Sunday 26 April 2009
Coming to an end
Hard to believe that my time in office is coming to an end in just over two weeks time. It has been a wonderful year to date, and before I leave office I have a packed schedule ahead with many different functions to attend, along with duties to peform. This includes the Merton Civic Awards on 6th May, but also hosting the reception for the victorious AFC Wimbledon team. It has been a fantastic year, and I've emjoyed myself immensly in undertaking the role, it may be tiring at times but it has been a great honour. The time for goodbyes is not far away but its certainly a year I'll never forget.
St George's Day celebrations
In Merton, I celebrated St George's day with two events. The first event of day was a ceremonial hoisted the St George's flag flag at the Civic Centre. This was the first time that this had happened, as I believe as mayor it was important to recognise the day by flying the St George's flag alongside the union jack.
In the afternoon, I hosted a St George's day tea attended by 120 people in the New Horizons Centre in Pollards Hill. The hall had been wonderfully bedecked in flags and balloons, and it was a fantastic sight to see. The afternoon included entertainment from the Avalon Theatre group who performed various singalongs which got many people singing along to all the old tyme favourites. Also a performance of morris dancing took place which included people from all generations. Children and adults also read various poems which also included readings from Shakespeare, whose birthday and death took place on St George's. It was all very English but what was so refreshing was that many people from all generations came along with people from other backgrounds. It was also a fantastic community event, and the work that the volunteers did to make the day such a great success was greatly appreciated by myself. It is fantastic to see such a great community effort take place, and it was a very memorable afternoon.
Today, I also took the salute at the St George's Day scout parade in Wimbledon which saw over 700 children and young adults took part. The parade concluded with a packed service at the Sacred Heart church in Edge Hill with various different groups reciting the pledge. It was fantastic to see, and my thanks goes to the organisers for making it such a wonderful occasion.
In the afternoon, I hosted a St George's day tea attended by 120 people in the New Horizons Centre in Pollards Hill. The hall had been wonderfully bedecked in flags and balloons, and it was a fantastic sight to see. The afternoon included entertainment from the Avalon Theatre group who performed various singalongs which got many people singing along to all the old tyme favourites. Also a performance of morris dancing took place which included people from all generations. Children and adults also read various poems which also included readings from Shakespeare, whose birthday and death took place on St George's. It was all very English but what was so refreshing was that many people from all generations came along with people from other backgrounds. It was also a fantastic community event, and the work that the volunteers did to make the day such a great success was greatly appreciated by myself. It is fantastic to see such a great community effort take place, and it was a very memorable afternoon.
Today, I also took the salute at the St George's Day scout parade in Wimbledon which saw over 700 children and young adults took part. The parade concluded with a packed service at the Sacred Heart church in Edge Hill with various different groups reciting the pledge. It was fantastic to see, and my thanks goes to the organisers for making it such a wonderful occasion.
AFC Wimbledon being crowned champions
Well it turned out to be a day to remember at Kingsmeadow with AFC Wimbledon clinching the Blue Square South, and winning promotion to the Conference. The match itself saw a convincing 3-0 win, but the real celebrations took place afterwards when Wimbledon captain Jason Goodliffe was presented with the trophy, sparking off jubilant scenes. Attending AFC matches as mayor is always a great experience, and the fans are very welcoming. The achievements of the club this season, and over the last seven years is nothing short of remarkable, and it really is a fantastic achievement. As mayor it has been a great honour supporting AFC in their work, and also the team.
I will be, as mayor hosting a Civic Reception for the team at the Civic Centre in Morden. It will be an opportunity to thank the team and everyone associated with AFC for their efforts over the last season. It promises to be a great celebration, and the team deserves it as well.
I will be, as mayor hosting a Civic Reception for the team at the Civic Centre in Morden. It will be an opportunity to thank the team and everyone associated with AFC for their efforts over the last season. It promises to be a great celebration, and the team deserves it as well.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Merton Music is for Life Concert
Although it took place a few weeks ago, I recently attended the Merton Music is for Life Concert at the Albert Hall which included over 1,000 singers from 23 primary schools in Merton. Also at the concert were various Merton Youth musicians performing in orchestras and bands, who performed various ensembles and different musical styles including jazz, samba, popular and classical pieces including 1812 Overture from Tchaikovsky. For the second half we were treated to a specially composed musical piece called The Journey about immigrants from various parts of the world coming to this country, and celebrating the wide range of different cultures who have made this country their home, along with the circumstances that many different groups endured when they arrived here.
My thanks for the night goes to all the staff at Merton Music Foundation for putting on such a fantastic event, and allowing so much of our youth to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, an experience that they'll remember for many years to come. It is also remarkable the amount of talent that we have in Merton schools, and it's something that I've seem first-hand during my visits to schools across Merton over the past year, everyone involved performed admirably and are a credit to Merton along with their outstanding performance at the concert.
My thanks for the night goes to all the staff at Merton Music Foundation for putting on such a fantastic event, and allowing so much of our youth to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, an experience that they'll remember for many years to come. It is also remarkable the amount of talent that we have in Merton schools, and it's something that I've seem first-hand during my visits to schools across Merton over the past year, everyone involved performed admirably and are a credit to Merton along with their outstanding performance at the concert.
AFC Wimbledon
Over the past few weeks I have attended two AFC Wimbledon matches in my capacity as Mayor. Currently AFC are top of the Blue Premier South league, and with two games remaining are three points in the lead. If they draw at Hampton on Saturday they'll clinch promotion to the Conference, and will only be one division off from re-entering the league. Yesterday I attended in a private capacity the away fixture at Bromley where unfortunately we were robbed by bad sportsmanship, along with a goal that throws out the window the fair-play rulebook. If we had won, it would've only required a draw from our final two matches, still we're still very well placed for promotion.
The rise of AFC Wimbledon is nothing short of remarkable, given what happened to Wimbledon which now brands itself 'MK Dons' but is really nothing to do with the history of Wimbledon. The club is run by a supporters trust, who have built the club up from scratch to be the current success it is today. Each year brings renewed success, and they also have one of the best support of any non-leagues sides (not many can boast average attendances of over 3,000 per match). All the players have been done a fantastic job this season and hopefully they'll complete the job by getting the result at Hampton.
The rise of AFC Wimbledon is nothing short of remarkable, given what happened to Wimbledon which now brands itself 'MK Dons' but is really nothing to do with the history of Wimbledon. The club is run by a supporters trust, who have built the club up from scratch to be the current success it is today. Each year brings renewed success, and they also have one of the best support of any non-leagues sides (not many can boast average attendances of over 3,000 per match). All the players have been done a fantastic job this season and hopefully they'll complete the job by getting the result at Hampton.
Mayors visit to Wimbledon
Today I was joined by over 15 Mayors from across London and Surrey for a tour of the All England Club(Wimbledon tennis). The tour itself saw a guided tour around the ground, including the Broadcasting Centre, Henman Hill, Millennium Building, No1 court along with a visit to the museum which is where all the main winners trophies are on display. The only disappointment is that we were unable to visit Centre Court which is still closed due to development for the new retractable roof which will be in use for the first time at this years Wimbledon Championship.
Visiting Wimbledon is always a great experience, I have been lucky enough as mayor to visit on a few occasions, but also hold my charity ball at Wimbledon. Last summer I also formally visited the championship on the first day, along with going to the Men's Final. The venue itself has been transformed over the past fifteen years, with first the No1 Court development, Millennium Building and now the roof over Centre Court, along with a new court no 2. In Merton we're also extremely lucky to have a great sporting venue within out boundaries. It was a very enjoyable day, concluded by a fantastic lunch,and it was great to have so many mayors from across London visit Wimbledon, the jewel in the crown of our borough.
Visiting Wimbledon is always a great experience, I have been lucky enough as mayor to visit on a few occasions, but also hold my charity ball at Wimbledon. Last summer I also formally visited the championship on the first day, along with going to the Men's Final. The venue itself has been transformed over the past fifteen years, with first the No1 Court development, Millennium Building and now the roof over Centre Court, along with a new court no 2. In Merton we're also extremely lucky to have a great sporting venue within out boundaries. It was a very enjoyable day, concluded by a fantastic lunch,and it was great to have so many mayors from across London visit Wimbledon, the jewel in the crown of our borough.
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