Week 7 - 25 June/1 July
The week started with a celebration ....
The week started with a celebration. Our Chief Executive had just completed her first year with the Borough so she asked us all to join her on the green outside the Council for a picnic lunch with strawberries and Jazz Band. Mary has certainly made a difference to the council and the turn out suggests that we all wish her well for a long and happy tenure.
On Thursday, I led a contingent of 15 Councillors and Officers on a visit to RAF Odiham. The aim was to show the operations of the base and to explain why it was necessary occasionally to fly low over parts of the Borough, and Farnham in particular. Wing Commander Simon Harper, OC Base Support Wing, organised a very professional presentation and a tour around a Chinook helicopter before providing lunch for the team. The day provoked much discussion on low flying but provided an excellent opportunity for councillors to better understand the operations of the base and its helicopters. A highlight was undoubtedly a presentation and discussion with a pilot who had been on several tours in Afghanistan.
At the Cranleigh Lions Carnival and Fun Day on Saturday, I was asked to judge the entries for the procession with Lions President Tony Paris and Cranleigh Rector Canon Nigel Nicholson. We all agreed that the standard of entries was extremely high but were unanimous in awarding first prize to Park Mead School's colourful "Rumble in the Jungle" entry complete with its crocodile built on skateboards and a very vocal version of the song "Wimoway/The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In the afternoon I visited Pilgrim Homes in Haslemere, where I was honoured to make a short speech before the cutting of the cake at the 100th birthday party for Millie Holmes. Millie, born and bred within Bow, still retains her Cockney wit and joins a very select club of some 5 or 6 centenarians within the home.
On Sunday the Mayoress and I were invited to start the men's and women's walks in support of the charities nominated by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK. We each gave rousing speeches to the assembled starters, before being run over, by 2000 men in my case and 1000 women for the Mayoress! The walks celebrated 100 years of the Association's Kalifat (Succession of the Caliph) by linking their London Mosque with the new Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden. The Association estimates that it will raise well over £250,000 for the one day of sponsored walks; one individual raised over £17,000 by himself. Amongst many other recipients, I was presented with a promissory cheque for £2500 for my 2 chosen charities of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and the Crossways Counselling Service.
On Monday and Tuesday, I was treated to a wealth of art, with visits to exhibitions of GCSE art projects at Rodborough and Broadwater schools, and a visit to the George Frederick Watts Gallery in Compton. Comparisons are often odious but in this case it was pleasing to discover that there is great art to be found in both the old and the new.
On Tuesday the Mayoress and I attended the speech day celebrations at the Royal School in Hindhead. It was indeed a royal occasion with a visit from HRH the Princess Royal who presented the prizes and gave a splendid speech. As usual, the Mayoress' hat stole the show!
If you would like to know more about any of these events please look at the Waverley Website at www.waverley.gov.uk where there are links to most of the organisations mentioned, or contact me by email at mayorofwaverley@waverley.gov.uk