Wear it Pink Day

The staff at Newbury Building Society Head Office created a Pamper Room out of their training room today and sold beauty sessions in aid of breast cancer awareness and research charities.

They invited me along for the treatment of my choice, and being a coward I chose the easiest - a manicure! There were head and neck massages, body tanning, pedicures and body waxing on offer too, just to name a few. I dressed up in as much pink as I could muster (top, jacket and boots) and walked through the high street feeling a bit conspicuous, but I felt quite at home when I arrived at the Newbury Building Society headquarters, as everyone there was in pink too. Employee Traci had organised the whole event, from decorating the room to booking the beauty professionals. Traci was delighted that all the slots for the day had been booked by her colleagues, so hopefully a good amount of money will be raised. My manicure was courtesy of Kerry Martin, who I can thoroughly recommend. I was delighted with my beautifully painted nails - pink of course!

Unveiling Couple in Conversation

As Mayor I am usually asked along to open and help celebrate other peoples achievements - this one was a bit different, because I had a hand in it myself. I have been one of several Town Councillors involved in the creation of the Newbury Town Trail since 1998. The Steering Group has shortlisted and selected artists, fundraised and organised the installation of two pieces of public art in that time - it does take a long time - but we are getting quicker!

It is about two and a half years since we wrote and published the brief for the piece we unveiled yesterday - Couple in Conversation by Johannes von Stumm. Johannes lives in Wantage, and used to work at New Greenham Arts, and the piece was made by Boundary Metal, also based at Greenham. It was wonderful to see everything come to fruition yesterday - when the Junior Mayor Gemma Legg 'unveiled' the sculpture (she couldn't do it in person as it is on the middle of a very busy roundabout!).

The sculpture was sponsored by the Colefax Trust, and the trustee John Heath was present, along with Johannes family and in-laws, the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire and his wife, and many other people involved in some way or another with the sculpture.

Included in the photo are Gemma Legg far left, John Heath, the director of Boundary Metal, me, Johannes and Mike Rodger, fellow councillor and chair of the steering group.

Cards for Good Causes

Yesterday I officially opened the Cards for Good Causes Christmas Card shop in the United Reform Church, just off Northbrook Street.

This is the second year that the shop has been at the URC church; for many years before that it was at St Nics. I hadn't realised that Cards for Good Causes was a national charity with 350 temporary Christmas Card shops across the country. It was set up by 25 well known national charities in 1959, and raises money each year for over 300 charities. Because it is primarily staffed by volunteers, over 80% of the money raised goes direct to the charity - so it makes sense to buy your Christmas Cards from them rather than a high street shop.

Luketide Service at Newbury Community Hospital

On Sunday afternoon Carol collected me in the car and we drove the short distance to the hospital, in the pouring rain. The hospital's League of Friends organise this annual service, on the Sunday closest to St Lukes day, as St Luke was a doctor and he is a sort of patron saint of all things medical.

Father Bernard Dagnall of St John's Church in Newbury is the hospital chaplain, and took the service. As it was held in the waiting area for blood tests he joked that he hoped we had all taken a number - but reassured us we weren't about to be jabbed with a needle. It was a short straightforward service with a number of hymns (Sylvia Galbraith on the keyboards) and readings - from St Luke of course!

We had tea and biscuits afterwards, and I met members of the League of Friends and the Matron. I also met ex-Mayor Barbara McMahon for the first time. There is a real sense of the hospital belonging to the local community - because it does! (having been paid for by the trust set up to build it, and leased to the NHS under the PFI initiative).

Education Project

I started writing my education project for primary children before I became Mayor, but only really finished it this week. I have produced a folder for each primary school in the parish (there are nine) with chapters about Newbury's history, geography, what the Town Council does, what Town Councillors do and the history of the Mayor. There are activities for each of these, varying from discussions to colouring and cutting out paper dolls of the Mayor, Town Crier and Mace Bearer (pictured).

I launched my project this week to coincide with Local Democracy Week, because one of the purposes of the project is to educate children about the importance of democracy, and being involved in the local community. The majority of the project will be available on the Town Council website (www.newbury.gov.uk)so it can be used by other groups if they wish. I have written to each school asking if they would like me to visit and talk to pupils about being Mayor, and the Town Council, either at their school, or at the Town Hall.

Newbury Branch UNA evening

The Newbury Branch of the United Nations Association invited me to their international evening at Newbury Town Hall. They had members and guests from around the world who took turns to introduce themselves to all of us. Special guests were a number of students from Padworth College, a private sixth form college which has students from places such as China, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Bahrain.

Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and interested to hear about the many cultures represented. Pictured are some of the Padworth College students, who all wanted to have their picture taken with a real Mayor!

West Berkshire Council Parish Conference

On Tuesday 17 October I went along the the West Berkshire Council offices to the annual district/parish conference. Representatives from many of the parish councils in West Berkshire were there (there are over 50 parishes in West Berks). Newbury is the largest parish council in the district, and we therefore have close working relationships with many departments, and share five councillors.

The conference included a presentation about the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, disussion about community safety (many comments on lack of police presence around the district), the latest on planning gain (s.106 agreements), and Parish Plan progess.

Talking Rubbish

Sunday 15 October was the long awaited date of the Mayor's Charity Concert, Talking Rubbish. The name encapsulates two of the main elements of the concert - talking representing the host Vodafone, and rubbish representing the recycling work of the Community Furniture Project.

I had attended a rehearsal with most of the primary school choirs taking part (Enborne, Falkland, Fir Tree, Greenham Court, Robert Sandilands, Shaw-cum-Donnington, and Speenhamland) last Tuesday; but the actual concert also included adult backing singers, a full orchestra of young people from Berkshire Maestros, professional rock musicians and the Castle School choir - a cast of hundreds!

The Vodafone Pavilion was a splendid setting - a huge 'tented' space which enabled us to fit in the massed primary school choir and the full orchestra simultaneously, as well as having space for the soloists to perform. The programme acknowledged the hundreds who took part front and back of stage - I was touched by the huge number of volunteers; many people commented afterwards what a lovely feeling there was at the concert - it was a true community effort.

We hope to have raised several thousands of pounds for the Furniture Project and the Mayors Benevolent Fund, but we also gave an oppurtunity for many young people to be part of an exciting and professionally produced event, and through using film footage and theming the concert around recycling I hope many more know about the work of the Furniture Project. I made a speech of thanks at the end - there were so many to thank, but key figures who made it all happen were my Civic Manager Joyce Lewis who produced the whole show, and the visionary direction of Angela Turton. The photo shows Angela and I before the show in the Vodafone HQ.

Michaelmas Fair

On Wednesday evening I went to open the Michaelmas Fair with Theo, Louis and their friends. It had been raining extremely hard on and off all day, so we went prepared with our boots on, but luckily the rain dried up as we walked to Goldwell Park from the Town Hall.

We were hosted by Charlie, the chair of the London and Home Counties Region of the Showmans Guild, the organisation that has been running the fair for many years. The Michaelmas Fair is the last surviving annual fair in Newbury's calendar, and has been a fixture since medieval times, though there isn't much that is medieval about it these days! It looked spectacular with a huge number of exciting rides.

Charlie and I made brief speeches to open the fair, then I rang the traditional bell to declare it open. I then chose a number of rides - most I was too scared to go on myself, but they were hugely enjoyed by the youngsters who followed me around. I went on the dodgems (twice!)and the big wheel. Afterwards we were the guests of the guild at a reception in the Northcroft Centre.

Victoria Park Nursery School

Yesterday morning I called in at Victoria Park Nursery School to present their cup for winning the 'Best School Garden Tended by Children' award in the Newbury in Bloom Competition. The Headteacher Fiona Bridger-Wilkinson asked me to come to the nursery to present the cup because the children were too young to attend the Newbury in Bloom prizegiving in September at the Town Hall, as it was held in the evening.

Its always a pleasure to visit the nursery school - Fiona and some of the other teachers are still there from the days my sons attended - its nearly six years now since Louis left. The lady on the right of the picture is another Gill - an ex parent who now comes to the nursery once a week to work with the children in the garden. Gill has been gardening there for a year now, and is making quite an impact with added colourful plants, a well stocked vegetable patch, and well maintained flowerbeds and shrubs.

25 years of NCH at Greenham House

Also tonight I attended the party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of NCH running the childrens centre at Greenham House in Newbury. It was much more than just an anniversary though - NCH were saying goodbye to Greenham House, as it is being transferred to the control of West Berkshire Council, and some of the staff will not be carrying on. It was also an evening to celebrate the work of the manager Rosemary who is retiring after 18 years in charge at Greenham House, and 42 years of social work (its hard to believe she has been working since I was born).

It was a real privilege to witness the speeches there tonight. I've never been inside Greenham House before, and not known what a lovely warm, friendly atmosphere it has. The staff and volunteers are obviously held in such high regard, and it was very moving to hear what they had to say about the last 25 years, and Rosemary's career. It brought home to me how important it is for community services like this to have staff continuity - it is a rare thing these days, and something we take for granted at our peril.

Pictured are Rosemary and Helen (Helen is staying on, and has worked at Greenham House for 25 years!).

Opening of Ripples Bathroom Centre

Tonight I helped to officially open the new bathroom shop 'Ripples' in Cheap Street, opposite the Post Office.

The owners, Diane and Richard Garnett are a local couple who are new to the world of bathrooms so they are setting out on quite an adventure and I wish them well. They have transformed what was a fairly uninspiring space into something light, bright and fresh. They have a range of bathrooms, from the ultra modern to the traditional, and it is well worth a look.

This is the 16th Ripples showroom to open - they are all in the south and midlands, and many like this one are run as franchises. The Director of the company was there tonight with his wife, he told me that he had started the business 18 years ago.

Crown Court Ceremonial Opening Service

On Tuesday 3 October Carol drove Stuart and I to the Civic offices in Reading for the ceremonial opening service for the Crown Court, which is held in the Minster Church of St Mary.

We had a tea and coffee in the Mayor of Reading's parlour, before lining up in alphabetical order (of town) to process to the church. There were about a dozen of us with chains on, in single file, following a mace bearer - its funny how some people carry on walking by as though it happens everyday, and a few stop and stare! It is quite a grand occasion - the judges all wear their wigs and gowns, and the High Sheriff is there in his velvet pantaloons. The Bishop of Reading, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, gave a humorous and intelligent sermon based on the reading from the parable of the prodigal son, and we sang three good hymns.

According to the notes in the order of service, the custom of these annual services dates from the reign of Edward 1 (1272-1307), and records of such sermons have been kept since 1681, the most famous assize sermon being that preached by John Keble in 1839 at Oxford, which was a national sensation as he denounced the nation for turning away from God and began a religous revival (so no pressure on the Stephen Cottrell then!)

Braunfels - day 4

We attended a church service (we were late because Isolde and Walter's kitten escaped and took a while to get back indoors, and then we went to the wrong church!). After church our hosts took us to a restaurant by the castle walls and we had a delicious lunch.

We said our goodbyes after lunch and the minibus drove us back to the airport for the journey home. Gemma had been nervous before hand, but said she really enjoyed herself, and would do it again.

Pictured; me with Burgermeister Deiter Schmidt

Braunfels - day 3

Stuart and I walked around Braunfels, through the park and had a coffee in the market place cafe. It is very quiet - hardly any traffic noise.

Then we went to the Hessenpark museum, half an hours drive away, - as guests of the Burgermeister (Mayor) Deiter Schmidt. Deiter is retiring next week after 12 years as Mayor. In Europe Mayors are directly elected by the people, and it is a full time paid job - Braunfels has an election on 8th October. Hassenpark is an open air museum of buildings showing the history of this region of Germany (Northwest of Frankfurt). The buildings are taken apart bit by bit and carefully re-assembled and restored. You can walk into the houses, church and school house and have a look at how people used to live.

In the evening we attended a film show - home movies of Braunfels twin town activities in the last 25 years (the weekend was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the town winning the European Prize for town twinning, a rare achievement). Gemma and Chris went to the nearby big town with some of the younger Germans and visitors and visited a local disco.

Braunfels - day two

The day began with a two hour discussion about the EU - this was in German, but thankfully translated into English! Prior to the weekend a questionnaire had been issued to the twin town associations of the towns taking part, and the responses were revealed at the meeting. It transpired that the Spanish and Italian twins were much keener on the expansion of the EU than the Germans were (who felt their jobs would be threatened), and from the discussion it was clear that the German teenagers taking part believed that their countrymen should be able to vote in a referendum on the new EU constitution - the guest university lecturers said it was not in the German constitution.

After lunch we toured the beautiful castle of Braunfels, which dates from the 12th century, and is a big tourist attraction. Part of the castle is still lived in by the decendants of the original Count who built it!

In the evening we visited an historic watermill, followed by a Hungarian evening, with entertainment by the dancers and musicians from Kiskunfelegyhaza (who visited Newbury in July). The buffet was delicious!

Twin Town Trip to Braunfels

Early in the morning of Thursday 28 September I drove Stuart and Junior Mayor Gemma Legg to Stanstead Airport where we met up with Garry Poulson, Kath Osborne and Christopher Harper for our four day trip to Newbury's German twin town, Braunfels.

Although the flight is only one hour ten minutes, we didn't arrive at our destination until 5pm. We were greeted at their Tourist Information centre, and presented with special umbrellas - an omen of weather to come?

Stuart and I were driven to our hosts home in a town 3km away. Our hosts were a lovely retired couple called Isolde and Walter, who made us most welcome.

Pentangle Dental Transformations

Last Wednesday evening I went along with Stuart and Rod to the opening of Pentangle Dental Transformations in Park Lane, Newbury.

As I work just around the corner, I was aware that this dental practice was being developed, I also recall several planning applications for the building coming to committee. However, this is no typical dentist - as its name suggests, the practice is for major dental work - implants and crowns. The space inside the two storey building has been totally transformed. There are walls of curved opaque glass, even a glass landing, plenty of stainless steel, and some very hi-tech equipment.

I had my picture taken sitting in one of the new dentist chairs, which has a camera installed above to relay pictures of proceedures into the room next door onto a wide screen, which can be used as a training facility. There is also a CAT scan machine for 3D imaging of teeth. All most impressive. The dentists in question, Steve Jones and Rob Oretti are both from local practices, and already well known for their skills. If these dentists can transform your mouth they way they have transformed their building then they must be good!