Mayor's Blog - May 2008
Mayoral Blog 2008/09
Councillor Jack Davis
On Monday, Carole and I attended the 8th Annual Dinner to celebrate the continuing regeneration in the town of Stalybridge. The event was held at Stalybridge Civic Hall and was attended by local business people, local dignitaries and community representatives. It was a very pleasant evening and we were pleased to lend our support.
I had no Mayoral engagements on Tuesday although my day was filled with business meetings.
On Wednesday, I was delighted to meet Jack Allen and his family. Jack, aged 12, is a budding politician and had been invited to look around the Council Offices by the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor John Bell. It was a pleasure to be able welcome Jack, his family and Councillor Bell to the Mayor’s Parlour. Jack was particularly interested in the Council Chamber and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him again in there as a local Councillor in years to come.
On Wednesday evening, Carole and I attended a Charity Event at the Blu Spice Restaurant in Ashton. Proceeds from the evening were donated to the “Just Help Foundation” who will be using the money to help families in distress in Bangladesh. The event was attended by the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh and hopefully the evening will have raised lots of money for the foundation.
On Thursday, Carole and I called in at a Pensioners Party at Dukinfield Town Hall. This annual event was organised by the Dukinfield District Assembly. It was a great night with a fabulous atmosphere, delicious food and some wonderful entertainment. A good night was had by all!
From here, I travelled over to the Riverside Bowling Green in Hyde for the “Bowling Match of the Year” - The Crown Green Number One v The Crown Green Number Two!
The event had been organised by the Lowes Arms Bowling Club to raise money for Willow Wood Hospice. It was a terrific night. The match was excellent viewing and the weather was glorious and guests were also treated to pre-match entertainment courtesy of the Carrbrook Band.
On Friday morning, I joined Officers from the Council at Mono Pumps in Audenshaw. Mono has recently achieved ISO 14001 and Investors in People certification and we were invited to visit the company to celebrate their success. The visit also included a very interesting tour of the site.
There were no Mayoral engagements over the weekend so Carole and I enjoyed spending time at home in preparation for the week ahead.
Hope to see you next time.
See you next time
On Tuesday 20th May 2008, I was immensely proud to be installed as the new Civic Mayor of Tameside for the 2008/9 Municipal Year.
To be Civic Mayor and Mayoress is a wonderful honour for Carole and myself and, with the support of our Deputies, Brenda and Graham Warrington, we look forward to serving the people of Tameside in the year ahead.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the retiring Civic Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor Michael Smith and Mrs Teresa Smith and their Deputies, Councillor Steve Smith and Mrs Betty Smith on a very successful year in office. They have worked incredibly hard and have been wonderful ambassadors for the Council. Carole and I wish them well for the future.
The events of Tuesday evening happened so quickly. It was a superb evening and everything ran very smoothly. It was lovely to be able to share the occasion with my family and friends and of course my colleagues on the Council.
I am grateful to everyone who supported us on the night or who offered their good wishes and kind words of congratulations.
Carole and I got straight into our new roles the following day.
Carole went off to view the Council’s art collection to choose some paintings to display in the Mayor’s Parlour and later I attended the Denton District Scout Council Annual General Meeting. As Civic Mayor, I am also President of the Scout Council and it was my duty to chair the meeting. I was pleased to be able to lend my support to the evening and offer my appreciation for the work of the Scout Association.
It was certainly a busy day on Thursday! At 9.30am, I welcomed almost 70 French children from Amentieres to Ashton Town Hall. The young people were here on a twinning exchange visit as guests of St Paul’s School in Stalybridge. We had a great morning and the children were delighted to be given a tour of the Mayor’s Parlour, Council Chamber and Museum of the Manchester Regiment.
From here, Carole and I were pleased to be invited to lunch at the new Village Hotel on Ashton Moss. We were accompanied by the Executive Leader and other Members and Officers of the Council and I was honoured to be asked to officially open `The Hub’ – a state of the art self contained business facility within the hotel. It was great to have the opportunity to formally welcome the hotel to Ashton and to have a look around.
On Thursday evening, we attended the Local Hero Awards at Hyde Town Hall at the invitation of the Tameside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership. It was the first time an event of this kind had been held in the Borough and the evening had been organised to recognise and celebrate residents who have taken a stand against Anti Social Behaviour in the local area. It was quite a humbling experience to hear the stories of their courage and commitment in the fight against crime and disorder and I was so pleased that their efforts have been acknowledged.
On Friday morning I visited Holy Trinity Primary School in Ashton to present certificates to the children for their participation in this year’s Healthy Schools Week and later I joined the children at St John’s Primary School in Dukinfield for lunch where Lynn Bennett, the Regional Winner of the LACA School Chef of the Year Competition served her winning menu. Lynn’s menu was delicious! She will now go on to represent the North West region at the Grand Final in Birmingham on the 11th June, I am sure the whole of Tameside joins me in wishing Lynn well.
For my final engagement of the week, I attended a Citizenship Ceremony at Ashton Town Hall. It was a pleasure to meet the Borough’s new citizens and to formally present them with certificates to mark this important occasion.
Carole and I were treated to a weekend off, I think the Mayoral staff must be trying to break us in gently although I know there are plenty of engagements lined up for us next week! I hope you will join me then.
See you next time