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 31 October 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Tuesday evening when I attended a Halloween Party at Haughton Green Young People’s Centre. It was a lovely evening and all the children had a wonderful time. There were some fantastic costumes on show

On Thursday morning, I was delighted to join the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester  at the official opening of the new Millbrook Care Centre  in Stalybridge.

Later, I welcomed guests from Farleys Homewatch to the Mayor’s Parlour.

I was at a conference over the weekend so the Deputy Mayor very kindly attended the Broadbottom Craft Fair and the Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade Annual Regimental Parade and Service at Manchester Cathedral  on my behalf.

And that’s it for another week,

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

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 24 October 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Monday afternoon when I attended a Citizenship Ceremony at Dukinfield Town Hall.

On Wednesday evening, I was invited to attend an Awards Presentation Ceremony at the Etihad Stadium  in Manchester. The event was hosted by the Greater Manchester Federation of Clubs for Young People  and was a wonderful evening to recognise the achievements of young people who have taken part in events and activities over the last year. It was especially nice to see clubs from Tameside being recognised at the event.

On Thursday lunchtime, I attended a Halloween Party at the Grafton Centre  in Hyde. It was a great afternoon which included a fancy dress competition, entertainment and a lovely lunch. I was given the very difficult job of helping to judge the fancy dress.

Later, I was pleased to welcome guests to the Mayor’s Parlour from the Phoenix Over 50’s Club in Droylsden.

On Friday morning, I hosted a Reception in Ashton Town Hall for the staff who had worked so hard on Tameside’s very successful entry in the Entente Florale Competition. It was lovely to be able to say thank you to the team and to congratulate them on their success. Tameside was of course very proud to be honoured with the second highest award in the competition, a Silver Plaque. The award recognised the long term endeavours of the authority, community groups, residents and businesses in making our borough a better place to live, work and visit.

From here, I attended a Ceremony in the Civic Hall for Graduates of Bridging the Gap – a innovative training programme run by Addiction Dependency Solutions  (ADS) and designed to help people who have experienced substance misuse related problems progress on to employment, training or education. It was a pleasure to meet the graduates and to be able to extend my congratulations and best wishes for the future.

On Friday afternoon, I was delighted to welcome to the Mayor’s Parlour a group of approximately 23 visitors from Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Denton’s twin town in France who were visiting the borough to help strengthen twinning links.

The group included Michel Parent the Deputy Mayor of Montigny who has responsibility for town twinning and international relations. During their stay in the area, the visitors were scheduled to meet with representatives of New Charter Housing Trust , be given a guided tour of Manchester and attend the Didsbury Beer Festival .

The Party also included a guest from Kierspe in Germany, one of Montigny’s other twin towns.

On Saturday morning, I attended an Open Day at the Village Hotel and Leisure Club  in Ashton where I had the pleasure of meeting Olympic double gold medal winning athlete Dame Kelly Holmes. The event had been organised to help promote healthy living and healthy lifestyles and Dame Kelly kindly attended to lend her support to the programme.

And that brings another enjoyable Mayoral week to a close.

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

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 17 October 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Monday afternoon when I visited Hatton Grange Care Home for the 100th Birthday of Mrs Marjorie Batty.

On Tuesday, I was pleased to attend the local heat of the Annual School Chef of the Year Competition at Tameside College . Wendy Winkley from Greswell Primary School  won our local heat with her wonderful menu of ‘Twinks Moroccan Lamb with Carrot and Coriander Mash and Green Beans’ followed by ’Twinks Apple and Raspberry Crumble served with Real Custard’. Wendy will now go forward to represent Tameside in the Regional Competition in Knowsley in the New Year and of course we all wish her well with this.

Later, I visited Fairfield View Care Centre in Audenshaw for the 100th birthday of Mrs Beatrice Eyes and, in the evening, I attended a Charity Fashion at Ashton Town Hall in aid of The Christie Hospital  and Help for Heroes .

On Wednesday, I had a lovely evening at the George Lawton Hall when I attended a fabulous performance of “Me and My Girl” by the very talented Dukinfield Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society.

On Thursday morning, I hosted a Trustees meeting of the Burton and Heginbottom (of Warren Lea, Ashton-under-Lyne) Charity and later, I welcomed guests to the Mayor’s Parlour from the Field Street Residents Group in Droylsden.

On Friday afternoon, I was delighted to be asked to take part in the official opening of the re-modelled Upper School building at Dowson Primary School  in Hyde.

Everybody at the school is delighted with the new building. it is a wonderful design which will assist Dowson to deliver 21st century learning to its pupils.

The remodel means that the children are being taught in specially designed light, bright areas with many fantastic features including a multi media centre, drama room and team space.

To end the week, on Sunday afternoon, I was pleased to join the members of the Tameside and District Ex-Services Association at a fundraising concert at the Irish Club in Ashton in aid of Broughton House  Home for Ex-Service Personnel. It was a lovely afternoon and, as President of the Ex-Services Association, I was delighted to be able to lend my support to the occasion.

And that’s it for another week.

Bye for now, I hope to see you again soon.

Best wishes.

Week Commencing Monday 10 October 2011

Official engagements this week began on Thursday afternoon, when I was pleased to welcome to the Mayor’s Parlour Leslie Nkonde, Commonwealth Fellowship Candidate from Zambia. Leslie is interested in all aspects of Environmental Health work and was visiting the Borough to work alongside officers in Environmental Services.

On Thursday evening, Kieran and I were delighted to welcome players and officials from Hyde Cricket Club  to the Town Hall. The Club play in the Chapel Press Cheshire County Cricket League’s ECB (English Cricket Board) Premier League. So far this season they have won the League’s Red Insure 20/20 competition and the Cheshire County Knockout Cup. They also reached the ECB’s Barbados Cockspur National 20/20 finals at Essex County Cricket Club’s Ford County Ground in Chelmsford in September. It was nice to have the opportunity to congratulate the club on their success and to say well done to everybody involved.

On Friday, I was extremely proud to host a Charity Golf Day at Fairfield Golf and Sailing Club  in Audenshaw. Thankfully the weather stayed fine as 14 teams took to the fairway to help raise money for my Mayoral Charity Appeal Fund. It was a wonderful day and everybody thoroughly enjoyed the occasion. My thanks go to all the teams who took part and to the Golf Club for their kind and generous support. The day raised a fabulous £1434 for the Mayor’s Charity which this year is dedicated to two local good causes, Willow Wood Hospice  and Our Kid’s Eyes.

On Sunday afternoon, I was pleased to attend a Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication to mark the completion of the Restoration Programme at St Paul’s Church  in Stalybridge. The twenty year programme of work was celebrated with a beautiful service conducted by Richard Gillings, the Archdeacon of Macclesfield who actually travelled from Scotland for the occasion.

Later, Kieran and I attended the Annual Tameside Diwali celebrations outside Ashton Town Hall. It was a wonderful evening which included a Ceremony and Blessing on the Town Hall steps followed by the switching on of the Diwali lights. We then joined members of the local Hindu community in a special Lantern Parade from the Market Ground to the Indian Community Centre where celebrations continued with entertainment, food and firework display.

Diwali is the most important of the Hindu Festivals and is a time when people from all walks of life can celebrate together. The Festival moves beyond faith, culture and community and brings people together to give thanks for the positive things in our lives.

I am very proud to be able to say that the Tameside celebrations are now some of the biggest in the Northwest and it really was a wonderful occasion.

And that’s it for another week.

Thank you for joining me.

Best wishes

Week Commencing Monday 3 October 2011

Hello again, thank you for joining me.

Engagements this week began on Tuesday evening when I was delighted to attend a Whit Friday Celebration evening in the Medlock Suite at Ashton Town Hall. During the evening I was able to meet the many volunteers who help make this annual event a success. It was also an opportunity for the Council’s Arts and Events team to unveil the plans for next year’s Cultural Olympiad project which is an AGMA wide arts project, Tameside’s project will be focussed around Brass Bands and will incorporate productions of “Brassed Off” and “One Big Blow” and an inter-generational project with a digital media edge. Also included at the event was a film taken at the 2011 contest with many local people featured.

On Wednesday morning, I was extremely pleased to welcome to the Mayor’s Parlour Advocate Abdul Majid Khan MP. Mr Khan is a Member of Parliament in Bangladesh and was visiting the UK to attend a variety of events organised by his constituents. It was lovely to meet Mr Khan, who was accompanied by Councillor Idu Miah and members of our local Bangladesh community.

In the evening, I attended a special Service at Manchester Cathedral  organised by The Mother’s Union  in the Manchester Diocese.

On Thursday afternoon, Kieran and I visited ‘Wha Wha’  in Ashton Town Centre. Wha Wha is a brand new concept in fast food retail, delivering healthier and faster Asian food. Kieran and I were invited to visit the premises to meet the staff and to sample some of the delicious food.

From here I headed back to the Town Hall in order to extend a very warm welcome to Libby Williams and her family. When Libby was younger, she had to undergo heart surgery at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital  . Libby’s illness and the treatment she received has inspired her to organise a number of fundraising activities for Alder Hey including a 5k fun run which raised over £2k. It was wonderful to meet this very special little girl and her family including her sister Ellie.

On Friday afternoon, Kieran and I were delighted to attend the official opening of St Damian’s RC Science College  in Ashton-under-Lyne. The official opening and blessing of the school, was conducted by Father Anthony Kay, Vicar General of the Diocese of Salford. It was a lovely occasion and we were delighted to be present and to have the opportunity to tour the wonderful new building.

Later, we joined representatives of Bradley’s Bakery  in Ashton-under-Lyne for a Pie-tasting Evening at Stalybridge Buffet Bar. Bradleys have been shortlisted for the prestigious title of Retailer of the Year at the 2011 Manchester Food and Drink Festival. Kieran and I wish them well for the competition and eagerly await the outcome when the awards are announced later this month.

On Saturday morning, I was very pleased to attend a Dashara Festival at the invitation of the Bhutanese Welfare Association in the UK . The festival, which means remover of bad fate, is amongst the most important festivals in India. In the last 10 years the Council has welcomed many new communities to Tameside through its support of the gateway programme. It was delighted to be able to support our Bhutanese community on this important occasion and to express my good wishes as they begin to rebuild their lives and aspire to a brighter future with the support of our local communities agencies and organisations.

On Sunday morning, Kieran and I, together with the Borough Solicitor, attended the Annual Cathedral Service for Her Majesty’s Judges and others at Manchester Cathedral. This traditional service is held each year to mark the beginning of the new Legal Year and later, I was pleased to join the Tame Valley Girl Guides for their Annual Division Standard Service at St Mary’s RC Church in Dukinfield. It was a lovely day and the perfect way to end another very enjoyable Mayoral week

And that’s it for this week.

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

Best wishes

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