Mr Mayors Diary June 2005
Thursday 2 June
Today we attended The Healthy Salford Fair held in Buille Hill Park, Salford. This is an annual event and was set up by various volunteer groups in Salford who wanted to help keep local people healthy. There were many stalls and we spent quite a few hours here meeting a lot of the volunteers, a very enjoyable day.
Later that evening we attended a Civic Reception hosted by Greater Manchester Churches Together at Wardley Hall. This is a place I have always wanted to go and I enjoyed Bishop Brains talk on the history of the Hall and the skull of St. Ambrose Barlow a very interesting and enjoyable evening.
Saturday 4 June
We attended an evening picnic and official opening of the new band stand at Victoria Park in Swinton. This was a really great night apart from the rain but that didn't put a damper on the night. Everyone we spoke to said it was good to hear a band playing in the Bandstand again, just like it was in the 1930s and the finale was a magnificent Firework Display.
Sunday 5 June
The Mayoress attended Salford Link Entertainment for Women and Children at The Salford Link Centre, Cromwell Road, Eccles. The mayoress commented that the hospitality she received was great and the entertainment was fantastic.
Monday 6 June
This morning we met David King from City Light Trust to discuss a future event they are holding in July. I then chaired a meeting of The Council Agenda Setting Group in the afternoon.
Wednesday 8 June
Along with all the other Mayors of Greater Manchester, we attended The British Red Cross Annual Assembly at Lancashire Cricket Club, Old Trafford. Certificates were given to volunteers for 5, 10, 20, 40 years service to the Red Cross and then presentations were made on the work they do.
Thursday 9 June
We attended the Launch of Access Salford Public and University Libraries at the Clifford Whitworth Library, University of Salford. This was to encourage and make the public aware that they too can use the university libraries if they wish. Many thanks for the hospitality shown to us it was a very enjoyable time we had there.
Later that evening we attended a Production of The Things We Do For Love at Pendleton College, Dronfield Road, Salford. Again the reception we received when we arrived there was unbelievable. The production was very well put together. Where they got their energy from to do it I will never know, well done to you all.
Friday 10 June
We attended the launch of the Affordable Warmth Strategy for Salford at the Digital World Centre, Salford Quays. I had the honour of opening the event then stayed a while to listen to some presentations. It is good to see that this is happening in Salford and that Salford pensioners will benefit from it, a big thank you to all the organisers.
We then went straight from there to the Salford Civic Centre to host a Civic Reception in the Mayor's Parlour for a visiting French Rugby Team from Palou, France. These guys were big and burly, if they say its Monday you don't argue, its Monday! I spoke briefly to the coach and he told me that they were going to watch Salford play Saint Helens and also watch Warrington play Leigh the following Sunday.
Saturday 11 June
We attended The Greater Manchester Youth Games at The Bolton Arena, along with all the other Mayors from the Greater Manchester area. We had a very enjoyable time and went to see the Salford team play Hockey, unfortunately for Salford the result of the game was a draw. We then met some lads who were just about to start a game, one had a swollen eye, another had a nose injury and a girl had an ankle injury, but in true Salford Style this did not stop them from playing.
Later in the evening we hosted a Civic Dinner, in the Mayors Parlour, for visitors from the French Twin Town, St Quen. It was nice to meet these people and exchange different points of view. Many thanks to the Citywide Staff, who looked after us throughout the evening.
Sunday 12 June
We attended the Churches Together Annual Walk of Witness at Eccles Parish Church. It was really nice to see so many people join in the procession and it has been going on for the last 20 years, long may it last. Cadishead Band supplied all the music for the procession, and the singing, everybody enjoyed it.
Later that evening we attended, in the presence of The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Manchester, a performance of Indian Classical Dance at the Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford. This was excellent and again great to see. Many thanks for the hospitality shown to us.
Monday 13 June
We went to present a British Retail Consortium Certificate to the Managing Director of H.R. Hargreaves & Sons, Smithfold Lane, Worsley. This is a success story, they have been in business for 4O years and with this certificate can now trade with the likes of Tesco and the big supermarket chains. It was interesting to hear the history of the business and to see the photographs of years gone by, every success for the future.
Wednesday 15 June
We met with Mr. Richard McGarry the Mayors Citizen Award winner for June. Councillor Alan Broughton nominated Richard for his tireless enthusiasm in working with local action groups. Richard was also interested in local history and told me quite a lot about Cadishead, where I live. Congratulations Richard on winning the award.
In the afternoon I chaired the monthly Council meeting.
Thursday 16 June
We attended The Rotary Club of Walkden Citizenship Project at Maxwell Hall, University of Salford. During the morning we met all the pupils who were taking part from various schools in Salford and had our photographs taken with them. We then went to see which topics they were going to scrutinise e.g. crime and disorder, environment etc. In the afternoon I found this very interesting because they did a short performance showing the outcomes of their scrutinising, the overall winners were Harrop Fold School, well done to you all.
We later attended the official opening of The Sports Hall at St, Patricks R.C High School and Arts College, Winton, in the presence of The Bishop of Salford, Bishop Brain. Being a Governor and a past pupil of St. Patricks, I felt very proud to be there and would like to thank everybody for the reception we received.
Friday 17 June
We visited Holy Cross and All Saints Primary School Eccles to hear about a European project they have been doing over the past 3 years, with schools from Ireland, Italy and Belgium. They exchanged paintings of themselves and emailed photos of themselves this was from nursery up to 8/9 year old.
It was good to see schools across Europe working with each other to bring excellence and enjoyment to the children's learning. May I also add that it was nice to meet teachers and adults from the 3 countries and the pupils singing must be applauded. Also in attendance was Ian Stewart M.P and Gary Titley M.E.P.
Later we attended an exhibition by pupils of St Patricks R.C High School and Arts College made with artist Jack Doyle " Space to Create Redefining A Landscape" at the Lowry. The pupils were heavily involved in this exhibition of architectural models and drawings and what talent was shown by every entry. I spoke to a few of the parents during the exhibition and they agreed that the standard was very high. Many thanks to Mr. McGee for his hospitality.
Saturday 18 June
We attended The Brookhouse and District Festival at Eccles Recreation Ground. Many thanks to Edna Hunt and her Committee for making us welcome to your event. We left here and went to a VE Celebration organised by the Armitage Residents Association, Little Hulton. Many thanks for your hospitality every one was having such a good time and shared some of their wartime stories with us.
Later that evening we attended a presentation by Salford Choral Society of A Night at the Opera. This was fantastic, a very enjoyable evening. The choir, conducted by Dr James Eastham with Roderick Barrend on piano, I will never forget and then the soprano Michaela Bloom well what more can I say it was wonderful, you all did Salford proud.
Sunday 19 June
We were invited to meet with the other Mayors from the Greater Manchester area, by the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Sir David Wilmot.
Tuesday 21 June
We received a courtesy visit from David Wilson the Consul for Iceland. It was very interesting to learn about Iceland, it sounds a very interesting country.
In the afternoon we hosted a Citizenship Ceremony where about 20 people became British Citizens. This ceremony is carried out by all Local Authorities in the country, usually once a month.
Wednesday 22 June
We attended the "Ceremonial Signing of the Rolls of High Sheriffs" at the Law Courts, Crown Square, Manchester. Later in the evening we attended The Samaritans AGM at the Manchester University Business School. It was very interesting finding out the in depth work that is done by the Samaritans. A big thank you to everyone we met and spoke to.
Thursday 23 June
We met with Nigel Lawson from Manchester University and Philip Catney from Sheffield University, in the Mayors Parlour, to discuss the SUBR:IM Contaminated Land Project. This was a very interesting meeting because I was able to put Salford's case over to them concerning this project. In the afternoon we attended the Launch of a new Cafe at St Sebastians Community Centre Salford. Many thanks to Fr Houlihan and everyone there, for making us feel so welcome. The artwork was fantastic, you have all got yourselves a very nice place there. Later in the evening we attended The AGM of the Manchester and Salford Branch of the NSPCC. This was a very informative meeting indeed, the work that these people do is overwhelming. A big thank you to Allan Sale for taking us round the offices and explaining what goes on, I am looking forward to making a return visit.
Friday 24 June
We attended the official opening of the IT's Never To Late Learning Centre at Broughton Swimming Baths in the presence of Hazel Blears MP. This was organised by Sue Woodward, Managing Director of ITV Granada and Denise Arbery. There were also a few celebrities there from Granada, Lucy Meacock and Bruce Jones (Les Battersby) to name two. The idea of all this is to provide state of the art IT Facilities in unusual venues in the region, getting away from schools, colleges and libraries. The aim of the project is to get back into learning for those who slipped through the net at school, showing the importance of learning at all stages of life. We had a great time with everyone there and many thanks to Granada for inviting us. We then chased back to the Civic Centre for the first meeting of my Charity Committee. This was held to decide at what we intend to do over the next 12 months to raise money for my charities.
The first event is a golf tournament to be held at Swinton Park Golf Club on 9th August 2005. If you would like more information please contact me or my office. You can also check out my charity page on the website.
Sunday 26 June
We attended the St John Ambulance Celebration of St John Day at Manchester Cathedral, in the presence of all the Mayors of Greater Manchester. This was a great service, it is the first time it has been held outside London. It is usually held at St Paul's Cathedral. Long may it carry on up here in the North of England. We then left there to attend a reception to say farewell and thank you to Rev Alison Hardy who is leaving St Johns Church Irlam to take up another post in Bury. Good luck to you Alison.
Later that evening we attended The Jamaica Society Thanksgiving Church Service at St. John's Church, Old Trafford. This was a night to remember with everyone joining in the singing, including myself and the Mayoress, many thanks for the night.
Monday 27 June
We attended a Phoenix Supported Employment Service Conference at Buile Hill Park Banqueting Suite in the presence of Ian Stewart MP. My task was to welcome every one to the event. This is something close to my heart. Just because people are disabled or have learning difficulties, why should they not be allowed into full employment. There were a few presentations and parents explained how, through Phoenix, their children have found employment and what a change it has made to there lives. Long may it carry on.
We then went to be interviewed by Councillor Jim King on Salford Community Radio. This lasted about an hour. It was good fun and I wish them luck in obtaining a licence and many thanks to Patrick and every one there for making us welcome.
Wednesday 29 June
We met with a delegation from Jinniu China. This was very interesting because through an interpreter I spoke to the Mayor of Jinniu and we compared how different things were done in our respective countries. Lots of photographs were taken, a most memorable time.
Later in the afternoon we met a delegation from Russia and Brazil this was to compare how education was delivered in these two countries compared to here in Britain. A lot came out of this and I believe that the three countries can learn a lot from each other.
Thursday 30 June
We attended the open celebration of Northern Air Broadcasting at Hope Hospital in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Manchester. We spoke to a few people there and a many said it was something that has been needed for some time. A big thank you to all the organisers of the event for the hospitality that was shown to us and hope that your project is a success.
We then attended The Launch of The Salford Construction Partnership Protocol at Digital World Salford Quays. The idea of this is to encourage Salford's unemployed to join the construction trade and go on a 6 week course to learn skills in various building trades. I presented certificates to five men who had successfully completed this 6 week course, well done Lads and long may this continue.
This page was last updated on 14 June 2012
