Mayoral Blog

Councillor Susan Quinn

Welcome to the official Blog of the Civic Mayor of Tameside

A Blog (or a Weblog) is an online journal/diary which is frequently updated with the author's thoughts and comments, and is intended for the general public to view.

Week Commencing Monday 27 June 2011

Hello again,

Well it’s been a wonderful week.

Engagements began on Monday morning when I had the pleasure of ‘waving off’ the children taking part in this year’s Convoy of Happiness. It was a beautiful day and the children were so excited. It was quite a spectacle to see the convoy of limousines setting off with the young people on board . I’m sure they would have had a wonderful time.

On Wednesday, Kieran and I, together with the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress and the Deputy Executive Leader of the Council and his wife, attended the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace . It was an honour for us all to represent the Council at this prestigious event.

Later the same evening, we were invited to join our members of Parliament for Dinner at the House of Commons .

On Thursday evening, I was asked to attend the opening of Tameside’s Annual Open Art Exhibition at Central Art Gallery. This is always a popular exhibition, not only can people see some magnificent artwork on display but also it is an opportunity to buy original pieces of art by some our very talented local artists.

On Friday afternoon, I attended a special celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of the Tameside Blind Association Community Support Project . This was an important milestone in the history of the project and I was pleased to be able to express my thanks and congratulations to the staff and volunteers for the much valued work they have carried out in supporting blind and partially sighted people in our borough

From here, I headed over to Hatton Grange Care Home  in Hyde to help celebrate the 100th birthday of Mrs Hilda Swindles MBE. It was lovely to be able to join Mrs Swindles and her family and friends on this very special occasion and to extend my congratulations and good wishes.

Later, Kieran and I attended the Installation of Mr Barry Carey as the new President of the Rotary Club of Hyde . It was also Mr and Mrs Carey’s Golden Wedding Anniversary so the evening was a double celebration and a very memorable night for them both. It was a pleasure to be able to acknowledge the good work of Rotary and to express congratulations and best wishes to Barry for the year ahead.

On Saturday morning, I was invited to open the Summer Fair at the Grafton Centre in Hyde and in the evening I took part in the annual Willow Wood Midnight Wander  with my Council colleagues and friends Jackie Lane and Helen Bowden. It is always a fantastic event and of course the hospice is one of my chosen Mayoral Charities this year so I was especially pleased to be able to lend my support.

The Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress kindly represented me at engagements on Saturday evening and on Sunday to enable me to carry out the Midnight Wander and I know they thoroughly enjoyed their events at the Waterloo Football Club Centenary and the South Manchester Royal British Legion 90th Anniversary and Armed Forces Day celebrations.

And that brings another Mayoral week to a close.

Thank you for joining me.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 20 June 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Monday afternoon when I attended a luncheon at the invitation of St Peter’s Partnerships  to say farewell to four French students from Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Denton’s twin town, who have been living and working in Tameside for 6 weeks. It was a pleasure to meet the students and to hear about their stay in the Borough.

From here, I headed over to Dukinfield Town Hall for the first of two ceremonies for Tameside schoolchildren. Each year, the Council, with the sponsorship and support of The Stamford Group Ltd , hold Achievement awards to recognise and reward the achievements and contributions made by Primary and Secondary schoolchildren in the borough. Each school is invited to nominate two students to receive awards. This year, the awards were renamed in the memory of Mr John Nugent MBE, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Stamford Group who sadly died last year. I was delighted to lend my support to the event and to have the opportunity to meet the young people and to extend my congratulations.

On Wednesday morning, I attended the Ceremonial Hanging of the High Sheriff’s Portrait at the Law Courts in Manchester before attending the second of the John Nugent Achievement Awards at Dukinfield Town Hall.

On Thursday morning I took part in a photocall to help publicise the forthcoming Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride. 13 members of staff, including the Council’s Chief Executive, will be taking part in the event on 10 July to help raise money for my Mayoral Charity Appeal Fund, which is dedicated to helping Willow Wood Hospice  and Our Kid’s Eyes . Anyone who would like to sponsor the team can do so at http://www.justgiving.com/Tameside-Council .

On Friday evening I attended the Annual Dinner of Soroptimist International of Ashton-under-Lyne  at Audenshaw Masonic Hall. It was a lovely evening and it was nice to be able to meet the organisation’s new President, Mrs Janette Meadowcroft and to wish her well for the year ahead.

Saturday was Armed Forces Day and Kieran and I had a fantastic time at the celebrations in Denton. The day began with us helping to serve a cooked breakfast for veterans inside Denton Town Hall, followed by a short service at the War Memorial and then a wonderful afternoon of entertainment in Victoria Park. Once again, Tameside joined the whole nation in showing its appreciation for the contribution made by all those who currently serve of who have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.

I had family commitments on Sunday and therefore the Deputy Mayor kindly represented me at the annual Stalybridge Carnival and the Peace Day Service at the War Memorial on Werneth Low.

And that brings another week in office to an end.

Thank you for your time and I hope to see you again very soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 13 June 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Official engagements began this week on Wednesday morning when I had the pleasure of opening the Jobs and Work Big Meeting at New Chapel  in Denton, at the invitation of People First Tameside .

People First is an organisation run by and for people with learning difficulties. Sadly, people with learning difficulties very often have trouble finding employment. People First, in partnership with other agencies and organisations, is working hard in our Borough to encourage and to help individuals with disabilities gain employment. The purpose of the Jobs and Work Big Meeting was to highlight this work and to offer guidance, advice and support to those wishing to seek employment. I was delighted to be able to open the meeting and to wish everyone well for a happy and productive day.

Later, I attended my first Citizenship Ceremony at Dukinfield Town Hall where I was honoured to extend a very warm welcome to Tameside to the Borough’s new citizens.

On Thursday, I took part in the Council’s 24 hour tweetathon. 60+ services were involved and together we tweeted more than 2000 messages to give an insight into ‘a day in the life of the Council’. I tweeted throughout the day from my Mayoral engagements which included a wonderful concert at the Bridgewater Hall  in Manchester with 1600 Tameside schoolchildren and the world famous Hallé Orchestra .

The children were fantastic and I felt incredibly proud of them all. My thanks go to the Tameside Music Service and to the Hallé for allowing them this wonderful opportunity to perform with the Orchestra in major concert venue. I’m sure it will be a day they will never forget.

Later, I attended the annual Dukinfield Senior Citizens Party at Dukinfield Community Centre. It was a great night and the District Assembly staff, together with the local Councillors and all their helpers, worked incredibly hard to ensure the event was big success. Guests were treated to a delicious meal and entertainment from the Samantha Willcock School of Dance and vocalist Little Mo Peters. There was also a raffle with 100 prizes and several games of Bingo hosted by Bingo Caller Extraordinaire, Councillor Brian Wild.

I had an early start on Friday morning, when I attended the Whit Walks in Mossley. The weather stayed dry and the local community came out in force to support and to celebrate this traditional event.

On Friday evening, Kieran and I travelled round to as many of the Tameside Whit Friday Brass Contests as possible. Although there was a constant threat of rain, it certainly didn’t dampen spirits and every venue was well supported. It was wonderful to see the many bands from Tameside and beyond taking part and enjoying the occasion in their search for the coveted Whit Friday Crown.

On Saturday lunchtime it was my pleasure to assist Denton Town Twinning Association in welcoming approximately 60 motorbike enthusiasts from Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Denton’s twin town in France and also from Kierspe, Denton’s Associate twin town in Germany. The bikers were here as guests of the Manchester Honda Owners Club  who were hosting a three day visit to the area. The visitors have previously hosted visits themselves by bikers from Greater Manchester and expressed an interest in visiting Denton whilst in the area in order to meet some of the people from their twin town and associate twin town. We welcomed the bikers to Victoria Park and it really was quite a spectacle to see them. I even had the opportunity to sit on one of the motorbikes.

Later in the day, I attended the St Peter’s Social Club Over 60’s Party at Stalybridge Civic Hall. It was a lovely evening with good company, delicious food and wonderful entertainment.

Sunday was a busy day. Kieran and I started off with a visit to the annual Ashton Town Centre Classic Car Show. There was a magnificent display of vintage and classic cars courtesy of the Tame Valley Car Club . It was lovely being able to walk round viewing the vehicles and chatting to their owners. Now in its thirteenth year, this is undoubtedly a very popular day in the town’s annual calendar of events.

From here we headed over to Hyde for the annual Gee Cross Fete. Each year, the Rotary Club of Hyde  stage this event to help raise money for Willow Wood Hospice . It was a wonderful day with many different exhibits and activities for the whole family to enjoy. There was even a display of tropical animals where I was persuaded to hold both a tarantula and a snake!

For our final engagement of the day, we attended the annual Whit Walks in Ashton. Once again, it was lovely to see the local churches and community coming together to celebrate this traditional event and the sun shone brightly to help make this a very special day for all involved.

And that’s it for this week.

Thank you for your time.

I hope to see you again soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 6 June 2011

Hello everybody, thank you for joining me.

Although my Mayoral engagements didn’t start until late in the week, the weekend was busy.

On Friday evening, I was invited to attend a special reception at the Imperial War Museum North to celebrate the 90th anniversary of The Royal British Legion  . It was a very enjoyable evening which included two short presentations, one by a Member of 207 Field Ambulance who has just returned from a tour of Afghanistan and the second from a Senior Member of The Royal British Legion who give an insight of the organisation’s welfare work. I am looking forward to attending more events over the coming months and showing my support to The Royal British Legion in this special anniversary year.

Sunday was of course Whit Sunday and I was absolutely delighted to attend the events in Dukinfield and Stalybridge. Sadly, the weather was very wet and I think this probably affected the numbers attending. However, it was still a fantastic day and I felt very proud to be able to join the churches and local communities in both towns as they celebrated this traditional event.

And that brings my engagements to an end.

I hope you will join me again next time.

Best wishes.

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