Mayoral Blog

Councillor Jean Brazil

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 28 March 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements began this week on Monday morning when Sydney and I were invited to attend a tree planting ceremony at Gorse Hall Primary School  at the invitation of the Rotary Club of Dukinfield and Stalybridge . Over the last month, members of the Rotary Club have organised tree planting at five sites In Stalybridge, including Gorse Hall School. We had a lovely time and it was wonderful to meet the children who intend to develop the area as a Forest School.

Later, we attended a very exciting football match at Hyde Football Club . It was the Manchester Premier Challenge Cup Final between two of our local clubs, Ashton United FC  and Droylsden FC  . The match went to extra time with Droylsden taking the title after a 4 – 3 victory.

On Tuesday afternoon, I hosted a tea party in the Mayor’s Parlour for Holly and Lucy Fox. The girls, identical twins, have cerebral palsy and have recently returned home from America where they have undergone life-changing operations to help them walk normally. The surgery has gone well and the girls are making great progress. It was lovely to meet them and their family and also some of the people who helped the girls raise the money for the surgery.

On Wednesday morning, Sydney and I welcomed staff from the Council’s Community Safety Team to the Mayor’s Parlour and on Thursday, we attended the Private View of Image 11, the Council’s Secondary School and College Photography Exhibition at Central Art Gallery.

Also on Thursday, we spent a lovely evening with members of the Audenshaw Local History Society  in the Town Hall. It was wonderful to be able to show our guests a little of the history surrounding the Mayor’s Parlour and to have the opportunity to thank them for the work they do within our local community.

On Friday evening, I felt very honoured to be asked to officially open the new Prime Youth Club in Droylsden. It was fantastic to see the club finally open after many months hard work by a dedicated team of volunteers. The Youth Club will be a wonderful addition to the Droylsden community and will make a real difference to the lives of so many young people.

From here, were headed over to Audenshaw Masonic Hall where we joined members of the Freemasons for a Charity Giving Evening. Numerous cheques were presented during the evening to local good causes, including my very own Mayoral Charity Appeal Fund and my sincere thanks go to the Freemasons for their generous donations and kind support.

On Saturday morning, Sydney and I called in at a ‘Colossal Cake Sale’ on Ashton Market Ground in aid of Help for Heroes  before attending “Sparks”, a Youth Performing Arts Festival at Hurst Community Centre  in Ashton.

Presented by YOUtheatreUK  in association with 2 Boards & A Passion (Community Interest Company), this was the theatre company’s first ever Youth Performing Arts Festival which provided an exciting and varied collection of scripted plays, devised drama, sketches, musical theatre and pantomime. It was superbly done and very entertaining and showcased some of the extremely talented performers we have in the borough.

And that brings another week to an end. Thank you for tuning in. I hope to see you again soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 21 March 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

It’s been another busy and eventful Mayoral week.

Official engagements began on Monday evening, when Sydney and I welcomed guests from the Denton (Tameside) Art Society  to the Mayor’s Parlour. It was particularly nice to see Committee Member Val Hallsworth. Regular followers of my Blog may recall that Val very kindly painted my portrait a few months ago as part of the Tameside Arts Festival. The painting has taken pride of place ever since in the Mayor’s Parlour at Ashton Town Hall and it was lovely to be able to show Val her work on display and to extend my thanks once again.

On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of welcoming guests to the Town Hall for the annual ‘At Home’ event. It was a very special evening for me and it gave me the opportunity to show my appreciation to some of the community groups and individuals I have met during my year in office. Entertainment was provided by the Tameside Gospel Singers and Alex Lees, some of our Borough’s brightest young stars and also comedienne Diane Fitton who is a very dear family friend. It was a wonderful night and to add to the occasion, the raffle raised a magnificent sum of £412 for my Mayoral Charity Appeal Fund. Thank you to everybody who attended and to all the staff at the Town Hall who worked so hard to make the evening a success.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sydney and I attended an event at Portland Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne for the launch of a new Well Being Boat Project, at the invitation of the Wooden Canal Boat Society . Thanks in part to a Local Innovation Award grant, the Wooden Canal Boat Society has been able to start work to de-construct and rebuild their wellbeing boat “Hazel”.

Much of the work will be done by local volunteers whose health and wellbeing will benefit as a result of taking on meaningful activities and much-valued roles and responsibilities and, when completed, the boat will be used for community day trips and short breaks and particularly by people needing a boost to their mental health.
It really is a very exciting initiative which will give people who are finding it hard to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday living a whole new range of opportunities to get involved with. Sydney and I wish the project every success and look forward to seeing “Hazel” on our waterways in the not too distant future.

On Thursday, Sydney and I were delighted to help celebrate the Diamond Wedding Anniversaries of two Tameside couples. The first, Mr and Mrs Young are members of the Time of Your Life Club in Droylsden. To help mark their special day Sydney and I, together with David Heyes MP, made a surprise visit to the club to present the happy couple with a bouquet of flowers and a card.

Later, we called upon Mr and Mrs Sidebottom at their home in Denton to offer our sincere congratulations and very best wishes on their special day. We were made to feel very welcome and it was lovely to meet Mr and Mrs Sidebottom and their beautiful family.

In the evening, Sydney and I were joined in the Mayor’s Parlour by members of the Time of Your Life Club.

On Friday morning, we were pleased to help judge the Trading Standards Annual Easter Egg Competition. The competition is aimed at Primary School children who are asked to undertake an exercise to determine which of three Easter Eggs is the best value for money, taking into account, weight, packaging, price, contents and of course taste. The children present their findings ‘in an eye catching and innovative way’. The quality of the entries was outstanding and it was our difficult job, as judges, to choose a winning school. The children were not present at the judging event but Sydney and I have issued an invitation to the winning team, from Stalyhill School , to visit us in the Mayor’s Parlour in a few weeks time.

Later, we attended the Preview of ‘StArt’, the annual Primary School Art Exhibition at Astley Cheetham Art Gallery before joining the Lancashire Veterans Association at their Charity Concert at Stalybridge Labour Club.

It was a fabulous concert with rousing brass band music and the wonderful Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. All proceeds from the event will help in providing comfort parcels for our serving forces in Afghanistan.

There were no Mayoral engagements on Saturday but on Sunday we had a lovely afternoon at the Boys’ Brigade Annual Parade and Service at St Ann’s Church in Manchester.

And that brings another week to an end.

Thank you for your time. Please join me again soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 14 March 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Official engagements began this week on Monday morning when Sydney and I attended a Driver CPC Open Day/Employer Forum at Tameside College .

The event was held in conjunction with Mercedes Benz  and the Territorial Army  and included a display of vehicles and weaponry. The Royal Engineers  were also on site carrying out a bridge building exercise. It was a very interesting and informative event and I’m sure prospective employers and students would have gained a great deal from the day.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sydney and I visited Daisy Nook House in Ashton to help celebrate the 100th birthday of Mrs Olive Foord and on Wednesday, we attended the 100th birthday celebration of Mrs Hilda Kavanagh at Guide Lane Care Centre in Audenshaw.

Also on Wednesday, we were invited to observe the Annual AGMA Consumer Challenge Quiz at Ashton Town Hall.

The quiz, hosted by officers from the Tameside Trading Standards Team, is for children with learning difficulties. Teams from across Greater Manchester participated in the event which was great fun but also very informative. I had the pleasure of presenting the prizes at the end of the quiz and took the opportunity to show the winning team, from Wigan, around the Mayor’s Parlour.

On Thursday afternoon, we attended a Citizenship Ceremony at Dukinfield Town Hall and then in the evening, we joined the annual St Patrick’s Night celebrations at the Irish National Institute in Ashton. It was a wonderful occasion with a terrific party atmosphere and fantastic entertainment.

On Friday morning, we attended the official opening of the new Mossley Hollins High School . The new school was built under the Building Schools for the Future programme and really does provide superb state-of-the-art facilities for the young people of Mossley. The new building includes art rooms with panoramic views, an outdoor amphitheatre and some excellent sporting facilities. Prior to the official opening, we were given a guided tour of the new building and it was very apparent that all the pupils and staff and indeed everybody associated with Mossley Hollins, is incredibly proud of their new school. Sydney and I were delighted to have the chance to look round and to offer our good wishes for a very happy and successful future.

To round the week off, on Friday night, we spent a lovely evening at a Civic Reception hosted by the Mayor of Trafford  at the Cresta Court Hotel  in Altrincham.

And that brings another memorable week to an end.

Thank you for joining me. I hope to see you again soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 7 March 2011

Hello everybody, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Monday afternoon when Sydney and I welcomed a group of French students to the Town Hall from Montigny-le-Bretonneux , Denton’s twin town in France.

The group was spending a week in the Borough visiting some of our schools and colleges. The students came fully prepared with a list of questions for me surrounding education and art provision in Tameside. It was lovely to meet them and also some of their host students from Audenshaw School  and Ashton Sixth Form College .

On Tuesday evening, we were invited, together with the other Civic Heads of Greater Manchester, to attend a special Quit Factor Winners’ Event at the Museum of Science and Industry . The Greater Manchester Quit Factor Campaign  was launched at the start of the year in conjunction with Key 103  Radio. The aim of the campaign was to encourage people to stop smoking in the New Year and to share their stories and experiences for their chance to be the face and voice of an anti smoking advertising campaign. Ten winners were selected, one from each of the Greater Manchester Boroughs. It was lovely to have the opportunity to meet those involved and to hear their stories, some of which were very emotional.

On Wednesday morning, Sydney and I were invited to visit St Paul’s CE Primary School  in Stalybridge for a Presentation to Kitchen Supervisor, Debbie Carter. Debbie recently came second place in the Sausage Week School Cooks Competition with her wonderful dish of Sausage and Pasta Bake. It was my pleasure to present Debbie with her prizes which included a Hi-Fi system for the school, a £50 shopping voucher for Debbie herself and a framed certificate. Following the presentation, we were treated to a short tour of the school and then the opportunity to lunch with the pupils to sample Debbie’s delicious winning menu.

On Thursday evening, we attended a very special event at Tameside College  to mark the 90th Anniversary of The Royal British Legion . The event had been organised by the catering students at the college and included a superb four course meal, entertainment and a charity auction. It was a wonderful event and Sydney and I were incredibly proud of the students. They worked very hard and the evening was extremely successful. Amongst the distinguished guests were the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester  and the Principal of the College, Mr Peter Ryder.

Friday was a busy day. We began by calling in at the OPT-in group at Denton Methodist Church . The group meets every Friday from 11.30am until 3.30pm and is a social ‘drop in’ group for people who have experienced mental ill health or emotional distress. It was lovely to meet the members and to see first hand the benefits of the group. From here, we visited Dukinfield Town Hall for the unveiling of two blue plaques in honour of Kathy Staff  and Brian Wilde .

Well-loved actress Kathy was a lifelong member of St Mark’s Church  in Dukinfield. She was best known for her role as Norah Batty in the BBC’s longest running comedy ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Brian Wilde was born in Ashton-under-Lyne where he lived during his early childhood. Brian was well known for his BBC television roles as Prison Officer Barrowclough in ‘Porridge’ and Corporal Walter ‘Foggy’ Dewhurst in ‘Last of the Summer Wine’.

At a later date, the plaque for Kathy will be permanently erected in St Mark’s Church and Brian’s plaque will be located at 43 Montague Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, the home where he once lived.

Following the unveiling of the plaques, Sydney and I jumped into the Mayoral car once again and headed over to Fairfield View Care Home in Audenshaw to help celebrate the very special occasion of the 103rd birthday of Mrs Evelyn Evans.

And that brings another enjoyable week to an end.

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

Best wishes.

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