My first week as mayor

Having been the mayor for the last eight days, it has certainly been an interesting week, even though I've had a relatively small number of engagements. Getting used to, as well, the various protocols of being mayor has also taken some getting used too.

Since I last blogged, I have undertaken a further three engagements. On Saturday, I attended a CIA basketball event at Canons(and no it's not the American CIA, but a christian organisation), this was a large festival bringing young people together with a christian ethos. I saw plenty of slam dunking, and various other maneuvers. It also involved going into the middle of the court and addressing the crowd.

Sunday, saw a visit to Charlton Park House in Greenwich for an event organised by the outgoing Mayor of Greenwich. The house itself it one of the oldest examples of Jacobean architecture in London, along with having some absolutely beautiful gardens. It also afforded me my first opportunity to meet other newly-elected mayors' and to share experiences; over the next year meeting other mayors will be a regular occurrence. Although I don't know who all the newly-elected mayors in London, I was by far the youngest mayor at the event, I am certainly not your stereotypical mayor!

This morning, I launched the Stand up for Bullying campaign in the Merton Council chamber. The event involved a number of children from across Merton coming together as part of a nationwide campaign against bullying. At the event itself, the children all joined hands and said 'say no to bullying'. Initiatives like these raise awareness of these issues as bullying is unacceptable, and in many circumstances make children's lives very unhappy, along with causing great emotional stress. At the end of the event, I had my photo taken with various children from around Merton.

My next event is at Merton Adult tomorrow, and will involve presenting Certificate of Achievement awards. This morning I must have signed dozens of certificates for the event and I am looking forward to attending the event, as education has the ability to transform lives and adult education contributes to that along with allowing people to learn new skills.

Follies

Tonight I went to a performance by the Wimbledon Light Opera Society(I am now their vice-president) of Follies at the Seecombe Centre in Sutton. Although not a regular theatre goer, I found the performance extremely enchanting, and in parts very colourful. The work that goes into performances is pretty phenomenal and I understand that they rehearse for six months in the run up to the performance. It was an excellent night and I look forward to future performances.

Elected as Mayor of Merton

Finally I was confirmed earlier tonight as the new Mayor of Merton. The ceremony in itself was pretty nerve wracking, but it all went very well in the end. Of course being elected mayor means non-stop photographs, I don't think I've ever been photographed so much on one night. I was also dressed up in full regalia, complete with tricorn hat which made quite a picture, being in robes is not the most comfortable of experiences especially as the Merton Council chamber has no air conditioning. Still, it's part of the tradition. The council also elected Krysia Williams as my deputy mayor for the next year who I've no doubt will prove an excellant ambassador for the borough over the next year.

Tomorrow sees my first engagement at the Secombe Centre in Sutton and a performance by the Wimbledon Light Opera of Follies. It promises to be a busy year ahead.