Mayor's Blog - June 2007
Mayoral Blog 2007/08
Councillor Michael Smith
June 2007
Well it's been another busy week, the time is just flying by.
On Monday I was honoured to attend the first of this year's Tameside Pupil Achievement Awards. Each school in the Borough is asked to nominate a pupil who has achieved very good academic attainment and a pupil who has made excellent progress.
The pupils receive a certificate and they also have their names recorded on the "Tameside Wall of Fame" on the Tameside website.
On Tuesday I took part in my first Citizenship Ceremony as Civic Mayor. It was a privilege to formally welcome our new citizens to the Borough and to be able to meet their families.
On Wednesday I attended a Special Celebration Evening at Hartshead College . The event was jointly hosted by the school and New Charter Housing Trust in order to recognise and celebrate the hard work of Year 9 and 11 pupils who took part in the school's new Reward Scheme.
It was the second of the Tameside Pupil Achievement Awards Ceremonies on Thursday afternoon and from here I attended the funeral of Guardsman Niel 'Tony' Downes from Droylsden.
Tony was tragically killed whilst serving with the 1st Battalion of The Grenadier Guards in Afghanistan . Hundreds of people attended Tony's funeral to pay their respects to a brave soldier who died serving his country. My heartfelt sympathy goes to Tony's family and friends at this very difficult time.
Later in the day, I called in to Bourne House in Ashton to see Mr and Mrs Harrop and to offer my good wishes on the occasion of their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.
On Friday evening Teresa and had a lovely evening at the Royal Northern College of Music where we attended a Gala Concert to mark the 25th anniversary of CALL (Cancer Aid and Listening Line).
Despite the bad weather, the Greater Manchester Youth Games still went ahead on Saturday and I am proud to report that the Tameside team won medals in 8 sports. All the young people were fantastic and I had a wonderful day cheering them on. Well done to everybody who took part.
It was a very special day for me and my family on Sunday as it was my Civic Service and Procession. We started off at St George's Centre in Dane Bank, Denton and marched to the Holy Family Church for the Civic Service. Amazingly, we managed to dodge the rain for most of the day. The turn out was incredible and I would like to say a sincere thank you to all the organisations and individuals who supported the event. I felt immensely proud and I am so grateful to everybody who helped make the day so memorable. My special thanks go to Father Petty and the Holy Family Church for a wonderful service and to the management committee at St George's Centre for allowing us to use the hall. Sincere thanks also the Denton Band, St John Ambulance, Denton and Audenshaw District Assembly, TMBC Engineering Services, the Police and Patrollers and to everybody behind the scenes who pulled the event together. It is a day I will never forget.
See you next week.
It has been another memorable week.
On Monday evening, Teresa and I attended a Dinner at Manchester Town Hall with the Civic Heads of Greater Manchester to bid a fond farewell to the Lord Lieutenant, Colonel Sir John Timmins. It was a lovely evening and I know Sir John and Lady Timmins had a wonderful time.
On Tuesday, I was asked to officially open the new Peace Garden at St Stephen's School in Droylsden. My son, Sam attends St Stephen's and therefore it was a particularly special engagement. I then called in a 100th birthday celebration for Mrs Josie Homewood at the Happy Circle Club in Hollingworth before conducting an Advice Surgery for constituents of Denton West Ward.
On Wednesday morning I visited the Law Courts in Manchester for the Ceremonial signing of the Roll of High Sheriffs and in the afternoon I attended a reception at the Britannia Country House Hotel. The event was organised by the Centre of Excellence for Cultural Diversity, Health, Education and Arts and again it was held in honour of the retiring Lord Lieutenant as a thank you for his friendship and support.
On Wednesday evening, Teresa and I visited Wardley Hall the home of the Bishop of Salford for the annual Civic Reception hosted by Greater Manchester Churches Together. The evening allowed the Civic Heads of Greater Manchester to come together in a relaxed setting with Church Leaders, to get to know one another and to exchange prayers and good wishes.
On Thursday evening, I hosted a buffet tea for the Executive Leader of the Council and representatives of Hollingworth Juniors Football Club and on Friday, Teresa and I set off for Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Denton 's twin town in France .
We were invited to France to attend a special weekend to witness the twinning of Montigny with Marostica in Italy .
Teresa and I were honoured to represent Tameside on this important occasion and I know the Mayor and people of Montigny appreciated our attendance and support.
See you next time.
I am pleased to report on another busy and enjoyable week.
On Monday I attended the finals and presentations of the Study Buddy Enterprise Competition at Tameside College. The College had invited local High Schools to enter designs of gadgets to aid studying. A total of 18 schools entered and three teams were chosen to present their product to the panel of Judges in the final.
The team from Littlemoss High School for Boys won and collected a cheque for £1000 for their school. It was a great morning and I was amazed by the innovative designs, there was even a robot which could help students with their homework!
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of welcoming Headteachers from 4 schools in Slovakia. The teachers were visiting Tameside as guests of the Borough's Sports Colleges as part of the Dreams and Teams Project run by the Youth Sports Trust and the British Council. The project is now run in over 40 countries and is very successful.
Each Sports College is paired up with a school in another country and the aim is to bring young people together under the umbrella of leadership and the young leaders programme. As there are 4 Sports Colleges in Tameside the YST decided they should work together with one country and they chose Slovakia. Our 4 schools had a successful trip to Slovakia in October last year and it was Tameside's turn to host a reciprocal visit.
It was a pleasure to meet the guests and to show them round the Town Hall and the evening was both interesting and enjoyable.
On Wednesday I attended a very poignant event at St Peter's Primary School in Ashton to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Ashton Munitions Explosion. The children of St Peter's put on a wonderful performance at 4.22pm, the exact date and time of the explosion 90 years ago. Tragically 46 people died as a result of the explosion including many children heading home from school. The children of St Peter's marked the event sensitively with a performance full of emotion.
Later, Teresa and I attended a special service led by the Bishop of Middleton at Mossley Parish Church. The service was to commemorate the 250th anniversary of when the first St George's Church was founded and consecrated in Mossley, in the area of the present Churchyard.
On Thursday afternoon I was joined in the Mayor's Parlour by residents from Fairfield House Sheltered Housing Accommodation and on Friday I attended a special Flower Pageant at Old Chapel in Dukinfield as part of their 300th anniversary celebrations.
On Sunday morning, Teresa and I took part in the Borough's Falklands Commemorations. The event included a procession from Hyde Town Hall to St Thomas's Church for a Service of Remembrance and then a procession to the Falklands Tree Memorial for a Wreath Laying Ceremony. Again, it was an emotional day as we remembered those who lost their lives in the Falklands conflict 25 years ago.
On Sunday afternoon, we attended a Thanksgiving Service at Manchester Cathedral in honour of the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Colonel Sir John Timmins. Teresa, myself and past Mayors and Mayoresses of Tameside joined this special service to honour and to give thanks to Sir John for his service to the County over the past 20 years.
We have lots to look forward to next week including a visit to Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Denton 's twin town in France. I hope you will join me then.
See you next time.
Well, what another good week.
On Monday evening I had a great visit to Hyde Cricket Club for the official opening of the club’s new facilities. I had the opportunity to watch a display by some of the younger members and I also managed to have a practice session myself, although it is not something I would recommend doing again with a chain of office on!
On Wednesday I attended a special evening at Dukinfield Town Hall to mark Volunteers Week and also to celebrate Volunteering in Tameside. It was a lovely night and I was pleased to have the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the Borough’s volunteers and to thank them for their service and their precious gift of time.
Thursday was a busy day, it started in the morning with the reopening of the British Heart Foundation Charity Shop in Ashton and then from there I attended the opening of the new test centre at Labour Ready on Oldham Road. Later in the day, I called in at the annual Pensioners Party in Dukinfield. The event was very well attended and it was great to see everybody enjoying the wonderful entertainment and excellent food. I then dashed over to Ashton Town Hall to welcome visitors to the Mayor’s Parlour.
On Saturday, I visited the home of Dr Prem Argarwal in Ashton. Each year Dr Argarwal organises a Charity Coffee Morning in aid of the North West Kidney Patients Association. I was delighted to be able to support Dr Argarwal and such a worthy cause. To round off the week, Teresa and I had a fabulous night at Fulwood Barracks in Preston at the invitation of 42 ( North West) Brigade. The evening included a Cocktail Party and Beating Retreat Ceremony and it was quite spectacular with pyrotechnic and firearm displays.
Teresa and I spent Sunday with the family and preparing for another busy week ahead.
See you next time.