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 31st May 2010

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Well it’s been a relatively quiet second week in office, I think the Mayoral staff must be breaking me in gently!

Official engagements this week didn’t start until Thursday when Sydney and I welcomed French students to the Town Hall. The three young people, who are all from Montigny-le-Bretonneux , Denton’s twin town in France, are visiting the Borough on work experience placements with Tameside Council. It was lovely to meet Emeline, Anissa and Nora and to wish them well during their stay here in Tameside.

There were no Mayoral engagements on Friday but on Saturday we visited Central Estate in Dukinfield to join the residents for their community planting day in preparation for this year’s Britain in Bloom competition . It was lovely to meet those involved and a real pleasure to see their enthusiasm and community spirit.

On Sunday, we travelled over to Longford Park Stadium in Stretford for the Greater Manchester Athletic Association Annual Track and Field Championship. Although a little wet, we had a great day and Sydney and I really enjoyed the occasion and meeting some of our very talented local sportsmen and women.

And that brings the Mayoral week to an end.

I hope you will join me again soon.

Bye for now.

Week Commencing Tuesday 25th May 2010

Hello everybody, thank you for tuning in to my very first Mayoral Blog.

I was pleased and extremely proud to be elected to the position of Civic Mayor of Tameside at the Annual Meeting of the Council held on the evening of Tuesday 25th May.

Myself and my husband, Sydney, who is also my Mayoral Consort, are greatly looking forward to the year ahead and, together with our Deputies, Councillors Dawson Lane and Jackie Lane, we intend to work very hard over the coming months.

We are particularly looking forward to working with the many wonderful community groups and charities in our Borough and meeting volunteers of all ages.

Unfortunately my year in office got off to a very sad start as my first official duty was to attend the funeral of Corporal Harvey Holmes on Thursday 27th May.

Corporal Holmes, from Hyde, was killed on the 2nd May whilst serving in Afghanistan. He died in an explosion as he provided protection for his Patrol. He was just 22 years of age.

On Thursday, hundreds of people lined the streets of Hyde to pay their respects and to say farewell to a very brave soldier.

Sydney and I joined Harvey’s heartbroken family and friends in Church for a beautiful and very emotional funeral service. Many wonderful tributes were made to a fine soldier, a loving fiancée and son and a very special person. Harvey will be missed by all who knew and loved him but he will always be remembered with great pride by the people of this Borough as an incredibly brave Tamesider who gave his life serving his country.

On Thursday evening, Sydney and I attended a Civic Reception at Bishopscourt, the residence of the Bishop of Manchester . The event was hosted by the Greater Manchester Churches Together  and was attended by the Civic Heads and Church Leaders of the County. It was a very pleasant evening set in beautiful surroundings and it was lovely to be able to meet some of the people who we will be working alongside over the coming year.

Friday was of course Whit Friday and traditionally this is a very busy and exciting day in the Borough. We began with a visit to Mossley for the town’s annual Walk of Witness. The sun was shining and it was wonderful to see so many people, both young and old, taking part in this traditional event.

Later, Peter, the Mayor’s Attendant, escorted Sydney and I on a whirlwind tour of the Tameside Whit Friday Brass Band Contest venues. This year, Tameside Council celebrated its twenty first year as sponsors of this annual contest. We had 11 venues to visit and we had a super evening as we travelled from one contest to the next, joining the crowds who were enjoying the brass band music on such a lovely summer’s evening.

On Saturday morning, I was very pleased to be asked to open a special exhibition in the Setantii Visitor Centre in Ashton Town Hall, celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Rotary Club  of Ashton-under-Lyne. The exhibition depicts the work and the changing face of Rotary over the years and the perfect way to celebrate what is an incredible milestone in the club’s history.

From here, Sydney and I travelled over to Hyde Bus Station where we were invited to an event to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield joint boards commencing motorbus operations. We were delighted to be able to board a preserved SHMD Bus for a journey to Mossley. It was a lovely day and a nice way to end a very memorable first week in office.

I hope you will join me again soon.

Kind regards,

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