselves.
The Sports’ Development Team at Salford Community Leisure are to be commended for their creative work and commitment.
Friday 30 June
We donned hard hats as we visited the site of the new Cutnook Lane Residential Home, which is still being built. Rowlinson’s the builders, very considerate constructors, have been exemplary in their relationship with local residents during this process and local people are singing their praises! The building is stunning and should be an extremely lovely place to live for the residents. It should have its official opening later in the year when we hope to return to meet the first residents. Local people and schools have been engaged in the development and the school named by local school children – Heartley Green.
This page was last updated on 30 August 2006
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