Mayor's Blog - October 2007
Mayoral Blog 2007/08
Councillor Michael Smith
As promised in last week's Blog, this time I have an update on my visit to China.
Councillor Kieran Quinn (Cabinet Deputy for Economic Services), Pat Rattigan (Assistant Executive Director, Economy and Environment) and myself were fortunate to take part in a Greater Manchester Economic Mission to China.
I was collected from home at 7.10am on Saturday, 27th October to catch a flight to Shanghai. We arrived in Shanghai at 12.00pm the following day. Here we met up with Members and Officers of Manchester City Council and representatives of Midas.
On Monday, we attended business meetings all day where we discussed how we could further develop our economic links.
On Tuesday, we took an internal flight to Hefei Airport as we made our way to Tameside's twin town Bengbu.
Whilst in Bengbu, we visited many places of interest including local businesses and schools.
In Bengbu there are 28,000 pupils and 5 schools. During our visits we were treated to dance performances, challenged at table tennis and chess and interviewed by the school radio.
During our stay we also visited an empty hospital preparing itself for a potential outbreak of SARS!
We visited the Bengbu Broadcasting and TV Centre where we watched a TV News broadcast. We also took part in a meeting with representatives of the Bengbu Government, College, Health Administration, Education Bureau, Commercial Bureau and Economic Development Zone. We looked at ways to develop closer ties with our schools and discussed environmental protection.
On Thursday morning, just before our departure, we met with the Mayor of Bengbu, Mr Chen Qitao. We exchanged civic greetings and gifts and formally signed a new technical agreement, the result of our business meeting the day before.
I was very proud to present the Mayor with a framed picture depicting landmarks from the nine towns of Tameside. The Mayor was suitably impressed and very grateful for his gift.
At lunchtime, we flew to Shanghai where we spent time taking in the sights.
On Saturday we returned home.
It was a wonderful experience and although it was a very busy schedule, the trip was extremely worthwhile.
We were all very impressed with Bengbu and its future plans.
It really is good to be back home though and one thing is for sure - there's no place like Tameside.
See you next time.
Wow, what a busy week!
On Monday night I was pleased to welcome representatives of the Tameside and District Ex-Services Association to the Town Hall. During my period of office, I am Honorary President of the Association and I was delighted to be able to entertain members in the Mayor's Parlour.
On Tuesday, I attended a special presentation for young people who have contributed to a Safety Calendar for the coming year.
On Wednesday, I called upon Mrs Mary Fone, a resident of Yew Trees Care Centre in Dukinfield, to offer my good wishes on her 100 th birthday and later I welcomed ladies from the St George's Church ( Denton) Over 60's Club to the Town Hall. The same evening, Teresa and I, accompanied by the Deputy Mayor, visited the Tameside Hippodrome for a fabulous production of “Thoroughly Modern Mille”, courtesy of Dukinfield Operatic and Dramatic Society.
On Thursday, I was honoured to perform the opening ceremony at the new Aldi store in Stalybridge, before attending a luncheon in the Town Hall with members of the Museum of the Manchester Regiment Advisory Committee. Following lunch, I hosted a presentation ceremony in the Mayor's Parlour in honour of my predecessor, Councillor Margaret Sidebottom.
Margaret was chosen as 4 th runner-up in the Co-operative Group's Mayor of the Year 2007 Competition. A wonderful achievement and testament to her hard work and dedication.
I then Chaired a meeting of the Resources and Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Panel before visiting All Saints Catholic College in Dukinfield for the school's Annual Prize Giving.
On Friday I attended a Citizenship Ceremony at Dukinfield Town Hall and later Teresa and I had a lovely evening at Haigh Hall at the Mayor of Wigan's Civic Reception.
It is now early on Saturday morning and I am being collected from home and whisked to Manchester Airport to begin my journey to China.
A number of weeks ago I agreed to take part in a Greater Manchester Economic Mission to China along with Cabinet Deputy, Councillor Kieran Quinn and Mr Pat Rattigan, Assistant Executive Director (Planning and Development). I am really looking forward to the experience particularly as we are scheduled to visit Tameside's twin town, Bengbu.
Please catch up with me next time when I will update you on how things went.
On Monday evening, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Council of Christians and Jews (UK) at King David High School, Crumpsall. It was a very interesting evening with guest speaker Dr Stephen Smith, Co-founder of Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre and Chair of the National Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
On Wednesday night, Teresa and I welcomed guests from the local community to the Town Hall.
On Thursday, I hosted a meeting of the Burton and Heginbottom Trust in the Mayor's Parlour. In my capacity as Civic Mayor, I am a trustee of the charity set up in the 1930's to benefit the elderly of Ashton. Later, Teresa and I were pleased to welcome ladies from the Gee Cross Women's Institute to the Mayor's Parlour.
Due to a family celebration, I was unable to conduct engagements over the weekend, but in my absence, the Deputy Mayor very kindly attended the Annual Trafalgar Day Concert at the Irish Club in Ashton.
On Monday evening Teresa and I attended the 2007 Tameside Food and Drink Festival Awards at Dukinfield Town Hall. It was a wonderful night to celebrate the quality and excellence of food and drink produced and served in this area. There was even a special award for one of our school's which won the best "grow your own title" for home grown fruit and vegetables.
On Wednesday I was asked to open the World Mental Health Day celebrations at Ashton Town Hall. The event included an art exhibition, music, drama and alternative therapies. There had obviously been a great deal of thought and effort put in to make the day successful. Later, I welcomed representatives of Victim Support and Witness Service Tameside to the Mayor's Parlour.
On Thursday I called in at the Cancer Research Shop in Stalybridge to help them celebrate reaching their £1 million milestone and later I entertained representatives of the Horses Field Residents Committee from Denton at the Town Hall.
On Friday I was pleased to welcome the Dukinfield Ward Councillors and children from Lyndhurst Primary School to the Town Hall. The visit included a tour of the Mayor's Parlour and Council Chamber.
In the evening Teresa and I, along with our Deputies Steve and Betty, attended Tameside's first ever "Champion of Champions" Gala Evening at Dukinfield Town Hall. Run by Tameside Council and the Borough's eight largest registered social landlords, the Champion of Champions Garden Contest was launched in April to recognise and celebrate the efforts of those individuals and groups who together make Tameside an attractive place to live and work. The winners of the competition were announced at this special event.
On Saturday evening Teresa and I attended the Annual Passchendaele Dinner at the Armoury in Ashton, courtesy of the Kings and Manchester Regiments Association (Ashton Branch) and on Sunday we attended the Annual Cathedral Service for HM Judges.
Once again it has been a busy but enjoyable week and Teresa and I would like to thank everybody for looking after us so well and for making our week so memorable.
This week my Mayoral engagements started on Tuesday evening when I welcomed residents from Ash Road in Denton to the Mayor's Parlour.
On Wednesday, I called in to see Mr Randall Cockshoot at Trenchard Court in Droylsden who was 100 years old. It was lovely to meet Randall and his friends and to offer my good wishes on this special day.
On Thursday evening I welcomed representatives of Dane Bank Homewatch to the Mayor's Parlour and on Friday Teresa and I had the honour of welcoming Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal to Audenshaw School. It is the school's 75th anniversary year and Her Royal Highness had very kindly accepted an invitation to visit on this historic occasion.
On Friday evening, I hosted a Charity Dinner and Dance at Ashton Town Hall in aid of my Charity Appeal Fund. It was a fabulous night and we raised a terrific £657 for the appeal. Sincere thanks to everybody who supported the event.
On Saturday, Teresa and I called at the Tameside (Denton) Art Society Annual Exhibition at Denton Festival Hall. It was a wonderful display of paintings by local artists and as a memento of my visit, I was presented with a painting to mark the recent refurbishment of the bandstand in Victoria Park. From here we visited the Sainsburys Store in Denton to lend our support to the "Scout in the Community Week". Representatives of Scout Groups from Denton and Hyde have been taking part in activities at the store to help raise the profile of scouting. Events included an information display, bag packing and abseiling!
On Saturday evening, Teresa and I attended a concert at the Bridgewater Hall at the invitation of Manchester Camerata. The orchestra having been working with children from Holden Clough Primary School and the young people had been given this wonderful opportunity to perform at a major concert venue. The children were magnificent and Teresa and I were delighted to be there to support them on such an important night.
On Sunday, I attended a special service at Manchester Cathedral to welcome the new Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Mr Warren Smith. It was a lovely afternoon and I was pleased to be able to offer good wishes on behalf of the people of Tameside.
And as another busy week comes to an end, we look forward to our engagements next week.
I hope you will join me next time.
See you next week.