Mayor of Thetford 2004-2005
Friday, November 04, 2005
Diary for September 05
Hello again and apologies to those who are still following our mayoral commitments as deputies to the current mayor.
October was so quiet – NO official commitments at all, that I went out of ‘mayoral’ mode and found I had plenty of other things requiring my attention.
However I now intend to catch up and post this before we start our November duties.
8-09-05 Thursday Civic Service – Stowmarket
This was a new venue for Alison as we missed Stowmarket last year. It was a lovely warm evening so we had our welcome drink outside the Council Offices in a pleasant garden area before processing the short distance along the main street to the church.
The service followed a traditional Anglican pattern for evensong and finished rather earlier than the Council staff had expected. The consequence of this was that we arrived at the Museum of East Anglian Life before the caterers were ready to serve the supper. However this gave us time to look at some of the exhibits in the grounds and chat to other guests.
The supper was billed as ‘Suffolk Fare’ and it was delicious. The pork and cranberry pie was really tasty and there were cooked meats and salads to accompany this.
We followed this with fruit salad which was also very good.
13-09-05 Tuesday CPPI in Thetford
I think this should have been SNPPI which stands for Southern Norfolk Patient and Public Involvement with the sub heading “Forum Support Organisation’.
You may have guessed that this is a Government initiative and its purpose is to enable patients and public to have a voice in the way health care is provided locally. The members of the Forum are all volunteers and present the views they gather from events such as the one we attended, to the boards who are in charge of planning healthcare or to quote their material, ‘…have statutory powers to shape and influence local healthcare.’
We certainly hope this is so as we are soon to have a new “Healthy Living’ Centre. This will be situated on the edge of the town and take the current town centre surgeries under its wing. There are a lot of concerns about accessing the centre and the need for extra services to meet the growing needs of the increasing population.
This event took place in the lobby of the Library and Ray had the honour of cutting the ribbon to declare the display and consultation open. Those who came along had in many cases come with their questions and concerns in mind and we hope these will now be well represented to the planning group.
15-09-05 Thursday Presentations – Best Front Gardens
As this was held rather later than in previous years it was decided to use the Large Court of the Guildhall. Incidentally this was looking very fresh and smart after its redecoration.
A good number of people gathered and the various certificates and cups were presented by the chairman of the Allotments committee. The presentations were followed by refreshments which were more than ample for the number gathered and very tasty though we were amongst those who hadn’t thought ahead and had eaten a meal before coming out- oops!
18-09-05 Sunday Battle of Britain Service
Fortunately it was a fine dry morning as we paraded up Kings Street to St. Cuthbert’s Church. This year Revd Janet French took a quote from the Diaries of Lord Moran, who was Sir Winston Churchill’s doctor, as the starting point for another excellent and moving sermon.
25-09-05 Sunday Civic Service Ipswich
This was something of a reunion for us this year and we were pleased to have had this invite offered to us. This year we started the procession from the Town Council offices and Alison was impressed to discover that the room where we robed was “The Mayoress’s Parlour’! It raised all sorts of ideas of what might be possible with such facilities.
The procession proceeded with dignity through the town centre to the town church St Mary-le-Tower. The service was conducted by Canon Peter Townley with whom we had discovered several links when we met at the Ipswich Mayor’s Ball last year. It was also good to meet up with last year’s Mayor and Mayoress who are also in the deputy role this year. (Some Councils do this the other way and move from Deputy to Mayor.)
The refreshments following the service had moved up quite a few steps from the crisps and nibbles we had last year in a much smaller space.
We also met up again with some ladies from the Seventh Day Adventist choir who had been in Thetford the previous day.
We were once again very pleased to be driven by Roger, especially as we went through some very heavy rain on the journey.
27-09-05 Tuesday My year as Mayoress –United Women’s Group
This was my second presentation of several slides taken during our year of office and I felt I was warming to my topic this time. The setting up was much slicker too having learnt from some mistakes last time.
I have two more bookings in the diary for next year so this will crop up again.
29-09-05 Thursday Presentations Library
This was something of a last minute arrangement when the Mayor suddenly realised he was double-booked. We were very pleased to take it on as we had enjoyed it so much last year but we felt sorry for the children as they missed out on the red robe and the chains.
Again this event benefited from lessons learnt from last year and the children were dealt with in two consecutive groups. As there were more children this was particularly beneficial and they didn’t have to sit still for too long whilst the certificates and medals were presented.
Award winners were applauded with either a ‘round of applause or a square of applause or a seal of approval (with flippers and accompanying noises) – where did the Librarian get that from!!?
The Library staff were particularly encouraged by the response from parents and schools and the number of people who joined the library as a result.
Unfortunately as we didn’t know about this in advance Alison missed out on the fun of joining in this year.
October
No mayoral commitments this month but still plenty of other Council and personal events to keep us busy.
November Diary
Only one specifically Deputy Mayoral commitment as we represent the town at another Twinning ceremony in Skawina.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
August 2005
4-08-05 Thursday Presentation of Cheque for Hearing Dogs
This was the second of the Official charities to receive their share of the money raised during our Mayoral year.
We were very pleased that the Suffolk Deaf Association made it possible for us to present the cheque to someone who has a hearing dog. Trevor Larke and his dog Megan accompanied by Trevor’s wife Jean received the cheque on behalf of Hearing Dogs.
Fortunately for us Ann who organised the get together had a working camera and took some good photos and the Thetford & Brandon times featured this in A5 size with a caption about Hearing Dogs and the charity. We had our camera with us but the spare batteries also needed charging;-(
9-08-05 Tuesday Presentation of Cheque to Thetford Elders’ Lunch Club
This was a ‘semi-official’ presentation as when our year started this group did not exist but most of the people now involved were working under the Age Concern banner to provide lunches several times a week for the elderly. As we were particularly keen to support this dimension of Age Concerns work Ray was able to use the small amount left form the Mayor’s allowance to make a separate presentation to Wendy and Derek Serjeant who head up the team of volunteers.
Another opportunity to share lunch with some of our more senior citizens.
12-08-05 Friday Presentation of cheque to CAB
It is a sad reflection on the times we live in that we had to ring for admittance to the CAB even though it was open for business and we were expected. However the welcome was warm and we were interested to hear how well the new arrangements are working. At the beginning of our year the Thetford Branch had to cease operating as an independent branch through lack of volunteers and funding. Diss which is well staffed became Diss & Thetford CAB and there is some form of help available five days a week and usually in the Thetford bureau.
We have yet to organise the photo and report for the press release.
15-08-05 Monday Dedication of FEPOW tree and dinner
Although there had been a prayer when the tree was planted in February it was very appropriate to bless the tree on this the 60th Anniversary of VJ day and to remember the men from Thetford who had been prisoners in the Far East. Five were present at the ceremony and the lunch that followed at the Thomas Paine Hotel.
After the carvery lunch, which needed careful organising as there were about 50 of us in a room not quite big enough to allow free movement, the President David Napier give a speech recalling events since the gathering a year ago and outlining the starting up of this group of family members of FEPOWs and of those FEPOWs still alive today. This was followed by Ray’s Speech which came from his heart and was much appreciated. The inclusion of a couple of his reminiscences, as a twelve year old, of the return of FEPOWS obviously struck a chord with those present.
23-08-05 Tuesday Prince’s Trust
This presentation was given by the same group of young people who cleaned up the paintings on the underpass. It was sad to hear that these had already been vandalised again but the team were still able to say ‘We made a difference’.
The summing up of their three months with Prince’sTrust took the form of ‘This is your Profile..’ for one of the team as it might be in ten years time. Each member of the team made an appearance in a role they might take on and reflected on their time with the Prince’s Trust.
This was followed by the presentation of various certificates for different aspects of the course including First Aid, Basic Food Hygiene, Fire Awareness, Completion and City & Guilds Profile of Achievement. Each presentation was preceded by a short talk explaining what had been required and achieved for each certificate.
Everyone felt this had been a very good team and that this is a very worthwhile undertaking.
Refreshments followed and this gave us time to talk with those who had contributed to the course as well as the participants. Ray met Daniel Williams who managed Prince’s Trust some years back when Workwise had some worthwhile input to a couple of Prince’s Trust teams.
27-08-05 Saturday Opening of Floating restaurant
Do you remember reading about the early Sunday morning rise to watch a boat being lowered onto the River in the centre of Thetford? Well this was the culmination of a great deal of work by those who built the boat. For weeks they have worked hard installing the interior fittings and the kitchen and other facilities and finally the rail on top to create an open air seating area.
Councillor Pauline Quadling, who was Mayoress the year before our Mayoral year, cut the ribbon and declared the Steel River Blues restaurant open. Pauline has also been a close friend of the family for many years.
We were then able to go on the boat and see the fittings and enjoy a sumptuous Mediterranean Buffet which we ate on the open deck. Other preferred to stay below.
So to those who hope to visit us we now have another good venue where we can enjoy a meal with you.
September
8-09-05 Thursday Civic Service – Stowmarket
13-09-05 Tuesday CPPI in Thetford
15-09-05 Thursday Presentations – Best Front Gardens
18-09-05 Sunday Battle of Britain Service
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Diary of Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Thetford
July
1-7-05 Friday Alice in Wonderland – Open-air theatre
The weather was kind and most of the chairs were filled for this clever presentation of a well-known and well-loved story. Amongst the children present five had entered into the spirit of the show by dressing up as characters from the story. Their focussed attention on the players told its own story.
For ourselves we admired the slickness of costume changes and the skill of the players in changing characters so quickly and so often. In spite of almost having lost his voice Ray had no trouble finding the words to thank and praise this group of actors for a very enjoyable and entertaining evening.
15-7-05 Handing over of Gary Smith Memorial (Alison only)
Ray was unable to attend this function so Alison went along in response to the invitation to accompany the Mayor and Mayoress. The event was to mark the work done by a group of young people working through the Princes’ Trust scheme. They had cleaned up and repainted murals on an underpass to one of the local estates.
The murals had been painted a few years ago by pupils at the Rosemary Musker High School in memory of one of the pupils who died after being hit by a car on the way to school.
Talking to one of the young men it was encouraging to hear how much he had learnt from being part of this Princes Trust Team.
16-7-05 Saturday Strawberry Tea
A quintessential English afternoon! Umbrella – shaded tables dotted across the lawns of the home of the new Mayor of Sudbury shielded us from the summer sun. We enjoyed sandwiches, scones and butter and of course strawberries and cream whilst meeting new people and renewing contacts from last year. Ray came away with a raffle prize – what’s new? And we both admired the tasteful barn conversion into the home of the Mayor.
20-7-05 Wednesday Mayor-Making, Haverhill
It was good to have Roger driving us again to this event. The format this year was very different from the event we attended last year. This was in part due to the fact that the Mayor of last year was continuing for a second year.
After welcome drinks and the procession to the main Hall there were some short speeches of welcome and aspirations before we enjoyed a performance of young talent by some of the town’s young people who had taken part in a recent talent competition organised by the Town Council.
During the supper, which was a very tasty buffet, we were able to see pictures of changes in the town displayed in a PowerPoint slide show.
22-7-05 Friday Year of the Volunteer event at Riversdale
This was the heading for this year’s Chairman’s Garden Party. It provided an opportunity to recognise the commitment of time and talents by so many people in Thetford and surrounding area to voluntary work. Riversdale provides the regular venue for many different groups that rely on volunteers and other groups use the premises on an occasional basis.
It also provided an opportunity to mark the retirement from local politics of Baroness Gillian Shephard who has been the sitting MP for this area for many years. Her commitment to Thetford has been unstinting and she is admired and respected by all, regardless of party politics.
24-7-05 Sunday Mayor’s Service, Dereham
We arrived in good time for the 11.15 a.m. service so had time to look at St.Withburga’s well and to read something of the legends surrounding her before the service. This was very helpful as the preacher used these stories in his address and so reinforced what we had just learnt. This was all very relevant as following the service, which we were flattered to note used words closely based on those used by Thetford Mayors in our service, we proceeded to the main street where the impressive town sign was to be rededicated.
This sign stretches across the width of the street and illustrated one of the legends of St. Withburga and shows the deer and the huntsman from that legend as well as St. Withburga herself. The old sign had become worn and the fixtures potentially dangerous so this new copy has been produced in modern more durable material and refixed for all to admire. Ample refreshments in the Council chamber and conversations with people mainly known to Ray through the Breckland Council followed these two ceremonies.
26-7-05 Tuesday Vinegar Tom (Alison and Corinne)
Loyalty to Breckland Council was the reason for Ray missing this excellent production by students from the Thomas Paine Sixth Form College, Thetford. This presentation took place in the Norwich Arts Centre, which offered the students amore professional location in which to build on their successful presentation in the Charles Burrell High School.
It was good to have Corinne’s company on this occasion especially when we became entangled in the one-way system in Norwich. We were full of admiration for the talent we saw in these students and their ability to act in dialect throughout the performance. They have all attained very good grades in their college work and two will be starting university this autumn.
28-7-05 Friday Reception New Mayor & Mayoress, Ipswich
Once again Roger drove us to Ipswich for this year’s Reception and as we drove south we were vividly reminded of last year’s event as the skies clouded and began to look threatening. Yes, it was to become a repeat performance of the thunder and lightening deluge of last year just as we started to queue for our supper. The storm was even more spectacular this year but the provision of tables under cover was also much better and we were, in the main, able to keep fairly dry.
This year we took the opportunity to look around some parts of the house and particularly enjoyed the room housing pictures by Constable. In spite of the rain we enjoyed the evening with good company from Haverhill and good food and good humour by all.
31-7-05 Sunday Presentation of cheque to Age Concern
The accounts for our Mayoral year are now finally settled and the charity fund raised £1500. This was divided between Ray’s three chosen charities. One of these is Age Concern. (More about the others next month.)
Age Concern includes in their activities the provision of lunch at the weekend in a local residential and Day Care Centre. We enjoyed sharing Sunday lunch with some of the regular participants who are brought from their homes by minibus.
A few months ago the brand new minibus was set on fire and our donation was gratefully received, as it would help to keep the old minibus running until the insurance claim comes through for another new one.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Diary of The Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Thetford
May 2005 – May 2006
I have decided to post our account of events at the end of each month ( or more likely the beginning of the following month) as this makes the web pages easier to follow.
Diary for June
6-06-05 Monday West Suffolk CRUSE AGM
In spite of a long list of apologies this seemed to us to be a well attended AGM. The routine business was completed efficiently and quickly brought us to a special report by one of the volunteers.
After the Tsunami Disaster last Christmas CRUSE was asked if they could send volunteers to the airport to meet those coming in from stricken countries. The report included extracts from an account written by someone who was trapped by the Tsunami and survived and extracts from a report written by one of the co-ordinators of the volunteers who worked at the airport.
The value of the skills of these people trained to listen to people grappling with loss and the trauma this can cause were highly praised and valued by those who received from them and those who organising care for those in need.
Those of us listening were both moved and challenged by the level of commitment these volunteers offer not only in this crisis but throughout the year in many varied circumstances.
We were able to gain more awareness of the work they do in Thetford as we shared nibbles and drinks after the meeting.
11-6-05 Saturday Mayor’s Reception
An eye-catching, inspired innovation met us as we approached the Carnegie Rooms in the form of a Gazebo to act as a shelter for those who might find themselves queuing outdoors to be received by the Mayor and Mayoress. The area offered a colourful welcome with tubs and baskets of bright bedding plants.
During the evening light music was provided on the piano by our next door neighbour, Pip Jepson and a Powerpoint display of youth activities highlighted the Mayor’s Charity for the year- Keystone’s Children and Youth Foundation.
After the Mayor’s speech there was a video presentation proved first of all that the Mayor was young once!! and then showed examples of some of the work being done with and by young people in the town. Unfortunately it wasn’t easy to watch the whole of this as our attention wandered to the tray of finger type buffet eats which were being brought round by the caterers and conversations which developed with those close by. Perhaps a further opportunity will arise for the showing of this video during Pat’s year.
19-6-05 Sunday Civic Service (Ray only–Alison leading Quiet Day in Norwich)
Pat Pearson’s Civic Service was positive and affirming. His Chaplain, David Freeman gave a delightful sermon – full of humour and good sense.
The hymns all selected by the Pats were well known and good to sing – a well attended and wholly enjoyable event.
(The event in Norwich went well and Alison enjoyed this new experience)
21-06-05 Tuesday- My year as Mayoress –Talk to Methodist Group
After attending a course on presentation skills on the Monday Alison went home and smartened up her powerpoint presentation. (Only the second one she has given). Having duly noted to remember to take an extension lead she realised on setting up that two were needed! Fortunately was available so the talk proceeded along with the selected photos. Those present enjoyed the talk and photos and Alison was pleased to have had an extra prod to do some reflecting on the year and to gather some aspects of it together to share with others. The next opportunity is in September.
23-06-05 Thursday Scout Council AGM
This well attended gathering was only the third AGM of the South West Norfolk Scout Council and proceeded efficiently through the usual business. Presentations were made to a couple who were soon to return to America . They have obviously thrown themselves into the field of Scouting whilst over here.
An invited speaker enthusiastically set the scene for celebrations for the Centenary of Scouting in 2007. As with so many voluntary organisations there is plenty of room for more volunteers. Apparently young people are keen to get involved and more leaders could be used. We heard more of this from individuals we spoke to over an excellent buffet supper.
27-6-05 Monday Dinner to mark retirement of Grammar School Head. (Ray only)
Ray was very pleased to be able to attend this dinner, in part deputising for the Mayor who was on holiday but in part as the Governor who had worked alongside John Weeks, the retiring head.
In conversation with the lady next to him, the chair of the Parent’s Association, it came to light that Alison had baptised her children at Wattisfield.
Ray enjoyed the meal and was so impressed with the headmaster’s speech that he asked for a copy of this.
30-7-05 Thursday ‘Two Fine Girls’
Once again the staff and children of Admirals’ Junior School put on a near professional performance with this adaptation of ‘My Fair Lady.’ The costumes, scenery and well presented acting were a great delight and played to a full house in the Carnegie Rooms.
So you can see that our Deputy duties are considerably lighter than the Mayoral duties last year. However the diary remains quite busy as we pick up our other interests again. Ray has played some bowls matches and Alison has just returned from the General Assembly of the URC at Warwick University. We are slowly catching up with other interests and have some brightly planted baskets, tubs and pots to brighten up our ‘jungle’ and the front garden flower bed is beginning to reveal the summer bulbs Alison planted earlier.
Diary for July
1-7-05 Friday Alice in Wonderland – Open air theatre
15-7-05 Handing over of Gary Smith Memorial
22-7-05 Friday Year of the Volunteer event at Riversdale
28-7-05 Friday Reception New Mayor & Mayoress, Ipswich
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Our next trip to Poland may count as a Deputy Mayor visit but the next official engagement is 6th June.
26th –31st May Visit to Skawina
Yes, we were the ‘official delegation’ with Paul and Susan Waghorn, two members of the Twinning Association, accompanying us.
We had been asked for suggestions as to what we would like to do and Monika and Alina had put together an amazing programme for us.
Alina is the Mayor’s secretary and has previously had responsibility for all Twinning arrangements as well. From April 1st our interpreter and friend Monika took on a part-time position as Twinning Liaison Officer. She now has her own office along with a dedicated Meeting Room supported by kitchen and toilet facilities.
We had a warm welcome at Krakow –both in terms of friendship and the weather which became progressively warmer over the weekend reaching 32C by Monday. Due to an early start –5.45 a.m. from home 12 noon arrival we had a good half day left to explore the town at leisure and include a traditional meal at the local restaurant, Stek. This was delicious and plentiful as usual. So plentiful that we were unable to do justice to the lovely buffet awaiting us on our arrival at the new Meeting Room.
During our afternoon walk we were able to discuss and compare our two towns from many perspectives and see developments at first hand. In the Meeting with members of the Twinning Association we were able to talk (with help from our interpreters) about links between our towns, both current and hoped for in the future.
On Friday we had a conducted tour by minibus around the villages which make up the Commune of Skawina. We stopped off at three which have medieval wooden churches and in one village a beautiful 20th century church as well with special connections with Pope John Paul II. We also visited places with links to General Haller who was a prominent figure during the time of World War II and finally a High School which includes a reconstructed cottage typical of the early 20th century.
This gave us some insight into the wider aspects of Skawina and the lives and strengths of the people.
By Saturday it was getting hotter so a trip along the River Vistula from Krakow was very pleasant and an opportunity to see more historic buildings along the banks and hear more of the turbulent history of these deeply loyal people and the emergence of their newly regained independence.
Add to that a shopping trip and a civic reception in the evening and you will appreciate that we were beginning to feel the effects somewhat. Our sensitive hosts realised this and declared a rest day for us on Sunday. A late breakfast and time to write up the diary gave our bodies time to relax and we were then quite ready to enjoy the late afternoon barbecue which was part of the opening day of the ‘Skawina days’ held in the town park.
Monday was an early start as we were off to the mountains – The Tatras in the south of the country. The main town there is Zakopane which is filled with tourist focused stalls. We took the cable car up to the viewing area and enjoyed cold drinks as we sat and admired the view across to the mountains which still had traces of snow in the gullies. A walk along the pathway above the restaurant area gave us further views and brought us to the chairlift for our descent. This was a six-seater chair and travelled so smoothly and quietly down the hillside that we would have been very happy to go up and down again.
After a traditional meal from the area we returned to the town with a little time for shopping before returning to the hotel for an early night before our 5.15 a.m. start for our return flight on Tuesday.
We were back in the house just before ten so Ray wasn’t very late for the 10.00 am meeting he wanted to get to.
We met several new friends on this visit and hope to see some of them in Thetford next summer.
We felt refreshed and stimulated by this lovely break and very much appreciated the generous hospitality of our hosts.
Dates for June
6-06-05 Monday West Suffolk CRUSE AGM
11-6-05 Saturday Mayor’s Reception
19-6-05 Sunday Civic Service (Ray only–Alison leading Quiet Day in Norwich)
21-06-05 Tuesday- My year as Mayoress –Talk to Methodist Group
23-06-05 Thursday Scout Council AGM
27-6-05 Monday Dinner to mark retirement of Grammar School Head. (Ray only)
I have decided to post our account of events at the end of each month ( or more likely the beginning of the following month) as this makes the web pages easier to follow.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Diary of The Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Thetford
May 2005 – May 2006
10-05-05 Start of our year as deputy Mayor and Mayoress
A free day to make a start on coming to terms with another change of life pattern and to make a start on catching up with some of the neglected areas of our life over the past twelve months.
11-5-05 Wednesday: VE Day events in Thetford Library
An excellent presentation of memorabilia and re-enacted aspects of life 60 years ago. Some could identify with this more easily than others from memory!
A storyteller took us through sirens, rattles and how to use a gas mask and the library staff and many others were dresses in the fashion of the time. Schoolchildren had their clipboards and questions to ask and Alison learnt more about the naval service of one of her former church members.
Before the final sing-a-long refreshments typical of the time were served – margarine not butter on the scones. The library was filled with those whose memories took them back that far and others a little younger and the schoolchildren catching a glimpse of another life.
16-5-05 Monday: Lord Mayor of Norwich final gathering
This invitation was sent directly to us as it was from the retiring Lord Mayor of Norwich to acknowledge those she has worked with during her year of office. The date fell at the start of a short break we had planned near Halesworth. We were really pleased that it was still near enough to Norwich for us to be able to accept and attend this informal gathering.
This was the moment when the Lord Mayor, Joyce Divers, handed over a cheque for well over £23,000 to representatives of the Assist trust . This charity works with young people with learning disabilities enabling them to gain a sense of their self-worth and to experience the satisfaction of worthwhile achievement.
19-05-05 Thursday: Bury St. Edmunds –Civic Dinner
This invite had been sent to the Mayor but again it was an end of year event. This time to thank the outgoing Mayor of St. Edmundsbury for his year of office. Our new Mayor felt it would be more appropriate for us to attend and we were pleased to have been given the opportunity.
However we hadn’t really got to know the Mayor and we saw only one other mayor we knew but we enjoyed a lovely meal and a pleasant evening anyway. Apparently we were on a table with Air Marshall and Lady Harland of Harland & Wolf shipbuilders. Ray chatted away oblivious of this fact which may or may not have made a difference but he felt comfortable anyway.
Our next trip to Poland may count as a Deputy Mayor visit but the next official engagement is 6th June.
Dates for June
6-06-05 Monday West Suffolk CRUSE AGM
11-6-05 Saturday Mayor’s Reception
19-6-05 Sunday Civic Service (Ray only–Alison leading Quiet Day in Norwich)
27-6-05 Monday Dinner to mark retirement of Grammar school Head. (Ray only)
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
May
4-05-05 Wednesday Meal at Carolina’s
After some rearrangement of times due to a Council meeting we all gathered about 7.30 p.m. in Paulo’s new venture. The restaurant had previously been owned by another Portuguese friend-Alex who has now returned to Portugal. Paulo took this over soon after the arrival of his second daughter, Carolina hence the choice of name for the Restaurant. His delicatessen/snack bar is named after his first daughter Daniella.
The ingredients of the meal were all familiar, melon, seafood, pork and vegetables and choice of dessert –cheesecake, mousse, gateau but in every course there was that something different or extra which distinguished this as Portuguese cooking.
It was all very tasty though Alison was somewhat selective in what she ate in the seafood paella.
This was a charity dinner and donations were in aid of the Gary Smith Fund which supports….. Gary was a student at Rosemary Musker High School during the time Alison was a governor there. He was tragically killed on the road on his way to school and for the past years his parents have been fund raising in memory of Gary.
6-05-05 Friday Special celebration Concert and Supper at Thetford Grammar School
This was the first in a series of concerts with a special flavour to celebrate the time John Weeks has been headmaster. John has encouraged and contributed to the music life of the school with enthusiasm and personal participation and this was reflected and highlighted during this very entertaining evening.
Supper which was pasta bake and salad followed by cheesecake was served half way through and was an opportunity to meet the parents of one of the choir members.
The talents of the children were in all quite spectacular – one young lady played the violin with great aplomb and it was easy to imagine her on a concert platform. The school choir sang in the penultimate item with lively spine-tingling effect, Scarborough Fair and the Rhythm of life being the two songs.
8-05-05 Sunday
5.30 A.M. An extra engagement at the riverside by the bus station to watch the launching of a new floating restaurant on the river. This was only the outer shell and over the next couple of months the fittings will be put in place and we look forward to trying out our newest eating place around end of June/early July.
This was a chilly start to the day even though we were wrapped up and after an early breakfast we went back to bed before getting ready for morning service.
Lion’s Charter Dinner
This was a lunchtime booking at The Mulberry and we felt pleased and fortunate to be there as the original hand over of the mayoralty had been May 3rd. In that case we wouldn’t have been the recipients of the invitation.
As always the food was excellent and plentiful and the company was good. we knew most of those present and Alison had time to catch up with Lesley who is a member at the United Reformed Church.
From there on to another late entry – not really official but one we saw advertised and felt it important to drop in. This was a gathering for people from the many different national groups we now have in Thetford. We didn’t have far to walk as it was held in the Carnegie Room.
We talked with several people who are working together across the cultures to provide help, advice and support for the migrants and looking for ways to help them to integrate with the English population.
9-05-05 Opening of refurbished High Street, Dereham
Our final official engagement as Mayor and Mayoress and another chilly one! A large piece of land looking onto Dereham High Street had been an eyesore for quite some time but this visit showed a complete transformation. Two new ‘walks’ at right angles to the High Street were lined with shops and comfortable looking street benches interspersed with young trees. About 13 new shops had opened, many of them new names to the town.
The opening took the form of two speeches by a Dencora Director and past leader of Breckland District Council, Cliff Jordan, and the removing of a flag from over an engraved stone in the pavement. The wind tried hard to pre-empt the official unveiling. We were too cold to spend much time wandering around but did see a good part of the development as we made our way back to the car.
The hot drink and sandwich buffet at the Council Offices were very welcome and plans and pictures were a great help to appreciating what had been achieved.
Practice run through
As this was Greta’s first Mayor Making and it is a rather intricate ‘musical chairs’ sort of event we met up at the Guildhall at 3.30 to walk through the movements and check the Agenda and that everyone knew what was required of them. This proved to be very beneficial.
Mayor Making –hand over to Cllr Pat Pearson
At 6.45 we presented ourselves before Roger for our final robing and then duly processed into the Large Court of the Guildhall. The handover went very smoothly and everyone spoke well.
The new Mayor is Pat Pearson – a local businessman. His wife Patricia donned the Mayoress’s chain. They are known affectionately as Pat & Pat.
The routine business proceeded as per the Agenda and then we left the Hall so that the Councillors could disrobe. The annual Town Meeting was held after the return of the Councillors to their seats and this was followed by several useful questions or suggestions from the general public.
The evening rounded off with wine or hot drinks and a selection of savoury nibbles and sweet biscuits.
So ended this very special year in our lives. One for which we are truly grateful and will need to reflect on over the coming weeks as we slot into our new role as deputies but also continue to share the joys and concerns of many groups and individuals we have met during our year of office.
We send our sincere thanks to all who have supported us by their prayers- we have been constantly aware of God’s blessing on this year. God bless all of you and dare we ask for the continuance of these prayers as we take on this rather different role, please. We also thank our families and friends who have been so very patient with our unavailability and perhaps unwitting lapses of memory over special occasions. We hope to be better organised this year but how much more available remains to be seen.
A new Diary will be put up soon covering our year as deputy Mayor and Mayoress.
10-05-05 Start of our year as deputy Mayor and Mayoress
Here’s what we have in the Diary so far from 11th May forward
11-5-05 Wednesday: VE Day events in Thetford Library
16-5-05 Monday: Lord Mayor of Norwich final gathering
19-05-05 Thursday: Bury St. Edmunds –Civic Dinner
