St Paul's and Civic Mass

My last two mayoral engagements have been my civic mass which took place at St Michael's in Pollards Hill on Saturday and last night, the London Mayors' event at St Paul's Cathedral.

The Civic Mass was in the presence of my chaplain Father John and held at St Michael's Catholic church in my ward of Pollards Hill. The service itself had over 200 people in attendance with many friends, family along with civic office holders'. The Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth, Peter Dawson was also present. At the end of the mass ,I was presented with a bible by the parish of St Michael's to which I am eternally grateful both for their goodwill and generoristy since becoming mayor. There help was invaluable in organising the mass. My thanks as well goes to the Mayors' office for their work in organsing the events logistics and the catering.

Last night, I also attended the London Mayors' Association service at St Paul's followed by a reception at Mansion House hosted by the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of London. At the service itself, it was wonderful to hear the outstanding choristers singing along with the wonderful range of music that was played. Being in St Paul's it's hard not to to admire the awe inspiring architecture of Sir Christoper Wren in what is one of the greatest churches in the world.

Afterwards, I also had my first opportunity to meet many of the new mayors' in London and to share experiences about our brief time in office, along with plans for the forthcoming year. I have also discovered in the past few days that the Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham, Andrew Johnson is even younger then me at just 28.