Mayor's Blog - April 2007
Mayoral Blog 2006/07
Councillor Margaret Sidebottom
April 2007
Once again I have enjoyed another busy week.
On Monday I had the pleasure of welcoming to the Town Hall the School Council from Russell Scott Primary School in Denton. They were a fantastic group of children and they really enjoyed their visit to the Mayor's Parlour and Council Chamber.
At tea time I had a visit from one of the Borough's Junior Mayors. Dempsey Lamb from Manor Green Primary School was one of the very first children to be Mayor for the day. On the 8th May I will be hosting a special reception in the Town Hall for all the Junior Mayors but unfortunately Dempsey cannot attend and therefore I invited her for tea on Monday. Dempsey was joined by her mum, two friends and Mrs Lomas her Headteacher. We had a lovely chat and lots of nice things to eat and the girls really enjoyed their visit. In fact, I understand that Dempsey was so inspired by her visit to the Council Chamber that she called a meeting of the School Council the very next morning!
Later I attended a Cocktail Party at the Midland Hotel in Manchester at the invitation of the Honorary Consul for the Netherlands. The event was a Celebration of Queen's Day and it was an honour to be able to represent the Borough on this occasion.
On Tuesday I was joined in the Town Hall by children and staff from Stalyhill Infant School. It was a great morning and the children were so well behaved. They had lots of interesting questions to ask and they all thoroughly enjoyed their visit. I was then invited to Mossley Hollins High School to attend the Special Status Launch. Mossley Hollins has officially become a school specialising in the Arts and Sports and I was delighted to attend the launch and to offer my congratulations and good wishes. And then it was off to Ashton West End Primary School for the opening of the new nursery. I was asked to perform the official ceremony and the school had kindly arranged a plaque for me to unveil. It was a very special and memorable occasion for me.
It was an early start on Wednesday as Colin and I had to be at the Reebok Stadium for 9am. We joined the rest of the 'Chain Gang' for a fabulous day touring the sights of Bolton at the invitation of the Borough's Mayor.
On Thursday I joined the other Civic Heads of Greater Manchester at a luncheon with the Chief Constable Michael Todd and on Friday I visited Kingsfield Residential Care Centre in Ashton where I spent a nice afternoon chatting with residents and staff.
On Saturday I enjoyed the day spending time with my family and catching up with my jobs at home and then on Sunday I attended the annual Mottram Spring Show. Although there was a change in the weather, the show still went on and I had a great time. I was asked to judge the children's fancy dress competition and the winner was a Mermaid, the poor girl must have been freezing cold! It was good to see so many families enjoying this traditional event and spending time together and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the show for their continued hard work and commitment. It was the perfect way to end a lovely week.
See you next week
Well what another busy week we've had.
Unfortunately it began with the very sad news of the death of the Mayor of Salford (Councillor Bernard Murphy JP).
Bernard had been poorly for quite some but, despite his illness, he had a full and active Mayoral year. He was a wonderful Mayor and a great friend and I will miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with the Mayoress and her family at this difficult time.
Monday 23rd April was of course St George's Day and Tameside certainly celebrated the occasion with great style. Sadly the weather wasn't very good but it definitely didn't dampen the Borough's spirits and it was a fantastic day.
Ashton Market played host to a wonderful ensemble of medieval music, song and dance and Knights and Squires, assisted by Members of The Royal British Legion Branches, handed out red roses to people in all the towns of Tameside.
Local Primary Schools took part in a magnificent exhibition putting into pictures and words the story of St George.
This was the fifth year the Council has publicly celebrated St George's Day. We are extremely proud to recognise our Patron Saint and the celebrations are now amongst the largest in the North West .
On Tuesday I was pleased to welcome to the Mayor's Parlour Mr Charles Tinega and his family. Mr Tinega is the Headteacher of the village school in Kiagware in Kenya . You may have read in the local press that the Council has recently donated money to the village and when I heard that Mr Tinega was visiting the area, I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with him and his family.
I spent a lovely afternoon on Tuesday with the residents and staff at Greatwood House in Denton before attending a Cheerleading Festival at Copley Recreation Centre. I even had a little go at cheerleading myself and was presented with a trophy and my own pompoms for my efforts.
On Wednesday, Tameside were the hosts for this year's AGMA Trading Standards Consumer Quiz. The quiz is for children with moderate learning difficulties and is actively based with a high visual content. It was great fun and I am very proud to say that the team from our very own Samuel Laycock School were crowned champions.
On Wednesday evening I attended a Reception at Manchester Town Hall in celebration of 125 th Anniversary of the Manchester Consular Association and on Thursday I was delighted to be present at the launch of St Petersfield in Ashton-under-Lyne, a magnificent new development of both commercial and residential buildings in Ashton Old Town .
On Thursday afternoon I popped over to Sandon House in Mossley to join in the 100 th birthday celebrations of Mrs Ethel Littler but by Thursday evening, the very bad cold that I had been struggling to keep on top of all week, finally got the better of me and I had to cancel my visit to the production of "Tommy" on Thursday evening.
I was so sorry not to be able to attend and I hope the show went well for the Mossley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society.
After a day of rest on Friday, I was back with a vengeance on Saturday. First of all I attended a fundraising event on Ashton Market Ground with officers from the Fire Service. The team aimed to climb a ladder non stop until they reached the height of Everest, a whopping 8850 metres. Proceeds from the event were to be divided between The Rainbow Family Trust and The Fire Service Benevolent Fund. Two wonderfully deserving causes. Although I could not stay until the end, I was pleased to start the event off and to wish the team well.
Next I visited Clarendon Shopping Centre in Hyde where I joined members of The Rotary Club of Hyde at a Stroke Awareness Day. The day was aimed at raising public awareness of the need to have regular blood pressure checks. The event was very well attended and qualified professionals gave on the spot blood pressure checks free of charge. As usual my blood pressure was low and apparently this is a sign of being fit!
I was then off to Astley Sports College in Dukinfield for a Model Railway Exhibition organised and run by the Tame Valley District Scout Council. The event was open throughout the weekend to help raise funds for young people to take part in international events and expeditions. My grandchildren joined me at this event and they had a brilliant time.
On Sunday, I started my day with a visit to the Stalybridge and Dukinfield Recreation Bowling Club where the members had very kindly organised a charity pairs tournament in aid of my Charity Appeal Fund. It was a beautiful day and I was pleased to be able to see the start of the tournament. My sincere thanks go to the bowling club and to all the people who took part.
And to end the week, I attended a lovely service and parade at St Ann's Church in Manchester at the invitation of the Manchester & District Battalion of The Boys' and The Girls' Brigade.
Thank you to everybody that I have met this week and that has looked after me so well. It was lovely meeting you all and I thank you for your kindness.
See you next week
What a glorious week, the weather has been lovely and I have attended some fantastic events.
On Monday, at the invitation of the Mayor of Bury, I joined the other Civic Heads of Greater Manchester on a visit to the East Lancashire Railway. It was a brilliant day and we all had a wonderful time.
Tuesday was an exceptionally busy day for me, in the morning I welcomed to the Mayor's Parlour representatives of the HOC Residents Committee in Ashton-under-Lyne. The group work very hard for the local community and I wanted to thank them and show them that their work is much appreciated.
Later in the day I attended an IT awareness session and then a meeting of the Mayor's Distress Fund before presiding over an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council convened specifically to grant the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment the Freedom of the Borough.
Tameside has a long and close association with the Regiment, formerly the King's Regiment, and the Council has recognised this by granting a Freedom of Entry to the Borough and thereby the right, privilege and honour of marching through the streets of Tameside on ceremonial occasions with swords drawn, bayonets fixed, drums beating, bands playing and colours flying". The Regiment is currently on operations in Iraq and we hope a Freedom March will take place on its return.
Following the Council Meeting, I attended a Reception in Manchester at the invitation of the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester. Along with the other Mayors and Mayoresses of Greater Manchester, I had the pleasure of meeting the Lord Lieutenant and his Deputy Lieutenants including Wing Commander Roy Catterall, a newly appointed Deputy Lieutenant from Droylsden.
On Wednesday morning I visited St Mary's Primary School in Droylsden to present Year 6 children with their prize from the Trading Standards "Value for Money Easter Egg Competition" and in the afternoon I was honoured to host the annual Greater Manchester Long Service and Gallantry Police Awards Ceremony at Ashton Town Hall where it was my pleasure to accompany the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester in recognising Police Officers, St John Ambulance Personnel and civilians from the Tameside area. It was a very humbling experience and I was proud to be part of the ceremony to award long service, dedication and amazing acts of bravery.
On Wednesday afternoon I joined the Mayor of Stockport and representatives of the Cheshire Regiment at Stockport Armoury for a dinner to mark the 90 th anniversary of the Battle of St Julien – a battle in which the Cheshires showed remarkable courage but suffered terrible loss of life. Many of the Cheshire Regiment have throughout its history been recruited from Stalybridge, Hyde and Ashton and I was proud to represent the Borough on this occasion.
On Thursday I spent the day experiencing the delights of Wigan with the Civic Heads of Greater Manchester. The day included a visit to Wigan Pier and Haigh Hall and then in the evening I was pleased to welcome guests to the Town Hall from Mono Pumps.
I was training all day on Friday on a Speakeasy Train the Trainer course before attending a Charity event at The Willows Variety Centre in Salford. It was a fabulous night in aid of the Mayor of Salford's Charity.
Sadly, I had to cancel my engagements over the weekend due to a heavy cold. I was sorry not to be able to attend the Prom Praise Concert on Saturday evening and the Manchester Camerata Concert at Hyde Town Hall on Sunday afternoon but I am sure both events were successful.
I have another busy schedule lined up for next week and hopefully I will be fit and well again to resume my duties.See you next week
Well what a week it has been!
I had a few days off over Easter and I thought I would have a rest and spend some time with my family. We had a fantastic couple of days at Alton Towers but we definitely didn't have a rest. We walked for miles and I still have the blisters to prove it!
Back to work on Thursday, I visited a lovely couple celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary and then in the evening I attend the Mayoral Youth Ball.
Several months ago I was approached by the Head of the Youth Service to see if I would be willing to work with a group of young people in putting together a special Mayoral function for young people. Of course I jumped at the chance and we had a brilliant night at Dukinfield Town Hall. The young people looked fabulous in their finery and everybody thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
On Friday I attended a Citizenship Ceremony and was delighted on behalf of the Borough to welcome our new citizens and to present them with certificates.
In the evening I attended a farewell dinner organised by the Mayor of Stockport in honour of the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester who will be retiring from office in June. It was a lovely evening and the perfect way to bid farewell to Colonel Sir John Timmins.
I had an early start on Saturday and was very proud to officially open "Ashton Park", the new Garden Centre on Ashton Moss. This was followed by a magnificent concert by Manchester Camerata at the Bridgewater Hall. The concert had been organised to celebrate a successful year and to look ahead to the new season.
On Sunday I was the official starter at a sponsored walk organised by the Swaminarayan Hindu Mission in Ashton. Thankfully I didn't have to walk myself (I don't think my feet could have taken it) but it was a beautiful day and it was great to see so many people of all different ages involved. Proceeds from the event are to be divided between the Mission and the British Heart Foundation.
In the afternoon I was invited to attend a service at Hurst Methodist Church as part of the centenary celebrations and in the evening I joined the Manchester Jewish Community at this year's Yom Hashoah Commemorations to remember those who perished in the Holocaust.
It has been a very busy but enjoyable week and I extend my thanks and good wishes to everybody involved in all these events.
I have a full diary again next week but I am looking forward to it and hopefully my feet will be much better by then.
See you next week